Dinner Table Talk

Dinner was still in progress.

The private room was filled with the aroma of food and the faint, damp noise that was characteristic of Oysast nights drifting in from outside the window.

Seeing her master's satisfied expression, Fern continued to eat her soufflé in small bites, but her thoughts drifted elsewhere.

After a while, she put down the spoon, wiped her mouth, turned to Frieren, and asked a question.

"Speaking of which, Lady Frieren, why is it necessary to have First-Class Mage accompany us when entering the Northern Plateau? Although it's said that monsters are rampant, surely powerful warriors and other skilled professions can also fight against them?"

Frieren was scooping the last shrimp out of the soup with a spoon when she heard this. She stopped, turned her emerald eyes to Fern, blinked, and her expression showed a clear hint of contemplation, but more so a blank of "this problem is so complicated."

"Well..."

She opened her mouth, but only managed to utter a mumbled syllable, forgetting to put the shrimp in her mouth, clearly not having come up with an answer immediately.

Lowell finished the last bit of rib in his hand, wiped his hands with a damp towel, and took over the conversation.

"Asking her is pointless."

His tone was casual, with a hint of "I knew this would happen" in his smile.

"How would she know about such human matters?"

"Let me tell you, firstly, the profession of mage was 'standardized' much earlier and more thoroughly than that of warrior or thief."

"Hundreds of years ago, I suggested that Serie emerge and establish this Continental Magic Association. Her strength is beyond doubt, no one can argue with that, and as an elf, her lifespan is almost infinite. This means that the highest leader of this association will never change."

"An organization whose top leader never changes will naturally develop quickly and steadily. It's far superior to those warrior guilds or thief guilds that might change their leader and style every few years. With a deep foundation, the voice of authority naturally grows stronger."

"Secondly, it's a matter of perception. A thousand years ago, Flamme, as the founder of continental magic, made it possible for 'everyone to know magic,' and magic gradually gave Human race the strength to fight against Demons. Therefore, in the eyes of most people—especially ordinary people living in cities who haven't seen much of the world—the profession of mage is inherently more 'noble' than other professions."

"Think about it, there are 'Court Mage,' but have you ever heard of 'court warriors,' 'court thieves,' or 'court monks'? Knights are fine, there are court knights too, but most knights serve their lords and kingdoms, they're 'employees,' not free travelers or adventurers like us. Magicians are obviously much more independent."

Fern nodded slightly.

"I see."

Lowell picked up his glass, took a sip, and continued:

"Furthermore, although the Northern Plateau are teeming with monsters, and there are countless powerful ones, mages are always the most lethal against humanity's primary enemies— Demons and monsters. After all, Ordinary Attack Magic is an improvement on Killing Magic, with effects specifically targeting Demons and monsters, and it has a wide area of effect. Warriors, on the other hand, rarely possess this kind of suppressive power."

He paused, as if remembering something, and his expression became a little strange.

"Can you believe it? A random monster that appears from the Northern Plateau is actually you, Frieren, along with a warrior of the same level First-Class Mage who can slay relatively weak dragons—something that would take them half a day to defeat. And a random knight squad leader is even stronger than that warrior..."

Fern listened quietly, a hint of understanding flashing in his pale purple eyes.

"You're describing a scenario that Future Sight, aren't you?"

"Yes," Lowell readily admitted, swirling the glass in his hand, "But that place is just that dangerous. The Demon King has been defeated for decades, yet the remaining Demons are still rampaging instead of being wiped out by humans. That's why. In terms of overall combat strength, they are still no weaker than Human race; it's just that without a leader, they've become a disorganized mess."

"Most monsters lack intelligence, but even so, they pose a significant threat... Monsters like the Poison Extreme Dragon and the Two-Headed Chimera are all considerably stronger than the Lion Boar. The Lion Boar is one that even Wirbel struggles to deal with easily; after all, unlike you, Fern, its offensive power is weaker."

He looked at Fern, his tone becoming more serious.

