By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter 46

Chapter 2 Episode 46: The Day Before We Part (Part 2)

“Anyway, that’s more or less why other kids avoid me!” Eliaria said, trying to bring my story to an end. I went along with it.

“I see, so the rumors damaged your reputation.”

“Some people simply take exaggerated stories at face value.”

If their parents acted that way at home, the kids probably picked up that habit without much thought. Children are always watching adults, even when they don’t realize.

“By the way...”

“Yes?”

“Are you all right with me?”

“Why do you ask?”

“After what I said about myself, I was a bit curious,” she explained. She must have been worried that I would treat her differently.

“I wouldn’t worry about that.”

“It’s true that I lost control of my magic and hurt someone, though,” she said, but it wasn’t as if she did that on purpose. It was true that I shattered someone’s wrist too. Over the last few years, I also killed thieves that entered the forest by the dozens, and that was something I did deliberately. Eliaria seemed to regret what she did, and I didn’t see any issue with how she viewed the incident from a moral perspective. I had also seen her magic a few times, and it was nothing I wouldn’t be able to avoid. I could knock Ice Arrows away with my sword, and even if one hit me, it wouldn’t have much effect as long as I defended myself. That being the case, her magic didn’t pose a problem for me. When I told her all this, she giggled.

“Is that right? In that case, Ryoma, don’t forget that you promised to meet me again in three years.”

“I won’t.”

“Then I’ll check on you in three years’ time. If you’re busy obsessing with work to remember, I’ll hit you with some of my new and improved magic to remind you.”

“Well, that’s terrifying, so please don’t. Where did you get this idea from, anyway? It’s not very lady-like.”

“A long time ago, when Father forgot a promise, Mother reminded him in the same way.”

“I, uh, I see.”

“Besides, my magic doesn’t work on you anyway, does it?” she said, and she was right about that, but maybe this was different. While I was thinking about that, she began to laugh as if she had just pulled off a prank.

“I have a great idea, Sebas!”

“Yes, young miss? What is it?” Sebas asked. She whispered into his ear, then he nodded and took a small box out of his Item Box. Eliaria took it and handed it to me.

“Ryoma, I’d like you to have this.”

“What is it?”

“A necklace Mother gave me for my tenth birthday,” she said and opened the box. There was a beautiful necklace with a gold chain and a gold pendant adorned with a ruby about the size of a pinkie finger’s nail. It was simple, but unquestionably valuable.

“Is there magic energy in this ruby?” I asked after I sensed some.

“Ah, you noticed. I knew you would. This is a magic gem.”

“Like what they use in lamps and such?”

“No, those are magic stones, a simple magic item. Do you know about mana stones?”

“I believe they’re found in places dense with magic energy, where they absorb a lot of it, if I’m thinking of the right thing.”

“Correct. The energy contained within is usually drawn out when using magic, or used to assist with controlling spells. But not all mana stones are simple rocks; some are valuable gemstones. These are called magic gems. And if it’s ore, you call it magic ore.” Mana stones were used to assist with spellcasting, while magic ore was made into magic items or weapons.

“Now, when it comes to magic gems, you can use them for anything. They help with spellcasting, improve the performance of magic items, and of course, serve as jewelry. Not only are they extremely useful, but they’re supposed to be more effective than ordinary mana stones, but they’re quite rare,” Eliaria said in one breath.

“So this isn’t something that’s easy to come by?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, I can’t accept this, then.”

“But I want you to!”

“Look, it’s too valuable to just give away.”

I stubbornly objected, but Eliaria was equally stubborn. Sebas got between us.

“Calm down, both of you. Master Ryoma, she said she wants you to take it, but that does not mean she’s giving it away. She wants you to hold onto it until she sees you again.”

“Why?”

“I suppose you don’t know about this, but they say that when friends are separated, as long as you lend a precious belonging to them and wish to be reunited one day, there is a high probability that your wish will come true. I don’t know when this idea took hold in the public consciousness and who it was that popularized it, but it has been around for ages, and people believe it to this day.”

“So that’s why you want me to have that necklace?”

“That’s right,” Eliaria declared.

“But isn’t it precious to you? Are you sure?”

“If I weren’t, I would never have brought it up. I trust you, so give it back in three years, please.”

It was hard to say no now. Especially if this was customary. It meant she sincerely wished to see me again.

“All right, I’ll take it.”

“Really?!”

“But I’m going to give it back to you one day.”

“Naturally.”

