Clank.
Clank.
Seeing that Frieren didn't look like she was joking at all, Shane couldn't help but feel uneasy.
'She's not seriously going to take it apart, right? If this [Undead] gets dismantled… will it still be "undead"…?'
"Hm? There really is sothing."
At that mont, Frieren let out a small exclamation from ahead.
Shane shook off his thoughts and exchanged a glance with Fern. The two of them approached cautiously, one after the other.
They saw that the fully armored suit now had its chest wide open—but the scene wasn't as grueso as they had imagined.
Inside, there was no corpse or skeleton.
Instead, there was a nest of small gray rabbits.
Two or three of them, it seed. They looked like they had just been born, their eyes still closed, huddled together in a soft pile like little balls of fluff.
The adorable sight instantly cald Fern.
The young girl stepped out from behind Shane and began helping Frieren dismantle the armor. Before long, they had carefully taken all the little rabbits out.
Looking at the rabbits in Fern's arms, Frieren said, "It seems that the demonic magic left behind on this puppet gave birth to these [Demonized Rabbits]. The remnant consciousness of this puppet sought us out most likely to tell us this truth."
Sure enough, as soon as Frieren finished speaking, the standing armor collapsed to the ground with a loud crash.
It no longer gave off any sense of being alive.
"Lady Frieren, if the owner of this armor knew that he had created [Monsters], why did he stay near the village all this ti?" Fern asked, puzzled.
If he intended to reveal the truth, why not just leave the village from the very beginning?
Frieren let out a quiet sigh.
"These wandering [Undead] retain only fragnts of mory. Most of their actions follow instinct. I think… this was probably his hotown…"
Hearing her guess, Shane felt his heart tremble.
'Fallen leaves return to their roots.'
No matter the era or the place, this was a sentint humanity had never changed.
This warrior had broken free from demonic control through sheer will. Even after death, he returned to his holand. But sadly, instead of bringing honor, he brought disaster. If he had been fully conscious… how unbearable would that have been for him?
Shane didn't dare dwell on it.
Fern lowered her head, looking at the armor on the ground, her expression turning sorrowful.
"Mr. Shane, could you hold the rabbits for ? I'd like to offer a prayer and send the owner of the armor on his way."
Shane nodded and took the rabbits from her.
Fern knelt on one knee before the armor, her hands loosely clasped together, her expression devout as she slowly closed her eyes. Like a true priest, she began to pray for the departed.
Gentle moonlight fell upon her.
For a fleeting mont, Shane seed to see Heiter's shadow in her.
————
Before dawn, the three of them returned to the village.
Frieren used the [Purification] magic she had analyzed to cleanse everyone of the curse.
The horns on everyone's heads vanished, their foreheads returning to normal.
This miracle stunned the villagers.
"Even High Priest Heiter couldn't do anything about this… We… we've really been saved!"
"They're gone! My horns are gone!"
"I'm not a monster anymore… I'm not a monster…!"
People rushed out of their houses, bathing freely in the sunlight, crying tears of joy.
The old man they had spoken to before tightly grabbed Shane's hand, choking up, unable to form a complete sentence.
Shane could understand how he felt.
It was like a terminal cancer patient who had already lost interest in life, suddenly being cured by sheer luck. The joy of surviving against all odds was beyond words.
"You saved the village. We should offer a reward, but… as you can see, we've been sick for years. Our land has gone to ruin. If not for the relief arranged by priest Heiter, we would have died from fear or starvation long ago. So… could we…"
The old man wiped his tears, speaking with embarrassnt.
"It's fine. Heiter has already paid the reward."
"Oh! So High Priest Heiter already paid for us! What a good man! Then this grimoire… we'll just—"
"Grimoire?"
Frieren caught the key word instantly, a glint flashing in her eyes.
"There's a grimoire in the village. We were thinking… perhaps we could use it as a reward…"
"Yes!"
"Didn't you say it was already paid…?"
The village chief looked confused.
"You must have misheard."
Frieren replied with absolute certainty.
"..."
And just like that, Frieren happily "obtained" a new grimoire.
Fern was very dissatisfied and criticized her for taking extra paynt, saying it was wrong.
Frieren turned to Shane for help.
Shane, being tactful, imdiately chose to remain neutral.
In the end, under Fern's insistence, the three of them didn't leave right away. They stayed in the village for a few extra days to help repair it, treating it as compensation for the grimoire.
Their roles were clearly divided:
Fern helped the villagers with labor.
Shane helped the village won take care of children.
Frieren handled… sleeping.
Each of them shone in their own area of expertise…
"Hmm—"
Two days later, Fern puffed her cheeks, glaring at Shane with dissatisfaction.
Shane raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, you can't bla ! Mages just have a natural advantage when it cos to work."
[Floating Magic] could move heavy objects, [Flight Magic] could reach high places, and even [basic attacks] could be used to pierce through wooden panels.
It was unbelievably versatile.
Extrely practical.
Soone like Shane, who had no magical specialty— only other kinds of "specialties" —could only earn so goodwill by helping the aunties next door take care of their kids.
"Hmm—"
Fern continued puffing her cheeks.
Shane scratched his head. "So it's not because of that?"
Fern said nothing.
Helpless, Shane went into the room and dragged Frieren out of the blankets.
The white-haired elf, her hair a complete ss and her eyes half-closed, instantly woke up when she saw Fern's puffed-up face. "I-Is it because of ?"
Shane nodded without hesitation.
Better her than .
Frieren imdiately caved.
When they left the village, Fern was still not over it. Shane and Frieren followed behind her cautiously, barely daring to breathe.
What exactly did we do wrong…?
The two of them whispered quietly, completely clueless.
At that mont, a gentle breeze blew past, carrying a few strands of willow fluff that landed on Shane's face.
He brushed them away and rubbed his nose.
Achoo—
Beside him, Frieren sneezed loudly as well.
"Ah… it's almost sumr again…"
Sumr!
In that instant, Shane finally realized why Fern was angry.
"Hey, Frieren… Fern's birthday is coming up soon, right…?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers