102 Surprise Party

Following the commotion Badigadi had caused at the Academy, Principal Georg led him to a conference room where he met with the leader of the Magic Guild and the captain of the Magic Nation knights stationed in Sharia.

As a way to apologize for the hassle he caused, Badigadi offered up a piece of his flesh for the researchers at the Magic Guild so that they could study his immortality. Additionally, he agreed to act as a temporary martial arts instructor to the knights stationed in Sharia.

Thanks to these negotiations, Badigadi was welcomed as an official state guest and was even allowed to formally enroll in the Magic University as a sort of publicity stunt.

Thanks to the rumors about me that had spread through the school my fellow students here were already doing their best to avoid me, but ever since the incident with Badigadi and the Sword God they give me an especially wide berth. Even many of the teachers turn around and walk the other way when they see me coming. Of course there's always the occasional upstart who comes to challenge me, but that's always just first years with a big head.

The next schoolyear went by mostly uneventfully.

Luna has made remarkable progress in her swordsmanship and has already reached intermediate level in the Water God Style. She's slimmed down into quite the athletic beauty. She and Halfort have officially started dating.

My fifteenth birthday is fast approaching. Nobody has mentioned anything about a party, but I can sense something's up. It was especially strange when, a while back, Paul had asked me if he could borrow the lithograph stone that was paired with many of the Adventurer's Guilds; you know, the one we used to track down Philip and Hilda. He told me that he needed it for an intel gathering job he accepted, the details of which he left particularly vague.

It was pretty obvious he was trying to get in touch with some far away friends to invite to the 'surprise' party. I had my hopes set that a certain blue-haired beauty would make an appearance.

Regardless, I played my part of blissful ignorance and went about my daily routine. The day of my birthday Sylphiette was sticking to me like glue. I'm pretty sure she was in charge of keeping me busy so I didn't find out about the party planning.

As far as I'm concerned, that's all the more reason to play dumb. Sylphy has been going into cuteness overload while trying to prevent me from stopping by the house today and I'm loving every minute of it.

"Oh, I forgot my research book at the house."

"I can get it! What does it look like?", Sylphy would jump to attention.

Or at the end of the schoolday...

"Rudy, let's stop by the market on the way home."

"Nah, It's the last day of the week. I always work with Aisha on her magic training on the last day of the week."

"Lilia was taking Aisha out today, remember? We talked about it at dinner last night!", Sylphy said in a slightly panicked voice.

"Oh yeah, that's right..", I said, pretending to have forgotten.

The two of us strolled through the Commercial District, looking for nothing in particular. We made our way to Sylphy's favorite clothing store. The moment we stepped inside the store, an employee trotted over to greet us.

"Sir Rudeus! Miss Sylphiette! It's so nice to see you back in our establishment! What can I do for you today?"

"Oh, we're just browsing", I said.

"Of course, of course. If you find anything interesting or need any assistance, please don't hesitate to ask!"

This place was one of the pricier clothing stores in the city, but the quality was top notch. I was used to buying cheap stuff for myself, but then again, I amassed a small fortune selling my inventions to the Magician's Guild. I was willing to adjust my standards upward if the end result was Sylphy dressing in all these cute outfits.

I followed Sylphy as we started looking through the outfits immediately. She really seemed to be enjoying herself. One outfit, in particular, really caught my eye. It was a male magician's robe, complete with hat, displayed prominently on a stand.

"Do you like this one?", Sylphy asked excitedly. "It's not your usual style, but... I think it would look really good on you!"

I reached out and picked up the black hat from the top of the stand and spun it around to get a full view.

'I'm pretty sure this is the exact same hat I bought for Roxy as our wedding gift...'

"The hat? I've never seen you wear a hat before", Sylphy mused.

"Nah, it's not for me...", I said as I studied the hat intently. "I was thinking I might get it as a gift."

"A gift? Haha, that's just like you."

"Hmm?"

"Buying a gift for someone else on your..."

Sylphy cut herself off mid-sentence as she covered her mouth with her hands and her cheeks flushed red. Oh my, she is so damn cute! I wanted to tease her, but I felt like I would be the one in trouble if this keeps up.

I ended up buying the outfit anyway since the hat was technically an accessory of the entire outfit. The two of us perused other items in the store for a while before deciding it was time to head home.

"Thank you for visiting!", the employee said with a smile. "Please come again!"

The two of us walked hand in hand on the way back to our manor while I held our shopping bags. Everyone we passed couldn't help but stare at us in jealousy. Well, people have been staring at me wherever I go lately, but I'd like to think that this time in particular they did so out of jealousy that I got to hold hands with the most beautiful girl in Sharia.

Finally we reached our home. Sylphiette had a huge grin on her face as we walked up towards the large double-door entrance. Man, is it ever obvious. She was never the best at keeping secrets.

"Happy fifteenth birthday!", a huge crowd cheered from right inside the house.

I put on my best 'surprised' face as Sylphy quickly ushered me inside.

Mother and Father, Lilia, Norn and Aisha, Leo, Laws and Hope, Cliff, Zanoba, Nanahoshi and Aurora, Therese and Luna, Linia, Pursena, and Seren, Ghislaine and Eris, Phillip and Hilda, and even Princess Ariel with her attendants all were squeezed into the entrance hall to wish me a happy birthday.

