Chapter 112 – Birthday (Part 2)

"Ikarus... you don't have to drink your body weight in alcohol, you know?"

It's not even been half an hour before my gigantic mother who actually looks so out of place compared to all us little mortals without carrying around two planets has to mention about my drinking, it's my birthday and I've literally not had a drink since the last trip to the dwarven kingdom! That stuff they serve over is still way too strong so it's the perfect thing to drink when you've got a massive tolerance to alcohol. Also, I've already shared a drink with Petra but now I'm onto someone different since the emo looking dude also looks a little out of place here too.

"Don't worry about it too much darling, this is the first drink me and little one have shared and she definitely has your taste in nectar it seems. Also... it gets me away from hanging around the irritating mortals everywhere else"

At least the old dinosaur is willing to defend me, this drink I've poured is conveniently enough from the kingdom as well. It's obvious he had to make at least one comment about mortals but this is him being good believe it or not, you just kinda used to his mortal hating like background music after a certain point,

"Don't you be starting Dermak, what happened to not making a comment about mortals tonight?"

"Darling, I'm an old and grumpy dragon, this is the best I can achieve. It's just a good thing there's none of those flying rats around here too"

Isn't it great to have a father who despises wyverns? You know, sometimes it might just be better to leave him at home but he does at least tend to get over it a little, I'd say he's gotten better on the whole mortal hating thing since there was a time where this sort of thing would be imaginable. Also, I really shouldn't be holding him to human standards as well, dragons are known for being like this despite mother being so much more tolerable... until one of her kin come under threat but recapping pointless stuff like usual.

"You couldn't help yourself Dermak... as for you Ikarus, don't let your father make you drink too much"

"Heh, it should be okay Kellearzar, I'll stop Ikarus if she tries to drink too much tonight"

Petra's going to stop me drinking? Is she trying to get on mother's good books even further cause she's never stopped me drinking before...

"Oh yeah Petra? How are you gonna go about that then?"

Okay... cue the tease...

"Heh... don't you worry about it Ikarus"

Oh, I expected a witty or playful response from her then, I guess even Petra doesn't really flirt with me in front of my parents so now I'm slightly disappointed. It's kinda funny since they really wouldn't care but still. If Petra was male, I could see father going through that overprotective wanting to kill the boyfriend cliché some dads do but it's funny how girl love seems to get everyone onside... except that specific religion, fuck the monastery.

While I'm drinking and chatting with the parents, little kid Minos comes over presumably from the buffet and seems to want to ask father something.

"Cu?"

"Oh, you want some of this littlest one? That should be okay..."

Heh, father's offering Minos a sip of the dwarven alcohol... hang on!

"FATHER!"

"DERMAKVAR!"

I've actually smacked the glass out of his hand, did he seriously just offer the two something year old brother of mine a drink of that!? If we're being honest, I know dragon biology is different and he probably could deal with a smaller sip of something weaker... but damn it old dinosaur! Just how irresponsible can he be?

"What the heck goes through your stupid mind at times Dermakvar? How could you think it's a good idea to let Minos drink that?"

"Little one isn't that much older than littlest one but it's fine for her to drink?"

"Are you forgetting Ikarus at least has memories from beforehand and isn't the same Dermakvar? Minos isn't even close to being full grown!"

Mother's saying everything that must be said, you can't compare a literal child dragon who has a child human form to me, the evolving or whatever you want to call it basically sums it up. There's an obvious reason why you add on phoenix years just from something like this alone, I really couldn't see Minos handling alcohol this strong that well. I seriously doubt it might kill him but I could imagine just a sip would do a lot of harm.

"But... sorry darling... I might be going senile now"

"*Sigh*... just forget it Dermak, I'm unsure if you're getting better or worse now"

Oh well, I actually feel a little sorry for father seeing that I think he was only trying to be a little generous but obviously this sort of thing is actually serious. There's no point discussing this with Petra, she doesn't really have anything to say either.

...

