"Ms. Fíliya, you are honestly too despicable."
Although she received some comfort and promises from Fíliya, Fern's heart was still filled with dissatisfaction.
Heh? Entering 'Honorifics Mode' so quickly? Fíliya scratched her face awkwardly.
But she immediately gave a light cough.
"Cough... Er, no way, do I look like the kind of person who plays dirty tricks? I gave you guys a chance, you know? It was you who chose to give up and didn't dare to fight me."
"Hmph... Then what do you say about using Mental Magic to control me?"
"Eh? That wasn't done by me either..."
Fíliya seemed to want to shift the blame, but seeing Fern's cheeks puffing up more and more (getting angrier and angrier), she sighed helplessly.
"Fine, perhaps, maybe, I have... a tiny bit of responsibility?"
"In that case, how do you plan to compensate me?"
Seeing Fíliya admit to this point, Fern finally revealed a faint smile.
"Mm... How about two dessert banquets? The unlimited kind where you can eat as much as you want."
Fíliya looked at Fern with a matching smile.
"At least three!"
"Deal."
As Fíliya and Fern reached an agreement, everyone present once again scrutinized the two with a subtle look.
Wait, wasn't this supposed to be a hostile confrontation? How did it suddenly turn into an atmosphere of flirting...
No one present expected the situation to develop in this direction.
"Fern, let's leave quickly. Although it's a pity the [Stille] was snatched, there is still a final period before the test ends. It's not time to give up yet. Perhaps we can try our luck; as long as we encounter a new [Stille], we can still catch it, or go rob other teams."
Seeing that Fern and Fíliya seemed to have finished talking, the glasses man whom Fíliya had ignored proposed a new suggestion.
But Fern had no intention of paying him any attention at this moment, because she had long since spotted the figure of her mentor, Frieren.
"Mm... But I want to go over there and take a look."
Fern spoke thus.
"But there isn't much time left..."
The glasses man seemed to want to continue persuading her, but Fern's attitude was resolute.
Because she always had a vague feeling.
Fíliya snatching her Stille didn't seem to be for the sake of passing... After all, there were six people on Fíliya's side; one Stille was definitely not enough.
So... does Fíliya have other plans? Fern thought to herself.
...
"Alright, Ehre, hold this for me."
Fíliya casually handed the cage with the Stille to Ehre.
Ehre was obviously somewhat surprised. After all, there were many people present, yet Fíliya chose to let her hold it... Did this mean...
But Fíliya evidently didn't know what wild thoughts Ehre was having. She simply looked toward Fern's direction again.
"Fern, aren't you going to say hello to Frieren? As for the remaining two, they can leave or stay as they please."
As Fíliya spoke, she mobilized her mana again, using High-Speed Movement Magic (Jilgravala) combined with Flight Magic. Like an arrow, she shot out a long distance in an instant. Her target this time was obviously the high ground created out of thin air by Earth Manipulation Magic (Askeriehm).
...
"Tsk... You've got to be kidding me, Denken actually lost..."
Richter sat on an earthen chair generated by Earth Manipulation Magic, his eyes looking down below the high ground.
When he saw Denken easily defeated at the hands of that white-haired elf, he had already sensed something was wrong. After all, Denken was the strongest mage he had ever seen.
Since Denken had already lost, what meaning was there in him staying here to play with two brats?
Thinking of this, he suddenly didn't want to fight anymore.
"Hey, Uncle, we are still in the middle of a battle. Is it really okay for you to space out like this?"
Lawine's tone clearly carried a trace of mockery.
"Be honest and don't move. You guys have already won. Let me finish smoking this, and I'll take you down."
Richter casually fished out a rolled cigarette from his bosom, then used a flame ignited at his fingertip to light it, taking a deep drag.
"Oh? You mean, you want to run after posturing?"
Hm? Upon hearing this voice, Richter almost couldn't hold his cigarette steady.
That highly threatening young green-haired girl was standing opposite him before he knew it. Feeling deeply powerless, Richter could only continue to smoke his gloomy cigarette.
Then, the cigarette in his mouth was knocked away by Fíliya using a simple [Stone Projectile Magic].
"Smoking is prohibited here, Uncle."
Fíliya looked at him teasingly.
