NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60: Presents
"Oh, my gods…"
Covering her mouth with her hand, Ayda stared with her eyes wide open at the huge pile of gifts that I brought for her. As a kid when the right time of Christmas came I could see curiosity and joy glistering on her face.
"This is all for you. I brought some clothes, photos, movies and tools, but also a few things that I would like you to have a look at."
Pointing my hand at each respective bag that the two of us pulled from one huge sack I explained their content to the overwhelmed girl.
"Mo-vies?"
Clearly having trouble to spell the word out loud, Ayda cutely turned her head to the side while looking at me.
"Projections saved continuous image of what happened. In other words, I can show you the stuff I thought you would love from the earth, I can show you my world itself or I can present you with some pretty useful tools. Which one would you like to start with?"
As much as this was a total waste of time outside of the moment when she would wear the bracelet, I couldn't deny myself the join of showering this girl with goods. Even though I could get them for literally nothing from Earth, I could tell how insanely high did this girl regarded them.
"I want… I want to see your world first. I want to know where do you come from."
After a bit of thought, Ayda came to a decision. Smiling lightly, I pretended not to notice the several emotions that passed through her head as she made the choice. Given our relationship, I could quite accurately uncover what thoughts followed those feelings.
"Sure thing."
Kneeling down in front of the bag, I pried it open before pulling out a small huge and quality tablet. In this case, the packaging was just for a gig, as I could carry it directly in my hand without any trouble.
Pressing the power button, I could already start the feast on Ayda's reactions with how she twitched when the screen suddenly lit up. In reality, though, I was just glad that this world didn't seem to counteract with technology. After all, with all the shapes and forms that magic could take, it would be no surprise if it somehow interfered with the passage of current in the belly of the tablet.
"Woah…"
With how the entire apparatus was prepared in advance, as soon as I unlocked the screen, a huge gallery of earth appeared. From the huge cities through great projects at the insane technology ending, just the photos managed to completely engross the girl watching them. But the true show started when I turned on a simple movie I made off the construction site.
"This is the place where I used to live with my family… Before it got obliterated. Right now, its a holy burial site where my tool for travelling between worlds is hidden."
Quickly filling the girl in to make her understand what she was watching, I then returned to enjoying how happy Ayda was with the gifts. Sadly, given how this was all just a side task for me, I couldn't prepare all that much movies. And quite honestly, I was too eager to see her react to other items to make her watch some soapy romance drama that I downloaded right before leaving earth.
"What next?"
Once the last second of the movie passed, I looked with curiosity at Ayda. With how engrossed she was in everything I showed to her, I couldn't help but feel anxious to let her open another batch.
"Hmm… how about those tools? Since you said they could be useful I think I should take a look at them now."
Making her choice with a happy grin on her face, Ayda patiently watched how I brought out the same bracelet that I was wearing ever since I came to this world. But once it activated, I could only imagine what kinds of images appeared in front of the girl's eyes. Just as expected, I finally managed to confirm that all the status and notification fields that this tool offered were visible only to its user. That alone was worth all the time spent on figuring out what Ayda would enjoy the most.
"Wait, it quantifies our energy? And even the state of emotional depletion?!"
Looking at the immense shock in Ayda's eyes, I couldn't help but pity myself for never being able to experience something like that. As little as earth advanced on the field of magic, most of the stuff that apocalypse world once produced was quite simple for me to understand and digest. Not because I was well-versed in magic, but technology.
It was this modern mindset most likely shared with the main technological design of the former apocalypse world. But Ayda didn't belong to such an advanced culture. And when she suddenly took that bracelet off her arm with a tired look on her face, I realised that it might not be that easy to get her to unleash her true potential.
Yet, at this point, I couldn't help but think about one thing. As much of a guess it was, the rewards I would receive for completing the world's quest would usually correspond with what I perceived to be my main problem. Just like when I received helpful plants all this time in the past…
"I'm sorry, as much as I want to explore it, I can do it on a later date. For now, would you mind showing me the rest?"
Suddenly shaken awake, I looked passively at Ayda's face. Amongst the hints of exhaustion, it was her live enthusiasm that pushed me back into an active state.
"Sure thing. Let's maybe start with chocolate?"