Trifles and Ideals

As expected.

When the group arrived at the blacksmith's shop, the master blacksmith confirmed Lowell's guess—his family heirloom hammer, which was said to be mixed with rare metals and had been used to forge countless famous swords, had been stolen a few days ago by a giant dragon that occupied a nearby mountain, mistaking it for a glittering treasure.

Upon hearing this, Fern turned her pale purple eyes calmly to Lowell, her gaze seemingly unwavering yet carrying a silent question.

Lowell touched his nose, looking completely innocent. "I was just saying... It's a coincidence, purely a coincidence. I don't have any magical powers like making your words come true..."

Frieren yawned, her emerald eyes half-closed as she muttered, "Dragons... a bit troublesome, but not unbeatable..."

In the end, the group settled down temporarily in this village, which was similar in simplicity to the previous one. After all, the journey was long, so it didn't matter where they rested.

Sein scratched his head. "Anyway, it's my request, but I'll have to trouble you all."

"What are you saying?"

Inside the hotel room, Sein sidled up to Frieren, who was fiddling with her newly acquired magic book, "Portable Shaved Ice-Making Techniques."

"Hey, Frieren, can you do me a favor and cast that Luck Magic on me too?"

Frieren looked up from the book, her emerald eyes asking, "What do you want to do?"

Sein smiled mysteriously, rubbing his hands together. "A secret... anyway, it'll be useful."

"Oh, alright." Frieren didn't ask any further questions, her fingertips glowing faintly as she cast a spell on him as instructed.

"Thanks!" Sein said, then hurriedly left with his secret.

They all went to bed that night, but Sein did not return.

The next morning, the group prepared to set off to hunt down the dragon that had stolen the hammer. However, just as they reached the main street at the village entrance, they saw a familiar figure—

Sein stood there shirtless, wearing only shorts, with a nonchalant expression that said, "What terrible luck!" The cold morning wind gave him goosebumps.

He clenched his fist, his tone frustrated but trying to remain calm. "Damn it... I was having such a great start, winning so much... I thought I was really lucky today... but then the last game... sigh..."

Fern immediately turned his face away, covering Frieren's eyes in the process. His expression was one of undisguised disgust as he said softly but clearly, "Lady Frieren, it would be better to leave this person behind."

After a while, Lowell redeemed the clothes and tossed them to Sein: "Alright, alright, put them on now. Don't gamble away your clothes again. Be mindful of your behavior; there are two ladies here."

Sein he put on his clothes, "Oh... okay, okay, thanks a lot, Lowell. I'll be more careful next time, definitely next time."

The process of defeating the dragon was relatively uneventful. The dragon appeared ferocious, but with the combined efforts of the group, it didn't take much effort. After all, slaying a dragon was still too difficult for Fern; dragons have very high magic resistance, and even Frieren couldn't handle them, so Lowell didn't hold back.

The blacksmith's hammer was also successfully recovered, and the old master thanked him.

However, as expected, the matter did not end there. After retrieving the hammer, the blacksmith wrote back, and the Stubborn Granny then asked them to help find a rare herb that only grows near the dragon's nest and can cure a small child in the village.

If it were a normal person doing the quest, the second step would probably be to avoid the dragon and steal back the hammer, and the third step would still be to avoid the dragon and obtain the herbs, but Lowell just threw it away, which made things much easier.

Next, the Village Chief's grandson's dog got lost while chasing butterflies, and they need to enter a forest where monsters are said to roam.

Then, an abnormally large mutated rooster monster began harassing the poultry pen and needed to be dealt with.

Then, news came from the neighboring village that Lion Boar monsters had destroyed the crops...

One thing leads to another, seemingly without end.

We've probably reached the tenth step of fulfilling the villagers' request.

This went on for several days.

In the evening, after a day of chores, walking back to the hotel, Sein a little guilty. "I'm so sorry, it was originally my own business, but you guys ended up doing so much for me..."

Lowell rested his hands behind his head, his tone relaxed. "It's okay, we have plenty of time anyway, we're just killing time."

Upon hearing this, Fern, who was standing to the side, gave a soft "humph," pouted slightly, and puffed out her cheeks.

Frieren glanced at Fern, coughed lightly, her voice flat but her speech quick. "Ahem, Sein, let's get this over with quickly. Fern can be terrifying when she's angry."

