Even though we weren't running low on food anytime soon, I'd earned enough money in the Dungeons to pick up a few extra supplies, and knowing it would be the girls' first trip to a grocery store made me look forward to it more than usual.
Despite being used to the markets in their own worlds, each aisle we passed by made their eyes shine brighter.
Between commenting on the freshness, quantity, and variety of the products, I'd occasionally catch them pulling at each other's sleeves, pointing excitedly at anything that caught their attention.
Licia: "There's so much everywhere... And it all looks so good! This is amazing!"
It took her a few minutes to come rushing back to me, nearly dropping the vegetables she'd carefully picked as she struggled to carry them all.
Claire: "No wonder your food is so good. Even in my father's state, you would rarely find such high-quality ingredients... No, this may be even better than what the royal family's chefs could procure."
While helping me bag the vegetables Licia was holding, Claire would briefly stop and take a closer look.
The implication that I was only good thanks to my ingredients stung a little, but provided we had the same ingredients to work with, it wasn't hard to imagine how much better than me a royal chef would be.
After all, I wasn't a professional in the kitchen or anything of the sort. Everything I knew, I had learned just to take care of my sister.
Even so, I wanted to improve my dishes, if only to enjoy more of their reactions to my food.
After checking out, we went home and organized the stuff we bought.
As the girls went to take their baths, I began working on dinner.
With a surplus in hand and my pride hurt, I decided to be a bit more extravagant and went all out.
I used more spices, cut more generous portions, and even seasoned the salads more than usual.
Only for them to come out of their baths and show me the same joyful faces they always did.
As expected, if simply putting more stuff was enough to make a dish better, cooking wouldn't be an art, and chefs wouldn't have a job.
Still, I took it as a challenge, determined to prove myself and give them even wider smiles next time.
Once everyone had finished, Licia offered to do the dishes, so I claimed my tickets and began rolling on the [Skills Banner].
[Movement Speed Up
Since the user already possessed this skill, its level and effects were increased.]
[Mana Control
Decreases the mana required to use spells and skills.
Since the user already possessed this skill, its level and effects were increased.]
[Swordsmanship
Increases the user's skills when handling swords and, to a lesser degree, other bladed weapons.
Since the user already possessed this skill, its level and effects were increased.]
Despite already having all three skills, I was immensely happy with the results of the first three tickets, as these were some of my best skills.
Even [Mana Control], the skill I used the least of the bunch, was agreed to be one of the most important skills to level up by Licia and Claire, as well as other veteran adventurers.
It was basically essential for mages, as multiple casting was almost impossible without it, but even for a non-mage, it was incredibly helpful.
It was also fairly easy to increase its level with specific training, so I could lean into that a little if the gachas were to let me down in the future.
Thanks to the stat increase of [Movement Speed Up] and [Swordsmanship], I could swing the dagger I had been using all this time faster, while maintaining better control of its trajectory and force.
Since monsters had a harder time with faster opponents compared to stronger ones, [Movement Speed Up], with its high level, had basically become my bread and butter.
However, not every skill I received this time was a repeat from past rolls.
[Culinary Arts
Increases the user's understanding of recipes, betters their creativity, and increases their overall cooking abilities while enhancing the flavor of anything they prepare.
As a passive skill, these effects remain active without costing any mana.
The effects of this skill can be toggled on and off at any time.]
Despite being distracted by the TV screen in front of her, my chuckle drew Claire's attention.
Even Licia, all the way from the kitchen, looked at me with a slightly confused expression.
The timing couldn't be better. It was as if my Gift had taken pity on me and actually listened to a half-joking prayer, of all things.
Even though it wasn't a combat-oriented skill, I ended up being pretty happy with it.
In a strategic sense, good food could help me convince future summons to stay with me, but honestly, I didn't really care about that.
I was just looking forward to the girls' surprised faces when they'd inevitably taste my next dish.
[Last Man Standing
The user's strength and defense increase in tandem with each ally defeated or killed in battle, with no upper limit.
Activating this skill costs 1 mana point upfront, increasing proportionally with each additional target.
While active, the skill consumes 1 mana point per second, with upkeep increasing proportionally for each additional target.
Targets are only valid if they and the user mutually recognize each other as allies.]
Contrary to the first, the second new skill was fully combat-oriented.
However, despite how powerful this skill seemed, I wasn't looking forward to using it.
I wasn't going to scheme a way to use this at the expense of the girls, even if it was the last thing I'd do.
Because of its requirements, using this skill would already be an admission of defeat.
It was truly a last resort that I should work towards not needing.
Yet...
It also had the potential to be the winning factor in a hopeless scenario.
I was hoping I wouldn't need it.
I was glad I had it.
In the end, the repeated skills were good, and I hadn't gotten something as useless as [Faster Tree Climbing], so I was pretty happy with the [Skills Banner].
After messing with the gachas, I sneakily drank from a glass of water.
I offered to wash it myself, but Licia gave me an intense glare.
She waved her hand at me, telling me to return to the living room.
As I turned my back, she let out a soft sigh, joyfully finishing the dishes.
Since I was back in the living room, I claimed the [Kingdom Points] I could and acquired some skills for myself, as last time, I had focused the points on the girls.
First, I used 6 points to obtain Claire's [Fire Sword Arts] that she had raised to level 3.
I also tried to get her [Blessing Of Abdure] since I had never heard of that skill, but my system blocked me, saying I wasn't qualified for it.
The only way I could think of to circumvent this was pressing the same option repeatedly, hoping for a bug, but... That never happened.
So, I moved on to the next best thing, Licia's [Ice Magic].
Unfortunately, even at level 1, that skill cost me 10 points.
With only 7 points in my bank, I had to pass on it, and instead, I grabbed Claire's [Fire Magic].
Despite being at the same level as Licia's, her skill only cost me 5 [Kingdom Points].
There wasn't anything worthwhile I could get with the 2 points that were left, so I decided to save them.
Finally, as Licia finished her dishes, it was time for my last business of the day, the [Mana Banners].
Since the best I had gotten out of them were a dagger and the useless rings, I had no expectations.
But now that my mana pool had increased, I could spend more without suffering from mana depletion.
Hoping for the best, I tried to get a new weapon from the [Mana Banners], and...
I ended up getting the same dagger as before.
While not great, it was definitely better than the rings.
It would take me some time to adapt, but I could dual-wield the daggers.
Miwen: "...Huh. Maybe these were the best rolls ever?"
The [Mana Banners] had given me something good for once, and everything else was either good or great.
However, as the words escaped me, Licia crossed her arms, Claire narrowed her eyes, and I corrected myself.
Miwen: "The [Companions Banner] aside..."
That one had great synergy with my Gift, but as the girls just proved, it came with a fair share of unique complications.
So, while not as great as when I summoned the girls, today's result allowed me to continue moving forward without facing too much risk.