Chapter 83

After trying to teach the Hero various things, the conclusion could be summarized quite simply.

The Hero had no talent.

And it was horrifyingly bad.

Hmm. Well, I kinda knew that already. Even a cursory glance showed a weak body, lack of knowledge, and poor intellect, etc., etc.

But what can you do? This Hero was my choice after all.

Still, the basic disposition isn’t half bad. If trained well, this one could become an excellent Hero.

That’s what I thought while teaching the Hero various things for about a week.

An unexpected talent in the Hero was discovered.

The talent to endlessly strive.

Practicing writing on the back of papers by reducing sleep bit by bit, and swinging a wooden sword during rest time…

The sight of the Hero repeatedly striving filled me unknowingly with a smile at the corner of my lips.

Hmm. As expected, my choice wasn’t wrong. With this kind of effort, this child will surely become a fine Hero.

Therefore, a gift is in order.

“Children’s Nutritional Supplement! Strawberry Flavor!”

“Huh?”

“While hard work is good, growth is also important. So from now on, stop sneaking around at night doing who-knows-what.”

“Ah… that… well…”

“Children must sleep at night to grow properly! Got it?”

“Yes… sir…”

The Hero seemed embarrassed that their secret nighttime practice was found out, lowering their head to hide a blushing face.

Hmm. Of course, such situations would be embarrassing. Doing things secretly only to get caught completely.

I understand and all. Absolutely.

“B-but… what exactly is this?”

“This? Let me explain…”

I opened the cap of the supplement and took out the contents.

Small jelly-type supplements individually wrapped in plastic. Legal children’s crack.

Of course, these are replicas made based on memory!

I tore open the packaging, took one out, and brought it close to the Hero’s mouth.

“Here, say Ah~.”

The Hero slightly blushed and let out a tiny voice.

“Ah…”

And in that moment, I inserted the supplement into the Hero’s mouth. The Hero initially looked slightly surprised but then their expression changed to even more surprise as they tasted the sweetness on their tongue.

“Tasty?”

“Yes, yes sir…”

“It’s packed with nutrients needed for growth. And since I’ve added magic too, you’ll definitely grow!”

Bone growth, muscle growth, and even magical power growth added! There might not be any food better for growth than this!!

It may feel a bit excessive, but it’s the first Hero, so I want to take care of everything!

“If you eat this once in the morning and evening and sleep well at night, your body will grow tall and strong. From now on, practicing secretly at night is forbidden. Got it?”

“Yes sir! But… can I have one more?”

“Nope. Too much nutrition isn’t good either.”

Especially with supplements… you need to be careful. Kidney stones are scary, you know. Very scary.

And this one has even more nutrients squeezed in compared to the original! One is enough!

“One per day. Morning and evening. Not two at once. It’s not good.”

“But if one per day means… since I just ate one now, having two wouldn’t be okay today?”

“No matter how you try to persuade me, it won’t work. Young man!”

I gave the Hero a light tap on the head with a “Thwack!” sound. Of course, it didn’t really hurt, but the sound was loud!

“Ow!”

“Alright, go to bed now. If you don’t sleep and do something else, I’ll notice right away. Got it?”

“Yes sir…”

Thus, the Hero walked toward the room I had given them as a bedroom.

Hmm. Good. Nutrition is covered with this. Education… once reading is mastered, there’s plenty to teach.

Personality is already somewhat complete, so just a little polishing should suffice. Other things… Hmm… What else should I teach?

Swordsmanship and physical training are obvious, so we’ll skip over that. Referring to educational systems from other worlds doesn’t seem to fit this Age of the Gods.

This is where unnecessary worries arise.

When telling stories to Erebus and the seven children, there was no physical form, so just sharing various tales was enough, but with the Hero… Hmm… Troublesome.

Is this what raising kids feels like? It’s not easy, huh.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Like that, I raised the Hero like a rookie parent, teaching many things and spending time together.

