Can't Stand It

"It's a Mage Robe, a traditional black one. I'll give it to you now." Gandalf misheard Emma's exclamation of realization as her wanting to know the gift in advance, so he directly handed the gift box in his hand to Emma.

As for the delay earlier, it was because the robe was made too short. After altering it, it took some time to embellish it for aesthetic purposes.

"Thank you, Teacher." Emma came back to her senses, understanding all the previous events, especially Frank's complete indifference to her leaving by boat. Emma blushed slightly.

Fortunately, this misunderstanding was between everyone, and no one else knew.

"Alright, the pre-birthday entertainment is over. The party is about to start, let's quickly go back and change. By the way, why doesn't Miss Emma call Gandalf Grandpa Mage? Isn't 'Teacher' a bit too formal?"

Kerry, still dripping wet, suggested returning to the castle to change clothes and have a party.

However, it was rare for a granddaughter to call her grandfather "Teacher."

"Emma, haven't you told Kerry yet?" Gandalf asked, puzzled. They had become family, so their relationship should have been revealed, right? Hadn't everything been said?

"Told him what? Oh, I didn't tell him that Teacher isn't my grandfather." Emma thought Gandalf was referring to concealing her identity. However, she could see that her teacher trusted Kerry a lot, so she decided not to hide her identity anymore.

But she really had to thank Kerry for saving her life this time. It wouldn't be right to hide her identity anymore, especially since he had saved her life. What else was there to hide?

Upon returning to the castle, Kerry learned that Emma was a noble lady from Faglan who had fled there.

That's great. Since you're refugees, I'll shelter you. Capturing two mages in one go, Kerry felt like he had struck gold.

At 7 PM, after a series of events, the birthday party finally began, an hour later than scheduled.

Emma changed into her new magic robe. Since her ankle was sprained, she walked into the castle hall arm-in-arm with Gandalf.

Now 14 years old, she wore the traditional black mage robe, exuding youthful vitality tinged with a hint of maturity, looking like a young lady. Gandalf couldn't help but sigh beside her.

"Emma, this is the birthday gift I prepared for you. I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I prepared a few things." Kerry was the first to step forward and present his gifts.

Due to the previous artificial respiration and the candid conversation along the way, Kerry no longer addressed Emma as "Miss" every time.

On the way back to the castle, because Emma had sprained her leg, Kerry carried her on the beach buggy back. Emma had become quite talkative during the ride, constantly calling out to Kerry, which led Kerry to start calling her by her name. Their relationship had become much closer.

"Thank you. Can I open them now?" For some reason, Emma was very excited about the birthday gift Kerry had prepared. Ever since Kerry had saved her and brought her ashore, she had found him surprisingly agreeable and wanted to talk to him more.

"Of course, you can. They were meant for you, after all." Emma quickly opened the three gifts Kerry had given her.

The first one she opened was a book, which looked like a magic book. Emma felt a pang of emotion; when she hadn't studied hard in the past, there were piles of magic books at home.

Now that her family had fallen on hard times, and she wanted to strive to study magic and become a great mage, she suddenly had no magic books to read.

Emma cherished the magic book, holding it tightly to her chest, and then opened the second gift.

Inside the second gift was a small metal rod. She didn't know its purpose, but it was clearly an alchemical product and likely very expensive. Emma didn't know its power but accepted it solemnly.

When she opened the third gift box, Emma's face suddenly turned bright red.

Inside the box was a very beautiful, large magic gem. In Emma's opinion, magic gems were already precious items, and this one was so beautiful and so large.

It not only had practical value but also considerable artistic value. If it were just an ordinary magic gem, Emma wouldn't have overthought it, but this gem was exceptionally beautiful, which made Emma think of what a young boy gifting a beautiful gem to a young girl might mean.

Could Kerry be...? Emma suddenly put all the gifts aside, covered her face with her hands, and shyly hid behind Gandalf, whispering a "thank you" before falling silent.

Fortunately, Kerry had used the gene enhancement fluid, so his senses were sharp. Otherwise, he might not have heard Emma's thank you.

Since the gifts had been presented, it was time for revelry. Kerry turned and announced the start of the party, wishing the beautiful Miss Emma a happy birthday, and everyone raised their glasses.

The party attendees were mainly people from the castle. The servants were both guests and servers, and many fishermen from the fishing team also came to attend the birthday party.

Overall, it was quite lively. For Kerry, if he hadn't seen Mike, it would have been a perfect birthday party.

"Lord, you know, today I was fishing for jellyfish in the sea as usual, and suddenly, guess what I found in the sea?" Mike, looking tipsy, said mysteriously to Kerry, who was going around toasting the fishermen.

"Found what?" Kerry wasn't too concerned, just playing along with the boastful fisherman.

"I found a nearly new oak bed! That bed was so big, I've never slept in such a big bed..." Kerry didn't pay attention to what Mike said afterward. Damn it, that bed couldn't be...?

"That's right. It took me a lot of effort to drag that oak bed ashore from the sea. Unfortunately, some creature had made a nest on the bed, and it was covered in filth. I'd bet 10 silver coins that you've never smelled anything so foul..."

No, it's definitely my bed.

Kerry felt completely awful, especially when he heard Mike say he had dragged the bed ashore.

"What happened to the bed later?" Kerry asked eagerly.

"I moved it home and replaced the sheets and mattress. It's still usable," Mike said proudly. Kerry, on the other hand, suppressed the urge to go to Mike's house and burn the bed and left the circle of fishermen.

Kerry feared he might lose control and reveal himself if he stayed any longer.

Not long after, the party guests soon discovered that the castle's owner, Kerry, and the party's protagonist, Emma, had both disappeared.

Seeing that there was nothing for him to do, Gandalf decided to return to his room to meditate. Emma and Gandalf's rooms were adjacent. As soon as he reached the corridor outside their rooms, he saw Carson and Mrs. Wesley eavesdropping at Emma's door.

"You guys..." Gandalf started to speak, but then saw Carson and Mrs. Wesley signal him to be quiet and invite him to join them in eavesdropping.

"Ah... ah... you're too rough, I can't take it anymore, ah... I can't, stop!" This was Emma's voice, a mixture of pain and pleasure. She said she couldn't take it, but it sounded quite enjoyable.

The eavesdroppers were all adults, and this sound made people's minds conjure up many scenarios.

"Just a little longer, bear with it, I'll be done soon." This was Kerry's voice. He didn't say what he'd be done with soon, but combined with Emma's previous words, the scene seemed to connect...

Thanks to the book friend, Lao Haojie, for the recommendation tickets.

Thank you all very much for your support!