Frieren 18

Title: Frieren’s Regret

After giving up on waking Frieren, Ash followed Millie, leaving Frieren’s room to head to Millie’s wine cellar… or rather, her home.

Seeing the densely packed wine barrels in the stone house, he felt dizzy:

“…Why is there so much wine here?”

“Hehe~” Millie didn’t answer his question but picked up a bottle and proudly introduced it: “Do you know? This is Emperor’s Wine~?”

“Nope.”

“Emperor’s Wine is a tribute to the Emperor from the great kingdom that rules most of the continent.” Millie explained with a sly smile, handing him the bottle: “This is unmatched heavenly nectar. Don’t you want to try it?”

“Try it? Then I… invite you to go first!”

Ash suspiciously took it, opened the cap, and suddenly pinched the elf’s mouth in front of him, pouring the wine down her throat like filling a gas tank. The next second…

“—Pffft~!!” The elf girl choked and spat out the wine.

Instantly, the room filled with the stench of cheap alcohol.

Just by smelling it, one would question the wine’s quality.

Millie, her face drenched in wine, glared at him with resentment: “…You made me drink this disgusting stuff again… you brat, have you ever tasted Emperor’s Wine before?”

“My little sister’s face usually looks like yours just now when she has silly ideas.”

Though Ash didn’t understand why other demons had blank faces while Aura was so expressive… was it thanks to him?

Even now, Ash couldn’t figure it out. Meanwhile, Millie showed an annoyed expression: “…Was I beaten to it by someone else?”

“So? Does it really taste bad?”

“The taste doesn’t matter, but it’s valuable! And it’s really Emperor’s Wine!” Millie emphasized angrily.

This made him hesitate, and Ash looked at the wine in his hand: “…If you say so, I’m a bit curious.”

“Quick~ try it!”

“…This won’t kill me, right?”

“Didn’t you just pour it into me? Did you see me die?”

“Good point.”

Ash nodded slightly, not caring too much, then tilted his head back and drank.

There was no smoothness at all. A bitter, hard-to-swallow taste and a sharp, sour smell filled his throat. The wine’s acidity was too high, and its pungent odor made him uncomfortable. He couldn’t help frowning: “Tastes bad…”

“Yeah, I thought so too. That’s why, before coming to this village, I carved a stone tablet praising the taste of Emperor’s Wine.”

“…Your personality’s really bad. Worse than this wine.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but you’re not much better.” Millie nodded indifferently, giving him an appreciative smile: “I think we’ll get along well.”

“I just want to learn magic.”

“Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time.”

“Don’t compare it to human time.”

“Fine, then in a few years, we’ll start formally…”

“No ‘few years’! Today! Now! Immediately!”

Ash couldn’t stand the elves’ sense of time and grabbed the elf in front of him, shaking her until she gave in.

However… even though Millie agreed, she still moved slowly, making Ash frustrated.

After relentless urging, she reluctantly began preparations… that is, eating breakfast and mentally preparing to teach. But the magic she finally taught was—making wheat grow better.

This clearly useless magic infuriated him. Ash chased Millie, who somehow managed to escape while laughing, wanting to tie her up so she’d teach seriously.

But before he could catch her, around noon, Ash saw Frieren emerge from her hut, lazily stretching under the sunlight.

“…That lazy attitude’s like an old granny…”

“—?!” Ash’s unintentional muttering made Frieren turn sharply.

Her expression looked displeased, and she seemed angry, but he firmly ignored it. However…

“…What’s up? Shouldn’t young people sleep early and wake up early?”

This wasn’t a 21st-century kid staying up late on a phone or computer. Why was this bored medieval villager so lazy? Ash couldn’t understand.

Frieren pouted unhappily and said: “There’s still plenty of time, so what’s the problem?”

“…Fine.”

He initially wanted to say he had a lot to do, but Ash remembered he was the one needing help. So he said nothing more.

This left Frieren, ready to argue and complain about his cruelty for lifting her, feeling like she’d punched cotton. She had no chance to say anything else.

In such an atmosphere, Ash’s learning life in the elf village continued orderly.

The elves’ life in the village could be described with one word: flat.

Flat and flat. Every elf had a lazy, listless air. Ash felt they were even less spirited than Serie.

Though Serie sat there until she’d practically mold, at least she had a desire to stir trouble… Of course, she had magic to clean her clothes, so she didn’t actually mold.

By comparison…

“…It’s already night; aren’t you resting?”

Seeing Ash barge in uninvited and stand by her bed, Frieren, who had pulled up her blanket, wore a flat expression and began regretting why she agreed to teach him magic in the first place.