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Spoiler Alert: This page contains spoilers. Read at your own risk. |
Melancholic Birthday is a short story which was published in Dengeki Bunko Magazine Volume 62.
Synopsis[]
March 24th, 2096 A.D.
It is the day before Miyuki turns sixteen and becomes old enough to marry. For this melancholic birthday, what are Miyuki’s feelings and wishes?
Melancholic Birthday[]
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It is the evening of the day before Shiba Miyuki, a candidate to be the next head of the Yotsuba Family, will turn sixteen-years-old and be of an age where it is possible to marry. ◆ ◆ ◆ Shiba Tatsuya is a Guardian of the Yotsuba Family and the person who defends Miyuki, who is my younger sister. As a side effect of the Artificial Magician Experiment, Tatsuya perfectly recalls everything since he was six years old. Because the Artificial Magician operation was unable to produce the desired results he was reduced to a mere servant. He considers the command to make the safety of Miyuki my top priority a blessing. And that his feelings for Miyuki are true and not a side effect of the experiment. And she is the only person he is able to love. Tatsuya's earliest memory is of two women looking down at him. My mother Shiba Miya and my aunt Yotsuba Maya. And neither was pregnant. But Miyuki is definitely his sister. His 'Elemental Sight' confirms that he and Miyuki are born of the same parents. ◇ ◇ ◇ Because she is a magician from the Ten Master Clans, her coming of marital age is a source of concern for Miyuki. Female magicians are required to marry young and bear children because magic is something inherited by lineage. And magic is power, so the state wants excellent magicians and the magicians need the protection of the state. For male magicians, it's best to have as many children as possible even if it means being unfaithful. Not marrying early is an impossible dream. And her partner will be chosen for her. And even now, just like her mother and aunt, Miyuki does not question this way of life for the members of the Yotsuba Family. And had that summer day not happened. Had Miyuki done as he was told and continued hideously treating Tatsuya as a servant she well might have welcomed what tomorrow brings and the chosen fiancée. ◆ ◆ ◆ It's the fourth time Tatsuya has been able to openly celebrate Miyuki's birthday. It's the most special day of the year for Tatsuya. Tatsuya cannot imagine a world without Miyuki and would not suffer such a world to exist. He has made a few friends over this past year but if Miyuki died before him one day he could never accept a world that would arrange such a fate. And he would reduce the entire world to nothing. The madness where one person is the equivalent to him of everything in the entire world. And that because Miyuki is alive and well, he is happy. ◇ ◇ ◇ Miyuki regrets the wasted years before she reconciled with Tatsuya and wishes they could be regained. And the implications of turning sixteen are depressing and plague her. The only saving grace is that her partner has not been chosen. But it is not unusual for a marriage to a much older man to be announced on a female magician's sixteenth birthday. And even if their opinion is respected, saying no to one's kin is not easy for a child. Even if they find the partner chosen detestable. And the odds of a fiancée being selected and Miyuki being married within the month are not low. But in truth, Miyuki does not want to get married. Because she cannot marry the person she wants too. ◆ ◆ ◆ It's 11pm and in one hour Miyuki will turn sixteen-years-old and can legally marry. Tatsuya laments that once Miyuki is married they will have to spend less time together and the thought makes him feel lonely. But even from far away, Tatsuya can still protect Miyuki. And he always will. Tatsuya has no right to oppose Miyuki’s marriage partner when chosen by the Yotsuba Family. But as her brother, he wants the chosen man to be able to defeat Tatsuya, not with magic, but as a man. If he can defeat Tatsuya when they just use their arms then he'll give the man Miyuki gracefully. ◇ ◇ ◇ Miyuki laments being Tatsuya's sister and being unable to marry him. She don’t want to be embraced by any man other than Tatsuya, nor even touched at all by any other man. Because all of her, belongs to Tatsuya alone and she exists solely for his benefit. Miyuki decides that her obligatory descendants will be made via artificial insemination using eggs extracted from her ovaries. And an artificial womb will be used, even if it might not be approved by those around her. Miyuki laments that Tatsuya will never see her as more than a sister, no matter how she feels. ◆ ◆ ◆ Tatsuya ponders on who will be chosen as Miyuki's husband when she has no equal in his eyes. He thinks on Myiuki's faults. Her hot temper, her tendency to be blind to her surroundings when she gets absorbed in something, and the fact that hidden within her personality exist places with violent preferences. But even the gods are flawed, so it's fine. All Tatsuya cares about is that the man chosen is suitable for Miyuki and can hold her in his heart and build a home as an equal married couple. Especially in light of his father, who could not accept the marriage because he already loved another. And unable to make the marriage work despite Miya's best efforts, he ran away to a mistress. And Tatsuya believes this resulted in both his parents becoming unhappy. Tatsuya does not want Miyuki to experience her mother's fate in a sour life devoid of happiness.
In the same way, it is impossible for Miyuki to persist as an unmarried woman for the rest of her life. Because my aunt could not marry due to rare extraneous circumstances, it is even more important for Miyuki to welcome her husband and make a child. However at the very least, I would like for the man chosen to Miyuki’s husband to be a man suitable for her. So Tatsuya prays that the man standing next to Miyuki is at least suitable for her. ◇ ◇ ◇ Miyuki goes to sleep just before the date changes.
Just past midnight, Tatsuya goes to sleep. ◇ ◆ ◇
Tatsuya returns from his training and greets Miyuki. The pair then go for a day out to celebrate. But their everyday lives will change in nine months’ time, on the last day of the year. |