Ch. 212 birthday preparation

We walked through the forest, nodding to the guards as we passed.

As we made our way along, Luna excitedly told me about her new Primordial Ice, its effects, and the improvements she had gained. She had also developed resistance to many things, and now neither Ice nor Fire could affect her at all.

I listened to everything she had to say.

As we approached the city, she finally finished explaining all her new abilities.

"Hmm, that’s an amazing physique, but it seems you can’t use its full power yet, huh?"

She nodded, her eyes shining.

"That’s the most exciting part! Unlocking its full potential little by little."

"If it were a physique that only gave me ordinary enhancements, it would be boring."

I smiled as I looked at her and asked,

"So, where should we go next? We’ve already seen snow, stargazed, and climbed mountains."

"Now we’ve even defeated a dungeon..."

Her eyes widened.

"Hey! Where’s my dungeon reward?"

"After all that, I completely forgot about it."

I laughed as I looked at her.

"Here, this is your dungeon reward."

I took out the treasure chest and placed it in her hands.

Her face broke into a wide smile, practically lighting up the entire area.

Then she placed the treasure chest on the ground and looked at its lock.

I tried to help her unlock it, but she didn’t even bother registering the dungeon lock.

She simply touched it with her hand, and it fell to the ground, shattering into tiny ice particles.

I just watched as she broke the lock simply by touching it, without even trying.

Then she opened the treasure chest and looked at the items inside.

There were two C-Rank spellbooks, a dagger, and a few healing potions.

Luna looked at them as if she’d found a new toy.

The two spells were related to Fire and Lightning, so we had no use for them. Even if we did, we would never use those garbage skills.

It wasn’t their rank that was the problem. We simply didn’t like the feeling they gave us.

Getting used to using a power without fully understanding it wasn’t suitable for us.

Then Luna tried to put everything away, but nothing happened.

She tilted her head adorably in confusion.

Only then did I remember that I still had her Space Ring, so I immediately took it out.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot to return this to you."

She looked at the ring and remembered that I had taken it earlier to search for materials for her awakening.

So she smiled and nodded.

"Hmm, it’s okay."

She was grateful for my help at the time, but she remembered our own rule: no thanking each other.

So she accepted it with a smile.

Then I asked the question that had been interrupted earlier.

"Where are we going next?"

Luna placed a finger on her chin and thought deeply for a moment before coming up with an idea.

"I got it!"

I looked at her.

"What is it?"

She spoke energetically.

"Let’s go to the church and meet Cecilia."

"We can’t go and meet Elara, but at least we can visit Cecilia. She must still be working hard."

I looked at her and nodded.

"Hmm, that seems fun, but I have a tiny problem."

Luna looked at me curiously and asked,

"What is it?"

I said to her,

"Where exactly is the church located? I didn’t see it on the map you gave me. And there’s another tiny problem as well."

Her eyes twitched.

"How many tiny problems do you have? As for the church, it’s located in my family’s territory, so I know how to get there."

I sighed and told her about my second tiny problem.

"My second problem is that I don’t worship or respect the gods. I only believe in my family and my own strength."

She smiled at that, but before she could say anything, I continued.

"But I don’t have any problem with them. I respect their beliefs, but I don’t follow them."

Luna nodded.

"Hmm, that’s good enough. You don’t need to be a devoted follower. Even my mom doesn’t care about those things. She just lets it be because people believe in them."

I nodded and asked,

"So, what about you? Do you believe in gods?"

Luna blinked and shook her head.

"Oh, me? No. I’m just like you. I believe in my own strength. As for those things, I respect them, but that’s it."

I nodded and let out a sigh of relief. At least I wasn’t alone in this belief.

Then I asked,

"So, how much time will it take us to reach the church?"

Luna thought for a moment before saying,

"I really don’t know. It depends on the journey."

I nodded at that.

"Let’s make sure to report that we’ve cleared the dungeon and get moving."

While we were travelling, I asked about the month and found out that Luna’s birthday was getting closer. So I started brainstorming what I could do for her birthday.

Huh, what can I even do?

I thought about it the whole way as we walked together, looking for a carriage.

Luna looked at me and noticed that I was deep in thought. She wondered what I was thinking about.

So she directly asked,

"What are you thinking about so intensely?"

I simply shrugged and said,

"Something important, but I can’t tell you."

She pouted.

"Why is that?"

I simply smirked and said,

"Just because."

She glared at me as we finally found a carriage to the location Luna had given me.

On the way, I thought that I could figure something out once we got there.

There’s still a whole month.

Luna didn’t give up. She asked a few more times, but I distracted her with some orange juice.

However, she still kept an eye on me, as if saying, This isn’t over. I’ll be watching you.

I just chuckled as she struggled to choose between figuring out what I was thinking about and drinking the orange juice.

Ultimately, orange juice won, and she let it go for the moment.

We continued travelling like this until we reached the church’s location.

It was a long journey, as we had to travel quite a distance.

Luna asked a few more times and saw that I wasn’t budging an inch.

"You just wait..."

I smiled at that.

Then we finally arrived at our destination, a city.

This wasn’t the exact location of the church, but it was considered one of the main cities where the church was located, so there wasn’t much distance between them.

I saw many shops and other interesting things throughout the city, and I got an idea of what I could do for Luna’s birthday.

What should I do...?

There wasn’t much I could do for her in this city, so I decided to make preparations for a cake.

I could make one myself, but it would get boring if I kept doing the same thing.

We settled into a hotel, and I sneakily walked out to make sure I ordered the best cake possible for her.

Then I went to browse through the city and found an auction house. My eyes lit up.

I went inside and checked the auction schedule.

The next auction was tomorrow, so I went to the registration center and registered to attend.

But I felt bad about going without Luna, so I backed out. I could go with her and experience it together for the first time.

Then I went to a jewellery shop.

As soon as I went inside, I removed my cloak and approached the counter.

A saleslady came up to me and asked,

"Oh, what an adorable little customer! What can I do for you?"

She had kind eyes, so I smiled at her and asked,

"Do you have any gemstones? They need to be icy blue or bright blue."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, are you buying a gift for your mother?"

I shook my head and said,

"It’s a birthday gift."

She smiled, nodded, and asked,

"So, what’s your budget?"

I thought for a moment before saying,

"Unlimited. Anything you can offer, I can pay for."

Her eyes widened as I showed her the Starlight emblem.

From then on, there was no doubt in her mind, and she brought out the rarest and most expensive pieces.

I didn’t care whether they were expensive or cheap. I only cared about their appearance and quality.

Then one gemstone caught my attention. It had a beautiful elegance to it.

I pointed at it.

She gave me a hesitant smile and said,

"Ahh, about that..."

At first, she had treated me as an adorable little customer, but after seeing my family emblem, she became extremely careful with her words.

Nevertheless, she continued.

"It’s already been reserved by someone, sir."

I looked at her hesitation, finding it amusing.

What? Did she really think I would make a scene over it?

If I had to compete, I would. But it was already reserved, so it wouldn’t be right to take it.

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