Chương 106: The Parents

Luna and I continued to tour houses for hours. Unfortunately, none of them could match our criteria. We both had strict things we wanted and didn't want for the house. And we weren't going to compromise. I mean, if we're spending over a million dollars on a house, it better be up to standard! The good news was, we had time. Buying a house was one thing neither of us wanted to rush.

"If you had to survive on a deserted island alone for 72 hours, and you could bring 3 items with you, what items would you bring?" We were on our way to the last house we'd tour for the day. So, I was just making some small talk.

"Hm…" Luna stayed silent for a moment in thought, "Can I bring a robot or golem that does stuff for me?"

"…Can you afford one of those?" I asked.

"I can definitely rent one for three days."

"Haah…Alright."

"Pfft," Luna chuckled, "I'll just bring 3 automatons who know how to survive and thrive on a deserted island."

"Tsk," I smacked my lips, "Cheater."

"Should've specified that I wasn't allowed to bring one~" Luna laughed, "And, what would you bring?"

"Hm…Just give me a cauldron, knife, and survival tent. I'll be busy making potions for three days."

"What about food?"

"I'll just pick fruit or mushrooms. If worse comes down to it, I could probably brew a potion that can take down a small animal to eat."

"And you'd just know all the materials on the island?"

"Maybe not all of them," I shrugged, "But, I'd be surprised if I couldn't find anything I didn't know."

"You did somehow know what that…what was it? That spider thing that ate mushrooms or something?"

"The red-masked nightcrawler?"

"That's the one." Luna nodded, "You somehow knew that instantly."

"Hmph, don't underestimate a genius alchemist like myself," I smugly patted my chest, "Plus, my trait helps me a lot."

"Right, what was it? Material knowledge or something?" Luna asked, "Such a cheat-like trait, how does it even work?"

"There's two ways it works," I said, "The passive way is that it just helps me retain what I know about materials. It's mostly just the very basics of it like, 'this material is poisonous' or 'this material can be found in humid caverns'. If I use it actively, it's like a book appears in my mind. This one keeps every detail I know about the material. For example, I know what monsters consider hiroki shrooms a staple food source, there's a whole list of them right there. Also, there's a search function and index.

I like the trait a lot."

"I can't believe that's only silver grade. That's so op." Luna chuckled.

"I don't want to hear it," I snorted, "Your [Electric Senses] trait, a gold grade trait, is the real broken trait here."

"Touche." For reference, her [Electric Senses] trait not only warns her if she's about to be injured, it also allows her to sense the electrons in people's bodies. It's not limited to just that either, she can sense the electrons in about anything that has them. She doesn't even have to see them with her eyes! She basically has a sphere of perception!! Stolen story; please report. A certain hunter would love that! Honestly, if that's what a gold-grade trait gets, I wonder what the higher grade one does.

Would a platinum-grade skill allow you to polymorph or something? What about a diamond? Or even a rainbow? I looked at the two rainbow tokens in my skill token inventory. Just what will you become… I'm also only two gold tokens away from a confirmed gold-grade skill. If the current pace doesn't change, I should get two or three gold tokens for my floor 6 clear. That's what floor 2, 3, and 4 gave me after all. Hm… I guess I'll go clear it soon.

Unlike floor 5, floor 6 doesn't have a modifier; Plus, I want to test the new strategy I thought of.

"We're here." Luna said, pulling into a driveway. …

"Haah…" I sighed as the familiar scent of home hit me.

"It is what it is," Luna shrugged. Unfortunately, none of the houses we looked at today were ones to think about. They all had more flaws than acceptable.

"Yeah, but, that's a whole day I could've been brewing potions."

"At least you worked on the recipes. I saw you jotting down stuff in your notebook." I kicked my shoes off and headed to the bathroom. When I finished my business, I saw Luna sitting on the couch, she was fiddling with the remote.

"What're you doing?" I asked as I approached.

"I'm gonna watch a show, want to join?" Luna asked. I thought about it for a moment and then plopped down right next to her on the couch.

"Sure." I said. I figured I might as well relax for the rest of the day. After all, tomorrow…Tomorrow, I'm inviting my parents over. Honestly, I'm still a little nervous about it. Even if most of the fear and anxiety had vanished, there's still a sliver of doubt in my heart that just won't disappear. But… I glanced the at the silver-haired girl next to me. After a moment, I leaned into her and rested my head on her shoulder.

"B-Bin?" With her here, I feel like everything's going to be just fine.

"I love you." I said.

"W-Wha," Luna flinched, "I-I love you too…" She replied meekly.

"Hehe, what're we watching?" Luna sucked in a deep breath,"How about this one?" She asked, "It's an animated cartoon about a kid journeying the world catching creatures to fight alongside him."

"Sure." I said, getting up, "Let me grab the silverbin blanket."

