"Ha... I'm alive again."
Half an hour later, most of the food on the table had been devoured.
Eris let out an unladylike burp and rubbed her slightly rounded belly, leaning back against the sofa with satisfaction.
Rudeus set down his wineglass and cleared his throat.
"All right, now that we've had our fill... isn't it time for the most important part of the evening?"
He looked at Eris and smiled.
"It's your birthday today, Eris. And what's a birthday without presents?"
At the word "presents," Eris's ears twitched.
Her wine-red eyes lit up, but she turned her face away awkwardly and huffed.
"Hmph... I-I wasn't looking forward to your present or anything. It's probably another weird magic book anyway..."
Before she could finish, Ghislaine stood up beside her.
She walked over to Eris and pulled an old-fashioned silver ring from inside her clothes. It looked rather old and was engraved with an ancient beastfolk totem. She held it out to Eris.
"Eris, this is a ring of protection that the chief of the Doldia Tribe gave me when I went to train in the Great Forest years ago."
Ghislaine's voice was as deep as ever, but it carried a touch of an elder's tenderness.
"It can protect its wearer from attacks by wolves. I'm giving it to you now, and I hope the Sword God's radiance and the Great Forest's protection will always be with you."
Eris froze.
She looked at the ring, and for some reason, her eyes reddened.
She snatched the ring and held it tightly to her chest, her voice trembling slightly.
"Thank you... Ghislaine. I'll wear it for the rest of my life!"
Ghislaine patted Eris on the head with a gratified smile, then turned to stare intently at Rudeus, deep curiosity hidden in her wild eye.
"So... Rudeus, you haven't shown your face these past two days. Just what present have you prepared for the young lady?"
"My present..."
Rudeus took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking instantly into the system space deep in his mind.
He looked at the faintly glowing number in his account balance-2,105,362 Emotion Points.
Without the slightest hesitation, he opened the lofty [King Rank/Emperor Rank equipment exchange section], which he usually couldn't bear to look at twice.
I've decided on you: [Witness to the Sword Bearer's Ascension to Godhood]. Confirm exchange!
[Ding! 1,500,000 Emotion Points spent. Congratulations, host, on successfully exchanging for the Quasi-Emperor Rank growth-type equipment-"Witness to the Sword Bearer's Ascension to Godhood"!]
In an instant, his account balance plummeted, leaving him with just over six hundred thousand points.
But at the same time, a terrifying aura, so heavy it seemed capable of crushing the void, appeared in his system space.
Rudeus opened his eyes and gave a gentle tug at the empty air with his right hand.
There was no divine light filling the sky, nor any exaggerated magical fluctuations.
All that appeared in his hand was a tight black vest that looked as ordinary as could be.
"...That's your present? A... piece of clothing?"
Eris blinked. Her soaring anticipation fell flat in an instant, and she pouted, disappointed and awkward.
"Rudeus, you're not messing with me, are you? Isn't that just an ordinary piece of clothing?"
Even Ghislaine couldn't help knitting her brows tightly the moment she saw the vest.
As a Sword King, she couldn't sense the slightest flow of magic in the garment.
Rudeus, however, smiled mysteriously and solemnly placed the unremarkable-looking vest in Eris's hands.
"Eris, don't underestimate it. This is a very powerful magic item called the [Witness to the Sword Bearer's Ascension to Godhood]."
Rudeus put away his smile, his tone utterly serious.
"This is a Quasi-Emperor Rank hidden treasure that exists only in ancient myths."
"It may look ordinary, but once you put it on, the divine runes inside it will fully activate."
Rudeus paused and raised a finger.
"It has only one effect-endless physical tempering."
"The moment you put it on, it will forcibly apply localized, directional gravity to the surface of your body, based on the limits of what you can currently endure."
"As your body gradually adapts and grows stronger, the load will automatically increase severalfold, or even tens of times over."
"It will continuously push and temper your muscles, bones, internal organs, and even the vitality of every cell."
"Even your Touki will enter a state of automatic cultivation."
"Until... it forcibly pushes your body to Quasi-God Rank, or even God Rank!"
"Most importantly, this terrifying rule of gravity is absolutely exclusive and only affects the wearer."
"To anyone else, it will still be an ordinary vest as light as a feather. It definitely won't affect your everyday movements or how you dress."
After hearing Rudeus's explanation, Ghislaine's normally expressionless face was overcome by shock.
[Emotion Points +1,000 from Ghislaine, Emotion Points +800 from Eris]
"Unlimited, automatically increasing gravitational load?! It can temper the body to Quasi-God Rank?!"
Ghislaine was so stunned that even her voice turned somewhat shrill.
"Rudeus... wh-where on earth did you get a divine relic that defies the world's common sense?!"
Eris, meanwhile, didn't quite understand the complicated principles.
But "Quasi-God Rank" and "an ancient treasure Rudeus had sought out especially for her" were enough to shatter every defense in her heart.
She took the vest with trembling hands.
The instant her skin touched the fabric, the vest turned into a streak of golden light and fitted itself snugly against her skin beneath her long dress.
"Mm...!"
Eris's body sank sharply, her face turning slightly pale as her full chest heaved.
She could feel it clearly: a terrifying pressure, as heavy as a small mountain on her back, was crushing her body from every direction.
Yet deep within that pressure, a warm energy was continuously nourishing and strengthening the muscle fibers damaged by her resistance to the gravity.
The sensation was painful, but intoxicating!
"Rudeus... Rudeus...!!"
Tears welled up in Eris's azure eyes.
She could no longer contain her excitement, and under Ghislaine's astonished gaze,
she threw herself at him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
"Thank you... sob... thank you! Rudeus!"
Rudeus gently reached out and stroked her long, fiery red hair, still flecked with a little glitter.
"Silly, I told you. Anything that concerns you concerns me too."
In the little soundproof room, the three of them cast aside all restraint.
They drank expensive fruit wine and ate stolen roast meat.
Eris, her face red, loudly boasted about the embarrassing incident on the dance floor that day, when she had scared those young noblemen into wetting their pants;
Ghislaine occasionally added a comment or two, while sharing some thrilling yet rather comical stories from her own adventures in the wilderness.
After several rounds of drinks, the night had grown late.
Ghislaine set down her empty glass, her somewhat unfocused eye looking at someone who had already passed out drunk.
She glanced at Eris, who was leaning heavily against Rudeus's shoulder and smacking her lips, then at Rudeus, whose eyes were still clear.
"Rudeus... I'm a little sleepy. I'll go back and get some rest first."
Ghislaine stood up and walked unsteadily toward the door.
"I'll leave the young lady in your care tonight. I trust you."
"Don't worry, Ghislaine. Go get some sleep."
Rudeus nodded slightly to her.
As the door closed softly, the room fell into a heart-stirring silence once more.
He lowered his head and looked at Eris, fast asleep.
Her long eyelashes fluttered, and her little cherry-red lips, usually pressed together elegantly, were slightly parted as she murmured in her sleep, saying things only she could understand.
"What a troublesome young lady."
Rudeus smiled helplessly and reached out with both hands, moving with extreme gentleness.
He slipped his arms around her slender, supple waist and under her calves, lifting her from the sofa in a princess carry.
Then he walked over to the bed and laid her flat in the middle of the huge, soft bedding.
Seemingly deprived of the support that had made her feel warm, Eris frowned restlessly after leaving his embrace and grasped blindly at the air with both hands.
Rudeus tucked her in and slept on the sofa himself...
...(Sigh~ Still no luck.)