That little scene has made the party a little awkward but nothing a little more alcohol can't fix! At least I can bring out my obnoxious nature to cheer things up a little but let's first sort out Minos while mother is still disappointed in the old dinosaur, Minos doesn't have a clue what just went on.

"Minos, I'll get you something sweet to drink instead... you don't have to keep using cu anymore, alright?"

"Cu... okay dokey then sister"

'Urgh... his voice is still too much but I must bare with it...'

__________

"...It's all about the technique really, you can have all the strength in the world but there is a slight amount of skill needed to mine. I'm not saying I'm perfect at it, no chance but it's a little more than just smashing rocks"

"The kid is right though, there is an art to mining and smithing. Back in the kingdom, you'll be surprised just how many dwarfs use pure strength for nearly everything"

"I guess you could even say politics is a tad similar, you'll also be surprised just how draining it is staring at numbers all day and making sure everything is running smoothly but it needs to be done"

Listening to a conversation between the mine master, dwarf and lord of this place, turns out I'm scrapping that idea of speaking to everyone if they're going to speak about work right now. Fuck, they can be boring, even the gnome's wife has gone to the bar to get some more booze.

'Looks like I'm going to get some food instead of talking to everyone next'

Besides, it's my party! Who cares if I don't speak to everyone equally, that's basically impossible with a somewhat large group...

__________

"Are we not going to go onto presents yet!?"

"Hmm... guess it's probably fine although I shouldn't be surprised about your impatience Penelope"

"That's fine Petra! I know I'm impatient, that should be pretty obvious just looking at what happened to me!"

We've already had a bit of cake so the party is getting closer to finishing I guess; do I really need to go into great detail on how Petra's cooking especially when it comes to carrot cake that might actually make me weep? Her food is always great so less said about that for now, also have made small talk with everyone throughout the several hours we've been here already, can't even remember what was said now except from that incident with father and Minos. It's just that kind of pointless small talk you normally make with distant family, would've remembered anything important.

Let's try and forget just how irresponsible father can be at times and move on, I've also drunk a little more than I probably should have but it'snot exactly like I'm tipsy or anything like that. If I were to drink half a dozen more, then I might get onto that stage but I'm at that really happy stage of boozing right now. Looks like Petra may have told a slight lie towards mother about stopping me drinking it seems but I'm pretty sure she's had roughly the same amount as well.

"What about you Ikarus? Want to open presents now?"

"You really think I'm going to say no to that Petra?"

"Heh, fair enough"

And so, everyone gathers around and the present opening fiasco commences! Everyone appears to have brought a gift of sorts all with different styled packaging, Petra's got a few but I'm pretty sure some are from the people not here of course.

I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much and I'm happy with anything but it does seem nearly everyone has gotten me something which is pretty surprising, I didn't expect the whole gift giving tradition to be this popular especially in another world.

Starting with my dragon family, shiny bits and pieces like jewellery have made its way into a pelt bag obviously from my parents' nest and even Minos has given me a golden coin. Sure, it's not exactly practical since I've kinda gone off shiny things for the most part now. Well, except pure golden bars, I can never go off them but that just reminds me of that little thing I did teasing Petra with it a while ago that ended up backfiring happily.

"Sorry we couldn't get you anything else Ikarus, we're really not used to this sort of thing"

"Cu..."

"Little one really isn't like that darling; she'd be happy with anything"

I mean, father's not wrong though, I'm just happy they've shown up so they could've been empty handed and it would've been fine. I'm also not completely sure if everyone here even knows they're dragons other than us birds and obviously Marcus when he happened to watch our spar going down but they definitely have been standing out quite a bit around the place. Oh well, everything gone well so it's fineee... so far at least. Also, I've also been purposely trying to avoid mentioning the fact mother has definitely been getting the odd stare despite all the men here trying to do it really subtle like...

Next, it's something from Zeki and Ariza. Opening this small thing up, I find a wooden frame with what appears to be a drawing of me and Petra inside it. I'm actually shocked looking at this though, this painting is scarily accurate, both me and Petra appear to be smiling in it and it almost looks like a photo taken from an actual camera, where the hell did they find an artist to do this?

