Night Talk

Fern walked along the road, carrying a water pouch in her hand.

"Really..." she murmured, glancing at Frieren, who was walking ahead, with her pale purple eyes. "Lady Frieren actually chose such an unlucky pot as payment."

Ruby, walking beside her, chuckled twice upon hearing this.

"What does it matter?" she mumbled, chewing the last bit of snack in her mouth. "Anyway, Frieren's taste has always been extraordinary..."

Fern turned to look at her.

"Hmm..." She paused, her voice steady, "Next time, while you're sleeping, I'll secretly put it next to your pillow, Ruby."

Ruby stopped chewing.

She slowly swallowed her food, turned her head, and her emerald eyes curved into a sly smile.

"Hehehe... Little Fern, aren't you afraid of my revenge?"

She held up one finger and waved it in front of Fern.

"I have magic that can make people gain weight quickly, you know. Just a touch..."

Fern's expression froze.

She stared at Ruby's finger, her pale purple eyes widening slightly.

"...!"

She took half a step back.

"That's despicable, Ruby." Her voice was a little faster than before, "That's a forbidden move!"

Hehehe...

Ruby proudly raised her chin, her fiery red curls gleaming in the setting sun.

Methode walked over from the side, looking at Ruby with that gentle smile on her face.

"Ruby..."

Ruby away.

"Kindness?"

May I pat your head?

The air went still for a moment.

Ruby covered her head, took two steps back, her turquoise eyes widened, and her face was full of vigilance.

"Yes... Oh? No!"

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

"How dare you Ruby Lord Ruby's head! What are your intentions!"

Methode's smile deepened, even taking on a dreamy, ecstatic quality.

"Because you're just so adorable..." she whispered, her voice brimming with undisguised delight, "The way you were bickering with Miss Fern just now, and your smug expression... it was all so cute that I couldn't help but want to cherish you."

Ruby her grip on her head a little.

She blinked, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up slightly, but she quickly suppressed it.

"Hehehe... Since you put it that way, there's nothing I can do..."

She lowered her hand, straightened her small chest, and tried her best to make a gesture of "reluctant permission".

"You're only allowed to touch it for a little while!"

Methode stepped forward, put her arms around Ruby, and gently placed her hands on Ruby red curls, stroking them softly. The movements were slow and gentle, as if she were handling a fragile treasure.

Ruby squinted her eyes and made a satisfied gurgling sound in her throat.

Fern watched from the side, remaining silent for two seconds.

"... You're too easily satisfied," she whispered.

She looked away and gazed at Frieren was walking ahead of her.

"Speaking of which, Lady Frieren," Fern quickened his pace and walked to Frieren's side, "You said the Empire is safe, but the previous Golem could be considered an accident, this one must be a monster, right?"

Frieren was looking down at the map in her hand when she heard this, so she looked up.

"Yes, indeed." She rolled up the map and tucked it back into her robe. "Theoretically, it should be very safe, but perhaps things are different here now than when I last came."

She tilted her head, her silver hair swaying down to her shoulder.

"After all, that was eighty years ago."

Fern gave a soft "hmm".

"Hmm... if that's the case, eighty years is enough for a country to go from prosperity to decline." She raised her head, gazing at the setting sun gradually sinking behind the mountains in the distance. "Has the empire declined?"

"Probably not, Fern," Frieren's voice came from the side, calm as ever. "You still haven't read the history book I gave you."

Fern turned his face back.

"I can read it, Lady Frieren."

Frieren glanced at her.

"Fine, I'll tell you now."

She slowed her pace and walked side by side with Fern.

"Fern, the Empire has a history of over a thousand years. They are descendants of a great empire that once unified the entire continent. They possess advanced magical technology and are the greatest magical civilization on this continent."

"A hundred years ago, the battle between humanity and the Demon King's Army was extremely fierce, and the empire was completely surrounded within the territory of the Demons, isolated from human society."

She raised her hand and pointed to the faint outline of an even more majestic mountain range that appeared at the end of the road ahead.

"I remember people saying back then, 'The empire stands tall within a lion.' It didn't perish because of this; instead, it shifted from defense to offense and gradually reclaimed the lands occupied by the Demons."

Fern listened quietly, her pale purple eyes reflecting the last rays of sunlight.

"Wow, that's amazing," she said softly.

Lowell came up from behind, his hands in his pockets.

"It's alright," he replied casually. "Actually, on one hand, the Hero of the South killed three Seven Sages of Destruction and Scharlach. Two of the Seven Sages of Destruction were in charge of the Empire's territory. On the other hand, the Empire's general at the time, the dwarf Ransen, was a warrior whose strength was comparable to Eisen. He even managed to escape from the 'Bloodstained War God' Rivale. The average quality of the Demon King's Army at that time was comparable to that of First-Class Mage, yet he still managed to rampage through them... Dwarves' physical talents are truly amazing."

Fern turned his head.

"Hmm... wait, there's a monster."

Her voice was calm.

From the woods on both sides of the road came the soft rustling of leaves. The shadows flickered.

Ruby kept her eyes closed, enjoying Methode's pat on the head, and didn't get up.

"Fern's magical perception is quite strong now..." she commented vaguely.

Five or six monsters emerged from the woods.

It resembled Saber-toothed Tiger in appearance, but was much larger, with its shoulder height exceeding the waist of an adult male. It was covered in dark blue scales, and had a pair of sharp, backward-curving horns on its head. Its amber eyes gleamed coldly in the darkening sky as it stared at the group of people in the road.

Fern's gaze swept over them, and he made a mental assessment.