There were incidents like nearly dislocating arms while wielding a two-handed wooden sword or realizing the need to teach single-handed sword techniques and gifting appropriately sized wooden swords.

There are many more events, but explaining them all would make this story all too long, so there’s no need to recount everything.

Revealing every event might embarrass the Hero too much. Yep. Sometimes it’s better to keep things buried.

Even during adolescence… Hmm… Though the Hero became slightly prickly at times, they quickly reflected and asked for forgiveness, so it wasn’t a major issue.

Anyway, the result of diligently teaching the Hero was…

“997, 998, 999, 1000! Done!”

“Good job.”

I handed the Hero, who had just put down their sweat-drenched wooden sword, a refreshing water bottle.

“By the way, you’ve really grown strong.”

“Thanks to you.”

I’m unsure of the Hero’s exact age, but assuming they were around 10 when they drew the sword… with about 8 years passing, they’re probably around 18 now.

Despite being in their youth, why does the Hero look incredibly robust? Was it because the nutrients were a bit excessive?

The Hero resembles the main character of some strange third-part manga, growing impressively muscular.

No, it’s not necessarily bad, but the cute charm from childhood is gone, leaving a slightly regrettable feeling.

Especially considering they used to have a rather thin and delicate appearance, it’s surprising to see bulging muscles after only 8 years.

Thanks to this, the previously ordinary air has been replaced by a striking impression due to the muscles.

“Why do you ask?”

“No, nothing at all.”

A mere 8 years. To me, it felt like the blink of an eye.

But for humans, it’s the time it takes for a child to grow into young adulthood.

Truly. How fleeting human time is.

“It seems you’ve gotten accustomed to that weight.”

“Yes, though it did take some time.”

A wooden sword with all the iron core fully inserted. Its weight matches the Hero’s real sword exactly, yet the Hero wields it with remarkable skill, almost appearing of a different race entirely.

Hmm. The efficacy of the supplements was indeed a bit excessive.

Anyway.

“It’s about time to use the Hero’s Sword.”

“Finally!”

After receiving the wooden sword from the Hero, I flicked my finger toward the Hero’s Sword hanging on the wall.

The sword floated gently toward me, landing neatly in my hand.

“Listen up.”

At my words, the Hero grasped the Sword of the Hero, Chloive Solais, and swung it expertly a few times.

“Honestly, if I close my eyes and listen, I can’t tell the difference—it feels exactly the same.”

“That’s because I made it feel thoroughly identical.”

If switching from a wooden sword to a real blade caused discomfort, that would be troublesome, wouldn’t it?

“Now, try infusing your sword with magical power.”

“Magical power…?”

“Yeah. Magical power.”

Surely, the sufficient magical power accumulated from eating those supplements should be enough to transform this sword!

However, the Hero merely tilted their head, holding the sword.

“What is magical power… exactly?”

“Hmm? You don’t know what magical power is?”

“You never taught me that.”

Oh, hmm… Was that the case?

Though I included the magical power growth function in the supplements, I forgot to teach the method of handling it…?

What a fool I am. How could I forget something so crucial! The most necessary ability to use this sword!

“I truly overlooked something important.”

“Is it really that important?”

“Absolutely. You need to use that magical power to unlock the sword’s abilities!”

Without magical power, this sword is just a large, sturdy, and sharp greatsword!

Even so, it ranks among the strongest in this world, but given the era…

“Well then… let’s start learning magical power. It shouldn’t take too long.”

“Something so important shouldn’t take long to learn?”

“Naturally. Magic exists within everything, so it’s everywhere.”

Magic dwells in everything that forms this world—tiny pebbles, towering mountains, minuscule creatures, even within me.

Since it resides in everything, once I awaken the awareness of its existence and teach how to move it, everything else will proceed smoothly.

Especially for the Hero, thanks to the supplements I gave, the amount of magical power they possess should be considerable.

So…

“First, take off your clothes.”