Assessment Ends and Gumi's Background

"Hmph."

Guter responded curtly to the head chef Lake, exchanged a few pleasantries, paid, and took the food.

Along the way, carrying bags of snacks, the two senior brothers returned to the Examination Hall.

Standing before the hall's doors, Guter set down the food and extended his magic power to sense the surroundings. As expected, the doors no longer bore any magical attachment. It seemed Teacher Serie had already comforted her disciple's emotions.

Thinking this, Guter reached out and gently pushed. The solid wooden door opened easily, revealing the scene inside the hall.

Within, Teacher Serie sat as usual in a carefree posture on the seat symbolizing "authority," one hand propping up her cheek, lost in thought.

But Guter, who often stole glances at Serie, still noticed a difference.

A hair tie was missing from Teacher's hair, leaving one side slightly disheveled. Guter made a guess and turned his gaze toward Gumi.

Sure enough.

His observation was correct. His junior disciple no longer had her hair loose as before; instead, it was tied into a braid. The missing hair tie from Teacher now adorned Gumi's head.

Seeing Guter and Lairn return, Gumi, having composed herself, smiled and waved at her senior brothers, fully restored to her usual sunny and cheerful demeanor. Especially when she spotted the large haul of snacks, she trotted over eagerly.

As Gumi approached, Guter smiled and handed her the takeout boxes, not forgetting to ruffle her head twice.

Hmm—

How to put it, tying up her hair really gave a different texture.

Besides that, Guter caught a familiar faint fragrance on Gumi. If he remembered correctly, it was the lingering scent from Teacher's use of the [Magic to Cleanse Stains from Clothes Cleanly].

So, she had cried so much that her clothes were soaked with tears.

Watching this food-loving girl laugh carefreely over the snacks, Guter fell silent.

What kind of devastation had Gumi's homeland suffered?

How long had such heavy memories been suppressed in his junior disciple's heart?

"Sigh."

Guter exchanged a glance with Teacher on the dais, and in the end, could only let out a sigh.

A few days later.

At dusk, the church's bell tower rang out a melodious chime. Lairn, who had been meditating on the floor, opened his eyes, glanced at the sunset outside the window, pulled out the Barrier Terminal from his chest, and silently cut off the magic supply to the examination barrier.

As the semicircular azure barrier dissipated, the First Mage Examination hosted by the Continental Magic Association in Oysaster officially came to an end.

In the hall.

Serie leaned back against her chair, bored, swinging her bare white feet, looking somewhat displeased.

"In the end, I only took in these few disciples."

"I might as well not have come for the last few days."

Below the dais, Guter held the thick Magic Book in his hands, but how long it had been since he last turned a page, even he didn't know.

After all, all his attention was on admiring Teacher's feet—on revering Teacher—so what energy was left for the Magic Book?

Honestly.

He had planned to use "learn one page of knowledge, then sneak a glance at her feet" as motivation. But the page of knowledge was learned quickly, while that single glance at her feet stretched on and on.

At first, it was "as long as I don't blink, it counts as only one look."

But after two minutes, it became "I've already looked—this scene isn't available every moment, so I might as well keep watching."

By now, even the system's chime ringing in his ear couldn't distract him.

But unfortunately, as the church bell rang, Serie rose from her seat.

Those bare feet no longer swayed.

Coming down from the dais, Serie's gaze swept over each disciple in turn. She smacked Guter on the head with the Magic Book and said, "Let's go. We'll have dinner out tonight, and I have some things to discuss."

"Alright."

All the disciples agreed, especially Gumi, whose eyes lit up the moment Teacher mentioned it.

A short while later.

In a private room at a high-end restaurant in the city.

Looking at the menu, Junior Disciple Gumi pouted slightly, seeming less enthusiastic than usual.

Even when ordering, she was unusually restrained compared to before. For the main course, she only ordered a single steak, though she did pick a few desserts and snacks.

Sitting beside her, Guter was puzzled. He nudged Gumi with his elbow and quietly asked what was wrong today—was she feeling unwell?

As for whether the high-end restaurant's prices had limited Gumi's choices, that thought never crossed Guter's mind.

First of all, Teacher Serie always paid for the group meals.

Unlike Frieren, who had no clue about managing money, Teacher, as an elf, had some financial sense.

As a legendary Archmage who had lived since the Mythic Era, the wealth Serie had amassed was probably beyond even her own reckoning.

Furthermore.

If we're talking about financial standing, among the four master and disciples, Guter should actually be the worst off.

Junior Disciple Lairn, though stripped of his noble title, was originally a noble of the [Imperial Capital] in the Empire. His family's wealth was far beyond what a mere border noble could imagine.

As for Junior Sister Gumi.

Though she never spoke of her background in front of everyone, Guter, as her long-time meal companion, had managed to pick up a few things.

Junior Sister's hometown was at the border between the Central Countries and the Northern Countries.

Her family was likely noble as well, but not of a high rank—most probably a non-inheritable Baron, or even a Knight.

But unlike Lairn, who was purely from the privileged class, Junior Sister's parents were primarily merchants running a trade guild, and their business seemed to be quite large.

They had even turned their remote hometown into the guild's headquarters, building it into a prosperous town.

The family's noble title, rather than being a grant, seemed more like recognition from the various countries they traded with for their contributions.

Even though, under the ravages of the Demons, her hometown and her family's guild headquarters were all reduced to ashes.

Still, that had been a massive trade guild. Even without the headquarters, there were still branches and trade units scattered across various city-states and countries.

That was by no means a negligible fortune.

Though Guter didn't know exactly how Junior Sister had handled it all, he was certain that Gumi would never be troubled by money.

Her lack of appetite this time was most likely due to other reasons.

Sure enough, after hearing the question from the senior brother who always looked out for her, Gumi bit her lip and replied.

"It's not that I'm unwell, thank you for your concern, Senior Brother."

"This... might just be a personal habit of mine."

"In the past—"