Chapter 3791 (′~`●) Winter of the Twenty-Seventh Year of the Era of the Divine Departure (II)
"..."
After several seconds of silence—or rather, astonishment—Frieren finally asked, her voice tinged with disbelief:
"Elaina..."
"Have you ever been in love, too?"
It was hard for her to imagine that a witch as vain as Elaina could fall for a man, but since Elaina had guessed so accurately just moments ago, she decided to ask.
"No!"
When Frieren asked her something so embarrassing, Elaina immediately waved her hands and firmly denied it. She shook her head like a rattle, as if afraid that even the slightest delay in answering would let something terrible defile her.
"Never!"
"Absolutely not!"
Then her deeply ingrained vanity kicked in again. She puffed out her chest—which was just a little fuller than Frieren's—and proclaimed in a dramatic, almost operatic voice:
"You see..."
"How could some ordinary, mediocre man possibly deserve to stand beside a perfect witch like me, who possesses both the brilliant wisdom of the stars and the dreamlike beauty of the morning mist, and share the sights of this world?"
"My genius is so great that even the most venerable, ancient scholars beneath the World Tree would find themselves outmatched by my intellect. My beauty is such that the most exquisite roses in the Garden of Nurgle would feel ashamed and close their petals. If I were truly to seek a partner..."
As she spoke, she pretended to ponder, lightly touching her chin with a fingertip. A glimmer of hope and anticipation shone in her eyes.
"I suppose it would have to be a peerless sage capable of solving a mystery sealed away for a thousand years—or a peerlessly handsome man whose beauty could entrance even the cold moonlight, wouldn't it?"
"And he'd have to have