Echoes of Strong Luck

The spring sunlight spilled across his face through the window.

It was warm and cozy.

Shane rubbed his lower back; he had been exhausted after working until midnight with Frieren last night.

Fortunately, aside from a few scrapes and frights, the townspeople had suffered no major issues.

Huu—

Shane let out a long breath.

Last night's ordeal had only deepened the psychological shadow hanging over him. He was genuinely worried about his own safety now. What exactly was that crazed, hooded figure planning? Had they done something to him?

These questions had kept him from sleeping soundly all night.

He did not want to become a Rootless Soul, nor did he want to become a flesh puppet.

"The Great Library of Gostan City?"

He remembered the receptionist at the Adventurer Guild mentioning that name. Since they had precious grimoires there, perhaps they also held documents like History of Magic or Chronicles of the Sages. He wanted to investigate who exactly that mad sage named "Charles" was.

"Once I find out, I'll scatter your ashes to the winds."

Shane gritted his teeth.

Just as he prepared to tidy up and head out to find food, he spotted the trousers he had taken off yesterday.

He had almost forgotten the important business at hand.

Due to the special circumstances last night, the blue-tier trait [Rootless Soul] he had stripped away had been temporarily enchanted onto his trousers. Now, he finally had the time to perform a Reforge.

"Trait Strip."

Following his mental command, three blue motes of light instantly materialized before him.

[Auto-Clean]

[Constant Temperature]

[Rootless Soul]

The trousers, now stripped of their traits, disintegrated and vanished.

He paid it no mind.

He continued to focus his mental energy, merging the three motes together to initiate "Trait Reforge." A flash of purple, ghostly light erupted, and the Reforge was a success!

[Strong Luck (Purple Epic)]: You are the chosen child of destiny, with maxed-out luck stats; those around you will also be influenced to a certain degree.

Hey-yo!

Shane's eyes lit up.

This trait was fantastic!

As long as I'm lucky enough, even blades will have to dodge me. My survival repertoire has just increased!

However... Shane stared at the small purple mote, still feeling a bit hesitant. A trait this good felt like a waste if enchanted onto gear or clothing. If he enchanted it onto himself... what if...

Wait, what am I overthinking?

The fact that I could even roll [Strong Luck] is a sign of strong luck itself. Since I have Strong Luck, a "what if" is impossible!

"Trait Imbue!"

Light swirled as a purple aura descended onto Shane's forehead. The [Strong Luck] trait was successfully enchanted.

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

This time, Shane was experienced. In the split second before losing consciousness, he adjusted his posture to avoid landing face-down, falling straight back onto the bed instead.

He fainted quite comfortably.

Just as he was congratulating himself on his own cleverness, a cool breeze blew by, and he suddenly realized something of vital importance!

"Wait, hold on, my pants! I'm not wearing my pants—"

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

Knock, knock, knock.

"Shane, are you awake?"

"Good afternoon, Shane."

"Hey Shane, care for a cup of sweet afternoon tea?"

Walking down the street, Shane received enthusiastic greetings from everyone around him. Overnight, the names of him and Frieren had reached every ear in town.

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

Led by the mayor, the town was organizing a bonfire party for the evening to celebrate everyone's safety.

Right now, the men were busy building the bonfire pyre and hanging ribbons, the women were gathered together to clean fruits and vegetables in preparation for dinner and drinks, and the children were draped in white bedsheets, playing ghosts and running around in groups... everything looked warm and lovely.

Shane held the apple that the strange little girl had shoved into his hands, wandering around while munching on it.

You have to admit, this feeling of having saved the world was actually quite nice.

After pacing back and forth twice and polishing off three apples, two cucumbers, and a bag of chestnuts, Shane finally couldn't take it anymore.

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

Sigh.

Shane stood before the inn door, hesitating.

He had gone out to wander around specifically to avoid Frieren.

His fainting spell this time had been shorter than the last; after all, he had only enchanted one purple-tier trait, so the drain on his mental energy was nowhere near as severe as the three gold-tier traits from before, meaning he had woken up in just two or three hours.

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

So, he wasn't entirely sure if Frieren had knocked, asked, and then seen something she shouldn't have.

Logically speaking, Frieren was very polite, so she shouldn't have, right? No, no, when had that girl ever considered whether it was convenient for others? She definitely would have knocked and then walked straight in.

Ah—this is so awkward, how am I supposed to face her from now on!

Shane covered his face and sighed heavily.

He circled around until evening, and even as the town began to liven up, Shane still hadn't seen Frieren.

At first, he thought it was great to avoid the awkwardness, but later, he started to find it strange—where had she gone?

Inside the inn room.

Frieren was wearing a white nightgown, lying lazily across the bed.

Her feet were propped up casually against the wall, her head hung off the edge of the bed, and she was holding a grimoire, reading with intense focus.

Her white twin-tails dangled in mid-air, swaying slightly with her movements.

She had already declined the mayor's invitation; such lively celebrations were unnecessary to her. Besides, she didn't consider herself the one who had contributed the most to the town's crisis, so going or not didn't matter to her.

By comparison, lying in the room reading a book was much more relaxing.

Knock, knock, knock.

The door was knocked upon.

Frieren continued reading, ignoring it.

Knock, knock, knock.

The knocking continued, and Frieren turned another page.

Knock, knock, knock.

The person outside was persistent.

Frieren closed the book in her hands and sat up.

She raised her hand, summoned her staff, and pointed it at the door in the distance; the door swung open on its own.

Outside the door, Shane stood there with a sheepish grin, holding a plate full of desserts in his left hand and two bottles of wine dangling from his right.

"I knew you were in here. Here, there were plenty of desserts at the banquet, so I brought you some."

Without waiting for Frieren to refuse, Shane walked into the room and sat down, acting as if he owned the place, and shoved the desserts directly into Frieren's hands.

"...Thanks."

Frieren looked at the Crystal Pudding in her hands; although her face remained calm and expressionless, her eyes brightened noticeably as she stared at the dessert.

Shane didn't miss this small detail.

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

"Ahem, I also brought you two bottles of fine wine. I heard from the brewer that these were specially gifted to us. It's a cocktail brewed specifically with the Ghostlight Mushroom we picked in the mine. They say that after drinking it, you can see the Goddess."

Hearing Shane's words, Frieren finally showed an expression of interest.

She had traveled from the Central Nations to the Southern Continent for the sole purpose of finding two bottles of fine wine.

She had once promised Heiter that after he passed away, she would place two bottles of fine wine at his grave.