"Yuhran, Yuhran—wake up."
A gentle female voice called to him through the haze. Yuhran frowned slightly and slowly opened his eyes.
The moment he did, he froze.
Because—he could actually understand what she was saying.
Miliarde stood in front of him, delicate brows slightly knit.
"When did you come back?"
Sometimes, she felt that Yuhran was more like a mage than she was.
Appearing and disappearing without a trace.
"Early morning," Yuhran replied, rubbing his temples as he tried to dispel the lingering drowsiness. His mind still wasn't fully awake.
If it weren't for the fact that the student girl teaching him Japanese the night before had gone on too late—only for her family to come looking, forcing him to avoid misunderstandings—
He wouldn't have come here to lie low in the first place.
Thinking of this, Yuhran slowly swung his legs off the bed, braced his fingers against the edge, and let his gaze drift past Miliarde as he surveyed his surroundings.
Last night it had been too dark to see clearly. Now, in the morning light, he realized just how simple and rustic this place was.
A wooden house. Oil lamps.
"Early morning?"
Miliarde had never heard this word before, but after a moment's thought, she didn't dwell on it.
Recalling what had happened a few days ago, her gaze returned to Yuhran as she studied him and said:
"Did you bring any of that food with you? I'm hungry. And also—how do you cook the meat in the cellar?"
"No matter how I try, I can't recreate the flavor of what you gave me last time."
Of course she couldn't. She didn't have any seasonings.
Yuhran withdrew his wandering gaze, gave a few perfunctory replies, and stepped outside.
The morning sunlight was a little dazzling, making him squint unconsciously.
Not far away, several villagers were already hard at work.
He took a deep breath of the unpolluted, fresh air, relaxed his nerves for a moment, then turned back inside to prepare breakfast.
Fried eggs, vegetables, chicken—all natural foods with no additives.
He wasn't sure whether Miliarde would be used to it.
Sprinkling a bit of black pepper, Yuhran sat down at the table.
Miliarde poured each of them a glass of red wine and was just about to start eating when Yuhran suddenly asked:
"Before we eat, I want to ask you something. Do you think I can learn magic?"
"I've already learned the methods of a warrior. My stamina really has improved, but I don't think it's anywhere near enough."
"Is there something like a move that can wipe out an entire city in one go?"
Miliarde's right hand froze in midair, utensils suspended.
"?"
She looked up at him in confusion.
"What?"
Although this world was still relatively primitive, it was already gradually entering the era of city-states.
Even as an elf who rarely dealt with humans, Miliarde understood what a "city" was.
In her impression, a city was enormous—so big it took at least a full day to walk out of it.
To destroy one in a single move… even she herself couldn't do that. How did Yuhran dare to imagine it?
Her gaze turned serious.
Clink.
She set her utensils down with a sharp sound and said solemnly:
"Yuhran, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about mages?"
"If I had that kind of power, I wouldn't have needed you to save me last time."
"At my limit, I can probably create a crater about thirty meters wide—and that's with a full-powered attack."
Thirty meters?
Yuhran was stunned.
That strong?
She said it lightly, but by modern standards, that was already terrifying.
After all, the lethal radius of a conventional missile was only around fifteen meters.
Anticipation surged in his heart—only for Miliarde's next words to pour cold water over his head.
"As for learning magic… I'll be blunt. With your aptitude, it'll be very difficult."
"When you were unconscious, I examined your entire body. Normally, even a newborn baby has at least a trace of magic power."
"That magic power serves as a seed. Through daily meditation, it can gradually grow."
"Some people are extraordinarily gifted—within a single year, they can increase their magic power by ten percent."
"Others with poorer talent might need twenty years just to—"
"In short, regardless of talent, everyone has at least some magic within them."
"But you… you have none at all."
"I truly can't imagine how you could possibly learn magic."
"..."
—Is it because I'm a modern human?
A dim look flickered through Yuhran's eyes.
He understood everything about the Frieren world. He understood how magic functioned.
But without magic power—what could he possibly do?
Fortunately, Miliarde didn't end things there.
She cut into her fried egg and chewed slowly.
Apparently tasting something delicious, her eyes lit up and the corners of her lips lifted.
Seeing Yuhran's dejected expression—and thinking about the prospect of eating more food like this in the future—she chose her words carefully and added:
"Of course, it's not entirely hopeless."
"Have you heard of the Goddess?"
"Legend says the Goddess is the being who created this world."
"To be honest, I don't really believe it. I've never seen her."
"But it's said that the Goddess's Holy Scripture she distributed two hundred years ago can grant people the power of magic directly."
"You could try that."
As she said this, she set her utensils down, took a small sip of red wine, and narrowed her eyes slightly.
Then, looking straight at Yuhran, she continued:
"Once you possess the Holy Scripture, you might gain magic power."
"And once you have magic power, it won't be too late for me to teach you magic."
At those words, it was as if clouds parted to reveal the sun. Yuhran's mood instantly lifted, light returning to his eyes.
That's right—how could he have forgotten this?
The Goddess, known as the Goddess of Creation, undeniably existed in the Frieren worldview.
After all, Frieren herself had used a Goddess Monument left behind by her to traverse time.
She was not only the creator of magic, but also the enlightener of civilization—and the creator of elves and humans alike.
Decision made.
Bang.
With firm resolve in his eyes, Yuhran asked:
"How can I obtain the Holy Scripture?"
...
That night, Yuhran returned to the real world.
From their conversation, he learned that the only way to obtain the Holy Scripture was to go to the royal capital of the Unified Empire.
There, believers could speak directly with the Goddess, receive her blessing, and thus gain magic.
—Known as Goddess Magic.
Unlike the magic commonly believed to be wielded by demons, Goddess Magic focused primarily on healing and curse removal.
That wasn't important… no, healing was important.
But what Yuhran cared about most was magic power itself.
At his desk, he unfolded the map and checked the scale.
From their current location to the royal capital, the distance was roughly five to six thousand kilometers.
Too far.
But no matter how far—it had to be done.
Letting out a breath, the incandescent desk lamp cast a faint halo of light over his face.
He put the map away.
Just then—
Tick, tick, tick.
The clock quietly passed midnight.
Yuhran was about to head to bed when he suddenly noticed that the two-world gate he carried with him was emitting a faint glow.
Taking it out, he saw that a progress bar had appeared beneath the door.
The bar was divided into six segments in total.
At this moment, for reasons unknown, one of them had lit up.
He froze for a second—
Then, joy flooded his heart.