◆After Story

◆After Story

“LADY Mizuha! Happy birthday!”

“Happy birthday! Priestess Mizuha!”

“MiZUha! Happy birthday to you!”

I’m taking a leisurely ride in a carriage down the main street of Grantz’s capital, bordered on all sides by crowds of people.

Bands perform catchy songs around the carriage. Grantz Kingdom’s knights march in perfect step to the beat. What seems like a parade is being held entirely in my honor. Wearing a light-blue gown that doesn’t suit me hasn’t gone to my head and made me think this is all for me—it’s undeniably true that this parade is for me.

“I’m so glad we made it in time,” Cia says, sighing with relief where she sits beside me.

Cia asked me about my birthday the day before yesterday. I’ve had my hands full with the zombie apocalypse ever since I was launched from my bed into this world, and it’s not like there’s a calendar around. Because of that, I had entirely forgotten about my birthday until she asked, but since she did, I counted how many days had passed since being hurled here and realized that today is my birthday.

Once I told Cia that, it was decided on the spot that a birthday celebration was to be held for me, and things moved rapidly from there. It’s mostly thanks to Cia’s gusto, but the king and queen were surprisingly all for it, which is why it happened so fast. When they set their minds to it, this family can make anything absurd happen. This was the moment I worried about the future of Grantz Kingdom for the millionth time.

“Uh, but don’t you think this is going overboard…? I would’ve been happier with something small.”

“You are the holy priestess who saved our kingdom, Big Sister. Your birth should be celebrated on scale with your great deeds.”

Cia says that like it’s only natural, but this parade is hard to accept as someone who was just a normal high school girl up until recently. Lex rides close to the carriage on Vianta, probably because I’m still frowning.

“Please put your mind at ease, m’lady. No one was compelled to be here. The soldiers gladly volunteered, and the citizens came because they wanted to.”

I certainly don’t see anyone who looks unhappy to be here. They are all cheering for me with broad smiles.

“Lady Mizuha, thank you for everything you do!”

“I am only alive today thanks to you, Priestess Mizuha!”

“MiZUha! I’ve awoken to love thanks to you!”

Countless words of gratitude, with the occasional weird comments thrown in, are showered on me from the crowd. The powers I have as priestess are not my own, but I’ve been through lots of horrible, scary, stinky…and stinkier experiences. That’s why their gratitude feels like they are recognizing what I endured for them, and that honestly makes me happy.

“W-Well…I can accept that, then.” I sheepishly look away from Lex, sweeping my gaze over the crowd instead.

A little over a month has passed since I met with Goddess Sadia. Many areas still haven’t been repaired yet, but the rebuilding process is proceeding quickly thanks to everyone’s hard work.

If we keep this up, it won’t be long before I can see how beautiful the capital once— No, how much more amazing the capital will become than it ever was before.

I’m going to work even harder so as not to lose out to the others, because this is my problem now!

◆◆◆◆◆

“I’M exhausted…” I dive face-first into my bed after the birthday festivities are over. I didn’t do an intense workout or use my powers; this is simply a case of mental fatigue from being the center of a lot of attention.

Fortunately, they didn’t want me to give a speech. In my world, people who are being celebrated during a big event like this would almost always be expected to give some kind of speech.

Would they have requested one if this world had some sort of PA system? Makes me shudder just thinking about it. I’m not proud of it, but I’m the type who got nervous when the teacher called on me in class. I’m confident I’d either faint or throw up if I had to speak in front of an ocean of people.

I suddenly hear someone rapping on my door. “Lady Mizuha,” Lex calls from the corridor. “I apologize for bothering you when you are tired, but may I have a minute of your time?”

“Did something happen? N-Not another zombie, is it?”

“No. Several visitors are here with gifts for you.”

We live in a city just recently liberated from zombies, with their threat always around the corner. Presents had completely slipped my mind to the point that I’m left blinking at the door. I feel guilty receiving gifts, but on the other hand, if you remove the part about my having priestess powers, this is my birthday. Excitement wells up inside me at the prospect of getting presents.

I hastily fix my sitting posture and respond to Lex. “O-Okay. You can let them in now.”

“I shall let them inside in order, then.”

And so, he allows Rosso into my bedchamber first. Rosso hands me a sparkling, glistening bracelet. I can tell at a glance that it’s expensive, with diamonds the size of the tip of my pinkie finger decorating it.

“Wow! It’s gorgeous. But how did you afford it?”

“It’s obviously somethin’ I prepared for you, Boss Lady.”

“Are there any jewelry shops open yet? You didn’t steal it, did you?”

