Roxy hated owing anyone a favor, even Cain.
"But Cain, you have to let me treat you next time."
Roxy smiled at Cain as she spoke, then popped the rest of her cream cake into her mouth. Cupping her cheeks, she wore an adorably blissful expression.
The next day, in the inn's back courtyard.
"Whew... Cain, let's stop training here for today."
Zoldat panted heavily, sprawled out in the snow. He looked up at Cain, who stood by the inn's doorway with a faint smile as he slowly put away his Wooden Sword, and waved a hand helplessly.
"We'll practice tomorrow. I'm exhausted..."
"Mm. Your Battle Aura is starting to develop an edge. Don't you want to keep at it while you're making progress?"
Cain folded his arms and looked at the stubborn boulder before him. A narrow crack had appeared in it, and he nodded expectantly.
Zoldat definitely had a talent for the Sword God Style. He just kept quitting halfway through training. Otherwise, he wouldn't still be only a Sword Saint.
"Look. My Wooden Sword broke, and I still couldn't cut through that rock."
Zoldat waved the two broken halves of the Wooden Sword at Cain.
"Then get another one and keep practicing."
Cain folded his arms and pursed his lips. At the Sword Sanctum, he had measured his sword training in months. This was nothing.
Are you a demon? I've trained my Battle Aura for over three hours and broken five Wooden Swords already...
Zoldat's eye twitched. He knew now that Cain was always either practicing Swordsmanship or practicing magic. He was a mage with a berserker's drive.
"Honestly, no wonder you're strong as a monster. Is there anything in your head besides training? And what about Roxy? Didn't you prepare a gift for your teacher?"
Cain had just frowned, ready to scold Zoldat for slacking off on his Battle Aura training. At the question, his face instantly reddened. He scratched his cheek and looked away from Zoldat's expectant gaze.
"I... I gave her something. I gave my teacher the Dragon Jade I got from that S-rank Dungeon as a gift in return."
Zoldat rose and nodded slightly. Then he froze and stared at Cain, his eye twitching.
"You gave her what kind of jade?!"
"Dragon Jade. What's wrong?!"
Good grief... It really was the Dragon Jade! He must be willing to give up anything for her...
Zoldat pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed heavily. Cain really was young.
Dragon Jade was an incredibly rare magic item dropped only by S-rank elite dragon leaders of the Dragon King class. After getting it, Cain hadn't even let Zoldat take a proper look, and now he had given it straight to Roxy?!
"Don't tell me you've really fallen for Roxy..."
Zoldat held his forehead and looked at Cain with a helpless sigh.
Cain blushed and pursed his lips.
"Roxy is my teacher... We're just teacher and student..."
Seeing how embarrassed Cain was, Zoldat gave a resigned smile and waved a hand.
"All right, all right. I don't need to hear your excuses. But as your captain, I have to warn you."
Zoldat's expression grew serious, and he raised a finger.
"Dragon Jade is no ordinary thing. It's an incredibly rare magic item. Most people spend their whole lives as adventurers without ever seeing one."
"Honestly, even if a Dragon Jade had no practical use, you could sell it for enough to live in luxury for the rest of your life. You really gave it away..."
Zoldat looked at Cain, who was scratching his cheek with a sheepish expression, and sighed with a touch of envy.
Granted, Cain had defeated the guardian of that Super S-rank dungeon, and the adventuring party had received plenty of Asura Gold Coins. Even so, seeing him give away something so precious left Zoldat, as captain, feeling a little put out.
It was Dragon Jade, after all: the core of a powerful dragon's strength, an exceedingly rare magic item found only in monsters of Dragon King class. There might not be more than a handful on the entire continent.
Of course, Zoldat knew he had no right to decide for Cain.
"You had it appraised, right? Does the Dragon Jade have any special abilities?"
Zoldat folded his arms and asked Cain with a faintly aggrieved look.
"Mm. Nothing particularly special."
"Really? Well, that's not so bad." Zoldat breathed a sigh of relief and felt a little better.
"It can summon a monster on the level of a Flamebone Dragon Guard as a bodyguard. I thought it would be good for keeping Teacher Roxy safe."
Zoldat's eye twitched hard. He stared in disbelief.
Do you even hear yourself...?
You call that nothing special?! An A-rank elite dungeon boss as a bodyguard? Damn it, that's no ordinary Dragon Jade!
"Ask for it back!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I said ask for it back, you idiot! Do you know how much that thing is worth?"
Cain frowned, seized Zoldat by the collar, and pulled him close, anger in his eyes.
"Hey, it belongs to Teacher Roxy now. You want me to ask her for it back? What are you getting at?!"
"Idiot! Don't you understand its value? Even as a Sword God, you could use an elite boss-class monster backing you up."
"So what?!"
"That thing could sell for enough to let an entire large adventuring party live comfortably for the rest of their lives without lifting a finger! Stop being so naive. Money matters!"
"I told you, it belongs to Teacher Roxy now!"
"That's why I'm calling you an idiot!" Zoldat gritted his teeth and looked at Cain's furious face.
"This might sound selfish, but Roxy is only the first woman you've ever liked, isn't she? People's feelings change. You might fall for a second person someday, or a third. You need to look out for yourself a little. Aren't you afraid Roxy might sell the Dragon Jade and leave you?"
"Teacher Roxy isn't that kind of person! She used her own pay to cover the cost of my Magic Armor! Keep talking nonsense and I'll tear your mouth apart!"
Seeing the grim earnestness in Cain's eyes, Zoldat swallowed. He sighed and raised a hand.
"Sorry. I went too far. But will you hear me out?"
Cain released Zoldat's collar and folded his arms, still visibly angry.
"What are you trying to say? Seriously, if you're trying to drive a wedge between me and my teacher again, I won't forgive you."
Zoldat sighed and rubbed his forehead. Then he looked Cain in the eye.
"Liking someone and taking responsibility for them are two different things. Besides, you're going to leave Roxy someday, aren't you? I heard you two made a promise, but promises can't always be kept. Life gets in the way, because we live in the real world, not a fairy tale..."
Cain folded his arms and pursed his lips.
"What does that have to do with giving Teacher Roxy the Dragon Jade?"
Zoldat sighed, looking at Cain with both frustration and sympathy.
"That's what I mean when I say you're young. I can see Roxy's a good person, and she likes you now. But time changes people."
Zoldat raised a finger, his gaze turning serious.
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