Chapter 404: Gifts from the Girls
With a pile of gifts in his arms, Hachiman returned to his room.
Komachi wanted to see them, but he declined.
While Hachiman did spoil Komachi, he occasionally needed some personal space, and what if there were some inappropriate items among the gifts from the girls?
Since there were quite a few gifts, the girls had written their names on the gift boxes for easy identification.
Grabbing a random box, he found it labeled with Saika's name.
Untying the ribbon and opening the box, he found a pen inside, along with a delicate card with a few lines of elegant handwriting.
["Hachiman-kun, I'm glad to celebrate your birthday with you. I wasn't sure what to give you, but I decided on a pen. After all, we're still students, hehe. I hope you can make good use of this pen and achieve good grades."
"Lastly, I wish you a happy birthday, Hachiman-kun. —— Saika"]
Smiling at the birthday wishes on the card, Hachiman chuckled.
He decided he would start using the pen when school started.
He continued opening the gifts.
The second one was from Zaimokuza, which piqued Hachiman's curiosity about what he might give.
Opening the packaging, he was surprised to find a book inside.
"Hmm? 'The Otherworldly Dragon King,' isn't this the novel Zaimokuza wrote?"
Looking at the book in his hand, Hachiman suddenly remembered that Zaimokuza had mentioned his novel finally meeting publishing standards after multiple revisions. He hadn't realized it had already begun printing.
Picking up the accompanying card, he read:
["Hachiman, my dearest friend, this is the first original copy of my novel. I begged the publishing house to send me this first edition, as it holds great significance. As my best friend, I'm giving you this first edition copy."
"Finally, I wish you a happy birthday, my dearest friend. Let's make waves together in this world. —— Zaimokuza"]
Reading Zaimokuza's message, Hachiman shook his head with a smile.
That guy still couldn't change his weird way of speaking.
But the first original copy of the novel? It truly held sentimental value.
With that in mind, Hachiman decided to treasure the book, "The Otherworldly Dragon King."
...
As Hachiman opened each gift box one by one, the girls' gifts were presented before him.
The variety of gifts was diverse, ranging from ornaments, accessories, customized mugs, and even clothes and shoes.
However, what impressed Hachiman the most were the gifts from Yukino, Yumiko, Erina, and Alice.
Yukino had given him a Mr. Panda plush toy.
This surprised Hachiman, as he knew how much the girls adored this Mr. Panda character. He hadn't expected Yukino to give him one.
Looks like my place in Yukino's heart isn't too low after all.
With a satisfied smile, Hachiman placed the plush toy on his bedside table.
Yumiko's gift was rather unique. Inside the gift box were ten vouchers, accompanied by a set of instructions.
["You can use these vouchers to redeem some of my services, such as a knee pillow, back massage, and so on, but only for requests that aren't too outrageous. If you dare to make unreasonable demands, I'll bite you, you jerk."]
["By the way, I still wish you a happy birthday. —— Yumiko"]
Looking at these ten vouchers, Hachiman was at a loss for words. It felt like something straight out of a history textbook about the pope selling indulgences.
But upon further thought, this wasn't a bad idea at all. After all, a kiss could be considered a service, right? Plus, he could also ask Yumiko to wear a maid outfit for a maid service.
Wow, thinking about it that way, it sounded quite thrilling.
Imagining Yumiko in a maid outfit, Hachiman couldn't help but feel a bit excited.
As for the gifts from Erina and Alice, they were rather extravagant.
Erina had gifted him what appeared to be a very expensive wristwatch. Judging from its luxurious appearance and the stack of appraisal certificates, its value was conservatively estimated to be over ten million.
Alice's gift was even more lavish. Inside the gift box were a set of car keys, accompanied by relevant documents such as the vehicle purchase certificate. Judging from the certificates, the price of this car was also estimated to be over ten million.
Looking at the gifts from the two sisters, Hachiman was speechless.
They truly lived up to their status as heiresses, flaunting their extravagance.
After stowing away the gifts from the two sisters, Hachiman sighed.
Although Erina and Alice's gifts were valuable, they weren't very practical for him.
He didn't often wear watches, but he could wear it for formal occasions in the future.
As for the car, there was no need to mention it. He didn't even have a driver's license, so how could he drive?
Putting away the gifts from the two sisters, Hachiman stretched and prepared to go to bed.
However, at that moment, an inconspicuous small box caught his attention.
A palm-sized box was quietly lying on his bed.
"What's this? Did I forget to open a gift just now?"
Picking up the gift box, he saw the name "Raphiel" written on it.
"Huh, it's Raphiel's gift. I wonder what's inside?"
Curious, Hachiman opened the gift box, revealing a delicate potion bottle inside, reminiscent of the potions seen in various novels and animations.
Picking up the card beside it, he read:
["Hachiman, this is a potion concocted by the heavens for heroes, capable of strengthening the body and unleashing human potential."]
["Ordinarily, heroes like you from the everyday world aren't allowed to be administered potions, but I went to great lengths to arrange this through my family's connections."]
["Wishing you a happy birthday! —— Raphiel"]
Reading Raphiel's message, Hachiman felt a faint sense of gratitude.
He hadn't expected the girl to go this far for him. Even though Raphiel's family was a major clan in the heavenly realm, it must have been challenging to do something like this against the rules.
Taking the potion bottle, made of an unfamiliar material, he uncorked it and drank it down in one gulp.
He trusted that Raphiel wouldn't harm him.
After finishing it, Hachiman clicked his tongue.
Huh? Is that it? Why does it feel like nothing happened?
Checking his body carefully, he didn't feel any surge of strength as he had imagined.
Oh well, since he'd already consumed it, he decided to just go with the flow.
With that in mind, Hachiman kept the empty potion bottle and prepared to go to bed.
After unwrapping so many gifts and replying to the girls' messages one by one, it was already past ten o'clock.
The residential area was incredibly quiet at night, with the black night enveloping the houses, and the moon casting a hazy glow. The rustling of the wind through the branches and the chirping of insects typical of summer were the only sounds.
Lying in bed, Hachiman gradually drifted into sleep.
The night passed without incident.