Chapter 1393 1311 Zaboru Birthday

Sunday, 15 December 2001.

Hamazou Headquarters, Japan.

By the time Zaboru arrived at Hamazou Headquarters, the small birthday party had already begun.

Calling it small was perhaps slightly misleading. Compared with the enormous corporate events casual CEO regularly attended, it certainly was modest, but the Hamazou headquarters was already filled with family members, trusted executives, food, decorations, and several guests Zaboru had absolutely not expected to see.

Ayumi's immediate family had gathered first. Her father, Akira Hamazou, stood near one of the larger tables speaking with several senior family executives, while her grandfather Azai and grandmother Minami had already claimed comfortable seats nearby. Kyoukou, Ayumi's mother, moved between the guests while occasionally checking whether her pregnant daughter was resting enough. Akechi and Asumi were there as well, though Akechi naturally looked as though he had been assigned to guard an important government meeting rather than attend his brother-in-law's birthday.

On Zaboru's side, the Renkonan family had arrived almost in full force. Sanika had come together with Hidetaka Miyazaki, while Zanichi was discussing something technical with one of the Hamazou executives who had made the mistake of asking him about machinery. Keiko, meanwhile, had already conquered the kitchen.

Nobody had officially placed her in charge.

That did not matter.

Within less than an hour, the head chef had apparently surrendered authority willingly.

Several professional cooks were now following Keiko's instructions while she calmly moved between Japanese dishes, sauces, grilled meats, soups, and several experimental recipes as though Hamazou Headquarters had secretly belonged to her all along.

Zaboru noticed the kitchen situation from across the room and smiled proudly. "Of course Mom took over."

Near the opposite side of the hall, Zenshin sat quietly while observing the adults with the strange composure he frequently displayed despite only being four years old. Arumi, meanwhile, had brought what Zaboru could only describe as her personal military force.

A rabbit.

A squirrel.

A cat.

A toad.

A gecko.

And now the Golden Retriever Zaboru had recently given her.

The dog happily followed Arumi around while she issued increasingly questionable commands to the rest of the animals. Somehow, several of them actually seemed to understand her.

Arumi pointed toward the rabbit and declared, "Guard!"

The rabbit remained completely still.

Arumi nodded seriously. "Good."

Zaboru stared at the scene and chuckled. "My daughter is building an army."

Zenshin looked toward his father and calmly replied, "She already has one."

"That's actually more concerning."

The strangest guests, however, were standing closer to Akechi.

Arachne.

Zaboru recognised three of them immediately.

Maya, the red-haired woman whose sharp eyes made it seem as though she constantly noticed more than she said. Roggi stood beside her, tall, broad, and considerably more relaxed than most people Zaboru associated with secret organisations. He was chatting casually with one of the Hamazou executives as though attending Yakuza-family birthday parties was a completely ordinary Sunday activity.

Then there was Pietro.

Pale.

Blond.

Relatively small compared with Roggi.

And somehow more dangerous-looking than almost everyone else in the room despite doing absolutely nothing.

Pietro simply stood near the wall holding a drink.

But two additional guests caught his attention.

The first was an older butler wearing a perfectly tailored tuxedo. His posture was elegant and almost absurdly refined, but the expensive clothing did absolutely nothing to hide the fact that the man possessed an insane physique beneath it. His shoulders were enormous, his arms looked like they could bend steel, and yet he carried a tray of drinks with the graceful precision of someone serving afternoon tea.

The other guest was much harder not to notice.

A beautiful blonde woman wearing an elegant Chinese-style dress stood beside him. Around her neck rested a purple necklace shaped subtly like a spider web, making her connection to Arachne almost ridiculously obvious to anyone already familiar with the organisation.

She noticed Zaboru looking.

Then smiled.

Zaboru sighed quietly. "Why are there even more Arachne people here?"

Akechi appeared beside him almost immediately. As usual, his footsteps were quiet enough that most people would have been startled. Zaboru was already accustomed to it.

Akechi leaned slightly closer and spoke in a low voice so Ayumi would not overhear. She was currently speaking with Maya nearby, curious about the unfamiliar guests her brother had introduced simply as acquaintances.

"We took additional measures," Akechi explained quietly. "There were rumours the Illuminati might attempt something during your birthday. Nothing confirmed, but enough that I wasn't going to ignore it."

Zaboru's expression became more serious. "So that's why you moved everything here?"

Akechi nodded. "Controlled location. Our people know every entrance. Arachne brought additional security. Everything inside was prepared intentionally, including kitchen staff and food suppliers."