"It's nothing big Ikarus, didn't cost much but we both thought you'd like it"

"Brother's wrong, it is a big deal. You have no idea how terrible it was to ask the cow for a favour, I'm actually in that pervert's debt now"

(Ria) "He-he..."

(Ariza) "Zeki... you weren't supposed to mention that"

Heh, I guess that answers it, the dryad is the artist responsible and Zeki's probably paying using his booty I reckon... I'm not going to tease him on this, it's actually a really thoughtful gift even if technically Ria made it.

For the next few people, Marcus gives me a fancy bottle of alcohol I've never tried before, I have no idea what it is but I'll definitely be giving this a try but it definitely looks expensive. Jaxon passes me a small hand sized metal sculpture that is apparently handmade from the miners themselves, it funnily enough looks similar to my in my bird form so that's definitely confirmed they've seen me flying before. No big deal I guess, it seems to be done in a nice way then and from the dwarf, an axe.

Literally, an axe. I'm unsure if it's meant to mean anything but Petra tried to hide a smile when he passed me the thing, I'll ask about this another time but by the sounds of it, this is an inside joke since only him, his wife and Petra seems to understand it.

(Petra)"Heh"

"That's not even funny Garry! I said to get a proper gift"

"It is a proper gift! How could you say an axe isn't a proper gift? For centuries, dwarfs like to give friend axes, you know that wife"

"That's just a dwarven thing though..."

Still, Petra and Garry the gnome are grinning about it the axe thing, I feel like this is going to be a really stupid joke now so I might just not bother asking.

"Next lot... this is what the few from the empire sent you Ikarus"

Petra passes me a few very small things wrapped up; these would've been small enough to be sent by bird so no point expecting anything too big. Like I said earlier, it's always the thought that counts then the actual gift.

When opening all three, I did sigh a little at what priestess got me, it's basically a small necklace with a cross on it... I mean, I get that she's basically created her own delusional religion from scratch but all this does is remind me of the monastery even though that clearly wasn't her intention. Eh, it's still nice I guess even if the idea of wearing a cross might set me on fire. I'd be resistant but still.

As for captain Jekyll and Nathan, both of them have sent keychains, one with a sword and another with a shield. As funny and odd as it seems, I actually kinda like these, we do have keys for the warehouse and a couple other places so they'll get attached to it. Am I weird for liking keychains?

"Now onto mine Ikarus"

And now finally onto Petra, I think this is the last gift but there might be one or two left. Regardless, I'm more than happy with everything I've been given and I'm really curious on what she's gotten me though.

Opening the cutesy wrapping, what I find inside is an engraved bracelet made from silver? I honestly can't read what it says and that's irking me a little, pretty sure that's the alcohol or I just can't read something that small.

"I know you're not really into jewellery Ikarus but seeing that choker you used to wear, thought it could do the same thing since you seemed to like it. Keep in mind, its white gold, not silver and is also enchanted, unfortunately the ego is useless but it still works through forms though"

Huh, so it's actually white gold, enchanted and I'm guessing it'll go on my bird ankle when I switch forms again? It's actually really nice, not too flashy and isn't over the top that suits me perfectly. Something is still winding me up about it though.

"Erm... don't get me wrong Petra, I love it and all but what does it even say though?"

I just can't read the damn thing; the engraving is really small. It definitely says something but try reading when you've had a few and you'll see what I mean. I do actually like the gift though, first time I've seen white gold in this world as well, she must've have gotten the gnome to do this.

"Heh, can say it out loud for you Ikarus but you may blush a little, unless you want everyone to see that?"

Oh God, it's going to be something corny like 'to my love Ikarus' or something like that, I'll try and read it another time when it's a little easier and maybe when we're in private and I can pounce on her... Okay, that's put me in the mood now, let's obviously wait till everyone's gone. It's pretty late, hopefully they can all leave sooner rather than later...

Just as we're finishing up the present opening, it seems someone very noticeable has been forgotten, I did think that other gift Ria made might've been shared between all three but I guess not.

