Chapter 52

Released:

Having bought the rings, we spent an unexpectedly long time debating where to wear them.

“Obviously, it has to be the ring finger on the left hand! That way, it might even keep the pests away. Wouldn’t that be great?”

Pests? She probably meant other women. Not that I had any plans to fend off anyone approaching me.

“That’s right! Friendship rings are best worn on the left ring finger. That’s the universal rule!”

There’s no such universal rule, though.

Oh, wait. Is this one of those things?

Maybe they both wanted to wear it on their ring fingers but felt it would be too obvious if it were just the two of them. So, they roped me into it to make it seem less suspicious?

“Well, fine. Then let’s all wear them on the left ring finger.”

Thinking about it, it would be weird if the three of us bought rings together, but two wore theirs like couple rings while the other treated it as a mere friendship ring and wore it on a different finger.

Even though I put the ring on my left ring finger for that reason, I couldn’t help but feel that this might make it harder for me to find a girlfriend in the future.

“Still, to avoid any weird rumors, let’s all agree to say they’re friendship rings if anyone asks.”

“Of course!”

“I’ll do that.”

For some reason, it felt like both of them were avoiding my gaze.

Is this really okay…?

I mean, it’s great that you two are getting closer, but dragging me into this is just going to make the rumors weirder!

Like, do you want people saying the three of us are dating or something?

Seriously, what strange people.

But now that I think about it, it was the same in the game.

The three of them were so close that people would joke about them being in a three-way relationship.

There wasn’t anything like a friendship ring in the game, at least not explicitly, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they had something similar behind the scenes.

“Well, we’ve bought everything we need. Shall we head home now? The food should be ready for pick-up by now.”

I hurried them along, eager to bring the food home while it was still warm to let my parents try it at its best. Of course, I’d use temperature control magic to keep it at the perfect heat on the way.

“I’m so excited to visit Sir Theo’s house after so long!”

“Same here. It’s been a while, and I’m looking forward to it.”

That little countryside home… I mean, it’s where my parents live, so of course I like it. But for these two, there’s nothing to be excited about. I couldn’t figure out why they were so enthusiastic.

After picking up the food from the restaurant and applying the temperature control spell, I asked them how they wanted to travel. Like before, I was planning to teleport with Iris, while Estelle would go on her own. But—

“I want to travel with Sir Theo’s magic too!”

This time, Estelle who seemed too lazy to use her own magic said she wanted to travel with my magic. I nodded my head and gave her the go-ahead.

After all, before I got good at using teleportation magic, Estelle was the one who used to carry both Iris and me with her spells.

“All right, everyone, grab hands.”

We all held hands, and I locked onto the coordinates in my mind for the spot right in front of the house, before casting the teleportation spell.

I thought about how my parents would probably be happy since we’d brought back lots of unique ingredients and souvenirs from the Holy Empire.

In the blink of an eye, after closing and opening my eyes, we were standing in front of the house.

It really felt like teleporting was as simple as blinking now.

There was no sense of motion sickness or nausea whatsoever, which made me think my magic had truly reached the level of advanced teleportation.

And I’d never once made a mistake with the coordinates.

Knock knock.

“Mom, I’m home.”

After I knocked, my mom opened the door. She looked surprised but happy.

“I figured you might come, so I was waiting just in case, but you really did! How in the world did you manage such a long trip, you rascal…?”

Although her words sounded scolding, her expression was unmistakably one of someone who had missed me deeply.

She was probably upset because she didn’t want me to go through any trouble.

“I’ve mastered teleportation magic this time, so I can come and go in no time at all. Don’t worry. Oh, and Estelle and Iris came with me.”

“Hello, Mother! I’m here!”

“Greetings, Mother…! I’ve come as well…!”

“Yes, yes. I thought you might. All three of you, come inside quickly.”

Honestly, I’m pretty sure my parents are the only people who could treat the Saintess and the Crown Princess like casual neighborhood friends of their son.

It’s not the kind of treatment they’d receive anywhere else.

Surprisingly, though, the two of them seemed to enjoy being treated this way.

I wasn’t sure if it was because it was “my” parents treating them like this or if they genuinely wanted to connect with people this way.

“Mother, I brought you a gift!”

Estelle handed my mom a present she had apparently bought without telling us.

“Oh my, what could this be?”

“Hehe, I bought a magical hairpin to make it easier for you to tie your hair, Mother. With this, all you have to do is decide on the hairstyle you want, and whoosh it’ll tie itself! I thought it might save you some time in the mornings!”

Oh… is there really such an amazing item?

Of course, even if it allows for various hairstyles, my mom isn’t one to go for anything complicated. Still, since she even found tying her hair in a simple ponytail bothersome, I was sure she’d think it was an excellent gift.

