Feelings. A Genius?

The Lant Region, many years ago.

It was approaching evening.

After completing a commission, Himmel's party was resting in town.

To praise Frieren for working so diligently on the commission, Himmel took her shopping around town.

As they passed an accessory shop, he said, "Frieren, pick something you like."

Frieren wasn't interested in such things, but Himmel meant well, and she couldn't very well refuse.

There were plenty of accessories. Frieren picked up a ring at random and handed it to Himmel.

"This one."

Himmel was a little disappointed by the elf's cursory choice.

"That was too fast, wasn't it? Put a little more thought into it."

He accepted the ring with some resignation, but its design came as a pleasant surprise.

A Mirror Lotus.

It symbolized eternal love.

But he also knew that Frieren understood virtually nothing about such matters.

Still, wasn't this a kind of fate?

The ring looked as though it had been draped in gold by the setting sun.

As if the Goddess herself were guiding him.

Frieren asked in confusion, "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing."

Himmel held the ring in his hand, his face full of smiles.

After paying for it,

he continued strolling around town with Frieren.

Although the elf beside him had no idea what the ring she had just chosen represented,

didn't he know?

That was enough.

The oblivious, long-lived elf shouldn't be bound by anything.

Himmel quickened his pace to catch up with the elf ahead of him.

"Frieren."

Frieren thought Himmel wanted to give her the ring. Still walking, she held out her hand to him and said,

"Thank you."

Himmel chuckled, no longer hesitating.

He stopped Frieren from walking any farther.

Frieren looked at Himmel in confusion, unsure what he was doing.

Then,

facing the setting sun,

Himmel knelt on one knee and raised Frieren's hand as though on a pilgrimage.

He gently slipped the ring onto Frieren's ring finger.

Just then, bells began to ring from the distant Clock Tower.

As though bearing witness to something.

The sight sent ripples through Frieren's normally tranquil heart.

Guided by the light, Frieren found the lost ring.

When she returned to camp,

the carriage had already undergone basic repairs.

The group set off again, preparing to cross Bond Forest.

Inside the carriage,

Frieren gazed quietly at the ring she had lost and recovered.

Fern, sitting beside her, was happy to see it too.

She said softly, "I'm glad we didn't give up, Lady Frieren."

"Maybe so."

Frieren closed her hand tightly around the ring.

She suddenly remembered that Fern also had a bracelet with the same design.

"But why does Fern wear a Mirror Lotus bracelet too?"

"Because Lord Stark is an idiot."

After Rienta and the others crossed Bond Forest, they didn't stop at the merchant's village.

They continued toward Äußerst.

But while passing through the Leob Hills, as they were looking for a place to replenish their supplies,

they found a village that had been attacked.

All the people in the village had fallen unconscious.

"This smells like trouble. Let's hurry to the next village."

"Lady Frieren, I'm going to get angry."

"I was joking."

Rienta ignored the bickering behind him.

After a careful examination, he said gravely, "These villagers have been cursed."

Stark asked in confusion, "Rienta, what's a curse?"

Rienta thought for a moment, then explained it as simply as he could.

"The parts of the magic used by monsters and demons that humans haven't deciphered are collectively known as curses."

"I see." Stark continued, "Can't that magic of yours do anything about it either?"

"No. Strictly speaking, this doesn't count as an illness."

Rienta was at a loss too. He had already tried treating them.

But he had only made the villagers' bodies healthier; the curse hadn't been lifted outright as he had imagined.

Stark was shocked. "You mean there's no saving this village?"

"I can't do anything about it."

Rienta nodded, agreeing with Stark.

Then Frieren said softly, "As far as human magic goes, there's certainly nothing we can do."

"But the Goddess's magic is another matter."

"Since long ago, priests have made a living by lifting curses for others."

Under Frieren's gaze, Rienta felt even more helpless.

Although he had been raised by Heiter, who was known as a legendary priest,

he had never learned the Goddess's magic.

"But I... wait."

Rienta suddenly remembered the reward he had received for anchoring the Hero's Sword in Sword Village.

Goddess's Blessing.

His previous rewards had all been applied directly to him.

But when he had first received this one, Rienta had tested it and found no change at all from before.

Unable to make sense of it, Rienta had put aside the idea of investigating the reward further for the time being.

But Frieren's words gave him a new idea.

For mages in this world, imagination was very important.

It determined the upper limit of a mage's abilities.

On top of that, he had never held much reverence for the so-called Goddess.

After all, there were plenty of people with profound cultivation who called themselves gods.

"I'll give it a try, Lady Frieren."

After telling the others, Rienta repeatedly cast Magic That Heals Everything on the villagers, trying to activate Goddess's Blessing with different states of mind.

Seeing this, Frieren and the others went to rest nearby without disturbing him.

Stark fell into thought as he watched Rienta work.

He knew that Rienta and Fern had been raised by a priest.

But he had been in the party for almost a year now.

Rienta was nothing like the priests he had in mind.

"Can Rienta do it?"

"Rienta has an unparalleled talent for magic," Frieren said softly.

Fern and Stark both looked at her in confusion.

She glanced at Rienta and, seeing that he wasn't paying attention to them, explained quietly,

"You've both experienced Rienta's Rho Aias, haven't you? What did you think of it?"

Stark had probably experienced the magic more often than anyone else.

"It's pretty strong, and convenient too. Rienta said that once it's cast, it can block attacks automatically without him controlling it."

Fern nodded as well. "The name's a little edgy, but there's no question its defensive power is much greater than ordinary Defensive Magic."

"Exactly."

Frieren continued, "You know, Defensive Magic took the continent's top mages several years to develop together."

"But how long did it take Rienta to develop this enhanced version of Defensive Magic?"

"And that's not even mentioning that absurd Projection Magic. It practically creates things out of thin air."

Fern was shocked. She had never heard Frieren praise Rienta like this before.

"Then why, Lady Frieren...?"

Frieren sighed helplessly. "Luckily, that boy's talents in the other areas of being a mage are fairly ordinary. Otherwise, his head would swell all the way up to the sky."

"So Rienta is a research type?"

Fern understood what Frieren meant, and why she hadn't told Rienta outright.

Instead, after seeing those spells, Frieren had acted as though they were only to be expected and paid them no mind.

Under Frieren's influence, Fern had also assumed that the magic Rienta developed was fairly ordinary.