Around night time, Shien finally managed to leave the palace and return back to the western noble district.

That girls seriously vicious

Shien kind of wanted to grimace at the treatment he had to endure previously.

She seriously bit me. Did she really have to be that mad?

Shien rubbed at a hand, completely speechless.

If not for the fact that I have resistance skills, I might really have ended up with teeth marks imprinted on my hand.

However, the fact that she went this far did also show just how angry that princess was at him.

I was just joking around really. Was there really a need to get that mad?

Shien grumbled. Even so, he still headed toward the direction of Lillets shop.

After all, in order to placate the princess, Shien had to promise to deliver her delicious deserts as apology for the next few days.

Otherwise, given how vicious that angry kittens acting, she may or may not be wiling to forgive and release Shien from her grasp.

That said, this is going to do some serious damage to my wallet.

Shien started sighing as he felt at the few remaining gold coins he still had left.

Lillets deserts are unbelievably expensive from the start. If hes then forced to buy some for her highness the princess every day, then itd be strange if he didnt get eaten out of house and home.

Should I perhaps sell this then?

Shien raised a hand and brought a certain item before him.

The item in question was the magic staff that Jacinta granted him.

Thanks to the [Appraisal] skill, Shien could easily read what the magic staffs powers are.

This magic staff is not only made from various very rare magic materials, the magic crystal embedded into it is also of the highest quality. With the powerful flow of magic power within it, it was obvious from a glance that its no ordinary item.

That said, no matter how out of ordinary it is, theres no way that the magic staff could compare to the Holy Sword.

Shiens Holy Sword is the absolute strongest, period. Logically speaking then, its not like Shien would really need the magic staff at all, so if he were to sell it off, it would doubtlessly earn Shien a ton of money.

But I am really tempted by the staffs effect through. I really cant bear to sell it at all.

This is a [magic staff], not a [mages staff] after all.

In this world, theres a major difference between a magic and a mages staff.

Although both are magic weapons specifically used by mages, theyre completely different at the core.

To put it simply, a magic staff is a weapon that has innate magical effects, where as a mages staff is a weapon that increases a mages spells and magic power.

The former innately has one or more spells or magic effects, so even a commoner who doesnt know any magi can use it. The magic power requirement will also come from the magic crystal in the staff. The only downside is the fact that it can only use the spells and magic effects that are innate to the staff itself, and no other spells are possible.

The latters greatest effect is that its a buff. In the hands of someone who cant sue magic, itll basically be a completely useless stick. However, in the hands of a mage, it will increase the power and effects of the mages spells, lower their magic power consumption, or even add additional qualities to their spells like making flames from fire spells harder to extinguish.

Melika for example uses a mages staff. She can borrow the power of the staff to make her fire and ice magic more powerful.

And what Jacinta gave Shien was a magic staff, capable of casting three different spells.

A detection spell.

An alarm spell.

A dispelling spell.

Those three spells are all very powerful too.

The first is just what it says in the name. When used, it will detect everything around the user, including all living and non-living things. So long as its within the range, everything, be it the smallest grain of sand or an errant leaf will be detected and its position relayed to the user. Its only drawback is that the range isnt all that large, otherwise it would be extremely powerful.

The second one is also exactly what it says in the name. It can give off a warning when it detects danger. Although its only half as useful to Shien given his [Enemy Detection] and [Magic Detection], its not completely useless either. Thats because [Enemy Detection] and [Magic Detection] both have their own limits. One is only effective against hostility, and the other only works against magic power. The warning from the magic staff is different in that its effective against all sources of danger, so it will send out warnings even for stuff like when something was poisoned or if theres a trap laid out.

The effect of the third is much more useful though. It can dispel already cast magic. Its especially effective against barriers and the like, where any barrier can be immediately shattered with but a tough. The only downside is that its a bit costly in terms of magic power.

All three magic effects are very useful. Its likely that even in the demon world, only the highest class of items among high class items could have all three effects.

That fact also means that it would still be usable in Shiens hands.

All three magic effects of the magic staff are quite useful to Shien.

As expected of one of the direct subordinates of the Dragon Demon, a top class demon among top class demons, an existence thats only exceeded by the six great demon lords, and someone whos basically the second in command of the demon race. He really is quite generous there, so lets not sell it after all.

Shien was quite satisfied, so he put the staff away while muttering to himself.

Given how generous the demons were, the temples reward shouldnt be bad either, right?

Unlike Jacintas direct gift of the magic staff, Joule instead is having Shien come to the temple and visit the inner sanctum.

But Shien has not idea just what his inner sanctum is.

Shien only knows that back when Joule gave that promise, a lot of both the nobles and the royal knights showed an admiring expression.

In that case, this inner sanctum should have something good waiting for Shien as well, right?

Add in the Kingdoms permission of a month of study time in the underground magic library, the more Shien thought about it, the happier he got.

It looks like those merits werent completely worthless after all.

Shien started humming a tune as he headed toward the direction of Lillets shop.

However, when Shien got to Lillets, he ended up encountering someone familiar.

Airi?

Shien fell silent as he saw the girl standing in front of the confectionerys display window.

Then, Shien unhesitatingly turned about and got ready to leave.

Unfortunately for Shien, he was a step too slow.

Gah!

Shien only felt something grab the back of his shirt again, and this time, the strength pulling at him was even greater. Shien nearly choked on the force of the pull, making him let out a strange squawk.

Why are you running away?

Then, Shien heard an extremely unhappy voice.

Who else could it be but Airi who suddenly appeared behind Shien, one hand holding her pillow while the other on the back of Shiens collar, with a displeased expression on her face?

Why are you running away?

That girl continued interrogating Shien like it was a major matter for her.

Shien really did want to say something like do you really not know?

Could I do anything but run?

If I didnt run, then Id have to buy this little princess another huge collection of deserts again.

Im out of money! Im broke!

Shien proclaimed his poorness.

But all that got him was Airis death glare.

Thus, Shien broke No! He softened No! His heart softened!

I dug my own grave here