119 Hotpot in the Winter

Aida took out the mini-lavender plant that had just begun flowering and handed it to Yukio. The mini-lavender was housed in a colorful tiny pot. Yukio's wood elements were singing with happiness.

Aida explained to Yukio the benefits of lavender. "Lavender is a very useful and versatile plant. It grows fairly easily and treats many different ailments including mental health issues, anxiety, insomnia, depression, headaches, skin irritations and even cancer. I figured this would be a very good plant for you to start with since we've all been having some problems sleeping these days. It should help us all relax a little better."

"Treat it with care and I will continue to bring you more plants to learn about. You will need to learn a lot more before you can become a true doctor."

Yukio ducked his head shyly as he said, "Thank you big sis. I will treat this plant with a lot of care and study really really hard."

Reaching out to pat his head, she then brought out a level 2 light gem as well which caused his light elements to sing with happiness too. She didn't need to explain this gift as Yukio's elements would automatically inform him.

Yukio reached out and took the level 2 gem as well. Hugging the two gifts, his eyes turned to crescents in happiness, "Thank you big sis! I promise I won't let you down!"

Rin, who had been shifting around eagerly in his seat, finally interjected after seeing Aida had finished giving gifts to his brother. He called out, "What about me! I want a present next!"

Aida expected this reaction from Rin and patted his head as well. She then took out another dark colored gem and handed it to Rin. Darkness and spatial elements were as rare as light elements, so unfortunately she was only able to find a single darkness level 1 gem to give to Rin.

"Save it for when you're about to level up, it should help you a lot." Aida said as she passed the gem to him.

Rin wasn't shy at all and jumped over the table to give Aida a giant hug. Everyone, in a practiced motion, moved the food out of the way so Rin wouldn't knock it over. They had long grown used to Rin's antics and really enjoyed the liveliness he brought to the group.

Following that, she passed 3 level 1 and 1 level 2 gem to Rose, who received them with wide eyes. Her face didn't show expressions yet, but her eyes began to express more. Aida could tell that Rose hadn't expected to receive anything from her. Rose carefully held the gems in her hands as if they were treasures.

Up till now, Rose continued to treat the rose hair pins that Aida gave to her on the first day as treasures. She wore them every day and cleaned them very carefully to preserve them as long as possible.

Aida chuckled at the sight and brought her onto her lap, "Silly, these aren't for saving, you should absorb all the powers from these ice gems and become more powerful. I will get you more when you need it."

Rose continued to stare at the gems in her hands in wonderment, not responding to Aida's comment.

Moving on, she gave a bag of level 2 gems to Little White who took them expressionlessly and continued eating them like snacks.

To Ace, she gave him a new laptop with the latest spec. Aida had acquired it a while back but forgot about it until now. Ace jumped up and down with happiness to have received something from Aida.

Xiao Ai on the side pouted, "Ehhh Mama, you're biased! Where is my gift??"

Aida produced a couple electric gems and passed it to her, she teased, "Did you really think I would forget you?"

"Heh~ of course not! Mama would never forget Xiao Ai!"

Finally towards Lucifer and Light, she said, "We can discuss the gems for you two after dinner."

They both nodded in agreement, there was strong curiosity in their eyes.

With that, everyone immediately picked up their chopsticks to eat hotpot. At this point, they were starving. It was fortunate that Rose was around to keep the meat and vegetables at good temperatures so they didn't spoil.

"Ah~" Xiao Ai exclaimed as she stuffed her mouth with meat, "Hotpot in the winter is indeed the best! This is my first time having it!"

Everyone nodded in agreement as they dug into the food. Aida and Light both took the initiative to place items onto Xiao Ai's plate since she didn't have hands to grab food on her own. It was a pretty interesting sight to see a steamed meat bun eating meat.

Ace stared at Xiao Ai with an odd speculative look. Xiao Ai quickly noticed and asked curiously, "What are you staring at doggy?"

Ace, who was still in thought, responded without thinking, "I was wondering what it would look like if a steamed bun were to eat a steamed meat bun."

"..." There was a collective silence across the table as they heard Ace say this, no one knew how to react.

And then Xiao Ai burst into laughter, "Hehehehehe I wonder! Mama what do buns taste like? Xiao Ai wants to try!"

Aida gave Ace a pointed look of disapproval which woke Ace up before patting Xiao Ai and saying, "We can find some for you to try later." Aida was particularly touchy when it came to Xiao Ai's form as she knew how much Xiao Ai had had to suffer over the years. Thankfully, Xiao Ai was extremely good natured and didn't mind at all.

Light spoke up and said, "We can make them with the flour we have in the RV some time."

Xiao Ai cheered and agreed. With that, everyone continued to eat happily and chat.