Chapter 748: Happy Birthday

"Happy birthday, Pandora!!! Congratulations on turning twenty!!!" All of us shout at the various Pandoras at the table as we place a huge cake in front of them, and most of them just look confused.

They were already confused when we called them to this spot and just told them to sit tight, and now that we’ve set the cake right in front of them, their confusion is honestly adorable.

"Delphina?" My Pandora looks at me with a curious gaze. It’s just me, Grimm, Mikael, and Elena here. Zephyra isn’t around because she’s isolated with the Pandora avatar who takes care of her.

"Today is your birthday. All of you are real, so we decided to come together and put on a little celebration," I say, my tail swaying gently from side to side.

"Delphina, that’s really sweet of you guys... hmm... the cake smells... ahh..." All the Pandoras stop sniffing the cake and then turn their eyes to Grimm, who flashes a little smirk.

"[You really are insufferable.]" They all say it in unison to Grimm while Mikael pulls the table over to adjust her spot a bit at his Pandora’s request.

"Oh, come on, Pandora, don’t give me that look. It’s just a cake! And it’s packed with a bunch of your favorite things as ingredients, right Elena?" Grimm says, tugging Elena forward, and Elena nods toward Pandora.

"They put a lot of effort into it, Pandora. Please don’t take Grimm’s little prank so seriously!" Elena speaks in a pleading tone, and the Pandoras eventually let it slide. Azraelith didn’t come either. It’s a shame it’s just us.

"..." My Pandora rises from her chair and walks over to me.

"Delphina, thank you for this. Whose idea was it?" She asks while the other Pandoras chat among themselves.

"Grimm’s. She’s a pain, but she really does put in the effort. Your birthday was coming up, and she said we could do something for all of you, so we threw ourselves into making a cake and gathering at least a few of us together."

"There aren’t any presents because everything was last-minute, and we didn’t invite a lot of people—just us. It was something more intimate," I tell her, and she strokes my head.

"It’s nice. Although one of the ingredients in the cake, especially the cream, is suspicious," she says, giving me a smile.

"Oh, don’t worry! The cake is all yours, and it’s genuinely good!! We made a separate cake for the rest of us, so you can enjoy that one." When I say that, Pandora sighs.

"Okay, I guess I deserve it... at least the cake really does look pretty delicious." She moves closer to the cake as the other Pandoras do the same. We hand each one a spatula to cut it.

While they slice into the cake, Elena leaves the room and comes back pushing a cart with cake and drinks for us. Since Pandora’s cake belongs only to Pandora, it contains a few ingredients we don’t eat.

"I think Pandora liked it," I say, watching everyone gather around. Mikael just grabs a glass of wine and starts drifting away.

"I don’t like parties or cake, so I’m just going to drink and leave as soon as Pandora’s done." He gives a wave and moves off, sidling up to his Pandora.

"And you, Delphina?" She asks while I take a slice of cake.

"I’ll stay as long as Pandora wants. Even though I don’t like parties either... but..." I glance at Pandora. She’s talking animatedly with the other Pandoras, and she clearly loves it.

Not the party itself, but the act of having a party just for her, made by the people she loves. That’s priceless.

"I get it. It’s her twentieth birthday, but obviously beings like us, with so much life behind us, don’t see it as anything special. She’s young, so it must still matter to her, but I bet in a few years she’ll start hating birthday parties altogether," Grimm says, handing me a box.

"What’s this?"

"A present for Pandora. For yours. I have one for mine too. I’m helping out because I want to see Pandora happy. No need to be suspicious."

"Pandora likes this sort of thing." I immediately open the box when she says Pandora ’likes this sort of thing.’ I’m not about to give Pandora something when I don’t even know what it is.

"Oh... this... is a dress. Pretty casual?"

"..." I stare at Grimm. I truly hate this woman, but I thank her for the gift as I put it back in the box and fix the wrapping with magic.

"I appreciate it..."

"Delphina, I really do love Pandora deeply. She’s my soulmate, so obviously I want her happy. I wouldn’t do something awful to you if it’s going to make Pandora angry." She steps away, and I notice she’s taken nearly all the wine. She slaps her Pandora on the butt and pulls her off to a corner, chatting with her excitedly.

"...Delphina!!" Pandora heads toward me with a slice of cake. She scoops up a spoonful, eats it with a smile, while I glance at the box.

"Pandora, a present for you." At the table, I notice Elena talking with the avatar who doesn’t have a partner, while Mikael’s Pandora chats about kids with Mikael, who offers her a glass of wine.

"Oh, thank you." Pandora takes the box with her tail and sets her plate down on the table, opening it quickly. She doesn’t seem to have noticed that Grimm was the one who picked it out, or maybe she noticed but completely ignored that fact.

"A casual dress. Pretty, and it matches exactly what I was looking for. You know, I’m going to take you on a date to a special place, and I was thinking about what to wear, and this one fits perfectly with what I had in mind..." Pandora tears into the bottom of the box and pulls out a pair of scissors I hadn’t even seen.

"Hahaha, a pair of scissors. Grimm really went all out helping you." When she says that, I avert my gaze.

"Delphina, don’t worry about it. I know Grimm was the one who wanted to pull this together last-minute. I don’t mind that you didn’t pick out a present. Honestly, it makes me really happy that you decided to accept help from someone you hate just to make me happy." She twirls the scissors between her fingers.

"..." I smile at her.

"I’m learning a lot from mortals. It’s still hard for me, Pandora, but I hope you’re satisfied."

"I am. And these scissors fit perfectly with something I wanted to do." Her mischievous gaze makes me avoid asking what she’d need scissors like those for. They look like a pretty unique pair of scissors.

"Now let’s eat? Grab your slice of cake and let’s go somewhere more private. I want you to feed me cake by mouth, and I’ll feed you cake by mouth. Sounds romantic, right?" I blush, a little embarrassed.

"Yeah..." I grab my slice of cake, casting one last glance at the other Pandoras before focusing on mine, who seems especially calm tonight.