“Oh my… this must’ve been expensive. Why did you buy it? You could’ve just come without bringing anything.”

Look at that. She says that, but her hands are already tightly clutching the hairpin.

“Come on, Mother! It’s a gift for you; it doesn’t matter if it’s expensive or not!”

“But I don’t have any magic power. Will I even be able to use it?”

Magical tools were usually made for those who possessed magical power.

“I’ll come by regularly and recharge it for you. That way, you can use it even without magic power.”

“All that trouble? Won’t it be too inconvenient for you?”

“Trouble? What trouble? It’ll be a great excuse for me to come and see you! I’d love to visit you more often, Mother.”

Watching Estelle cozy up to my mom with such charm gave me a strange feeling.

How should I put it? It felt like watching a daughter-in-law trying to win her mother-in-law’s favor.

Of course, there was no way Estelle had any such intentions. She probably just wanted to show kindness to her friend’s parents.

Besides, considering my parents are the only ones who treat her so comfortably, it made sense that she’d want to be especially good to them.

“I have a gift as well, Mother…!”

As Estelle and my mom were deep in a friendly conversation, Iris timidly stepped in.

Oh~ Iris worked up the courage? Normally, Iris would’ve waited for them to finish talking and missed her timing entirely.

“Oh my, Iris too?”

“Yes, it’s nothing special, but… I brought a small vacuum cleaner for you to use when cleaning the house. It also needs magical power to operate, but I can charge it for you as needed.”

“Oh my! Our vacuum cleaner had just broken, and cleaning has been such a chore lately! Thank you so much, Iris!”

“What? The vacuum broke? You should’ve told me! I could’ve gotten you a new one!”

“How could I tell that to a son who’s busy at the academy?”

If she had told me, I could’ve bought her a fancy new one. It made me a little sad that she hadn’t mentioned it at all.

Of course, from my mom’s perspective, she probably didn’t want me to worry or spend money unnecessarily, but still…

Anyway, Iris somehow knew about the broken vacuum cleaner and brought one as a gift, so I couldn’t be more thankful for that.

“Iris, don’t you have very little magical power? I can recharge Mother’s hairpin and the vacuum while I’m here, so it’s no problem.”

“No, I can recharge that much too. Don’t try to monopolize it all by yourself, Estelle.”

The two of them started bickering again and started an argument that seemed like it would end in a bad ending.

“If you two are going to fight about it, then neither of you need to come. I’ll handle the recharging myself.”

When I brought up the idea of ​​stopping both of them from coming to stop the fight.

“…I’m sorry. I won’t fight.”

“I won’t fight either…”

Both of them backed down.

“Alright, shake hands, give each other a hug, and say you’re sorry.”

“…I’m… sorry.”

“I’m sorry… too.”

It almost sounded like I heard a clicking sound, but I decided to let it slide.

[Achievement ‘I’ll Handle the Recharging’ has been recorded.]

Judging by the new achievement, I’d successfully averted another bad ending for the day.

Phew. That was good enough for me.

“Mom, here, try this. We bought it from the restaurant we visited, and it’s really delicious. Where’s Dad?”

“Your dad’s working outside.”

“Then I’ll call him in.”

I was already considering how magic could help automate farming.

Buying equipment for automation would cost money, but with my magic, I wouldn’t need to worry about energy.

Of course, if doing so took away my parents’ work or left them feeling a sense of loss, I wouldn’t go through with it.

But honestly, most farms these days were already transitioning to magically automated systems.

The days of cultivating everything by hand were long gone.

Back in the day, it might have been a different story, but now, with a family like ours brimming with magical power, shouldn’t the son be the first to implement magic automation?

“Dad!”

“Oh, hey! You’re here, son. Your mom told me, but I didn’t believe it until I saw you.”

Dad’s playful nature, as he looked me over like I was some kind of curiosity, hadn’t changed a bit.

“Dad, have you ever thought about turning the farm into a magically automated one? Let’s be honest; farming is tough work.”

Switching to an automated farm would mean we’d only need to check in occasionally to make sure things were running smoothly, and all we’d have to do was hand over boxes of harvested crops to our buyers. It would definitely take a load off physically.

“Eh, but that kind of setup costs a fortune, and how would we manage the magical power? I heard it costs thousands just to recharge magic once.”

“Well, if we can handle the setup costs, I can come by regularly to recharge the magical power, so you wouldn’t even have to worry about that expense.”

“Oh? My son can manage that much now?”

“Dad, you might not realize this, but at the academy, they actually created a new award just because of me. That’s how talented I am.”

“Really? Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve bought you a congratulatory cake or something.”

This old man still seemed to think I was a little kid.

A congratulatory cake… well, if it’s one Dad brought, it might not be so bad.

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