Displeasure

"Hmph~"

Fern walked briskly at the front of the group, humming a joyful tune, her long purple hair swaying gently behind her head with each step. She was completely different from the composed and calm girl she usually was.

Sein stroked his chin and nudged Lowell beside him with his elbow.

"Hey, Lowell, what's wrong with this kid today? He's usually quite reserved. Did he eat something wrong? Should we give him some advice?"

Upon hearing this, Frieren's emerald eyes shifted from the roadside wildflowers, and she blinked blankly, "Hmm? I don't know..."

Lowell smiled helplessly at Frieren's completely clueless expression and reminded her, "It's her birthday today, Frieren. I'll remember, but as her master, you should at least remember it."

"Anyway, you'll definitely remember..." Frieren muttered softly, her tone carrying a sense of taken-for-granted dependence.

Fern was walking ahead, seemed to have heard it. She stopped, turned around, put her hands on her hips, and gave a slightly reproachful look on her face.

"That's right, Frieren! Although Lord Lowell will remember my birthday, I'll be even happier if you remember it yourself. Heh heh~" She hummed smugly again, acting like she was the boss on her birthday.

Frieren's eyes darted around. "Uh... this is too..."

Fern's eyes narrowed slightly, a friendly glint in them, her tone calm yet threatening. "If Lady Frieren dares to say 'trouble,' then tonight's dinner will be a three-course meal of gravy with onions, sugared onions, and onion soup."

Frieren immediately straightened her back, her expression serious. "I'll remember that!"

Fern nodded in satisfaction, a small smile playing on his lips, "Hmph~ We'll see how Lady Frieren performs from now on."

Lowell watched from the side, secretly amused. Fern, raised with both parents and surrounded by love, certainly had a much more cheerful personality than Fern remembered. How wonderful.

"Speaking of which, Lowell, you actually remember it so clearly, that's amazing," Sein remarked from the side. "Normally, most men like us wouldn't care about these things." He scratched his head, adding casually, "Like now, even though I know it's Fern's birthday, I'm not planning to give her any gift..."

Before he could finish speaking, a precise low kick lightly struck his shin.

Fern puffed out his cheeks and rhythmically kicked Sein's shin.

"Hey! Don't kick! Don't kick!" Sein jumped up and down to dodge. "I'm ready! I'm ready! Don't use a low kick, it hurts terribly if it hits your knee!"

Fern puffed out his cheeks and gave it two more symbolic kicks before letting out a snort and giving up.

It was nearly noon when the group arrived at a small border town.

The town wasn't big, but it was quite lively. Taking advantage of the supply stop, the group began picking out a birthday present for Fern.

In front of a small shop selling all sorts of groceries and handicrafts, Sein picked up a delicately crafted little bag. The bag was embroidered with intricate butterfly patterns in silk thread, very similar in style to the butterfly hair accessory that Frieren had given to Fern and that Fern was now wearing.

"Here, how about this?" Sein handed the bag to Fern.

Fern took the small bag, examined it carefully, and gently ran her fingers over the embroidery. Her face remained expressionless, but she slightly pouted, "What a pretty little bag."

Sein looked at her seemingly unhappy face and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Don't you like it?"

"No," Fern shook his head, "I'm just a little unhappy that Sein seems to know so much about girls' preferences."

"Really?" He didn't seem to care much about the little girl's awkwardness.

On the other hand, Lowell chose a light purple woven bracelet, also adorned with a small silver butterfly decoration in the center. The color of the woven fabric matched Fern's hair color perfectly.

Fern, holding the small bag Sein had given her in one hand and the bracelet Lowell had given her on the other, looked around and finally broke into a genuine smile, clearly satisfied. But she quickly looked up at Frieren, who seemed lost in thought by the shelf, "Where is Frieren's gift?"

Upon hearing her name called, Frieren gave a soft "hmph," a hint of smugness on her face. "Although I don't remember the exact date, I've already prepared a birthday present for Fern."

As she spoke, she squatted down by the roadside, opened her small, seemingly unsizable leather briefcase, and began rummaging through it. Various miscellaneous treasures were scattered all over the ground. Her silver head was almost buried in the briefcase as she muttered to herself, "Where did I put it...? I remember it was in..."

After a while, she finally cheered, "Found it!"

She struggled to pull something out of the box—a huge, unidentified monster's skull. The moment it was taken out of the box, it seemed as if some kind of magic had been broken, rapidly growing to a length of seven or eight meters. It crashed onto the roadside with a loud thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. The skull was grotesque in shape, yet it possessed an odd, pale beauty.

Frieren patted the skull with particular pride, her bright green eyes sparkling. "This is one of my favorite collections! It's the skull of the legendary 'Lord of the Silent Valley,' it can be seen under the moonlight..." She seemed about to boast about the skull's origins and wonders, but when she looked up, she met Fern's face, which instantly darkened.

Frieren's eloquent speech came to an abrupt halt.

She looked at Fern's expressionless face, then at the enormous skull on the ground, so out of place in the surrounding cozy town. Her voice trailed off, and finally she blinked guiltily, "Um... maybe I should think about it some more...?"

Fern said nothing, he just watched her quietly.

Under her calm gaze, Frieren silently and laboriously stuffed the enormous skull back into the magical little leather case. The case closed, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.