After all,
letting things continue like this, with the Dream-Eating Tapir coming every night to induce nightmares in the villagers, was simply too cruel.
Now he finally understood why the villagers had been so cold toward him during the day.
If you couldn't sleep well every night, constantly plagued by nightmares without knowing the reason, you'd beco paranoid too—seeing everyone as a potential threat.
Hearing this, Frieren lowered her head and thought for a mont.
"The Dream-Eating Tapir isn't hostile toward humans. If it's deliberately inducing dreams, I suspect it's because it's in its breeding period and lacks sufficient food."
"This village only has a dozen households. How could there be enough people having nightmares every day for it to feed on?"
Shane sighed.
A nursing mother with three hungry cubs… at this rate, the villagers were going to be drained dry.
"…There is one possible solution."
"What solution?"
"Before humans mastered [Flight Magic], only demons could reach the back of the Sky-Mountain Dragon."
"Among them, soone once collected a type of flower shaped like a star. Magical beasts love it, and its nectar can perfectly substitute food."
"I can use [Flower Field Magic] to make that flower grow all around the tapir's nest."
Hearing Frieren's idea, Shane imdiately praised it.
This was the best outco—keeping the Dream-Eating Tapir from causing trouble elsewhere, solving the villagers' problem, and providing food for the tapir at the sa ti. A perfect win-win-win.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go back and perform so magic for those little guys!"
"No." Frieren shook her head. "[Flower Field Magic] can only recreate flowers I've seen before. I've never seen that legendary flower, so I can't produce it."
Right.
Magic was the manifestation of imagination, and humans couldn't imagine sothing they had never seen.
Shane looked up at the sky.
In that case, the solution was simple.
They just had to wait here for that "passing" Sky-Mountain Dragon.
…
The next day.
At last, the sun appeared again after a long absence.
Warm sunlight broke through the clouds, falling onto the damp forest, scattering across leaves and grass like a soft filter over the world.
Frieren sat on a large rock by the stream, wrapped in a blanket, holding a thick grimoire as she quietly read.
A fishing rod was propped up in front of her.
The stream had risen slightly, clearer than usual, with pebbles and fish visible beneath the surface.
The small fish completely ignored the worm on the hook, showing no interest in biting. Frieren didn't seem to mind, calmly turning a page as she continued reading.
Shane sat beside her on the sandy ground, fiddling with a pile of worn-out equipnt—Extracting, Reforging, Assigning.
His expression shifted between excitent and disappointnt.
From sunrise to sunset, ti drifted by.
They occasionally exchanged a few short words.
Most of the ti, they simply did their own things.
Sotis Shane would ask questions about magic, and Frieren would patiently answer them one by one.
Sotis, when an interesting attribute appeared, Frieren would get curious and crouch beside him, the two of them studying it together.
"When did you start training as a [Sage]?"
"From the day you said I had no talent as a mage. Since I lack magical power and don't have a warrior's physique either, I figured I might as well start with [Sage], since it has no entry requirents."
"If you do that, your talent as a priest would go to waste. That's a bit of a sha."
"If I really beca a priest, that would be the real waste."
"?"
Frieren didn't understand.
Shane gave her a look that said everything without saying anything.
As they chatted, a distant, ethereal roar echoed from the sky.
Shane looked up. A tiny black dot appeared on the horizon, moving toward them.
"It's the Sky-Mountain Dragon."
Frieren smiled.
"It's flying quite high—outside the range of my Mana Detection."
They exchanged a glance. Frieren imdiately activated [Flight Magic], lifting Shane into the air as they chased after the black dot at high speed.
Finally, at the upper limit of [Flight Magic], they saw the legendary dragon with their own eyes.
Floating beside it, gazing at its enormous body and the continuous mountain range on its back, Shane felt his own insignificance.
Even Frieren, who rarely showed much emotion, displayed a rare look of joy.
"There are plants on its back that are completely different from those on the ground. It's an isolated ecosystem. According to demon records, you can even find plants tens of thousands of years old here."
"In places humans cannot reach, such a wondrous creature exists eternally…"
Shane understood her feelings.
Simply put, it was one long-lived being recognizing another.
In the vast flow of ti, things that remained unchanged were rare.
That was what made them precious.
They landed within the forest atop the dragon's back and successfully found the "star-shaped flower."
…
After casting [Flower Field Magic] near the Dream-Eating Tapir's nest, Shane and Frieren also scattered so of the collected seeds into the soil.
That way, even after the magic faded, naturally growing star flowers would continue to sustain the tapir family.
With the food problem solved, they returned to the village to deal with the villagers' "ntal burden."
After explaining everything to the village chief, everyone finally felt relieved.
The villagers apologized for their earlier coldness and gifted them plenty of fruits and vegetables.
The chubby little girl who had given Shane hazelnuts before also ca running over, grabbing his hand excitedly.
"Big brother, I knew it! Soone as handso as you must be amazing!"
Shane smiled. "Mm, you've got a good eye."
"I like you, big brother. Can we get married?"
Huh?
Shane froze.
That escalated quickly.
Looking at the girl's innocent eyes, he thought for a mont, then crouched down and answered seriously:
"I'm very happy to hear your confession, but I'm sorry—I can't accept."
"Why! Do you already like soone?"
"…Well."
Shane carefully chose his words. "Whether I like soone or not, I still can't accept. Because liking soone is sothing very serious. It requires ti together, understanding each other, compatibility, and the readiness to spend a lifeti together. Only then can we get married."
The little girl didn't seem to fully understand, her chubby face scrunching up in confusion.
Shane gently patted her head. "You might not understand now, but when you grow up and et more boys, you'll understand."
"Will they all be as handso as you?"
"They'll be even more handso."
"Yay!"
Shane smiled as he watched her run back into her mother's arms, chattering excitedly.
But when he turned around—
he saw Frieren wearing a similarly proud expression.
"Hehe, the village chief gave a really amazing grimoire. This trip was totally worth it!"
Shane glanced at the book in her hands, about to comnt—
and then choked.
[Dwarven Spring Amusents (Special Edition)]
Status: Intact
Attributes:
[Privacy Shield (Green/Uncommon)]: Written using the dwarven race's unique encrypted script, ensuring privacy and preventing prying eyes.
Evaluation: On long, lonely nights, a proper dwarf should study this. What? You don't like it? Then sothing must be wrong with you!
"Frieren! Wait—that book isn't sothing you should take!"
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