Solstice Birthday (Part 2)

It was soon time for the birthday dinner. You may imagine that a wealthy family like the Seekers would have a large shindig with everyone who was anyone attending. That was not the case. The Seekers were all recluses without exception. Even Vivian, the most normal of the bunch, only went to work and then returned straight home. Any interaction with workers or customers was purely business. Not one of the Seekers would know the first thing about planning a large party. Even if they did, none of them would enjoy the resulting event. So the birthday dinner was a family affair, with only the family, guards, and servants in attendance. As a gesture of appreciation, the staff who served the family were given the day off and invited to join the festivities. Temporary staff was brought in from town and carefully vetted before the event.

Phineas and Nikol finally tore themselves away from their experiments to join us for dinner. They were dressed in their finest dinner wear, the normal lilac color, it wasn't their birthday. A feast was laden on the table. This was the kind of feast both my past life and current life could get behind, plates piled with meat and starchy dishes were everywhere. After a few bites, I noticed the temporary cook wasn't quite as good as our normal cook, but he was passable. I ate until I was bloated again, but this time I maintained my manners so a repeat incident of the morning didn't occur. My face was still spotless. I glanced over at my fox companion, I couldn't say the same for Rosie. I might need to teach her manners in addition to combat.

After dinner, it was finally time to open presents. On the inside I was dancing about like a giddy girl, on the outside I maintained a stoic appearance. The first present given was by my father. As expected it was a flask with some sort of concoction inside. I looked to him for an explanation. It was a flask of restoration fluid. It worked similarly to the restoration pill, except this was an entire flask of it. Apparently, he had seen me return the day after I killed the demonic fox. It pained him to see me injured. He knew I would get injured again in the future, it was inevitable for a cultivator. So he mixed up this restoration fluid that I could take a sip of whenever I was injured. If the wound was grievous I could take a larger gulp. He implored me to come to him for a top-off whenever I needed it. I didn't know he had seen me that day. I didn't know he was concerned. This was the problem with a family full of introverts. Nobody communicated. Instead of talking to me about his concerns like a normal parent, Phineas buried himself in the complex problem of turning a pill into a fluid. The First present and I was already nearly crying. I was touched by the thought and care put into this gift. I hugged my father tightly, nearly forgetting my strength. I also resolved to visit Phineas in his tower from day to day, he needed it.

My next gift was from my mother. It was in a small box. Inside the box, sat a ring. The ring wasn't like any ring I had seen before. Copper coils wrapped around the band. It reminded me of an electromagnet. The socket of the ring was empty. Instead, the copper coils terminated into tiny devices on each side of the socket. and there was an electrical arc dancing between them. The whole ring looked very dangerous. Was I meant to wear this? Again, I looked to the gifter for an explanation.

"It's a storage ring." My mom said simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"A WHAT?!" My eyes nearly bulged out of my eye sockets.

A storage ring required a high-level cultivator with an understanding of the space Dao to craft. Sure they were as common as a turd amongst cultivators. But my mom was a mortal, and she had clearly crafted it. I had planned to obtain one later either from the sect, an auction, or through our family connections. I never imagined my mom would craft one for me.

"A storage ring," Nikol repeated undeterred.

I put the ring on, expecting it to zap me, but it didn't. Every living being possessed qi. And since I had some training in manipulating it. I could put my qi in the storage ring to operate it. When I did so the electrical arc split, and a black void appeared between the two electrical streams. I focused my mind on the ring and could see into the space. It was indeed a storage ring. This ring wasn't large, but it wasn't the smallest I had heard of either. Inside was a ten-foot-wide by ten-foot-long by ten-foot-tall space or one thousand cubic feet. I ran over and hugged my mom tightly too. I didn't know if Nikol wanted or needed more human interaction, but she was going to get more visits in her shed from me too. Maybe this was like a New Year's resolution and I would fail to follow through, but I was going to try at least.

I looked at my crazy parents. These two had both done what was said to be impossible. My father had created an alchemical solution that supposedly only immortal alchemists could create, while my mother had created an artifact that supposedly only immortal smiths could fashion. Through their peculiar bloodline abilities, they had broken through the invisible wall separating cultivators from mortals.

Vivian received a combo gift from our parents. Phineas had produced a solution that improved focus, while Nikol had created a machine that automated the task of producing that same solution and heated it. It was a coffee machine. My parents had produced Eternia's first coffee machine.

Now it was time for Vivian and I to exchange gifts. We each handed each other a box, oddly the boxes were similar in shape and size. The box Vivian handed me was much heavier though. I eagerly tore open the wrapping and pulled out a beautiful sheathed shortsword. Just the sheathe was already a work of art, depicting many battles and victories in monochrome purple. The sword itself I could already tell was different from the normal swords I used. It was an artifact. The swords I had used previously were all just sharp pieces of metal, there was nothing special about them. This sword was crafted by an immortal. It had been crafted with special metals and imbued with qi. I didn't know how she had obtained it or what price she paid, but this was the perfect gift for me. I didn't have a sword that matched my strength. Whether it was durability or sharpness, even the best sword crafted by mortals paled in comparison to this one. Plus I could channel qi through this sword as if it was an extension of my body, unlike regular swords.

ALTALUNE SHORTSWORD (MORTAL - LEGENDARY GRADE) ATK +16

Vivian said that the seller had told her it was crafted from a chunk of meteorite that was thought to have fallen from the moon Altalune. I gave my third hug of the day, not counting all the hugs I constantly gave to Rosie, towards my sister.

"Thank you, Vivi, your gift is perfect!" I said happily.

Vivian opened her box which contained the split-leg dress I had gotten her. After I told her everything about it, she was ecstatic. Then I broke her mind, "It has pockets!" I stuffed my arm nearly up to my shoulder in one of the deep pockets concealed in the frills. She squealed happily. I then told her, I had the tailor stitch together many more of the dresses in a variety of colors for her and they were already in her wardrobe. It was my turn to be on the receiving end of a pounce-like hug.

We chatted happily for the rest of the evening and re-opened a few table games to play as a family. This time Nikol and Phineas joined in. Fred got into even more favor debt. It was a wonderful solstice birthday.

We gave gift bags to each of our staff members before they departed. This was not just a birthday party, but also the solstice, a time traditionally celebrated with family and gift-giving. As a gesture of appreciation for their hard work throughout the year, we gave them a bag containing a ham from a famous local butcher - the most delicious in the region, and worth a year's worth of even the generous salary we gave our staff. We also included the best pastries and candies in town so that they could celebrate the solstice with their own families and enjoy a dinner fit for a king. Additionally, we provided a pouch of coins equal to three months' salary as their solstice bonus. This gift package, along with the already generous salaries, made the Seeker family the preferred employer in town.

The contents of the gift bags varied, but they were always generous, making it worth working for the Seekers despite their quirks. Even when Zoey Seeker fired servants every other week, it was still worth working for them. Though the news that I had stopped my mad firing sprees hadn't quite reached the town yet, the current servants didn't want anyone competing for their cushy jobs now that I wasn't quite so demanding, so they kept the rumors going and even embellished them. As a result, I was practically seen as evil incarnate in the eyes of most townsfolk. Despite this, applicants appeared every day, even though there were no openings.

The staff left happily after receiving the gift bags, and most went back to their quarters in the villa, with a few still living in town. For the rest of the night, we would be served by the temps.