Chapter 8

After passing the 11-month mark,

A significant event was the family birthday party.

Around the 9-month mark, there was a birthday party for my mother, Claire.

It seems that Theo, Ellie, and the nanny, Ena, decorated the room, but since the decorations didn't have any magic (provisional term), I couldn't see them.

They were apparently handmade, and when I touched them, they felt like paper rings often seen at birthday parties.

They also made paper flowers.

I helped Ellie make paper flowers.

Although I didn't do a great job, it was fun.

We brought a lot of food into the room, and it was a modest but warm family birthday party.

By the way, I found out Claire's age. She turned 26.

As a mother of three, she is quite young.

A few days later, it was Theo's birthday party.

Although our birthdays are quite close, they are celebrated separately.

I hope they don't start combining the birthday parties as we grow older.

This time, Claire, Ellie, and Ena decorated the room.

Of course, I helped make paper flowers, and I did a better job than before.

I guess I'm getting used to moving my fingers more precisely.

The daily finger exercises are definitely paying off.

Just like Claire's birthday, we brought a lot of food into the room for the birthday party.

There seemed to be more meat dishes.

The room was filled with a delicious, fragrant smell.

As expected, being a boy, he likes meat.

I also found out his age; he turned 9.

About four weeks later, it was Ellie's turn to have a birthday party.

It seems that my mother, brother, and sister have birthdays close together, making it a month of consecutive events.

This time, Claire, Theo, and Ena decorated the room, excluding Ellie.

Naturally, I helped make paper flowers.

I was praised a lot for making them on my own.

Of course, with so many opportunities to make them, I can do it on my own now!

Just like the previous two birthday parties, we brought food into the room to celebrate.

There were many dishes with plenty of vegetables, and hardly any meat or fish.

Is Ellie a vegetarian?

But she seemed to eat meat and fish too, so maybe she just likes vegetables.

She does grow edible plants.

Of course, I found out her age; she turned 7.

I thought that after three birthday parties in such a short time, it would be over for a while... but I was wrong.

Within four weeks of Ellie's birthday party, it was Ena's turn to have a birthday party.

There are so many birthday events!

Naturally, of course, as expected, the three of us, excluding Ena, decorated the room.

During this time, Ena was in another room.

This time, I also helped make paper rings in addition to paper flowers.

As usual, we brought food into the room to start the birthday party.

The main dishes were seafood.

They were very delicious.

In the Kingdom of Ovent, meat, fish, and vegetables are all commonly served on the table.

It's a country with abundant ingredients.

Ena is 28 years old.

She is only two years older than my mother... Claire really does have a youthful face.

With this, the birthday parties for everyone except myself and my father, Alex, were over.

At this rate, I thought the next one would be Alex's birthday party next month.

Given the birthday party rush, it would probably happen!

However, it turned out that Alex's birthday party was still quite a ways off.

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As usual, my brother and sister take turns, or rather, compete to read books about trees and flowers to me.

It's currently Ellie's turn.

The title is

" The Moon, the Sun, and the Red Herb "

When I heard the title, I thought it might be a romance novel, but it turned out to be an adventurous story with a super plot from the beginning.

It seems the author is the same person who read " A Single Blade of Grass " to me before.

After all, it starts with three-legged red herbs standing at the bottom of a deep valley.

One more leg...

This time, it doesn't seem to be split into parts.

It's also less than half the thickness of the previous one.

Of course, I only confirmed this by touching it, so it could be a continuation, but from what I've heard so far, it seems like it might finish.

" A Single Blade of Grass " was quite an enjoyable adventure story, except for the initial super plot.

An unnamed herb that physically stands up travels the world, meets other herbs that have also physically stood up, and embarks on an adventure filled with laughter and tears.

At the end, the scene where the first herb to join the group dies was quite moving.

Some might think it's a cheap "tear-jerker" tactic, but it was genuinely touching.

Ellie, who read it, Theo, who was listening, Ena, the nanny, and my mother, Claire, all cried.

Even the elderly doctor, who had finished his examination but stayed to listen, cried.

Since everyone was crying, no one noticed that I understood the story.

They might have thought I was just crying along with everyone else.

By the way, my father, Alex, was, as usual, away on business.

I thought I wouldn't remember much, but I was surprised by how much I did.

This is a work by the author of " A Single Blade of Grass, " which was a perfect adventure story that moved me to the end.

I thought " The Moon, the Sun, and the Red Herb " would also finish smoothly.

But that was just a sweet, naive hope.

At the very end, for some reason, instead of ending with "The End" or "Fin" or "Complete," Ellie said this:

"It continues. Well, I'm looking forward to the next 29 volumes, Lily."

I couldn't understand what she was saying for a moment.

That's strange. My hearing is supposed to be perfect... Oh, it must be a proper noun? My sister is being mean again, using words I don't know.

I look forward to your comments and feedback.

3/9 Punctuation and spacing corrections

3/10 Typographical corrections

5/3 Spelling corrections