The Labyrinth

Just as they had agreed, once Lorenzo and Frieren had wiped out all the demon wolves, they could move straight into the room the villagers had prepared for them.

"Thank you so much, both of you. You've solved a problem that's troubled us for so long."

After dinner, the woman from earlier thanked them as she brought out some things that looked like local specialties.

"Please, you must accept these small gifts. They're a token of gratitude from our village."

"No, thank you."

Frieren rejected her offer outright without even looking. Her cold manner made her seem a little unfeeling.

Lorenzo didn't know much about social niceties himself, but he could at least read the room. The farm woman had frozen on the spot, looking as though she'd never expected this to happen.

So Lorenzo hurriedly explained:

"We agreed that our reward for killing those demon wolves would be a place to stay for a few days. It wouldn't be right to ask you for anything more."

The woman seemed relieved that someone had stepped in, but she still said hesitantly:

"These things aren't worth much. Please, take them."

This time, Frieren didn't say anything. Evidently, she knew she must have said something wrong just now. She stared straight at Lorenzo, as if trying to tell him something.

Why are you looking at me? How am I supposed to know what you mean?

But clearly, he and Frieren were nowhere near close enough to know what the other was thinking from a single glance, so they could only stare at each other.

In the end, Frieren gave in and spoke again.

"Lorenzo is right. We really shouldn't accept these things."

So she can put things nicely. As expected, her communication skills needed a push before they could improve. Lorenzo was very satisfied with Frieren's response.

"However, aside from these, do you have any items related to magic here?"

He'd been happy too soon. As expected, letting this elf, who knew nothing about social niceties and had yet to undergo Fern's long-term "training," speak freely was a rather dangerous thing to do.

She'd just turned down the local specialties they'd offered, only to immediately ask whether they had any more valuable magic items. It sounded as though she thought their gifts weren't valuable enough and was taking the opportunity to demand a more precious reward.

Put a little more uncharitably, it could even be called extortion.

Lorenzo couldn't help wondering how she'd thought to stop him from using the demon wolves' heads as proof earlier. Had the hero's party done something like that back then and actually been chased out by the villagers?

Frieren paused, apparently realizing the mistake in her wording, and hurriedly added:

"If you do, could we do a request in exchange for them?"

"Magic items..."

Fortunately, the woman didn't pay much attention to it. She also seemed to be gradually getting used to Frieren's strange way of thinking and speaking, and gave the question serious thought.

"I haven't heard of anyone in the village having magic items, but some adventurers came here a few years ago. They said there was a labyrinth not far east of the village. I don't know whether it's been explored, though."

At the word "labyrinth," Frieren's eyes lit up.

"That's all right. Just tell us where it is. Even if it's been explored, there might still be something they missed."

Though a little puzzled, the farm woman carefully told Frieren and Lorenzo the labyrinth's general location.

It was east of the village. They only had to follow the old road until they reached a pine tree that had been struck by lightning, then turn right into the valley to find the entrance. Apparently, the entrance was covered in vines and easy to miss if they didn't look closely.

"But those adventurers didn't seem to come back afterward, and I don't know what it's actually like in there..."

The woman's face showed some concern as she said this.

"If you two are planning to go, please be very careful."

"Thank you for the warning."

Frieren gave a slight nod. She seemed like a completely different person from the one who had said "no, thank you" just now.

"Then is there anything we can help you with?"

It felt like equivalent exchange in alchemy. She always sought to give something in return, even if what she received and what she gave weren't always equivalent.

"The wheat is nearly ready to harvest, so perhaps you could help us harvest some."

The farm woman thought long and hard before finally coming up with a request she considered appropriate and putting it to them. Afterward, perhaps embarrassed to ask mages to help with farm work, she quickly added, "Not too much, just a small field."

"All right, no problem."

Frieren readily agreed.

Early the next morning, the sky had only just begun to brighten, but the wheat fields outside the village were already bathed in a soft gold. Wind blew across the fields, and the ripe heads of wheat bowed in waves, like ripples on the surface of the sea.

With the help of magic, the two quickly finished harvesting the wheat. Villagers gathered at the edge of the field, thanking them over and over, while several children chased the heads of wheat floating in midair, reaching out to catch them.

Frieren didn't seem particularly happy about it.

She merely confirmed that the request was complete, then promptly put away her staff and looked east of the village. Clearly, her thoughts were already elsewhere.

So the two packed up and left the village, heading east along the abandoned old road the woman had mentioned.

Weeds grew thick on both sides of the road, and here and there they could see traces of rotted wagon ruts. Long ago, this might have been a route for caravans, but perhaps as the monsters in the mountains grew more numerous, people had gradually abandoned it.

On the way, Lorenzo asked casually:

"What did the labyrinth entrance look like? The one covered in vines?"

"That should be it. A pine tree struck by lightning, then right into the valley."

"Sounds like the beginning of a fairy tale... Something like, what you held tightly in your hands was courage and faintly steaming sweat. Your knees were trembling, surely because of the wind stirred up by the Demon King's breath."

He sounded as though he were reciting the opening of some heroic epic.

But Frieren didn't react. She simply kept walking, the ends of her white hair swaying gently in the morning breeze.

"The Demon King is already dead. Himmel defeated him."

"Of course I know that."

Silence followed. It felt as though he'd brought up a very sensitive subject. The road continued to stretch ahead, and their feet made crisp sounds as they stepped over the gravel.

After a while, Lorenzo couldn't help asking:

"Speaking of which, what kind of person was Himmel?"

"A troublesome person."

"Troublesome?"

"He was always doing unnecessary things. He didn't have to help everyone, but he thought that as long as someone ran into trouble in front of him, it was his business."

"He didn't have to help everyone he met, but he thought that as long as someone ran into trouble in front of him, it was his business."

"He had to fix broken wagons by the roadside and find lost children. Even when a village was short-handed for a festival, he'd stay and help."

She paused.

"So our travels were always delayed."

It sounded like a complaint, but her tone didn't seem resentful in the slightest, as though those days of delay hadn't been an irritating experience.

"He seems quite different from both you and me."

Lorenzo didn't say anything more. He simply continued following her. Her thousand years really hadn't been lived in vain; Frieren's impression was very accurate. After what he'd been through at the Clock Tower and in his family in his previous life, his hands were already stained with blood, and he didn't consider himself a good person.

There was no comparison between him and someone like Himmel. After all, Himmel really could be called Saint Emperor Himmel.