Late at night, we held the meeting in the basement.
The entire family, except Norn and Aisha, sat around one dimly lit candle.
"Welcome, in the darkness--"
"Excuse me, Rudy, I need a bit more light to be able to write..."
Roxy, acting as the record keeper, interrupted the greetings to complain.
The atmosphere (mood) is important.
"No, if the light leaks out, Aisha may notice."
"In the first place, why are we hiding?"
"Even if you ask why..."
I wonder if it's OK not to hide it.
For example, you'd expect to receive a gift in return for anything you gave on Valentine's Day. [2]
"Hiding the preparations will be difficult, they will enjoy the celebration all the same."
And, Lilia.
In terms of preparations, not hiding them might be easier.
Well, that's right. Rather than focusing on sneaking around, we should focus on magnificent preparations.
"Hmm..."
But, that's right.
We don't need to go out of our way to cover it up.
Thinking back, both my 5th and 10th birthdays were surprise parties.
So naturally, I thought surprise parties were the norm.
Thinking about it, both Norn and Aisha expect a celebration.
In that case, there's no reason not to tell them.
"Then, we should involve them in the preparations."
Let's do it in a big way.
That way, we won't need to worry about buying gifts.
Aisha is on good terms with all the merchants in the shopping district.
And if I'm sneaking around like this, Aisha might say something like [Oniichan isn't here, he must be out buying lovely panties!], and follow me. Of course, I don't intend to buy panties.
That's just a parable.
Well, the other day, I did go out to buy panties to have Sylphy wear, and Aisha was grinning when she saw me, so it's not really a parable.
"But, the presents should still be kept secret."
At Eris's words, everyone nodded in agreement.
"The presents may be secret, but wouldn't it be good to discuss what we plan to get them?"
Sylphy said that after Eris.
What she said was reasonable.
On that day, my two popular sisters would be getting many gifts.
Norn who's popular in the Student Council and the SS, and Aisha who's popular in the shopping district and the mercenary company.
If two random people give them the same gift then there's no helping it,
but we should try to avoid that within the family at least.
"So, what does everyone think? Let's decide now."