When Shichen heard that notification, his hands paused in the middle of tying Frieren's pigtails, but then he continued as if nothing had happened.
His hands kept working, but his thoughts were racing. He hadn't expected that touching her hair would count as skin contact, or perhaps…
Shichen's gaze shifted downward, eyeing where his knee was pressed against the outside of Frieren's thigh.
That might be the more likely form of contact.
But then he remembered something else: earlier, when he woke Frieren up, he'd been touching her for more than a minute as well. Why hadn't it triggered the same notification then?
Maybe because she was asleep, so it didn't count?
He recalled that the voice in his head had mentioned the matter of trust; maybe it had to be while she was awake, indicating that she trusted him enough for it to activate?
No point dwelling on it. It wasn't like he planned to touch Frieren in her sleep… at least not for now.
"Shichen, are you done yet?" Frieren asked sleepily.
"Almost," Shichen said, snapping out of his thoughts with a smile. "You getting hungry?"
"What's wrong with that?" Frieren mumbled, rubbing her flat belly.
"I'm glad, that's all."
As a cook, nothing made him happier than someone looking forward to his food.
"Hurry up, I'm starving."
"Got it, got it."
He quickly finished tying Frieren's twin tails. Together, they left the room and headed outside.
The aroma was much stronger out here. Frieren walked up to the pot, leaned in, and breathed in the scent.
"Smells like mushrooms?"
"You recognized it," Shichen said with a grin as he lifted the lid.
Immediately, the fragrance wafted out in full force.
Frieren took a long whiff, then looked into the pot—only for her previously expectant expression to fall flat.
"Mushroom porridge? That's it? Seems kind of plain."
"It's morning—what were you expecting, a feast?" Shichen shot her a look.
"But you were making such a big deal about it…"
"At least it's not rabbit soup."
"Fine…" Frieren conceded. Anything but more rabbit.
"By the way, where'd you get this rice?" she asked.
"Master left it for us a while back."
"You said we were out of it before," Frieren said, frowning suspiciously at him.
Shichen gave a sheepish laugh. "I just hid it away, that's all."
"What?! You hid it?! I had to eat rabbit all those days because of you?" Frieren protested angrily.
"It's just a small stash—if we'd used it up sooner, you'd still be eating rabbit after that, right? Besides, wasn't the rabbit good?"
"Only for a while! You get sick of it eventually. And that's not the point—you tricked me!"
"All right, all right, enough complaining. Do you want breakfast or not?"
"…I do…"
"That's what I thought."
Shichen carried the pot inside, and he and Frieren sat down to enjoy breakfast.
Afterward, Shichen went out again to gather food, while Frieren stayed home practicing magic as usual.
With her magic, it would be easy to get more food, but it never crossed Shichen's mind to ask her. Though he couldn't do magic, he was still reasonably fit and strong; of course he'd prefer to hunt himself. Doing things by hand was satisfying—catch your own meal, eat your fill.
That day, Shichen didn't come back in time for lunch. He only returned at dusk with quite a haul. Since he'd have to leave soon, he wanted to hunt extra for Frieren to have enough stored food. She was so lazy that, without him, she'd probably just grab the easiest thing she could whenever she was hungry.
Even though she was such a foodie.
He decided to prepare things that wouldn't spoil quickly, like cured or dried meats. Dried rabbit jerky seemed like a good idea.
Frieren didn't complain about him coming back late. She'd finished her training ages ago and had slept right up until his return. If Shichen hadn't been cooking, she might have stayed lying around the whole day, skipping meals unless her hunger truly became unbearable.
On the second day, there was still no sign of Flamé, so Shichen and Frieren continued their two-person routine. Shichen actually wanted to say goodbye to Flamé, though. If she hadn't agreed to take him as a disciple, who knew what he'd be doing in this world?
He couldn't have just stuck to them like glue—Flamé could easily have flown off somewhere to ditch him, and he'd have had no way to catch up. He'd be out of options, and the "thing" in his head might not guide him quickly enough to find the Fragment in under a month. You never know.
