Chapter 41 : The Gift

The following morning, Aldric met Emma on a busy shopping street. He had arrived eight minutes early and had already checked the list of stores on his phone twice by the time Emma arrived carrying two coffees. She spotted him standing in front of a home decor store.

“You’ve already started?”

Aldric put his phone away, and Emma handed him one of the coffees.

“Thank you. I’ve checked the available options in the area.”

“How many stores?”

“Seventeen appear potentially relevant. I excluded clothing stores, those specializing in everyday food products, and two establishments whose prices seem excessively high.”

Emma took a sip of her coffee.

“Maybe we should approach this differently.”

“How?”

“By starting with the rules.”

“Very well.”

They started walking.

“A birthday gift, especially for someone you don’t know very well yet, shouldn’t be too expensive. It also shouldn’t be too impersonal. It needs to suit the person at least a little.”

Aldric took out his phone, opened an app, and began typing.

Rule 1: Do not choose a gift that is too expensive.

Rule 2: Avoid impersonal items.

“How do you measure ‘a little’?”

“You don’t.”

“Then how do you know whether the threshold has been reached?”

“You just feel it.”

Emma sighed.

“I know. Poor choice of words.”

“Very poor.”

“Thank you.”

“You should also avoid something completely useless.”

Rule 3: Choose an item that serves a purpose.

“Wait. Not exactly.”

“You just said it shouldn’t be useless.”

“Yes, but a gift doesn’t need to have a practical function.”

“That seems contradictory. So an object can serve no practical function without being useless.”

“Exactly.”

“I recognize this logic.”

“Thanks to my plants?”

“Mostly.”

“I’m counting that as progress.”

He edited his note.

Rule 3: Do not give something that holds no interest for the recipient, even if the object has no practical function.

“That’s way too long, but yes.”

They reached the first store.

“You should also avoid anything embarrassing.”

“In what way?”

“For example, a gift that’s too intimate, or something that might make the person uncomfortable in front of everyone else.”

He immediately added another rule.

Rule 4: Do not cause embarrassment.

“I’m already regretting starting this…”

They entered the first store, which specialized in home decor. Aldric methodically examined the shelves while Emma followed him with a mixture of amusement and resignation.

He stopped in front of a desk lamp.

“This seems useful. It has several brightness settings.”

“I see.”

“Sarah reads frequently. Proper lighting could reduce eye strain.”

“Your reasoning is sound.”

Aldric picked up the box.

NovelPhoenix is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“Then we’re finished.”

Emma looked at the price.

“One hundred and eighty-nine euros.”

Aldric looked at the label.

“Yes.”

“Rule number one.”

He checked his phone.

“Too expensive.”

“Way too expensive.”

Aldric put the box back.

“What is the limit?”

“There isn’t really one.”

“A rule without a numerical threshold is difficult to apply.”

“Just think of something reasonable.”

“That term is no more precise.”

“Let’s keep looking.”

In the next store, Aldric stopped in front of a box containing a desk organizer. Several compartments could be used to sort documents, pens, and other accessories.

“This is practical.”

“Very.”

“Sarah works in an office. She probably has documents.”

“Certainly.”

“Organization increases efficiency.”

“Do you really want to give a psychologist a desk organizer for her birthday?”

“She would use it regularly.”

“That’s exactly the problem.”

“Why?”

“Because it says absolutely nothing about her.”

“Too impersonal.”

“Exactly.”

He put the box back.

A few minutes later, they entered a store specializing in handcrafted items. Aldric examined several kitchen knives before stopping in front of a metal letter opener.

Emma noticed his interest.

“No.”

“I haven’t suggested this item.”

“You were about to.”

“Perhaps.”

Emma picked up the letter opener and examined it.

“Why?”

“Sarah works with documents.”

“You want to give her a miniature dagger to open her mail.”

“Technically, it is a suitable tool.”

Emma put it back.

“And slightly unsettling.”

“It has no dangerous cutting edge.”

“Aldric.”

“Very well.”

They left the store. After almost an hour, they had visited five shops and still hadn’t chosen anything. Aldric had added several sub-rules to his list. He had also ruled out a scented candle because he did not know enough about Sarah’s preferences when it came to fragrances, a picture frame because he had no photograph to put in it, a mug with a humorous phrase because the humor felt too impersonal, and a leather notebook because Emma had pointed out that Sarah probably already owned several.

Aldric stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

“This mission truly is Rank A… Some diplomatic negotiations involved fewer variables. In a negotiation, each party’s interests are generally clearly stated.”

Emma burst out laughing.

