CH 15

When Ren returned to the mansion, he first went to his room, sat down on his bed, and took a break.

He was in a good mood, partly because he could now summon his bracelet out of sight.

“—Even at that.”

But then he muttered in a slightly dissatisfied tone of voice.

He looks at the status reflected in the crystal on the bracelet.

————–

Ren Ashton.

[Job] Eldest son of the Ashton family

[Skill] – Magic Sword Summoning (Level 1: 0/0)

・Summoning Magic Sword (Level 2: 256/1000)

Level 1: Able to summon [one] magic sword.

Level 2: While summoning a magic sword, the user gains the effect of [Physical Ability UP (Small)].

Level 3: May summon [two] magic swords.

Level 4: ＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊.

[Acquired Magic Swords]

・Magic Sword of Wood (Level 2: 100/1000)

Iron Magic Sword (Level 1: 100/1000)

Thieves’ Magic Sword (Level 1: 0/3)

——

In summary, this is the current situation.

I had confirmed this several times before today, but I’ll touch on the previous one first.

“……Well, here’s what I have.”

Starting with the various proficiencies.

Ren hunted a total of twenty little boars yesterday and the day before.

So, by subtracting that number from the proficiency gained by the magic sword summoning technique and the magic sword, and further calculating it with the original number, we can find that the proficiency gained from the Thief Wolfen…

—- is “80”.

It means that both the magic sword summoning technique and the magic sword have gained the same amount of proficiency.

“I wonder if the proficiency gained from fighting monsters is the same as the proficiency that can be absorbed from the magic stone.”

However, the two will never be the same.

Because when I was training with Roy, I gained “2” proficiency in the art of summoning magic swords, and when I trained with Weiss, I gained “10” proficiency.

So if you train without dealing with monsters, or if circumstances prevent you from absorbing magic stones, the gap will widen.

“I guess I’ll just do it again.”

He muttered to himself and turned his attention to the last column.

“…… Thief’s Magic Sword'”

The name and the time when this magic sword was added suggest that it’s a magic sword obtained from the magic stone of Thief Wolfen. If this power was available during the legendary era of the Seven Heroes, it would undoubtedly have been tried many times on many monsters.

If it were used against humans, moral issues would inevitably arise.

——By achieving special conditions, the number of types of magic swords increases. This is one of the basic pieces of information about the summon magic sword skill.

In other words, this time it was achieved.

“I wonder if it was because it was the magic stone of a unique monster.”

Will new magic swords be obtained from the magic stone of unique monsters in the future?

As expected, I cannot make a judgment based on a one-time battle result, but it’s no different from useful information.

While thinking about it, Ren hid the wooden magic sword he carried at his waist and summoned the thief’s magic sword.

“Hm…. an armor that only covers your fingers……”

In fact, he has summoned it many times until today, and each time he has had the same thought.

The thief’s magic sword does not have a sword body or handle. It’s a ring that covers Ren’s index finger and has only a slightly pointed tip.

When equipped, it looks as if only the index finger is covered by a cuirass.

It’s also steel-colored, which is exactly the impression given.

“Speaking of other concerns —-“

The level column is different only for the thief’s magic sword.

Unlike the others, he could raise the level with just a little bit of proficiency, but there was no sign of an increase with the little boar’s magic stone.

Therefore, Ren had two predictions.

These are the two theories.

Ren particularly favored the second theory.

He thought that since the level of proficiency required for the next level was extremely low, it would not be surprising if the encounter rate with Thief Wolfen wasn’t high.　As he was working on his guess, he suddenly heard a voice saying,

“Ren? Where are you?”

Ren heard Mireille’s voice from outside the room.

He got up and left the room, heading for the place where he heard the voice. He met up with Mireille in the hallway and they stepped in front of the room where Roy was recuperating.

“I’ll bring the food to your father’s room. So you go ahead and wait at your father’s place.”

“Do you want me to help?”

“It’s okay. You’ve been working hard in the forest today.”

Mireille smiled softly and left Ren.

Ren went alone to the front of his parents’ room and knocked on the door.

Roy’s reply soon arrived, and he entered it.

“Ren! I heard you did a great job!”

