Roxy's Gift

"Th-that Sword God, I-I..."

Seeing the red-haired female mage's legs trembling, Cain pursed his lips, took an Asura Silver Coin from his pocket, and placed it in the nervous red-haired mage's blinking hands.

"Thank you for showing me the way."

With that, Cain walked straight into the Adventurers' Guild tavern without looking back.

"Huh?"

The red-haired female mage stood amid the blinding snowstorm, the corner of her mouth twitching. Only after Cain entered the tavern did she finally let out a heavy sigh of relief. Looking at the silver coin in her hand, she sank into thought.

"As expected, all swordsmen from the Sword God's Holy Land have something wrong with their heads..."

"Yo, look who's back! Our great hero!"

"Welcome back, Cain!"

Inside the Adventurers' Guild tavern, Zoldat and the roomful of adventurers saw Cain push open the wooden door and stroll in. They all raised their wooden mugs, shouting Cain's name in excited cheers.

Cain merely nodded calmly. His mind was full of the mystery surrounding Teacher Roxy, leaving him in no mood for celebration. After taking Zoldat's mug and downing a drink, he passed through the crowd and began searching the tavern for his teacher, Roxy.

Zoldat saw through Cain's intentions at a glance. With a faint smile, he patted Cain's shoulder and pointed toward an inconspicuous corner of the guild, where his adorable Teacher Roxy was seated.

"Roxy's been waiting for you over there since earlier."

"Well, Roxy's an excellent mage, isn't she, Cain?"

"Of course. Teacher Roxy is incredible. She could even hit a fast-flying Red Dragon precisely with magic!"

Hearing Zoldat praise Roxy, Cain folded his arms and gave a soft snort before speaking with a faint smile.

"Cain, o-over here." Roxy shyly looked toward Cain, pressed her lips together, and waved at him. A brand-new magic book with gilded patterns lay on the table before her.

Could this idiot disciple please not speak so loudly? I-I was already drawing enough attention as it was.

For some reason, Cain felt a quiet sense of relief. Smiling, he walked toward the table where Teacher Roxy sat. Of course, he was not a lolicon, though that claim was becoming less and less convincing.

Because behind him, Zoldat nodded slightly and watched Roxy and the boy before her with an absurdly knowing expression.

Ah, my dependable disciple, please use Divine-Rank Swordsmanship on Zoldat.

Roxy noticed Zoldat and the adventurers beside him watching her and Cain. Her cheeks reddened as she puffed out her lips and glared at them in displeasure.

Only then did the adventurers withdraw their gazes, and the guild tavern became lively once more.

"Seriously! I have to admit, Cain really does have good taste."

Naturally, Zoldat was not referring to that kind of taste, but rather Cain's eye for choosing adventurer companions.

They had all witnessed Roxy's magical talent during the Red Dragon hunt. Among the dozen or so mages present, no one but her had been able to hit a Red Dragon moving at that speed.

"But I never expected Cain, the Sword God of the Sword God Style, to know magic too—and to be able to cast it chantlessly. That really caught me off guard."

"Roxy probably taught him. It's amazing, but why doesn't Roxy use Chantless Casting herself?"

Zoldat and the others gathered together, smiling as they clinked mugs and discussed this gossip, along with how to expand their adventurer party.

That was right. This time, Cain had stepped up and recovered the adventurers' reward from the nobles. Zoldat and the Thunder Adventurer Party no longer needed to disband, and they had even gained nearly fifty Asura Gold Coins.

Of course, Cain and Roxy had gained the most. Ten percent of the 2,000 Asura Gold Coins would go to Cain and Roxy, as had been agreed from the beginning.

"Adding the money from selling the spoils of the three Red Dragons, we earned a total of 323 Aras Gold Coins. Cain gets 200, and the remaining 100 are mine."

Cain folded his arms and frowned slightly.

"We agreed to split it equally, Teacher Roxy..."

But before Cain could finish, Roxy gave a wry smile and interrupted him with a wave of her hand.

"This is already an enormous sum. I really can't spend so much money, and Cain was the one who slew the Red Dragons. I don't want to be the kind of person who reaps without sowing."

Truthfully, Roxy already felt that even one hundred Asura Gold Coins was taking far too much advantage of Cain.

Cain shook his head. Teacher Roxy was honestly too hard on herself, and she was somewhat lacking in confidence as well, despite being such an outstanding mage.

"Without Teacher Roxy's magic, I couldn't have slain the last Red Dragon. You also taught me Wind Bullet magic. That magic saved my life, so please don't feel that you owe me anything."

"Besides, aren't there still 23 Asura Gold Coins left? I propose that I take 150, Teacher Roxy takes 150, and you can have the remaining Asura Gold Coins too."

The corners of Roxy's lips lifted into a faint smile. Feeling somewhat comforted, she looked at the very serious Cain pushing the bag of gold coins back toward her and nodded slightly.

Her disciple would become an excellent Sword God someday.

Aside from her original adventurer party on the Demon Continent, most of the parties she had joined during her travels had ended in bitter disputes over uneven reward distribution. Roxy would fight strangers for what she deserved, but when it came to Cain, she felt at ease.

"No, Cain. I've actually already received 123 Asura Gold Coins, and I'm already very satisfied."

As she spoke, Roxy slowly pushed the thick magic book patterned with golden threads, along with the bag containing 200 Asura Gold Coins, toward Cain."

"What's this?" Cain pursed his lips as he looked at the obviously expensive magic book before him.

Teacher Roxy was such an idiot... Didn't she say she wouldn't spend money recklessly? Cain sighed softly, then looked at Roxy with a smile, feeling touched.

"This Grand Grimoire took me a long time to find. I searched through a reputable magic bookstore for ages before choosing it. It contains nearly every basic type of magic from beginner to Advanced-class, including healing and antidote magic. It's very comprehensive."

"It also has detailed usage notes, though Cain can cast chantlessly, so honestly, it seems like he won't need those notes..."

As Roxy spoke, she rubbed the blue hair over her forehead and lightly pressed her lips together.

Sometimes, having a disciple who was too outstanding was troublesome too.

Her Sword God disciple was a genius mage capable of Chantless Casting.

"Mm, I understand. I really like this gift. Thank you, Teacher Roxy."

Cain placed his hand on the encyclopedia of magic and gently traced its cover. Looking at Teacher Roxy, his eyes were full of joy and warm amusement.

Ah, whenever he got the chance to learn magic, her silly disciple always wore that adorable expression, like a child who had just seen candy.

But Cain's fervent gaze made Roxy a little embarrassed. Cain was a boy, after all. What was with that look, as though he was about to confess to her the next second?

Roxy blushed and composed herself. The atmosphere felt a little strange, so she had to do something.

"Ahem, d-don't underestimate it just because it's only one book. I'd guess that only the Grand Grimoire preserved in the library of Sharia Magic University would contain a broader selection of spells than this one. Though it was rather expensive."

Roxy still remembered the bookstore clerk asking for 200 Asura Gold Coins. Fortunately, the bookstore owner had been an adventurer she had once saved, so he sold it to her for almost nothing. Even so, it had still cost her 23 Asura Gold Coins, which pained her greatly.

But whenever she thought of it as a gift for Cain, her genius disciple, Roxy felt that although it was a little expensive, it had been well worth it.