Frieren's Relief

On the third day after leaving Val City.

Dugu Qing, Frieren, Fern, and Stark spent the night in a forest.

Frieren saw Himmel again in her dream. When it ended, she woke reluctant to let it go.

Fern was astonished that Frieren had actually gotten up early and gave her a generous reward.

She massaged her and patted her back, and Frieren thoroughly enjoyed it.

"This is way too much!"

Stark looked at Frieren and Fern and cried out in disbelief.

"Right, let's go catch some fish!"

After enjoying Fern's massage, Frieren suddenly wanted grilled fish. She called Dugu Qing, Fern, and Stark along to the river to catch some.

The four of them caught three exceptionally plump Pacific saury in the river without the slightest effort.

After cleaning the fish, they returned to the tents, only to find a scene of utter chaos.

Frieren's suitcase had been ransacked, its contents dumped out and rummaged through by a thief.

Grimoires, magical implements, yellowed notebooks, and worn-out souvenirs... were scattered haphazardly inside and outside the tents, a complete mess.

"Oh no! All the gold coins are gone!"

Fern checked the suitcase, her face turning deathly pale.

Most of the gold coins in the suitcase belonged to Dugu Qing. Some had been a gift from the luggage association president, and some a gift from the lord of Val City.

The rest was Fern, Frieren, and Stark's pocket money, which only amounted to a few gold coins altogether.

"That was nearly two hundred gold coins!"

Stark sat down on the ground in despair, feeling as though he had gone from a rich man to a beggar.

From now on, just to put food in his stomach, he would have to slog through jobs and earn money one copper coin at a time.

How miserable!

"Dugu Qing, most of those gold coins were yours. I'm sorry, I should have stayed behind to watch the tents."

Fern blamed herself deeply and looked at Dugu Qing guiltily.

"It's fine. All that money was given to me by others. It came on the wind and went with the wind. I don't care."

Dugu Qing remained calm and unruffled.

"It must have happened while we were catching fish. I forgot to turn on my mana detection, so I gave the thief a chance!"

Frieren recalled the fishing trip and gradually worked out when the thief had stolen the gold coins.

"What do we do now? Without money, we won't be able to buy anything good to eat anymore!"

When Stark thought of the barbecue and delicacies in the city that he could no longer eat, he felt miserable all over.

"There are trees everywhere here. Once the thief slipped away, there was no way he would leave any traces. In the end, we were careless. But the Grimoires and magical implements in the suitcase weren't taken, so it looks like the thief was an ordinary person who doesn't understand magic!"

Looking at the treasures left behind, Frieren gradually deduced that the thief was probably an ordinary person who didn't understand magic.

"Forget it. We only lost some money anyway. Let's cook!"

Stark was still weeping bitterly, but Dugu Qing put the fish on the grill as though nothing had happened.

"Dugu Qing, how come you're not sad? That was your money!"

Stark looked at Dugu Qing grilling the fish, an uncomprehending expression on his face.

Fern also looked at Dugu Qing in puzzlement.

After all, Dugu Qing was very fond of gold normally. Now that it was gone, he should have been the one most upset!

"Because the gold coins are already gone. If I make myself sick over them too, it'll be even less worthwhile."

"Even so, that was nearly two hundred gold coins!"

Stark's eyes filled with tears, and he wailed.

Dugu Qing's grilled fish was soon ready.

After eating, the four of them set out again, heading north.

Whenever they passed a village along the way, they worked to earn some spending money and buy supplies.

Occasionally, when they encountered merchants, they could also serve as guards and hitch a ride, saving themselves some walking.

Twenty-eight years after the hero Himmel's death.

The Northern Lands, Graf Granat's Domain.

There were few pedestrians on the broad avenue, and the stallholders on either side wore grave, uneasy expressions.

Throughout the city, soldiers in armor patrolled with spears in hand.

Dugu Qing, Fern, Frieren, and Stark walked down the street, baffled by the guards around them.

"Why is there no one on the road, but so many soldiers? Did something major happen?"

Fern looked at the soldiers, her eyes full of confusion.

"Maybe a noble is going out and had the streets cleared."

Dugu Qing ventured a cautious guess.

On the journey north, Stark had either been working or on his way to work, and he had finally earned some money.

Though it was nowhere near the wealth Dugu Qing had once possessed, it was enough to buy supplies.

"How about we buy supplies first?"

Stark rubbed his empty stomach and looked at Frieren.

Frieren stared ahead and spotted a horned demon emerging around a corner, surrounded by a crowd.

He wore a blue robe and a deceptive smile, his long, pale golden hair falling over his shoulders. He had a refined air.

But Frieren saw through the demon's disguise at a glance. They were beasts with human appearances who spoke human language, more savage, bloodthirsty, and cruel than wild animals.

The best way to deal with an enemy like that was to seize the initiative, strike immediately, and physically destroy him.

"Hum~"

Frieren raised her staff, powerful mana gathering at the ruby, ready to be unleashed.

Fern hadn't expected Frieren to act so suddenly and warned her worriedly,

"Ms. Frieren, we're in the middle of the street!"

"There's a demon."

Frieren looked ahead intently.

Their actions alerted the soldiers on both sides of the road.

A tall soldier sprang forward nimbly, reaching with both hands to seize Frieren's arms.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Fern froze and could only watch as the soldier closed in on Frieren.

Stark froze too.

Under the feudal hierarchy, nobles represented the social mainstream, and guards often acted as enforcers of the mainstream's will.

As Stark watched the guard attack Frieren, he couldn't muster even the slightest thought of resisting and protecting her. Instead, he felt that Frieren was in the wrong.

The soldier's hands were reaching for Frieren, and he could tackle her to the ground at any moment.

Dugu Qing couldn't stand it any longer. Moving like lightning, he appeared behind the soldier.

He reached out with one hand and chopped the soldier on the neck, knocking him unconscious.

"He attacked a soldier!"

One soldier lay on the ground.

Seeing this, the other soldiers immediately gathered into formation and aimed their spears at Dugu Qing.

"Put down your weapons and surrender with your hands up, or you'll be an enemy of this city."

Hidden behind a thick visor, the guard solemnly issued his ultimatum.

"What? Frieren is my friend! Shouldn't you be getting on your knees and apologizing for attacking my friend?"

Dugu Qing swept his gaze over them, his eyes cold as ice and filled with a hint of disdain.

His tall figure spun abruptly, and his long leg swept out fiercely, trailing a gust of wind.

He sent the surrounding soldiers flying with his kick, brushing them aside like deadwood.

"Dugu Qing, I knew I could count on you!"

Seeing Dugu Qing standing faithfully at her side, guarding her with utmost vigilance.

Frieren felt deeply gratified, and a feeling of kinship, of blood being thicker than water, arose in her heart.

The last time she had felt protected like this had been with Himmel!

Fern and Stark, on the other hand, were still young.

Faced with a sudden crisis and finding themselves on the opposite side from the soldiers, they had been completely at a loss. She feared... they would suffer a great deal for it sooner or later!

"Whoosh~"

With no one to interrupt her, Frieren's green eyes darkened, and she finally fired a powerful Mana Bullet.

The Mana Bullet tore through the air.