Observation

Rabiñe and Kanne wrestled for a while like two young animals fighting over food, and finally, under Frieren's calm and indifferent gaze, they reluctantly called a truce and decided the ownership of the Birdcage by playing rock-paper-scissors, the most primitive way.

As a result, Frieren got it.

"Alright, I'll take it." Frieren took the small Birdcage and hung it on her wrist. "Let's go. Do you know anything about Stille?"

Both of them shook their heads.

"I know a little about it," Frieren said, taking a few steps forward, her silver hair swaying gently in the forest breeze, "But I've never seen one in real life. Anyway, let's find it first and take a closer look. Stille are about the same size as ordinary birds."

The two agreed and followed her into the dense woods.

Rabiñe shaded his eyes with his hand, leaped onto a boulder, and peered into the distance at the cliffs. Kanne, meanwhile, bent down and searched carefully on the ground.

"Frieren," Kanne said, picking up a dark gray feather, "Look at this?"

Frieren took the feather and examined its color against the light. "Hmm, it seems to be Stille's feather. It's a clue."

But their good fortune didn't last long. Less than half an hour into the search, Rabiñe and Kanne started arguing again over whether to go east or west. Their verbal exchange quickly escalated into a physical fight, and they were once again locked in a tangled mess.

Frieren stood to the side, her emerald eyes watching quietly, her face expressionless, only letting out a barely audible sigh.

I searched for a long time, but still found nothing.

Kanne was the first to give in, clutching his knees and panting, "Ugh... so tired..."

Rabiñe glanced at her, his tone disdainful. "Outrageous."

Frieren glanced at the beads of sweat on Kanne's forehead and said, "Let's take a break. We've been searching for a long time."

As she spoke, she walked over and sat down on a large, fallen tree. Kanne immediately found a flat rock and sat down as well.

Rabiñe glanced at the two who had sat down, his brow furrowing slightly. "I still have the energy. I'll go scout ahead first."

Kanne immediately objected. "I already said it's safer to stay together!"

"It's so noisy! That's so inefficient!" Rabiñe retorted impatiently.

The two started fighting again.

Frieren looked at them, but didn't say anything, "..."

After a while, she suddenly asked, "Is Rabiñe very strong?"

Rabiñe, towering over Kanne, straightened his back and spoke with confidence, "At least I'm stronger than her."

Kanne was immediately enraged. "Want to fight? Let's have a match right now!"

Frieren ignored Kanne's provocation, her gaze remaining fixed on Rabiñe, and asked calmly, "How about comparing yourself to me?"

Rabiñe glanced at Frieren.

"... I don't want to fight you. You must be Lady Frieren. Your magical energy fluctuations can be felt from 800 meters away. I've heard of you and sensed you countless times in the academy."

Frieren blinked. "I see, you know me. Okay, go ahead. Come back quickly if you encounter any danger." She paused, then added, "Be careful of the skies above."

Rabiñe nodded. "Yes, I understand."

Kanne looked puzzled. "?"

Frieren didn't explain, only watching Rabiñe's figure disappear swiftly into the forest, sighing softly to herself, "Sigh, is this team alright? Although I'm skilled at magic detection, avian monsters are adept at concealing their magic, especially such small creatures. In situations like this, more people means more eyes. If Lowell were here, he could probably pinpoint the Stille by the wind. These two kids seem to have decent magic power, but if they keep arguing like this..."

"Frieren is like a teacher," Kanne said with a smile, interrupting her thoughts, "Quite suitable to be a captain."

Frieren looked at her, her tone still flat. "It's not that I want to put on airs and order you around. But you're always arguing, so I'm offering my suggestions."

Kanne smiled a little sheepishly. "Sorry. We've always been like this." Remembering their earlier conversation, she asked curiously, "By the way, what does 'watch out for the sky' mean?"

Frieren: "It means exactly what it says. You're not very good at detecting magic power, are you?"

