Fifth year of life in the Imperial Capital—
When the harsh winter of Eiseberg was finally swept away by warm northern winds,
The peaceful life of the small household of three resumed as usual.
Flamme's classroom reopened as the Court Mages returned earlier than expected.
Agusheed continued decoding Spell books while instructing Frieren as always.
If there was anything that changed—
It was that Frieren finally made progress with her Flight Magic.
She went from only flying five meters to being able to fly ten meters.
"At this pace, in another thousand years, you might barely touch the heel of the Heaven Vein Dragon."
Same old valley on the back of the Heaven Vein Dragon—
Agusheed watched Frieren wobbly float ten meters in the "air" and gave his assessment out of nowhere.
"Told you I was making progress!"
Frieren, floating with pride, puffed up her cheeks and placed her hands on her waist.
"Foolish disciple, I wasn't complimenting you."
"Eh—Wasn't that a compliment just now?!"
"I think even demons could tell I was being sarcastic."
"So mean…"
Before Frieren could finish whining, her body began swaying—
A sign of Flight Magic destabilizing.
Seeing her losing balance due to her hands-on-hips pose and beginning to fall again,
Agusheed merely watched coldly.
He stared blankly as the white-haired elf crashed to the ground.
"Foolish disciple…"
For the first time, the strongest Great Demon doubted his own teaching abilities.
"Come on… You could've caught me…"
Lying sprawled on the ground, Frieren murmured, feeling betrayed.
"A poor student must be prepared to be treated differently by their teacher."
Agusheed replied with a blank expression.
"I'm not that bad… It's just that I'm not suited for demon-type magic."
"See? When it comes to human-system magic, I learn super fast."
She dusted herself off and tried to defend her learning pace.
"'Human-system magic'?"
"You dare claim you're quick with human magic—"
"Aside from modern throwaway spells like 'Magic to Purify Murky Water',
You can't even learn a single one of the human magic spells from the Mythical Era I taught you."
Agusheed sneered and gave her a side glance.
Looking at Frieren's "I don't know what you're talking about" face,
He sighed with a mutter of "hopeless disciple" and turned toward the castle.
Frieren proudly hummed, declaring victory in her shamelessness,
And followed his silhouette home under the sunset.
Smack—
"Still going to talk back?"
"Uwahhh… No more talking back…"
Smack—
"Still going to play dumb?"
"Uwahhh… No more playing dumb…"
Smack—
"Still going to act unreasonable?"
"Waaah… Flamme, I'll never act up again…"
At dinnertime in the little house—
Frieren knelt before Flamme, who was holding a ruler.
Her palms were red from the beatings, held high as she sobbed, hoping for mercy.
Smack—
Another firm strike, while Flamme ate the berry sundae Agusheed had made.
"This is your punishment for slacking in your studies."
With zero pity, Flamme delivered her discipline.
"Mama… I was wrong, I'll never do it again…"
Hearing the word "mama," Flamme facepalmed and struck once more—
"You're even calling me 'mama' just to get out of punishment…"
"Frieren, how are you ever going to become a proper mage like this?"
After five solid strikes, Frieren was fully "awakened."
She offered no protest, only tearfully repeated apologies.
Agusheed sat across from Flamme, watching the heartwarming scene quietly.
When he caught Frieren shooting him a fierce glare, he simply signaled Flamme.
And so, another strike followed.
"I hate Agusheed the most—"
She swallowed the words halfway, afraid she might not get dinner.
Thankfully, after that minor punishment, Flamme let her return to the table.
"Still, though—"
Just two bites in, Frieren regained her sass and started arguing:
"It's not really my fault I can't learn those spells—"
"Like those human spells from the Mythical Era Agusheed taught me…"
"He even mixes up the names and functions of some of them, only remembering the incantations—"
"How is that my fault?"
Magic is born of imagination—
Even if you know the incantation, without understanding its name and effect, you can't use it.
So technically, Frieren had a point.
But only technically—
"Those spells I mixed up can be decoded through their incantations."
Agusheed, eyes still on his tea, answered plainly.
"Like the one I gave you a week to analyze—
Out of forty-two runes, you only cracked six. And four of them were wrong."
Before he could finish, Frieren cut in angrily.
"Can you blame me?!"
"What kind of teacher gives their student Mythical Era spell decryption as homework?!"
"You could've just done it yourself since you're fast at it! Why torture me with it—"
Agusheed calmly sipped the tea Flamme handed him.
He slowly raised his gaze to the indignant elf:
"I didn't re-decrypt them because I had no use for those spells."
"But I had you try because someday, you'll need them."
That caught Flamme's attention too.
"Like what?"
She asked with curiosity:
"Which of those Mythical Era spells you messed up will Frieren need in the future?"
"Volcano Activation Magic, Meteor Summoning Magic, Bone Dragon Creation Magic…"
Although he couldn't pair the exact spell names and effects with their incantations,
Agusheed recalled a few and listed them out:
"Also Torrential Rainfall Magic, Storage Magic…"
"And the spell that fixes a mage's physical condition permanently at a single moment in time—
'Eternal Youth Magic.'"
Eternal Youth Magic…
Flamme paused, lowering her teacup,
Looking seriously at Agusheed.
"Wait—Agusheed, say that last spell again."
He glanced at her, confused by her reaction.
Still, he repeated:
"A spell that fixes a mage's physical state permanently at a single moment in time—
'Eternal Youth Magic.'"