“Not always.”

“More clearly than here.”

“We could take a break.”

Aldric shook his head.

“That is not necessary.”

“I need one.”

They sat down at a café. Emma ordered tea, while Aldric chose sparkling water.

“I don’t think your problem is the list of rules.”

Aldric looked up.

“Then what is it?”

“You’re looking at the objects before thinking about Sarah. What do you know about her?”

“Several things.”

“Tell me.”

“She is a psychologist.”

“That’s her job.”

“She listens a great deal.”

“Yes.”

“She asks many questions, but not in the same way as Julien or Maxime. Julien asks questions because he wants to learn details. Maxime asks questions because he wants to verify whether my answers are consistent. Sarah often asks what I think or how I feel.”

“Keep going.”

“She does not seem uncomfortable with silence. She often waits before answering. She observes other people a great deal.”

“That’s pretty accurate.”

“She likes understanding people. When we first met, she asked whether I missed my old life. She did not ask how many battles I had won.”

“Anything else?”

“She mentioned several books.”

“I don’t even remember that.”

“Julien was talking about fortifications. Sarah asked Maxime whether he had finished a novel she had recommended to him. Then she mentioned that she wanted to read another book by the same author.”

“Do you remember the title?”

“Yes.”

“We’re going to a bookstore!”

They finished their drinks before continuing on their way. There was a bookstore a few streets away, and they stepped inside. The shelves were organized by category, while several tables displayed new releases and books recommended by the staff.

“Do you remember the author?”

They headed toward the contemporary fiction section. Aldric scanned the shelves until he found the name he was looking for. He pulled out the first book, read the summary, then put it back.

“Isn’t that the one?”

“No. She said she had already read it.”

Aldric picked up a second book.

He checked the title, then the summary.

“This one.”

Emma stepped closer.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“This one works.”

“I think so too.”

Aldric checked the price.

“Twenty-two euros.”

“Perfect.”

“Not too expensive. Not too impersonal. And it has intellectual value.”

He took the book and headed toward the register. Before reaching it, however, he stopped beside a table displaying several reading journals. Some were designed to keep track of books read, favorite passages, and general impressions.

“Do you want to add something?”

“Perhaps.”

“Be careful not to turn a good gift into a complete package.”

“Sarah seems to enjoy analyzing what she reads. But I don’t know whether she already uses this kind of thing.”

“There you go.”

Aldric put the journal back.

“You’re learning.”

“I’m avoiding adding an unnecessary variable.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant, but I’ll take it.”

They went to the register. The saleswoman offered to wrap the book, and Aldric accepted after checking with Emma that the wrapping paper she had chosen carried no particular meaning.

Once they were outside, Emma looked at the small package in his hands.

“You know, this time you chose much faster once you stopped looking for ‘the best object.’”

“I focused instead on finding something that suited Sarah. This method seems more efficient.”

After they had walked for a few minutes, Emma asked,

“Why are books so important to you?”

“I don’t know whether I consider them more important than other objects.”

“You still talked about that book differently than you did about the lamp or the desk organizer.”

“In my world, many people considered books luxury items. They were expensive and took a great deal of time to produce. Libraries belonged primarily to temples, noble families, or academies.”

“Did you read a lot?”

“As much as possible.”

“Novels?”

“Few. Mostly military, historical, and religious works. My first swordmaster believed that a knight who only knew how to fight became useless as soon as the battle ended. He made us read.”

“I like your swordmaster.”

“Many of his students hated him. He used to say that a man could possess excellent armor and still be defenseless against a bad idea.”

“That’s pretty well said. What do you think?”

“Weapons protect the body. Books protect the mind.”

Emma didn’t answer, and Aldric continued walking until he eventually noticed her silence.

“Do you think that statement is incorrect?”

“No.”

“Then why aren’t you answering?”

“Because sometimes you can just let a sentence exist for a few seconds.”

“I understand.”

They walked for a few more minutes before passing another secondhand bookstore. Aldric slowed when he noticed the shelves visible through the window.

“You want to go inside.”

“We have already completed the mission.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

They entered the bookstore. This time, Aldric wasn’t looking for anything for Sarah and simply browsed the shelves. Emma stopped near a table while he continued toward the history section.

Aldric returned a few minutes later with a history book in his hands.

“This one seems interesting.”

Emma looked at the cover.

“Are you going to buy it?”

“Probably.”

“Do you need my opinion?”

“No.”

“Another improvement.”

He headed toward the register. Emma watched him walk away with the book tucked under one arm and Sarah’s gift in his other hand.