Chapter 21

"Ahn~ Mufu~ It's delicious, indeed."

"You really do eat a lot, don't you?"

"I'm in my growing years, you know."

"You're already more than grown enough."

The day after the match with Deus, we are staying at an inn, relaxing. For some reason, everyone is in the same room again, but I've decided not to mind it anymore.

Right now, I'm feeding the Gacha food to Noelle and Estelle for breakfast. The food in this world isn't bad, but the Gacha food is better. So, I'm treating them as a celebration.

Still, in her growing years, huh? Estelle is looking at Noelle's chest with a resentful expression. Is it going to get any bigger?

"Big brother, you're taking so long. How long are you going to the bathroom?"

I'm not participating in the conversation, but there's a reason for that. Hehe, they can't see me right now.

I decided to try out the Gacha equipment. I'm currently using the SSR Invisible Mantle.

---

● Invisible Mantle

Becomes transparent when worn.

Becomes visible for a certain time after attacking, so be careful.

---

It seems to work as its name suggests. I said I was going to the bathroom, left my seat, and returned to the room using a beacon I had set up earlier to test it.

If these two don't notice, this will be very useful. But if they don't notice, I might want to play a prank...

"Ah!?"

"What's wrong?"

"My bread, my bread is gone!"

"Don't make such a fuss. Well..."

Hehe, she's flustered. I took the opportunity to steal Noelle's bread. I must say, I did it beautifully.

I was very satisfied with the success of the prank, but suddenly Estelle waved her finger, and a light shockwave was released throughout the room.

"Welcome back, big brother. What were you doing?"

"Y-You saw through it. As a reward, I'll let you have this."

"Aah! Give me my bread back!"

The shockwave tore off the mantle. Estelle smiled at me when I revealed myself. No, when did she notice?

I offered the bread I had snatched to Noelle, but she snatched it away from me.

"So, what were you doing?"

"Well, I wanted to try out some Gacha items. I think I'll organize them outside today. Is that okay?"

"Yes, I don't mind."

"I want to see too, so it's fine! "

Since neither of them seemed to have any complaints, I decided to test the equipment outside today.

●

"Looking through them again, there are quite a few."

"SR and above are surprisingly few, though."

"Oh, big brother. If you have such a nice sword, why don't you change to it?"

"Ah, that one. I thought about using it, but the performance of Bael is better right now."

We went outside the capital, laid out a cloth on the ground, and began to materialize the items. I only materialized SR and above. There are too many R items, and they don't seem very useful, so I didn't plan to bring them out.

If I had organized them before fighting Deus, I might have had a more secure battle. I was so focused on fighting that I completely forgot to organize my equipment.

Estelle picked up a sword with a blade that was a mix of yellow and black. This is the SR Eclipse Sword, but unfortunately, it's not as good as Excalibur right now.

---

● Eclipse Sword

Attack +400

Enemy Attack -20%

---

The ability to reduce enemy attack is attractive, but compared to the six-layered Excalibur, it's a bit underwhelming.

"Hmm, I'll give this to Estelle for now."

"What is this?"

"Isn't it cute?"

"Uh..."

I gave Estelle a plushie as usual. This one is a round, blue manjuu-like thing.

When I asked if it was cute, she held it in her hand and stared at it, speechless.

"Muu~ I'm so jealous."

"Do you want one?"

"Really? Yay!"

Noelle, who had been looking at it with envy, was very happy when she received it from Estelle.

I didn't plan to say it, but she has some unusual tastes. Estelle is looking at Noelle with a look of disbelief.

"Let's stop the jokes and give you this."

"Oh, thank you. Hehe, it's beautiful. What are the effects?"

"Ah, Magic Attack +20%, MP increase, and MP recovery speed increase."

Next, I gave Estelle a necklace with a small, translucent red stone on a string.

---

● Philosopher's Stone

Magic Attack +20% MP +300 MP Recovery Speed Increase

---

This is the SR Philosopher's Stone, a decorative piece of equipment for magic users. It's something a magic user should have.

"I'll give this to Noelle."

"Do I get one too? I'm so happy! Hehe, thank you so much!"

"HP increase and HP recovery speed increase."

This time, I gave Noelle a necklace with a blue stone of the same size.

---

● Life Gem

HP +600 HP Recovery Speed Increase

---

This is the SR Life Gem, a decorative piece of equipment for melee users. It significantly increases the survival rate of melee users, so it's necessary for Noelle, who always charges in first.