Kanne was taken aback. "Why do you say that?"

Just then, Rabiñe nimbly emerged from the bushes and returned.

"Hey," she whispered, "I found it. The Stille."

A few minutes later, the three of them crouched behind a dense thicket of bushes.

Ahead lay a lake nestled in the woods, its water crystal clear. Stille stood on one leg in the center of the lake, sipping its drink.

In the distance, Lowell sat on a tree branch, cracking sunflower seeds, muttering in a voice only he could hear, "Wow, this bird can tread water? What, did it concentrate its Chakra in its feet? Speaking of which, that little girl next to Duncan, I don't believe she's not a bit of Tenten, a Chinese-style little girl, just a bit lacking in energy."

Frieren crouched at the front of the bushes, her emerald eyes fixed intently on the bird. Without turning her head, she whispered to the two behind her, "Well done. Now, observe its habits carefully..."

Before she could finish speaking, Kanne, who was standing beside her, stood up abruptly and raised his staff.

In an instant, the lake water around the Stille surged silently, instantly forming a rapidly spinning vortex that enveloped the bird.

Startled, the Stille flapped its wings and was about to take flight.

With a wave of Kanne staff, several streams of water suddenly surged from the vortex, swirling towards the Stille in the air like intersecting tornadoes, but their speed seemed to be slightly slower than the Stille's.

Frieren paused for a moment. "Eh... we agreed to observe it. We let it escape."

Rabiñe closed his eyes. "No. Very good, Kanne!"

Almost at the moment the Stille was about to break free from the water tornado, the large gem at the top of Rabiñe's staff lit up.

"Crack--!"

The rising waterspouts, along with the Stille within them, were instantly enveloped by the extreme cold air and Frozen into a thick, crystal-clear ice pillar, trapping the bird in the center!

Frieren's eyes widened slightly. "Wow, you've got some skills." But she immediately reminded him, "But it's better to lie down now."

As she spoke, she squatted down herself, and then pulled the two of them down to squat down as well.

Before the two could react, they exclaimed, "Huh?"

At the center of the ice pillar, the Stille suddenly flapped its wings, and its powerful body unleashed astonishing power!

"Bang--!"

The icicle that had trapped it shattered with a crash, sending ice and water splashing everywhere! The water gushed towards the three of them, soaking them instantly, but fortunately, the ice shards prevented them from getting hurt because they had crouched down.

Rabiñe: "..."

Kanne: "..."

Frieren casually smoothed the water off her ponytail, as if she were wringing out a rag.

Looking at the scene before her, she calmly stated, "The Stille possesses an extremely strong body and a maximum flight speed exceeding the speed of sound. While this level of limitation is already quite strong, it's still a bit lacking. If we really want to catch it, we must observe it carefully."

She stood up and brushed the bits of grass off her skirt. "Let's spend the whole day observing it carefully."

Rabiñe wiped the water from his face, looked at the now empty sky, and said in frustration, "Really? I can't see that thing anymore."

Kanne also looked unwilling. "What a pity..."

Frieren watched them, her face serious as she thought to herself: Kanne manipulated the water with Water-Riding Magic, and Rabiñe Frozen it at the perfect moment, instantly constructing an ice prison... The timing was unbelievably perfect; this level of teamwork couldn't be achieved overnight. She'd worried the two would only argue, but now it seemed they were finally...

The thought hadn't even fully formed yet—

Rabiñe pointed in the direction the Stille had disappeared. "Stop resting! Chase after it right now!"

Kanne immediately objected. "No! It'll be even more wary if it's startled! We should thoroughly scout the area around the lake to find its nest or its usual flight path!"

"It's because your water speed is too slow! If it were faster, I could form a larger ice shield and freeze it solid!"

"It's clearly because you Frozen too slowly..."

As Frieren watched the two of them argue heatedly again, a bead of sweat silently rolled down her forehead.

"They're arguing again..."