"What a shocking amount of blood... Did this child fight someone to the death? Why is she covered in it."
Fern covered her mouth as she looked at the trail of blood Fíliya had left behind.
Frieren, meanwhile, quickly went to Fíliya's side and used her mana to rapidly assess the girl's physical condition.
"We need to find a priest to heal her quickly, or her life will be in danger."
Frieren stated her conclusion.
"Then let's not waste any time... I'll watch the cart. You two who can fly should take her into the village and see if you can find a priest."
The red-haired boy, Stark, said hurriedly.
"Mm."
Frieren nodded, but a trace of doubt appeared in her mind.
Because she could clearly sense the presence of the Demon Race on the green-haired girl.
This girl was most likely grievously injured from fighting the Demon Race, but... that only made Frieren more puzzled, because there wasn't a single member of the Demon Race within her detection range.
If she really was so badly hurt from fighting the Demon Race, then how on earth did she escape? How did she shake them off with such severe injuries?
Thinking this, Frieren couldn't help but frown. She sensed an air of mystery about this girl.
But the situation was truly urgent, and time waits for no one... At the very least, they should get this child healed first and ask about her circumstances later.
Frieren thought, and then immediately flew with Fern toward the small village not far away.
...
After an unknown amount of time, Fíliya slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she did was observe her surroundings.
It was a small room made of stone and clay. She was lying on a bed that, while full of age, was kept very neat and tidy.
To her right, in the stone wall, there was a closed window.
And diagonally to her left, three figures were sitting around a hearth.
A copper pot, its bottom burnt black, was suspended over the fire. As for what was emanating from the pot, it was unmistakably the smell of food.
Fíliya's gaze returned to her own body. She held out her hands and flexed them slightly.
How fortunate. To think there'd be a priest in a small village like this? Though, their skill seems to be average.
If it had been a high-ranking priest from my hometown or from The Empire, I would've been able to jump out of bed full of life, without any feeling of weakness.
Still, it's good enough to have been saved. It would be too rude to complain about your rescuer's lack of skill after they've saved your life...
Fíliya smiled and shook her head, then quickly began to assess the current situation.
Because even with the figure's back to her, she recognized her at a glance—the white-haired Elf with twintails was Frieren.
At this very moment, Miss Fíliya truly wanted to sigh with emotion: fate is a wondrous, ineffable thing.
Just then, the three people sitting by the hearth seemed to notice the movement behind them. They turned around and looked at Miss Fíliya with curiosity.
Fíliya, however, had no intention of speaking. She simply met their gazes calmly for several seconds.
Miss Fern was the first to break, but she didn't speak up directly. Instead, she lowered her head and brought her lips close to Frieren's ear.
"Lady Frieren, this child isn't saying a word... Was the shock too severe for her?"
"Not at all. I think her mind is quite stable. And... she's probably a bit older than you, Fern."
"Eh? Is that so? She is a little taller than me... but doesn't she look rather cute? And... her chest is especially small."
"...Hey now (#`O'), you two are quite the pair, master and apprentice. Gossiping about someone right to their face, are we?"
A flicker of emotion stirred in Fíliya's heart. It certainly wasn't because she was holding a grudge against Miss Purple Eggplant for calling her chest small, not at all.
"Ahem... As expected of the legendary elven mage who defeated the Demon King. I never thought you'd be such an interesting person, Lady Frieren. Of course, Miss Purple Eggplant, you're quite interesting too."
After clearing her throat, Fíliya immediately reverted to her characteristic, flippant demeanor. If her body wasn't still feeling unwell, she certainly would have chosen to jump out of bed.
Miss Fíliya nodded in satisfaction. It was precisely to achieve this effect that she had directly revealed she knew who Frieren was.
Besides... there was no need to hide it. When it came time to put on an act and create an air of mystery, she always knew how to seize the opportunity.
"You... you know me?"
In the end, even Frieren couldn't help but ask in confusion.
In all her decades of travel, very few humans had ever been able to recognize her, yet today, this young mage had called her by her true name.
"Of course. I've seen your statue. And... I grew up listening to your legends."
Fíliya chuckled lightly, but Frieren immediately cut her off.
"Don't joke around. It's been eighty years since we defeated the Demon King. Although we were very popular back then, it only takes a generation or two for us to become mere symbols of history. ...If you really grew up listening to my stories, you'd have to be at least fifty or sixty years old."
Frieren rested her chin on her hand, giving her analysis with a serious expression.
"Sigh... You have too little confidence in yourself. It's the story of defeating the Demon King, after all... Even if it sinks into history, it won't fade so easily. I can guarantee I'm telling the truth. If you don't believe me, you can look into my memories right now... As a legendary mage, you must know mental magic, right?"
As Fíliya spoke, she gave a wink to her 'grand-senior disciple'.
Of course, this was also part of Fíliya's strategy.
She knew very well that after saying something like that, Frieren would surely become suspicious of her. That's why she preemptively brought up the method of 'memory viewing' through this trivial topic.
If Frieren refused here, it would be very difficult for her to ask to examine Fíliya's mind later, since Frieren is a good Elf who respects the will of humans, after all.
This was a psychological barrier that Miss Fíliya had proactively set up for Frieren.
"Who in the world would ask to view someone's memories for such a silly reason..."
Just as expected, upon hearing Fíliya's words, Frieren showed a helpless expression and then scooted her stool a little closer to Fíliya.
"However, I do have a few questions for you."
Frieren said.
"Oh? To think the legendary Lady Frieren would be interested in a boring mage like me... In that case, I shall answer anything you ask."
Fíliya, for her part, simply continued to respond with a smile.
___
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