Mage Manual-Chapter 293 - 251 Gifts

"Although I really admire this kind of fast delivery speed, this also..." Ash watched the hastily departing swarm of drones as they efficiently returned to their own airspace, "isn’t it a bit impolite? Isn’t this the same as trespassing into someone’s home?"

"Guess it’s okay." Hanna replied with a look that suggested Ash was making a big fuss about nothing, "The ’Almo Drone Logistics’ system ranks third on the ’Technology Revolution List’ over the past decade. Its efficiency, safety, interconnectedness, and other aspects are all top-notch. Although Belia and Tafa companies are close on its heels, they only caught up by relying on Almo’s technology... It was a bit annoying at first, but you get used to it after a while."

"Can’t it be a bit more courteous?" Igula, who cared a lot about private space, also had some dissatisfaction with the delivery system, "Like, placing the package on the balcony..."

"Placing it outside is risky for damage, and the buyer might also forget. The delivery must be placed in the living room, where it’s most noticeable to the customer," Hanna said. "I haven’t looked into it in detail, but this delivery system is definitely the most advanced because a company like Almo would certainly develop according to the directions in the ’Gospel Book’. If they take the wrong path or experience stagnation, Belia and Tafa will surely take the chance to catch up."

So, just because it’s guided by the ’Gospel Book’, it’s the most advanced; and because it’s the most advanced, it’s reasonable...?

Igula and Ash both vaguely felt there was something wrong with this logic.

While they were chatting, Liss had already gone to start unpacking the delivery. The box had a convenient snap lock, which even a little girl could open with her hands. Banjee crouched nearby and asked, "Do you need help?"

"No need!" Liss cheerfully said, pulling out a blue velvet gift box from the package, "For you!"

Banjee was slightly startled, pointing at himself, "For me?"

"Yeah, it’s for brother Banjee!"

"Thank you!" Banjee accepted the box, a little overwhelmed, and found inside a sapphire earring with exquisite craftsmanship that glittered brightly. He tried it on, and although it also looked good on him, in comparison to Hanna’s amethyst earring, the sapphire one seemed somewhat tacky and pretentious, even overshadowing slightly.

Or rather, it was through the contrast with the sapphire earring that Ash and the others realized Hanna’s amethyst earring was indeed worth more than its cost—beautiful but not cloying, radiant but not arrogant, not only enhancing the wearer’s charm but also naturally integrating into the wearer’s image, seemingly even containing subtle effects of ’Charm’ and other miracles.

Trading such a rare piece of jewelry for their three lives, the Four Pillars God Sect had been thoroughly gouged by Hanna.

However, Banjee happily ruffled Liss’s hair, "I really like it, thank you, Liss."

Then Liss took out another gift box and handed it to Hanna, who was drinking coffee, "Sister Hanna, this is for you."

Hanna raised an eyebrow, "Thanks, can I open it now?"

"Yes!"

Liss’s gift to Hanna was a moon-white fox-and-dragon hairpin. Although it seemed a bit childish, Hanna appeared quite pleased with it, pinning it near the tip of her ear, giving her aura a lively touch.

"And then there’s this... it’s a gift from Auntie Bokin!"

"Is it a dress?" Ash asked.

"Not exactly, but similar." Liss pulled out something that looked very much like a dress, "Auntie Bokin will definitely look great in this!"

Igula took it and found it to be a skirt robe that could be worn over trousers as an ornament. The skirt robe had many hidden pockets, and Igula was surprised to discover that he had never noticed such a convenient garment accessory before— for a Spirit Mage adept at strategizing and arranging the battlefield, the more secret pockets there were, the more preparations he could make before the fight.

Ash, seemingly noticing his satisfaction with the gift, teased, "Auntie Bokin, you surely wouldn’t like this sort of clothing, right? After all, you didn’t even lift Liss up and spin her around to show your joy ... how about you give it to me? I like this style of clothing!"

Igula glanced at him and waved Liss over, who was looking forward with hope, lifting her up to spin around: "You’re quite heavy."

Liss pouted and punched him on the head: "Auntie Bokin is so impolite!"

"Sorry, little girls aren’t within my sales range."

At this moment, Harvey seemed to have finally settled the guest he brought back, emerging from the room with unlit cat grass smoke in his mouth, curiously observing the scene in the living room: "Hmm?"

"Uncle Harvey!" Liss found a gift the size of a notebook from the pile of parcels: "This is for you!"

"I have a gift too?" The Necromancer clipped the cat grass smoke behind his ear, calmly asking, "Thanks ... a notebook?"

"No, it’s a black and white thought-reading notebook," Liss said. "You just need to press the paper and it can imprint the images from your mind onto the notebook. Uncle Harvey, you often stand by the window looking at the scenery, so I thought you’d really like drawing."

"That doesn’t really count as drawing ... but thanks." Harvey put away the notebook and hesitated before reaching into his pocket for a piece of wrapped candy: "Uncle will treat you to some candy—"

Before Ash even realized what was happening, his body, bound by the contract, had already rushed over to tangle with the Necromancer. Harvey quickly parried Ash’s advance, saying, "It’s real candy! Moon candy—I don’t even have enough for myself, how could I possibly give it away? This is the real deal I use when craving the moon!"

"For safety’s sake, it’s better if you don’t eat any sweets from Uncle Harvey," Igula said. "Although I can treat a sugar addiction, it’s a bit brain-damaging—damaging to the patient’s brain. If Harvey gave the wrong candy, Ash, I’m afraid you might end up splattered within five steps because of it."

"Liss doesn’t like candy either, Liss only likes to eat the soft and fluffy red velvet cream cakes."

