The Dinner Table

The table was laden with food.

The rich, simmering broth steamed, the roast chicken had a golden-brown, crispy skin, and various seasonal vegetables were stir-fried or served cold, their colors vibrant. The main course consisted of a tall stack of white bread and a large bowl of mashed potatoes.

Ruby was engrossed in devouring a chicken leg, her cheeks bulging, with some sauce on the corner of her mouth. She took a big bite, chewing hard, as if she wanted to swallow all the frustration of being forced to run away earlier.

Fern and Frieren were also busy.

Fern scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes, put it in his mouth, and savored it. His movements were refined, but his speed was not slow. Frieren, on the other hand, focused on the plate of braised fish, using her chopsticks skillfully to pick out the tender, boneless meat from the belly of the fish, her eyes slightly narrowed as she ate.

Ruby swallowed the meat in her mouth, then gulped down a large mouthful of juice, letting out a satisfied sigh. She turned her head to look at Fern beside her, her eyes curving into crescents with a hint of mischief.

"Fern, the 'Never Gain Weight' magic works pretty well, doesn't it?"

Fern was picking up a piece of green salad with his chopsticks when he heard this, and nodded.

"Yes," she looked at Ruby and smiled, "It's really convenient. I don't have to worry about gaining weight from eating too many sweets."

She seemed to recall what had just happened and looked up at Frieren.

"Speaking of which, those people just now..."

She looked at Frieren, expecting the latter to respond, but after two seconds, she heard nothing.

Frieren picked up a piece of roasted meat, carefully blew on it, and put it in her mouth. Her cheeks puffed out slightly as she chewed slowly, her emerald eyes half-closed in satisfaction, completely immersed in the delicious food.

Fern blinked, didn't ask any further questions, and continued eating his mashed potatoes.

Lowell sat next to Frieren, slowly breaking off a piece of bread. He smiled at Fern's hesitant expression and picked up the conversation.

"Let me speak."

He took a bite of bread, chewed it a few times, swallowed it, and then continued speaking.

"The people of this empire practically worship Himmel. The further north you go, the stronger their faith in him becomes. Here, Himmel has been deified into a fictional hero, almost unrecognizable from his original form."

Fern raised his eyes, his pale purple pupils gazing at Himmel across the table.

"In that case..."

Himmel was stirring her soup with a spoon when she heard this. She looked up and her usual bright smile appeared on her face.

"I'm fine."

He waved his hand.

"I was just joking before. After all, a statue can't really capture my handsomeness!"

As he spoke, he straightened his chest, but the subtle helplessness in his eyes—the frustration at the ugliness of his own statue—was not entirely hidden.

Ruby nodded vigorously, her voice slightly muffled as she hadn't finished swallowing the food in her mouth.

"That's right! Himmel is the most handsome!"

She suddenly remembered something, her brows furrowed, the corners of her mouth turned down, her emerald eyes instantly filled with mist, and her voice became tearful.

"And who was that woman just now...? Why did she ask me who I was...? Waaah..."

She put down her chopsticks and wiped away non-existent tears with the back of her hand.

"Am I superfluous...? So Himmel loved more than just me...?"

Himmel smiled and reached out to ruffle her fiery red curls with a natural gesture.

"Okay, Ruby."

He pointed to the grilled fish that had just been served in the center of the table, still sizzling with oil.

"Your favorite braised fish is here!"

Ruby's tears vanished instantly. Her eyes lit up, and she grabbed her chopsticks, heading straight for the fattest, most succulent piece of fish.

Oh~!

Frieren finally finished the enormous piece of roast meat and took a sip of juice to smooth her mouth. She put down her spoon, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and turned her emerald green eyes to Fern.

"That's not such a bad thing after all."

She picked up a piece of bread and broke off a small piece.

"This proves that they truly loved Himmel and were very grateful to him, which is why they raised funds to build such a magnificent statue."

She took a bite of bread and spoke as she chewed.

"Although he himself isn't really interested in such fancy things... Hmm... Surprisingly, the bread here is quite delicious..."

She swallowed the bread and looked at Himmel.

"Speaking of which, Himmel, how did you get here?"

Himmel was picking fish bones Ruby's bones when she heard this, and paused, looking a little surprised.

"Oh? So Lowell didn't tell you?"

He looked up at Lowell.

"He's the one who sent me to the Empire. He wants me to be in the Royal Capital of Empire Eisberg by June this year, so Ruby and I just happened to be passing through here."

Frieren turned her face, her emerald green eyes looking at Lowell.

"Kindness?"

Lowell, who was picking up a piece of roast meat, nodded naturally upon hearing this.

"Yes, I sent him."

He put the vegetables in his mouth and chewed them a few times.

"After all, I prefer to play it safe. I'll bring in all the available combat forces."

He put down his chopsticks, picked up his cup, and took a sip of water.

"The predetermined future is in chaos, so I don't know who the enemy is."

Frieren slightly.

