(*︶*)... What exactly are you after?
"..."
Faced with Elaina's blatant threat, Serie instantly fell silent.
She had no doubt that the Witch of Ash possessed such power, but it would be going too far to start a reckless fight with her—or even destroy an entire city—over something like this. She found it hard to believe that Elaina would truly do such a thing.
However, since they did not know each other well, provoking a conflict capable of destroying a city over a mere examination result was clearly not the outcome she wanted either. Thus, she hesitated.
"..."
After making her threat, Elaina did not continue pressing her aggressively. She merely withdrew her hand and returned to her slightly languid posture, calmly watching Serie as though she had already seen through her, openly waiting for her final decision.
"..."
"..."
And so, the two of them once again fell into a silent standoff.
But this time, the initiative seemed to have changed hands.
The brief silence of only a few minutes felt like several years to Serie. In the end, however, she still took a deep breath and was the first to ask about another question that had troubled her for a long time:
"There's one more question."
"I don't understand..."
As she spoke, a hint of confusion appeared in her eyes as she looked toward Elaina.
"Beings like you..."
"Possessing the power to travel between worlds, beings who have witnessed countless sights beyond our imagination—why would you choose to associate with Frieren and Fern, of all people?"
"What's so special about them?"
She carefully considered her wording, but her meaning was obvious: in Serie's eyes, those two were utterly ordinary. Even Frieren was an irritating person. She could not understand how someone like Elaina, who threatened to destroy a