Inside a branch of the Imperial Magic Association.
Every gathered force sat in silence. No one spoke, and the hall fell still.
Serie watched the young human woman who had been drifting through the eting in a daze ever since returning from her ti travel, and let out a quiet sigh.
By human standards, Sense was long past the age of childhood — but in Serie's eyes, even a white-bearded elder like Lernen barely cleared the threshold of what she would call an adult.
And if she was still a child, then naturally it fell to Serie to offer so comfort. With that thought, she opened her mouth.
"Sense, you have nothing to bla yourself for. From the very beginning, the odds of reforming Fíliya were never in our favor," Serie said, fixing Sense with a look of genuine concern.
Her feelings toward Sense were, in truth, deeper than those she held for most other First-Class Mages. Sense was, after all, one of only two disciples she had taken under her wing directly in this era.
The first was Lernen. The second was Sense.
She had entertained the idea of taking Fíliya and Fern as students as well — but both of those girls, nas starting with the sa syllable, had declined her without any apparent coordination between them.
"Mm..."
Faced with the revered Serie, Sense only managed a single, hollow murmur in response.
It had to be said — Serie really didn't understand people. What Sense was carrying in that mont wasn't guilt over a failed mission. It was sothing else entirely: the very real, very raw ntal damage she had sustained at the hands of that insufferable creature, in those final monts of farewell.
Seeing that Sense could still respond, Serie's brow eased. If she could still acknowledge others... then surely there was nothing too seriously wrong? Humans were like this often enough — short-lived races did love to be dramatic. Once Sense thought it through, she'd be fine.
With that assessnt settled, Serie shifted her gaze elsewhere — and it ca to rest on the hero, who had only just erged from his bewildered stupor.
This was Serie's first real exchange with this hero, and she found herself inevitably curious about the young man who had both captured Frieren's regard and defeated the previous Demon King.
After all... she could sense nothing of a fighter's edge about him. No sharpness. No killing intent.
What seed to drift around Himl, always, was sothing more like a warm and gentle spring breeze.
"Himl, both you and Flam were revived by Fíliya. I've already spoken at length with Flam — and since you've only just awakened, I'll ask you the sa as a matter of course. What is your impression of that child, Fíliya?"
At the question from Frieren's great-teacher, Himl straightened imdiately, pinching his chin between his fingers with a look of deep thought.
"Unfathomable. The magic Fíliya used to rebuild our bodies — she told us it was called 'Fantasy Manifestation.' It seems capable of turning anything she can imagine into reality."
Himl's words sent the room back into silence.
This was far from the first such eting, but the deeper they pressed into the question of how to defeat the Demon King, the more doubt seed to hollow out everyone present rather than resolve.
Could a monster like that truly be defeated by human hands?
If this discussion continued much longer, what little morale remained might be snuffed out entirely.
"Turning anything imagined into reality... what does that even an? If it truly works as stated... isn't that a literal god? Even the legendary Goddess of Creation couldn't claim much more than that."
Genau spoke with a deep frown, his expression heavy.
"There's no need to lose heart. I believe Fíliya cannot use this ability freely — it must have so corresponding limitation."
"And besides... we have seen this type of 'conceptual' magic before — the kind deeply tied to the user's own will. It appears to carry limitless potential, but in practice it is also constrained by the user's imagination. The user's own willpower is, itself, the ceiling on what such magic can achieve."
Fern, sensing the oppressive mood — even noticing that her own teacher, Frieren, had not spoken — couldn't quite stay seated any longer. She rose and offered her perspective.
"Fern, you're talking about Übel's magic — the 'if she feels she can cut it, she can cut it' ability, right? But that and Fíliya's Fantasy Manifestation are nowhere near the sa league. Still, you do have a point — Fíliya can't possibly use Fantasy Manifestation without limits, or it would violate the fundantal principles of mana. And besides, during our last exchange when we were testing each other, she had no ti to bring any real technique to bear against . If it weren't for that infuriating immortality of hers, I would have subdued her already."
