Campfire

Several campfires burned in the village clearing, driving away the chill of the night. The villagers brought out their stored food and home-brewed ale, warmly treating their benefactors. The air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat and stew, and the relief of having survived left everyone wearing an easy smile.

Ruby sat on a fallen log, nibbling on a roasted chicken leg, her mouth glistening with grease. Every so often, she stole a glance at Himmel, who sat across from her. Whenever he looked her way, she immediately turned her head, pretending to study the food in her hand, though the tips of her ears were slightly red.

Heiter took a hearty swig of ale and sighed in satisfaction. "Ah! That hits the spot! If it weren't for you all, this village would have been in real trouble." He patted Eisen's sturdy arm beside him. "Especially this little mage. She's really something! She has sixty percent as much mana as I do."

Eisen nodded gravely and tore off a large piece of bread.

"Mm. Cleaned them up nicely."

At the praise, Ruby immediately straightened her back and worked to swallow the food in her mouth. She cleared her throat, putting on a reserved air. "Hmph~ Of course! Dealing with small fry like that is easy for the great Ruby!" But the irrepressible upward curve of her lips betrayed how pleased she was with herself.

Frieren looked at Heiter. "Do priests drink too?"

Heiter laughed awkwardly. "Hahaha! This is the goddess's blessing!"

"A booze-and-meat monk, then."

Himmel smiled as he elegantly cut the steak on his plate with a dagger.

"Miss Ruby's magic truly was impressive, precise and powerful." He set down the dagger and looked at Ruby sincerely, his tone becoming a little more formal. "In fact, we're on our way to the Royal Capital to gather our strength and carry out an important mission: defeat the Demon King and put an end to the chaos and suffering on this continent."

He paused, his voice gentle but firm. "We were already looking for a trustworthy mage to join us. I wonder... would you be willing to travel with us, Miss Ruby?"

The air fell quiet for a moment. Only the campfires crackled.

Ruby froze, forgetting to eat the chicken leg in her hand. She blinked her big green eyes, surprise and shyness flashing across her face in quick succession, followed by a forced composure that said, "I have to keep up appearances." She lowered her head and gently kicked a pebble with her toe.

"Huh... defeat the Demon King?" she mumbled, her voice indistinct. "That sounds... like it might not be all that boring..."

She covertly lifted her eyes, shot Himmel a quick glance, and lowered them again. Her voice grew a little louder, with an obvious note of awkwardness. "S-since you've asked so sincerely... and the great Ruby just happens to be going to the Royal Capital to have a look anyway... well... I happen to have nothing to do, so I suppose I can make an exception and travel with you for a while! It's not like I'm doing it to help you!"

As soon as she finished, she hurriedly added, as though afraid they might change their minds, "B-but! You have to follow my magic commands on the road! And the great Ruby isn't your subordinate!"

The smile on Himmel's face deepened, the beauty mark beneath his eye especially clear in the firelight.

"Of course. It's our honor to travel alongside a mage as powerful as you." He bowed gracefully. "Welcome aboard, Miss Ruby."

Heiter burst out laughing and raised his cup. "Wonderful! A toast to our new companion!" Eisen raised his wooden cup as well, giving a solemn nod.

Ruby's face was flushed in the firelight. A little flustered, she grabbed the cup of juice beside her, clinked it haphazardly against Heiter's, and gulped down a large mouthful, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Just then, Himmel turned his gaze toward Lowell and Frieren, who sat a little farther away, eating quietly the whole time. The pair gave off a peculiar sense of detachment, as though the bustle around them had nothing to do with them.

"And you, Mr. Lowell, Miss Frieren," Himmel said, his tone still polite, "what are your plans from here? If we're headed in the same direction, perhaps we could travel together. With more of us, we can look after one another on the road."

Frieren was sipping a bowl of vegetable soup by the spoonful. At his words, she paused, but instead of answering at once, she habitually turned to look at Lowell beside her. Her gaze was calm and utterly trusting as she left the decision to him.

Everyone's eyes turned to Lowell.

Lowell had just finished eating his last piece of bread at a leisurely pace. He picked up the handkerchief beside him and wiped his hands, his movements unhurried. Then he looked up and met Himmel's gaze before glancing over the curious Ruby, as well as Heiter and Eisen.

He pondered for a moment, as though considering some trivial matter.

"The Royal Capital..." he said softly, his tone as easygoing as ever. "We are roughly headed in that direction too."

He looked at Frieren. She was looking at him as well, with no sign of objection in her eyes.

"All right, then." Lowell finally nodded, having made his decision. "Let's travel together for part of the way. It's on our way, after all."

He deliberately stressed "part of the way" and "on our way," hinting that this might not be a lasting party.

"However," he added, "we're used to our own pace, so we may be rather slow. And we might part ways somewhere later on."

Himmel nodded in understanding and did not press them. "Of course. Thank you very much. It's already a matter of fate that we can travel together for a while." He raised his cup. "Besides, our pace is quite slow too. Here's to a smooth journey ahead."

