"Saki, we're here!!" Tobias and the others called out as they stood in front of the door. Tobias was pressing the intercom as the others carried the stuff they brought with them. Not long afterwards, Saki opened the door. He was in the kitchen, helping his father when they came, he didn't have time to remove the apron when he opened the door. It was a sight to see, especially for Esther who had a crush on Saki.
"Well, come on in, everyone! The curry is almost done! Make yourself at home in the living room," he said, giving them way to enter the house.
"Saki, you look good in that apron," Esther complimented, and the rest inwardly smiles at the young woman's boldness in flirting. Saki doesn't know what else to do in this situation other than giving her a warm smile.
"Thank you for the compliment, Esther. Now I must get back to the kitchen and help father. Try not to break anything, guys!"
When Saki left them to their own device to help his father, the rest of the team went to the living room. They took out the stuff they brought over. A few cans of beer, gaming console, and tons of junk foods.
"Geez, we wouldn't need to bring this physically if Tobias only use his new spatial ring," Loreno complained.
"What? No! I haven't even checked the contents yet. I want everyone to be present when I took out the so-called surprise," he replied. "Maybe if you did not fill your rings with junks, we wouldn't need to carry it physically! Remember, these are yours. The rest of use brought our stuff inside our rings."
"It is not junk! I can't have my mags lying around on the floor! It'll get confiscated!"
"Hah! Is that so? So, that is where all your pocket money goes to, eh? You bought yourself a porn mags!" El chirped in. "How could you, you could've lent me some of them!"
"What!?" both ladies in the room couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"I knew you were a player, but I never thought you are this low," Veronika said while Esther nodded in agreement.
"No! Veronika, you got it wrong!"
Meanwhile, Saki was with his father in the kitchen, giving some finishing touch to the curry when he heard the wail from Loreno. He immediately looked up at his father, to see him doing the same to him. They paused for a while before bursting out in laughter.
"Geez, that boy. Things will get lonely when all of you starts your mission…" his father said with a hint of sadness.
"Oh, did they decide where to hit already?" Saki asked as he turned the stove off.
"Yes. Japan is where you all be going. This will be the first time you go back to your birthplace ever since you're born. Your mother is also waiting for your return," the older male replied. Saki had few memories of his mother. She went back to Japan when he reached six years old in order to help take care Saki's grandparents.
"Are you not joining us, dad?" Saki had finished with the curry and had carried it over to the dining table. The rice is prepared by his father, each plate has the exact amount of rice as the rest.
"Our method of travel is different. You will be going by ship in order to avoid suspicion. I will depart from here a month after you have sailed. But I will be reaching Japan first, and waits for all of you in the rendezvous point," he then took the ladle that was in the curry pot Saki brought over and poured the curry over the rice. Watching the curry slowly covering half the rice already made Saki mouth water. "Tomorrow, you will be briefed about it, and then in a week, you will sail off."
"Already!?" Saki exclaimed, shocked. "I can't believe our training has ended…"
"Well, you have been here since you're a toddler. It is no surprise," they have finished preparing the dinner. "Go and call your friends. I'll prepare the drinks."
Saki nodded and took off the apron, hanging them properly before exiting the kitchen. As he walked to the living room, he could hear the cheerfulness from his friends. 'Looks like they're teasing Loreno again…' Saki thought to himself as he smiled.
"Guys, dinner is ready," he called out to them and they stopped immediately.
"Yay! Food!!" Loreno was the first to get on his feet and left the living room.
"Loreno! Where's your manner!!?" Tobias called out to the male. And Saki lets out a small laugh.
"It's fine, come on, before the food gets cold. I'm hungry myself. I am just this little to just eat without calling you guys," he made a gesture with his hands to show what he meant as he joked.
"That ain't funny, Saki," El said with a slight pout. "We're also hungry," he told him. But Saki could see the empty remains of crackers.
"Uh-huh, even after stuffing yourself with crackers?" he asked in a teasing tone.
"Uhh… that ain't me! That's my man's Loreno's food!"
"I heard that El!" Loreno shouted from the kitchen. "All of you hurry up and come over so we can start dinner!"
After dinner, they hang out at the living room. It was late, so Saki's father offered to let them stay the night. But he did inform them of the briefing tomorrow, so he told them not to sleep too late.
"Mr. Atsushi is already in his forties, right? How is it that he still looks young?" Esther decided to talk about the older man.
"True, maybe it's in his gene?" Veronika questioned. "Or maybe he used some beauty product… or it's just the food he ate."
"Maybe it is because of the food…" Esther said as he glanced at Saki who is currently drinking juice while chatting with the boys. "I mean… Saki also have good skins," she said in a slight jealous tone.
"Indeed… where is the justice in this?" Veronika agreed as she lets out a sigh.
"Hey, ladies! We're about to play video games! Come and join us," Loreno said as he took the console and plugged it in. He turned it on as Saki turned the holographic TV on. He then paired his console with the TV so they could finally play.
"Sure, what are we playing?" Veronika asked as she joined the group. Esther following suit not long after.
"Battle Knights, of course! Tonight, I will make sure to beat Saki!" Loreno is already pumped up now. "This time for sure, I will knock you down from your throne!"
The night goes on with them enjoying themselves. In the end, Loreno did not manage to beat Saki. Finally, when they are about to sleep, it is time to inspect the new spatial ring that Tobias got earlier.
"Hmm… this ring's storage sure is huge… but it still cannot be compared with mine," Saki said with a grin.
"Show off!" Tobias playfully punched him on the shoulder.
"If you guys just hand me your rings, I would be happy to upgrade it for you guys!"
"We know, but we don't want to give you and your father any more extra work," Tobias informed him. "Plus, we can still use our rings and there are still some spaces left."
"Except for Loreno," El added jokingly which earned him a small slap on the back of his head from the Italian.
"It is not that hard. I like working on figuring out how to better our gadgets," he said as he handed the ring back to Tobias. "Now, check what's inside! I've seen it, but I thought it would be better if you see it yourself!"
With that, Tobias checked what's inside his ring before his eyes widened in shock. "Saki… this…" he couldn't believe what's inside his ring. "This is awesome!!" he exclaimed loudly. His reaction made the rest of the team curious. "Guys! Come see this!"
Tobias quickly got up and went outside before taking out the thing from his spatial ring. What came out was a brand-new sports car, its midnight blue colour looks even more beautiful under the moonlight.
"Oh, my god… this could've been mine if I was just a second faster!" El said, clearly jealous of the man.
"Can you even drive, Eleutherios?" Loreno asked in a mocking tone. "If it were you, the car probably won't last a day! I still remember what happened to my bike!"
"That was an accident!" he tried to defend himself. "Tobias, what else is there?" he asked in hope to change the topic.
"Well, there is also this one," he replied as he took out a set of clothes. "It looks like it's for us rather than for me," he said, handing each one the clothes. They even came with a tag with their names on it so it was easy to see that it was custom made. "Guess we'll make them happy and wear this to the briefing tomorrow."
And they all agreed with the idea. They keep on checking the content of the rings before going to sleep. All in all, Tobias had a huge upgrade in his arsenal with what he has now.