Chapter 183: DemiDevimon Urgently Needs a Sense of Ritual
"Just kidding."
"Almost forgot Auntie Claire's gift."
"Hmm, like Professor Lily, how about a bottle of good wine for her?"
"As for Mother's gift, I'll give her a pot of normal Cat Grass."
"You can't buy this stuff outside."
So the next day, Saturday, after his morning workout, Dark took a bath, drank a cup of milk, and then took DemiDevimon to Traveler's Street.
The street was adorned with colorful decorations, various string lights hung from the eaves, and the dolls and signboards placed at shop entrances all wore Santa hats. The festive atmosphere arrived sooner than expected.
In the small garden in the middle of the food street, an undecorated Christmas tree already stood there.
"Hoo hoo hoo!"
DemiDevimon couldn't help but laugh. If they had come at night, they would have seen many couples cuddling here.
Dark avoided peak hours, arriving in the early morning, planning to return before noon.
As he passed a candy store, he thought for a moment and still bought a "Christmas-themed candy gift package."
After leaving the store, he also had an extra Christmas card in his hand. It seemed to be a joint event on Traveler's Street, where shop owners would give Christmas cards depending on the recipient. This also saved the effort of buying them separately.
Next, he spent some time in two bookstores, finding "Claire's Travels" and "The Old Knight of the Frontier" respectively. "Claire's Travels" was unexpectedly popular, actually in short supply.
So he bought a copy for himself, planning to take a good look at all the places Auntie Claire had visited over the years.
As for "The Old Knight of the Frontier," because it was the autobiography of a post-war knight who wasn't famous, its sales weren't high, and he only found a single copy in an old bookstore.
It was pretty good luck.
"Flap! Flap!"
DemiDevimon intentionally flapped its wings, making sounds as it flew back and forth in front of Dark. Because Dark forbade it from speaking in front of outsiders, it could only express itself through "sign language."
"Alright, let's go buy yours now." Dark sighed, a hint of a helpless smile on his face.
DemiDevimon immediately began dancing a figure-eight in the air.
Dark added: "But you can't open it until Christmas."
DemiDevimon nodded vigorously.
Who doesn't have a sense of ritual?
Of course, I, DemiDevimon, do too!
This was the first holiday gift it had ever received in its beastly life, so of course, it had to be ceremoniously opened on Christmas Eve, filled with a sense of ritual!
"Hoo hoo hoo!"
DemiDevimon couldn't help but laugh.
Upon reaching a clothing store, DemiDevimon stopped at the entrance and refused to go in. Dark knew it wanted to maintain the surprise, so he walked in alone.
As the weather grew colder, students' demand for scarves and gloves increased, and consequently, the number of stores selling these products also grew.
Dark carefully selected, finally choosing a thick, coffee-colored scarf. In any case, price wasn't an issue; the quality of the item had to be good.
He asked the salesgirl to help wrap it and put it into a gift box.
The salesgirl couldn't help but tease: "Oh, is this a Christmas gift for your girlfriend?"
Dark smiled: "No, it's not."
The salesgirl asked curiously: "Then who is it for?"
Dark: "AIBO."
Dark, stepping out of the store, held up the gift box and shook it in front of DemiDevimon.
DemiDevimon stared for a long time, resisting the urge to open it immediately. It wanted to spend the entire next week guessing the scarf's color and style!
After securing the most important scarf, Dark went to the small tavern where he had previously bought Fairy Wine. But he seemed to have come too early; the dilapidated tavern located in a corner of Traveler's Street was still tightly shut.
"Then I'll come back later."
After thinking for a moment, Dark decided to first buy some bottles and gift boxes for juice, and of course, apples. The gift for Emma was probably the cheapest, but it required no less effort.
After buying everything, he didn't continue shopping but first returned to his dorm. Because he had too many things in his hands.
"Hey, Dark, are you back already?"
Just as he entered the tower, Dark encountered a fully "armed" Diana and Rose. Although there were still two weekends until Christmas, the girls clearly preferred to prepare in advance.
Besides, perhaps even two weekends combined wouldn't be enough for them to shop.
Diana and Rose were planning to pick out Christmas gifts while shopping.
Nowadays, Diana was quite well-off, and her voice sounded much louder when she spoke.
Dark held up the items in his hands and gestured: "I still have some things to do."
Diana had no choice but to swallow the invitation she was about to extend: "Oh, alright then."
Dark then returned to his dorm, put away the gifts first, washed his hands, and began making apple juice.
The process of making apple juice was very simple; it mainly consumed time.
With Shuckle's help, Dark spent an entire morning completing the production. He added special spices for preservation to the apple juice, sealed them one by one, then packed them into gift boxes and pushed them into the corner.
"Done!"
Dark stood up, suddenly feeling very fulfilled.
He shook his head, tidied up, ate lunch at the cafeteria, and then headed to Traveler's Street again.
Traveler's Street in the afternoon was noticeably much more crowded, with happy, laughing people visible everywhere.
Dark carefully savored the approaching festive atmosphere while thinking about what to buy. The types of wine, and the types of Cat Grass, were still undecided. As for the gift for the senior, he had no clue at all.
Not long after, he arrived at the Catnip Flower and Wood Shop, and his gaze was immediately drawn to a Ragdoll cat. But after petting the cat, he walked out empty-handed again.
If he really brought a pot of Cat Grass home, his fat cat there would probably be unhappy.
"Maybe I should just wrap up the Crimson Star medal as a gift..." Dark couldn't help but mutter.
When he arrived at the small tavern again, its door was already ajar.
Dark pushed the door open and entered, seeing the tavern's owner — Uncle Simmons. Simmons, appearing to be in his forties, had long, pointed ears; he wasn't a fairy, but a male elf.
Dark had always wondered about the necessity of this tavern, which so rarely opened. But Simmons' brewing skills were genuine; a treasure like Fairy Wine couldn't be brewed by just anyone.
"It's you again, kid?"
"Uncle, do you have any Fairy Wine left?" Dark glanced inside and, sure enough, there wasn't a single customer.
Simmons quickly waved his hand: "None left, none left! I'm drinking the rest myself!"
Running a tavern just to sell wine to drink himself—that was truly something!
Dark wasn't discouraged: "Do you have any other wines? I want to buy two bottles as Christmas gifts."
Simmons: "Still that 'sage' from last time?"
Dark nodded: "And Professor Lily."
Simmons paused, then said: "Wait a moment."
He then went inside the house.
When he came out, he had three bottles of wine in his hand.
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 50 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin