Butterfly Wings

In the early morning in the forest, the mist had not yet completely dissipated, and sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground covered with fallen leaves. The air was crisp and clear, carrying the moist scent of earth and vegetation.

Frieren curled up in a thick sleeping bag, leaning against a sturdy ancient tree, her long silver hair slightly disheveled and spread out along the edge of the sleeping bag. Her long eyelashes fluttered a few times, and her emerald eyes slowly opened, still misty with lingering sleepiness, making her appear dazed and languid. She unconsciously shifted her body, trying to adjust to a more comfortable position.

With this movement, Lowell, who had been sleeping soundly beside her with her head resting on her shoulder, instantly lost her support.

Smack

With a muffled thud, Lowell slid off his leaning position and fell sideways onto the leaf-strewn ground, a few blades of grass clinging to his black hair. He let out a muffled murmur, but didn't immediately open his eyes, only frowning, as if still struggling with sleep.

Fern, who was cooking breakfast soup in a small pot not far away, looked up at the sound. Her long purple hair was as neatly combed as ever, and she wore a butterfly hair ornament given to her by Frieren.

Seeing Frieren sit up and rub her eyes, Fern's pupils contracted slightly, and a rare emotion called "shock" flashed across her face.

"Lady Frieren..." Fern covered her mouth, her voice filled with obvious surprise, "She actually got up early!"

Lowell, who had fallen to the ground, finally came to his full senses. He pushed himself up and sat up, rubbing his bruised temple. His tone was tinged with a helpless accusation. "Hey... shouldn't you be worried about me lying on the ground first? What if I've damaged my brain?"

Fern turned his gaze to him, his expression returning to its usual calm, his tone indifferent yet precise. "If a fall could damage the Demon King's brain, then Himmel and the others wouldn't have had such a difficult time defeating Demon King back then."

Lowell was taken aback by these words. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he just smiled helplessly, dusted off the dirt and grass on his body, and resignedly stood up.

Meanwhile, Frieren was clearly still in the process of booting up, completely unaware of the accident and conversation that had just occurred. She simply stared blankly at the steaming pot of soup in front of her, her nose twitching slightly.

Seeing Frieren's unusually early-rising appearance, Fern put down her soup spoon, walked over to Frieren's side, and raised her arms to encourage herself. "Yes! I must reward Lady Frieren got up early, properly."

Five minutes later.

Frieren sat comfortably on a fallen log, with Lowell behind her, still dazed but skillfully massaging her shoulders. Fern held a bowl of soup, cooled to the perfect temperature, and fed Frieren small spoonfuls with a spoon, occasionally wiping away the soup stains from the corners of her lips with a clean handkerchief.

"Hmph~" Frieren squinted her eyes, looking smug, and made a satisfied nasal sound, completely immersed in the pleasure of being served.

Lowell rubbed his shoulders and muttered under his breath, "Why reward waking up early? I actually prefer to sleep in..." Before he could finish, he received a calm glance from Fern and immediately changed his tune, "... Okay, okay, whatever you say. But speaking of which, Frieren really is like a little kid who gets all smug when she's praised."

Upon hearing this, Frieren raised her chin slightly, a hint of smugness in her voice, though her tone remained languid. "What? I'm just... well, spoiling my apprentice."

Fern nodded readily, continuing to feed her, "Yes, yes, Frieren dotes on her disciple the most. Please continue to do so in the future, and try to go to bed early and get up early, okay?"

Frieren's smug expression faltered slightly, her eyes darting around before she narrowed them. "I... I'll try..."

"Also, is Lady Frieren really not First-Class Mage?"

"Uh... I don't want to see Serie..." Frieren pointed to her finger, "So I haven't gone to get it verified."

"Really... you absolutely need First-Class Mage to travel through the Northern Plateau, Lord Lowell..."

Don't look at me... I'm even lazier...

"I could fly you all there directly, but I want to see the story unfold," he didn't say.

Breakfast ended in a subtly awkward atmosphere. After packing their belongings, the three of them set off on their journey once again.

The forest path meandered, and the sunlight gradually warmed. Fern walked in the middle, seemingly remembering something, and said, "Speaking of which, when we passed through the Graf Granat Earl Territory before, although the Earl looked stern and imposing, he seemed exceptionally polite to us."

Lowell walked leisurely with his hands behind his head:

"That's for sure. Decades ago, when Aura's Undead Army tried to attack there, Himmel, the others, and Frieren and I happened to be nearby and helped repel them. Most importantly, we tried our best to preserve the bodies of the fallen soldiers so that he could properly bury his men. That favor is definitely valid, even though he wasn't Earl then; the Earl should have been his grandfather. But such a thing would definitely have been remembered."

"Hmph~" Frieren nodded from the side, her face showing a "praise me" expression, "I also contributed a lot that time!"

Lowell glanced at her, mercilessly tearing her apart. "If I hadn't stopped you at the beginning, you almost tried to use a large-scale spell to flatten the Undead Army and half the battlefield."

Frieren's expression froze. She rubbed her fingers together and muttered under her breath, "... Isn't that the most efficient way?"

Seeing the interaction between the two, Fern smiled slightly, "Is that so? It's good that you didn't do that. It seems Lord Lowell has done a good job disciplining Frieren."

Frieren immediately protested softly, "Don't say 'discipline'."

Fern readily agreed, "Alright. Well, the Earl's son recently killed a Demons named Draht, whom you mentioned before. He used to be Lord Aura's subordinate?"

"Hmm," Lowell nodded, "After Aura's battle with us, I intercepted and took away Linié, one of her subordinates. Later, I saw that Aura herself seemed to be showing some signs of trying to 'coexist,' so I brought her here as well. As for Lugner, that guy is more sensible, knows his own limitations, and is also quite handsome—a real heartthrob, lots of girls in the academy like him."

"And Draht..." He shrugged. "He's not exactly handsome, and he's a troublemaker, a real traitor, so I just ignored him. Anyway, I already 'saw' that Earl Granat's son would solve his future, and that lad is actually quite good."

Fern mused, "Hmm, 'Future Sight' is quite a convenient ability."

Lowell smiled. "It's alright. But to be honest, if you knew everything in advance, life would be much less surprising and fun. So neither I nor Serie really rely on this ability. For example, if I were to focus all my attention on 'watching,' hundreds or even thousands of innocent people on the continent might suffer misfortune every day. Would I have to intervene in everything? That would be exhausting. So, I usually only use it a little bit for people I care about, or for things that particularly interest me."

Fern nodded gently. "Yes, indeed. It would be very painful to know that a tragedy is about to happen but be powerless or unable to stop it. And the entire continent... is indeed too vast." She paused and continued, "Then, what about Lord Alden's son? I remember you mentioned him too; he was originally supposed to die as well?"

Lowell sighed, "Yeah. I even wonder if all the 'sons of Earls ' in this world are born with this fate of dying young, as if they're incomplete without dying. They're practically on the same level as the 'president' next door."

"However, this time, it was because Wirbel happened to be nearby and came to the young master's aid, joining forces to kill the Demons general who launched the attack. In the process, Lord Alden owed him a huge favor, and it's said that he will provide him with a lot of manpower and resources to fight against the Demons, which has made Wirbel much more financially and manpower-wise more comfortable."

Fern listened quietly, her pale purple eyes gazing at the path stretching into the distance, and said softly:

"I believe that you, Lord Lowell, who founded the Continental United Academy and taught students like Lady Lupa, Mr. Wirbel, and many others, have undoubtedly saved countless lives and changed countless tragedies that might have otherwise occurred, in ways we don't know about, such as Lady Lupa slaying the Red Mirror Dragon to save the village, and Mr. Wirbel rescuing the Earl's son."

Upon hearing this, Lowell turned his head to look at Fern, a calm and gentle smile appearing on his face. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting tiny specks of light in his eyes.

"Yes."

He responded softly, his gaze sweeping past Frieren and Fern beside him, before looking toward the bright sky at the edge of the forest.

"Perhaps."

A gentle breeze rustled through the treetops, carrying the scent of distant lands. The three figures gradually disappeared into the depths of the winding path; the journey continued.