Battle

Frieren watched the man and the dragon facing each other.

"Stark is already within the dragon's attack range, but it hasn't attacked him. Is the dragon wary of him...?"

"So that's how it is. Dragons are intelligent creatures. They wouldn't pick a fight with a powerful opponent."

In the canyon, Stark raised his long-handled axe in one hand and charged at the Red Mirror Dragon.

Rienta said thoughtfully, "So Stark really is the village's hero."

"That's right." Frieren nodded and continued, "Eisen told me he didn't strike Stark because he was disappointed in his strength.

"On the contrary, Stark's talent as a warrior was so extraordinary that, three years ago, he could already sneak up behind him without making a sound.

"Eisen was startled, and that's why he struck Stark.

"Even though he realized what was happening and held back in time, he still left a scar."

"?" Fern hadn't told Frieren that Stark had already told them the truth about his scar last night.

But she hadn't expected the truth to be like this.

"Lady Frieren, did you already know that the Dark Dragon didn't cause that scar?"

"Yes. Eisen told me while you were resting."

Rienta also remembered how Frieren had interrupted Stark when he was making up stories about his glorious deeds.

"Then, Lady Frieren, should we go down and help?"

Frieren watched Stark, who had already gained the upper hand, and said softly, "No, Stark can handle it on his own."

In the canyon.

Stark figured enough time had passed and swung his axe down at the top of the Red Mirror Dragon's head with all his strength.

He shouted to the three still on the cliff, "Now!! Hurry up and attack!!"

He hadn't noticed that the Red Mirror Dragon, which had taken his full-powered blow head-on, had stopped moving.

When the three of them didn't move, Stark said, sounding somewhat distraught:

"Hey! Why aren't you attacking?! I've held him off for 30 seconds!"

"Do you expect me to fight it alone?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you smelly old hag!"

Rienta looked at Stark with some admiration.

666666.

Killing a dragon in 30 seconds was impressive enough, but daring to call Frieren a "smelly old hag"...

"The dragon is already dead." Frieren interrupted Stark's complaints, then softly repeated, "Smelly old hag, huh..."

"Huh?" Only then did Stark notice that the Red Mirror Dragon had stopped breathing.

Fern looked at Stark in the canyon, then at the expressionless Frieren, and observed a moment of silence for him.

It feels like something terrible is going to happen...

Frieren used Flight Magic to fly down the cliff, and Rienta and Fern followed her.

Stark stared blankly at the Red Mirror Dragon on the ground, hardly able to believe it.

Did I do that...? I defeated the dragon all by myself...

Frieren patted Stark on the shoulder. "Stark, well done. You did even better than I expected."

With that, she trotted off toward the Red Mirror Dragon's nest.

"Treasure, here I come! Yahoo!!"

Fern was also a little happy, but seeing how excited Frieren was, she said, "Lady Frieren, watch your step."

Rienta watched Frieren and Fern, who had already started picking out treasures, without rushing to put them all into his Personal Space.

He said to Stark beside him, "Stark, you're strong! You soloed the Red Mirror Dragon in 30 seconds, but..."

"But what?" Stark looked at Rienta in confusion.

Rienta gave him a rather strange smile but didn't explain.

"Come on, let's go pick out some treasures we like too."

The two entered the nest, and Rienta's heart beat a little faster at the sight of the dazzling array of treasures.

A horse won't grow fat without extra feed at night, and a man won't get rich without a windfall.

Stark picked up the grimoire. "How boring. You're actually so interested in this stuff."

"This is treasure, you know." Frieren rummaged through the pile of valuables.

Stark said softly, "Master said that it was because of you that the hero's party's adventure turned into a boring trip."

"Did he?" Frieren didn't turn around and kept searching through the treasure for something she liked.

"He said it was a journey that was both boring and incredibly enjoyable."

Stark's words made Frieren stop rummaging.

Seeing Frieren stop, Rienta asked curiously, "Lady Frieren, have you finished choosing?"

Fern had been watching from the side the whole time, with no intention of picking anything.

Frieren said softly, "That's enough for now. We can talk about it later."

Rienta looked at Stark. "What about you, Stark? Is there anything you want?"

Stark looked around, then patted the long-handled axe on his back. "There's nothing I need. This is enough for me."

"Then I won't hold back. You go down first."

Rienta's eyes gleamed as he spoke excitedly.

Stark: "?"

Frieren and Fern had already climbed down from the nest. Seeing that, Stark jumped down too. He also wanted to see what Rienta was going to do.

Rienta waved his hand and summoned a portal to his Personal Space, swallowing the entire nest into it. He followed it inside.

Stark stared in shock at the nest that had vanished before his eyes. "What's that?"

"That's Brother Rienta's Personal Space," Fern explained.

Inside the Personal Space.

After briefly sorting the Red Mirror Dragon's treasure, Rienta left his Personal Space. After all, someone was waiting for him outside, so he couldn't stay too long.

When Rienta reappeared, his face was glowing. Frieren asked in some confusion:

"Rienta, why are you so happy?"

Rienta: "?"

Rienta wasn't surprised that Frieren didn't understand. He looked expectantly at Fern and said, "Fern, you understand, right?"

Fern nodded but didn't explain.

"Let's go back to the village."

Frieren tilted her head but didn't think much of it.

The group of four returned to the village.

Stark was saying goodbye to the people of the village.

Fern, meanwhile, was studying the grimoire.

On the way, Fern had mostly figured it out, and she was now testing the spell with Frieren.

Frieren spread her arms and asked curiously, "How is it? Can you see through clothes?"

"Yes, I can." Fern looked at Frieren awkwardly. "But this isn't a very interesting spell."

Frieren lowered her arms, her face calm, and said, "I'm terribly sorry my figure is so uninteresting."

Fern shifted her gaze to Stark beside them. "So small."

"It's not small at all, okay!!" Stark was rather indignant.

Fern unconsciously looked at Rienta again. Her face turned red, but she said nothing more.

Seeing that, Rienta patted Stark on the shoulder with satisfaction.

"It's okay, Stark. () is cute too."

Stark: "...You..."

Sensing that the mood was a little off, Frieren asked, "So, Stark, what are you planning to do next?"

"It's fine if you want to go back to Eisen."

Stark let out a long breath and calmed himself before saying:

"Didn't Master tell you to take me with you?"

"Besides, I'd like to go on a boring trip too."