"Right! Isn't it your birthday today?"
"Yes..." Seraphina nodded shyly.
"Did you think I would have forgotten the most important day of the year?" Coralie said, cupping the little girl's cheek in her hand and turning Seraphina's head to lock face to face. "Do you have so little faith in me? I'm hurt, you know."
"It's not that..." mumbled the silver-haired girl, her face heating up from where Coralie's hand rested.
She had expected her sister to remember her birthday but, who would dare to openly say they wanted attention from someone they liked? Certainly not Seraphina, it would be too embarrassing for her!
Seraphina buried her reddened face inside her sister's clothes, from so close she could smell her sister's scent.
At the first whiff, her sister smelled faintly of alcohol and ink from her job as a receptionist. However, beneath that layer, Coralie carried a fragrance only she would ever recognise—the 14 colored Rhododendron perfume.
There was a good enough reason for that, the 14 colored Rhododendron perfume was a creation made by her specifically for her sister.
Its main ingredients were the 14 different and magically enhanced poisonous rhododendron flower extracts and lots of love.
Seraphina had put a lot of effort into this concoction, the 14 colors would very often mix into a blackish mud and have to be remade.
After numerous trials and errors, she had come up with a beautiful rainbow liquid. It had a deep flavor and a floral and sweet scent—a bit like lavender, vanilla and honey.
Of course the poison was neutralized beforehand! She would have never given it if it posed any dangers to Coralie.
Thankfully her efforts were not in vain, for the perfume and her sister were a perfect match.
Seraphina could not help herself but breathe in her sister's scent a couple more times. Knowing her sister used her gift brought her a great deal of satisfaction.
"Let's go somewhere more private." Coralie murmured to Seraphina as she gently caressed her head.
"Okay." Seraphina said, letting herself be carried away.
...
"There shouldn't be anyone in the back doors except for staff." Coralie enthusiastically told her, releasing the silver-haired girl from her cradle.
Seraphina got down and glanced around, the back door of the Adventurer's Hall was not very special and she had already been there quite a few times. It mostly consisted of storage rooms and rows of shelves tightly packed with files and records on adventurers, quests, commissioners and the likes.
Having not much to stare at, she looked back at Coralie, her sister pulled a small red box out of a drawer.
Noticing her gaze, Coralie leaned in and presented her the box.
"Surprise! Happy birthday Sera!" Coralie exclaimed, handing her the red box.
"You didn't need to gift me anything sister..." she said as she took the box from Coralie's hands. "You remembering already makes me the happiest."
Seraphina closed her eyes in bliss and flashed her sister with her sweetest and most dazzling smile.
"But still, thank you..." she said, her voice cracking under the weight of emotions.
Getting up on her toes, Seraphina planted a little kiss on Coralie's cheek .
"Now, now. " the receptionist said as she gently pushed Seraphina's head away. "Quit acting like a baby and open your gift."
"Hm" Seraphina nodded eagerly and opened her sister's gift.
Inside the box laid a necklace—one made out of shiny red gemstones. She recognised them to be the so-called 'Power stones' a material said to be favored by the Divines for both its beauty and durability.
The 'Power stones' shone brilliantly, refracting light not like a ruby but more like a red diamond.
No—even comparing it to the purest diamond would be a sacrilege, its luster went far beyond what they could ever hope to match.
The 'Power stones' were also durable beyond belief, so much so that it was considered one of the most useless things ever, as it could not possibly be carved or shaped into any form besides its natural one.
Undoubtedly, the Power stones were priceless gems but not in the same sense someone might think. They were priceless not because they were expensive, but because it was impossible to buy or sell them.
They had been marked as holy relics by the most powerful institution in the empire, the Church.
Any and all Power stones belonged to the Church, and upon the discovery of a new Power stone, they were required to be sent to the Grand Cathedral right away.
So, selling or buying the Church's property would be preposterous, and a great offense towards this most powerful institution.
There was a common saying in the lawless underworld :
[The Church has eyes everywhere. ]
No matter how well you thought you could hide, the Church would always find out and give the punishment they reserved for the heretics.
However, this saying also had another underlying meaning. If the Church was aware of everything and no action had been taken, then it meant they approved it!
"Sister, where did you get this? You should know tha—"
"Don't worry about it, I have my ways. So, do you like your gift?" Coralie cut Seraphina off and urged her to put the necklace on.
"I will always like your gifts, sister." Seraphina said, gently putting the necklace around her neck. "But you don't need to give me something so fancy, any of your gifts is the fanciest and most precious thing to me."
As for what she would do with this necklace... of course she'd keep it! This was her sister's gift, not whoever's property beside her!
"Sera, are you calling me broke?" Coralie asked her, teasingly.
"No, no, no but—"
"Anyways, didn't you say you finished your quest? Show it to me." Coralie interrupted her, bringing up another topic.
"Ah yes, right!" Seraphina stopped her previous sentence and rummaged through her pouch, intending to give Coralie her Miniature Box.
She took it out from her pouch, however—
"EH!? What in the world is this!?"