Ruby looked at Himmel, then at Frieren, and said in a low voice, "Hey, Frieren, you... you're really coming with us? Then... what about that Flower Field Magic you promised...?"

Frieren looked up at Ruby's little face, full of expectation and a little awkwardness, and blinked.

"Depends on my mood," she said flatly, then lowered her head and took a bite of the plum Lowell offered her.

The campfire crackled, its light reflected in Ruby's eager green eyes. Frieren's "depends on my mood" was like a bucket of cold water, but it only roused the little one's fighting spirit even more.

"Depends on your mood?"

Ruby immediately slid off the log and darted over to Frieren in a few steps, completely ignoring Himmel, who was elegantly wiping his dagger nearby, and Heiter, who was happily watching the show.

"Th-then what would put you in a good mood, Lady Frieren~?"

She drew out the final form of address, her voice sickeningly sweet, and tentatively grasped the corner of Frieren's sleeve with one small hand, gently tugging it back and forth. The movement was slight, but it carried a persistence that could not be ignored.

Frieren was sipping the hot tea Lowell had handed her. The tug sent ripples across the surface in her cup. She looked down at the little hand clutching her sleeve, then up at Ruby's face, which had "teach me, teach me" written all over it. Her brows drew together almost imperceptibly.

"I don't know." Her answer was brisk as she tried to pull her sleeve free.

But Ruby held on tighter. "Huh—how can you say that?" She pouted and began circling Frieren like a puppy trying to get its owner's attention. "What do you like, Lady Frieren? Tasty food? Ruby knows a place in the Royal Capital with suuuper delicious honey cake! I'll treat you when we get there! Or... or pretty magic gems? I've collected lots of sparkly stones!"

Frieren seemed tempted, but she said nothing. She merely took another sip of tea and turned her gaze to the dancing flames, as though the noise beside her had nothing to do with her.

Seeing that material temptations had failed, Ruby's eyes darted about, and she changed tactics. She stopped directly in front of Frieren, pressed her palms together, and assumed an utterly devout expression. Her voice softened too, taking on a pleading tone:

"Lady Frieren~ Please~ Just teach me a tiny bit, a tiny bit is enough! Ruby will be good and study hard! I definitely won't embarrass you! I promise!"

As she spoke, she secretly watched Frieren's expression. Seeing that she still had little reaction, Ruby turned her gaze to Lowell, who had been sitting quietly nearby, her eyes full of a suggestion: "I don't know you well, but please put in a word for me."

Lowell received the signal. He put down the book he had been leafing through and looked at Frieren, the faintest hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

Instead of speaking up for her directly, he said in a conversational tone, "Come to think of it, I believe Serie once complained that a certain little girl camped at the foot of her tower for an entire month to learn Falling Star. She burned Serie's barrier with fire magic every day and made so much noise that Serie couldn't meditate in peace."

Frieren's hand paused slightly on her teacup.

She finally looked away from the fire, first glancing at Ruby, who was snickering beside her—the little one was a little red in the face at having her "dark history" exposed, but her gaze remained as unrelenting as ever—then looking at Lowell.

For an instant, she seemed to understand what sort of feeling lay behind Serie's words, "so noisy" and "always clinging to me": a mixture of annoyance and something a little... subtle.

She sighed softly, the sound almost drowned out by the campfire. The sigh held the helplessness accumulated over a thousand years, as well as resignation toward a certain overenergetic presence that felt somehow familiar.

"So noisy."

Frieren stated it flatly, but it was no longer an outright refusal.

Ruby's eyes instantly lit up, as though stars had fallen into green pools. She keenly caught the shift in Frieren's attitude and immediately pressed her advantage. "Th-then I won't be noisy! I'll be really quiet! Lady Frieren, whenever you're in a good mood, just teach me any one spell! Just one!"

She immediately mimed zipping her mouth shut, then actually sat down obediently on the grass at Frieren's feet. Hugging her knees and tilting her little face upward, she tried hard to look as if to say, "I'm quiet and well-behaved," though the light sparkling in her big eyes betrayed her excitement.

Frieren looked down at Ruby, who had instantly "laid down her arms" yet expressed her anticipation with her whole being, and fell silent for a moment. Firelight danced across her red hair, casting alternating shadows and light over her placid face.

She said nothing, merely lifting her teacup again.

But this time, she did not immediately refuse.

Himmel watched the scene, smiled, and shook his head before continuing to wipe his longsword. Heiter leaned close to Eisen's ear and murmured something, and the corners of the dwarf warrior's mouth seemed to twitch upward slightly.

Lowell picked up his book again and turned a page. By the campfire, all that remained was the faint crackle of burning wood and Ruby's eager breathing, still clearly audible despite her efforts to suppress it.

Frieren sipped her tea, feeling the faint, careful tug on the corner of her sleeve and the burning gaze at her feet. She looked at the campfire, her gaze seeming to drift a little farther away.