Chapter 253: The Present

While waiting and chatting, Yato-san returned cautiously, carrying a small, sturdy-looking box. It seemed she intended to give the contents to me as a present.

“Sato, sorry to keep you waiting! This is a gift for you!”

“You’re holding it so carefully… is it really that rare?”

“Hmm… rare or not is hard to say, but I worked desperately to get it! I even skipped the dungeon this winter to make sure I could get this!”

She seemed to be treating this gift even more carefully than the jewel she gave me before, so I thought it might be an incredibly rare item. However, in terms of rarity, the jewel was apparently still more valuable.

I didn’t know what was inside yet, but it was exciting to receive something Yato-san personally obtained, and the care she showed made it clear that getting it had been no easy task.

“I see. I thought you might have been busy with something important, but you went out of your way to get me a present. Thank you, Yato-san.”

“Don’t thank me until you see what’s inside! Last time with the jewel, you refused it!”

Last time, I couldn’t accept the jewel because it was a treasure of the dragons, but this time, Yato-san had obtained it herself.

No matter what it was, I intended to accept it. Still, there was a possibility it could be something so outrageous it might blow my mind, so I decided to check the contents.

“In that case, I’ll take a look inside.”

“Unu! Open it gently! It’ll be terrible if it gets scratched!”

Seeing Yato-san’s serious expression, I carefully opened the lid.

Inside was a ring decorated with a dolphin-like motif.

She had treated it so delicately that perhaps it was obviously valuable to those who knew, but I had no idea.

However, the fine craftsmanship suggested that it was made by a highly skilled artisan.

“This ring… is it really that amazing? I’m sorry, I don’t know much about this world…”

“Sato-san! This ring is said to have been worn by Magic Emperor Zilfried! It’s one of the ten Spell Rings!”

“Hoho! Impressive, Sheila! I didn’t expect you to know about this ring!”

“The Magic Emperor’s Spell Rings are famous! But six out of the ten are still missing. This is one of the missing ones, right? Where did you find it?”

Sheila-san beside me was radiating excitement. Her leaning forward showed how incredible this dolphin ring truly was.

“At Lake Raja! There’s a cave accessible only in winter, and the ring was hidden there!”

“Lake Raja… the huge lake? The habitat of Deathfrogs, with dangerous monsters even inside the water? I didn’t know it was hidden there!”

“I just went there based on rumors from a favored traveling merchant! But indeed, the cave that’s only accessible in winter exists, and the Magic Emperor’s Spell Ring was hidden there! It was an incredibly challenging adventure!”

Yato-san proudly recounted her adventure, and Sheila-san lightly applauded.

There seemed to be no exaggeration—it was clear he had really worked hard just for me.

Receiving a rare item was exciting, but more than that, I was overjoyed that Yato-san had gone to such lengths for me.

I nearly cried, but I held back so as not to disturb the atmosphere.

“Yato-san, thank you so much for going out of your way. Honestly, I’m not confident I could use a Magic Emperor’s Spell Ring properly, and it might be a waste if I held it… but your thoughtfulness makes me truly happy, so I will treasure it. Thank you very much.”

“Ufufu! I’m glad you’re happy! It was worth braving the cold!”

“By the way, did you go to Lake Raja alone? Ashros-san was participating in a dungeon raid, right?”

“Oh! I forgot to mention! Rose and Isabella accompanied me! They complained a lot, but they helped a lot. Their contribution was huge!”

“I see. Then I’ll prepare a feast as thanks for Rose-san and Isabella-san when they’re around. Look forward to it!”

“Since it’s a gift for the help you usually give, it feels strange to receive something back… but I can’t refuse Sato’s feast! Ufufu, I’m looking forward to it!”

Yato-san laughed joyfully, and I resolved to prepare a proper feast in return.

The sky journey, Yato-san’s hometown, and this heartwarming gift—today had been nothing but wonderful.

Even though we asked a lot from Drake-san and Marjis-san, I truly felt that coming to Mount Edelgius had been the right decision.