Sunrise

As night deepened, the lights were still on in the hotel rooms.

Frieren leaned against the bed, her silver hair flowing freely, holding a book titled "Modern History of Magic." She read aloud in a calm, even tone. "... Therefore, the prototype of Ordinary Attack Magic originated from the analysis and further development of the Killing Magic that the 'Corrupt Sage' Qual had devoted his life to researching, while Defensive Magic dispersed its power while maintaining the same frequency as attack magic..."

Qual was killed by Lupa before. I remember in the original story he was sealed for eighty years. After the seal was broken, he became "Sashiburidana" and then "Where is the Demon King?" He then discovered that the Killing Magic he had spent his whole life researching had been evolved into Ordinary Attack Magic by humans, which is really a bit pitiful.

Fern lay beside her, dressed in a pure white nightgown, her long purple hair spread smoothly on the pillow. Listening to the difficult passages, she yawned softly and interrupted, "Alright, Lady Frieren, I'll read the rest myself."

Frieren looked up from the book. "You were completely incompetent when it came to applying Defensive Magic in our previous battle..."

"I will definitely make up for it properly." Fern closed the book in Frieren's hands, stood up, and said, "I need to rest now. It's really late, Lady Frieren. Please go to sleep early too, don't stay up late." She returned to her bed with a brisk pace.

The room fell silent. After a while, Frieren's voice rang out again, tinged with a thoughtful tone. "Speaking of which, Fern, you seem to have grown taller than me."

With her back to her, Fern said sleepily, "Of course, Frieren. After all, I'm 17 now, I'm a big sister."

"A 17-year-old big sister..." Frieren muttered softly, subconsciously looking down and gently tugging at the smooth front of her nightgown. Lupa was the same, and so was Fern... even though they ate almost the same things...

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Fern had already bought breakfast and returned to the room. She saw that Frieren's blanket was mostly on the floor, she was lying crookedly, with another magic book covering her head, and a suspicious water stain at the corner of her mouth.

"Still sleeping..." Fern sighed, walked over and gently moved the books aside. "Get up, Frieren." She looked at the magic books scattered all over the floor again overnight and shook her head. "I just tidied them up before going to bed yesterday..."

First, she put the books back in their place, then she skillfully began her daily routine: combing the tangled silver hair of the drowsy Frieren, feeding her bread in small bites, wiping her mouth clean with a damp towel, and then taking out the clothes she was to wear that day and quickly changing her. Throughout the process, Frieren just squinted her eyes, letting herself be done, only moving her mouth when food was brought to her lips, and occasionally making a few muffled nasal sounds.

Then Fern went to knock on the door of the inner room. "Lord Lowell, it's time to get up."

Lowell opened the door in response, his hair a little messy, but his eyes were still clear, though he also had a lazy, sleepy look in them. "Good morning, Fern."

"We're heading out to clean the coast, isn't this the job you two took?" Fern grabbed one of them by the hand, dragging the two obviously out-of-focus adults like two large ornaments, attracting a crowd of onlookers.

Upon arriving at the seaside, a cold wind carrying the salty, fishy smell assaulted our senses.

Frieren shrank her neck. "Ugh, so cold..." Holding her staff, she weakly directed a few planks of wood to sway and drift toward a pile of debris in the distance.

Lowell was also confused and didn't say anything, but silently took off his coat and draped it over Frieren's shoulders.

Fern watched the two of them, deftly using magic to put several miscellaneous items back in their places, and couldn't help but speak up, "I suddenly feel..."

Frieren: "What?"

"Are you and Lord Lowell essentially both very carefree people? Every day I have to wake you both up, feed you, comb your hair, dress you... I'm practically your mother." She spoke calmly, paused, and looked at Lowell, "Speaking of which, Lord Lowell clearly said that 'Demons can survive without food,' so he refused my feeding, but he still often secretly eats the breakfast I buy."

Lowell narrowed his eyes; he'd actually been discovered.

Frieren tried to argue, "We can do it ourselves..."

