New Life and Foresight

The night was black as ink, gently swallowing the outlines of the ruined village. Only the window of the fairly intact stone house where they were resting showed a flicker of firelight, like the last beating heart in this deathly silent land.

Inside, firewood crackled in the hearth, driving away the chill of the night but not the heaviness that hung in the air.

The girl named Lupa curled up in the corner closest to the fire, wrapped in the thick blanket Lowell had given her. Her distinctive crimson twin tails hung limply, their usual luster gone.

Her mismatched eyes reflected the dancing flames. They were hollow and weary, but the despair that had burst its banks earlier had subsided a little, like a beach left in ruins after a storm, with only a deep grief that threatened to drown her. Like a little beast that had fled in terror until it was exhausted and finally found a temporary den, she still trembled occasionally with uncontrollable sobs.

Frieren sat quietly on a straw mat across from her, nibbling at a piece of hard bread—one of the few edible things they had found in the ruins. She ate as attentively as ever, but much more slowly than usual. From time to time, her green eyes lifted to dart toward Lupa, then quickly dropped again as she resumed her struggle with the bread, leaving her thoughts impossible to guess.

Lowell poked the fire, making the flames burn brighter. Outside, Himmel and Eisen were tending to the bodies of the villagers who had perished, while Heiter offered simple prayers for them. Ruby sat beside Frieren, wanting to say something, but after looking at Lupa and taking in the atmosphere, she ultimately only fidgeted with the hem of her mage's robe.

The silence lasted a long time, broken only by the crackling firewood and the faint sounds of Himmel and Eisen working outside.

At last, a hoarse voice came from beneath the blanket, carrying a resolve at odds with her age, as though she had cut off every path of retreat:

"Mr. Lowell... you're strong, aren't you?"

Lowell's hand paused over the fire, and he looked up at her, firelight dancing in his deep eyes. He rubbed his nose, his tone as lazy as ever, with a trace of evasion that was hard to notice. "Uh... I guess so. I can just about handle a little trouble."

"I want to follow you." Lupa looked straight at him, a stubborn light burning in her mismatched gold and red eyes. "Learn to fight. Get stronger. And then... take revenge."

Her voice was quiet, but every word was clear, cold and hard as tempered steel.

Lowell fell silent for a moment, his gaze instinctively sweeping across the room.

His eyes first passed over Mina and Linié, who were as quiet as dolls—the two demons sat side by side in the shadows, as though they had become one with the darkness. Then his gaze fell on Frieren, who was earnestly gnawing on her bread and looked hardly any older than Lupa. This elf, whose actual age was in the four digits, was, now as always, a silver-haired little bundle far more interested in food than conversation: an adorable old lady on paper, a little brat in practice.

Lowell sighed softly and rubbed his brow. In a low voice, half self-mocking and half helpless, he said, "Feels like my place... is about to turn into a kindergarten."

Though he spoke softly, his voice was clear enough in the quiet room.

Frieren, who was struggling with the last bit of hard crust, stopped when she heard him.

She raised her head and looked squarely at Lowell with perfectly calm green eyes, then punctured his remark in a flat voice. "You're the one who chose to pick them up."

After a pause, as though she had suddenly remembered something, she added with a hint of genuine curiosity, "Speaking of which, that Aura—you actually could have kept her there, couldn't you? Why did you let her go?"

At those words, the air in the room seemed to freeze for an instant. Himmel, who had returned after laying the villagers' bodies to rest, slowed as he wiped his sword, and Heiter turned his gaze from the fire to look questioningly at Lowell. Even Ruby pricked up her ears.

Lowell seemed not to have expected Frieren to bring that up so suddenly. He stared for a moment, then laughed and shook his head. "Haha... Frieren, next time you tell a truth like that, remember to keep your voice down. Don't just say it out loud."

He picked up a twig and poked the fire, sending sparks crackling. "Aura... the path she took may be extreme, but it was her own choice. I don't want to forcefully cut it short. Maybe... at the end of that path, there's a future of her own waiting for her."

Frieren blinked in understanding. "Were you using that 'seeing the future' of yours again?" She seemed accustomed to Lowell's occasional remarks about "possibilities."

But to the others, those words were no small matter.

