Setting Out

On a morning like any other.

Heiter remained in yesterday.

They laid Heiter to rest in the Church cemetery.

Frieren poured the wine she had brought four years ago over his grave.

Rienta and Fern watched quietly from behind her.

For some reason, Rienta felt little sadness at this moment.

Fern bowed to the gravestone and said softly, "Lady Frieren, thank you very much."

Frieren took out another bottle of wine and poured it over the gravestone.

Unlike when Himmel passed away, Frieren had fulfilled her friend's wish this time.

"It was only because that gluttonous priest tricked me."

"Well then, let's set out."

Shinshi Era, year 26.

Central Countries, Tark Region.

Rienta, Fern, and Frieren were working on a commission to harvest crops.

All three could use flight magic, guiding pumpkins into a cart nearby.

Frieren looked at the full cart, stopped her magic, and said to Rienta and Fern:

"That's enough, Fern, Rienta."

After bringing the cart full of pumpkins back to their client's home, Frieren received their payment for the commission: a folk magic scroll.

With the commission complete, the three set off on a new journey.

Rienta walked dejectedly behind Frieren and Fern, saying:

"Why are all the commissions so boring, Lady Frieren?"

Frieren was looking at the scroll in her hands and replied without turning around:

"That's how it is for adventurers."

Fern, meanwhile, was curious about the magic they had received this time. She asked, "What was the payment this time?"

"Magic that conjures hot tea." Frieren was very pleased with the payment. "Let's try it out later."

Fern fell somewhat silent, remembering the payments for their previous commissions: "magic that turns grapes sour" and "magic that removes rust from bronze statues."

"You collect some strange magic."

Rienta agreed wholeheartedly with Fern and added, "Yeah, it really is strange magic."

Fern gave Rienta a light punch and said, somewhat at a loss for words, "Rienta, you're no different."

"Magic that makes your own magic look cooler."

"What kind of magic did you even come up with?!"

Rienta scratched his head in confusion and said, "Don't you think it looks cool, Fern?"

Seeing Fern's speechless expression, he spoke to Frieren, who was ahead of them reading the scroll:

"Lady Frieren, you must think my Magic Swordsmanship looks cool!"

"No, not at all." Without a moment's hesitation, Frieren dismissed Rienta's self-created magic.

"How could you say that..."

After they completed several more uneventful commissions.

Frieren's party received a commission from an herbalist to clean the Hero Himmel statue and clear the weeds around it.

Their client was an old woman whom Himmel had once saved.

"Well then, let's get to work!" Rienta stretched.

They had done many similar commissions before, and the three divided the work clearly.

Rienta and Fern were responsible for pulling weeds, while Frieren removed the vines wrapped around the statue.

And used the most important "magic that removes rust from bronze statues."

Before long, the commission was complete.

The client looked at the spotless bronze statue and said with satisfaction, "Thank you. Magic really is amazing."

"Even the rust is completely gone."

"It's just a little bare around it. I'll plant some flowers later."

Fern suddenly remembered a spell Frieren had used before and asked:

"Lady Frieren, you've used magic that can conjure a field of flowers before, haven't you?"

Rienta nodded and answered for Frieren, who was studying the statue intently:

"It's Flower field magic."

Frieren waved her staff and was about to cast Flower field magic when she suddenly remembered a flower Himmel had mentioned during their travels.

Blue-Moon Weed.

Frieren stopped what she was doing and said:

"No, Blue-Moon Weed flowers would be better."

"They're flowers from Himmel's hometown."

"But I've never seen them."

Fern asked in some confusion, "Then how are you supposed to conjure flowers you've never seen...?"

Frieren didn't answer and instead walked over to the elderly apothecary.

The payment for this commission was information about the local plants, so perhaps they could learn something about Blue-Moon Weed.

The client led Frieren and the others back to her home.

Fern's attention was drawn to two mice in the room that were eating heartily, and she wanted to see what they were eating.

Rienta stood at the door without following her; he wasn't interested in such things.

The client opened a thick illustrated plant guide and searched for a while before finding information about Blue-Moon Weed.

"Blue-Moon Weed, what a nostalgic name," the apothecary said wistfully.

She handed the guide to Frieren and returned to her workbench, speaking as she ground herbs:

"There used to be a large patch of it blooming in the forest, but I haven't seen it for decades now."

Frieren understood what the apothecary meant. After committing the information in the book to memory, she closed the thick guide.

"I see."

"Let's go, Rienta, Fern."

Rienta didn't move. He pursed his lips toward Fern, who was trying to hide something in the corner.

Seeing this, Frieren also walked over to Fern, curious.

When Fern noticed Frieren approaching, she hurriedly hid the little mice in her arms.

Frieren stood behind Fern and asked curiously:

"What are you hiding? Let me see, Fern."

Rienta came over too, wanting to know what Fern was hiding.

Seeing how curious the two of them looked, Fern carefully took the little mice out of her arms.

Her curiosity satisfied, Frieren smiled and patted Fern on the head.

"Aren't those Seed Mice? They're pests that eat seeds, Fern."

Fern looked at the cute Seed Mice in her hands and said softly, "I want to release them back into the forest."

Rienta looked at the Seed Mice in Fern's hands and felt a little odd.

He had heard what the apothecary said earlier, too.

Frieren wanted to find Blue-Moon Weed, which had been gone for decades, and then Fern happened to find a pest called a Seed Mouse.

If this were a game, these mice would definitely be key items, right?

Could the Seed Mice have eaten Blue-Moon Weed seeds?

Rienta didn't voice his thoughts.

He didn't know if he was right, so he would go along with Frieren's plan for now.

While he was thinking, the three had already left the apothecary's home and returned to the forest.

Fern placed the Seed Mice on the ground and let them run into the forest.

Maybe I should get a cute pet?

Rienta silently considered whether keeping a pet was feasible.

Seeing that Fern had released the Seed Mice back into the forest, Frieren said:

"Well then, let's go look for Blue-Moon Weed, Rienta, Fern."

Fern had also heard the apothecary say in the room earlier that she hadn't seen Blue-Moon Weed for decades.

Looking at the eager Frieren, she asked, "Are you serious, Lady Frieren?"

"Not long ago, there was still a patch deep in this forest..."

"That was decades ago!"

Fern looked helplessly at the elf, who had no sense at all of how much time had passed.

Seeing this, Rienta stepped forward and patted Fern on the shoulder. "Let's try looking."

He knew Fern didn't like doing things that wasted time, but.

Lady Frieren was a long-lived elf.

"All right."

Two of the party's three members had agreed to search for Blue-Moon Weed, a flower that had been gone for decades. Fern felt somewhat helpless, but didn't object further.

Frieren was pleased that Rienta agreed. She picked up a leaf, examined it closely, and said:

"As long as I find a real specimen to analyze, I can master the magic to conjure Blue-Moon Weed."

Fern suddenly remembered what Frieren had said before deciding to search for Blue-Moon Weed.

Blue-Moon Weed is a flower from Himmel's hometown.

She asked curiously, "Is it for Master Himmel?"

"No, it's for myself."

Frieren's expression was a little unnatural, but her denial was firm.

Although Rienta didn't quite understand what Frieren was thinking either.

Fortunately, he already had a clue, based on the anime he had watched and the games he had played in his previous life.

That was the Seed Mice.

I've done so much for this party!

I'm practically...

Fern interrupted Rienta's ensuing, somewhat disrespectful thoughts.

"Rienta, stop grinning to yourself over there. Let's go look for Blue-Moon Weed together."

"Coming."