Almost every present was either clothes or common items, but Regea still seemed truly happy about each and every one of them.
"It's so wholesome. The people here have no money, yet they still managed to get something for him," Lina thought.
"Yeah. A complete contrast to our world," Nox whispered, as if reading her thoughts.
Regea finished unboxing his last present and a large pile of colorful wrapping built up beneath him.
"It's time for our present," his parents said, taking a large - way too large gift from their dimension bag.
"W- What is that? A shelf?" Regea wondered, eyeing it with suspicion.
He sat onto the floor and rolled up his sleeves. Everyone watched with excitement as he slowly peeled the wrapping off.
Before them stood a futuristic shelf with plant pots and screens.
"Wow, what is that?" Beatrice asked. She had become accustomed to the situation and was now as talkative as ever.
"This is a new plant experiment shelf. I tasked my ten best scientists to invent this," Livius bragged.
"What? That is way too expensive!" Regea shouted, immediately sliding away from the item.
"Don't worry, it was mainly under the supervision of your brother," he said, as if that would make it better.
"R- Really? Thank you!"
"No problem. You can place your plants and golem parts into these pots. The station then automatically tests all environmental factors and observes how they respond to different mana sources," Renart explained.
"And what is that for?" Nox asked, glancing at the various black screens.
"These screens will automatically adjust the conditions. If you're extremely lucky, you should be able to…" he gulped heavily, as if he couldn't believe what he was about to say.
"You should be able to create new skills."
"What? How is that possible? None of our scientists has ever been able to achieve such a thing," Lina shouted.
"Y- Yes, but we have some really capable men in the suburbs too. And it's only possible to create weaker skills, so you won't have some overpowered skills all of a sudden."
"You would need a combination device that's much stronger," Renart added, slightly intimidated.
"You're scaring him," Nox whispered.
Meanwhile, Regea just sat there without moving, his mouth wide open.
"Wait, I definitely can't acce-"
"We wanted to do this for you. Just make us proud by using it well," Loli interrupted.
"But-"
"You're 17 now and you're becoming an adult in… various ways," she added, briefly glancing at Beatrice, "we can't keep giving you boring presents."
"Okay, uhm… thank you so much then." Regea said, accepting defeat.
"Then let's clean up," Livius suggested, turning around.
"W- Wait! We have something for you too!" Beatrice shouted, taking a small present from her pocket.
"What? You guys made me a gift?" Regea asked.
Lina briefly glanced at Nox, exchanging a devious nod.
"I don't know what she's talking about. It was her who found and bought you that present," Lina said, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, we didn't do anything," Nox added.
"No, tha-"
"Thank you so much then!" Regea said.
As he slowly unboxed the present, a weirdly shaped device lay in his hands.
"What is that? This looks expensive," Regea said, looking at it with a concerned face.
"T- This is a camera. I'm not sure how it works, but it's like a mirror on paper," Beatrice replied.
At the family's confused gazes, Lina grabbed the device. Spider webs shot out of Nox's palms, binding Beatrice's and Regea's hands together.
Their panicking faces were perfectly captured by the camera.
Everyone watched as a small paper printed from the side.
"It freezes time!" Regea shouted, grabbing the item with excitement. "B- But wasn't that extremely expensive?"
"N- No, it wasn't," Beatrice lied, turning away.
"Wow, you have some friends that like you a lot. You should be grateful," his mother said.
"Yes, thank you!" Regea smiled brightly, hugging Beatrice passionately.
"U- Uhm, no problem," Beatrice replied, her cheeks turning the same color as her hair.
She could feel his strong arms wrapping around her and for a moment, an unfamiliar feeling surged through her. She wanted to be even closer to him and this thought made her face heat up even more.
"S- Sorry," Regea said, sliding back in embarrassment.
"I- I don't mind."
"How about you stay for dinner?" Loli suggested, breaking the awkward mood.
"That would be great! Should I help with something?" Lina asked.
"I can help too," Beatrice added.
"You could help me in the kitchen, Beatrice. The others can just relax," Regea's mother replied.
With a dedicated gaze, the two women went into the kitchen. Nox glanced at them, then down at Beatrice's trembling hands with a smirk.
"Tell me, how far are you with my son?" Loli asked, handing her a carrot.
"W- What do you mean?" Beatrice replied, drinking from a water glass. The cold liquid flowed through her veins and calmed her down.
But not for long.
"Have you taken his virginity yet?"
"Pfft."
Water splattered all over the vegetables as Beatrice broke into loud coughing.
"W- We don't have that kind of relationship!"
"I feared so after seeing your awkward hug. Both of you are just too shy," the mother sighed.
"What should I do then?" Beatrice asked, cleaning the mess she made.
"You aren't that far yet. But we can still bring you a bit closer." Her gaze turned decisive and devious, not fitting her petite look.
While cooking, the women started talking with strong gestures and articulation, cooking a great meal, but an even greater plan.
"What about the room and the gate?" Beatrice asked.
"I already sent my husband and Nox. But Lina and he will have to do the same thing as you," Loli said.
"Oh, don't worry about them," she replied with a jealous expression.
"Good. Nothing can go wrong now."
"I'll give my best!" Beatrice said, her gaze more decisive than ever.
In the meantime, Regea had set up his new plant shelf and filled it with golems' hands, plants, and fungi.
Faint mana lingered around it. The small screens seemed to channel the surrounding energy, pumping it through the rack.
"Food is ready!" Loli shouted from the kitchen.
Nox quickly came running from above.
"Already done on the toilet?"
"Yeah."
As everyone sat at the dining table, Beatrice brought bowls of vegetable soup.
"Thank God. I feared I'd have to eat even more calories," Lina sighed.
"Even vegetables have calories," Nox replied, pulling her blonde hair with a teasing smile.
"Shut up, mister wannabe smart!"
"Well, you are actually smart, so I'll let it slide. This once," she added, filling her mouth with soup.
"Does your new item work?" Renart asked.
"Yes, it does. I've already managed to equip my golems with a small plant ring," Regea said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "It doesn't do anything yet, but it's still cool."
"Is it also possible to build that shelf for other stigmas?" Lina asked carefully.
"That's the problem. The stigma of creation is directly bound to creation itself, which makes it easier. It could technically be possible, but we'd need much stronger combination devices and additional pipes," Renart replied.
The group glanced at Nox, as if hoping he could create such an item immediately.
"Do I look like I know how to do that?" Nox thought, slurping his soup.
As the four finished their meal, they prepared to leave. Except for Beatrice, everyone put on their shoes.
"Honey, didn't you tell them?" Livius shouted when he saw the friends.
"What's wro-"
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Loli said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Our teleportation gate is closed overnight because of thugs."
"That wasn't like this four months ago," Regea replied.
"Yes, it was enforced just a while ago." Loli shrugged her shoulders, a slight smirk playing under her blank face.
"What do we do now? Should I sleep on the couch?" Regea asked.
"No, we have rooms after all."
"But there's only one guest room…"
"What's the problem? Lina and Nox can take that room," Loli replied, nodding at the two.
Regea's face broke into a mixture of panic and excitement as he realized what she meant.
"W- Wait, mom. My bed is not the size for... two people," he stuttered.
"Come here," his mother said, dragging him away.
"You have the opportunity to sleep in the same bed with that cute girl over there. What's wrong with you?" she whispered. "I'm helping you out here."
"But I'm nerv-"
"You can just stay on your side, and she stays on hers."
"F- Fine."
"Best of luck," his mother said, smirking devilishly. "You will need it."