On a narrow dirt road, a wagon rolled along at a steady pace.
The driver was a red-haired boy with a clear scar on the left side of his face. He looked a little lazy as he yawned.
"Haaah~ Big bro, I'm exhausted. My butt hurts from sitting up here all day. Can you take over for a bit?"
"What do you an?" Shichen sat up straight and demanded. "You want to sit together with Frieren and Fern?"
On Shichen's left and right thighs, Frieren and Fern were each lying comfortably.
If you want the fun, you've gotta pay the price too.
"No way!" Stark blurted out.
"Really?" Shichen looked unconvinced.
"I an—you drive for a while and I'll sit beside you and rest."
"What? So your target is ?" Shichen acted shocked.
"Big bro… can we have a normal conversation for once?" Stark sighed without turning around, slumping his back.
"Fine."
"Big bro, can you please take over? I've been sitting up here for a whole month."
"It's not like you never rest."
"Yeah, but it still hurts! It's practically turned rock-hard."
"Then I'll heal you. Heal."
A wash of green light covered Stark, and the pain in his butt vanished instantly.
He even felt refreshed—like he'd slept in and woken up fully satisfied.
"Big bro… what was that?" Stark asked in amazent. It was his first ti experiencing this ability.
Normally, when Shichen trained him, he wouldn't heal him—pain and bruises were experience. Sleep it off, and it beca strength. Shichen could fix it anyti.
"Don't worry about it. You can keep driving now, right?" Shichen asked.
"Y-yeah…" Stark had no excuse left.
"Now stop talking. What if you wake Frieren and Fern? Frieren's still mad, you know. You don't want to end up with no lunch."
"That's your fault! Why am I the one getting dragged into it?" Stark complained.
A month ago, after they finished helping that lord, they left the city the very next day.
Stark didn't know what happened—he just knew Frieren had started sulking. Fern, on the other hand, looked delighted the whole ti, clearly in a great mood.
He couldn't ask what was going on—it was private. What he didn't expect was to get caught in the crossfire.
Whenever they ran into monsters, he'd charge in to fight up close, and Frieren would cast magic without caring whether she'd blow him up too. If his reflexes weren't good, he would've been caught in the blast.
Won were terrifying when they got mad.
He complained to Shichen, but Shichen ignored it like nothing happened.
What really confused him was that even though Frieren was "mad," she didn't refuse to stay close to Shichen at all.
Why?
From what he understood, she should've been giving Shichen the cold shoulder.
And she still chatted with Fern normally too, like nothing was wrong.
Stark started wondering if Frieren was even mad for real.
But Shichen spending this whole month "soothing" Frieren was also real.
Romance was way too complicated. Stark didn't understand it, and he didn't want to.
Being single was better.
Peaceful. Worry-free.
Shichen had no idea his whole ss with Frieren made Stark swear off won entirely.
But even if he did, he'd support it.
No won in your heart—your axe becos a god.
Stark had finally been set on the right track. His strength was climbing day by day; before long, he'd surpass Eisen.
If a woman distracted him halfway, what then?
Beauty would wreck his progress—and he was still young enough to get completely lured.
Shichen couldn't let him go astray.
"Hel—"
"Hm?" Stark suddenly stopped the wagon.
"What is it?" Shichen gently smoothed both girls' hair so they'd keep sleeping.
"Big bro, didn't you hear sothing?"
"Hear what?"
"Listen."
"…Help…"
"Big bro, you heard that, right?!" Stark asked excitedly.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard it. Don't make a fuss—what if you wake Frieren and Fern?"
"Soone's yelling for help!"
"Then go save them! What are you waiting for?"
"Then big bro, you wait here—I'll be right back!"
Stark jumped down and rushed into the woods.
Shichen didn't follow. He stayed still on the wagon, lowering his head to look at the two girls with gentle eyes.
They were sleeping so peacefully, their faces calm and cute—as if they were having sweet dreams.
It was rare for Frieren to sleep this well.
These past few days she hadn't been sleeping at all. There was no helping it—Fern had "gone for the kill" right in front of her.
Frieren couldn't get that mont out of her head. It was burned into her mory.
She even dread about it at night. For her, it was a nightmare.
Who wants to be a spectator?
Frieren definitely didn't have a "watcher" hobby.
To be honest, Shichen hadn't expected Fern to be that bold either. It completely overturned his impression of her.
Later, Fern explained she'd done it to "get back at" Frieren—plus the post-dance adrenaline.
But still… most people couldn't go that far.
It had to be Fern's fierce revenge streak—maybe she was too excited, or maybe she simply no longer considered Frieren an "outsider."
Probably all of the above.
If so… then there was hope for the future.
Besides, Frieren's stamina was awful—how could she manage without Fern?
That step Fern took was actually important, because the one who'd enjoy the benefits in the end was obviously Shichen.
"Hm?"
After waiting on the wagon for a bit, Shichen finally realized Stark had been gone too long.
"Big bro—help! Hurry, save us!"
Right on cue, Stark's desperate scream ca from the woods, sounding like he was about to die.
"…Sigh."
Shichen pulled out two soft pillows, placed them under Frieren and Fern's heads, then hopped down to check what was going on.
It wasn't far. He only passed a few trees before reaching an open clearing.
Stark and a middle-aged man were stuck in the middle, with only their heads above the surface.
It turned out the "clearing" was a swamp.
"Stark, what are you doing? Weren't you saving soone?" Shichen asked.
"Big bro, I didn't know it was a swamp! I slipped in by accident…" Stark moaned.
"Accident? You didn't even listen for a second—you just charged in. You're way too impulsive!" the middle-aged man complained.
"I was trying to save you!"
"And now you're stuck too—how are you saving anyone?"
"Big bro's here! I only ssed up because I knew big bro was here!"
"But this is a swamp—how's he supposed to save us? And…" The man looked toward a tall plant on the bank of the swamp.
"That's a man-eating monster."
"Relax. Big bro's really strong," Stark said, completely unbothered.
"Seriously? Your big bro just looks handso—doesn't seem like much else," the man said, sizing Shichen up. He couldn't see anything special about him yet.
"Good eye," Shichen said approvingly, not offended at all. "That's a complint."
This guy had taste. Worth saving.
"Um… you really can get us out?"
"Watch closely."
"Watch what?"
"I'm about to get even more handso."
"..."
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