Arriving at the smith's house, I let out a deep sigh, not because I'm anxious or something like that. It just brings so many memories to be here. As a child, whenever my father was busy hunting, the wife of the Smith would trouble herself with taking care of me in the meantime alongside her daughter. Even if father never mentioned that I had a mother or that the concept was foreign for me entirely, I could still say that this woman, the smith's wife, my friend Clara's Mother was like a mother to me as well.

"Darling, Relwing's here!"

I hear Clara's mother call out, and catch a glance of her through the glass window of the humble home. Only a couple more steps from the door I hear intense shuffling and a running pace. Suddenly the door bursts open.

"Relwing, you're here already? Come in."

There to greet me is Clara. She urges me to walk in sounding a little out of breathe. But more stunningly to me, she was wearing a tight black dress while in matching black heels. Her bosom was...

"Yeah, I just figured I should help with setting up the party."

Last thing I want is to be caught staring at her big tits. How did I even manage to stand living in the same house with her while staying 'friends'. Damn, I didn't expect her to be the one to open the front door to welcome me. It makes all that wholesome thinking earlier borderline dead considering the more pervy stuff I'm thinking now. How soft are they? What size cup is she? I push those thoughts back.

Of course, she would be here now though, we came on the same carriage back to Vitra. Then again, I'm not exactly 'me' today.

Before I can contemplate any further, Clara grabs my arm to pull me in. I look at her face to avoid ogling her body and she responds with a seductive smile back with her emerald color eyes glistening. Smiling back isn't hard given how pretty she is, and how warm that smile of hers makes me feel right now. She closes the door behind us.

"You don't have to worry about that, mom took care of nearly everything now, she's just finishing up in the kitchen. I missed you."

Right as I try to respond, Clara pulls me into a bear hug placing my face right next to her breasts. I'm so shocked all I can think to do is give her a light hug back. She smells sweet, freshly scented with perfume I theorize. My face gets all warm from her chest and all I can hear is her strong heartbeat, I start to hear my heart as well pounding in my ears. Even the slight shuffling tickles my face with her long auburn hair.

"It's nice to see you too. But it's not like we didn't see each other yesterday night too."

Just by a thread I am able to regain composure. Clara loosens up her grip letting me pull my head out of the enjoyable yet sinful embrace it was held in. She's always like this, and right now when I'm at my most vulnerable I can hardly put on the same nonchalant façade I'd held so well in the past.

"I know, but you can't keep a girl waiting."

Clara switches to pushing herself against my chest and beaming up that same sexy smile again with a head tilt.

"I get it, all in due time. Let's just enjoy the moment right now."

Calming my thoughts to respond with a cool face takes an uncanny amount of concentration. The thought of setting another save to right before the door opened creeps in my mind. However, I decide not to for the sole reason that I have to at least know how Clara feels about the "new" me. Gaming it too much would just fuck it all up.

"~Normally you would've pushed me away by now.~ Not that I want you to let go. Did something happen?"

Her smile switches to a look of worry. It makes me feel like I did something wrong, but I can't help but smile back to her cute face.

"Nothing, well nothing bad at least."

I say with a grin plastered to my face. It's enough to get Clara back to her usual look of elation. She does also back away from her invasion of my personal space. Yet I still have my hands on her hips and her hands over my arms.

"That's good. Here you can tell me about it while we get comfortable."

Clara finally leads me past the living room, and stairs to the second floor, into the large dining room. Normally, Clara's mom has all her alchemical materials sprawling around when she's not expecting guests. Today that space is cleared with a small corner of empty space at the far end of the dining room table. Clara motions me to sit at the central seat at the end. She goes to stand next to her mother in the kitchen.

"Welcome, Relwing, how are you? I'm still in the middle of baking the cake and mixing the juice. Are you already hungry or thirsty?"

Clara's mom says to me as she turns to smile at me while still maintaining the stir on the juice in the bowl. Unlike her daughter she has blue eyes and a darker shade of hair.

