Departure, Target [Strahler]

Shane and Frieren departed from Saddle Town, officially embarking on their journey toward the Central Nations.

This time, Shane had learned his lesson.

He immediately sought out a caravan heading to the Holy Capital of Strahler and volunteered for a Guard Commission. This way, he could hitch a ride for free while earning a bit of bounty money on the side.

Most importantly, it eliminated the possibility of a certain white-haired elf constantly wanting to take detours and straying from the route at any given moment.

The carriage set off at dawn.

The red sun had just peeked over the mountain peaks, and the chill of the previous night still lingered in the air.

Shane had assumed Frieren would be resistant to such an early departure, but to his surprise, she was even more energetic than he was.

Inside the back of the carriage.

Frieren was currently clutching the reward she had received from the town mayor, a look of pure bliss and satisfaction on her face.

Shane didn't even need to guess; it was definitely some strange folk magic again.

"It's a very impressive piece of folk magic!"

"Heh, so, what exactly is this magic?"

"It's [Magic that keeps the blanket tucked around you while you sleep], it's incredibly practical."

"..."

Shane was speechless.

But thinking about it, well, it was indeed practical, especially for Frieren.

After all, having traveled together for a while, he had long since witnessed her "awe-inspiring" sleeping posture. Rolling out of bed onto the floor was a daily occurrence for her; with this magic, the blanket would follow her wherever she went, effectively preventing her from catching a cold.

The carriage rolled leisurely along the road, and the two watched the scenery slowly recede, chatting idly.

When the topic turned to their travels, Shane recalled that after defeating the Demon King, Frieren had traveled alone for over 70 years, so he asked casually, "Frieren, did you feel bored when you were traveling alone before?"

Frieren's initial excitement faded quickly, her energy dipping as she slumped over the carriage railing, looking a bit wilted.

"...It wasn't entirely alone; I would encounter merchants traveling the same way."

"You know that's not what I meant by temporary companions. I'm talking about teammates like me, traveling together as a party. Don't you feel lonely never having teammates like that?"

"I've long since gotten used to it. After Flamme passed away, I spent... well... about several hundred years traveling alone."

"And after defeating the Demon King?"

Hearing this question, Frieren fell silent for a few seconds.

"After traveling with Himmel, Heiter, and Ize in the Hero's party, I did feel that a solo journey wasn't as interesting as before... But I wouldn't call it boring, just that whenever I found fun magic, there was no one to share the joy with. Besides, finding teammates is really troublesome; after all, humans are fragile and grow old so easily."

"..."

Shane shook his head, not asking any further.

This clumsy elf really didn't understand anything at all.

Perhaps the feeling of loneliness is something that only truly sinks in after decades or centuries.

Hmm, that really is an incredibly long reaction time.

While crossing the Neck Mountains, the caravan encountered Zombie Demon Wolves several times.

Frieren didn't even need to lift a finger; Shane could handle them easily on his own.

Before departing, he had switched to a new longsword and transferred all the old traits from his broken sword, which had drained his mental energy and left him unconscious for half a day.

However, the effort was not in vain.

He had transferred the [Flashbang] trait to a kunai shuriken.

Now, he could utilize a combination of [Flashbang] + [Electro-Execution] + [Suspicious Poison] to execute a perfect crowd-control chain.

Ordinary magical beasts were no match for him at all.

In fact, as long as he could get within close range, no magical beast could survive this control chain.

Of course, he had also seized an opportunity to experiment with a gray-tier trait.

To ensure his own safety, he had specifically asked Frieren to help provide cover and clean up—

During the experiment, he imbued a Demon Wolf with the trait [Rot].

[Rot (Gray Trait)]: The systemic destruction of organic matter caused by mold growth.

As for the result...

He had immediately suffered a mental energy deficit and passed out.

The Demon Wolf imbued with the [Rot] trait had instantly turned into a Zombie Demon Wolf, which scared the people in the caravan half to death. Fortunately, Frieren was there to handle the aftermath, or the consequences would have been unimaginable.

After the experiment failed, Shane reflected on it.

He guessed that the last time he successfully tricked Rivalei with a gray-tier trait and managed to stay conscious by biting his tongue, it must have been pure survival instinct and adrenaline that saved him. Thinking back, it was actually quite terrifying.

Given his current level of mental energy, he wasn't capable of sustaining "trait tactics."

After that, he became much more well-behaved.

Whenever they encountered monsters, he would honestly stick to his crowd-control rotation, ignoring tactics and relying entirely on raw stats.

After more than a month of trekking.

The caravan successfully arrived on the outskirts of Strahler, the Holy Capital of the Central Nations.

Looking at the towering, magnificent metropolis in the distance, a glimmer of relief finally lit up Shane's weary eyes.

Having eaten nothing but bread and dried meat for the entire journey, his mouth had grown so bored he could scream.

Enter the city, hit a restaurant!

He couldn't wait another second!

"Mr. Shane, Miss Frieren, our caravan will be staying in Strahler for a while before heading to other trading cities. Are you truly not considering continuing your journey with us?"

"We can double the bounty for your protection!"

The leader of the caravan tried to persuade Shane and Frieren with great sincerity; after all, they had demonstrated highly reliable combat prowess throughout the trip.

Finding guards like them was an absolute steal for the caravan.

"No, thank you for the offer, but I have other plans here."

Frieren politely declined the merchant's invitation.

Seeing that Frieren's stance was firm, the merchant had no choice but to bid them a regretful farewell, though he enthusiastically gifted Shane and the others a bag of dried meat as a token of his gratitude.

Shane actually felt that such enthusiasm wasn't necessary; having eaten this dried meat for a month, he was truly a bit sick of it.

"I am going to visit Heiter. Will you come with me?"

"Hm?"

Hearing Frieren's invitation, Shane was somewhat surprised, followed immediately by a secret joy.

Shane had been worrying about how to find a reason to tag along, so he was naturally delighted to be invited.

"It is a pity that you possess the talent for a Monk yet refuse to train as one, choosing instead to pursue the long-lost path of the Sage. Heiter is an excellent Monk; perhaps he can persuade you not to waste your potential."

"After all, Monks have always been in short supply."

Hearing Frieren's reasoning, Shane found it somewhat amusing.

Oh, young lady, have you still not given up on the hope of making me a Monk?

Ah, forget it, I'll deal with that when we get there.

It worked out well, as he needed to see Heiter to ask about the Notes of Sage Aewich.

Besides, he also wanted to see the little sprout, Fern.