"These monsters seem very strong..." she murmured, her hand resting on the staff at her waist. "I might not be able to handle them..."

Ruby finally opened her eyes and glanced at them.

"Yes, they were indeed very strong." She nodded, a hint of nostalgia in her voice. "It took us quite a bit of effort to deal with them back then..."

She turned her head and looked at Himmel.

"Himmel?"

Himmel stood slightly forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Hearing this, he smiled.

"Really."

The moment the words left his mouth.

His figure disappeared from the spot.

The next instant, he appeared among the demons.

The sword flashed.

Not just one, but several, dozens, even hundreds of arcs of cool, silvery-white light burst forth at the same moment, weaving together into a dense net of light that enveloped the demons.

The optical network existed for only a fleeting moment.

It then disappeared.

Himmel reappeared in the same spot, still in the posture of sheathing her sword. The blade slid back into its sheath with a soft "click".

The monsters stood frozen in place.

Then, countless fine, shimmering cracks appeared on their bodies. The cracks spread, intersected, and finally shattered. The monsters' bodies turned into countless points of light, rising and dissipating into the deepening twilight.

From the moment the attack began to the moment it ended, it took less than a single breath.

Fern stared at the fading light. "..."

Lowell raised his hand and clapped it.

"Applause for the brave!"

Himmel turned around, tossed her hair with her hand, and flashed her signature bright, slightly narcissistic smile.

"As expected, I still look handsome today."

He straightened his chest.

"I will name this move 'A Thousand Strikes in an Instant, Ultimate Technique: The Hero's Sword of Judgment'!"

He had barely finished speaking.

The sound of horses' hooves and the clanging of armor came from the other side of the road.

A dozen or so knights emerged from the woods on horseback. They wore uniform imperial light armor, their cloaks billowing as they rode. The captain at the head reined in his horse, his gaze sweeping over the last wisps of magical dust fading from the ground before settling on the group of people in the road.

He dismounted, walked closer, and bowed with his right hand on his chest.

"How many of you killed these monsters?" His voice was steady, with the crispness of a soldier. "We came here to exterminate them."

Himmel dropped her smug expression and nodded.

"Then your mission is complete."

The knight captain saluted again.

"Thank you all for your assistance. I am the patrol captain stationed in this area. These Sword-Horned Tigers have recently attacked several villages, and we tracked them down here."

He glanced at the sky.

"It's getting late. If you don't mind, you can come with us back to the village ahead to rest. The village is simple, but it's enough for the night."

Himmel looked at Lowell.

Lowell shrugged.

"Okay."

A bonfire was burning in the open space in the center of the village.

The blonde girl ran out of the house, carrying the ornately decorated pot. She walked up to Frieren, her expression more natural than in the afternoon, but still maintaining a certain air of authority.

"Alright, thank you very much." She handed over the pot, her voice clear and crisp. "This legendary magical artifact is yours now, great elven mage. I sincerely thank you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Frieren's attention had already shifted away from her.

The elven mage turned his face, his emerald green eyes gazing at a stone statue standing on the other side of the open space.

"Hey, what's this statue?"

The girl followed her gaze.

"Ah, that's a statue of the Great Mage Flamme," she said. "The villagers say that with it, the great mages are more willing to stop and help when they pass by..."

Her voice trailed off.

Frieren had already walked towards the statue.

Several people followed behind her.

The statue stands on a stone pedestal, about two meters tall. It depicts a male mage dressed in a magnificent mage's robe and holding a staff. His face is dignified, his brows are furrowed, and his gaze is solemn as he stares into the distance. His robe is covered with intricate magical runes, and a large gem is set at the top of his staff.

The overall atmosphere is dignified and solemn.

There seems to be no connection between this and the image that the name "Flamme" should represent.

Ruby walked up to the statue, looked up at it, and curled her lips downwards.

"... Tsk, Flamme's turned into an old man."

Fern stood beside her, his pale purple eyes calmly scanning every detail of the statue.

"It's really hard to accept," she said softly.

Frieren, however, looked up, watching intently. Her emerald eyes reflected the flickering light of the campfire, and a small, amused smile curved her lips upward.

"It's quite interesting..." she said.

It's late at night.

The campfire Burning quietly in the center of the open space, occasionally crackling and bursting into sparks.

The group rested around the fire. Lowell leaned against a tree, eyes closed. Himmel and Ruby lay asleep on a spread-out blanket. Methode and Liletta sat in the shadows a little further away, whispering to each other.

Fern sat by the fire, holding a history book in his hand, slowly turning the pages by the firelight.

Frieren lay on the blanket beside her, covered with a thin quilt. She lay on her side, with the dark brown, ornately decorated pot beside her pillow. From the spout, an ominous wisp of black smoke flowed and swirled slowly in the night.

She was fast asleep, her long, silvery-white hair spread out on the blanket, rising and falling gently with her breathing.

Then, she smacked her lips, and a mumbled, incoherent murmur escaped her throat.

"I don't want to eat onions..."

"It's so dark... Help... It's so scary..."

Fern looked up from the book and glanced at her.

The light from the campfire danced in her pale purple eyes.

She closed the book and sighed softly. The sigh was short and quickly dissipated in the night breeze.

Then she reached out and tucked a few strands of silver hair that had slipped down Frieren's cheek behind her ear, and pulled the corner of the blanket up a little.

The movements were very gentle.

After doing all that, she picked up the book again and, by the firelight, continued reading.

The night was still.

The only sounds were the faint hiss of the Burning campfire and the occasional cry of an unknown night bird in the distance.