His expression remained completely flat as he added, "Although your mother has apparently taken command of the kitchen."

Zaboru immediately laughed. "Well, Mom is the best cook in the world."

Akechi glanced toward the kitchen. "The head chef agrees. He looks mildly terrified of her."

"That means he's learning."

Akechi almost smiled.

Before Zaboru could continue, the blonde woman approached them.

Her confidence seemed to weaken slightly the closer she came.

Zaboru immediately recognised the contrast.

Powerful woman.

Clearly important.

Yet somehow nervous.

She stopped in front of him and said, "Excuse me… Zaboru Renkonan. It is very nice to finally meet you. I'm Alissa Chyne."

The butler standing behind her chuckled softly. "Hohoho. I did not expect Lady Chyne to become flustered simply from introducing herself."

Alissa immediately frowned and glanced back at him. "Sebas."

The butler smiled innocently.

Zaboru's thoughts moved considerably faster.

Ah. So this is Alissa Chyne.

The leader of Arachne.

And apparently an heir to the Chyne family as well.

Zaboru remembered hearing the family name several times before, particularly through Walt Disney and several European business contacts. The Chynes were old money—extremely old money—with influence spread across finance, shipping, land, cultural institutions, and several European industries.

Yet the woman standing in front of him currently looked less like the head of a secret international organisation and more like someone meeting her favourite musician.

Zaboru smiled politely and said, "Nice to meet you, Miss Chyne."

That somehow made Alissa even happier.

She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Um… Zaboru-sam—no, Zaboru-san. May I ask something?"

"Sure."

"Are you planning to sing more songs soon? It has been quite a while since Zaraki released anything new."

Sebas immediately looked amused again.

Alissa ignored him.

Zaboru chuckled. "Probably when something game-related gives me an excuse. Or maybe at ZAGE's end-of-year event later this month. You know how I am—I usually only perform when it's connected to ZAGE somehow."

Alissa smiled brightly. "Then I will wait."

From nearby, Ayumi looked toward the interaction.

She was not jealous.

After their recent conversation, she understood Zaboru considerably better than before, and Alissa's excitement looked more like admiration from a fan than anything romantic. Zaboru himself was behaving with the same casual friendliness he showed toward countless people.

Ayumi simply smiled before returning to her conversation with Maya.

The actual birthday celebration began shortly afterward.

Zaboru had never cared much about expensive gifts. He already possessed enough money to purchase almost anything he wanted, which made luxury items considerably less exciting than useful or ridiculous ones.

Fortunately, his family understood that.

Akechi approached first and placed an enormous rectangular package in front of him.

Zaboru opened it.

Then stared.

It was a gigantic custom-made bento box.

Not simply large.

Absurdly large.

Zaboru looked toward Akechi. "What the hell?"

Akechi replied with his usual expressionless face, "For your damn appetite."

Zaboru immediately grinned.

The container contained several separate compartments, removable sections, insulated areas, and enough space to carry a horrifying quantity of food.

Zaboru held it up proudly. "This is incredible. I can fill this entire thing with fried chicken and bring it to my office."

Akechi nodded once. "That was the idea."

"Best brother-in-law."

Akechi looked away as though the compliment had not affected him.

Alissa's gift made the combination even more ridiculous.

She gave Zaboru a large high-quality backpack specially designed for carrying multiple food containers securely. Apparently, she had quietly asked Akechi beforehand what kind of gift Zaboru would actually use.

Zaboru immediately tested whether the gigantic bento box fit inside.

It did.

He grinned. "These are actually useful!"

Alissa looked absurdly pleased with herself.

Sebas chuckled quietly. "Excellent choice, Lady Chyne."

"Of course."

Other gifts were considerably stranger.

Miyazaki handed Zaboru a small box without explaining anything.

Zaboru opened it.

Then froze.

Inside was a Pikachu figure.

Except Pikachu had the face of a grumpy middle-aged man.

Zaboru slowly looked toward Miyazaki.

Miyazaki maintained a perfectly calm expression.

"Where did you even get this?"

"I have resources Boss"

"OssMON came out like not even months ago!"

Miyazaki simply shrugged.

Sanika burst out laughing beside him. "Don't ask. He was weirdly determined to find it."

Zaboru examined the figure again.

The old-man Pikachu had tiny wrinkles, thick eyebrows, and an expression suggesting it had worked twenty consecutive years in middle management.

Zaboru started laughing. "Okay, this is going directly on my desk."

Sanika gave him a new pair of stylish glasses afterward. She smiled and said, "You wear disguises sometimes anyway. At least use something that doesn't make you look suspicious."