It seemed that whatever that voice was, it was eager for him to collect fragments, eager for him to become a god. Why such a rush?
…
In the late afternoon of the fourth day, Shichen's luck turned—Flamé finally came back, and she had something unusual with her: a glowing seedling.
"Master, what's that?" Shichen asked, walking over with curiosity when he saw her holding the shining little plant.
"This? It'll watch over our home," Flamé replied, smiling.
"Our home?" Shichen blinked in confusion.
"You think that flimsy thing can do the job?" Frieren remarked, walking over as well.
"Don't underestimate it," Flamé admonished, shaking her head. "Once it's grown, it can protect this place for a thousand years, no matter what."
"A thousand years? By then, you and Shichen will both be gone," Frieren noted calmly.
As an elf, Frieren was a long-lived race. A thousand years was hardly a big deal for her.
Shichen just smiled quietly, while Flamé looked at Frieren gently. "But it's different for you, Frieren."
"I'm not going to stay here forever."
"Even so, you're bound to return sometime. If you ever feel lost, you can come back here to find your answers."
"Is that so?" Frieren responded, not seeming especially convinced.
"All right, Master, let's plant it and then have dinner together," Shichen chimed in. "It's been a while since we've all eaten together."
"Sure." Flamé nodded, smiling.
They planted the seedling in the small slope of soil right next to the cabin. Once it grew big, presumably it would envelop the little house and protect it well.
That evening, Shichen made a hearty rabbit stew. Everyone except Frieren seemed pretty happy with it. Since she wasn't thrilled, she went back to her room right after eating. Despite being the oldest, she still acted like a child sometimes.
Shichen and Flamé just watched her retreating figure and shook their heads in amusement.
Once Frieren had gone inside, Shichen's smile faded. He looked at Flamé and said, "Master, could we talk for a moment?"
"Oh? Of course." She nodded.
After cleaning up the dishes, they headed outside together.
Night had already fallen. The moon hung in the sky, with countless stars scattered across the darkness—beautiful and mysterious, perfect for a private conversation.
Shichen walked a short distance from the cabin, then stopped. Flamé stopped as well, standing beside him.
"Shichen, what did you want to talk about?" she asked.
Gazing at the sky, he answered calmly, "Master, I'm planning to leave for a while."
"Leave?"
"Yeah. I want to look for a way I can learn magic."
"I see. Then go," she said with a gentle smile.
"Huh? Just like that, you're letting me go?" Shichen turned to her, surprised.
"Well, do you not want to leave?"
"I do, but part of me doesn't…"
"So there's your answer."
"Right… But at least try to convince me to stay a bit. Feels like you don't care about me."
"You're my disciple. Of course I care—even if you are a bit… lacking."
"Master, that last part was unnecessary," Shichen grumbled. "It's not like I can help it."
"Heh. I'm sure you'll find a way." Flamé looked at him kindly.
"You really have that much faith in me?"
"You're not ordinary, after all."
"Master…"
"No need to explain anything more. As long as you willingly call me your master, that's enough for me."
She reached out and patted his head. "When I first saw you, I sensed there was something special about you. There was something… magical. I actually thought you might be stronger than my own master at the time."
"Your master?"
Shichen knew who that was, of course.
"She's incredible," Flamé said proudly. "You might meet her someday."
"All right."
"Aren't you going to tell Frieren?" Flamé asked.
"I'll mention it tomorrow."
"You're leaving tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"Then I guess all I can do is wish you good luck."
"Thanks, Master."
Early the next morning, Shichen casually told Frieren he was going somewhere far away to hunt, so he could find better food for her, then left. No need for a big reveal—he could come back anyway.
Frieren didn't doubt him at all and was actually quite happy. She could finally get a break from rabbit meat.
Shichen took nothing with him. After walking some distance from the house, into the forest, he simply vanished.