"They're pursuers," Flamé remarked calmly, casting a sidelong glance at the three figures behind them.
"They seem stronger than that general Frieren took out just now," she added.
"Yeah," Shichen agreed with a slight nod, unafraid. After all, he knew what Flamé could do.
Frieren remained silent, her face expressionless.
"How interesting," Flamé said with a soft laugh, gazing at the three demons. "Until just a moment ago, they had completely suppressed their magic so they could ambush us from behind… But as soon as they realized there's a fellow magic user here, they showed themselves. Demons may be devious, but no matter who they are, they're always ridiculously overconfident in their pathetic magic."
Flamé's magical aura barely covered her body, whereas each of the three demons had magic more powerful than Frieren's—hence why they'd decided to appear.
The demon in the middle, wearing a helmet with what looked like ram's horns, ignored Flamé's mockery and turned its eyes on Shichen. "Human," it warned, "put down that female elf."
"In your dreams!" Shichen shot back defiantly.
He wasn't the least bit intimidated with Flamé around—he was her disciple now, after all. Borrowed authority sure felt great.
"If he puts her down, will you let us go?" Flamé asked.
"We're under orders from the Demon King to kill every elf," the demon replied. "Your life doesn't matter to us."
"I see."
Flamé gave a small laugh and stepped forward in front of Shichen.
"Frieren." She glanced back at the elf on Shichen's back. "You were right—I do know exactly what's on the minds of powerful magic users. It's the same for these three. They're full of pride and confidence in the magic they've honed so far, which basically translates to a whole lot of arrogance and carelessness—no better than garbage."
Boom—!
Before Flamé finished her sentence, there was a sudden explosion. The demons didn't even have time to react; her magic had already struck.
As the smoke cleared, a gaping crater became visible before Flamé. Where the three demons once stood, only scattered remains were left—and even those quickly vanished.
This was Flamé's true strength!
A single casual attack had obliterated three demon generals in an instant.
On Shichen's back, Frieren's eyes went wide with shock.
"Frieren," Flamé said quietly, her back still turned to them, "unlike you, they apparently didn't consider me a threat."
"…," Frieren was speechless. Flamé's magic power was far greater than her own—she could sense it radiating off her.
Flamé turned around to face them again and continued, "Even though those demons were skilled magic users, they died because they were careless."
"…Restricting the release of external magic power so your opponent can't gauge how strong your magic really is?" Frieren muttered, finally understanding why she'd sensed Flamé's power was on a completely different level.
"Exactly," Flamé said with a slight nod. "Tricking the enemy into underestimating your strength, then using that opening to kill them… It's a nasty way to fight, turning something as noble and sacred as magic into nothing more than a cheap tactic."
"Are you saying… you want me to learn that kind of magic?" Frieren asked, no longer opposed to becoming Flamé's disciple.
"Yes." Flamé fixed her with a serious gaze. "I want you to keep honing that skill."
And so Flamé's first lesson for Frieren began, leaving Shichen—the only other person present—feeling practically invisible.
It was funny how she'd initially mistaken Shichen for the person who killed those demons, yet now she was totally focused on Frieren.
Fortunately, Shichen didn't mind… or so he told himself.
Afterward, Shichen and Frieren followed Flamé back to her home and began their magical training.
It should've been a perfect start, but there was a problem—Shichen had no magic power. He couldn't train at all.
After a few days of watching him, Flamé started questioning her initial impressions. Aside from his looks and overall vibe, Shichen was pretty much useless. A total magic-blockhead.
How was he supposed to learn magic with zero magical power?
But since she'd already taken him on as a disciple, she wasn't about to throw him out. She decided to just let him stay. At least he was a decent cook.
Frieren, on the other hand, showed real talent for magic and progressed quickly, much to Flamé's satisfaction.
And so the three of them settled into a simple life together.
Half a month later…
Deep in the forest, a dark figure leapt swiftly among the treetops, as agile as a wild ape—except it needed no vines. The figure stopped on a thick branch, revealing itself.
It was Shichen. He peered down cautiously at a gray hare, eyes focused. Slowly, he raised his right hand, gripping a stone.
The moment the hare turned its back, Shichen hurled the stone with deadly precision.
