During the rest period awaiting the second round of the exam, Miss Fíliya lived quite a fulfilling life.
First, there were the daily frolics with Frieren and Fern. In her spare time, she would seek out Edel, who was residing in the City of Magic, to study Mental Magic, and occasionally, she would get in touch with her family, Sense, to bond.
Of course, what occupied the most time in her day was, naturally, 'work'.
Upon returning to the library of the Continental Magic Association and sitting back at her familiar workstation, Fíliya once again realized the terrifying nature of 'Time'.
After all, she had been away from here for two years. During these two years, the library had accumulated a mountain of ancient books and artifacts, all waiting for her to translate and appraise.
Faced with this, Miss Fíliya could only take a deep breath and shake her head in secret.
If she hadn't mentally prepared herself before coming, she probably would have been truly scared off by the miscellaneous items filling more than half the warehouse.
Fortunately, she was not fighting alone this time. The reliable Ms. Frieren had upheld her promise well, coming to assist Fíliya in sorting through these miscellaneous items excavated from dungeons.
Frieren herself quite enjoyed such work; after all, she was very interested in all kinds of magic and magical tools.
And in this process, she also discovered a side of that green-haired girl that was completely different from usual.
For instance, right now, Miss Fíliya, who was wholeheartedly devoted to paperwork, was simply uncharacteristically well-behaved. Mm, as long as this guy keeps her mouth shut... she could probably trick quite a few people into thinking she's some sheltered young lady... Frieren thought to herself.
"You've been staring at me for a minute, Frieren."
Just as Frieren was gazing at Fíliya, slightly lost in thought, Fíliya turned her head with a puzzled look and glanced at her.
"Eh? Was I?"
Frieren hurriedly averted her gaze.
"Of course you were, my senses are never wrong. Stop spacing out and get moving; there's still a lot to do."
Fíliya spoke in a rebuking tone, which gave Frieren goosebumps all over.
"Um... can you be normal?"
Frieren asked tentatively in a low voice.
"...Are you having an episode? In what way am I not normal?"
Miss Fíliya finally stopped the work in her hands and glared at Frieren with a look of disgust.
It had to be said that this reversal of positions felt very novel to Frieren. Usually, she was the one looking at Fíliya with disgust, but today, she was the one being glared at by Fíliya.
"It's just... usually you're so carefree and loud, but right now... I feel you're too quiet. I'm a bit unaccustomed to it."
After saying this, Frieren immediately lowered her head.
"Tsk, you are so troublesome. I'm about to be crushed by work, where would I get the energy to be lively..."
Miss Fíliya slammed her fist onto the table in annoyance, the sound causing the other clerks in the library to cast curious glances their way.
"Besides, people naturally show different sides of themselves in different situations... Even a chaotic rascal isn't going to be acting crazy all the time. There are moments when they behave."
After throwing out these words, Fíliya quickly entered her work mode once again.
Watching Fíliya work so seriously, Frieren began to feel that she was dragging her feet, and couldn't help but blush slightly.
But after a while, Frieren subconsciously began to ponder Fíliya's words from earlier.
People naturally show different sides of themselves in different situations.
Mm... that does seem to be the case. She suddenly thought of Himmel. That guy, who was usually incredibly vain and unreliable, could display excellent leadership qualities when the party encountered a crisis, bringing a sense of security to everyone. He was a genuine Hero.
From this perspective... Fíliya was indeed somewhat similar to Himmel.
Looking at Fíliya's profile, Frieren couldn't help but form a marvelous association.
"You're doing it again... For a guy who's lived a thousand years, is your attention span really this easily scattered?"
Noticing Frieren's distraction, Fíliya immediately glared over again with that look of disgust.
"N-No... I'm usually very easy to get into a focused state when I'm alone..."
Frieren's tone was somewhat awkward. She had, of course, noticed her own abnormality.
When she was by Fíliya's side, it seemed very difficult to concentrate... Or rather, her attention was easily captured by Fíliya.
"Sigh... what a useless fellow. Fine, it seems that if I don't entertain you for a bit, you won't be of any help."
Fíliya turned around somewhat helplessly and looked straight at Frieren.
"Come on, tell me what you're thinking."
Frieren naturally didn't dare to meet those eyes, so she could only lower her head and speak in a very soft voice.
"...I-I just feel that the feeling Fíliya gives me is very familiar."
"Hiss... something's wrong. I don't recall ever bending your preferences that way... You like boys, right? Why are you suddenly so interested in me... Could it be you are lusting after my beauty?"
Fíliya looked at Frieren with an expression as if she had seen a ghost, deliberately lowering her volume as she spoke.
"I do not like Himmel!"
Frieren argued hurriedly.
But Fíliya simply sneered.
"When did I ever mention the name 'Himmel'? You just outed yourself, didn't you? You idiot elf."
"..."
Frieren finally realized the issue as well, so she could only pretend she hadn't said anything.
Fíliya couldn't be bothered to point it out further, so she continued speaking.
"Forget it. If you're not in the right state of mind, just go back first. Go play with Fern. I can handle things here alone; it'll just take a bit of time. Just leave me some food for tonight. By the time I get home, you guys will probably be asleep."
Fíliya spoke casually, then turned directly back to her work.
Frieren, however, did not leave. She felt that if she left at a time like this, it would be no different from 'losing'. Although she didn't know what exactly she was competing against, she just didn't want to go.
"...In the past thousand years, I have been defeated more than ten times. The mages who defeated me were mostly humans."
Frieren abruptly threw out a sentence. To this, Fíliya's reaction was:
"Is that so? Why mention this all of a sudden?"
Mm, one could tell she wasn't very interested.
"Because, I remembered a sentence from my teacher... 'If there is a mage in this world who can kill you, it will definitely be a human'... Although I had been defeated before, it wasn't until I met you that I truly felt the reality of those words... You might just be that human who can kill me."
Frieren's words made Fíliya raise her eyebrows slightly. This action signified that she had finally kindled a trace of interest, so she put down her pen and paper and turned around.
"Umu... actually, I have also imagined the scenario of fighting you more than once. But it is a pity that we have already become friends. Whether it is you or me, neither of us seems capable of striking a killing blow against the other."
Frieren nodded in agreement.
"Mm, that is true."
"Sigh... So I really have lost an opportunity to fight to the death with a top-tier powerhouse, huh?"
Fíliya shook her head, and then suddenly realized that while she often mocked modern mages for having nothing but fighting on their brains, didn't the flames of a battle maniac burn in her bones as well?
____
New Story: Starting from Their Seventeen Years Old
🔥We're handing out that '30% bonus' that makes your wallet smile. 😄
✅ Get immediate access to 40 early chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive material and special announcements!
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters across ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan