Chapter 104: Brothers…
(A private room in the Sungrade castle: )
According to Sam, the one who organised this party, it was a big birthnight, and gifts were a must.
It wasn’t anything like a tradition or a requirement, but the gifts represented their appreciation towards the person.
They were a token of their love and gratitude. So, the entire Sungrade family had gathered together for a little ceremony of their own.
"I didn’t know what to give, alright. This is the best I could do."
"Oh... what’s that? I’ve never seen something like this."
"I got this made especially for you, dear."
Two people were sharing their birthday so they and others also needed to prepare two different gifts.
The ladies had their own little competition going on to see who got the patriarch a better gift, while the boys were simply trying to get their father something decent.
Ian didn’t even know they were supposed to get then gifts until he came here so he just gathered whatever he had brought with him from Stanox and made little gifts of his own.
Everyone was different so they had put different thoughts into getting these gifts but, one thing was clear to both the patriarch and the young girl: these were meaningful presents.
"I love this. I mean, I LOVE this."
Alex loved the small matching mugs he made for her and their father.
They were handmade by him, with magic and different magical materials. He asked Sam for his room full of things to create these specially blazed mugs and thankfully, they turned out well.
For a last minute gift, they were actually really pretty.
The red and gold used on the outside engravings and the decorations that were made with the two of them on his mind.
Alex hugged her smart elder brother, very happy to get something so precious.
"Hmph."
Her Volcano brother had prepared a little white mask for her that had black and red patterns. It was quite like him to give something so... unique.
He didn’t know if she would use this or not, but it was a very good gift. At least, he believed with all his heart that it was a good gift.
"Big sister! Here here."
Little Mime and lady Leha, at least, had prepared a pretty useful thing for little Alex.
"Oh, wow~."
While the two could only gift the patriarch a specially cultivated tea, they brought a magic wand for the young girl.
It was only a practice wand that she might only use for a short while, but it was pretty, and it had her name on it.
"This is so cool~."
The others did not think of this because they were still seeing her as a child.
However, the elf lady knew this young child was already growing as an Elementalist. She could surely channel the spirit power on her own, but a catalyst like this wand never fails to help.
-Swiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish...
"Blaze! You’re late!" Blaze was off to his own shenanigans somewhere so when he entered the room, his older brother first took away the bronze hair that was still in his blazer while the youngest brother accidentally sprayed the perfume that Blaze was giving to the patriarch.
"Ah, um, apologies?" He didn’t even know where he was going to find brothers like these.
Yet, the brief moment of accidental happenings didn’t escape the eyes of either the mothers or the assimilator.
If anything, he was already aware of what this boy was up to.
Not that any of them paid attention to it. Youth was meant to be enjoyed anyways.
"Big brother Blaze~. Thank you for this pretty cape~!"
She was a little girl but the big brother of hers was giving her a cape as a present.
It was no normal cape either, it was an item with a powerful levitation spell engraved in it.
She might not know how to use it for now, but she will soon learn. And when she does, she will be able to float around the city on her own.
"It’s my turn now."
"No, it’s my turn!"
"It’s my turn!"
The ladies had prepared very, very special gifts for both their young little princess as well as their eternal Sun.
Maria and Flora were waiting in line as well, but, before the Ladies could have their turn, Sam was already handing over a small box to the patriarch.
"Huh?"
The ladies were defeated in a battle of speed this time.
What more...
"This? What? Is this real?"
They seemed to have been defeated in the battle of gifts as well.
"Where... just where did you find this?"
They had never seen the patriarch so genuinely surprised. Never.
But he had his eyes wide right now, and his eternally sharp eyes were almost tearful.
"I had some help, but it surely wasn’t easy." Sam gave him a simple smile.
The gift meant more to the patriarch than most things in this world. It wasn’t merely an item or an accessory. He could just have all the material things that he wanted.
But even as a transcendental assimilator, he could never get back one thing: time, the passed one, in this case.
And his gift to his father was a piece of his past that he had almost forgotten, something simple, yet, something that meant more to the current him than a hundred thousand dragon golds.
"Thank you, Prism." It was a one of a kind response. "I love this."
All the children and all the ladies of the house knew they might not hear those words from him again anytime soon.
And that also meant he had raised the bar to unforeseen heights, that shameless boy.
"As for my dear sister..."
He took out what seemed like a piece of parchment from his storage ring, and handed it to the little girl.
"Hmm?" Alex was confused so she opened up the old parchment but it was empty.
There was nothing inside of it.
The blank parchment contained a strange lingering energy but no one in this room understood what exactly it was.
And while they were busy figuring it out...
"Chirp!"
They heard a familiar voice and the white bird that had been running around the house all this time appeared on the open window frame once again.
"Chirp...!"
This time, however, he did not wait for the winds.
-Ooooooooooooooong!
He activated the bond mark in Sam’s body and produced a strange explosion of light that blinded everyone present in that moment.
"Awwwww!"
Out of the blue, it then seemed like Nyx had flown and attacked someone... someone whose voice didn’t belong in this room.
"What?"
"Who...?!"
Including the Sungrade patriarch, the others prepared attacks and defences for the others around them, some even conjuring devastating spells to obliterate the intruder on the spot.
"Hey, no! Wait wait wait!"
However, when their vision returned to normal, what was present before them... the face of an all too familiar person, made them stop their attacks and deadly spells in an instant.