Little Ubel

The next morning.

Shane got up especially early.

He was going to visit the Adventurer Guild in town today and check out the nearby dungeons, so he could plan his scavenging business.

"Good morning, Mr. Shane. The usual?"

The beautiful proprietress waited behind the counter, beaming as she held out warm milk and bread.

Shane took them from her naturally and praised her cooking. "Thank you, beautiful madam. This is the most perfectly warmed milk I've ever had. You must be the best at warming milk in all of Gostan City."

The simple compliment made the proprietress giggle with delight.

After asking her to wake Frieren before lunch and bring her some breakfast, Shane left the inn.

He strolled leisurely down the street, observing the shops around him as he pondered ways to make money.

After looking around, he couldn't find anything that seemed suitable for him.

"Hahaha, Ubel's going to be a bride!"

"She's going to be a bride, a bride!"

"Wahhh... I don't want to be a bride... wahhh..."

As he turned a corner, the voices of several children playing reached him. Shane looked over.

He had actually come to the tailor shop where he'd hidden that night.

In a corner not far from the shop, two boys around eight or nine were teasing a green-haired girl about their age.

The girl was Ubel, the little sister from the tailor shop.

Colorful ribbons covered her head and clothes, the handiwork of the two boys beside her.

It was obvious Ubel didn't like being called a "bride." She was terribly upset, clutching a rag doll to her chest with one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other as she sobbed.

Her cries were quiet, as if she were trying hard to hold them back so no one would hear.

Shane sighed.

He hadn't seen this kind of boy-teasing-girl scene in years. It really took him back.

Shane stepped forward and grabbed one of the boys with each hand.

He crouched down and began lecturing them sternly.

"That's not okay! If you like a girl, you should treat her kindly. You shouldn't try to get her attention like this. It'll only make her dislike you."

His words left the boys stunned.

A few seconds later, their faces turned red as monkeys' bottoms, and they could barely get their words out.

"W-who likes Ubel? I don't! I don't like her at all!"

"Right, I don't like her either! I, I, I don't like crybabies!"

After they finished speaking, they shoved Shane aside and ran off in a flash.

And they said they didn't like her?

If they didn't run, their faces might have started smoking from how red they were.

Shane found it a little funny.

Boys that age were always like that. Instead of telling a girl they liked her, they teased her. The more they liked her, the more they teased her. When the girl got mad and scolded them, they took it like a reward.

Boys were so innocent when they were young, no matter which world they came from.

"There, the bad boys ran off because of your uncle. Come on, little one, don't cry."

He put on a smile and gently comforted the little girl in front of him. "Next time someone makes a joke you don't like, be brave and tell them so. Just crying won't help."

Seeing Shane come to her rescue and comfort her so gently, the girl finally stopped crying.

She lowered her head shyly and squeezed her rag doll, speaking in a muffled voice. "I want to yell at them and make them go away, but if I do, my sister will worry about me and come running out of the shop while she's making clothes."

"Then she won't be able to focus on her work again."

Oh, what a thoughtful little sweetheart.

Compared to the mischievous brats, he much preferred soft, cuddly little girls.

"It's good of you to look out for your sister, but you can't always be the one who suffers. If you get hurt, your sister will feel guilty and sad when she finds out."

Shane helped Ubel remove the threads from her clothes, doing his best to comfort her.

The little girl pressed her lips together stubbornly.

"...If only I had magic. Then I could use it to cut these annoying threads, and they wouldn't dare bully me anymore."

Well, kids loved to fantasize.

Hmm?

Wait! Why did that magic sound familiar?

[Magic that cuts almost everything]

Shane suddenly remembered who the green-haired girl in front of him was.

Ubel!

Ubel, the God of Concepts!

She had magic that could cut anything!

Her magic could cut through anything she unilaterally perceived as "cuttable," no matter how hard it was or what it was made of. Even a person... If Ubel thought she could cut it, then she could!

He sprang to his feet and stared at the little girl in disbelief. He couldn't imagine how this sweet, well-behaved little girl would grow up in a few years to become someone who could kill gods and Buddhas alike.

A pair of dead-fish eyes, devoid of love or emotion. She was practically a "human-shaped member of the Demon Race."

At the thought, Shane instinctively took a step back.

"Uncle, what's wrong?"

The little girl tilted her head, holding her rag doll, her eyes full of innocence.

Shane swallowed.

After thinking it over calmly, he decided to say something that might change the little girl's outlook on life, even if only a little. It would be his contribution to all of humanity.

"Even if you have magic that can cut anything, you have to be careful when using it."

"Why?"

"Because magic is powerful, but it's dangerous too. What if you lose control and hurt someone? If they tease you, you can teach them a little lesson, but if you accidentally cut or kill them... your sister would be heartbroken."

"Then as long as I control it, like, only use it this far in front of me." The little girl held out her hand to show him. "Three meters—no, five meters. If I cut from this far away, would that be okay?"

"...Even if you can control it precisely, you should think things through first. For example, why did the other person do it? How were they feeling? Were they just joking? Ah, anyway, try to put yourself in their shoes. Don't make a decision too quickly."

"Put myself in their shoes... think about how they feel..."

Ubel furrowed her brow and tilted her head, trying hard to think about what Shane had said. She didn't really understand what those words meant.

But since the kind uncle had said it, he must be right. She should think about it carefully.

Seeing Ubel's expression, Shane quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was good that she was thinking about it. It was good that she was willing to listen.

He thought of the god-slaying woman she would become, then looked at the soft, adorable little girl before him, and shuddered.

"I hope your personality improves a little when you grow up."

The Adventurer Guild in Gostan City was much grander than the one Shane had seen in a small town.

It also had a much wider selection of magical items, weapons, and armor.

Just as Shane entered, he saw a party selling some things.