Sein agreed, "Yes, yes, I will try my best. Gather intelligence as soon as possible and find that bastard 'Gorilla Warrior'!"

"Honestly, they've done so much already," Frieren complained. "If it were Himmel and Heiter, they would have been on good terms with that Stubborn Granny much faster."

"Yes, they're all very good at socializing, much like the guy from the next village who can't hide his tears, he can get along well with the old ladies..." Lowell chimed in.

"Yeah, our team is full of clumsy people," Little Mushroom pouted slightly.

Sein seemed to remember something, looking at Lowell with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. "Speaking of which, the Goddess Magic you used when you were fighting the dragon the other day was incredibly effective, much stronger than what this country monk could do. The team didn't need me at all... But I have a question, Lowell, aren't you... the Demon King? What exactly did you believe in when you used Goddess Magic?"

He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Although it's said that Goddess Magic doesn't necessarily require devout faith in the Goddess herself, it always needs some kind of unwavering 'power of faith' to drive it. The purer and firmer the belief, the stronger the power of Goddess Magic. What exactly do you believe in? Surely Demons don't also believe in Goddess, right? Or some kind of demon god?"

Upon hearing this, Lowell scratched his head, his black hair swaying slightly in the evening breeze. "There's no demon god, hmm... this is a bit difficult to explain."

Instead of answering directly, he asked in return, "Let me put it this way, Sein, your village is hidden deep in the mountains, and even fetching water requires a long walk. That's why your brother bought such a small basin and sickle, wanting you to save every drop of water, right?"

Sein nodded, a helpless, wry smile on his face, "Yes. Although he's a bit too frugal, almost to the point of performance art... the village really is short of water; it was like that when I was born. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Lowell continued, his gaze calm. "Why doesn't the kingdom do anything about it? Sending a few water mages to come and create water regularly, or having earth mages bring an aqueduct from the other side of the mountain, or even just organizing manpower to deliver water regularly, technically speaking, isn't that too difficult?"

Sein sighed, his smile growing even more bitter, "It's not as simple as you think. The cost of hiring mages, employing adventurers to clear monsters from the water diversion route, and the long-term maintenance required after the canal is built due to potential monster damage... all these expenses combined are astronomical for a poor village like ours that can't afford taxes and can't grow anything of value. In the eyes of those finance officials in the kingdom, it's 'normal' and 'profitable' for places like ours to be ignored."

Lowell paused for a moment, his gaze fixed on the setting sun sinking behind the mountains in the distance. His voice was steady, as if he were recounting a distant yet real story:

"So... I'm thinking, what if there were a place... where the people believed in a philosophy called 'Never give up any territory, never abandon any citizen'?"

"They would willingly invest a fortune—enough to arm an elite knightly order—to carve out a magical waterway through the mountains for a small village as remote as yours, or even more barren and devoid of any economic gain. And the villagers would only have to bear the burden of a paltry few dozen copper coins from their annual harvest, or even less."

"In many other places, there's a saying, 'What's the price?' But here, there's no such saying."

"They did these things not to plunder more gold coins, nor to collect heavier taxes. Perhaps all they wanted was for the clear, cheerful sound of flowing water to echo in every village, even the most remote corner, so that every child could easily drink clean water."

He turned to look at Sein and asked softly, "If such a being truly existed, Sein, what would you think?"

Sein opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to say, "How is that possible?", but seeing Lowell's calm yet serious gaze, he swallowed his words. He thought carefully for a moment, then finally shook his head, a complex and unreadable expression on his face, and whispered:

"... If such a place truly existed... then perhaps the people living there wouldn't need to pray to the Goddess all day long."

He looked up at Lowell, a knowing glint in his eyes:

"Because that place itself, its adherence to the principle of 'never giving up,' is their faith. Is that what you believe in...?"

Lowell smiled and simply said, "Who knows? Maybe I'm a believer in Frieren," without continuing the conversation. Then he patted Sein on the shoulder. "Let's go, it's getting dark. Fern, what do you want to eat tonight?"

"Vegetable soup and roasted mushrooms," Fern replied calmly. "Lady Frieren didn't slack off today, so I'll add a serving of roasted Lion Boar."

"Yay!" Frieren cheered softly, raising her arms.