I accepted the box and placed it in my Item Box. As long as I left it there, I didn’t have to worry about losing it. If I wanted to follow this custom, though, I had to give Eliaria something too, but I didn’t know what was precious to me. Money or animal fur would be unwieldy to store, and I didn’t value it that much. I had stones, ingots, and waterproof cloth too, but none of that fit the bill. After living a life of hunting and self-sufficiency, I began to view everything of value in terms of the component parts required to create it. None of these materials could be considered precious. In the end, I called up my Dimension Home, took out a healing slime and a scavenger slime, and held them up to Eliaria.

“Ryoma, what are these slimes?”

“I was trying to think of something precious to give you, but I don’t have much that’d work. My slimes are at least something I value, and I think they’ll be useful to you, so you should take them.”

Eliaria was confused for a moment, then she held her mouth to stifle a laugh. I guess it was a strange choice. I only picked slimes because there was nothing better, and I did have to question whether they were appropriate as a gift. Maybe I could have thought about it a bit longer.

“I’m sorry, Ryoma, this is just so typical of you. I’m happy to take them.”

“Really? Thank you.”

“No, thank you for lending me your precious familiars.”

I placed the slimes on the ground and canceled their contracts. Then I watched as Eliaria formed contracts with them.

“The contracts are a success. I’ll take good care of them.”

“Please do.”

We discussed slimes and magic, then trained together.

“This is an ice spell I use a lot.”

“I can use Ice Cube too, but I can’t use Cooler yet.”

Ice Cube was a spell for making ice cubes to put in drinks, while Cooler mixed ice and wind elements to produce a cool breeze. Both were valuable in the summer.

“Mist Wash.”

“Oh, it worked.”

I discussed water magic with Sebas as well. I taught him how to use Mist Wash, and of course, he picked it up after only a few attempts.

“Interesting. This uses quite a bit of magic energy, but it may be helpful for washing stains out,” he said. He could likely use a more complicated spell too, so I taught him to use Water Cutter, the spell I actually devised Mist Wash for. But all I said was that it involves condensing water and launching it, then demonstrated on a nearby rock. He watched it with fascination.

“Like this?” he asked and cast the spell. “Perhaps that didn’t use enough energy.” He tried it five times. His first time was already much better than when I first started practicing, but on the fourth attempt his spell was more powerful than mine, and on the fifth, the rock I used for the demonstration was split in half. If someone more experienced in water magic used this, I wondered just how strong it would be.

■ ■ ■

When the sun set, we used space magic to return to town. On the way from the gate to the inn, I checked on the store and found that it was packed with adventurers that went to the swamp, along with doctors holding bags that reeked. It was good to see that we were busy.

“Welcome back, Ryoma.”

“Thanks for looking after Elia today.”

“No problem, I enjoyed it.”

“Ryoma taught me a lot of magic. I can’t use it that well yet, but I’ll keep trying!”

“Good for you, Elia.”

“Also, he lent me a healing slime and a scavenger slime!”

“Oh, did he? Take good care of them.”

“Of course.”

Back at the inn, everyone had already recovered. We talked all about what we did that day. It was our last day together, so we chatted long into the night.

■ ■ ■

The next morning, it was time to say goodbye. At the carriage station behind the inn, the duke’s family and their guards had already boarded the carriages. They yelled to me from the windows.

“Stay healthy.”

“Don’t work too hard.”

“Remember to rest when necessary.”

“If anything happens, contact us right away.”

“If you’ve ever got the time, come stop by for a visit.”

“Good luck out there, Master Ryoma.”

“Take care.”

“Hang in there.”

“I pray that you find continued success.”

Even the servants had words for me.

“I wish all of you the best, too. Thank you for everything,” I said and bowed. I never knew what to say at times like these. I wished that I could express my feelings better.

“Ryoma.”

“Yes, my lady?”

“That.”

“What?”

“When you gave me your slimes yesterday, I was wondering, can we consider each other friends?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then call me Elia. All the people I’m close with call me that, and it’s not as if you serve my family. It seems odd for a friend to call me their lady.”

“Oh, I see. That makes sense. I can call you Elia, as long as that’s fine with you.”

“Yes! Ryoma, I’ll get much better at magic by the next time I see you, all right?!”

“So will I.”

Finally, we wished each other good luck and laughed. It was time for the carriages to depart, so the guards’ carriage moved out first. Elia and her family waved to me from the windows. I waved back as I watched them go. The carriages shrank away in the distance until they were out of sight.

I stopped by my store, then headed to the mine. Starting today, the mine was my home. Elia said she would do the best she could, so I wanted to do the same.

I needed to secure a new home for myself. There was no time to waste, so I got walking. Things were going to be a bit different now, and it was time to get my new life started.