CH 241

Chapter 241 : Birthday Presents

「Celineー We’re hereー」(Mark)

「You may come in~」(Celine)

As soon as I opened the door and entered Celine’s house with Nicolaー

「「Mark, Nicola, happy birthday!!」」

Celine, Ester, and Eclain-san greeted us with smiles and applauded.

「Ah, you knew that today was our birthday.」(Mark)

I talked to Celine as I closed the door.

「Of course~ Did you forget that I celebrated your birthday with your parents last year?」(Celine)

「I remember it but I never thought you would celebrate it today. Thank you, Celine.」(Mark)

「Thank you! I’m so happy!」(Nicola)

Nicola jumped and hugged Celine’s waist, but she didn’t make a perverted face like usual.

She smiled brightly this time probably because she was genuinely happy.

Celine stroked Nicola’s head and lowered her eyebrows. She then looked at me with an apologetic face for some reason.

「You’re welcome. You two are staying in this village for me, so I thought at least I had to celebrate your birthday on behalf of Leona-san and the others.」(Celine)

Mom trusted Celine to be our guardian during this trip, and I think she has done a wonderful job as our guardian.

However, she still blamed herself for bringing us to this village even though she did that to save us from the collapsing mine.

「Celine, please don’t make that face. Today is a happy day, right?」(Mark)

「Fufu. You’re such a mature kid. Come. Let’s enjoy the party~!」(Celine)

Nicola and I nodded and followed Celine, who guided us to the table, and sat on the chairs.

There are already many dishes lined up on the table.

Most of the tableware used belonged to Ester’s parents, so the food must have been brought from her house.

「Mark, Nicola-chan, I have presents for you. First, this is for Mark.」(Celine)

Saying that, Celine brought a bucket-sized beaker glass from the corner of the room.

「I asked Tori jii-san to make it for me. I hope it can be useful for your potion-making~」(Celine)

I held the beaker glass with both hands when she handed it to me.

It’s a little heavy but it looks very sturdy for something that is made of glass.

With this size, I can make a lot more potions at once. It also has a handle that can greatly improve work efficiency.

「Thank you, Celine!」(Mark)

「You’re welcome~ Actually, I wanted to give you a magic wand. In the northern region, there’s a custom where a master gives a magic wand to their disciple. However, you already can use magic without a wand, so I decided to give you something else.」(Celine)

Magic wands can amplify your magic ability. Young magicians or novices who just started learning magic normally use them.

Professional magicians sometimes use them to boost the output of their spells.

By the way, Celine sometimes uses a magic wand too when she uses her Fire Arrows.

However, magic wands are not necessary for people who can easily release powerful spells like me.

「I see. I like this beaker glass a lot. I will use it with care.」(Mark)

「Fufu. I’m glad you like it.」(Celine)

Celine smiled and stroked my head. She then turned to Nicola.

「And this is for Nicola-chan~」(Celine)

Celine took out a black dress from a fancy-looking box and spread it in front of Nicola.

「Whoaa~! It’s so pretty!」(Nicola)

「This dress is made by the same tailor who made my black dresses. Do you like it?」(Celine)

「Un, I like it! Thank you, Celine onee-chan!」(Nicola)

As soon as she received the black dress, Nicola pressed it against her body and started spinning around.

The contrast between Nicola’s blonde hair and the black color of the dress is so vivid but they match each other perfectly.

Thanks to her pretty face, she looks great no matter what she wears.

「My presents for you guys are these dishes which I made together with my parents!」(Ester)

「Thank you, Ester. They look delicious!」(Mark)

「Thank you Ester-chan!」(Nicola)

「But…」(Ester)

For some reason, Ester smiled bitterly as she looked at Nicola’s black dress and my beaker glass.

「Honestly, I wanted to give you proper presents too, but I didn’t have much time to prepare anything…」(Ester)

「No, it’s okay. Really.」(Mark)

「But, still… Ah! How about this! I will do anything you say once! So, Mark, Nicola, if you have something you want me to do, please say it!」(Ester)

『S, She will do anything we say!? Uhyuuu~!!』(Nicola)

『Oi, don’t ask her to do anything stupid, okay?』(Mark)

Nicola sounded so excited. She turned to Ester and smiled brightly at her.

「Ester-chan, there’s something I wanna do with you!」(Nicola)

「Oh? What is it?」(Ester)

Ester smiled at Nicola and leaned forward a bit so that her eyes were at the same high as Nicola’s.

「I want… to take a bath together with you! …Can I~?」(Nicola)

「Eh? That’s…」(Ester)

Ester, who just made an ‘onee-san’s smile’ a second ago, changed her expression. She looked regretful somehow.

She started thinking while twisting the tip of her hair with her index finger for a while.

She then sighed heavily and looked at Nicola again.

「A, Alright… But only for once, okay?」(Ester)

「Un! Thank you, Ester-chan!!」(Nicola)

『YEEEEEESSSSS!! YES! YES! YES! YEEESSS!!』(Nicola)

Hahh… I knew she would ask that…

「Mark, it’s your turn. Do you have something you want me to do?」(Ester)

Honestly, I have nothing in mind…

But… I guess I can ask her to play together.

「Actually, I’m planning to train my body with the bouldering wall next time. I’d be happy if you could accompany me.」(Mark)

「Eh? That’s it? No, no. It’s not enough for a birthday present. Ask me something else.」(Ester)

「Uhh, but I don’t have anything particular in mind…」(Mark)

「Mark, Ester, you can talk about it later. The food will get cold if we don’t start eating. And Mom, until when do you want to sleep? Wake up already!」(Celine)

Celine suddenly interrupted our conversation.

She then looked at Eclain-san, who fell asleep, lying her head down on the table before we realized it, and tried to wake her up.

「Aa-ah… It seems she’s still drunk from the alcohol she drank at the festival. Anyway, shall we eat now?」(Celine)

「Let’s eat~!」(Ester)

「I agree!」(Nicola)

「Yeah, let’s eat.」(Mark)

Leaving Eclain-san who was asleep behind, Nicola, Ester, Celine, and I started eating without her.