Back at the canyon.
After Shane disappeared.
Frieren picked up the treasure map from the Solar Dragon's nest that had fallen onto the ground.
Staring at the clothes and equipnt Shane had left behind, she fell into thought.
Beside her, Fern was visibly anxious, speaking much faster than usual. "Lady Frieren, did Mr. Shane disappear? Why are only his clothes left? What happened..."
Frieren did not answer imdiately.
She crouched down, picked up the linen shirt that still carried lingering warmth, and brought it to her nose for a sniff. Aside from the faint soap scent Shane carried from his habit of bathing every day, there was also a trace of residual magic.
"It should've triggered [Teleportation Magic]."
"Teleportation Magic?"
Fern looked puzzled.
As far as she rembered, she had never read any books that recorded this kind of magic.
"It's a very rare form of ancient magic. I've only seen records of it in certain grimoires. There should be a [Teleportation Magic] array at the entrance marked on this treasure map. Shane probably did sothing that activated the array."
As she spoke, she casually tossed Shane's shirt aside, stood up, and dusted off her hands.
"But it only teleported the body without bringing clothes or weapons along... which ans the result was probably a failed teleportation."
After saying that, Frieren summoned her staff, levitated the pile of belongings from the ground, and dumped everything straight into Stark's arms.
"Nothing we can do now. Looks like we'll have to wait here for a while."
Stark froze on the spot.
Fern, anwhile, was overflowing with resentnt. "Lady Frieren, how long is 'a while' exactly?"
"Hard to say. Maybe a few days. Maybe a few years."
"..."
"Why are you looking at like that? If teleportation fails, all we can do is wait for the magic to correct itself. I don't have any other way either."
"You can think of it like a bean stuck inside a bamboo tube. Either you poke it through with a stick so it passes successfully, or you leave the bamboo tube alone and wait for the bean to slide back."
"Right now we can't poke it through, so all we can do is leave the magic alone and wait for him to return on his own."
After explaining, Frieren turned around and casually walked back toward the village, waving at the two behind her as she left.
"Alright then. Dismissed."
On the way back, the corners of Frieren's lips quietly curled upward as she muttered to herself.
"It's been so long since I could peacefully study grimoires... now I can finally relax for a while..."
Of course, she muttered a little too loudly.
Fern and Stark heard every word clearly.
Stark stared at Frieren's gradually departing figure, then looked down at the pile of Shane's clothes in his arms, a question mark slowly appearing above his head.
'What is going on? The party disbanded on the very first day?'
"Are we leaving too?" he asked Fern.
Fern slowly turned her head and gave him a gentle look.
"Mm. I understand."
Stark imdiately hugged the clothes tighter and silently retreated to a safe distance.
Fern ignored him.
The young girl walked over to the place where Shane had disappeared and stared at the ground, her brows tightly furrowed.
Frieren's explanation left her deeply uneasy.
Whether it was a few days or a few years, for those waiting outside, it was rely a difference in ti.
But for Shane, trapped within spatial magic, every second was an unknown trial.
Magic was no joke.
In an instant, countless mories of her ti with Shane flooded her mind.
Those serious-faced jokes.
That ticulous protectiveness.
That dependable figure who always stood in front of her whenever danger appeared... before she realized it, those monts had already been deeply engraved into her heart.
'Mr. Shane, please co back safely.'
She silently prayed in her heart.
————
The first day of Shane's disappearance.
Frieren stayed inside the inn room all day hugging a grimoire and never stepped outside once.
Stark wandered around the village helping with everything from retrieving kites for children to carrying elderly won across the street.
Fern spent the entire day waiting at the place where Shane disappeared.
————
The third day of Shane's disappearance.
Frieren was still holed up in her room like a mushroom.
Stark began helping villagers build houses, dig wells, and repair pig (T/N: I read it multiple tis in confusion), cow, and sheep pens. He gladly accepted every dirty or exhausting job.
Fern cleaned up the grimoires Frieren had scattered all over the floor, then went out and spent another entire day waiting where Shane disappeared.
————
The tenth day of Shane's disappearance.
Frieren still had not left her room.
Stark began joining Fern, and the two of them waited together at the place where Shane disappeared.
————
The fifteenth day of Shane's disappearance.
Frieren started joining them too, and the three of them waited together at the place where Shane disappeared.
————
The twentieth day of Shane's disappearance.
For convenience, they left the village and set up a tent nearby as a temporary camp.
At this mont.
Stark sat atop a rock, wiping down the battle axe in his hands. Every now and then, his eyes drifted toward the empty patch of ground where Shane had vanished, as if he wanted to say sothing but hesitated.
"Mr. Stark, is there sothing you want to say?"
"No..." Stark quickly looked away.
A few minutes later.
The boy's gaze unconsciously drifted toward that spot again, his expression looking even more conflicted this ti.
Fern finally reached her limit.
She stopped stirring the soup pot and spoke in a sowhat dangerous tone.
"Mr. Stark, if you keep doing that, I'm going to add sothing to your soup."
Hearing this, Stark imdiately caved.
"Hey, Fern... when Shane cos back, do you think he'll have an extra foot or be missing a leg?"
"..."
"Or maybe his head will grow on his butt?"
"Mr. Stark, please don't say such terrifying things." Fern looked very unhappy.
"Theoretically speaking, that's possible."
Hearing their conversation, Frieren casually flipped a page in the grimoire she held and joined in.
"If [Teleportation Magic] fails during activation and leaves behind clothes, then it's also possible for accidents to happen when it stops. Getting twisted around or missing so other body part is entirely possible too."
Fern completely stopped stirring the soup.
Her expression froze, looking as though she were about to shatter.
Across from her, Stark desperately shot signals at Frieren with his eyes so hard they were practically cramping.
But Frieren completely failed to notice.
"?"
Right at that mont, a massive magic circle suddenly appeared where Shane had vanished.
Pale blue light rose from the ground, slowly rotating as it gradually accelerated.
The three of them stopped talking at the sa ti and turned to look.
Inside the magic circle, a naked silhouette seed to faintly appear...
Pfft.
The instant the shadow erged, the magic circle that had just begun activating suddenly fizzled out.
The ground returned to normal once more.
The calm expression gradually disappeared from Frieren's face as she slowly closed her grimoire.
"So there really was a problem..."
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