Nearly two weeks had passed since the battle with the demons. After defeating Zen and his minions, they learned a lot about Sera. She declined Azazel's advances and was sent with the army as punishment for refusing him. In the demon world, it was known as "Azazel's failure treatment."
Leila and Sera got along really well, and the party cleared a few dungeons. Sora loved clearing dungeons. It helped him ease his mind and distracted him from the work that came with being King.
Brie helped Celeste create the outskirts of a new city surrounding Sora's castle. Sorbella became the city name after a party vote. Everyone stood in amazement when Celeste created an entire city in a matter of 30 minutes two weeks prior. Shops, apartments, a marketplace, a car dealership, restaurants, a hospital were all empty buildings ready for investors and/or new business owners to jump in and buy.
"It has such a nice ring to it and it includes Sora's name. I love it!" Brie shouted enthusiastically.
"It's quite amazing what you can do, Celeste. A city in one week? It's already lively and home to 10,000 humans, vampires and Uthra. It was generous of Sora and Brie to set aside so much money to help those in need," Levi said.
"It was no problem. I'm just glad all of you agreed to help. It's not like Brie and I are the only ones clearing dungeons," Sora said cheerfully.
"We have plenty and it's not like we need any more money. Last I checked, we have over 5000 Ultravites in our safe upstairs," Jubelle said gleefully.
"Holy shit you all of that much money just hanging out?" Sera asked in shock.
"We have all that money hanging out. You're a part of us now silly!" Leila reminded her new friend.
"Hey system, what level am I and what are my current goals?"
[You are currently level 97. Your current goals: Unlock the secret of your Eyes. Reward: Unknown. Propose to your Queen. Reward: Unknown]
'Same goals but 20 levels in two weeks is pretty impressive. Now that Brie's SS ranked and we have such a large party, these dungeon clears become less and less challenging. That reward at level 95 certainly helped.
When Sora reached level 95, he unlocked a skill that allowed him to gain the experience his party gained in addition to the experience he gained.
Brie nudged Sora. "Hey, you, ok? You look lost in your head again. You were getting so much better with that but recently it seems like you're always lost in your head. You know you can talk to me, right?"
Sora signed. He knew she was right, but the goal of "Propose to your Queen," kept making him wonder whether or not he should do it or not. They'd known each other for almost a year now and there was no denying he'd fallen for her the first night he met her. Even his parents blessed Brie by now.
"You're right. I owe you a date night. I really hope the party doesn't mind that I'm taking you on a date for my birthday," Sora said somberly.
"I've never heard someone so sad to be going on a date… we really don't have too! We can do something as a group– I told you, I really don't mind what we do. It's your birthday," Brie said empathetically.
Sora kept thinking back to the conversation he had with his party a week ago. He hated keeping secrets from Brie, but it was the only way to make sure he didn't have any unexpected chaos happen on his birthday. He just wanted a normal, regular day with one exception, which the party gladly kept a secret.
"It's not that! I just feel bad I'm leaving everyone else out, is all. I told them we'd celebrate when we get back. Of course I'd love to go on a date with you tonight, silly," Sora said while hugging Brie.
"Hey lovebirds, the party wants to talk to you about something," Sera said.
Sora and Brie laughed. "You too? When will this end?!" Sora asked with a laugh.
"Never. We promise." Sasha giggled.
*******
When Sora stepped into his kitchen, everyone yelled, "Surprise! Happy Birthday!"
A giant vanilla cake, three layers tall, stood with 21 candles sparkling brightly.
"Make a wish!" Levi shouted.
Sora thought for a moment before he made his wish. 'I wish I could tell Brie the truth about who I really am.'
He blew out the candles, and everyone cheered. Sora smiled as Sasha, Leila and Sera attacked him with pieces of cake.
The rest of the party laughed hysterically. Sora, the "world's sexiest man," was now a caked-up mess.
"Thanks everyone. Seriously, this is the best birthday present ever," Sora said joyfully.
They enjoyed cake before Celeste and Sasha finally hurried Brie away. Everyone but Levi followed them out.
After finally wiping away the cake from his face, Sora realized Brie and his party went missing secretly.
"Wait, where'd Brie and the others go?" Sora asked Levi.
"Go get cleaned up and meet her out back in 30 minutes," Levi said with a huge smile. "It's in your right jacket pocket stud. Don't worry. No one knows about the final portion of our plans."
Sora smiled and ran a nice hot shower. He took an unusually long shower, letting the bathroom steam up. After he got out, he dried himself and sprayed a new cologne on his chest and on his neck. He got dressed in a new suit. He usually dressed in black for formal occasions, but for his birthday, he decided to go with an all-white suit and a blue dress shirt. He wore black dress shoes and a black tie. He felt inside his chest pocket and could feel a small box.
He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled. Despite the emotional roller coaster in his head, he took a deep breath.
'I can't believe I'm really going to do this.'