I excitedly looked through the crowd of guests hoping to spot Roxy among them, but I had no such luck.

'I'm sure she wanted to come', I thought to myself. 'Knowing Paul he probably didn't give her enough notice to make it all the way here. She could have been on the other side of the world visiting her parents for all I know.'

It was rude to think about who *wasn't* here when all these people came for my sake so I put that thought out of my mind.

Everyone took turns greeting me one by one and wishing their heartfelt congratulations. Lilia, Zenith, and Aisha had prepared a huge feast for the party. They had a roasted pig, and several other varieties of meats, a platter of fresh fruits and vegetables, rabbit stew, and an assortment of pastries and desserts.

The centerpiece of the meal, at least from my perspective, was the huge pot of perfectly cooked rice at the center of the table. My fondness for rice was no secret, so they prepared a huge portion so that there would be plenty left over.

After dinner we all gathered in the living room where a stack of presents was piled up on the table. Princess Ariel handed me her gift first. I opened the neatly wrapped box and inside found a customized spellbook.

The leather cover was engraved with my name on it and it had the incantations for every elemental and healing spells of rank advanced and below. I don't know how much use it will be to me since I already know all these spells, but something like this would have been very expensive.

"There are blank pages in the back for you to write your own spells in", Ariel added. "I know how you're on the cutting edge of magical research."

"Thank you so much", I said as I held the book up. "This will come in handy for sure."

Linia and Pursena handed me their gift next. It was a small box, one that you might expect to find jewelry of some sort inside. I opened the box to find a small vial of purple liquid.

'Is this what I think it is...'

"A little bit of that and the ladies climbin' all over ya guaranteed ~nya."

"Uh, thanks", I said as I quickly put the aphrodisiac back in the box and set it to the side.

Paul was sporting a sheepish grin while Zenith stared at the delinquent duo in disapproval. Hope, standing next to Zenith, seemed confused like she didn't know what it was. I don't know how, but I could sense that Laws, standing behind me, was staring daggers my way.

Seren gave me an alchemist's kit containing rare herbs, ingredients, and recipes for creating potions and tonics.

Norn and Aisha gave me some cufflinks with a cute pin that had a striking resemblance to Leo, Therese and Luna gave me a book of Milis Poetry, Cliff gave me two bottles of finely aged wine, Zanoba gave me a limited edition collectable doll imported from the Dwarf Village, Aurora gave me a painting from a famous artist in Shirone, and Phillip and Hilda gave me a set of expensive perfume native to the Fittoa region.

By this point I had made my way through all the gifts that were stacked up on the table.

"Rudeus! This is from me!"

Eris said loudly as she handed me a gray robe.

"This looks just like-"

"It's the same as the one you bought in Rikarisu!"

"Except this one will actually fit me." I had outgrown that old gray robe long ago. "I'm surprised you were able to find another just like it. Isn't this made from the pelts of Mucky Rats? Those are only found on the Demon Continent."

"I don't know what it's made from, but I saw this being sold in the Holy Land of Swords and I knew I had to get it for you!"

"Thanks, Eris. I'll treasure it!"

Eris' cheeks blushed red as she sported a bright smile.

"You're not done yet!", Mother said with a beaming smile. "You still haven't gotten Sylphiette and my gift yet!"

Zenith ran into the closet to fetch something and came back holding a neatly folded heap of fabric.

"Here Rudy. The two of us made this together."

"Zenith has been teaching me how to stitch!", Sylphy said proudly.

"I noticed you two were spending a lot of time together lately."

I unfolded the fabric to discover it was a hand-knit blanket. Woven into the blanket was a beautiful image depicting our old home in Buena Village, complete with Mother's garden, fruit trees, and all. The level of detail was impressive. It must have taken them a long time to make.

"It's beautiful...", I said as I felt my eyes tearing up.

"This way you'll always have a little bit of home with you wherever you go", Zenith said.

"Thanks mom! Thanks Sylphy!", I said as I gave them a group hug.

"We saved the best for last!", Paul said with a devious smile. "This one's from me."

Paul handed me a folded up velvet cape. The cape was a very dark shade of purple, so dark that it almost looked black. The back of the cape featured my motif from the Seven Great Powers stone, embroidered in bright gold. The motif which, in Fighting God Tongue, meant 'Magic God'. Underneath the motif my name was spelled out 'Rudeus Greyrat', embroidered in silver.

"I did NOT make this myself", Paul added.

"I believe you", I answered stoically. "Isn't this a bit... over the top?"

"I think it suits you."

"That's so cooooool!", Eris agreed.

"Be proud of your accomplishments", Paul continued. "Don't be afraid to show off a little."

"I think my classmates are pretty afraid of me already", I sighed.

"Haha, that just means they're missing out on a good time. Besides...", Paul said as he winked. "... you're only young once!"

Shortly after all the gifts had been given Ariel, Luke, and Derrick were the first to leave. I suppose Princesses have their royal duties or whatnot.

'Although, that doesn't seem to apply to Aurora...', I thought as I glanced over to where she was passed out on the couch.

Our guests continued to trickle out throughout the night until everyone had gone home. It wasn't until we were getting ready for bed that I heard the familiar knock of the Lion's Head door knocker.

'I wonder who it could be at this time of night. Did somebody forget something here?'

But no, as it turns out it was somebody entirely new. My real birthday surprise had just arrived.