“Whoops,” Rosso groans, pulling a clearly guilty face the second I ask. His reaction says it all. “But I don’t do it anymore…”

“It’s still bad if you did it before. Gifting someone with stolen goods is low. And for that matter, you need to return the things you stole before. I’m going to have Lex look into whether you’ve returned everything or not.”

“B-Boss Ladyyyy!”

This is the correct way to deal with him. Honestly, it wouldn’t be strange if he wound up in jail for all his crimes. I know he’s a good guy deep down, but I can’t turn a blind eye on his compulsive thievery.

Iris comes next, after my first gift giver started off the occasion by making me sigh. I get a bad feeling about her present the second she enters my room because she’s carrying something the length and size of her full wingspan spread from hand to hand, including the shoulders. I don’t know what it is definitively because it’s covered by a cloth, but it can be only that.

Iris yanks the cloth off with pomp, a smile bursting onto her face. “This is the newest goddess statue!”

“I told you to stop making those! Hold on, why does that look like the gown I wore today…?”

“I researched the design beforehand and rushed to finish it!”

“It’s scary how well prepared you are.”

Whether I want this thing or not, it’s still a carved statue of me. Destroying it would be unsettling, so I accept—or rather, confiscate—the statue, but I honestly don’t know what to do with it.

A surprising person visits me after Iris—Sir Oden, the captain of Grantz Kingdom’s Royal Knights and the man befitting of the name “the Reigning King of Charges.”

“Grantz—nay, the world—should prioritize your life above all else, Lady Mizuha. Therefore, I would like to present you with this shield.”

He hands me a metal shield twice my size. This shield would definitely be capable of blocking charging zombies without breaking. However…

“Um, it takes all my strength just to hold it up…”

“Then you must begin training. Gahaha!” Sir Oden lets out a hearty laugh. Even if I train hard, this shield won’t work with my physique. But I keep my mouth shut since I fear him countering my objections with “Then you have no choice but to put your back into it, lass!”

After Lex helps me move the shield aside, I welcome my next visitor.

“MiZUha! Today for sure you will wear this engagement ring—”

“Send him home.”

The door shuts in Keith’s face. I can hear his grating voice fussing in the corridor for a while before it’s gradually dragged away. The soldiers must have escorted him outside of the castle for me.

Sheer exhaustion crushes down on me. Heaving the loudest sigh, I slump onto my bed.

“I’m happy they gave me presents, but…I have little to say about it… Yeah…”

I don’t want to say anything rude when they gave me those gifts with good intentions. But not only are they all things I don’t know how to use, I’m worried about where to even put them. Frankly speaking, I wasn’t happy about any of it.

“H-Hey, Lex? No one else is coming with presents, right?”

“I don’t believe so. Lord Rowadan was the last I saw in line.”

“I-I see. Hmm.”

“Is something the matter?”

“Nothing is the matter,” I reply half-heartedly, glancing at and away from Lex several times. He frowns and cocks his head.

I actually want to ask him if he has a gift for me. But it’s too embarrassing for me to bring it up first. As I’m impatiently twitching and twiddling my thumbs, Lex works up the nerve to speak.

“Actually…I also prepared a present for you. Will you accept it?”

“Wha-? Y-You did?” I can’t tell him I’ve been super looking forward to what he got me. “Of course, I will accept anything that’s within acceptable bounds. As long as it’s not stolen goods, a creepy statue of me, or a shield so big I’ll be squashed under it.”

“Please rest assured that it is nothing special like what the others gave you. Please wait just a moment.” Lex leaves the bedchamber temporarily to retrieve the present he left elsewhere. He comes back a short time later with a flower growing out of a flowerpot small enough for me to hold in both hands.

“Oh, wow! This is so cute…!”

The flower petals are on the petite side and possess the same glamorousness as a fancy gown. Just like the people who brought me gifts earlier, Lex hasn’t lost his weirdo image, so I had prepared myself for something strange to come, making this an unexpected surprise. A good surprise, of course.

“Say, what is this flower called?”

“Del… Delphi… My apologizes, I forgot the full name.”

“Someone’s unprepared! But I love it because light blue is my favorite color.”

“You once told Master Pino the meaning of your name, so I used that for reference.”

I had once mentioned to Pino in passing that my name means “light-blue flower.” Apparently, Lex remembered that conversation. For the guy who normally has his head in the clouds, he’s uncannily a smooth operator when it comes to these things.

“Allow me to say it once again. A very happy birthday to you, Lady Mizuha,” Lex says, smiling gently at me from the other side of the light-blue flowers.

He told me this wasn’t a special gift, but to me, this is the most special gift of all.

“Thank you…Lex.”

Making another world’s zombie apocalypse my problem wasn’t such a bad idea after all.