Once they got praised, the atmosphere livened up a little bit. It was rare for them to receive praise… that Is because they were in their growth period, they couldn't afford to get carried away with their ego.
"I see, so you blocked the strike of the elite guards and then tried to attack, but you didn't have the chance," Kate said.
"Yeah, a single strike of his sword, and when I blocked with my spear, I felt all my bones cracking," Alexander said. "I still can remember the feeling that I had when my fingers went numb with that first strike… I thought that I had gotten pretty strong after years of training, but then I realized that I have a long way to go."
The conversations that Billy had with Kate were a bit different than that… while she was talking with Alexander, she looked pretty excited while asking for the details of the fights. As expected, she might be three years older than most of them, but her mental age was probably the same.
"Are these clothes from here?" Lily asked while looking at the box of clothes in the room. "They are pretty cute, Don't you think, Natalie? I wish I had some dresses like these."
"... I don't get that kind of thing… I am fine with normal fighting clothes or armor," Natalie replied.
"Dad bought them in Vergena… Although some of those were clothes that my mom used, and I inherited them," Kate said.
Fighting clothes had other meanings for a woman… but that was knowledge from Earth, so it was natural that Natalie didn't know that. In any case, Billy didn't recall seeing clothes like that in that city… not like he had much time for sightseeing. Regardless, it was nice that they had some common interests. Billy was feeling a bit left out, but not by that much since Natalie didn't participate much in the conversations. She was a muscle head, and she didn't have much interest in clothes or telling stories about her fights. It seemed like she had returned to the days where she was that troublesome kid. She had gotten better, but…
"If you don't mind, I will come again tomorrow. It was pretty fun today, Lily said when she noticed that the sun was already setting.
"Sure, I will wait expectantly," Kate said and then smiled.
While Billy didn't participate much In the talks, he had the chance to meditate for several hours, and he recovered quite a bit of mana as well. If things keep going like that, Kate will reach level forty in ten days or so.
"So, when is the marriage, Billy?" Lily suddenly asked when they left the mansion.
"What marriage? Nothing is decided yet. I didn't give my answer," Billy replied.
"... Why? Isn't Kate incredibly beautiful?" Lily asked.
"There is more to marriage than just the faces of a couple… I wish I were that naive as you," Billy said and then sighed.
"Accepting would be the same as being the future leader of two tribes, huh…" Lily said. "That is a big responsibility."
"What about you?" Billy asked. "You are already fifteen, so shouldn't you start considering that?"
"I am fine with anyone, but Dad says that he won't let me marry unless someone beats his skills with bow and arrow."
Billy looked at Alexander, and he saw him showing an expression of utter defeat… he couldn't see himself defeating the leader of the red archers. Unfortunately, Leo was stupid enough to force that rule onto anyone that approached his daughter with the intention of marrying her. Alexander only had eyes for Lily, so he had a tough ahead of him. As for Natalie…
"What?" Natalie asked when Billy looked at her for a second.
"The weather sure is nice today, don't you think?" Billy asked.
"Are you making fun of me?" Natalie asked. "I am not interested in marriage since my only goal is to become the strongest of my tribe, but if I were interested, I could find someone easily."
"I am not saying that it is impossible, but you are quite a handful, so you will have to find someone who is very patient," Billy said.
"What did you say?" Natalie said after stomping on the ground.
"Losing your cool won't help your cause," Billy said.
"Putting that aside, it seems that in one week, we are going to return to the bridge," Lily said. "What are you going to do, Billy?"
"I don't know yet…" Billy said.
Billy didn't need to work as a guard to get money. He could always create magic items with useful effects and sell them in random shops in Vergena… but that probably would be suspicious. Still, if he were to go, then he would have only one week to make Kate reach level forty…
"I suppose just staying at home while using my powers alone will turn me into a bum…" Billy thought. "Besides, the pay of the work outside the town is quite good."
Even if Billy meditates day in and day out, he probably won't succeed in speeding up Kate's leveling up speed… Billy was in a bind since he couldn't find a solution to that problem. Billy wondered if his grandma had medicines that could restore mana, but asking for such a thing would be suspicious.
When they were going to Edward's mansion again, the next day, Billy finally had an idea… what if he could use Mana Infusion on a living being? Could he control his mana that way to heal wounds and cure diseases? Before anything, he decided to do that without activating his power to transform mana into experience on a random ring of earth that he made it.
Earth Ring
Durability: 10/10
Charge: 10/10 MP
He actually could infuse things with mana without using his powers… However, he wasn't so sure if he could manipulate that to do anything else.
