"'When you pass by here again soday, you absolutely must co visit us.' Those were also the final words of the village chief before my grandmother."
"Okay."
"!!"
The little village chief stared at Frieren in shock.
Frieren blinked. "Why are you looking at like that?"
"Grandma said you never agreed to requests like that..."
The little girl's expression beca a little lonely.
But a mont later, she suddenly clapped her hands excitedly. "So that ans I'm cuter than Grandma, right!? You'll rember this promise, right!? Next ti for sure, okay!?"
Frieren curled her lips into a faint smile.
"Yeah. Then, see you again soday."
The little village chief happily escorted them to the village entrance. After waving goodbye, the group continued northward.
Shane walked beside Frieren, glancing at her teasingly.
"Not bad. You've learned how to say goodbye properly."
Frieren awkwardly looked away.
"I just didn't want to disappoint a child's expectations."
Shane didn't expose her bluff.
"Of course. Our elf mage is so kind, there's no way she'd stand by and watch a little girl cry."
Frieren fell silent for a mont.
"You said before... if you don't say what's in your heart, the other person won't understand."
"If I'd co earlier... I could've responded to the forr village chief's last words in person..."
Shane smiled. That dense white-haired elf was finally starting to understand little by little.
"It's not too late to start now. From here on, just say it properly whenever you can."
Frieren didn't answer. After a while, she quietly murmured, "Mm."
For an entire month afterward, they never encountered another village, not even a hunter's cabin.
The group trekked endlessly through the mountains.
The snow beneath their feet gradually thinned, patches of green slowly beginning to show.
Winter was almost over.
Though in the Northern Lands, the end of winter simply ant winter would soon return again.
At the very least, however, they no longer had to deal with unpredictable blizzards.
"Let's rest here for a bit. Once we enter the Alt Forest, we'll officially be leaving the Schwer Mountains."
Frieren rolled up the map in her hands, finally showing a relaxed expression.
Fern began gathering firewood and starting a fire.
Shane brought Stark nearby to gather wild fruits.
They were currently at the edge of the Alt Forest. The snow had completely disappeared, replaced by lush grass and dense shrubs everywhere.
"We can finally eat so fruit and vegetables again," Stark sighed emotionally.
Shane laughed. Ever since the last ti he ate mushroom soup and got poisoned into collapse...
Stark had rejected all mushroom-related food.
Unfortunately, the supplies they bought from the Sword Village consisted mostly of jerky and dried mushrooms, since they stored well and lasted a long ti... which ant Stark had spent the past month resisting every al.
Now they finally had a chance to change things up.
"Huh? Why is there a person here?" Stark suddenly said.
The two pushed aside a patch of bushes, only to discover a dark swamp hidden beneath layers of dead branches and leaves.
The swamp wasn't very large, but it was perfectly concealed. One careless step and a person would sink straight in.
Just like the unlucky man currently trapped inside, with only his upper body still visible above the mud.
"Hello, adventurers. My na is Sein. Seeing you here is truly a blessing. Could you please help pull out?"
The man in the swamp sounded remarkably calm. Raising a mud-covered hand, he smiled and greeted Shane and Stark.
Shane widened his eyes.
The man before him wore a priest's outfit. He had short brown hair tied loosely into a small braid behind his head, a goat beard on his chin, and friendly green eyes.
It was the priest Sein!
To think they'd actually et him here!
Glug.
While Shane was thinking, Sein sank a little deeper.
Stark blanked out for a mont. He looked at Sein, then at the swamp, before finally reacting in horror.
"I'll pull you out right now!"
But just as the boy was about to rush forward, Shane grabbed him.
"Wait, Stark. Your axe is too heavy. If you step into the swamp carelessly, you'll get swallowed too."
"But..."
Glug.
Only Sein's chest and above remained visible now.
Shane scanned the surroundings before his gaze landed on a large boulder nearby.
"Don't panic. Go move that rock over here."
Shane drew a circle on the ground with his foot.
Stark obediently did as instructed imdiately.
Shane then inspected the nearby trees before choosing one about the thickness of a bowl. Judging by its height, it was around four or five ters long.
Perfect.
Crack—
Under Shane's instructions, Stark chopped the tree down as well.
Shane propped the trunk atop the boulder, creating an enormous lever. One end extended toward Sein in the center of the swamp.
"Alright. Now we can save him."
Stark looked utterly confused. How was this supposed to save soone?
Sein was equally confused.
Was this really going to pull him out?
Glug. At this point, only his arms and shoulders remained above the mud. The situation was too urgent for hesitation, so he imdiately hugged the tree trunk tightly.
"If you're trying to overpower the swamp... there are only two of you. Can you really do it...?"
"Relax. One person is enough."
As he spoke, Shane activated the Attribute Reforging effect [One Against Three], linking himself to Stark three consecutive tis.
In an instant, explosive power surged through his body. His muscles swelled with terrifying strength as he gained triple Stark's physical power.
Without hesitation, he took two running steps, leaped into the air, and landed firmly on the raised end of the lever.
Smack—
The lever slamd downward from the force.
Pop—
The swamp let out a sound like a wine cork being pulled from a bottle. Clinging to the tree trunk, Sein was yanked completely out of the mud.
Stark was overjoyed.
But before the happiness on the boy's face could even last a few seconds, he watched as the suddenly rising tree trunk catapulted Sein high into the air.
Then the mud-covered priest transford into a black shooting star that flew directly across the forest.
Stark froze in shock.
anwhile, Shane raised a hand over his brow like a visor and looked toward the direction the black teor had flown.
"Looks like he landed near the camp."
"What are we supposed to do now...?" Stark said in disbelief.
"What else can we do? Since things have already co to this, let's head back and eat first." Shane stepped off the lever, casually brushing leaves off his pants with complete calmness.
Stark: "..."
The two returned to camp carrying a basket of small berries.
The mont they arrived, they found Fern lecturing Frieren.
Frieren stood pitifully beside the campfire.
(==)
After asking around, they learned that just monts earlier, sothing resembling a giant lump of mud had fallen from the sky.
Frieren had imdiately used "Magic That Blows Away Dirty Things" and blasted the person flying again...
"Sorry. I thought soone was throwing mud at us."
"What kind of person throws mud that huge!?"
"..."
Following Frieren's resentful gaze, Shane turned toward the nearby tree.
Sure enough, there really was mud that huge.
At that mont, Mud Sein was wedged deep inside the tree canopy, completely unconscious.
User Comments
0 comments from readers