Smack!
It nailed the hare on the back of its skull. The animal dropped instantly, lifeless.
Shichen hopped down from the tree, grabbed the hare, looked it over, and smiled.
"It's pretty plump. Perfect for lunch—maybe some rabbit stew."
With that, Shichen slung the hare over his shoulder and headed back home.
Over the past half-month, his routine had been either watching Frieren practice magic or going out to hunt. Since he couldn't train in magic himself, taking care of the daily needs of his master and junior disciple was the next best thing.
Besides, he had those quest perks. It'd be a shame not to put them to good use. He half-suspected those perks were given to him precisely so he could do mundane tasks like these.
He just needed to stay close to Frieren to gain her trust for the Divine Fragment. And honestly, Frieren was so straightforward that simply sticking around and helping out was probably enough.
When he returned, he found Frieren meditating with her eyes closed just outside the house. Master Flamé was nowhere to be seen—again, not unusual.
Their home was really just a small cabin, simple but snug, with a garden of flowers all around that made the air smell amazing. There were three rooms in total, one of which was a kitchen. Frieren and Flamé shared a bedroom. Originally, there'd only been one room, but since there was a man around—Shichen—they needed another, and then Shichen requested a separate kitchen, which Flamé created in a few minutes with magic.
Magic was incredibly handy.
Shichen didn't head straight to the kitchen to cook. Instead, he walked over to Frieren and peered down at her delicate face.
It didn't take long for Frieren to sense his stare. She opened her eyes and glanced at the hare in his hand.
"Rabbit again?" she asked, voice calm but with a hint of displeasure.
They'd been eating rabbit for ten days straight now.
"Couldn't find anything else," Shichen replied, holding out the hare. "And it's a nice, plump one."
Frieren closed her eyes again, refusing to look. "I'm an elf. Why are we always eating this?"
"Weren't you enjoying it at first?"
Frieren said nothing.
"Anyway, I won't roast it today. I'm making stew."
"Stew?" Frieren opened her eyes again.
"It'll be really good." Shichen spoke confidently.
"Then I guess I'll look forward to it."
"Trust my cooking." Shichen reached out with his other hand and gave her hair a friendly ruffle.
Frieren was wearing her hair in twin tails—something Shichen had done for her. He thought it looked cuter.
She didn't bother resisting. She'd noticed Shichen loved patting her head. The first time, it was completely out of the blue, and ever since, he just did it whenever he liked.
What was so fun about it?
"Hey, Frieren," Shichen said suddenly, "don't you ever get bored of doing this every day?"
"It can be dull," she admitted softly.
"So why keep at it? Elves live for a really long time."
"…Maybe because I like magic," Frieren said, matter-of-fact.
"Magic, huh? I like it too—it's so convenient," Shichen replied with a grin.
"Shichen…" Frieren started, biting her lip.
"Call me 'Shichen-senpai!'" Shichen scolded jokingly, ruffling her hair again. Only then did he head off to the kitchen.
Frieren watched his back until he disappeared inside, then slowly closed her eyes and resumed her training.
Flamé didn't return for quite a while, so Shichen and Frieren were left to enjoy the rabbit stew by themselves. It was Shichen's first time making it, and Frieren savored it—finally, something other than greasy roast rabbit.
But after the next few days of Shichen making rabbit stew over and over, Frieren got sick of that, too. Sure, he'd vary the recipe, but it was still rabbit. Eating rabbit every day was starting to get unbearable.
And Shichen hated cooking vegetables—he didn't like eating them. Since Frieren didn't know how to cook at all, she had no choice but to rely on him. She decided to endure more of his head-pats if it meant he'd try cooking something else for a change.
She was going to puke if she ate any more rabbit.
This time, Flamé's trip took longer than usual—she'd been gone half a month. During that time, Shichen and Frieren lived alone together. He took care of her every day, and naturally, her trust grew.
One morning, that mechanical voice suddenly rang out in Shichen's head, reminding him that he'd already spent a full month in this world.
[Quest complete. Please proceed to acquire the Divine Fragment from the target.]
[Method of acquisition: One minute of direct skin contact.]
[In one week, you will be forced to leave and travel to a new world in search of more fragments.]