Return to the City

Once inside the city, there weren't many pedestrians on the streets, and the air still carried a faint smell of sulfur.

Several people walked on the stone-paved road.

Lowell walked ahead, casually raising his hand and lightly touching Liletta's forehead with his fingertips. A wisp of flowing magical light flashed, and the pair of curved Demons horns seemed to merge into the air and disappear.

Liletta raised her hand to touch her smooth forehead, her golden eyes blinked, her expression unchanged. She lowered her head, continuing to recite the creeds steadily, over and over again, her voice soft yet stubbornly penetrating the rising evening breeze.

"I volunteer to join... uphold the Party's program, abide by the Party's constitution..."

They remained silent the entire way.

Oh, nothing else.

Upon arriving at the castle, the butler was still waiting at the entrance, bowing as he led them inside.

Earl Tahe stood by the fireplace in the drawing room, a glass of wine in his hand. When they entered, he turned around with the standard welcoming smile on his face.

"You're all back. How... did things go smoothly?"

Lowell stepped forward and stopped in front of the Earl, a cheerful, slightly triumphant smile spreading across his face. He cleared his throat, his voice soft but clear enough to convey his message:

"I swear in the name of the hero Himmel— "

He paused, his tone resolute.

"The troubles concerning the 'Sword Demons' in your territory have come to an end."

Earl Tahe's hand, holding the wine glass, paused for a moment in mid-air. His smile remained unchanged, but his gaze lingered on Lowell's face for a moment, then swept over Frieren and Fern behind him, who remained expressionless, before finally skimming over Liletta, who was bowing her head and reciting silently, almost like a background figure.

He nodded, the curve of his lips softening as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Okay," he put down his glass, his tone more sincere than before, "Thank you for your hard work. Many thanks to you all."

He gestured to the attendant beside him.

The servant immediately brought forward a box wrapped in dark velvet, which contained the very same magic book that had appeared at dinner.

Earl Tahe opened the box himself and looked at Frieren.

"Then, here is your payment."

Frieren's emerald eyes lit up instantly. She took a few steps forward, almost snatching the spellbook from her, and hugged it to her chest, her fingers gently stroking the dark red leather cover. Her face didn't show any exaggerated expression, but the corners of her mouth were clearly curved upwards, and her eyes were narrowed into slits with satisfaction.

"Thank you," she said quickly, then immediately turned around and walked briskly towards the door, as if to say, "I'll leave as soon as I get what I want."

Lowell smiled and nodded to Earl Tahe.

"Well then, farewell, Earl Tahe." He said casually, "If we encounter any monsters along the way, we'll take care of them as well."

Earl Tahe nodded slightly.

May the Goddess bless you all with a safe journey. Thank you again.

Leaving the castle, I walked along the gradually darkening streets. The evening breeze carried a coolness, dispelling some of the daytime's restlessness.

Fern followed beside Lowell, her pale purple eyes gazing calmly ahead, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"Lord Lowell is quite the liar."

"Demons are born liars... No, I'm not lying!"

Lowell answered instinctively, but immediately turned away with an innocent look on his face.

He puffed out his chest, speaking with righteous indignation.

"That's the art of language! I said 'The trouble is over,' not 'The Sword Demons is gone.' The result is the same, she won't attack the village anymore. Can that be called lying? That's called... well, stating a result."

Fern thought for a moment and then softly hummed in agreement.

"Okay, that's true."

She walked in silence for a while, her gaze shifting to Liletta, who was following at the back and still reciting in a low voice, before turning back.

"Also, regarding what Liletta mentioned earlier, about the issue of humans eating things like pigs and dogs..."

She paused, her tone carrying a rare hint of confusion typical of her age.

"Although I know she's definitely wrong, I just don't know how to refute her."

Lowell slowed his pace, put his hands in his pockets, and tilted his head to think for a moment.

"Hmm, this?" he said, his voice slightly more serious than usual, but still retaining that casual laziness.

"It's not that complicated, Fern. You just need to look at the essence."

"First, she confuses 'life forms with intelligence, emotions, the ability to communicate, and the capacity to build complex societies' with 'livestock raised as a food source.' The fact that she can perfectly disguise herself as a human monk indicates that she understands human language, some emotions, and social rules. She kills beings with whom she can interact on the same level, not 'livestock.' She doesn't know the difference because in her eyes, humans and animals are the same; after all, most Demons are uneducated."

"Secondly, the purposes are different. For humans, obtaining meat has been a part of survival and development for a long history, and ethical discussions about it have been ongoing within society. But her hunting of humans is not a necessity for survival; it's more out of habit, desire, or... well, to implement some kind of distorted self-perception, like Aura saying things like 'to demonstrate my power.' This is selective predation, not a struggle for survival."

"Third, and most importantly." Lowell stopped, turned around, and looked at Fern, his dark eyes appearing calm in the twilight.

"We live in a society built by many intelligent races, including humans, elves, and dwarves. This society has its rules, which may not be perfect, but they attempt to maintain order. Protecting its members and abiding by its rules, one of the most basic principles, is not to kill one's intelligent 'fellows' without cause."

"Liletta's actions have crossed this line. She has placed herself outside of all social contracts. Therefore, our conflict with her is not a dietary dispute over 'what to eat,' but a conflict between 'civilization' and 'anti-civilization,' between 'order' and 'destruction.' This is a fundamental difference."

He smiled, a smile that held a hint of helplessness, but also a sense of relief.

"That's about it, Fern. When you encounter something like this, you know she's wrong, and that's enough. You don't need to convince her. If you insist on convincing her, like you did just now... break it down to the core issue and let her figure it out herself. If she can't understand, just keep reciting it until she understands or gets too lazy to think about it anymore."

He continued walking, his voice carried on the evening breeze.

"Of course, human rules and laws are not perfect, but what we have now is a relatively fair set of order. Fern, Frieren, and I... are merely the keepers of the rules, not the creators. Well, perhaps when I placed the Dominating Stone Ring on the Demons, I could be considered a rule-maker for once."

His tone softened.

"In short, don't be confused. Humans can be selfish at times, and life itself is full of contradictions and imperfections. But as you walk through this world, knowing what you fight for and what you defend, and being able to act with a clear conscience, is enough."

Fern listened quietly, her pale purple eyes reflecting the last rays of light on the horizon. Then, she nodded softly but clearly.

"Um."

She agreed.

Liletta, walking at the back, seemed oblivious to the conversation ahead. Her golden eyes stared at the cracks in the cobblestone path beneath her feet, her lips still steadily repeating those creeds from another world, her voice soft yet stubbornly piercing through the rising evening breeze.

"... I will possess the Eight Virtues: humility, honor, sacrifice, courage, compassion, honesty, justice, and spirituality. I vow to treat the weak with kindness. I vow to bravely confront tyranny..."

Her voice echoed through the empty streets, like a monotonous background sound, creating a strange, slowly changing scene in this town that had just escaped the shadow of the Demons.

A breeze swept across the street corner, carrying the scent of distant mountains and the coolness of the night.

Frieren, carrying her new spellbook, walked briskly at the front.

Lowell and Fern followed behind, chatting idly.

Liletta trailed at the back of the line, her recitation a monotonous yet persistent syllable in the background.

The outline of the city wall gradually blurred behind us, and the road leading north stretched into the colder wilderness under the dim sky.

The day's hustle and bustle comes to an end, but tomorrow's journey has yet to begin.

That's good.