Chapter 47

"Next is Al. The warrior's equipment should be fine, right?"

Without waiting for Al's response, I took out the equipment. I pulled out a shining silver armor, a similarly decorated one-handed sword, and a shield.

"These are lightweight armors, the shield has enhanced resistance to elemental magic, and the sword has excellent sharpness. They are all made of magic silver."

Al's eyes widened at the mention of magic silver.

"I never thought I would see magic silver equipment..."

The equipment for the two of them, the one for Shal was obtained from an event, and the one for Al was what I used when I was at a low level. Both are now unnecessary.

...If I want to avoid injuring them, this should be enough.

The two of them were captivated by the equipment I had taken out, stroking it gently.

"Then, there's this..."

I placed two rings for them.

"The one with the red stone is for Shal. The green one is for Al."

These rings are the ones I used until I became a Sage. After becoming a Sage, the effects became useless, and they were no longer needed. The ring I gave to Shal has 100 times the experience points, and the one I gave to Al has 30 times the experience points. Even if both are worn, the effects do not overlap, and it will help the low-level Shal catch up quickly.

"Really...? Is it okay...?"

"Can I really have one too...?"

"It's fine. You two need to work hard..."

Their cheeks flushed more than when they saw the equipment, and their eyes welled up as they picked up the rings and put them on their fingers.

"I think this will do. I plan to start leveling up from tomorrow morning. This house is enchanted to keep monsters away, so you should be able to sleep without any problems. The bedrooms are upstairs, so I'll show you."

I stood up and led them to the bedrooms. The rooms were simple, with only a bed and a closet, but they were still blushing and looked satisfied.

This house was an item obtained from an event, but it has lighting and running water. I don't know how it works, but it reminds me of Japan. However, for them, everything is new and surprising. They were amazed by the toilet and whispered, "I can't believe it..." in the bath.

For dinner, I used the familiar Japanese kitchen to prepare a meal. After finishing the meal early, I lay down in the bedroom to rest for the next day.

"So nostalgic... this feeling."

The familiar sensation of the bed quickly made me drift off to sleep.

◇◇◇

"I got a ring..."

Shal looked down at the ring on her left ring finger.

"Y-Yes... I did too..."

After Touya fell asleep, Shal and Al were talking in the bedroom. Both were blushing as they looked at the rings Touya had given them.

"But, Lord Touya has unimaginable power. This house is proof of that. I, I will take responsibility and stand by him."

"No, no, we need your help to save the country. As a princess, I... I also received the ring..."

"Shal is a princess. You can't just decide things so easily. I have a brother, so even if Lord Touya is a commoner, it's not a problem for me to marry him."

"Even so..."

"—We're at an impasse... Lord Touya may seem indifferent, but his casual attitude is kind, and his appearance—"

Both blushed again as if remembering something. Touya, unaware of their thoughts, had only given them the rings to increase their experience points. In this world, it is customary to give a ring when proposing marriage, regardless of whether the person is a noble, commoner, or even royalty. However, Touya, who did not grow up in this world, was unaware of this custom.

Their conversation, which had reached an impasse, continued late into the night without resolution.

◇◇◇

"Alright, let's go."

I cheerfully called out, and the two of them, rubbing their sleepy eyes, responded. They were wearing the equipment I had given them yesterday, and they were ready, but both looked sleepy.

I was a bit worried, but I switched my focus and cast the exploration spell.

『Exploration』

Using the exploration spell, I confirmed the location of the monsters. After confirming that there were about ten monsters a short distance away, I led them in that direction. After a few minutes of quietly advancing through the forest, I stopped them with a hand signal.

"There are monsters right there. There are about ten of them. Are you ready? I won't interfere. ...But I'll step in if it gets dangerous."

They nodded at my words and readied their weapons. Slowly, they passed me and ran towards the monsters. The monsters in front of them were a group of goblins. The goblins, thinking they had found easy prey, grinned and slowly gathered around them.

Al stood at the front, holding his sword and shield to protect Shal.

"Let's go!"

The two of them charged at the goblins. Al cut down a goblin with one stroke, and Shal cast a spirit magic spell, slicing through the goblins with a wind blade. The ten or so goblins were defeated within five minutes.

"It seems to be fine. Let's move on a bit more."

Al is at a decent level and can handle stronger monsters, but Shal is still low-level. I nodded, watching their battle, and began to cut off the monster parts.

And so, the level-up training began under the guise of training.

Thank you as always.

There will be about two more chapters of flashbacks.