The Answer

Inside the house, Heiter had already woken up and was talking to Frieren about something.

When Rienta and Fern returned and saw them, they didn't interrupt their conversation.

The two exchanged a glance and went to the kitchen together to finish making dinner.

Fern was a good cook, while Rienta made food she had never seen before but found exceptionally delicious.

For the past few years, Fern and Rienta had mostly taken turns cooking.

"Rienta, could you make something light for Mr. Heiter?"

"No problem. Leave it to me."

Listening to Rienta and Fern's conversation, Heiter smiled a little and said to Frieren, who was standing by his bed:

"Both children are wonderful, aren't they, Frieren?"

Frieren thought of Fern's ever-improving mana control and the incredible speed at which she cast spells.

And then there was Rienta's talent for healing magic, as well as the delicious food she had never eaten before.

At the thought of food, the corners of Frieren's mouth lifted slightly, and her eyes narrowed, her face full of enjoyment as she savored the memory.

"Mm-hmm. The food Rienta and Fern make is delicious!"

"Haha."

Seeing Frieren like that, Heiter couldn't help laughing too.

While Rienta had been out looking for Fern, the soup had nearly finished cooking.

And Fern's suggestion just now had given Rienta an idea: he would make a medicinal dish.

Because of his own tastes, the dinners Rienta made were mostly fragrant and spicy.

But Heiter had unexpectedly fallen ill, so that sort of food wasn't suitable for him.

A medicinal dish, with few side effects and a safe, mild effect, was the best choice.

After a while.

"Lady Frieren, dinner is ready."

Fern set out dinner and called Frieren to eat.

"Coming, coming."

Hearing Fern's voice, Frieren came out of Heiter's room and sat down at the table. She eagerly took a bite of the stew and said:

"Fern and Rienta, your cooking just keeps getting better."

"Thank you for the compliment, Lady Frieren."

Fern had trained all day and was a little hungry herself. After responding to Frieren's compliment, she started on the food in front of her.

Rienta brought out two small bowls of the medicinal dish, set them in front of Frieren and Fern, and said:

"Fern, you got caught in the rain today, so have some."

"Lady Frieren, please try my medicinal dish too."

Without waiting to hear what they thought, Rienta returned to the kitchen, picked up a bowl of the medicinal dish, and brought it to Heiter's room.

He had already told Fern that he would take care of feeding Heiter.

"Mr. Heiter, open your mouth."

Heiter, who had already sat up in bed, didn't resist being fed by Rienta.

After he had collapsed, his adopted son must have carefully checked his condition.

He quickly finished a bowl of the medicinal dish. His appetite hadn't worsened because of his collapse.

He reached out to take the handkerchief Rienta offered him and wiped his mouth.

Looking at the silent Rienta, Heiter said with a smile, "Don't worry, Rienta."

"Don't you always say a good appetite is a blessing? Give me another bowl."

"Mm."

Without asking Heiter anything, Rienta got up, went to the kitchen, and brought back another bowl.

"Let me eat this one myself, Rienta."

"Go and have your dinner too."

"All right, Mr. Heiter."

Time passed quickly.

Rienta had successfully established his second anchor, this time with Fern.

The reward this time was a personal space. But apart from himself, he couldn't put living things inside it.

Coincidentally, Fern also completed her training at this time, blasting through the massive boulder.

Fern had also been present for the previous anchoring.

The rudimentary panel offered him no answers, so Rienta gave up on investigating further.

A week later.

Frieren came to Heiter's room with the completed translation.

She tossed it down in front of Heiter and said, looking a little unhappy, "Heiter."

"This grimoire doesn't contain magic to bring the dead back to life, or magic that can grant immortality."

"I see." Heiter straightened up, picked up the translation, and read it quietly.

"Did you know all along, Heiter?" Frieren looked a little puzzled as she watched Heiter, who seemed to have expected this.

Heiter stopped leafing through the translation in his hands, which had taken four years to complete. He looked at Frieren and said softly:

"A person's fear of death is immeasurable."

"If that kind of magic really existed, Ewig would have used it himself long ago."

Hearing Heiter's answer, Frieren paused, then said, "Then why..."

Looking at Frieren, who still hadn't caught on, Heiter chuckled and asked:

"How is Fern's training going?"

Frieren set aside her doubts for the moment and answered seriously, "There are still some areas she needs to polish."

"But she's already a mage who can stand on her own."

Hearing that answer, Heiter smiled with relief. "I see. I'm so glad we made it in time."

"Those two children aren't a burden to you anymore, are they, Frieren?"

Frieren paused at his words, remembering how, when she first arrived, Heiter had asked her to take the two children as her apprentices, but she had refused on the grounds that they would hold her back.

After all, a long journey was too dangerous for two children.

Having understood, Frieren looked helplessly at the old man before her. "Heiter... you tricked me."

Heiter couldn't help laughing as he looked at the slow-witted elf, who had only just caught on.

"Ha... haha."

His increasingly frail body no longer allowed him to laugh out loud.

"Frieren."

"The payment for deciphering the grimoire is in the desk drawer."

"Take the children and leave here tonight."

"What do you mean, leave here?" Frieren didn't quite understand what Heiter meant, so she asked him directly.

Heiter pointed to his body, now wasted away, and said:

"I don't have much time left, Frieren."

"I don't want those two children to suffer the pain of losing family again."

Frieren looked at her former companion, once known as the corrupt priest, and said, her voice trembling slightly:

"Are you trying to look cool again, Heiter?"

"Those two children have long been prepared to say goodbye to you."

"Say a proper farewell to them and make more happy memories."

"That's what you should do before you die."

Heiter looked in surprise at the slow-witted elf shedding tears before him and said with a smile:

"Frieren."

"You really are a kind person."

Frieren wiped away her tears and said nothing.

She turned and walked toward the door. Just as she was about to leave, she asked:

"Heiter, why did you save Rienta and Fern back then?"

Heiter thought for a moment. Memories of the hero Himmel flashed through his mind, and he said with a touch of nostalgia:

"Because..."

"If it were Himmel, he would definitely have done the same."

"That's true." Frieren said no more and walked out of the room.

Heiter heard Frieren's answer and knew that she had agreed to the other request he had made four years ago.

Frieren walked slowly through the forest. Moments from their ten-year journey kept flashing through her mind.

In an elf's long life, ten years seemed insignificant.

But there was one ten-year span in particular. There had been dungeon explorations, the defeat of the demon king, all sorts of other things, and Himmel.

"Before I knew it, I ended up where Fern trained."

Frieren looked at the massive boulder on the opposite cliff, with a hole blasted through it, confirming what she had thought.

"Then I'll do the same."