"Huh?"
Fern's attention was indeed drawn back. Then she looked at Annie in confusion and asked:
"What else can we do?"
"Stick to the original plan!"
"Wasn't it settled ages ago? As long as Lady Frieren gets her first-class mage certificate, we'll be able to travel freely across the Northern Plateau."
"We already agreed on that. What's there to discuss?"
As she spoke, Fern went into the kitchen, brought the tea she'd prepared earlier to the small table, and handed cups to both Elaina and Frieren.
"Eh?"
-
(゜-゜)
"But Fern, don't you want to try taking the exam?"
(⊙o⊙*)
Annie knew about the plan, of course, but she still blinked her big eyes and tried to persuade Fern.
"..."
At that, Frieren immediately looked at Fern and chimed in, sounding as though she agreed.
"That's right, Fern."
"I think you'd be a better fit for the first-class mage exam. It doesn't have to be me."
"It's not that I'm afraid of the trouble. It's just..."
She paused, then quickly offered a reason that was very much like Frieren:
"After all, just like that 'Staff of the Holy' certificate I got last time, a certificate issued by the human Mage Association might be updated and become obsolete in a few decades."
"That would be too much trouble for me."
"It'd be better if you took the exam. At least your certificate would last you a lifetime, right?"
Clearly, Frieren thought there was no one better suited than Fern to take the exam, and that she herself had no need to.
After all, once their trip to Örd was over, she planned to find somewhere to practice and study all the magic books she'd collected lately. She might not come out for a century or two, and by then her certificate