nucmednet Chapter 135: The Pebble Among Stars
Chapter 135: The Pebble Among Stars
"Are you going to leave then?" Ethea asked, her gaze drifting toward the front door.
"No, of course not," Soren replied immediately, shaking his head. "It’s still early, and Auntie hasn’t come yet. How could I leave you here alone?"
"Then..."
"Don’t worry about it," Soren interrupted gently, setting the items down. "I already told the courier that I would go a bit later."
Ethea nodded, a subtle wave of relief smoothing out the tension in her shoulders.
"Right then," Soren chuckled, rubbing his hands together as he cleared a space on the table. "Let’s see the gifts, shall we?"
He didn’t just have President Craig’s delivery. Remembering the unopened packages from yesterday, Soren also fetched the gifts Ryan and Seria had left with him. He brought them back to the living room and lined them up neatly on the table in front of Ethea, making sure everything was within her line of sight.
"Let’s start with the president’s packages first," Soren said, pulling the items he had just received to the center.
The first thing he picked up from the Bureau’s delivery was a sleek, heavy electronic key fob. The metallic logo of a luxury automobile manufacturer gleamed under the living room lights.
Soren held it up, a look of mild disbelief returning to his face. "Well... it looks like the president can read minds."
Noticing Ethea looking at him in confusion, her brows knitting together slightly, he hurriedly waved his free hand to dismiss the thought.
"Ah, that’s just a figure of speech," he explained with an embarrassed smile. "I was actually thinking about buying a car soon to make getting around easier. The timing is just so perfect it felt like he knew."
He set the heavy key fob down on the table and picked up the only other item in the president’s delivery: a gold-embossed VIP Bureau Pass.
Soren turned the sleek, gleaming card over in his hand, unsure of its exact value. Then he turned to Ethea, holding it up so she could get a clear view.
Ethea glanced at the gold lettering and immediately understood its significance.
"That pass opens the doors to the Bureau’s private auction houses and their specialized training grounds," she said, her voice calm. "You can buy rare resources and use their secure facilities whenever you want, with big discounts. The president is remarkably considerate to give you this level of access."
"Oh," Soren nodded in awe, staring at the card with newfound respect. "That’s amazing. I’ll make sure to express my gratitude later."
Setting the pass and the key fob aside, he turned his attention to the remaining gifts laid out on the table.
He reached for Seria’s gift first, carefully untying the elegant ribbon on the smaller package. When the lid came off, he found a delicate, intricately woven bracelet made of pale green crystals. Tucked neatly beside it was a small, folded piece of paper.
Soren picked up the note and scanned the words silently.
{Mr. Soren, I know how deeply you care for your wife and her well-being. After much thought, I decided on this gift. It naturally emits a gentle life force that helps ease the wearer’s pain, and I hope it can provide Mrs. Everly with at least a bit of comfort...}
"What does it say?" Ethea asked, her eyes moving from the note to his face.
Soren looked up, folding the paper back up with a casual expression, as if not affected by its contents. "Ah, she just said she thought this would be useful for you," he said, clearing his throat as he set the note aside.
He lifted the green crystal bracelet carefully from the box, feeling its faint, soothing warmth. "She really is a considerate person."
"...Mm." Ethea hummed in agreement, recalling her conversations with Seria. While she was sharp and could be deceptive, she clearly possessed a deeply caring side befitting a healer.
Soren set the box down and picked up the delicate band of pale green crystals, leaning forward slightly. "May I?"
Ethea gave a small, quiet nod.
With practiced care, Soren reached for her left arm, supporting her wrist gently as he slipped the bracelet over her hand. The pale crystals caught the morning light, resting smoothly against her skin.
"How does it feel?" he asked, looking into her face to catch any immediate reaction.
Ethea stared down at the bracelet, feeling the faint, gentle warmth radiating into her wrist.
"Good," she muttered softly.
Soren watched her for a moment longer, looking for any immediate change in her expression or the lingering stiffness in her posture. The artifact didn’t seem to make a noticeable difference right now, but he kept the observation to himself. His own presence right next to her likely obscured its subtle influence anyway, meaning she would probably feel its true benefits later when he left for the day.
"...That’s good."
Offering a warm nod, he pulled his hands back and turned his attention to the final package on the table—the heavy, rectangular box Ryan had left yesterday.
He tore away the wrapping and lifted the lid, revealing a neatly bound, brand-new manual inside. The crisp paper and fresh ink made it obvious that Ryan had written and bound the entire thing by hand.
Soren pulled the manual out, his eyes instantly tracking the title printed across the front cover in Ryan’s blocky, unpolished handwriting: The Pebble Among Stars.
"..."
Soren fell completely silent. He stared at the page, repeating the odd phrase in his mind.
’...The Pebble Among Stars.’
He blinked, tilting his head slightly as he tried to make sense of the words. Was this some kind of deep philosophical text, or had Ryan accidentally gifted him a book of poetry?
Curious, he lifted the booklet from the box to inspect it. The movement revealed a small, folded piece of paper resting right underneath where the manual had just been.
Soren picked up the note and opened it, finding a message written in that same familiar handwriting.
{Brother Soren, my master taught me this technique and told me to practice it well. He said it is a must if I want to survive long in this dangerous world, a piece of advice that stuck with me and made me want to share it with you. Sorry if my handwriting is terrible or if it looks messy, but the content is real. Happy birthday.}