Roy was there, still lying in bed, recuperating with only his upper body raised.

His life was not in danger now and he had regained his health except for the fact that his wounds had not healed.

In response to Roy’s words, Ren tilted his head and asked.

“Huh, what are you talking about?

“About the treasures of Thief Wolfen! I heard that the baron’s been so kind as to not charge any taxes on it?”

“It seems so. Thanks to that, we’ll be able to fix up the mansion.”

“Oh, you’re still the same …… Don’t you want more gorgeous equipment than this! Or, for that matter, Don’t you want to go get a skills appraisal!?”

I didn’t think about any of these things at all.

I was rather unhappy enough that if they planned to do that without my permission, I wouldn’t talk to them for a few days.

“I’ll order herbs on my own for now.”

“Hmm? You still have some rondo grass left, don’t you?”

“……It’s about being prepared for the unexpected. It would be dangerous if a strong monster suddenly appeared, as it did the other day.”

Roy nodded his head in self-mockery in response to the unanswerable argument.

“I’ve told you many times, but this time I’m really sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you.”

“It’s all good. Neither of us are dead.”

“—- You really are a grown-up, Ren.”

****************************

After lunch, Ren went out into the garden and moved his body with a wooden sword in one hand for training and the Thief’s magic sword attached to the fingers of his hand.

“This is all a drawback…”

As long as I summon a magic sword, I can get the benefit of physical ability UP (small).

But now only one can be summoned, so in order to take advantage of the effect of the thief’s magic sword, he has to give up using the wooden magic sword.

In other words, I also have to give up nature magic (minor).

If he raises the level of the magic sword summoning technique, he’ll be able to summon two swords at the same time, but that’s still a long way off.

(…… Well, what can a little boar do?)

Even if there’s no wooden magic sword, it doesn’t matter.

The Ashtons have swords made of ordinary metal, so all I have to do is get a small one from among them and enter the forest.

As I was thinking this…

Along with the fragrance of aromatic flowers came a voice that sounded like a tinkling bell.

“—- are you Ren Ashton?”

It came from behind him.

The voice came from beside the still-unrepaired fence surrounding the mansion.

Ren couldn’t believe his eyes when he turned around at the voice…….

(That girl is —-)

She was beautiful. She was dainty.

There stood an eye-catching girl who reminded him of a fairy or a goddess.

Ren thought two things as he gazed at her. There’s no girl like her in the village. And she looked like someone he had seen somewhere before.

“Oh, yeah….. I’m Ren Ashton.”

Unable to sort out his feelings, Ren responds with his name.

The words “lily” flashed through Ren’s mind as she walked.

The girl’s dress was also breathtakingly graceful.

“Good. I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

“You wanted to see me……?”

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.”

Ren was even more puzzled by the passionate words.

He kept his eyes on her as she took one step and then another. No, he stood still in the face of her charm, as if he wasn’t allowed to take his eyes off her.

“—-Have you recovered from your injuries?”

“Ah…. I’ve just recently been completely healed.”

Hearing these words, the girl narrowed her eyes and smiled.

Then, she puts her hand behind her back and throws a dagger in front of Ren’s eyes.

When Ren looked at the girl in wonder, she was holding the very same dagger in her hand.

That dagger was just right for Ren, who was still very young. The girl is only slightly shorter than Ren, so it was just right for her as well.

“Wait, boy —-! Don’t take that —-!”

Suddenly, a familiar voice arrives from far away.

I looked and saw that Weiss was in the process of approaching on his horse.

(Why is that man there?)

The voice is too far away to be heard.

Why is that man in this village in the first place?

(I guess I’ll just wait for now.)

Ren crouched down on the spot and picked up the dagger that had been thrown at his feet.

It was a crushed dagger with no blade.

“You are so heroic. Is it a sign of confidence that you picked up the sword when you were asked not to?”

“…… hmm?”

“Can I signal the start?”

What is she talking about?

“Um —- yes?”

I said a questioning “yes?”  But to the girl, it sounded like an affirmative “yes”.

In response, the girl said

“—-Well, then, let’s begin.”

With a smile of heartfelt joy on her face, she held up the dagger in her hand.