New Era of Xin - 21 Years Earlier
Outside Oysaster City, Yuru Region.
A sturdily built carriage traveled along a dirt road in the outskirts. Thanks to its large wheels and the leather cushioning installed between the carriage compartments, the ride inside was not overly bumpy despite the poor road conditions.
The master and disciple sat facing each other on two rows of wooden seats. Guter flipped through the Magic Book in his hands, occasionally writing and drawing on the table between them.
Meanwhile, Serie, seated opposite him, leaned sideways against the carriage wall with her elbow resting on the window, gazing into the distance.
"Did they run away?"
"To think Demons had actually set their sights on this journey. Had I gone too long without making a move, causing them to forget their fear of me? Or perhaps..."
Serie glanced at her disciple, Guter, sitting across from her.
"Or perhaps my disciple has created a future they cannot accept?"
"Forget it."
Unable to reach a conclusion, Serie simply stopped dwelling on it. In any case, she was not the one who needed to avoid the other's edge—the Demons were.
Her disciple was under her protection. If some blind Demon really came looking to provoke them, she could simply wipe it out with a wave of her hand.
It would also add a little amusement to this boring journey.
But clearly, the Demons' decision-makers were not brainless fools.
After Miracle Graosam's infiltration was exposed, not a single Demon came to throw away its life all the way until evening twilight.
As the carriage's light jolting noticeably eased, the driver turned around and knocked on the carriage.
Seeing this, Guter hurriedly reached out and pulled open the carriage curtain, looking toward the driver.
"Sir, is something wrong?"
"Haha." The driver laughed heartily twice. "No need to worry. It's nothing serious."
"I'm sure you've felt it too. The dirt road beneath us has been hardened, so the carriage is traveling much more smoothly than before."
"We've reached the official road. Not far ahead is Oysaster's frontier transfer station, Fortress City - Frich."
"That place is the defensive stronghold of this entire region, and security control there is extremely strict."
"So let me remind you in advance: prepare your identification documents, and check whether you are carrying any prohibited items."
"After all, the guards there often inspect travelers' belongings by opening their luggage."
"I see."
Guter nodded to the driver. After thanking him, he ducked back into the carriage.
"Teacher, not far ahead—"
"No need to repeat it. I can hear you talking."
Serie opened her eyes from meditation and said, "Besides, I've been to that place countless times."
"All right."
Guter answered helplessly. It seemed that because of what had happened last night, his teacher still had a trace of lingering annoyance in her heart.
As a result, she had taken quite a few verbal jabs at him throughout the day.
Still, Teacher seemed even cuter like this.
Suppressing the urge to reach out and rub Teacher's ears a few times, Guter unfolded the map and examined the carriage's route over the day.
Since Teacher Serie's goal was to reach Holy City Hutrall as early as possible, rather than retrace the path Frieren's party had taken to defeat the Demon King as in the story, they had not taken any detours. They were heading directly for Oysaster's frontier transfer station, Fortress City - Frich.
They had not gone out of their way to pass through the Offen Mountains, Roya Highway, or the Kura Region.
However, when Guter's gaze fell upon the Kura Region, his eyes flickered for a moment.
That was because he had once stopped there on his journey to Oysaster.
After all, Guter had traveled with a merchant caravan.
Since it was a merchant caravan, maximizing profit naturally meant stopping at settlements along the way to sell goods and replenish supplies.
And because of that, outside a village, Guter had seen Grandpa Furu, the dwarf warrior who had guarded that village for three hundred years.
After noticing someone watching him, Furu had looked back at Guter amid the caravan's crowd.
How should he describe it? That gaze was nothing like what an elderly man nearing the end of his life should possess.
It was truly terrifying.
The sudden recollection of Grandpa Furu made Guter think of his story from the original plot.
Because of a promise and love for his human wife, he had continued guarding that village after her death, until the day he himself passed away.
Yet when Furu reached the end of his life, time had worn away his memories. He had forgotten his wife's face, forgotten her voice. The only things left in his mind were a vague silhouette and an act he had upheld for centuries.
Fortunately, after speaking with his old friend Frieren, he recalled a trace of his wife's "back" in a dream.
Guter tapped the Kura Region on the map a few times. After thinking for a moment, he asked Teacher Serie a question.
"Teacher."
"If you were to forget someone, what do you think you would forget first?"
"Their voice? Their appearance? Or perhaps... their traits?"
"None of those." Serie shook her head.
"It's their flaws."
"When you forget someone, the first thing you forget is their flaws."
As Serie spoke, a faint trace of nostalgia appeared on her face.
"Guter, I have had many disciples."
"Their voices, their appearances, their traits, and the magic they loved most—I still remember all of it clearly."
"But their flaws... I seem to be unable to remember them very well anymore."
"Like Frieren."
"In my memories, she is still that little girl who only came up to my waist. She liked holding my hand and leading me through flower fields, then standing among the blossoms and loudly telling me about her dreams."
"She seemed like a very obedient child with great ideals."
"But I seem to have a memory that I have nearly forgotten."
"That child Frieren had a rebellious phase too. It seems she gave me quite a headache. She was far from as obedient and well-behaved as I remember her being."
"And there was that disciple, Bodi, the inventor of the Body Tempering Method you are currently practicing."
"He did not seem all that worry-free either. Hmm, let me think."
Within the smoothly moving carriage, Serie, having opened up, rambled on as she told Guter quite a few rebellious and embarrassing stories about his senior brothers and sisters that she could still recall.
Watching Teacher Serie, whose expressions were far more lively than usual as she spoke, Guter could not help sighing inwardly.
Sure enough, people got like this when they grew older.
Still, Teacher probably had not talked to someone like she had today in a very long time.
It was not until the carriage slowly came to a stop outside the walls of Fortress City - Frich that Serie dazedly realized just how long she had been talking.
Taking the water flask Guter handed her, Serie drank several large mouthfuls.
After setting down the flask, Serie had intended to get out and deal with the guards' inspection, only for her disciple to tug lightly at the corner of her clothes.
Serie turned back toward Guter. To her surprise, her disciple spoke to her with great seriousness.
"Teacher, I'll do something awful to you later."
"So please rest assured. You definitely won't forget my flaws."
"Hmph."
Serie wanted to laugh, yet also felt helpless. In the end, it became a cold snort mixed with many emotions.
"Say that again once you possess strength greater than mine."
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