"Now you know why almost no one believed in Himmel when they decided to go and defeat the Demon King, right?"

"Let alone the Demon King himself and his 'Seven Sages of Destruction' under his command. In the eyes of most people at the time, it wouldn't have been particularly strange if a powerful demon randomly appeared from the Northern Plateau and wiped out the entire Himmel squad. It was under such expectations and pressure that they finally stood before the Demon King and won."

"To people at the time, the term 'hero' wasn't much different from other adventurer teams, except perhaps for having a bigger reputation. In reality, it didn't offer any advantages. The downside... the hero's goal was to defeat the Demon King, so calling oneself a 'hero' was practically like 'Fire at me!' to the organized Demons race at the time—a suicidal act."

That's why they're called heroes; they're truly brave.

"In one future, Aura heard that Himmel was a hero, so she attacked him. It was really dangerous at the time, although now Aura and Solitär are both comrades."

Fern thought carefully about Lowell's words, and the images of Himmel, Ruby, Heiter, and Eisen appeared in his mind, showing how they resolutely went to fight the Demon King when almost everyone was pessimistic about them.

After a while, she asked softly:

"But I remember Himmel saying that you and Frieren helped them a lot, didn't you?"

Frieren finally finished the shrimp, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and replied in a flat tone:

"Well, I did help. But I only occasionally taught Ruby, who wasn't very experienced in magic and combat at the time. Lowell was the same; he didn't like fighting and always said things like 'it's for Himmel and the others to gain experience'..."

Lowell spoke, his tone carrying a touch of wistful reminiscence:

"Yes, so the actual help we provided was limited to intervening a few times in very few cases where they felt they couldn't handle the opponents, and offering some guidance in certain areas."

"I hope for peace and coexistence, but I don't have a strong desire to work towards it. Following Himmel and the others is just a way of helping out, protecting the young people, and hoping they can grow up smoothly so that Fatty can leave."

Fern looked at him, a hint of surprise and a faint expression of admiration in her pale purple eyes.

"I see," she said softly. "I didn't expect Lowell to have such a mature, adult side."

Ubel, who was standing next to him, was stabbing a piece of stewed carrot with a fork. Hearing this, he nodded in deep agreement, his green hair swaying slightly with the movement.

"Yes, that's good, very commendable."

Lowell's expression froze instantly. He looked at Fern, then at Ubel, and finally at Frieren, who was sipping her soup as if it were none of his business. He was speechless.

"What? What kind of image do you have of me? I've always been a mature and composed adult, okay?"

He turned to Frieren, as if seeking reassurance.

"Isn't that right, Frieren?"

Frieren had just finished the last sip of her soup, put down the bowl, and slowly wiped her mouth with a napkin. Hearing Lowell's words, she paused, her emerald eyes turning to him, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Eh..."

She uttered a drawn-out, unintelligible syllable.

That brief silence, and those eyes that seemed to ask, "How should I answer this?", were more powerful than any words.

Lowell: "Why hesitate!"

Seeing Lowell's deflated and speechless expression, Kanne couldn't help but cover his mouth with his hand, his shoulders trembling slightly as he let out a soft "pfft" laugh.

Rabiñe also crossed his arms, enjoying the spectacle.

Ubel, however, continued eating the food on the table with a smile, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Fern lowered her head, picked up her water glass, and took a small sip. A faint smile flickered in her pale purple eyes.

In the warm light of the private room, the aroma of food had not yet dissipated, and the faint hustle and bustle of the food street outside the window mingled with the relaxed and everyday banter inside.

After wiping her mouth, Frieren neatly folded the napkin and placed it beside her. Then she looked at Lowell, her clear, calm emerald eyes and her tone matter-of-fact:

"Because Lowell is indeed often afraid of trouble, and quite lazy, like a child."

Lowell opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but seeing Frieren's "I'm just stating the facts" expression, and then seeing the girls around him trying not to laugh, he finally slumped his shoulders in dejection.