Gifts and a test

Lighting candles, making a wish, eating cake... Once the usual birthday party rituals were over, it was time for presents.

Lorenzo and Frieren exchanged a glance. Then he bent down and took a square gift box he had prepared in advance from under the table, placing it in front of Fern.

"This is a gift Frieren and I prepared for you together."

"Together?"

Fern was a little surprised. It was perfectly normal for someone as kind as Lord Lorenzo to give her a gift, but she really hadn't expected Lady Frieren to remember her birthday too.

Fern looked at the gift box in front of her.

A pale purple ribbon was tied around it. Judging by its size, it probably didn't contain a grimoire, and it didn't look like a staff or anything like that either... Did Lady Frieren give things other than those as gifts?

Lord Lorenzo must have taken the lead.

She carefully untied the ribbon and lifted the lid. A delicate bracelet lay in the center of the dark velvet lining.

"It's beautiful."

The words slipped out of Fern's mouth.

Although she usually wasn't very interested in jewelry, she was still a girl her age and couldn't be entirely unmoved.

"I picked out how the bracelet looks. It suits Fern, doesn't it?"

Frieren seemed very pleased with Fern's reaction.

"Go on, try it on."

"Now?"

"Of course you have to use a gift right away."

Frieren said it as though it were only natural.

Fern hesitated for a moment, then took the bracelet out of the gift box. The moment she picked it up, a cool sensation touched her fingertips.

It was much lighter than she had imagined. It looked as though it had been made from some kind of metal, yet she could hardly feel its weight.

Fern put it on her left wrist. The bracelet was a little loose at first, but it suddenly tightened on its own, adjusting to fit her perfectly.

"It moved on its own?"

A little surprised, Fern raised her hand and examined the bracelet closely.

"Of course. This isn't an ordinary bracelet."

Lorenzo spoke up to explain.

"It's called Volumen Hydrargyrum, and it's made from one hundred and forty kilograms of Silver Flow Ore."

"One hundred and forty kilograms?"

Fern wondered if she had misheard. She tried lifting her left hand, but it showed no sign of dragging her entire arm down to the floor.

Just how much was one hundred and forty kilograms?

Even if Lady Frieren, Lord Lorenzo, and she herself, all here in the dining room, were put together, they might—no, they definitely wouldn't weigh that much.

As for Lord Heiter...

Considering Lord Heiter's longstanding state of health, it was probably better not to count him.

"This is the magic item you said you were going to make, Lord Lorenzo?"

"That's right."

Lorenzo nodded and continued.

"Volumen Hydrargyrum works on the basic principle of fluid manipulation. By channeling mana into it, you can use it to attack, defend, and search for enemies automatically."

As he spoke, he raised his right hand.

He wore a similar magic item on his wrist, though his version looked much plainer than Fern's bracelet.

That made Fern even more certain that Lady Frieren had picked out the pretty design of her bracelet. Otherwise, given Lord Lorenzo's taste, she would most likely have received a rather plain-looking bracelet like his.

"Defense first. Frieren, throw something at me."

Lorenzo spoke to Frieren.

Frieren glanced down at the table, casually picked up a dinner fork, and threw it straight at Lorenzo's forehead.

Even though she had only tossed it casually, the fork whistled through the air. Had Lord Lorenzo really not offended Lady Frieren somehow, prompting her to take this opportunity to get back at him?

Fern even thought that if he failed to block it, Lord Lorenzo would likely end up with a rather neat hole in his head.

Lorenzo himself didn't make a move. Yet the instant the fork came within half a meter of him, a barrier made of silver fluid suddenly appeared and blocked it.

"Just like that,"

Lorenzo said.

"When an attack enters its alert range, Volumen Hydrargyrum prioritizes defense. Even if the wearer doesn't notice the danger or doesn't have time to cast a spell, it can act on its own."

"You weren't controlling it with mana just now?"

"Of course not."

Fern knew full well how important that ability was to a mage. After all, once an enemy got close, even the most powerful mage might not have a chance to cast a spell.

"Next is its attack form."

Lorenzo extended a finger and lightly swept it to the side.

The silver barrier immediately contracted into a slender thread. He sent it sweeping past an apple on the table, and the whole apple was instantly cut in half across the middle, revealing a five-pointed star inside.

"What do you think?"

Lorenzo was quite pleased with the result of his demonstration.

"If I remember correctly, Lady Frieren said Silver Flow Ore was poisonous..."

Fern looked at the apple and quietly reminded him.

"Don't worry about the details."

Lorenzo nonchalantly controlled Volumen Hydrargyrum to toss the apple into the trash. Apparently, there really was poison on it.

"Of course, it does have some limitations. Volumen Hydrargyrum's mana consumption is proportional to the complexity of its form. Ordinary barriers and blades use very little, but the greater the range of control, the more pieces it splits into, and the more complex the commands, the more mana it consumes."

"What if you used all one hundred and forty kilograms of Silver Flow Ore at once?"

Fern asked.

"Don't worry. With your current amount of mana, you can't possibly do that."

He really was direct.

"In any case, it really is a very powerful and practical magic item."

Frieren offered her assessment from the side.

"But isn't it a little too valuable?"

Fern spoke hesitantly. Although she didn't know exactly how much Volumen Hydrargyrum was worth, Lord Lorenzo's description and demonstration alone told her it was certainly very valuable.

"The more valuable a birthday present is, the more it shows the giver's feelings."

Frieren spoke with a perfectly serious expression. It felt as though her words had a double meaning, but wasn't she setting a bad example for the child? What if Fern picked the most expensive thing whenever she gave someone a gift in the future?

"But..."

"Accept it, Fern."

Heiter interrupted her from the side.

"A gift isn't a debt. When you receive one, you don't need to think about what you should give in return of equal value."

"As long as you like it and are willing to put it to good use, that's enough for the people who gave it to you."

Lorenzo continued.

"Besides, whether it's automatic defense or searching for enemies, there was only one purpose in making this: to help you survive safely when you encounter danger."

"After all, no matter how valuable a magic item is, it can never be more valuable than a person's life."

Frieren nodded.

"Fern, you'll be going to many more places in the future. We can't happen to be at your side every time, so having it will make you a little safer."

Fern froze for a moment.

"Thank you. I'll always wear it."