Frieren 24

Title: Flamme Who Arrived Late, The Duty of a Disciple

From a distance, Flamme had seen the signs of battle and pillars of light piercing the sky. She hurried over, but she was one step too late.

By the time she arrived, the battle was over. But what shocked her was… there were still many survivors in the village.

The demon general’s armor and weapon lay empty on the ground, making her realize that the people in this village had managed to defeat their opponent, even…

“What? Ash…?”

“Oh, isn’t it my dear senior sister? How’ve you been?”

“No, this is only our second time meeting, right? And what’s with calling me ‘dear’ with that flat face…” Flamme looked at Ash awkwardly, unable to resist asking: “Is this some kind of mockery?”

“It’s a misunderstanding. I just want to build a good relationship, and I needed an icebreaker to lighten the mood.”

“…Instead of that, did you defeat this demon?” Flamme glanced at Basalt’s armor, while Ash pointed at Frieren: “Not exactly, right? This girl got involved too.”

“…This girl…” The odd introduction made Frieren, who was still dragging a corpse, turn and glare at him unhappily.

Flamme looked at her in confusion: “Why are you here?”

“Of course, to learn. But… I don’t know why I ended up in this unexpected disaster.” Ash shook his head, sighing repeatedly.

But before Flamme could say anything, Ash asked curiously: “By the way, you’ve been back, right? How’s Serie doing lately? Hmm… I mean, how’s she feeling?”

“For some reason, she’s in a good mood—probably because you’re not around?”

“That’s unfortunate. And here I was, trying to fulfill my duties as a disciple.”

“I heard the teacher always takes care of you, right? What do you mean by ‘duties as a disciple’?”

“You don’t get it. Your lifespan is so short, and I’m so weak. No one knows when I’ll die. If I leave an old lady like her all alone, I have to find a way for her to take care of herself, right?”

“…Even though what you’re saying makes sense, in reality, you’re just too lazy to do it yourself, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“…”

Ash nodded and admitted it frankly, leaving Frieren beside him unsure how to complain. Meanwhile, Flamme held her forehead with one hand, starting to feel a headache and even a bit of pity for the teacher who raised her.

But for now, she decided to ignore this weirdo, who was just as strange as her teacher but in a different way.

She turned her gaze to Frieren, clearly the strongest in the group. Watching her drag a corpse, Flamme began talking to her.

The two seemed to be discussing something, but Ash didn’t know what, nor was he interested.

He just dug a pit, buried everyone in it, then sat beside it, drinking the wine Millie had given him.

“What are you going to do after this, Millie?” Ash took a sip of the wine and turned to the elf beside him.

“Live leisurely, I guess?”

“…Is that enough?”

“Come on~ I don’t want to be like you.”

“Be careful, though. Demons are slaughtering elves now. Why not try learning some magic?”

“That… well, I’ll be more cautious from now on.” Millie, who had a relatively cheerful personality among the elves but was also a bit odd, smiled and stood up. As she walked toward Frieren, she waved without looking back: “I’m off. Hope we meet again~”

“Yeah… see you.”

Though they said that, they both knew that without any specific plans, meeting again was likely just wishful thinking in such a vast world.

But neither mentioned it. Millie left with a smile to say goodbye to Frieren.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

After burying their friends, the other villagers also said their farewells and prepared to leave the place. But before that…

Ash and Frieren left first. For some reason, Flamme, who had taken Frieren as her disciple, joined them.

“…By the way, Frieren.”

While carrying Frieren, who seemed exhausted after burying the bodies, on his back, Ash suddenly remembered something and turned to her.

Hearing his oddly cheerful tone, Frieren, lying on his back, immediately grew wary: “What?”

“You’re Flamme’s disciple now, so you’re my junior niece in training, right? Doesn’t that mean you should call me Uncle?”

“…Have you forgotten that I taught you magic too?”

“Then how about I call you my junior niece, and you call me by name? We’ll address each other based on our relationship.”

“…No matter how you spin it, I’m the one losing out. I’m not doing it.”

Frieren immediately turned her face away, completely unwilling to entertain this person’s suggestion.

Flamme, beside them, held her forehead with one hand, wanting no part in this bizarre conversation.

But as Ash was about to press further, three hooded demons suddenly appeared by the roadside.

Initially, they were hiding, but upon seeing the three were mages, they revealed themselves voluntarily, just like Basalt had, demanding they hand over the elf.

“…That’s how demons are. Though cunning and vile, they’re also very proud of the magic they possess. They’d never attack a mage in secret. They always want to fight fair…” Flamme said in a rather rough tone, warning the two. She also set Frieren down from Ash’s back, looking as if she might comply. But she continued speaking casually:

“Because when it comes to magic, they’re extremely confident and proud of the magic they’ve studied for years. In other words—it’s arrogance and useless truth!”

At the end of her words, Flamme raised her hand without warning, unleashing a golden light.

On a nearby hillside, a crater over twenty meters in diameter formed amid the explosion of light.

After finishing, she turned back to the two with an expressionless face:

“They’re indeed top-tier mages. But even the best can die from a moment’s carelessness… Being a mage is an extreme profession. Their bodies are far weaker than warriors’. If they’re not careful, even a child could stab them.”

“Is that why you always hide your magical power?” Ash asked, noticing Flamme’s aura intensify: “But how long have you been hiding it? Always like this?”

“Exactly. Using an opponent’s misjudgment of my magical power, deceiving and killing them, tainting noble magic… that’s my most despicable tactic.”

“…Not to complain, but aren’t you a bit weird? You just said magic was useless, and now you’re calling it noble?”

At the end of his words, her sorrowful gaze made Ash realize those words were meant for herself, not the demons who had vanished.

“…I love magic, but I also hate it.”

“Haa…”

“Anyway, let’s head back. I’ve got a disciple now, so I need to report to the teacher.”

Flamme ignored Ash’s confused expression and walked ahead.

This left him a bit helpless, but Ash still carried Frieren on his back and followed her.

The only thing they could be grateful for after these consecutive attacks was that they took a different route from Millie, and the demons came from another direction. So, they didn’t need to worry about the safety of the villagers or Millie.