The Echo of [Strong Luck]

Spring sunlight streamed through the window and fell across his face.

It was warm.

Shane rubbed his lower back. He and Frieren had been busy together until midnight, and he was utterly exhausted.

Fortunately, aside from a few scrapes and some fright, none of the townspeople had suffered any serious harm.

Phew—

Shane let out a long breath.

Last night's ordeal had deepened the shadow already hanging over his heart. He was genuinely worried about his safety now. What had that mad, hooded figure been planning? Had he tampered with him somehow?

Those questions had kept him from sleeping soundly all night.

He didn't want to become a rootless ghost, let alone a flesh-and-blood puppet.

"The Grand Library in Gostan City?"

He remembered that was what the receptionist at the Adventurer Guild had called it. If they had precious magical tomes there, perhaps they also had texts on topics like The History of Magic or The History of Sages. He wanted to look up who that mad Sage named "Charles" really was.

"Once I figure it out, I'll scatter your ashes."

Shane gritted his teeth.

He was just about to get ready and head out to find something to eat when he spotted the pants he'd taken off yesterday.

He'd almost forgotten the important thing.

Last night, under the circumstances, Shane had temporarily enchanted his pants with the blue affix [Rootless Soul] he'd extracted. Now he finally had time to try reforging it.

"Entry Extraction."

At his mental command, three blue motes of light appeared before him.

[Auto-Clean]

[Constant Temperature]

[Rootless Soul]

The pants, now stripped of their affixes, crumbled and vanished.

He paid them no mind.

He focused his mental energy and fused the three motes together. Then he activated "Affix Reforging." A flash of violet light passed, and the reforging succeeded!

[Strong Luck (Purple Epic)]: You are the chosen child of destiny. Your luck stat is maxed out, and those around you will be affected to some extent as well.

Whoa!

Shane's eyes lit up.

This affix was great!

As long as I'm lucky enough, even blades and swords will have to steer clear of me. That's another way to stay alive!

But... Shane stared at the little purple mote of light, still hesitant. An affix this good would be kind of wasted on equipment or clothes. If I enchanted myself with it... what if—

Wait, what am I thinking?!

Getting [Strong Luck] in the first place is proof of my strong luck. Now that I've got strong luck, there's no way anything could go wrong!

"Affix Imbuement!"

Light shimmered, and a stream of purple energy settled over Shane's forehead. The [Strong Luck] affix was successfully enchanted.

Then, as expected, the unexpected happened: Shane passed out once again.

This time Shane was a pro. The moment he fainted, he adjusted his posture so he wouldn't land face-first, and fell back onto the bed, flat on his back.

A nice, comfortable faint.

Just as he was congratulating himself on his cleverness, a cool breeze swept by, and he suddenly realized something very important!

"Hey, wait, my pants! I'm not wearing my pants—"

Before he sank into unconscious darkness, the last things he heard were the sound of his own teeth gritting and a knock at the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Shane, are you awake?"

"Good afternoon, Shane."

"Hey, Shane, want to join us for a sweet afternoon tea?"

As he walked down the street, Shane was greeted warmly by people all around him. Overnight, his and Frieren's names had reached everyone's ears.

Everyone was grateful to the two of them for saving the town.

The mayor had taken the lead and planned a town-wide bonfire party that evening to celebrate everyone's safety.

Now the men were busy building the bonfire frame and hanging streamers. The women had gathered to clean fruits and vegetables and prepare dinner and drinks. The children wore white sheets and pretended to be ghosts, running around in little groups... Everything looked warm and lovely.

Shane wandered around, eating an apple that an unfamiliar young girl had insisted on giving him.

He had to admit, it felt pretty good to have saved the world.

After walking around twice, eating three apples, two cucumbers, and a bag of chestnuts, Shane finally couldn't take any more.

Rubbing his round belly, he had to admit that people's enthusiasm could be a burden sometimes.

Sigh.

Shane stood in front of the inn, hesitating.

He'd gone out wandering purely to avoid Frieren.

He'd been unconscious for less time this time than last. After all, he'd enchanted only one purple affix, so it had taken far less mental energy than the three gold affixes he'd used last time. He'd woken up after just two or three hours.

When he woke, there had been no one else in the room, and the door was closed.

So he wasn't sure whether Frieren had seen anything she shouldn't have after knocking and asking if he was awake.

In theory, Frieren was very polite. She probably wouldn't have, right? No, no, when had that girl ever considered whether it was a good time for someone? She'd definitely knock and then walk right in.

Ah—this was so awkward. How was he supposed to face her from now on?!

Shane covered his face and sighed.

He wandered around until nightfall, when the town had grown lively, but still didn't see Frieren.

At first, he'd thought it was nice—he'd avoided an awkward situation. But then he started to find it strange. Where was she?

Inside the inn room.

Frieren wore a white nightgown and lay lazily across the bed.

She had her feet propped up against the wall and her head hanging upside down over the edge of the bed, a magic tome held aloft in her hands as she read intently.

Her white twin tails hung in midair, swaying gently whenever she moved.

She had already turned down the mayor's invitation. A lively celebration like that wasn't particularly necessary for her. Besides, she didn't think she'd been the one to contribute the most during the town's crisis, and she didn't care whether she went or not.

By comparison, lying around in her room and reading was more relaxing.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

Frieren kept reading and ignored it.

Knock, knock, knock.

The knocking continued. Frieren turned another page.

Knock, knock, knock.

The person outside refused to give up.

Frieren closed her book and sat up.

She raised a hand, and her staff lit up. She pointed it at the door from across the room, and it opened by itself.

Outside, Shane stood in the doorway, grinning sheepishly. He held a plate piled high with desserts in his left hand and swung two bottles of liquor in his right.

"I knew you'd be in your room. Here, there are lots of desserts at the party, so I brought you some."

Before Frieren could refuse, Shane walked right in as if he owned the place, sat down, and put the desserts directly into her hands.

"...Thank you."

Frieren looked down at the Crystal Pudding in her hands. Her expression remained faint, but her eyes were noticeably brighter as she stared at the dessert.

Shane didn't miss the little detail.

He remembered very clearly that Frieren's favorite dessert was Crystal Pudding.

"Ahem, I also brought you two bottles of good liquor. The brewer said they were specially made for us. It's a cocktail brewed with the Ghostlight Mushrooms we picked in the mine. Supposedly, after you drink it, you can see the Goddess."

At Shane's words, Frieren finally looked interested.

She had come from the Central Nations to the Southern Continent in search of two bottles of good liquor.

She had once promised Heiter that, after he died, she would leave two bottles of good liquor at his grave.