"I'm quite well, I am just a little thirsty and a bit hungry. But how're you Mrs. Carla?"

In spite of my formal response, my stomach suddenly let out a roar, indicating to everyone in ear shot that I wasn't just a bit hungry. I hear Mrs. Carla chuckle a little.

"I'm fine Relwing, but you're clearly famished. Clara if you would, please go take these to the boy."

"~He's not a boy anymore mom.~ I'm coming, Relwing."

Clara calls out to me as she quickly fixes up and heads with a platter of food and a cup of the mixed juice.

"Ehihi, that's right, you're eighteen now. No longer a boy, but you'll always be one of my darlings too."

Mrs. Carla laughed to herself as Clara gives her a pouty face before reaching me. Clara places the platter in front of me on the table. She also pulls in one of the surrounding chairs to sit next to me.

"You said 'nothing bad'. So, what did happen today?"

"Something happen during your hunt with Japhy, Rel?"

Right as I was about to choke up an answer Seth shows up. I didn't hear Seth's steps as he came from upstairs, but his sudden barging into the conversation actually helps for once.

"Nah, nothing crazy like that. Just this."

Raising my arm to display the glowing sigil, marking me a neurovant, I also make a smug face.

"EEhk!"

Clara shrieks and throws herself onto me with another harassing hug. I don't mind it a single bit, her warm cheek presses against mine with her arms over my shoulders.

"How long ago did you get that?"

Seth immediately has a concerned look on his face to follow his response. I'm not even sure if it's out of skepticism or pure bewilderment.

"Since this morning. I woke up and started brushing my hair when suddenly my arm started glowing like this."

"Oh, I'm just shocked really, no one's ever had it come that late. You planning on heading back to Linktown tonight to get an appraisal?"

"You want to be an adventurer like us? You can join my party after you rank up."

"C, I have a feeling if he did that you'd be retiring sometime soon. Besides you want to go in the vaults with me, right Rel?"

Seth places his arm above Clara's and over my neck pulling me in and rubbing my head. He sure does act like a big bro when he's not being serious.

"Uh—"

As soon as I try to give a proper reply to the bombardment from these two, the roar from my gut sounds out again. I softly chuckle a bit from embarrassment.

"Can you two let him eat? It's going to get cold otherwise."

Mrs. Carla chastises the two with a stern look. Seth lets go and pats my back, while Clara leans back to her seat after adjusting my hair back that Seth messed up. I just smile and pick up the fork and knife to dig in. Seth sits next to Clara and starts talking to her about adventurer stuff.

Meanwhile, in front of me is a delectable assortment of meat with cheese melted on top and a broth to the side of it with a still warm bun next to it. I'm almost tempted to cut the bun in half and stuff the meat in between like a sandwich, or more like a cheeseburger. Instead I just split a piece off the meat to taste.

"Mm, sho gud."

Couldn't resist giving praise where it's due. Mrs. Carla smiles as I continue with tasting the bread and broth, its own heavenly combo. Even the juice had the right balance of sweetness and tartness that made me want to chug it all in one gulp.

As I keep eating more and more people start showing up. Many are just some of the neighbors and a couple of their older children. They're familiar by face only, I very rarely spoke to any of them especially since I moved to Linktown. A couple of them greeted me with a 'hello' and a 'happy birthday', the usual pleasantries. Though I didn't answer most of them with anything other than a head nod as I'm still eating.

Not much time passes before I finish my meal. Everyone else had already begun eating at this point except for Clara and Seth.

"You two already ate?"

I finally interject into their conversation. Though at that point I think they were bickering about something rather than having a decent discussion. I think that only because the crease of frustration Seth had on his forehead disappears when he turns to me.

"Yep. So? About your appraisal you do plan on becoming an adventurer right?"

Seth asks me candidly as if I had been thinking about that the entire time while eating. And honestly thinking of it in this moment. It's not like I'm forced to be an adventurer, and I don't even know if that's the best I can do in this life. Maybe if I have crafting neuros or more 'magic'-based neuros I can do something else instead. Although so far the neuros I share with dad would make me a pretty good adventurer.