With that, Liss went back to her breakfast, while Ash pinned Harvey to the ground, eagerly watching the little girl with white hair spread custard on her slice of bread.

Under everyone’s subtle glances, Ash helped Harvey up and then sat beside Liss: "Cough, cough, cough—"

Harvey smacked Ash’s back forcefully: "If it’s asthma, just pat it; no need to thank me, consider it a returning of the favor just now."

Igula sneaked a glance at the embarrassed Ash, his lips curving up as he asked, "Liss, you bought so many gifts, is there one for the only 0-star genius in this house?"

"Yes," Liss answered with her mouth full of bread crumbs. "But someone was very angry and didn’t want to give it to him."

"Why were they angry?"

"Because someone was tricked during the game last night; they had the stool kicked out from under them, leading to a loss in the game, and they were so angry they couldn’t sleep all night. So, that person didn’t want to give the gift."

At this, everyone looked at Ash with an extra touch of disdain—playing games with a little girl and still resorting to trickery was truly shameless; even Igula felt ashamed to be associated with him.

Even a Swindler would not cheat a little girl from the age of five!

"No way, you still remember that after a whole night!?" Ash was shocked. "Aren’t kids supposed to be forgetful? Your grudge-holding ability is practically on par with Igula’s!"

Igula looked at Harvey, puzzled. "Do I hold grudges?"

"I don’t know much about you," the Necromancer said. "If we overlook the fates of those who offended you in prison, then I’d say you don’t really hold grudges."

After finishing her piece of toast, Liss gulped down a cup of hot milk, turned to Ash and said, "If someone doesn’t apologize, they might stay angry forever, and then they might not give out the nice gifts they’ve bought—"

"Sorry, it was my fault; I shouldn’t have done that and caused you to fall on your bottom."

"Hehe," Liss raised her hand to touch Ash. "Admitting your mistake is what makes a good dad. So next time we play games, you won’t do it again, right?"

"Yeah, next time it will be a normal accident, you won’t notice it’s me behind it."

"..." Liss withdrew her hand. "Not just some people, even Liss is getting a little angry now."

"But Liss, think about it from my perspective," Ash coaxed persuasively. "If you were about to lose a game and your opponent showed a mistake in real life, wouldn’t you seize that opportunity and teach your opponent a lesson with a whirlwind triumph, to show that a true gamer should also be flawless in reality?"

"Dad, that kind of makes sense..."

No, it doesn’t make sense, right? Everyone thought to themselves.

However, they all looked at Ash with renewed respect—everyone knows that little girls are particularly unreasonable, yet Ash was able to twist his wonky logic into sweet-talking Liss into complete acceptance. This proved that Ash was very good at interacting with children.

Or maybe he could lower his intelligence to a child’s level and then use his rich experience to defeat the kids.

Whichever possibility it was, it meant Ash had completely bonded with Liss, and the two of them were now an invincible little clique.

For this six-person startup, Ash and Liss could be considered a power couple.

Liss was completely convinced and handed over a big box to Ash.

Ash happily unpacked the box, which seemed to be the second gift he had received in reality—the first was naturally the Blessing from The Gods of Four Pillars, which came with a VIP package for room and board at Shattered Lake Prison.

A dark red gradient trench coat appeared before Ash’s eyes.

He was slightly taken aback as he put on the coat, feeling as if he were donning a cloak of vanity.

"Liss has good taste, it really suits you."

"To be honest, given Ash’s taste in clothing, no matter what Liss bought, it couldn’t possibly make him look worse."

"I think it’s quite nice, very fitting as your funeral attire."

Ignoring their comments, Ash asked, "Liss, why did you buy me this coat?"

"Because it suits Daddy," Liss said. "And feel the pockets."

Ash pulled out a card with numbers from the pocket. "This is..."

"This is an ’Epic’ game recharge card, it came with the coat," Liss explained. "Isn’t ’Epic’ the virtual game you play, Daddy? This ’Purgatory Windbreaker’ is their official merchandise. You get a recharge card when you buy it, and I thought you would like it..."

"Only for today, you are my real daughter!" Ash hugged Liss tightly. "Does Liss like red velvet cake? Igula, find a cookbook on how to make cakes, and when you’ve learned it, make one and send it over!"

Igula said coolly, "Next time you ask me for help, I’ll remember to make you bake a cake."

Ash blinked. "There won’t be a next time... we’ll see."

"Dad, you’re so dramatic," Liss giggled, wriggling out of Ash’s embrace to tidy up the remaining delivery boxes. "I’m going back to my room to continue unwrapping gifts."

"Eh?" Hanna asked. "What about the remaining dozen or so delivery boxes..."

"That’s right, they’re all presents Liss bought for herself!" Liss declared confidently. "With so much going on recently, Liss thought she needed to treat herself!"

Banjee helped take the deliveries over and casually asked, "You’ve bought so much, do you still have money left in your account?"

Liss froze, did not reply, and hurried into her room, quickly closing the door.

"Hehehe..."

Ash saw Igula covering her mouth with a chuckle and curiously asked, "What are you laughing about? And you look so sinister."

"It’s nothing," Igula replied, picking up a shrimp salad. "I just think someone is going to be scolded."

...

...

"Liss!"

The queen in the half-length mirror could hardly contain her expression. "You actually used up all the money!?"

Kneeling in front of the mirror, Liss looked sincerely remorseful. Suddenly, she held out a gift box. "White sis, this is specially picked out for you."

The queen almost laughed in anger. "What’s the difference between giving me a gift and giving yourself a gift? Do you think you can fool your sisters like this?"

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