Teacher, I will do very excessive things to you later. Therefore, you will not forget my shortcomings.

[New Era of Xin - Year 21]

Outside [Oysaster], the Yuru region.

A solidly built carriage traveled along the dirt road on the outskirts. Thanks to the large wheels and the leather shock absorbers laid between the compartments, despite the poor road conditions, the interior was not particularly bumpy.

On two rows of wooden seats, master and disciple sat facing each other. Guter flipped through the Magic Book in his hands, occasionally scribbling on the table between them.

Across from him, Serie leaned sideways against the carriage wall, propping her elbow on the window as she gazed into the distance.

"Ran away?"

"To think that a Demon would target us on this trip. Could it be that I haven't made a move in so long that the Demons have forgotten their fear of me, or perhaps—"

Serie's gaze shifted to her disciple, Guter, sitting opposite her.

"Or perhaps it's that my disciple has created a future they cannot accept?"

"Forget it."

Unable to make a judgment, Serie decided to stop dwelling on it. After all, it wasn't her who needed to avoid confrontation—it was the Demons.

Her disciple had her protection. If some reckless Demon came to provoke them, she would simply wipe it out on a whim.

It would even add a bit of amusement to this boring journey.

But clearly, the Demon decision-makers were not mindless fools.

Since the discovery of [Miracle Graosam]'s ambush, not a single Demon had come to die, all the way until the dusk of evening.

As the slight jolting in the carriage noticeably lessened, the coachman turned and knocked on the compartment.

Seeing this, Guter quickly reached out to pull aside the carriage curtain and looked at the coachman.

"Uncle, is something wrong?"

"Haha," the coachman laughed heartily. "No need to be tense. It's nothing major."

"I'm sure you've noticed—the dirt road beneath us has been hardened. The ride is much smoother now."

"We've just gotten onto the official road. Not far ahead is the forward outpost of [Oysaster], the Fortress City - Frich."

"That place is a key defensive point for the entire region, with extremely strict security controls."

"So I'm giving you a heads-up: prepare your identification documents and check your belongings for any prohibited items."

"After all, the guards there often open trunks to inspect travelers' goods."

"I see."

Guter nodded to the coachman, thanked him, and ducked back into the carriage.

"Teacher, not far ahead—"

"No need to repeat it. I heard your conversation."

Serie, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, opened them and spoke. "Besides, I've been to this place countless times."

"Alright."

Guter replied helplessly. It seemed that because of last night's incident, his teacher still harbored a bit of lingering irritation.

Thus, throughout the day, she hadn't spared him from a few sharp remarks.

But still, a teacher like this seemed even more endearing.

Suppressing the urge to reach out and ruffle his teacher's ears, Guter unfolded the map and examined the carriage's route for the day.

Since his teacher Serie's goal was to reach the [Holy City Hutrall] as quickly as possible, rather than retracing the footsteps of the Demon King's subjugation like Frieren and her party in the story, they hadn't taken a detour. They headed straight for the forward outpost of [Oysaster], the [Fortress City - Frich].

They didn't go out of their way through the Offen Mountains, the Roa Highway, or the Kura Region.

However, when Guter's gaze fell on the Kura Region, his eyes flickered for a moment.

Because when he had first traveled to [Oysaster], he had stopped there.

After all, Guter had been traveling with a merchant caravan.

Since it was a caravan, to maximize profits, they naturally had to stop at various settlements along the way to sell goods and resupply.

And so, outside a village, Guter had seen the dwarf warrior Grandpa Furu, who had guarded that village for three hundred years.

When he noticed the gaze watching him, Furu had looked back at Guter from among the caravan crowd.

How should he describe it? That look was nothing like what an old man on the verge of death should have.

Truly frightening.

The sudden recollection of Grandpa Furu made Guter think of his story in the narrative.

Because of his promise and love for his human wife, he had guarded the village after her death until his own passing.

But when Furu reached the end of his life, the passage of time had already eroded his memory of his wife's face and voice. All that remained in his mind was a vague silhouette and a habit he had upheld for centuries.

Fortunately, after a conversation with his old friend Frieren, he recalled a trace of his wife's "back" in a dream.

Guter tapped his finger on the Kura Region of the map a few times, pondered for a moment, and then posed a question to his teacher Serie.

"Teacher."

"If you were to forget someone, what would you forget about them first?"

"Would it be their voice? Their appearance? Or perhaps their traits?"

"None of those." Teacher Serie shook her head in denial.

"It's their flaws."

"When you begin to forget a person, the first thing to slip away is their flaws."

Serie spoke, a faint trace of nostalgia flickering across her face.

"Guter, I've had many disciples."

"Their voices, their appearances, their traits, and even their favorite spells—I still remember them all deeply in my mind."

"But their flaws alone... I seem to have trouble recalling them."

"Take Frieren, for example."

"In my memory, she's still that little girl who only reached my waist. She loved holding my hand, leading me through flower fields, then standing among the blooms and loudly telling me about her dreams."

"She seemed like such an obedient, idealistic child."

"But I think there's a memory I've almost completely forgotten."

"That child Frieren also had a rebellious phase. It seems she gave me quite a headache. She was far less well-behaved than I remember."

"And that other disciple, Bodi—the inventor of the [Body Tempering Method] you're currently practicing."

"He wasn't all that easygoing either. Hmm~, I need to think."

Inside the steadily moving carriage, Serie, having opened the floodgates, rambled on and on, telling Guter many rebellious dark histories about her senior disciples and senior sisters that she could still recall.

Watching Teacher Serie, whose expression was far more animated than usual as she spoke, Guter couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Sure enough, this is how the elderly behave.

But Teacher, she probably hasn't had someone to confide in like this for a long time.

It wasn't until the carriage slowly came to a halt outside the walls of [Fortress City · Frich] that Serie, in a daze, realized just how long she had been talking.

Taking the water flask handed over by her disciple Guter, Serie drank deeply.

Setting the flask down, she intended to get off and deal with the guards' inspection, but unexpectedly, her disciple tugged at her sleeve.

Serie turned to look at Guter, only to find that this disciple of hers was speaking to her with utmost seriousness.

"Teacher, I'm going to do something very excessive to you later."

"So rest assured, you definitely won't forget my flaws."

"Heh."

Serie felt a mix of amusement and helplessness, which finally condensed into a cold snort laced with multiple emotions.

"Say that again when you've surpassed me in power."

Begging for a wave of collections, begging for a wave of tips, thanks to all the big shots.