"An enemy? Is he stronger than you?"

"How is that possible?"

Lowell chuckled, his tone casual, but the certainty in his words left no room for doubt.

"Unless Goddess appears, I'm invincible. It wouldn't matter to me personally, but Serie is the one in trouble."

Frieren was silent for two seconds.

"... I remember in the last match, you were the one who got beaten by her, weren't you?"

Lowell's expression froze for a moment, then he coughed twice and scratched his hair.

"Cough cough... it's not that I didn't want to fight."

He picked up his chopsticks again and poked at the potatoes in the bowl.

"In short, in the future I see, Serie is in danger. Who knows, it's always good to bring Himmel along."

He seemed to remember something and looked at Himmel.

"By the way, where's your apprentice Levi?"

Himmel had already placed the deboned fish meat into Ruby's bowl and answered upon hearing this.

"I didn't take him with me. He's on the northern front with Wirbel, and he's been doing quite well lately."

Lowell said "Oh" and nodded.

"Alright. Actually, I also called Lupa and Linié. Judging by the time, they should be arriving in the Royal Capital..."

Ruby was happily eating her fish when she heard this. She looked up, her cheeks still bulging. She swallowed with difficulty before speaking, her voice full of disbelief.

"Is it really that serious...? How could Master Serie possibly be in trouble? Impossible, absolutely impossible."

She shook her head vigorously, her fiery red curly hair swaying with it.

"Your Future Prediction must be wrong."

Lowell reached up and touched his head.

"Haven't you heard that saying? The more people say 'it must be a broken machine,' the less likely the machine is actually broken. The Saiyans and Frieza Force have proven this law countless times. The detectors don't break."

Ruby pouted, looking incredulous.

"Tch... I don't know what it is, but anyway, I don't believe anything could happen to Master."

She turned to Frieren, her turquoise eyes wide open, filled with an expectant look for allies.

"Lady Frieren, do you believe it?"

Frieren was picking up the last piece of fish when she heard this and stopped. She thought for a moment, her emerald eyes looking at Lowell, then back at Ruby.

"Hmm... As a mage, I can't imagine myself defeating Serie. But, logically speaking, a warrior has a chance of killing Serie at close range."

"But even so, even if it were Lowell or Himmel, and it was a sneak attack, I don't think Serie would have been killed."

Ruby's face immediately broke into a big, triumphant smile, and she raised her chin at Lowell.

"See?"

Lowell looked at them, didn't argue anymore, just smiled and shook his head, then picked up a piece of chicken.

When I first joined the army, I thought my instructor was invincible because he could take on several new recruits at once, until he was easily defeated by someone with one hand.

Like this:

When I joined the army, I thought it was a miracle if a platoon leader could beat the two of us. But he said our platoon leader could easily take down two platoon leaders. When I met the platoon leader, he said the military commander could beat him up like he'd beaten two platoon leaders. Entering the camp, I saw the military commander saluting a colonel, saying the colonel could easily take down two military commanders with one hand. The colonel trembled at the mention of the lieutenant general, saying that he could beat down four colonels while drinking tea. When I finally saw the lieutenant general kneeling to greet the general, the general laughed and said, "When I was young, I could kick down three lieutenant generals by myself." But when the generals drank, they all talked about how General Gao Lan, one of the "Four Pillars of Hebei," was the real devil, who could tie up and beat three of our miscellaneous generals together when he was under Yuan Shao's command...

Later, General Gao really arrived, and his murderous aura silenced the entire area—I was trembling when suddenly a thunderous shout erupted from the other Changbanpo: "Zhao Zilong of Changshan is here!"

General Gao Lan, the great-great ... "Watch me slay generals and achieve great feats!" They charged forward on horseback.

Then I saw him and his gun arc through the air before crashing into the ground with a loud bang.

Before the smoke had even cleared, the white-robed general on the hilltop flicked his spear, splattering blood all over my face.

"With such martial arts skills, you dare to serve as a general on the battlefield?!"

The lieutenant's voice cracked from shouting, "Charge! Charge! Kill Zhao Yun!"

I looked around and found that all the big shots were hiding in the back watching us nobody.

Who?

I?

Charge forward and kill Zhao Yun?

My boss is a squad leader, his boss is a platoon leader, the platoon leader's boss is a military commander, the military commander's boss is a colonel, the colonel's boss is a lieutenant general, the lieutenant general's boss is a general—and the generals' boss, General Gao Lan, just now had his stomach pierced by Zhao Yun like a rag doll, and met his great-grandmother.

You want me to go up?

I turned and followed the crowd backward—didn't you see? General Zhang He intercepted Zhao Yun just now, barely touching the ground with the tip of his spear and that was it; now his horse's neck is almost broken! That's a smart man...

Of course, Serie is indeed strong, so this comparison might not be accurate, but Ruby was definitely overconfident in Serie. Moreover, victory or defeat sometimes depends on more than just combat strength.

"Eat, eat. The food's getting cold."