“Oh! Is this what I think it is~?”

Eve had a special grandpa that she had only met a few times in all these years.

Someone who was very busy and lived in the capital most of the time.

“That most certainly looks like an appraisal glass. How about you try using it though.”

He was out for work most of the time, sometimes for years, and these past few years, he was not able to come back home to Ben though he was here until he passed on his position as the lord to her dad.

He was amazing apparently, famous all throughout the land as one of the most trusted knights of the Queen.

However, since he was such an important figure, he could not give as much time as he wanted to his family.

In all the ten years of Eve’s life in this city, she had only met him occasionally, but she knew he was someone amazing.

And, though he could not come home permanently for now until he retires from his duties after five more years of service, he makes sure his gift reaches his beloved granddaughter.

“Oh! Yes, this is an Appraisal item~.”

A golden monocle with blue jewels embedded on its periphery, attached to a simple looking silver chain.

A device that was only found in dungeons of past civilizations and runes of ancient times.

Though simple looking, these things were something invaluable to anyone who knew its value.

“Hehe, this is amazing~.”

It was a special gift to his beloved that Alex knew he cherished deeply, and from the smile she had, it seemed like she certainly liked it as well.

“Alright then~. Is it time, Miss Alex?”

She revived a unique dress with self defense functions from the Blood-iron duke or the sword grandpa as he called him.

From Elio personally, she received a recording crystal that had pictures of all kinds of creatures and brings.

It contained videos that others had not seen yet, there were a bunch of pretty pictures, and most of all, it had a lot more space where she can record and store her own things.

It was a costly item, as rare as the monocle that she had received from her grandfather, and Elio wasn’t sure if Alex would have it or not, but she did have it.

And, since that item was the only thing with which players can share their screenshots, it was the perfect personal gift for her.

“Alright alright. Here, you can open it now.”

Elio’s gift was also invaluable for her. Plus there were so many pictures in this crystal that she knew she would need an entire day just to go through those things.

It was different from all the other gifts she had received from those Greedy people.

It was genuinely something that someone wanted her to have.

And, she loved it.

“Yes! Mommy, help me. Help me open it.”

His gift reflected their adventures and the fun His Friends have had until now, and in a way, he wanted her to know there were other ways she could be happy.

Making food, going around new places, playing with the creatures you find on your journey, making friends that like you for who you are, she could do a lot of things even if she was like this.

There was no need for her to be lonely when she had so many more things she could do instead of focusing on her elementalism.

But, she had not yet understood the entirety of that message…

“Where did you even find a temporary pocket dimension?”

“Trade secrets, Lord Andrew. Trade secrets.”

Alex had requested Eve to open Their gift at the end and now that all the other gifts were opened, only the unique glass cube was left on the big table.

Her dad had already told them how these special cubes were called (Temporary pocket dimensions) and were used only by the best merchants for living organisms.

They were pretty rare and costly, but the fact that they were seeing one here, simply meant someone had that kind of resources and connections to obtain something like this.

And, since this wasn’t a TPD for items but for ‘living organisms’ it was obvious that someone was inside of it.

“What could it be~? What could it be~?”

“Calm down, Eve. I’m opening it now, okay?”

Alex and Elio did not know if she had ever received a creature as a birthday present, but seeing her reaction right now, it did not seem to be the case.

Plus, Eve was extremely excited right now.

“Yes~! Let’s goooo~.”

Ornaments, items, books, clothes, jewelry, things… all those things had become pretty common for her.

But a creature, a pet, a friend, a partner, someone that would be with her just like how Elio was with Alex, how Miss Rin was with Misha, how Az was with Miu, or how Sir Odin was with his familiar~.

-Ooooooooooooooong.

She would get a friend that was Hers, and not someone else’s… perhaps not someone like Kivi, but definitely someone she could finally be with, play with, and talk with like she does with the Voice.

So, she was excited right now.

This might just be the best gift that she might have ever received~.

-Click.

And, when her mom opened the box with a little bit of Mana, Eve’s excitement reached its peak, with her heart beating so fast that she believed it would jump right out of her chest.

“Ready?”

“Huuuuuu. Yes.”

But, she calmed herself down with deep breath as everyone present in the garden focused on the pretty blue light that illuminated the entire area around them.

“Pi-kyu?”

As the box vanished along with the light, with a low sound of something unique, a being materialized on top of the table.

“Wow…”

And the first one that came out of Eve when she saw this creature, was the gasp of admiration.

“Oh, my lord.”

“Is that…” Find exclusive stories on empire

“No way…”

“Haven’t they gone extinct?! What is this?!”

“How is that thing here?!”

“Oh! Oh! To think I’ve lived long enough to see a [Blue Mystic Fox] with my own eyes!”

A cute, white, furry creature with large, blue eyes and glowing crystalline ears, that had magical energy swirling around its body… it was a being of myths.

But, it was a baby.

A creature just a little bigger than Az, with a foxian white tail glowing in a serene blue energy, its eyes looking around the entire garden, a unique curiosity resting in them.

“Hello there.”

Eve slowly walked up to this amazing creature, feeling the clear presence of the spirits around it.

She could tell it was special, she could tell this being, this creature was exactly what she needed to not only do what she had not been able to because of her physique, but also the friend, and the freedom that she had been searching for.

With this mystical creature, she believed she would finally find the Joy that was lost from her life.

With this creature…

“You’re so pretty…”

She thought all her problems would go away.

“Pi-kyu.”

Sadly, all beings in this world had the inherent right to Choose what they wanted to do in their lives.

Even the ones who had been trained by the best tamers of the industry.

“Hmm?”

Sadly, the amazing creature which was gifted to her… did not choose her to be her friend.

“Pi-Kyu~.”

It chose her father. The lord of Cromwell.

-Oooooooong!

And that too as not a friend…

“Oh… no.”

But a lifelong partner that she’d spend the next nine of her lives with.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep