A New Commission

In the village.

A villager offered to give them a ride along the way.

Fern sat on the cart, leafing through a history of magic, while Rienta waited nearby for Frieren.

Frieren told the villagers that Qual had been eliminated.

The old man in the straw hat gratefully took Frieren's hand and said:

"Now we can go on living in peace."

Frieren stared at his hat and asked curiously:

"That hat?"

The old man took it off and handed it to Frieren, saying:

"I wear it when I work in the fields."

Frieren examined it carefully and murmured:

"I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

With that, she put the hat back on the old man's head.

Frieren finally realized who he was. "So you're that little brat who flipped up my skirt back then."

Memories of the past came flooding back.

"What are you doing, you little brat?!"

"I'm going to give you a good beating!"

"But I really wanted to see too!"

Frieren looked at the old man and chuckled.

"You're still alive."

The old man looked in the direction where Qual had been sealed. "Thanks to you, I should be able to live a while longer."

"It was worth believing Lord Himmel and waiting until today."

Frieren said nothing more. She called Rienta, who was waiting nearby, and they boarded the cart and left the village.

On the cart, Rienta lay on the hay the villager was transporting, taking a nap.

Frieren and Fern sat at the back of the cart.

Noticing the silence, Fern closed the history of magic in her hands and said:

"Lady Frieren, the villagers are very grateful to you."

Frieren shook her head and said calmly:

"That gratitude wasn't for us."

"The person the villagers truly trust is Himmel."

Fern didn't understand what Frieren meant this time. After thinking for a moment, she said:

"I'm not quite sure..."

"But I think Lord Himmel must have trusted you very much too, Lady Frieren."

Frieren smiled and gently patted Fern on the head.

Fern looked at Frieren in some confusion and asked:

"Is something wrong, Lady Frieren?"

"It's nothing." Frieren withdrew her hand with a smile.

Year 28 of the Shinshi Era.

The Granz Strait in the Central Countries.

The three looked at the shore before them, strewn with shipwrecks, and felt somewhat moved.

"Would this grimoire be enough payment for cleaning up the shore?"

Their client was an elderly man who walked with a cane.

After explaining the basics of the commission to Rienta and his companions, he handed Frieren a book and asked the question.

Frieren took the book, flipped through a few pages, and said thoughtfully:

"A book by the great mage Flamme?"

Frieren paid no attention to Fern, who seemed to want to say something.

She asked the client, "Is this the only grimoire in the village?"

"Yes," the client replied helplessly.

Frieren closed the book in her hands and looked out at the shore, which had once been clean and beautiful.

"I understand."

"We'll take the commission to clean it up."

The client thanked them and left by the stairs at the side.

Fern watched the old man walk away and said in puzzlement, "That grimoire is a fake, isn't it?"

Frieren looked at Fern. "You've been studying properly."

"Well done, Fern."

She looked down at the grimoire in her hands and continued slowly:

"There are no genuine copies of Flamme's writings."

"This is just a crude forgery."

Rienta glanced at Fern, who was still puzzled, and asked on her behalf:

"Then why did you accept this commission, Lady Frieren?"

"Because someone needed help," Frieren said, looking at the shipwrecks in the distance.

Fern looked at Frieren's back and said softly, "I don't think you're doing this purely out of kindness."

Frieren let out a long breath. Without explaining further, she said gently, "That's right. I'm doing this for myself too."

Rienta patted Fern on the shoulder. "Looks like we'll be staying for a while again, Fern."

He knew Fern didn't like spending too much time on this sort of thing.

But they had already accepted the commission, so they might as well finish it first.

Besides, he had telekinesis, so clearing the shore shouldn't take too long.

"Let's get to work, Rienta, Fern."

Frieren had already summoned her staff and begun clearing the scattered pieces of broken timber and the shipwrecks from the water.

Three months later.

Winter had arrived at the Granz Strait. The temperature had plummeted, and snowflakes drifted through the air.

For an elf who loved to sleep, getting up early to work in the cold was undoubtedly something of an ordeal.

Rienta felt the same way.

Though neither of them stopped cleaning, their expressions were remarkably alike.

Both were full of resistance to getting up early.

Fern sighed helplessly. "You're actually super lazy, aren't you, Lady Frieren?"

"I wake you up every day, feed you, and help you get dressed."

At that, Fern looked at Frieren helplessly.

"At this rate, haven't I become your mother?"

Rienta hid to one side, not daring to say a word. He too had slept in many times since winter began.

If Fern hadn't threatened to pull off his blanket, he probably would have stayed in bed until noon.

Frieren pouted and said sheepishly, "I can manage on my own."

"But you'd sleep until noon, just like Brother Rienta, wouldn't you?"

"Hmm, I can't rule out the possibility," Frieren replied quietly.

Fern looked at Rienta, who was keeping silent nearby. "You too, Brother Rienta."

"And you make strange excuses about being trapped by a blanket demon or something."

Rienta didn't dare look at Fern either, whose combat power was off the charts at the moment.

Fern sighed. "Never mind. I've made my peace with it."

Frieren and Rienta exchanged a glance and said softly in unison, "Sorry, Fern."

Fern stopped complaining about the two of them, who had grown lazy as soon as winter arrived. Still cleaning, she asked Frieren:

"How did you get by when you were traveling with the hero's party?"

"No one took care of you, did they?"

Frieren scratched her head. "I used to oversleep all the time back then."

"Heiter even clicked his tongue at me for it."

Fern thought about the scene.

Everyone was looking at Frieren, who had overslept, while Lord Heiter clicked his tongue with a stern expression.

"Wouldn't that mean he was absolutely furious...?"

Rienta thought for a moment and raised a question. "Then what about when Lord Heiter got drunk?"

Frieren: "..."

Fern: "..."

"Brother Rienta!" Fern looked helplessly at Rienta for asking that question.

The slow-witted elf thought back and realized she had never clicked her tongue at a drunken Heiter.

She too turned to look at Rienta and said, "Your way of thinking is as unusual as ever, Rienta."

"Is it? Haha."

Rienta laughed awkwardly, said nothing more, and focused on cleaning.