Aqua did the expected-unexpected again—she got drunk and went right back to sleep.
With no other choice, Shichen left her there and headed to the guild with Megumin and the others.
"Oh hey, if it isn't Shichen! You finally came back!"
"Our village hero has returned!"
"The lady adventurers are gonna be thrilled."
"Where'd you run off to, Shichen? And who's the new girl with you?"
"Knew it—he's into loli."
"I am not into loli!"
On the way, plenty of townsfolk stopped them—Shichen had been gone so long that everyone was curious. He'd wanted to catch up, but the "lolicon" slander killed his mood, so he ignored them.
"What's this about you being a hero?" Frieren asked, curious.
"Shichen's amazing," Yunyun said proudly. "He defeated the Demon King's general—the Dullahan—and saved this town. That's why everyone calls him a hero."
"Yunyun, why are you so hyped?" Megumin couldn't help teasing.
"N-no I'm not…"
"The Demon King, huh…" Frieren let out a quiet sigh.
Shichen had told her before: the Demon King in this world isn't the same as the one in hers. In her world, demons were the natural enemies of humankind—creatures that only looked human and spoke the same language to deceive and prey on people as an evolutionary tactic. Here, "demons" were just another race different from humans.
"What about the Demon King?" Darkness noticed something in Frieren's eyes.
"It's nothing," Frieren shook her head, unwilling to say more.
"I see…" Darkness dropped it.
Soon they reached the guild. After all this time, it was just as lively as ever.
"Oh, so this is the Adventurers' Guild?" Frieren looked around with interest.
"Frieren, keep an eye out for someone," Megumin whispered at her side.
"Keep an eye out?"
"Yeah—Luna. She's one of the staff."
"Luna? A woman?" Frieren's expression shifted.
"Exactly. She keeps pining after Shichen. For the last two months, every time we came by, she'd ask where he was."
"I knew it… So this Luna is one of your 'targets' too?" Frieren shot Shichen a look.
"As if. And what do you mean 'one of'?"
"In that case, Megumin, relax."
"Huh? Why?"
"From what I've seen, any girl Shichen isn't interested in isn't much of a threat."
"How would you know?"
"See enough of it and you figure it out."
"Do you? But Luna is… big."
"Big how?"
"Here—two extra… attachments!" Megumin made a grabbing motion at her chest.
"But Shichen's into petite girls."
"He also likes Yunyun."
"Yunyun…" Frieren frowned, glancing at Yunyun's chest—impact level: high. A scale she could never reach.
"How… do they even get that big…"
"C-could we not talk about this?" Yunyun said, embarrassingly.
"Hmph! Don't think I don't know—you're secretly thrilled to have that 'extra.'" Megumin pouted.
"I am not!" Yunyun protested, cheeks red.
"Shichen likes curves. You could use those to reel him in."
"No way! And Shichen's not like that!" Yunyun insisted, still blushing.
"Is that really true?" Megumin eyed Shichen.
"Do you seriously need to ask? You know what you're like. Have I ever complained about you?"
"Mm… I guess not."
Even if she'd just been called "small," Megumin couldn't help feeling weirdly happy.
"All right, enough. Save that talk for at home. Don't say it out here. Let's head in."
"Okay."
Shichen led the way into the guild.
The instant the doors swung open, the background chatter cut off—then surged back even louder.
"Isn't that Shichen?"
"You're back!"
"Axel's hero has returned!"
"Axel's 'lolicon hero' is back!"
"Buy a round!"
"Who's a hero of what now? Slander me and then ask for drinks? Keep dreaming!" Shichen shot back, laughing.
"Wow, stingy the moment he's back, huh?"
"Seriously. He even brought a dazed cutie and still won't show some generosity. No idea how he sweet-talked her into coming."
"If you had half his looks, you'd get it."
"Ugh!"
"Shichen, you're back," Luna said, hurrying over with a bright smile.
She looked the same as ever: orange-gold hair pinned up, work uniform tidy and mature.
"Long time no see, Luna," Shichen greeted her with a grin.
"Long time no see." A hint of pink brushed Luna's cheeks.
"Tch…" Megumin couldn't help pouting from the side.
Luna ignored her and asked softly, "Where have you been lately, Shichen? Why were you gone so long?"
"Had some business elsewhere," he answered simply.
"I see… And this young lady?" Luna's eyes kept drifting to Frieren.
Shichen's reputation for liking loli was infamous—and the "evidence" was right there: Megumin and Yunyun both read as petite.
"She's Frieren, our new party member. I'm here to get her registered as an adventurer."
"Is that so? Leave it to me. Frieren-san, just a moment, please."
"Thanks."
"Heh, no need to thank me, Shichen… I'll be right back." Luna smiled, then hurried off to fetch an adventurer card.
"See?" Megumin murmured to Frieren. "Her intentions couldn't be more obvious."
"Mm. Not that it has anything to do with me."
"Huh?" Megumin blinked.
"What?" Frieren asked.
"You and Shichen… there isn't anything between you?"
"Whether there is or not doesn't matter. I don't care about that," Frieren said lightly.
"You don't care… seriously?"
"I don't need to play along—and caring wouldn't help anyway. You should know Shichen isn't exactly a one-woman guy."
"Mm…"
"Think it through, or you'll have a harder time later."
"Later?"
"You'll see."
"Ugh—why do you love talking in riddles?"
"Shichen's watching. I'd rather not earn a couple extra smacks tonight."
"Is it really that painful?"
"You could ask him to demonstrate."
"Pass."
"Frieren… does Shichen really like spanking people?" Yunyun whispered, edging closer.
"Like it? He loves it."
"No way…" Yunyun looked doubtful.
"Don't worry," Frieren said, trying to reassure her. "You're too sweet for him to ever do that to you."
"R-right…"
"Don't listen to her nonsense," Shichen cut in.
"Shichen…" Yunyun glanced at him, flustered.
"Ahem. Frieren's exaggerating. I only swat her when she messes up and won't listen—it's punishment. Normally, why would I do that?"
"Pun… punishment…" Darkness's breathing quickened.
No one paid her any mind.
"So it's punishment," Yunyun said, blinking her big, clear eyes.
"Don't let him fool you," Frieren started—then met Shichen's dangerous gaze and pivoted fast. "I mean—right, spanking is what makes it punishment."
"I'll deal with you tonight," Shichen warned, glaring.
"Mm…"
Just then, Luna returned with some forms and an adventurer card. She stopped in front of Frieren and walked her through the registration.
First came the basics—name, height, age, and so on. For age, at Shichen's suggestion, Frieren listed "adult (18+)"; otherwise no one would believe her true age.
Next was the card attunement. The moment Frieren touched it, her stats appeared.
"Okay, Frieren-san, let's see… Strength, Vitality, Dexterity, Agility… Huh?! What is with this Magic?"
Luna froze. Frieren's Magic stat had maxed out.
"Incredible! With numbers like these, you'd be perfect for the Mage class," Luna said, buzzing with excitement.
"Mage, huh? I'll pass. I already have my path," Frieren said, shaking her head.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"I choose Adventurer."
Without hesitation, Frieren selected "Adventurer."
"What?" Luna was utterly stunned.
~~~
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