"ntal magic? No... this is more like a barrier magic..."
Frieren made a judgnt at lightning speed. After all, even for Miss Edel, who specialized in ntal magic, it would take so ti to penetrate her ntal defenses. Yet, she had been pulled into this world in an instant.
"No attacks are coming... so, is the intention to stall and find an opportunity to restore her body?"
Frieren made another deduction, then closed her eyes, preparing to imdiately analyze and destroy this barrier.
"Wait... how is this... possible?"
Frieren, having only just closed her eyes, suddenly snapped them open, staring wide in disbelief. In that brief mont of sensing, she had discovered two things.
First, she found the hiding place of Fíliya's broken remains. And second... beside that counterfeit body, she sensed a figure that was incredibly familiar.
The instant she perceived this fact, all thoughts of destroying the barrier vanished from her mind. Instead, she moved with imnse speed toward the source of that presence.
Very soon, she saw that back view from her mories.
That young man, seeming to be surrounded by clumps of soft light, had the sa short blue hair as in her mories, the sa posture, the sa teardrop mole. Even the curve of his cape as it was lifted by the wind matched her mories exactly.
And so, Frieren froze in place, sowhat at a loss for what to do.
She knew very clearly that what stood before her was not so defective product generated by the Phantom Dragon. After all, even a dull fellow like herself could feel the aura of a living person washing over her.
"Oh? Frieren? Where is this... Where are Heiter and Eisen?"
Himl turned around and asked Frieren with a sowhat dazed expression, while simultaneously sheathing his sword.
It was only then that Frieren noticed the remaining two limbs of that Counterfeit Fíliya had also been chopped off by Himl in passing. It had now beco a bona fide carcass.
"I don't know... we probably got separated."
Frieren froze again after speaking, not even understanding herself why she had chosen to lie.
"...Is that so? I feel like you're acting a bit strange, you know? You always make that face when you lie."
Himl leaned in a little closer, pinching his chin with one hand and squinting his eyes to observe Frieren's expression.
"...Just how well do you know ?"
Frieren felt a bit helpless.
"Hmm, just a little bit better than you know yourself, I suppose."
Himl answered with a light chuckle, then pointed a finger at Fíliya's remains.
"What is that..."
"A kind of... monster that looks like a human. Just like a Gargoyle."
Frieren continued to weave her lies.
But Himl imdiately poked holes in them.
"Really now... don't force yourself."
As Himl spoke, he couldn't help but shake his head. Then, seeing Frieren's stunned expression, he seed to understand everything in an instant.
"I see. No wonder your eyes look so lonely... Is this the ti after my death?"
Himl asked tentatively.
Frieren's expression beca sowhat hesitant. After pausing for several seconds, she slowly nodded her head.
"I knew it... This magic really is miraculous. It feels even more real than that ti with Miracle Grausam."
Even after realizing the fact that he was a spirit, the smile on Himl's face remained brilliant as he continued to chat with Frieren nonchalantly.
"Grausam used ntal magic to produce the ultimate illusions, but this child's magic already gives the feeling of 'Forging Reality'... It's simply more exaggerated than the Seven Sages of Destruction... I didn't expect her to be hiding a hand like this."
Fíliya, you bastard. Just to what extent do you have to be a genius before you're satisfied?
Even Frieren had to express a silent word of praise in her heart toward that green fellow.
"So, what's the situation now?"
Himl asked with a face full of excitent.
Consequently, Frieren summarized it for him as briefly as possible.
"The 'Ruins of the Royal Tomb', is it... To think there was such a fun dungeon. Sigh..."
"If only I had known earlier... Why didn't we encounter it when we were adventuring back then?"
After listening to Frieren's explanation, the first thing this Lord Hero expressed was actually a feeling of regret.
"Hmm... but it is strange. Why would that child use this magic at the very last mont?"
Himl continued to ask curious questions.
"After all, the copy doesn't have much wisdom. It was already helpless at that ti, so it probably just grasped at straws and used whatever it could, right?"
Frieren offered her own guess.
"Is that so? I actually feel that the child estimated that if she made appear, she could cause you to reveal an opening."
Himl flashed a narcissistic smile at Frieren.
