Chapter 96: Melina’s 16th BirthdayAfter Melina and I managed to translate the entire book, we noticed that it was mostly filled with poems and haiku, which were really not what we expected.

    However, after I was done reading all of the book’s contents, I felt a strange sensation on the MP that coursed through my body.

    Melina also felt it, and with curiosity, she inspected her information and saw that her MP pool had grown by 5,000.

    "Maybe that’s the book’s effect?" I asked, but the princess then inspected me and saw something different.

    Name: Ichiro

    Age: 16

    Skills: Kobudo, Martial Arts, Blacksmithing.

    MP: 45,000

    Titles: Child of Phelena, Master Alchemist, Master Craftsman, Chocolatier, Master Hunter, Professor, Sage.

    I had also gained five thousand MP, but there was the title that Asys had promised to give me. "Sage."

    Sage: Obtained after proving their worth in the field of magic research. Gives the user better control of their magic.

    ’Better control of my magic? I thought I had that somewhat mastered already...’ I thought after reading the title’s effects.

    When we both checked the pages with the translated book, we saw how the parchment paper suddenly caught on fire and vaporized in seconds.

    "What the - ?" I was cut off when the real book also caught on fire, even vaporizing the thick cover in mere moments.

    We stood still with surprised expressions for a minute, trying to process what had just happened, when we were interrupted by Vespera, who explained that the book was meant to disappear after being read.

    She told us that she had read a book like that in the past, which is why she wasn’t too surprised after it suddenly caught on fire.

    "I see. A one-use book..." I muttered.

    It made sense since it meant that anyone who could read the pages would instantly get a five thousand MP boost. However, there was still the matter that they needed to know English to read it.

    ’Was there even a point in disintegrating the book? It’s not like anyone else was going to be able to read it anyway...’ I thought, trying not to put too much reason behind the god’s actions.

    __________

    A few days later, the day of the princess’s birthday arrived, and the people of the kingdom gathered around the castle for the king’s speech.

    I was a little nervous since he was going to introduce us to the people of the kingdom, and while I was fine with it at first, I was starting to feel a little stage fright. Sear?h the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It was mostly because of the clothes I was wearing. I had received a suit that was specifically tailored for me. It was a beige blazer and pants with a dark blue button shirt underneath.

    They had given me a few other accessories to wear, including one of those weird rags that men wore around their collars. However, I felt like it made me look a bit silly, so I opted not to wear it during the ceremony.

    The king directed his words at the people, who looked at him in admiration as they chanted praises to the royal family.

    Without anyone noticing, I used sound magic to make the king’s voice much louder, making it feel like he was talking through speakers.

    When the princess appeared, she wore a beautiful and resplendent dark blue dress that reflected the color of her eyes, and her confident walk left the spectators in awe of her beauty. I would be lying if I said I didn’t blush seeing her like that.

    The king declared that the princess had finally turned sixteen years old and told the people that, thanks to her training in End Town, the entire kingdom had been benefitting from it.

    It was interesting to see the king being so transparent with the commoner residents, as I was expecting his speech to be somewhat vague about the princess’s activities. However, the king wanted everyone to know about our deeds.

    Once she was introduced, the king turned to me and my companions and extended his hand, signaling us to walk forward so the spectators could see us.

    "I would like to formally introduce one of my most dearest guests and the person who has been mainly responsible for the kingdom’s prosperity in the past few years.

    This man has not only proved to be an ally of our kingdom, he is also a dear friend of the royal family..." the king elaborated before introducing me and my companions.

    At that moment, I could hear people chanting my name in the crowd.

    "Ichiro! Ichiro!" the people exclaimed, making me feel highly embarrassed.

    Even so, I decided to use sound magic to listen to them more closely.

    "He is the one that made the high-grade potions!" a man said.

    "Thanks to him, I got to save my daughter, who had been sick for two years!" another random woman exclaimed.

    "Haha! Don’t sleep on those stamina potions. Thanks to them, I’ve been able to go to work after my retirement!" an old man said.

    Hearing the residents talk about the good effects that my actions brought to them made me feel quite good. Really good, in fact.

    Once the ceremony was done, the entire city began a festival to celebrate while the nobles gathered at the castle to congratulate the princess face to face.

    As the guests arrived, I talked to the king about the replacement for Jackson in End Town, explaining to him that he was always meant to be a temporary mayor.

    The king understood our position and said that he would make a list of the people he believed to be the most qualified for the job. However, he would allow us to choose who we wanted.

    After the altercation with the man who was supposed to be taking care of End Town, the king launched a massive investigation on all of the noble families, weeding out the corruption little by little.

    That meant that most of the nobles that remained could have been considered decent people. Well, it only meant that they hadn’t done anything illegal and gotten caught with it. But that didn’t matter since I considered myself to be a good judge of character.

    During the party at the castle, I noticed that Vespera was catching the attention of a lot of noblemen, who were clearly interested in dating my companion.

    ’Do these guys not know her real nature? Maybe they just don’t care...? Respect.’ I thought as I watched the noblemen fawn over Vespera’s beauty.

    Vespera’s identity wasn’t a secret after the king announced her as a legendary beast and an ally of the kingdom, which is why I found it strange that none of those guys was scared for their lives while talking to her.

    During the party, I left for the terrace to catch some fresh air, and moments later, the princess joined me.

    "You look tired..." I said with a teasing smile.

    "Wouldn’t you be tired after talking to all those people?" she said, letting out a sigh and leaning on the rail beside me.

    "I would probably feel more tired after talking to all of those nobles than fighting an S-ranked monster," I said, making us both chuckle.

    After a small silence, I opened my void pocket and pulled out the princess’s birthday gift. The musical box that I had been working on the past few days.

    "What’s this?" she asked curiously, staring at the box.

    "It’s your birthday gift, of course," I said.

    Slowly, Melina opened the box, making the crystal inside gently float in the center, and as the song I recorded started playing, the shining gem slowly spun on its own axis.

    The song that was recorded was the song called "Melina," which I had written in my past life specifically for my wife. However, I knew that the princess could feel some sort of connection to the song, so I knew it was the best choice to record it.

    The princess stared at the crystal in awe, listening to the song with a soft and beautiful smile. Then, a small tear formed under her eyes.

    "A-are you okay!?" I exclaimed, wiping the tear before it rolled down her cheek.

    Melina locked her eyes with me and closed the box, tears still forming under her eyes, and with a bright smile, she told me she would cherish it before giving me a tight hug and planting her face on my chest.

    As I embraced her and posed my chin on top of her head, I could hear faint sounds from the nobles inside who were watching us, rumoring if the princess and I were in a romantic relationship.

    However, I felt so comfortable and happy with Melina around my arms that I couldn’t have cared less about the rumors the nobles were talking about.

    Minutes later, while we were still on the terrace, I asked to see her information since I hadn’t peeked at it the entire day, so I wasn’t aware of the power spike she had received.

    Melina laughed smugly. "Hehe, I did also get a nice power-up," she said with a prideful pose.

    Name: Melina Sephyr

    Age: 16

    Skills: Magic Assimilation, Fencing

    MP: 46,000

    Titles: Princess, Phelena’s Blessed, Chocolatier, Master Hunter.

    Seeing her information made me realize that our power spikes were quite similar. In fact, we had almost the same amount of MP. However, for some reason, she still had a little more than me, which I couldn’t understand how it was even possible, considering I was the one with the "Sage" title.