"He-he, you're not forgetting about me Ikarus?"

Huh, did actually forget about the dryad, I wonder what gift she could've possibly gotten me seeing that she still owes us the holy grail. Please don't be a branch or a plank of wood from the tree spirit, I'm going to be right pissed if it is. Don't get me wrong, that painting she did was nice but it sounds like Zeki's going to paying the cost for that.

Opening her wooden looking box, I'm immediately pissed off to see what the contents are. She actually thinks this is funny?

"So let me get this straight dryad... your gift to me... is the reward which should've been given to all of us, over a freaking month ago!?"

The holy grail is in a wooden package in my arms. Don't get me wrong, this would've been a great present if this wasn't something overdue that she owed us! This is like sticking a middle finger up at the entire gift giving tradition, how can a debt be a gift?

"*Sigh*"

"Seriously cow?"

"Uh huh, you must know what's wrong with this?"

The rest of the guests aren't really going to have much of an opinion on this and it might look like we're bullying the sensitive dryad but she deserves it! Heck, she could've given me a literal blade of grass and I would've been happier then receiving this debt. It's not exactly like I can claim this though, it was supposed to be for all three of us.

"I-I'm sorry it was delayed but better late than never, r-right? Drink from it! That might forgive my clumsiness"

Sighhh... I could probably use some water at this point anyways, I guess I'll just use this as a cup then. Heading over to the bar armed with the chalice in hand, I pour some water in it and before I attempt this, I'm not falling for her bullshit again.

"I swear dryad, if this has any ill effect that does something similar to a love potion, you will regret it more than anything you've done before"

This time, I'm not kidding. If this is an aphrodisiac and the dryad 'accidentally' spikes me, she's in for a world of pain... I'm already wanting Petra more than enough already.

"I-I promise! It'll just make you feel more powerful, h-honest!"

She seems genuine but we still all remember chasing down that family for her sister's gem... If it wasn't for finding that cult, we would've still held a pretty big grudge towards her. It kinda put off any punishment we were going to dish out too if those cultists weren't around so she got lucky that time.

Anyways, I take a quick sip from the cup and see if it does anything, it still just tastes like water but Aesa should be able to help quickly.

[<While -user- may rightly hold a slight grudge toward target -Ria-, Aesa advises -user- never underestimate target -Ria- again>]

"Hang on... what's the effect of the chalice then? That doesn't exactly give me much, does it?"

Could it be good or bad? I swear if I start trying to hump Petra out of some pervy effect this thing has, I'm going to kill that dryad a hundred times over in the most painful ways possible. I mean, it's not like I'd hate doing such a thing but still! It would feel a little weird since the dryad initiated it.

[<Dungeon reward holy grail provides -user- and certain chosen individuals immortality>]

'And... what's the catch? Do I get immortality if I'm naked or something stupid like that? Have I got to drink from the cup every hour or something? Immortality is such an overused cliché that especially in this world, we know the balancing will screw me over'

Despite Aesa sounding pretty serious, it's technically a dungeon reward from a long time ago. I've had like one good reward from dungeons themselves and even that has a cooldown timer so this is bound to be shit. I guess that invisibility one worked for one very specific situation but none have been spectacular, even the potion fountains are dumb because I couldn't take most of it with me.

[<Unfortunately -Ikarus-, the drawback is written into itself. If chosen target drinking from cup wanted to die of old age, such a thing is now impossible. It is comparable to a double-edged sword, death now has to be achieved by less peaceful alternatives. From this current point in time, -Ikarus- can no longer age... heh, phoenix lifespan was unknown but now it's completely irrelevant, Aesa sees the humour in that>]

"Wait... you mean to tell me, that drinking from that cup literally just stopped me completely aging with basically no drawbacks!?! What kind of bullshit is this!?"

She can't be serious and I've even said that out loud in front of everyone, I couldn't give two shits though! What kind of shitty development does someone unlock immortality when just chilling at their birthday party? It's bad story telling or crappy writing, what idiot thinks it's a good idea to just say, hey! Fancy a bit of immortality? Here you go! Oh, by the way, it was fine for me to swear, Minos is asleep right now.