"Himl, Flam — do you think there is any possibility of getting Fíliya under control?"
Serie's words did sothing to ease the atmosphere in the hall. Her claim that she had nearly subdued Fíliya was, of course, intended to give everyone a asure of confidence — and her well-aning fib clearly had an effect.
At those words, the tension visibly eased from the faces around the room, and all eyes turned toward the hero who had once accomplished sothing truly extraordinary.
"Impossible. There is no thod that could bring Fíliya under control."
Himl's answer was absolute. It was a hero's instinct — toward that girl who had subdued him with ease, he simply didn't know where one would even begin. He had never felt this hopeless even when facing the previous Demon King.
"I share that view. Whatever form it takes — curse, ntal magic — I struggle to imagine any of it taking hold on Fíliya. So for safety's sake, it would be best if Miss Edel did not accompany the expedition."
Flam looked at Edel with complete sincerity. For this young woman who had so eagerly volunteered to join the subjugation party, she truly wanted to spare her from a pointless death.
"No! I have to go see her!"
But Miss Edel's resolve was clearly unshakeable — not the sort of thing anyone else could sway.
"I... I'm going too!"
Another voice rose up — slightly lower in pitch, but just as firm.
"Ehre..."
Lernen looked at his little granddaughter and felt a headache coming on.
Ever since the girl had heard that the Association was deliberating action against Fíliya, she had been relentlessly pestering him, begging to be included in the discussions.
Unable to hold out against Ehre's persistence, Lernen had swallowed his pride and asked Serie herself to allow Ehre into the eting.
What he hadn't anticipated was that Ehre, too, harbored such fierce desire to join the subjugation — to go and face Fíliya herself.
"Enough of this nonsense."
Serie's voice cut through the room without warning. Everyone fell silent at once.
"You are both gifted young talents — but you are still in the midst of growing. This is not sothing you should be facing. Hardship can drive a person's growth, but hardship too severe will only cut you down before you ever reach your potential. I don't want to hear such talk again."
Serie's voice was cold.
And so, though both Edel and Ehre were deeply reluctant, neither dared say another word.
"No — I actually think we should bring Miss Edel and Miss Ehre along."
Just as silence fell over the room once more, Frieren chose that mont to speak.
Every gaze in the hall turned toward her.
"Why?" Serie looked at her, puzzled.
"Serie... why can't we simply admit that we elves are a dull, imagination-poor race? The situation has reached a point where we must try every possibility available to us. As ti passes, the human nations across the continent will continue to fracture further — I've heard that riots have already broken out in quite a few places. So people are willing to upend their governnts entirely just to reach the Far North. And there are already those among the first wave of human leaders who have abandoned all thought of governance, abandoned their people, emptied their national treasuries, and are preparing to bring their entire fortunes to the Far North — pledging loyalty to the Demon King in exchange for immortality."
"The campaign against Fíliya is now a matter of urgency. If those of us with power but no imagination cannot co up with answers — why not trust in the young, who are still full of possibility? Their strength may be unripe, and their real combat experience limited. But they always manage to bring ideas that catch us off guard, don't they? Fern is the best proof of that."
"Frieren..."
Flam stared at her elven student with sothing close to shock. For a mont she could scarcely believe those words had co from Frieren's mouth.
This child really had grown.
Flam smiled softly and nodded, then turned to observe the reactions of Miss Edel and Miss Ehre.
Both of them were visibly moved — deeply grateful that Frieren had spoken up on their behalf.
If the young ones themselves were unafraid of death, what reason was there left to stop them?
Flam thought as much, and so she turned to Serie as well.
"Frieren's words aren't without rit, Teacher. Please — allow these two children to co along. They may well bring results no one expects."
"...Fine."
Though a trace of reluctance still lingered on her face, seeing that even Flam no longer objected, Serie relented.
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