The Magic to Find Stone Monuments

"We agreed to get up early, but everyone slept until noon?::"

Lia picked up the Oat Milk on the table with her slender fingertips, its rich aroma wafting to her nose with the rising steam.

She brought the rim of the cup close to her lips and took a small sip cautiously, like a small animal tentatively testing a water source, seemingly enjoying it immensely.

But when he looked up at Frieren and Galan, his expression was as if he were looking at two children who had made a mistake.

"It's just too cold outside, and it's so comfortable sleeping in bed—well, Lia, you understand, right?"

"Hmph~"

Galan scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed.

Yesterday, she herself suggested getting up early to prepare supplies, but in the end, she couldn't get out of bed. In the morning, the window in her room, which wasn't closed tightly, was blown open by the cold wind, and Galan, who was huddled in bed, felt the chill from the outside. She immediately lost the will to get out of bed.

It wasn't until Lia knocked on the door and pulled him out of bed that he groggily washed up and went downstairs to eat with an equally drowsy Frieren.

"Hmm--"

After drinking some hot soup, Frieren regained some of her energy and gradually emerged from her half-asleep state.

"I've never had the habit of waking up early."

Her reaction time seemed to have just returned, and she muttered a weak complaint.

"Was it like this before? It wasn't like this when you went with Himmel and the others to defeat the Demon King, was it?"

Lia asked curiously, as she had always been interested in the adventures of the heroes and their companions, and had even asked Frieren to tell her several stories before bed last night.

In the end, she listened until she fell asleep, leaving Frieren with a dry throat.

"That's right."

Frieren nodded and said without hesitation.

Her decisiveness made Galan feel like she hadn't even heard Lia's question clearly.

"Why are you so self-assured about admitting this? It's not something to be proud of."

"Heiter said the same thing to me before—well, I remember once I overslept, Heiter gave me a really scary look; even Himmel was unusually angry."

"As expected, they'll definitely be angry, after all, you're fighting the Demon King."

It seems the heroes are quite tolerant of Frieren, Galan thought to himself.

They've always been like this, so how come they've only ever been angry with her once? Himmel and the others are indeed very gentle people.

"But they forgave me very quickly afterward."

"No... that's too gentle. It's practically spoiling her." By the way, Frieren, have you figured out what kind of magic is recorded in that Grimoire?

After everyone leisurely finished their lunch, Galan leaned back comfortably in his chair, and with a slight push of his toes, one leg of the chair lifted backward, allowing him to experience the weightless sensation of his body being almost touching the ground. He then asked Frieren a question.

"We should be able to finish analyzing it around today, but we can basically confirm that it's a [Stele-Finding Magic]."

Frieren wiped the food crumbs from her mouth, then placed the handkerchief on the table. "Another search-type magic."

"What strange magic!"

That's what Lia thinks.

"Isn't the stone tablet supposed to be placed in a very obvious place for people to see? Why do we need to use magic to find it?"

"Was it really a useless spell? Or did that old geezer trick me?"

As he said this, Galan thought of that annoying the boss again, and the thought of him making money off him made him feel uncomfortable all over.

"Are you still thinking about that? Galan, you should still have plenty of funds, right?"

Frieren seemed not to understand why he kept bringing this up. Although the magic did seem overpriced, the group didn't appear to be so stingy. However, she seemed to have forgotten that the money in her wallet was what Galan had entrusted to her; in fact, her travel funds were already nearly depleted.

The female shop owner, who had just returned from outside, walked straight to their table after seeing the group of people in the lobby. Galan initially thought she was there to clear the table, but he was surprised to find such considerate service in this world, just like that of a restaurant waiter.

However, seeing the worried expression on her face, I felt that she had something she wanted to tell them.

Lady Frieren, if you have the time, would you be willing to accept my request?

Her voice trembled slightly, and beads of sweat clung to her forehead, as if she had just run back from a very far place.

"Hmm? Did something happen?"

Frieren asked curiously, "It's our family's farmland. Yesterday, word came in that Lion Dog had damaged the fields, and now they don't know what to do..."

The female shop owner rubbed her forehead in worry; it seemed this matter had caused her considerable distress.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. When winter comes, the last harvest in the fields is ruined by monsters, which will cause a lot of trouble for both their own lives and the food supply in the shop.

"It's unbelievable that Lion Dog would appear at this time of year. These monsters rarely appear this season..."

3

Frieren spoke thoughtfully, her expression as calm as ever, and she hesitated to offer to help.

"I just went to the Adventurers Guild, but because they're short-staffed, no one accepted my request..."

The shop owner's voice gradually lowered, her fingers unconsciously twisting the edge of her striped apron.

At this moment, it was as if she had transformed back into the little girl who used to follow her father around decades ago.

She looked earnestly at Frieren, her eyes filled with a faint expectation, but it gradually dimmed in the long silence, like a candle flame flickering in the wind, about to go out.

"Frieren, shall we help the shop owner?"

Seeing the shopkeeper, Lia, filled with worry and somewhat disappointed by Frieren's prolonged silence, she couldn't help but speak up.

She seemed afraid that Frieren wouldn't help, and a pleading expression appeared on her little face.

Galan thought so too. After all, the shopkeeper was such a kind person, and she even knew Frieren. It would be too pitiful if she didn't get help at this time.

Even the Adventurers Guild and the Continental Mages Association are finding it difficult to find people to take on the commissions at this time.

Although the snowy scenes in winter are beautiful, once the weather gets cold, everyone stays indoors and has no desire to go out. Naturally, the number of people who can take on commissions also decreases.

"... All right."

2

Sensing the almost "coercive" gazes from Lia and Galan, Frieren finally sighed and relented as if in compromise.