"Okay." When I returned, Luna was waiting and had the show paused. I took my seat next to her, and wrapped the blanket around us both. Luna's face flushed a little but she leaned into me and unpaused the show. … The next day during breakfast, I casually started the conversation,"My parents are coming over today." I said.

"PFFT!" Luna spat out the sip of water she took and looked at me in disbelief, "What!?" She exclaimed.

"Oh…The table is all wet now."

"I'll clean it! But, what!? What do you mean your parents are coming over?!" She hurriedly asked.

"They're coming to visit and I'm gonna let them know I awakened." I said.

"Well, I mean, yeah! But! You didn't tell me they were coming today!"

"Eh? I told you a while ago that they were coming this week, no?"

"You could have said what day that'd be!" Luna complained, "Ah! What do I do!? I need to go buy gifts!"

"Pfft," I chuckled. Seeing her so frantic is adorable.

"What time will they be here!?" She hurriedly asked, quickly eating her food.

"Oh, well, I don't know," I shrugged, "I haven't sent the message yet." Luna froze, her fork dropped to the plate making a comedic sound.

"…You haven't sent them the message yet?"

"No?" I tilted my head cutely. Luna glared at me,"You! You said it like that on purpose!"

"Me?" I innocently pointed at myself, "I never said that they were on the way, I just said they were coming today."

"Haah…" Luna sighed, "I still need time to prepare…When do you think they'll be here?"

"Probably about four hours after I send the message? Maybe sooner."

"Okay, then, after I finish eating, I'll be heading to the store."

"You don't need to get them anything, you know?"

"No, I need to." Luna said firmly.

"Well, alrighty." I shrugged, "Should I send them the message now? Or, I can wait until you're ready."

"Mm…If you send it now, they'll be here around afternoon. Okay, yeah, that should be fine. Haah, what do your parents like?"

"Um…" I thought about it for a moment. A long moment.

"…Do you not know?" Luna asked.

"I do! I definitely do…Um…"

"…Unfilial…" Luna murmured.

"No! I was just trying to think of something as a gift! It's hard buying gifts for people, you know! Ahem," I cleared my throat, "Mama likes looking good, so maybe makeup or something? Papa is a hobbyist, but he probably has everything he needs, so, um…Bah! Just give them both a bottle of champagne or wine! That'll do!"

"…Really?" Luna stared at me.

"Hey! Have you ever tried picking out a gift for your parents!? It's hard, you know!" Luna slowly shook her head at me.

"Agh…" I let out pitifully.

"Pfft!" Luna started to laugh, "I know, I'm just messing with you. But, my parents are easy to shop for."

"Whatever," I pouted, "I'm sending the message." I took a deep breath and stared at the message box for a moment. Suddenly, I felt arms wrap around me,"It's okay, I'm here." Luna said softly.

"Mm." I nodded and hit 'send'. [Me: I'm home, come visit anytime.]"It's sent-" Just as those words left my mouth, the reply came. [Mama: Oh my goodness! Mama thought you forgot about her! I can't wait to finally see my baby again! Be there soon!]"…"

"…"

"She's on her way." I said after a beat. Luna looked at me for a moment in silence before showing a slightly teasing smile. … I tapped my thigh rhythmically repeatedly. Even though the TV was on, I wasn't paying it any mind.

"It's okay," Luna said, noticing my nervousness and placing her hand over mine. We were sitting on the couch, wrapped together in the silverbin blanket. Mama and Papa would be here any minute now.

"Mm…" I replied, "Give me a kiss and I'll calm down."

"M-Mwah." She did as asked with a flushed face.

"…Another." I said.

"Mwah…" She sucked in a sharp breath, "M-Me too…" She asked meekly. Our lips collided and a few seconds later I backed off. Though it was partly to tease her, I had genuinely calmed down a bit. As if it was scripted, a knock came to the door a few seconds later. I flinched and so did Luna. We looked at each other and she held my hand as I stood up.

"It'll be fine…" Luna said softly.

"Mm…" I replied, heading to the door. I took a deep breath and opened the door. Standing in front of the door was one man and woman; The woman had beautiful, long blonde hair brushed neatly, it flowed straight down her back. She had crystal blue eyes that shone like gemstones and was wearing a beautiful black dress. She wasn't tall, but she wasn't short, standing at 165 cm, she look down at me with sparkling eyes and a bright smile. The man next to her was taller, standing at 185 cm.

He had groomed black hair that gave him a formal looking vibe. His eyes were a beautiful deep purple that drew you in. He wore a casual tee and shorts. He was also looking at me. His eyes held curiosity more than anything else. A moment hadn't even passed yet before the woman started to speak,"Oh! My baby! You haven't changed a bit!" Mama opened her arms and embraced me, burrowing my face in her chest.

"Mama! What are you talking about! I very clearly changed a lot!!!" I retorted.