"Ow... ow..."
"Agusheed, be gentler."
"Wuu... my neck is about to break..."
Placing his hand on the neck of the white-haired elf who was tilting her head and wailing in front of him,
Agusheed completely despaired of this silly disciple's intelligence.
Magic That Can Fly Using Braids was one of the branches of Magic to Control Hair.
Without a certain degree of proficiency in Magic to Control Hair, using this magic made it extremely easy to sprain one's neck.
What kind of mage would dare fly directly to a hundred meters high without long-term training?
—
"What a silly disciple..."
Agusheed sighed softly at the little magic sprout being held in Flamme's arms.
Then he slowly lifted his index fingertip and lightly drew it forward—
Severance Magic easily restored Frieren's neck to its state before being twisted by the twin-tail propellers.
"Wuu wuu... eh—"
Frieren, who had been dropping little pearls due to pain, suddenly stopped crying after Agusheed's finger passed over her.
"It doesn't hurt anymore..."
Sitting in Flamme's arms, she moved her neck in amazement.
After using her palm to lift a few messy strands of hair and confirming there were no other problems,
Frieren lowered her head and focused her attention on the magical power remaining at Agusheed's fingertip.
"How amazing. Having the time of my neck's injury severed by Severance Magic felt like water gently flowing across my neck."
The first thing you focus on after your neck stops hurting is this?
Truly a silly disciple who forgets the pain once the wound heals...
Thinking this, Agusheed sighed again.
He reached out and gave both his troublesome wife and disciple a flick on the forehead.
Agusheed looked at Flamme and Frieren, who were both rubbing their heads, and warned helplessly:
"Don't use such dangerous magic to fool around anymore."
He had lost count of how many times he'd said such things over the years.
But every time, the response Frieren and Flamme gave him was 'We understand, but we'll definitely dare to do it again next time.'
Hearing her husband's reminder, Flamme chuckled while rubbing Frieren's cheek.
"Did you hear that, Frieren? Don't fool around like this anymore."
"You're the one who told me to do this, Flamme."
"You even said using this magic to come up would give Agusheed a surprise..."
Frieren smoothed her messy hair and complained in a voice only she could hear.
Thinking of the unsightly scene she saw when she came up...
The little magic sprout looked bitter, feeling more and more that she was completely unnecessary in this household.
Agusheed didn't say much about his wife and child shifting blame to each other.
He simply picked up the comb kept ready on the desk, took Frieren from Flamme's hands,
Then placed the white-haired little sprout on his lap and slowly began combing her frizzled long hair.
"Flamme, how were the test results for Frieren these past few days?"
In front of the child, the parents began discussing her grades.
"I think they were decent."
Giving Frieren, who had been winking at her, a reassuring look,
Regarding Agusheed's question, Flamme gave a quite fair yet vague response.
Fair, to consider Frieren's emotions and self-esteem.
Vague, to give Agusheed room for further questions.
"You think they were decent... specifically, decent to what degree?"
As expected—
After hearing Flamme's answer that was like saying nothing at all, Agusheed continued questioning.
"In terms of overall level, she could probably rank in the top ten among current court mages."
After briefly comparing the levels of several disciples, Flamme answered softly.
This evaluation was already quite high in her personal view.
Because as her disciple—
The court mages recognized by the current emperor of the empire,
And permitted to guard the imperial side and patrol the entire realm, represented...
Not just status and privileges, but absolute power and talent.
For Frieren, an elf with a long lifespan, to occupy a top ten position among such a group of geniuses,
Without doubt, her initial judgment was absolutely correct.
The future Frieren... truly had the possibility of defeating the Demon King...
However—
Whether this grade was good or bad in Agusheed's eyes, Flamme couldn't guarantee.
After all, at the same age—
Agusheed had already single-handedly defeated all the Grand Demons.
—In fact, Frieren was also feeling uncertain at the moment.
Because she wasn't sure how high Agusheed's inner expectations for her were.
Under several years of instruction, she could clearly feel her knowledge and power increasing.
But compared to Agusheed...
Frieren could only say there was still a world of difference.
So feeling the steady rhythm and pressure of the comb behind her,
The white-haired elf began to worry about Agusheed's attitude toward this result.
"I see..."
Agusheed's murmur made the little magic sprout sitting on his lap tense up.
Afraid that those big hands behind her would suddenly lift her up and beat her bottom to pieces.
But unexpectedly, Agusheed didn't seem particularly disappointed with this result.
The hands holding the comb and smoothing the white hair remained steady,
As if the recent inquiry and response were all roughly as Agusheed had expected.
"Agusheed, did I... meet your expectations or not?"
After confirming Agusheed had no intention of spanking her,
Frieren tilted her head slightly and asked tentatively in a low voice.
"You completely failed to meet my expectations."
Agusheed said the most hurtful words in the calmest tone.
"What do you mean 'completely failed to meet your expectations'—"
"Am I really that bad..."
Hearing this heart-wounding response, Frieren grumbled dissatisfiedly,
Yet had no way to refute Agusheed's evaluation.
Because according to the eternal theory that the strong can ruthlessly humiliate the weak—
Agusheed, as the world's third strongest (probably?), occupied the very top of the contempt chain.
Except for the Demon King and Serie, Agusheed possessed the strength to equally despise everyone.
However, despite this, Frieren, whose heart was filled with unhappiness, still asked one more question.
"Agusheed, in your eyes, am I really that terrible?"
The little magic sprout didn't get Agusheed's answer immediately.
—
After Agusheed smoothed the last wayward strand of white hair on Frieren's head—
And handed the white-haired elf back to Flamme's embrace,
He took out a notebook set aside and began listing Frieren's shortcomings one by one.
"'Disobedient,' 'cowardly,' 'lazy,' 'sleepy,' 'dishonest,' 'dead fish eyes'..."
A three-minute chant passed under Flamme's helpless gaze and Frieren's drooping ears—
Finally, Frieren looked at the paper filled with almost nothing but derogatory terms and turned her head away,
Burying herself silently in Flamme's chest without a word.
"Really now..."
Flamme gently patted Frieren's back, looking down at her husband with slightly lowered eyes.
"Can't you praise this child just once in a while..."
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Powerstones?
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