Chapter 1.11:

Is it too much? I think it’s a little much…

I fidgeted as I looked over our kitchen. It had been scrubbed and cleaned immaculately, and the colorful streamers decorated the walls and ceilings. In the middle of the dining table was the cake I made and the food Paul had cooked.

I reached out to adjust the overhanging drape but Paul quickly swatted my hand away.

“Ow.” I protested.

“Bro, it’s already fine. Stop obsessing.” Paul chastised as he put down another dish on the table.

The smell of all the delectable dishes made my mouth water. I glanced at Paul who was setting the table. I took out my watch.

Almost seven. They should be getting up soon.

Sure enough, I heard footsteps going down the stairs.

I looked expectantly at the hallway, and Abram soon came to view.

“My, my. You two lads sure have been busy.” Abram marveled as his eyes surveyed the room. “Lady Mina’s birthday isn’t for a few days though?”

I chuckled nervously. “We know dad. But her commencement is happening around the same time. I don’t think we’ll get a chance to see her then, so we decided to have a small celebration now while she’s still here.”

Abram's face softened and he gave us a warm smile. “How thoughtful. Luckily, I also prepared my gift in advance.” Abram then disappeared as he went into the shop.

A few moments later, he emerged with a small box in his hand. He came over and showed us the contents. Inside the box was a small necklace with a moon-shaped trinket at the center.

“It’s beautiful, dad.” I complimented.

“Aye, cost a pretty penny to commission and import from the East Continent. It’s been enchanted with Danger Sense. It will grow ice cold when Lady Mina’s being targeted.” Abram remarked.

“Oooohh! I’ve never seen a Danger Sense enchantment before. Can I take a peek at it, pa?” Paul said excitedly as he reached out for the necklace.

Abram then closed the box shut and shook his head. “No can do, son. Danger Sense enchantments will apply only to the first person to touch the enchanted item. If you touch it, it won’t work for Lady Mina.”

“That’s a really interesting effect. Can I just appraise it then?” Paul insisted.

“Aye. Should be alright.” Abram replied.

Paul cast Appraisal immediately. “This will be a great research topic for me later on.” He muttered to himself as he took out a small notepad and made some notations.

Abram put the box away and went over to the stove. “Aye, you even washed everything already?”

“Yup! Now we just have to wait for Lady Mina and Lady Vanya to come down.” I replied.

“No need to wait.” A voice said behind me. I turned around to see Lady Mina in the hallway, all dressed up and grinning ear to ear. Behind her was Lady Vanya who looked very stoic.

“This is amazing!” Lady Mina remarked as she entered the room. She gently touched my shoulder as she passed me, offering me a warm smile. “Thank you so much for this.” She whispered.

I could feel my ears redden and my heart thumped wildly in my chest.

I managed a weak nod and looked down. I raised my head slightly as Lady Vanya passed me and I could see that she had a bemused expression. I felt my ears grow even hotter.

I took a deep breath and tried to regain my composure. After a few seconds, I turned around to see that everyone had already taken a seat around the table.

What’s happening here?

Paul wiggled his eyebrows at me mischievously. It looked like he asked Lady Vanya to take a seat beside him so the only available seat left was beside Lady Mina.

I tried to paint a casual smile as I took my seat.

Abram then cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Ahem. Well, Lady Mina. As you can see, the boys wanted to throw you an early birthday celebration. I do hope everything is to your liking. Paul prepared the food himself and Adi baked you that cake.”

“Our gift to you, my lady.” Paul added.

Lady Mina nodded enthusiastically. “Everything looks delicious. I didn’t think you’d be able to top the feast last night, but this exceeds it without a doubt.”

Abram turned to Paul and me and gave us a nod of approval.

“Now then, let’s have a toast.” Paul declared as he raised his cup of juice. “Happy birthday, Lady Mina! May you have more birthdays to come!”

“Cheers!” We all replied in unison with our cups raised.

The breakfast was spent with a lot of laughter but few words as we all ate with gusto.

Afterwards, I cut the cake for dessert.

Lady Mina dug straight into the cake. She seemed extremely pleased as she savored each bite with her eyes closed. It made me really happy to see that she liked what I made. She even licked the cream on her fingers as she held out her plate to me for another slice. I happily obliged.

“If we stay here much longer, I will need to have a tailor let out my clothes.” Lady Mina remarked as she pat her stomach contentedly. The feast on the table was all but gone.