"Oh?" Clear interest appeared on Heiter's previously rather somber face. He sat up straight and looked at Lowell. "Lowell, you... can see the future? That's an extraordinary ability!" The priest's voice was filled with surprise and curiosity.

Hearing the subject, Himmel raised a blue eyebrow slightly. Eisen silently walked over to the wall and folded his arms. His bronze face was expressionless, but he was clearly listening too. Beside them, Ruby's eyes shone, a flash of curiosity in them.

With so many eyes on him, Lowell gave a slightly awkward laugh and raised a hand dismissively. "Uh... a little, just the basics. Compared to the Hero of the South's 'future sight,' which could see through fate, or the omniscient Scharlach, I'm nowhere close. It's more like... hmm, something like Serie's prophetic dreams. I can see fragments of possible futures, but each is only one branch among countless futures, not a prediction that's guaranteed to come true."

He tried to brush it off, but Heiter clearly had no intention of dropping such an interesting subject. The priest leaned forward, his expression growing a little more serious, though the curiosity in his eyes did not diminish in the least.

"Oh, even so, that's impressive! I wonder, Lowell, among those 'possibilities' you saw, did you see whether we... succeeded in defeating the Demon King?"

The question made the air in the room freeze at once. Ruby held her breath, and Lupa instinctively tightened her grip on the edge of her blanket.

Defeating the Demon King. It was the ultimate goal of Himmel's party on their journey, and the heaviest, most uncertain burden weighing on everyone's hearts.

Just then, Himmel spoke first. His voice was gentle but firm as it broke the silence:

"Heiter, that question isn't important, is it?"

Heiter turned to him and said seriously, "Of course it is. Ever since demons appeared in human history and went to war with us, the Demon King has reigned at the pinnacle of demonkind for over a thousand years. Countless world-renowned heroes have challenged him, but not one succeeded. They all fell."

Eisen nodded silently, then spoke in a low voice. "True. A great feat that even the Hero of the South couldn't accomplish... the road ahead is difficult."

Meeting Heiter's gaze, Himmel gently slid his sword into its sheath with a crisp click.

Lowell smiled, his tone light. "Himmel, do you want to know?"

Himmel met his gaze, his handsome face showing his characteristic smile, a blend of idealism and clear-eyed resolve. With hardly any hesitation, he shook his head, his voice clear and calm.

"Of course not."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over every companion present before settling on Lowell again. "Even if we knew the answer, what would that change? If the future we saw told us that this journey was doomed to fail and the Demon King was invincible, would we give up and turn around and go home?"

He shook his head gently, a carefree smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"We wouldn't, would we? Whatever the outcome, whether success or failure, life or death lies ahead, we'll keep going and challenge him. Because this is the path we've chosen, what we, the 'hero's party,' must carry through. The answer the future holds should be written with our swords, our magic, and our will, not glimpsed in a prophecy."

He did not speak passionately, yet his words carried an unquestionable force, as though he were stating the most natural truth in the world.

Heiter stared for a moment, then his face softened into an understanding smile. He nodded gently. "That's true. You're right, Himmel. We'll find out what the future holds as we go. That does sound like something you'd say."

Eisen nodded silently. Ruby looked at Himmel with admiration filling her eyes. Frieren's pointed ears twitched almost imperceptibly.

Yet the discussion of conviction and the future made Lupa anxious. She saw that the conversation had gone off course, and her own request still seemed to have received no clear answer. Lowell's earlier joke about a "kindergarten" in particular made her heart tighten. She did not want to be treated as a fragile child in need of comforting, or as dead weight.

She raised her head, her mismatched eyes full of grief yet burning stubbornly as she looked straight at Lowell. Her voice trembled slightly with emotion, but her renewed plea was exceptionally clear.

"Mr. Lowell! I won't be a burden! I've lost my home and my family. More than anyone, I understand the need for strength and its cost! Please teach me to fight! I want the strength to kill my enemies with my own hands and protect others! Please take me as your disciple! I won't treat myself like a child who needs looking after!"

Her voice echoed through the quiet night, carrying the resolve and determination of someone staking everything on a single chance.

Everyone's attention turned to her once more. In the firelight, the girl's slender body trembled slightly with emotion, but her back remained straight, like a new shoot tenaciously pushing its way out of the ruins—fragile, yet full of a vitality that could not be ignored.