"How is that possible... I told you the copy has no wisdom. And... I wouldn't hesitate. If the summoned you were to beco my enemy, I would directly 'bury' you."
Frieren twitched her lips and simply turned her head away.
"Oh? Is that right... It's rare to have a chance to move my body, so shall we try it? We haven't sparred in a long ti, have we?"
Himl slowly shifted his steps. Since Frieren had turned her head away, he didn't mind circling around to face her.
"It has been a long ti... almost 90 years. And I won't fight you; I can't beat you anyway."
This was the truth. At this distance, Frieren couldn't imagine how to fight Himl at all... If she could pull the distance open to a thousand ters, perhaps she might have so chance of winning.
After all... Himl's speed was simply too inhuman.
"Eh? 90 years..."
Himl's eyes widened slightly. Although he had deduced himself that this was a point in ti after his death, he hadn't expected such a long span to have passed.
"I am very happy, Frieren."
Himl's tone sounded as if he had been greatly moved.
"Hmm?"
Frieren looked over with curiosity.
"Hmm... because even after 90 years, you still rember ."
"It's a re 90 years... probably after another two or three hundred years, I should... I will forget you."
As Frieren spoke, her gaze drifted elsewhere.
"That is much longer than I anticipated. I am honored... You seem to have embarked on a journey again. How is it? Have your questions from before been answered?"
Himl spoke as he slowly sat down amidst the clusters of flowers, acting carefully so as not to damage a single bloom.
"Yes, so have been answered, but even more questions have arisen."
Frieren mimicked Himl's posture and slowly crouched down to sit.
"Is that so? Then keep on traveling... One day, you will obtain all the answers."
A lonely smile surged onto Himl's face, and at the sa ti, he looked toward Frieren's finger.
"Eh? That ring I gave you... did you throw it away? Even if you don't like it, you didn't have to go that far... keeping it as a nto would be fine, you know."
Himl probed with a sowhat aggrieved tone.
"I didn't throw it away... I just put it away. I don't have the habit of wearing jewelry."
Frieren explained quickly, then stole a glance at Himl's profile.
"By the way, you definitely didn't know the aning of the 'Mirror Lotus', right? Really... giving people random things without knowing the flower language... Although I only knew after hearing it from others..."
Frieren's tone was a bit unnatural, and halfway through her sentence, she was interrupted by Himl.
"I knew."
Himl stared straight ahead, his tone very calm.
"Eh?"
"I said I knew. When you chose the 'Mirror Lotus' back then, I even had a feeling of... 'This is the will of the heavens', so I bought it without hesitation."
The corners of Himl's mouth raised, and his tone beca incomparably firm.
"...Is that so."
Frieren murmured and lowered her head.
The atmosphere fell into silence until Himl spoke again.
"Frieren, is the situation right now very critical?"
"I don't know, but since that fellow threw out so fierce words, I can only choose to believe her. It's actually quite nice like this right now; consider it stalling for ti in a roundabout way."
As Frieren spoke, she glanced again at the remains of Fíliya lying in the flower bushes not far away.
Although it had been shaved bald, the head of that creation was still there, and the whole thing hadn't been destroyed. Thus, this barrier had instead beco a very suitable 'Cage'.
"Do you want to hear stories from my travels?"
Frieren seed to think of sothing, then looked at Himl.
"Eh? At a ti like this?"
Himl appeared sowhat surprised. Of course, he was a hundred tis willing, he just hadn't expected those words to co out of Frieren's mouth first.
"Yeah, I have to do sothing to kill ti... besides, I discovered sothing interesting."
Frieren smiled as she spoke.
"Hmm?"
Himl looked at her quickly.
"This barrier has been extracting my mana... At first, I thought this mud-doll-like creation intended to use my mana to repair its body, but as you can see, this thing has been lying there quietly the whole ti... The 'Water-Mirror Demon' itself has infinite mana, so it has no use for my ager amount... So, where is this mana going?"
"Are you saying... your mana is going to that child's true body? Do you have proof?"
Himl also revealed a curious expression.
"No proof, I'm just guessing... Hmm, to use your words, it's a 'vague feeling', I suppose... If only I could be of a little help to her."
____
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