This isn't something down to me having consumed a little bit of alcohol, I'd be reacting the same way regardless, at least have like an epic battle or fight to the death beforehand just so it's deserving of such a reward... Forget it, I can see why people might not want this though, I'm now forced to die by a less than peaceful means like a sword then peacefully like a shrivelled up old bird. Am I seriously regretting immortality though? Fuck no! I just hope this works on Petra too.

"Huh? Are you sure about that Ikarus? That stops ageing?"

I guess Ariza was the first to respond to my shouting there, very quickly Zeki follows her like a bad smell though.

"You said something about stopping ageing orangey? Lemme have a try..."

Without even waiting, Zeki basically snatches the still partially filled chalice from my hands and takes a sip from it as well. For some reason, I feel like he's not going to be 'chosen'...

"...Are you high or something orangey? Nothing's happening for me, you wasted or is this another thing where the Gods are screwing me in the ass? Drink this as well brother and let's see if they want to burn in hellfire"

"Do I have to... fine, I'll do it then Zeki"

Then Zeki literally pushes the cup in front and Ariza and basically gives her no chance to react. After seriously pondering whether to drink from it or not, she decides to do so and then quickly confirms what I just said.

"Huh... Ikarus was right, I just got an effect about something to do with ageing... that's pretty neat, you try it now Petra"

Ariza now passes it to Petra since all us four are around the bar now apparently, Zeki looks really fuming but it's only about to get worse once Petra takes a sip. It's actually kinda funny how curious we all are about this.

"Yeah, looks like that stops ageing apparently"

I'm so freaking happy that's worked on Petra! Sure, I could see us living hundreds of years together but she would've eventually perished at some point leaving me and the world alone... it's also kinda funny how little of a deal Petra and Ariza see this thing though, shouldn't immortally be a great thing or is when you get past four-hundred, your opinion changes? It matters little, I guess worrying about something like age when none of us had a clue about our lifespan would've been unnecessary. Now, there's no need at all! This has turned out to be nothing which is really weird though...

"What kinda bullshit luck is this again!? I don't even care that I never have to worry about you three dying if I go beforehand, this is just fucking stupid! Fuck the Gods, fuck them all!"

Even during his ranting, Zeki can never truly realize just how much of a tsundere and just how much he gave away there... he literally just admitted to worrying about us after he's dead! It's a good thing Minos is still sleeping on mother's lap right now not having to listen to this filth.

"Language Zeki, public place and all that"

It seems Petra does have to step up and try to cool him down, I seriously doubt that's possible though.

"Erk... you mind if I leave orangey? I need to go away and let off some steam"

"Look on the Brightside girly boy, at least you get to spend the remainder of your years with me!"

"Actually... immortality is overrated, I'd rather be worm food then suffer that fate"

"Hey!"

I can't help but laugh from that little exchange him and Ria just did. I actually feel a little sorry for him this time around, the dryad is only making it worse for him... I'm considering giving him one of my kill all abilities to go throw and play with but that's like giving a literal nuke to the hands of a sulking child.

"Sure Zeki... just make sure you go far enough away from people"

"Heh, Ikarus has a point"

Poor Zeki, always getting the short straw even if he kinda deserves it though. As for everyone else, I'll offer people some potential chance at immortality but I seriously doubt this'll work on anybody else, dungeon rewards were noticeable when it comes to having apparently two rewards but one was always hidden away for certain people to take. I think it was the dead prince who said something like that.

If it works, I'll bring it up another time since it's now getting late but I can also see people turning it down as well though, father is basically a guarantee although I'm also betting mother would do so as well. The dryad doesn't need this and besides, it wouldn't surprise me if she 'accidently' forgot this provides immortality and drunk it ages ago. I still can't see this working on anybody else though.

'Should I worry a little more about Zeki's wellbeing? Nah, he'll get over this, nothing a little fire and destruction can't fix. Hopefully, me and Petra can have some alone time soon as well...'