"We'll see, hey speaking of which wanna compare sigils?"

"You're a neurovant now!?"

One of the teens shouts. Suddenly, I'm met with a fanfare of 'congratulations', 'it's about time', and 'better late than never.' I'm shocked so many people care, then again, they did come to my birthday party.

"What's all the commotion?"

A man walks in and states coldly. He has a scar across his face from above his left eyebrow to his upper lip, but it's deeply reminiscent of Seth's. Well yeah it's his dad. And he's definitely Clara's father, he's got the same green eyes, though his are much colder. Something of a thousand yard stare one could say.

"Sean, honey, muah. Relwing, has his neurovant mark now."

Mrs. Carla's kiss on her husband immediately removes the coldness from his eyes as he looks at her while putting his hand over the cheek she kissed. Mr. Sean looks quite bashful.

"Ah, that's right. A late bloomer for certain, but even so he's bloomed finally."

Mr.Sean looks at me with a half smile, I match his enthusiasm with a slight nod and half smile of my own. He's always made sure that I don't mistake him for a father figure or an uncle, not that I wanted that from him, I have a dad. Thinking on it a bit more maybe it comes from a past he shares with my father. The two of them seem to always speak in private ever since I was a child. Dad never tells me what it's about.

"You wanted to see my sigil, Rel?"

"Hm? Yea, I just wanted to know how different ours are."

I refocus on what I originally wanted to discuss with Seth.

"Clearly there's not much you can say ''is' the same between ours."

Seth's marking is also a special one, it appears as two hook lines symmetrically across his left arm with another line splitting the two before reaching a spear like tip. And the line that splitting the image turns into a spiral with a cross shape in the center.

"Here check mine out too."

Clara chipperly nudges her arm next to mine so I can see her sigil. Hers is definitively reminiscent of the symbol from those enemies in that videogame with a boy who has big shoes and a key 'sword'. A heart shape symbol overall but looking at the defining lines is a more intricate tapestry. Thorn-like spikes around the curved sides with an open diamond shape in the middle that holds a set of three intersecting circles.

What a quirky system this 'Syneonex' is to give us such oddly tasteful glowing tattoos. Well, I don't even know if mine could be called tasteful. It's a seven pointed star at the top of a converging scaly dual helix.

"You know seeing it up close, Rel, yours is aggressively bold. Hmph, and it looks like all three of us ended up with rare sigils."

Seth states with an air of pompousness.

"What a coincidence."

My sarcasm spills over a little. Despite that, Seth nods in agreement.

"I really like yours, it gives you a bit more character."

Clara compliments while caressing my arm with her soft fingers. I don't even think of stopping her, she has really delicate hands despite her profession.

"I have to agree with Clara, it's a splendid symbol to show you're a man now."

Wearing a silk white blouse, with an ample amount of cleavage, Cordelia shows up and takes a seat next to me. And instantly grips my free arm, and smothers it into her embrace.

"I'm really glad you could make it. I know you must've had a lot of work to get through."

A soft grin marks my face, as I'm praying Cordelia doesn't notice how nervous her gesture makes me. Especially, when I can tell Clara's seething at her forwardness.

"Well of course, since ~you invited me to come.~"

Cordelia must be masking her own shyness through her bold actions, considering her voice went from a self-assured declaration to a meek whisper. She even buries her face in my arm to hide the its reddening pigment.

A couple seconds more and I can calm the thumping in my chest. Cordelia's got her own mature introvert allure. Am really doing this, trying to juggle two women at my own birthday party? My other self couldn't have dreamed this scenario, well maybe I did at some point when I was a teenager and watched like a dozen harem anime.

But the real thing is so much more different. I notice as Clara scoots her chair closer to me.

"Guh."

Sound escapes my throat as I feel an unmistakable feeling on my nether region. A sudden hand gripping right on my...