Seeing this, Ash showed a gentle smile and walked over to gently pat Sylphie on the head, "No need to be so careful. This is for you. If you like it, you can try it on now if you want?"
"For me? Really?", Hearing this, Sylphie's eyes went wide with surprise, and her two cute long ears instinctively flopped up and down with joy.
"Of course."
"Wow! Lord Ash is so great! I love it the most!", The little girl, receiving confirmation, was so excited her face flushed red. Without even checking the style, she cheered happily and threw herself into Ash's arms.
Sylphie's mother, Colona, stood to the side watching this, a look of awkwardness and hesitation on her face, "Is it really appropriate for you to spend money like this?"
"What's inappropriate about it? It's just a dress. No need to worry about it."
"But...", Although he said it casually, Colona looked like she wanted to say something but held back.
After all, fabric for dresses wasn't cheap in this era. Even with Ash's help, their financial situation had improved quite a bit, but it had only returned to the state before they hired Roxy, some spare means but not much. They still needed to save for the future.
So seeing her daughter this happy, while she was certainly pleased inside, she also felt that accepting this gift might not be quite right.
Ash naturally saw Colona's concern and quickly added, "Just think of this as a gift from me, her uncle, to my niece. Sister-in-law, you really don't need to worry."
"Sister-in-law...", Hearing the term "sister-in-law," Colona didn't know whether to laugh or cry and really wasn't sure what to say.
"Niece?", Roxy, who had been watching from the side, stared at Sylphie, who was so happy she seemed beside herself, and a strange, inexplicable feeling gradually rose in her heart. She even felt a hint of jealousy. Unable to help herself, she stared at him and interjected crossly, "Why are you so good at pleasing girls? And why are you so nice to your junior apprentice sister? You're never this good to me, your master. What's that about? You're not actually planning to kidnap Sylphie like you said before, are you?"
"I've said that was just a joke. Why would I compete with you for her? It's just an ordinary dress. How is that 'pleasing a girl'?"
"No, it's not ordinary at all!", Hearing Ash's words, Sylphie lifted her little head from his chest, raised the dress high in front of her face, and said with excitement and seriousness, "I will treasure it for my whole life! Hmm... I'll wear it when I get married!"
"Better forget about waiting for marriage. Why not try it on now? I mean, it's a dress, but if you can still fit into it by the time you get married, that'd be a bit of a problem," Ash joked with a smile, and as he spoke, his gaze unconsciously drifted to Roxy beside him.
That otherwise normal look made Roxy puff up her cheeks in displeasure, "Why are you looking at me? How rude!"
"Nothing of the sort," He smiled and shook his head, but took a gold ring he'd bought on the way out of his pocket and casually handed it over, "And since Sylphie gets a gift, of course Master gets one too~"
"Huh? Tha—R-Ring?"
She'd been a little upset about his favoritism and also somewhat worried that he might steal her disciple, but Roxy had been happy to find she got a gift too. However, when she saw the glittering gold ring, she was genuinely startled and took several steps back instinctively.
The ring seemed like something scalding hot, and Roxy's eyes filled with alarm and disbelief.
"What are you thinking about? And isn't running away right now a bit rude?"
"B-Because! That's very immoral, isn't it! We're master and disciple!"
"Your thoughts are the immoral ones. Really... such a small thing, yet you're always thinking about what? Have you hit puberty or something?"
Compared to the girl whose cheeks flushed involuntarily, a mix of embarrassment, anger, and worry, Ash calmly shook his head with a sigh, his expression unwavering as he said casually, "It's just an ordinary gift. There's no special meaning."
"I-I'm not going through puberty! I'm worried you might have improper thoughts about me!"
She felt like his calmness was somehow infuriating. Roxy's voice couldn't help but rise in agitation, and she even wanted to grab her staff and hit this disrespectful disciple.
But Ash silently lifted Sylphie and sat her on his forearm in front of him, instantly making Roxy hesitate to act. She huffed angrily, "You're using her as a shield?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ash smiled and pinched the girl's cheek, putting on the air of an elder, "We're just close, right?"
"Yes! Lord Ash and I are the closest!", Sylphie didn't resist at all and happily nodded.
Seeing her being used as a shield and even speaking well of him made Roxy genuinely worry she might be easily kidnapped.
But before she could say anything, Ash tossed the ring over with his free hand.
"Th-That... thank you? N-No! No! No! Such a valuable thing, I really can't," She caught it instinctively, hesitated, and shook her head repeatedly.
"Really, don't worry about it. My debt is settled."
"Settled?"
"Trust me, and just keep it."
"O-Okay," Although she wanted to ask more, seeing his serious expression, Roxy hesitantly accepted it, "I'll treasure it..."
"No need to treasure it. I just thought, if you keep being an adventurer and suddenly need money, you could cut off part of it and sell it for emergencies."
"Wait... what? If that's the case, why make it into a ring? Don't you know..."
"Of course I know. It's just that rings are harder to lose, and I thought your reaction would be interesting, so I specifically chose a ring."
"I see," Roxy stared at the ring, her already ambiguous expression turning even stranger. She suddenly looked up and glared at him, asking through gritted teeth, "So you didn't do it by accident or out of ignorance, you did it on purpose to see my reaction, right?"
"Right!", Ash nodded with a smile without hesitation.
"You... you unfilial disciple! You're making fun of me again!"
That excessive honesty was practically a provocation. The dissatisfaction that had just formed from the girl's already complicated feelings instantly swelled with this catalyst.
But she'd barely taken a step forward before she could do anything when Ash, with that smile that made people grit their teeth, silently held up Sylphie in his hands, the meaning was clear: Sylphie is my shield.
This made her both angry and amused, but for the moment she had no way to deal with Ash. She could only stand there glaring at him, sulking by herself.