Stark Joins the Party

"You! You actually defeated the Red Mirror Dragon!"

A shocked voice rang out from the distant village.

A moment later, a red-haired boy in a red jacket, looking rather like a tomato, darted out of an alley.

In the blink of an eye, he was standing before the three of them.

"Strictly speaking, it wasn't us! Dugu Qing defeated the Red Mirror Dragon all by himself, in a single strike!"

Fern held up a finger, a hint of pride in her eyes. She was even happier than if she had defeated the Red Mirror Dragon herself.

Stark looked up and saw Dugu Qing's tall, slender figure standing atop the Dragon's Nest. Upright and handsome, he bore an elegant composure in his expression. He was the very picture of a great master, neither arrogant in victory nor discouraged in defeat.

And what about Stark himself? He had spent three years in this village, scared witless by the Red Mirror Dragon's massive body. He hadn't even had the courage to fight it. All he did day after day was split mountains, living off others while waiting to die. He had eaten a kind family's entire supply of flour and deceived the villagers, pretending to be a hero. He was utterly useless...

The contrast between the two was as stark as the difference between heaven and hell, shocking to behold.

"Sigh!"

The realization dealt Stark a blow. He lowered his head and stared at the ground, his eyes full of dejection.

Frieren finished packing the treasures and looked at Stark. Red hair, red clothes. Good, he matched Eisen's description.

In that case, he had to be Stark, the apprentice Eisen had beaten and driven away!

"Hey, you're Eisen's apprentice, Stark, aren't you?"

"Yeah!"

Statues of Frieren, like those of Himmel, could be found almost everywhere.

Stark had recognized Frieren the moment they met. She was the mage from the adventuring party his master had once followed, the renowned elf Frieren.

He nodded dejectedly, unable to understand why Frieren was here.

"Stark, why are you here?"

"Because I'm protecting the village! I've been here for three years!"

"Three years? Then why didn't you find a way to defeat the Red Mirror Dragon?"

Fern rested her chin on her hand and looked at Stark curiously.

"Uh..."

Stark was momentarily taken aback. For the past three years, the villagers in the area had all thought he was the one who had driven the dragon away, but he knew he hadn't.

He had hidden the truth for three years and enjoyed a hero's treatment all that time.

Now, looking at the legendary Frieren, he decided to stop pretending.

He couldn't keep carrying the burden of a lie. He would be a simple, honest mortal.

He had lied, and he had been afraid! So what?

"Defeat the Red Mirror Dragon? How could I? Its scales are harder than iron! Its claws are thicker than my legs! How could anyone defeat it?"

Stark erupted, roaring in despair.

"Oh! So he's a coward!"

Fern turned toward the forest beside them and passed judgment on Stark in a very quiet voice.

Eisen had already told Frieren about Stark's circumstances.

"This child was born in the Warrior's Village. When demons attacked, he escaped alone. He's a bit of a coward..."

Hearing Stark's words, Dugu Qing jumped down from the Dragon's Nest, puzzled.

"But I did defeat the Red Mirror Dragon!"

Stark looked at Dugu Qing and let out a heavy breath.

"Of course you're different! You're so handsome, and your sword is so sharp. How can you compare yourself to me? I've been useless since I was little..."

"Why do you say that?"

Dugu Qing stepped forward and looked down at Stark.

Stark thought of his dead father and his gifted yet gentle older brother, a bitter look at the corners of his mouth.

"There's no particular reason! Compared to the heroes and heroes of old, aren't I just useless? When demons attacked my hometown, I abandoned my family and ran away alone..."

"Have you heard of Liu Bang?"

Seeing how full of self-reproach Stark was, Dugu Qing couldn't help thinking of Liu Bang.

Liu Bang was the classic example of a late bloomer and the founder of the Han Dynasty. Yet when faced with a desperate situation, he had kicked his own son off his carriage...

Afterward, he ate when it was time to eat, drank when it was time to drink, took consorts when it was time to take consorts, and went down in history when it was time to go down in history... He didn't torment himself over it!

"Liu Bang? Who's that? Never heard of him."

"Oh! Then never mind. In any case, you were right to run away back then. Only by staying alive can you avenge them, remember them, and extend the lives that have already ended, right?"

Dugu Qing did his best to comfort Stark.

Stark understood the reasoning; he just couldn't face reality. He nodded halfheartedly and sat down on a nearby rock.

He looked rather pathetic.

"Hey, Stark, join our adventuring party!"

Eisen had asked Frieren to take Stark out to see the world, and Frieren also wanted to take him along to gain some experience, so she invited him.

"That's a little too direct!"

Stark had just exposed his own shortcomings in front of everyone, and his expression was still somewhat gloomy.

In truth, Stark very much wanted to join when Frieren invited him.

After putting up a little resistance, he agreed.

"All right, from now on, our party has a hero, a vanguard, an elf, and humans. It finally looks a little like a proper team."

Frieren looked into the distance, growing more and more eager for the journey.

"Am I the hero? I'd rather be a monk."

The sun sank behind the western mountains, filling the sky with rosy light. Dugu Qing walked toward the village, his tall, exquisitely beautiful figure shining in the red glow.

Fern followed Dugu Qing, and her expression changed slightly when she heard him.

The Dugu in Dugu Qing's name was already a silent declaration that he would remain single, and now he was saying he wanted to be a monk.

Oh, heavens!

Was Dugu Qing destined to stay single his whole life?

No!

The next day, after resting in the village for the night and accepting the villagers' farewell, the four continued north.

The Central Countries, Riegel Canyon, Fortress City of Vall.

Dugu Qing, Frieren, Fern, and Stark crossed the city and arrived at the North Gate.

The captain of the guards, clad in armor, stood coldly at the entrance and rejected Frieren's suggestion that he open the gate.

"Because monsters have been very active in the northern countries, no one is allowed through the gate at present."

Fern stared at the tall captain.

"How long will we have to wait before we can pass?"

The captain kept a stern, unsmiling face. "Who knows? At least since I took up my post, not a single monster or human has passed through."

They turned back from the North Gate.

Frieren's attitude changed drastically, and she quickly adapted to the fact that they couldn't travel north for the time being.

She took her Grimoires out of her suitcase, intending to read through them all in one go to resolve the questions she had accumulated.

Fern and Stark were both young and couldn't accept being stuck in one place. They tried every way they could to learn of a route north.

Flying, taking a boat, bribery... They racked their brains.

While staying in the city, Dugu Qing directed Cleansing Magic at the sweat glands in his feet, and thus a spell to keep his feet clean was born.

But Dugu Qing wasn't satisfied. It suddenly occurred to him that walking would get his feet dusty, so he might as well invent a spell that would let him float in the air against gravity.

That way, he could drift along five centimeters above the ground and wouldn't even need to walk.

"Dugu Qing, Lady Frieren!"

Seeing Dugu Qing absorbed in magical research and Frieren absorbed in reading,

the youthful, romantic Fern and the energetic Stark simply couldn't stand such a quiet life.

"What is it?"

Frieren stopped walking, holding her book up.

Dugu Qing stopped too and looked at Fern in puzzlement.

"We've been asking around these past few days, and it's very possible that gate won't open for years!"

Fern looked earnestly at Dugu Qing and Frieren.

She hoped the resourceful Dugu Qing and the well-traveled Frieren would come up with a solution.