Too Much Love (Fake)

Truly worthy of being my own esteemed master!

Though saying "my own" might be a bit presumptuous, since I've been taking care of her for so long, it's only reasonable, isn't it?

Of course, he only dared to say such things in his heart.

Just then, Rhode suddenly noticed that Serie's complexion was somewhat pale, seemingly the aftereffect of mana depletion.

"Did you overdraw your mana?"

"Mhm." Serie nodded lightly. "I killed that Demon and all the Monsters it was controlling."

No wonder her face was so pale.

The current Serie wasn't as terrifyingly powerful as she would be in later eras; dealing with such a number of Monsters and Demons naturally came at a cost.

But knowing this, shouldn't he have avoided splitting their forces and taking such a risk?

It nearly got him killed.

Yet, seeing Serie in this weakened state, Rhode's heart softened.

In the end, the outcome was good.

If he and Serie had tried to face that Demon head-on back then, things would likely have turned out differently.

Still, he never expected Serie to be able to eliminate both that Demon and all those Monsters. This put his mind at ease considerably.

Kraft stepped forward and patted Rhode on the shoulder. "Looks like we were worried for nothing. If we'd known, we should have come straight here to find you yesterday."

"Sorry for making you worry."

Rhode replied, but before he could elaborate, he was interrupted.

"Mr. Kraft!!"

Clearly, Norn and Erik behind him had barged in.

Kraft followed the voice. At first, when he saw the two, he looked a bit confused, as if he didn't recognize them.

"I'm Norn, Mr. Kraft." Norn quickly introduced himself.

The last time Kraft had visited their village, he and Erik were still kids in their teens. Now, ten years had passed, and they had grown into reliable adults. It was only natural that Mr. Kraft didn't recognize them at first.

Hearing Norn's introduction, Kraft's eyes lit up. "Norn? So it is you!" He strode forward. "What a surprise."

Kraft truly hadn't recognized them at first.

Now he couldn't help but marvel—the human race really grew up far too quickly.

In just ten years, the children from back then had become mature adults.

Erik also pushed forward. "What about me! Mr. Kraft, I'm now the strongest warrior in the village!"

"Erik? Indeed, I can see it. You've become a qualified warrior." Kraft smiled warmly.

Seeing the juniors he had personally guided grow into qualified warriors—even if they weren't of his own race—was a heartening thing.

Som chuckled from the side. "What a happy occasion for everyone."

Not only had they successfully found Rhode, and he was safe and sound, but Kraft had also reunited with his long-lost juniors. If this were back in their village, it would be enough reason to hold a feast.

Though, as always, such feasts had little to do with him.

"By the way, why did you take so long to get here?" Rhode asked.

After all, before they were ambushed, they had already been very close to the Gremir Forest. The journey should have taken only half a day, especially with Kraft as their guide.

"Oh! That's because, as Miss Serie requested, we first searched along the river for a while."

"I see."

Just as he had expected.

At that moment, Rhode noticed that Serie's gaze was fixed on Norn and Erik, as if she was assessing something.

He asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Serie shouldn't know these two. Could something about them have caught her attention?

Serie withdrew her gaze. "For some reason, I faintly sense a trace of mana from these two humans."

"Huh? That can't be, right?"

Rhode looked at Norn and Erik in surprise. These two shouldn't have studied magic at all. How could there be mana inside them?

Could it be an innate talent?

Serie shook her head. "It's just a feeling. I've only sensed a similar aura from those exceptionally talented elves within our clan."

"Then, back when you first met me, did I have any mana aura?" Rhode asked curiously.

Serie glanced at him, as if he had asked a very stupid question. "Your mana had almost condensed into a physical form. There was no need to observe it—it was palpable."

"Uh, I suppose that makes sense." Rhode gave an awkward laugh.

Back then, he had directly used magic right in front of Serie, which was completely different from Norn and Erik, who had never used magic at all.

"If only there were a spell that could let you observe the mana aura on others."

Serie casually remarked.

This vague intuition was entirely innate; in truth, she would have preferred a spell that could clearly see how much mana others possessed.

It was said that the Demon Race had a similar talent, though it only existed in certain individuals.

Hearing Serie say this, Rhode recalled that such magic did indeed exist in later eras—even the founder of human magic had created a method to conceal one's own mana, and had taught it to Frieren.

One could only say that a certain great violinist never imagined there would be such a despicable elf, always disguising their true mana level.

Perhaps he could try to create it himself in the future.

"Still, these two are indeed impressive. Rhode, you were right—humans do have a talent for learning magic."

Rhode's heart stirred. It seemed Norn and Erik truly had something special, enough to make Serie, who had always held prejudice against humans, change her mind.

"By the way," Serie suddenly remembered something, took a cloth bundle from Som, and tossed it to Rhode. "Your things."

Rhode opened it and saw that inside was the luggage he hadn't had time to pack when the Demon Race attacked the day before.

They had already run a fair distance by then, yet somehow Serie had retrieved it.

"Serie, I really like you!" Rhode said sincerely.

His precious seasonings were all in there, and the seeds too—if he lost them, he'd have nowhere to restock.

"Don't misunderstand," Serie turned her face away. "I just happened to find it on the way."

Rhode couldn't help but laugh.

His own Little Ancestor turned out to have a tsundere side—she had clearly gone back specifically to find his things, yet pretended not to care.

But when faced with his sincere confession (big misunderstanding), she showed no reaction at all. As expected, elves were still quite dense when it came to emotions.

"Still, thank you."

Serie gave a light snort, but her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. Clearly, she appreciated Rhode's thanks, even if it wasn't obvious.

But what did this guy mean by 'like'?

Serie couldn't understand why Rhode had said that.

Was this also a human way of expressing gratitude?

When thanking someone, you say you like them the most?

Though she still didn't quite get it, she might try it next time.