After that, although I tried to teach the hero various things, the conclusion could be summarized simply.

The hero had no talent.

Terribly so.

Well, I knew that already. Even a cursory glance showed he was physically weak, hadn't learned anything so his mind was poor, and so on. 

But what could I do? I was the one who chose this hero.

Still, his essence itself was usable. If taught well, he could become an excellent hero.

Thinking that, I taught the hero various things for about a week.

An unexpected talent was discovered in the hero.

The talent for endless effort.

Gradually reducing his sleep time and practicing writing on the back of paper, practicing swinging a wooden sword during rest periods, and so on.

The sight of the hero piling effort upon effort unintentionally brought a smile to my face.

Indeed, my choice was not wrong. A child who makes such efforts will surely become a good hero.

So, I should give him a gift.

"Children's nutritional supplement! Strawberry flavor!" 

"Huh?"

"Effort is good, but physical growth is also important. So from now on, stop secretly doing things at night."

"Ah, that... That was..."

"Children must sleep well at night to grow! Understand?"

"Yes..."

The hero hung his head in embarrassment at being caught secretly practicing at night, hiding his reddened face.

I see. It would be embarrassing in this situation. If he had been secretly doing it and I actually knew all along.

Let's just understand and move on. It doesn't matter anyway.

"W-What is that?"

"This? Well, this is..."

I opened the lid of the nutritional supplement and took out one of the supplements inside.

A small jelly-like nutritional supplement individually packaged in plastic. A legal drug for children.

Of course, it's a replica I made by inferring the memory!

I tore open the plastic packaging, took one out, and brought it to the hero's mouth.

"Here, ah~"

The hero seemed a little embarrassed, but made a small sound.

"Ah..."

And without missing that opportunity, I put the nutritional supplement into the hero's mouth. The hero looked a little surprised at first, but soon his expression changed to one of even greater surprise at the sweetness he felt on his tongue.

"Tasty?"

"Y-Yes..."

"It's packed full of the nutrients needed for growth. And I've even cast magic on it, so you'll definitely grow."

A special nutritional supplement with added growth for skeletal and muscle development, plus mana growth! There might not be any better for growth than this!!

It may feel a bit excessive, but since this is my first hero, I want to take care of everything.

"If you eat one of these morning and night and sleep well, your body will grow rapidly. From now on, no more secret practice at night, understand?"

"Yes! But, can I have one more?"

"No. Too many nutrients isn't good either." 

Especially with supplements... You have to be careful. Kidney stones are scary. Kidney stones are.

Besides, this has even more nutrients packed in than the original! One is enough!

"Two per day. One in the morning and one at night. It's not good to eat two right away."

"But if it's two per day... Since I only had one just now, isn't it okay to have two today?"

"No use trying to persuade me like that, you rascal!"

I lightly bonked the hero on the head, making a 'tok-kong' sound. Of course, not hard enough to actually hurt, but loud!

"Ow!"

"Now go to bed. If you don't sleep and do something else, I'll notice right away, understand?"

"Yes..."

So the hero walked towards the room I had prepared as his bedroom. 

Good. Nutrition is taken care of with this. As for education... Once he's fully literate, there's a lot I can teach him.

His character is mostly formed already. Just needs a bit of polishing. As for other things... Hmm... What else should I teach?

Swordsmanship and physical training are obvious, so skip those. Referencing the education curriculum from other worlds doesn't really fit this era.

This is becoming an unexpected dilemma.

When telling stories to Erebus and the seven children, it was enough to just tell various tales since they didn't have physical bodies. But for the hero... Hmm... It's troublesome.

Is this the difficulty of child-rearing? It won't be easy, it seems.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So, with the feeling of a novice mother, I floundered for a while raising the hero and spent time teaching him various things.

Like when his arms nearly fell off swinging a wooden sword the size of a two-handed sword, or when I realized I also needed to teach him how to use a one-handed sword instead of just two-handed, so I made a new wooden sword gift the size and weight of a one-handed sword.

Even if there were various other incidents, explaining all of that process would become too long, so there's no need to explain everything.

If I bring up one by one the things that happened during that time, the hero might die of embarrassment. Yes, sometimes it's better to leave things unasked.

And during puberty as a teenager... well... Although the hero was kind, he did become a little prickly, but he quickly repented and asked for forgiveness. So I could overlook it without any major issues.

Anyway, as a result of diligently teaching the hero:

"997, 998, 999, 1000! Done!"

"Good work."

I handed a refreshing water bottle to the hero, who put down the wooden sword covered in sweat.

"By the way, you've really become sturdy."

"Thanks to you."

I don't know the hero's exact age, but if I think he was around 10 when he drew the sword... About 8 years have passed, so he's around 18 years old.

He's a teenager age, but for some reason he's become tremendously sturdy. Was the nutritional supplement a bit too potent?

The hero had become as sturdy as the protagonist.

No, that's not a bad thing. But I just feel a bit wistful that the cute charm from childhood is gone.

Moreover, he used to give a very thin and delicate impression as a child, but in just 8 years he's become a macho muscular guy.

Thanks to that, the ordinary airy feeling he used to have, leaving a deep impression.

"Why is that?"

"No, it's nothing."

Just 8 years. From my perspective, it's the blink of an eye.

But for a human, it's enough time for a young child to grow up considerably.

Really. Human time passes so quickly.

"It seems you've become accustomed to the weight of that wooden sword too."

"Yes. It did take a long time though."

The wooden sword filled with iron cores. By weight alone, it matched the hero's actual sword. The hero skillfully swung it around in a way that made him seem like a different race from other humans.

Hmm. The effects of the nutritional supplements were a bit excessive after all.

Anyway.

"You can start using the hero's sword slowly."

"Finally."

After receiving the wooden sword from the hero, I flicked my finger towards the hero's sword hanging on the wall.

The hero's sword then floated up and flew over to me, obediently gripping itself in my hand.

"Here, try holding it."

At my words, the hero gripped his sword, Chloive Solais, in his hand.

And he skillfully swung it around a few times.

"To be honest, if I closed my eyes, I wouldn't be able to feel the difference - it feels exactly the same."

"I made it feel precisely identical on purpose."

If there was an awkward feeling switching from the wooden sword to the real sword, that would be troublesome, right?

"Now, try infusing your mana into that sword."

"Mana...?"

"Yes, mana."

With all the nutritional supplements you've eaten, you should have accumulated enough mana to be able to transform that sword! It should be enough at least!

But the hero just stood there gripping the sword, tilting his head in puzzlement.

"What is...mana?"

"Hm? You don't know about mana?"

"You never taught me."

Oh, um... I didn't?

I had included mana growth capabilities in the nutritional supplements, but I never actually taught him how to use that mana...?

I'm such an idiot. How could I possibly forget something so important! To forget the most crucial thing for using this sword!

"I really did forget something extremely important."

"Is it that important?"

"Of course it is! You need to use that mana to unleash this sword's abilities!"

Without mana, this sword is just a big, solid, sharp greatsword!

Granted, even that would make it one of the strongest swords in this world given the era. But still!

"Then...let's start by learning mana first. It shouldn't take too long."

"It's that important, but it doesn't take long to learn?"

"Of course. Mana is a power that exists in all things."

Mana dwells within everything that makes up this world. In tiny pebbles, in huge mountains, in small creatures, even in me. 

It's a power that every single thing possesses. If I just awaken the awareness of that power's existence and teach how to move it, then the rest will proceed smoothly.

Especially the hero, thanks to the nutritional supplements I gave him, should have a considerable amount of mana.

So.

"First, take off your clothes."