Reasons

Lowell remained silent for a moment.

The flames in the fireplace crackled and popped, leaping high for a moment before settling down again.

"Fern, I could indeed prevent the Golden Land from forming; it would be a piece of cake for me," he said, his voice clear in the quiet room, "But I chose not to. There are two reasons."

He adjusted his posture slightly, resting his elbows on his knees.

"First, there's the tram... well, to put it in your terms, the carriage problem."

Fern tilted her head, her pale purple eyes gazing at him.

The "chariot problem"?

"Hmm. Imagine there's a carriage, the driver suddenly falls ill and dies, and the horse is startled and charging forward along the road," Lowell described in a calm, unhurried tone. "Ahead, five commoners are tied up in the road. If nothing is done, these five people will definitely be trampled or crushed to death. And you, you're just an ordinary person, you don't have magic, but you have a special ability—you just need to shout, and that horse will change direction and charge towards you."

"But if the horse changes direction, and another person is tied up on the other road, he will die."

"What would you choose at this point?"

Fern's eyebrows furrowed slightly. She lowered her head, looking at the cup she held in her hands. The water reflected the flickering firelight.

"This... is a difficult choice," she said after a moment, her voice very soft.

"Yes, it's a difficult choice." Lowell leaned back in his chair, the wooden chair creaking softly. "Most of the time, I'm someone who prefers to avoid mistakes rather than seek merit. The Golden Land matter... it's a deep and complicated affair."

He gazed at the darkened wooden beams of the roof, blackened by smoke.

"Macht did a lot for Duncan's father-in-law, Gluck. He saved many people. Without him, Weise might have been razed to the ground by General 'Lightning' Schullack's remnants of the Demon King's Army long ago. He saved this city more than once."

"Of course, merits and demerits cannot offset each other. Just because he saved the city doesn't give him the right to turn it into gold. I understand that principle perfectly well."

"But if I had stopped it then—killed Macht, or subdued him, controlled him—I could have done it. But what then?"

His gaze returned to Fern's face.

"A butterfly flapping its wings can cause a storm thousands of miles away. Even if I stop the Golden Land, innocent people will still suffer. Maybe more, maybe fewer, who can say for sure. And those people shouldn't have died. If the tragedy of the Golden Land were to happen right before my eyes, I might be tempted to intervene, but this matter is far away... My choice is to close my eyes."

Fern listened quietly, his fingers unconsciously tracing circles on the side of the glass.

"Moreover," Lowell continued, his tone flat and even a little languid, "Who am I? A former Demon King. Not a hero, much less a guardian deity. If I had appeared in Weise back then and attacked Macht —at the moment before the Goldification, Macht was still the 'Lord Macht,' revered by everyone in Weise —I might have been seen as an enemy of Weise, and everyone might have wanted to kill me."

He twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing an expression that could hardly be called a smile.

"I have no obligation to save them. That's one point."

Fern raised his eyes.

"So, what's the second point?"

Lowell didn't reply immediately. He reached out and poked at a dying piece of firewood in the fireplace with the fire poker; a few sparks popped and then quickly died out.

"Secondly... if I were to forcibly erase the 'cause' of the Golden Land by virtue of 'Future Prediction,' then what about the 'effect' that would be altered as a result, and those who might not even appear...?"

"Duncan might not have become the Duncan I admire today." Lowell's voice lowered, becoming more somber. "The history of the Continental Magic Association's struggle against the Demons, the vigilance and growth of First-Class Mages... might have been very different. Some pain is the chisel that sculpts the soul. Some loss is the kindling that illuminates the path for those who come after, Burning itself out of necessity."

"Like those mages who fought against Macht, although they eventually failed to break the magic of Diagoldze, their understanding of the related curses improved by leaps and bounds. Because of this, many people were saved. If I eliminate Macht, what will happen to these people who could have been saved?"

He paused, his eyes fixed on the firelight, but his focus seemed to be on something further away.

"You'll understand this principle as you live longer and see more of the world."

"So, yes. I 'saw' some of those moments. But I chose to just 'see' them and not 'intervene'."

He gave a faint smile, his eyes devoid of warmth.

"It's selfish, it's cold-hearted, isn't it? But that's who I am. In the beginning, I saved Frieren because, at that moment, I wanted to do it, I could do it, and it wouldn't cause any bigger problems that I couldn't control."

"But Golden Land... its ripples are too great. So great that I dare not easily throw stones into that water."

The room fell silent.

The only sounds were the faint hissing of the Burning wood in the fireplace and the soft hum of the flames licking the air.

Fern lowered her head, looking at the shimmering water in her glass. The firelight flickered in her eyes.

"You heard what Duncan said earlier, right?"

"Mmm," Fern responded softly.

"Duncan is a mage with a military background. Before that, his parents were killed by Demons, and his grandfather died in a political struggle... He was an orphan. He was only a distant relative of Gluck."

Lowell's voice was flat, like he was reading a dry report.

"His master is Macht. He learned magic from Macht in pursuit of power. Lektüre is his lover, but Duncan... isn't very good at expressing his feelings. He only knows that his parents were killed by Demons, so he must become stronger, kill Demons, and protect humanity. He only knows that he must climb to the top at all costs, using every means to reach that highest position, so that his family will no longer be affected by political struggles—after all, Lektüre's father, Gluck, was a nobleman who fell from grace in political struggles and was banished to Weise. He wants Lektüre to be happy."

"But... some things can only be understood through time, regret, and redemption. Only when something is lost, missed, and can never be regained will people truly understand its weight."

Fern looked up at him.

"He hasn't been home in a long time, all in his climb up the ladder," Lowell said. "If you don't even have a home, if you're no longer alive, no matter how strong you are, no matter how high you stand, who are you showing off to? What's the point? Duncan is in his seventies or eighties now. He's climbed to the high position of Court Mage, a Level First-Class Mage, second only to the Emperor in the Empire..."

He shook his head.

"But there was no one waiting for him at home anymore; he had no home."

Fern pursed his lips slightly.

"Do you remember how he served food to Laufen and Rabiñe?" Lowell asked. "He acted like a grandfather doting on his granddaughter."

Fern nodded.

"Men... no, people always have to love something. A lover, or a child. Like me," he turned to look at Frieren was sitting on the low cabinet.

Frieren was also looking at him. Her emerald eyes were clear and calm in the firelight. When she saw him looking at her, the corners of her mouth curved upwards, her silver hair slid to one side, and she quietly looked back at him.

Lowell turned back and continued speaking to Fern.

"I love Frieren. It's that simple."

"Duncan, you could say he has everything, or you could say he has nothing. If I had stopped Golden Land and let Lektüre live... what would have happened to Duncan? He would have just kept climbing. Maybe one night he'd come to his senses and remember he should go home."

"What I admire is Duncan right now. It's Duncan who, knowing he was facing certain death, still turned back to challenge the strongest of the Seven Sages of Destruction. It's Duncan who, after going around in circles, finally just wanted to go home and see his Duncan."