"My disguises are good."

"They're terrible."

Zaboru sighed. "Everyone keeps saying that."

Zanichi's gift was considerably more dangerous.

Coffee.

Specially brewed coffee.

Zanichi handed him a sealed container and explained proudly, "New roasting experiment. Stronger extraction. More concentrated."

Keiko immediately looked over from across the room. "Do not drink that at night."

Zanichi frowned. "It's coffee."

"You made it."

Zanichi stopped arguing.

Zaboru laughed.

Keiko eventually approached with her own gift: a pair of high-quality gloves. They were simple, warm, durable, and exactly the kind of thing Zaboru could wear during winter without thinking too much about them.

Zaboru smiled and hugged her. "Thanks, Mom."

Keiko immediately adjusted his hair afterward as though he were still a child.

Then came Ayumi.

Her gift was wrapped considerably more carefully than the others.

Zaboru opened it slowly.

Inside was a black scarf.

A simple letter Z had been stitched subtly into one end, while smaller embroidered words rested near the edge.

Atatakai — Ayumi ♡

Zaboru became completely still.

Ayumi smiled a little shyly and explained, "I made it myself. It's not perfect."

Zaboru immediately wrapped it around his neck.

Ayumi laughed. "Zabo, we're indoors."

"I don't care."

He looked down at the stitching, touched it carefully, and grinned like he had just received something worth millions.

"Oh my God. I'm going to wear this all the time."

Ayumi's expression softened. "Really?"

"Absolutely."

"You own much more expensive scarves."

"This one wins."

She smiled brightly.

Zaboru leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Thank you."

As the evening continued, the celebration gradually became less structured. Formal conversations disappeared, families mixed together, and the enormous collection of food finally became the centre of Zaboru's attention.

The chefs had prepared Japanese, Chinese, Korean, American, Italian, French, and several other European dishes. Arachne's guests had even arranged several foods Zaboru had never personally tried before.

Naturally, he treated the entire spread like a challenge.

Plate after plate disappeared.

Fried chicken.

Roast beef.

Pasta.

Seafood.

Rice.

Dumplings.

Stews.

Bread.

Desserts.

Several chefs initially watched in disbelief.

Then Keiko casually informed them, "He can eat more."

They stared at her.

She was correct.

Roggi eventually sat across from Zaboru with his own enormous plate and laughed. "Man, I thought I could eat."

Zaboru grinned while reaching for another piece of roasted meat. "Skill issue."

Roggi stared at him before laughing loudly. "Hehehe as expected of Zaboru-sama!"

Even Pietro seemed mildly amused from the other side of the room.

Zaboru genuinely enjoyed himself.

There were no corporate presentations.

Just people eating, talking, laughing, giving him ridiculous gifts, and occasionally arguing over which dessert was best.

Eventually, he leaned back in his chair and looked around the room.

Ayumi was speaking with her mother.

Keiko had somehow returned to the kitchen again.

Zanichi and Miyazaki were discussing something technical.

Sanika was laughing with Asumi.

Akechi stood near Zenshin and Arumi, his normally cold expression noticeably softer while listening to Arumi explain the military hierarchy of her animals.

Even Arachne's terrifying collection of secret operatives looked strangely normal inside the warm atmosphere.

Zaboru touched the scarf around his neck.

Twenty-seven years old.

Physically.

But something else mattered more.

Ten years.

It had now been roughly ten years since he had awakened in this world carrying memories from another life.

Ten years since he realised he had been reincarnated.

Ten years since Zaboru Renkonan became something completely different from the child who had originally possessed this body.

Back then, he had memories.

Ideas.

Abilities.

And no idea how enormous everything would eventually become.

Now he had ZAGE.

Ayumi.

Zenshin.

Arumi.

Twins coming soon.

His parents.

His sister.

Friends.

Developers.

Entire industries that had changed because he existed.

Zaboru smiled quietly.

Ten years.

Damn.

A decade had passed unbelievably quickly.

And somehow, despite everything he had built, the moments he valued most were still strangely simple.

His mother cooking.

His wife making him a scarf.

His daughter commanding a gecko.

His son quietly watching everyone.

His father making coffee strong enough to frighten Keiko.

His brother-in-law giving him a gigantic bento box because everyone knew he ate like a monster.

Zaboru chuckled to himself.

Maybe that was enough for tonight.

Just his birthday.

Zaboru raised another plate and grinned.

"Okay then… who made this pasta?"

Several chefs immediately looked toward him.

The party continued.

And Zaboru Renkonan officially turned twenty-seven years old.

Ten years into his second life.

To be continued.

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