"Tsk, so what do you want? I've already surrendered. If even Denken can't beat you guys, I have no way either."
Richter's face was gloomy. After all, he had only smoked half of his cigarette. This sensation of being cut off in the middle, neither pleasurable nor finished, made him feel very irritated inside.
"Isn't my meaning very obvious? You postured for so long just now, and in the end, you say you don't want to fight and just stop? Where in the world is there such a good thing?"
Fíliya crossed her arms contemptuously.
"Is that so... Then come on."
Richter took a deep breath and assumed a combat stance.
Although he knew his efforts might be futile, since the opponent had already provoked him to his face, as a mage, he had his own dignity. Even if defeat was certain, he would not fear this battle.
"Stop, when did I say I wanted to fight you?"
Fíliya glared at him with a look of contempt, which made Richter even more furious.
"...So what exactly are you here for?"
"Mm, actually I've been concerned about it for a while. A guy like you who thinks so highly of himself, why did you bring the two of them to this high ground you raised out of nothing to fight? If you really thought you could crush these two girls, it would have been more 'fair' to fight down below, right? After all, this... er, what was your name again?"
Fíliya said half of it, then hurriedly turned her head to look at Kanne.
"Kanne..."
Kanne hurriedly reported her name. Although she and Fíliya didn't know each other at all, she could tell that Fíliya was definitely on her side.
"Mm, cough cough. After all, this Miss Kanne is a mage who plays with water... yet you insisted on separating her from the water source. Can I interpret this behavior as... you are afraid?"
"Although you said something about easily dealing with them, you are actually afraid of this girl who plays with water, so you separated the battlefield... Am I right?"
Fíliya slowly offered her guess.
"Heh... I thought you had some brilliant opinion. Is that it...? I am a mage of [Earth Manipulation]; how could I possibly be afraid of water... And especially this kind of half-baked water goods. A brat who can't even use [Create Water] (Water Creation Magic - Dralguhr), how could she possibly pose a threat to me."
"Is that so? Then let's try it."
Fíliya was dismissive of Richter's reaction and walked straight to Kanne's side.
"Um... How did you know I was a [Water Manipulation] mage? Did Frieren tell you?"
Kanne was obviously a bit confused, but Fíliya just slowly shook her head.
"No, just looking at you gave me a 'vague feeling'. This girl looks like water goods at a glance... oh no, looks like an expert at playing with water."
Kanne's expression froze; she didn't know if she was being praised or insulted.
Immediately after, Fíliya took out a grimoire from her carry-on bag. It was precisely the [Fíliya's Water Magic] authored by her.
"Oh my, finally have a chance to give this thing away. Come, come, come, young person. I see your skeletal structure is amazing; you are good material for learning magic. This grimoire is a gift for you."
Fíliya very enthusiastically stuffed the grimoire into Kanne's arms.
"Er... that, 'skeletal structure is amazing' is used to describe warriors, right?"
Lawine, watching Fíliya's behavior from the side, couldn't help but retort.
"Don't mind those details. Come, Miss Kanne, start learning."
This sentence made Kanne even more stunned.
"Ah? Learn it now?"
"Otherwise? This is called a breakthrough in the face of battle, understand? Hurry up and learn it, then go thrash that poser."
This was Fíliya's plan. With Richter's level, she would feel no sense of accomplishment beating him, so she decided to give some pointers to this 'water goods' girl. For this kind of pretentious poser, having him lose to a girl weaker than himself was the true face-slap.
"B... But, a grimoire isn't something you can master immediately after reading... Teacher said one must proceed step by step..."
Kanne's expression was somewhat troubled. Although she could tell at a glance that the grimoire Fíliya stuffed into her hands was something far more advanced than the magic school textbooks, didn't that make it even harder to understand...? How could it be possible to learn magic immediately after reading the grimoire?
To this, Fíliya just shouted very disdainfully.
"Let your teacher go to hell! Alright, read it quickly!"
Under Fíliya's urging, Kanne could only brace herself and flip through it.
In response, that Uncle Richter stood very 'gentlemanly' on the spot, with absolutely no intention of interfering. After all, he didn't believe that a weak brat, even with expert guidance and reading a new grimoire, could do anything, right?
____
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