Abram chuckled as he cleared the dishes. “Well, no celebration is complete without some gifts.”

Lady Mina opened her eyes in surprise. “You mean the thing my father asked Adi to make?” She turned to me excitedly. “Is it done?”

“Haha, to be honest, my lady, your father didn’t exactly commission us to make something for you. His gift is from somewhere else and it should be delivered to the manor in a few days.” Abram explained.

Lady Mina looked confused. “But Adi, you said you were making me a sword.” She looked dejected.

“I did.” I said reassuringly. “I had planned to make you something special for your birthday and when I told Lord Chase my plan, he supplied me with the material I needed so in a way this gift is partially from your father.” I said, a little embarrassed. “It took me a while to get it done but I finally succeeded this morning.”

I stood up and pulled out the decorated blue box from the nearby cabinet. I held it out to her. “Happy birthday… Mina.”

Lady Mina untied the ribbon. She carefully lifted the box and peeked inside. Her eyes widened as she took out the sheathed sword.

“This…” Lady Mina whispered. She traced her name that was embroidered in gold on the scabbard. She stood up and drew the sword. It started to emit a soft red glow upon her touch. She held it upright for a few seconds and tried a few swings. “This is amazing!”

I grinned at her. Lady Vanya was clapping quietly on the side. She also looked impressed.

“It’s the first time I’m seeing it too.” Abram remarked from the side. “Lady Mina, may I appraise it?”

Lady Mina nodded as she held out the sword towards Abram.

“Hmm…” Abram muttered as he cast Appraisal. “This… this is really good! You made this yourself, son?”

I nodded at him and he beamed back with pride.

“You don’t see that many Grade S magic swords with a 100% mana capacity. You even enchanted it. Well done, son.” Abram commented.

Lady Mina put down the sword and gave me a hug.

All of us were stunned.

“I can’t thank you enough, Adi…” She whispered to me. The softness of her body and the fragrance from her hair made my mind go blank.

I didn’t even realize that I was holding up my hands like a statue.

Lady Mina stepped back and she was still grinning ear to ear. She then looked at my frozen state and started laughing. “What are you doing with your hands?” She said in between giggles.

“I-I was surprised.” I sputtered.

Everyone else snapped out from their daze and started laughing too.

I scratched the back of my head as I joined in.

“You know, the ore for the sword came from your father, but Adi enchanted it himself from a rare material from the West Continent. He worked several jobs to afford commissioning the enchanted scabbard.” Paul interjected.

I shot him a look. “Stop… you’re embarrassing me.”

Paul stood up and then pulled the bouquet from the cooler box. “He also got you this.”

Lady Mina took the bouquet and then smelled the flowers. “Lilies! These are my favorite. This arrangement is gorgeous! You’re so sweet, Adi.” Lady Mina smiled at me.

“It was nothing.” I tried to say dismissively. I didn’t know where to look. That’s when I caught Abram’s expression. He seemed sad.

What’s wrong?

Abram locked eyes with me and he immediately smiled. “Ahem. Now I think it’s time for my gift.” He took out the box he showed us earlier and handed it to Lady Mina. “It’s an enchanted necklace I ordered from the East. You have to be the one to take it out, my lady.”

Lady Mina put down the bouquet and opened up the box. “Oh… it’s stunning! What’s the enchantment?” She asked as she took it in her hand and immediately put it on.

“It’s a silver necklace coated in white jade for the Danger Sense enchantment.” Abram replied proudly.

Lady Mina turned to him in shock. “Really?” She then turned to Lady Vanya. “Danger Sense like Lolley’s earrings!”

Lady Vanya seemed equally excited. “That will be very useful for our sortie, my lady!”

Lady Mina nodded enthusiastically. “This must have cost you a lot, Abram. Thank you.”

Abram gave her a small bow. “Think nothing of it. I have always considered you something of a daughter too. It would ease my mind to know you’d have some forewarning of any trouble you may meet as a Hero.”

Lady Mina went over to Abram and gave him a hug. “Thank you…” Her voice cracked and she sounded like she was sobbing.

Abram cleared his throat again and gently pat her head. “You are always welcome, my lady.”

Paul and Lady Vanya seemed to have also gotten emotional at the scene. We all looked away.

Lady Mina then turned to face us. She gave us a deep bow. “Thank you, truly. This… this is the best birthday I have ever had.”