"I want to buy those. All of them," Elara smiled with royal decisiveness.
Before Noah could respond, Valeria interrupted with competitive urgency. "Sorry, Princess, but I need to buy some too. My guild needs those enhancement effects too, we’ve been venturing out lately."
"Calm down, both of you," Noah intervened with diplomatic authority. "Each of you can have twenty-four pieces. You can have bread as well, but this can’t be hoarded. These resources must go toward protecting people."
"Of course!" both women replied simultaneously, their competitive tension dissolving into a shared purpose.
They settled into comfortable conversation as the shop’s atmosphere relaxed into familiar patterns. But Elara’s enhanced magical perception immediately detected the unusual energy emanating from Noah’s corner displays.
"These are incredible," she breathed, studying Moon and Star with obvious fascination. "I’ve never seen anything like these plants. The mana ambient they’re producing is extraordinary."
Noah’s memory sparked with sudden recollection. His storage ring contained gifts he’d been saving for exactly this reunion.
Perfect timing. I kept some Demonica Moonburghs specifically for them.
"I got you both something," Noah announced, reaching into his dimensional storage with anticipation.
He withdrew two perfectly cultivated Demonica Moonburghs, their silvery leaves shimmering with contained mana that made both women’s magical senses tingle with recognition.
He had kept the demonica’s as his daily income stream instead of the $5,000 for this moment, he knew that they were going to like the gift.
"These are for you," Noah said, presenting one plant to each woman. "They’ll enhance your magical development slightly. You guys are already at the adept rank, so they will barely help you."
Elara accepted her gift with a large smile on her face. "Thank you for the gift!"
Valeria studied her plant with personal gratitude. "This will be an amazing addition to the guild’s headquarters. Thanks again."
After handing the girls their two gifts, Noah turned back to the twin cats.
"Here you go, take this. It will help you," Noah said casually, withdrawing the Wind Orb from his storage ring as if he were offering candy rather than legendary treasure.
The orb itself was modest in size, no larger than a child’s fist, but the energy contained within made the air itself seem more alive. Even after Noah’s extensive use for training, the concentration of wind essence remained staggering.
The amount of wind concentration in that orb was astounding.
Kip’s young face went completely pale as he recognised the item that Noah was handing him. His hands trembled as they accepted the small orb, his magical senses screaming warnings about the sheer power he now held.
A Tier 5 orb. They only have two at the academy.
Elara’s royal composure cracked entirely, her mouth falling open in undisguised shock. As someone with access to the kingdom’s greatest treasures, she understood exactly what Noah had just casually given away.
"Noah...That’s... that’s a Tier 5 elemental orb," she whispered, her voice carrying the tone of someone witnessing the impossible.
Her shock was reasonable, the item that Noah was casually giving away was a treasure that the academy of Esta treated like precious pearls that appeared once every millennium.
Valeria’s instincts recognised legendary equipment when she saw it, her experienced eyes tracking the wind swirling within the sphere. Her guild had attempted to acquire such artefacts for years without success.
"Those are worth their amount in blood," she breathed, her usual confident demeanour replaced by genuine awe.
Alissa’s reaction was the most dramatic. The young swordswoman lunged forward with a desperate, urgent look on her face, her hands reaching for the orb as panic overwhelmed her rational thought.
"M-Master N-Noah, this is too much!" she fumbled, trying to take the artefact from Kip’s trembling grasp. "You can’t just give away something this valuable!"
But Noah shook his head with gentle firmness, his expression carrying the patience of someone who’d grown accustomed to such reactions.
"This is his belonging now. I gave it to him," Noah stated with a tone that brooked no argument. "He told me he’s an elemental mage with wind affinity. He’ll need this more than anyone else here."
Kip’s young voice cracked with emotion as he struggled to process the magnitude of the gift. "But Master Noah, at the academy, only the top students get to use these for five minutes. Just five minutes, and that’s considered the highest honour, that very few have gotten in the past century!"
Lola observed the scene from her position near the counter, her ruby eyes sparkling with amusement at everyone’s reactions. Having witnessed Noah’s casual use of legendary artifacts for basic training, she found their shock both understandable and entertaining.
If those two girls knew about the protein bar that he had fed the twin-cats earlier, they’d probably faint.
"The Academy of Sina hoards their two orbs like religious relics," Elara added, her royal education providing context for the artifact’s true rarity. "Students compete for years just to touch one briefly."
Valeria nodded with grim understanding. "My guild’s been trying to acquire even a damaged orb that’s a tier 3 for twenty years. The waiting lists span decades."
Twenty years of effort just to buy one lower-tier orb.
Noah’s response sent another shockwave through the assembled group. "It’s really fine, I have another one for myself too."
Without ceremony, he withdrew a second Wind Orb from his storage ring, its energy signature higher than the first. The casual revelation that he possessed multiple Tier 5 artifacts made the room fall into stunned silence.
Two Tier 5 orbs. He has two of them.
"Don’t worry about it," Noah continued with the same nonchalant tone he might use to discuss the weather. "Use it well. When you need another one, come and ask me. I’ll give you one."
He’s offering unlimited access to artifacts that kingdoms fight wars over.
He patted Kip’s head with gentle affection, the gesture so normal it created surreal contrast with the legendary treasure the boy still clutched.
Elara stood there shocked, unable to utter a word.
The training she had gotten as a royal had prepared her for many diplomatic situations, but the casual distribution of priceless artefacts wasn’t covered. Her magical senses confirmed these weren’t replicas or inferior copies—they were genuine Tier 5 elemental orbs of the highest quality.