"But the result will definitely be sleeping until noon. Have you two always been like this? When you were with the Hero Himmel and the others..." She paused, intending to say, "Won't Lord Himmel get angry seeing you two like this?" But remembering Himmel's unreliable behavior at the academy, especially at the opening ceremony, she swallowed the rest of her sentence and changed her words, "I don't know why, but great people always seem to be this unreliable in private."

"Haha... whether someone is great or not has no necessary connection to whether their lifestyle is orderly." Lowell chuckled. "Besides, I don't consider myself particularly great; I just did some things that came to mind. Himmel is the one who truly deserves to be called great."

"Yeah, yeah... so I sometimes sleep in..." Frieren chimed in, but before she could finish, she saw the calm yet intensely threatening look in Fern's eyes and immediately changed her tune, "... I try to get up early."

Fern sighed, "Never mind, I'm used to it anyway. But a regular schedule is good for your health, so please try your best to follow it."

Over the next month or so, the cleanup work progressed slowly.

During their time there, they discovered a number of pirate remains in the wreckage of a pirate ship. When Frieren and Fern saw them, they trembled slightly. Lowell buried the bones and, in the meantime, tried to find the Pirate King's treasure.

They did find a locked treasure chest, but when Frieren excitedly pried it open, all she found inside were some seawater-soaked debris and a few stubborn clumps of seaweed. Looking at the empty chest, her lips twitched, revealing her usual aggrieved expression.

Finally, the coastline was restored to its former cleanliness, and Fern watched as the last of the debris was removed.

"I have a feeling that the two of you are slacking off. If you had put in your full effort, you could have finished much faster."

"Haha..." Lowell looked up at the sky.

Just then, the Village Chief who had entrusted the task approached. "You've all worked hard! Tomorrow is the New Year Festival, the town will be very lively, please be sure to attend..."

Lowell looked at Frieren: "Frieren?"

Frieren nodded. "Yes."

"Are you serious? The festival starts before sunrise, so we have to get up very early!" Fern, somewhat surprised.

Frieren replied calmly, "It's okay, I can stay up all night."

"So you really wanted to see the sunrise at the beach?"

"Hmm..." She reached out and gently ruffled Fern's hair.

"'Hmm...' What does that mean?" Fern mimicked Frieren's tone. "Never mind."

The next morning, before dawn, Fern woke up on time. She looked at Frieren's bed—the silver-haired elf was wrapped in a blanket, fast asleep, her all-night boasts long since replaced by dreams.

"Still sleeping..." she mumbled sleepily.

"Ah! You're still sleeping! Lady Frieren! Please get up quickly! We'll be late for the New Year Festival!"

"Mother..."

"Who's your mother?! Get up now!"

She woke up the two adults one by one, and led them, still half-asleep, to the beach.

The three stood under the pale light of dawn, a cool sea breeze caressing their faces. The sound of the waves was soothing and rhythmic.

Fern gazed at the horizon, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Lowell and Frieren watched quietly as well. But their gazes were mostly fixed on the profiles of the two people beside them.

Suddenly, Frieren stood between Fern and Lowell, reaching out her hands to gently embrace them.

Fern was taken aback. "Huh...?"

Lowell didn't speak, but simply let her embrace him, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Frieren looked ahead, her voice still languid from just waking up, but clear. "I didn't really want to get up early to see the sunrise. But I know you'll be happy this way."

Fern paused, a warm glow spreading across her face. "Really..." But she then pouted slightly, looking at the two beside her, "But... I feel a bit superfluous..."

Lowell chuckled softly, "Hahaha... What's superfluous about it? Isn't this just like a family of three? This is probably what it feels like to raise a daughter."

Fern sighed and retorted in his usual calm tone, "Even if we're a family of three, I still consider myself the mother of two adults."

At the horizon, the first ray of golden light pierced through the deep blue clouds, spreading silently across the sky.

"So beautiful..."

"Indeed."

"It's truly beautiful."

The sky began to brighten.