"I'll also give you these two rings."

I took out two rings, gave the blue one to Noelle, and the red one to Estelle.

The blue gem is the SR Guardian Ring, and the red gem is the SR Happiness Ring.

---

● Guardian Ring

Defense +300

● Happiness Ring

25% chance to nullify attacks

---

I could have worn them myself, but I have others, so I decided to give them to the girls.

---

● Skull Ring

25% chance to seal skills on attack

---

This ring and the Excalibur with increased speed are a good match for me. Plus, it has a skull design. It might be a bit much to give to girls.

"Big brother, you seem reserved, but you're quite bold. Giving engagement rings right away?"

"Wh-What are you talking about? Hey, don't put it on your ring finger!"

"Is it an engagement ring!? O-Okura-sama, we should understand each other more before... Kyaa!"

I thought they would be happy, but their reactions were different from what I imagined. Estelle blushed and put her hand to her cheek.

Noelle, upon hearing it was an engagement ring, fidgeted and then covered her cheeks with both hands, blushing.

Estelle even put the ring on her left ring finger. Hey, wait a minute.

"Oh, that's fine. We're devoted to big brother, right?"

"S-So it is. Then I'll put it on my ring finger too..."

They're saying nice things, but how should I react? Noelle also put the ring on her left ring finger.

Are they teasing me or being serious? ...Well, it's fine. If they're okay with it, it's fine. Let's move on to the next thing.

The two were in an excited state for a while, so I left them alone and put on two new bracelets on both my arms. One is green, and the other is red. The green one is the SSR Wind Bracelet, and the red one is the SSR Power Bracelet.

---

● Wind Bracelet

Wind attribute attack added Wind attribute resistance +50% Attack speed +20% Movement speed +20%

● Power Bracelet

Attack +800 HP +500 HP recovery speed increase

---

"Hehe, how does it look? It has a sophisticated feel, right?"

"Hi...kara?"

"Ah, it suits you, yes."

What, their reactions are so lukewarm. I thought the green and red bracelets would make a cool accent.

Estelle is frozen, and Noelle is reading the lines like a robot.

Well, let's try out the Wind Bracelet's effect right away. Since it adds wind attribute attacks, can I throw wind blades like Estelle?

I took out Bael and swung it at a distant tree. A wound like a stab from Bael appeared on the tree.

Oh, it can do long-range attacks like wind magic. But I feel a bit drained. Is it using MP?

I tried swinging at the tree a few more times. If I swing without thinking, nothing happens, but if I consciously try to use it, the wind magic activates.

It seems I can activate it by focusing my mind.

"Does this mean I'm finally joining the ranks of mages?"

"Hehe, that's great. I'll teach you everything about magic."

She's licking her lips as she says "teach you everything." What does she plan to teach me?

I picked up the SR Prominence Rod, a staff with a red gem at the tip. From the name, it seems to be fire-based.

---

● Prominence Rod

MP +300

Attack +350

Fire magic +40%

---

But I don't need this. Estelle already has the Philosopher's Staff.

I was thinking about what to do with it when I casually waved the staff, and a small flame suddenly shot out from the tip.

"Oh, anyone can use this. But with Estelle around, it doesn't seem necessary."

"Being able to use magic even if you're not a mage is convenient, I think."

It is convenient, but I don't plan to use it for a while, so I was about to put it away when I felt a strange gaze.

I turned to the source of the gaze and saw Noelle looking at the staff, fidgeting.

"Noelle, is something wrong?"

"I want to try using magic too."

Ah, I see. Wanting to try magic is kind of cute.

"Sure, here you go."

"You look so happy."

"Mufu, I've always wanted to try using magic. Alright, here goes!"

I handed her the Prominence Rod, and she looked very happy. Estelle and I watched her with a warm feeling.

Noelle swung the staff dramatically, but before the magic could come out, the staff slipped from her hand and flew away.

The staff hit a large rock nearby, pierced it, and exploded, shattering the rock.

"...Noelle, a staff isn't a throwing weapon."

"You really went all out."

"It-It just slipped! Uh... I feel... weak..."

"It seems you used up all your MP. Noelle, are you bad at controlling magic?"

Noelle sat down weakly after the throw. It seems when you run out of MP, you end up like this.

She must have used all her MP along with the strength of the throw...

The explosion was so loud that people might come, so I decided to stop the experiment here.

I won't let Noelle use magic anymore.