Chapter 32 — Ear-Petting
Under the murderous glare of the white-haired elf, Elias could only throw up his hands in defeat.
"Frieren, you're not usually this gullible…
Should I call it innocence, or just plain stupidity?"
"Think for a second. If I really used such a dangerous spell on you… do you think Flamme would spare me?"
"She'd be screaming 'How dare you harm my adorable disciple!' while chasing me down for revenge."
Frieren sighed quietly.
To be this clever yet still fall for a demon's trick—
she could only blame herself.
Though… she had to admit it.
Because of the seal, she truly had become more disciplined over the past few months.
A harmless lie… that somehow worked.
"Ah… fine…"
Frieren looked toward the sealed door.
"So what are you looking for?"
"A music box. You found it in a cave three months ago. I recall it had some sort of… hemostatic effect."
Frieren's eyes narrowed, and a slow, mocking smile tugged at her lips.
"Oh my~ I must've misheard…"
"The mighty demon lord of the Mythic Era—
the all-powerful Elias—
is actually asking for help from my pile of worthless junk?"
Elias closed his eyes.
What a night.
First he got mocked by a well-endowed, empty-headed mercenary captain,
and now this mischievous elf was giving him attitude.
If he backed out now, Flamme would never let it go.
Women…
such mysterious creatures.
"Frieren, it's an emergency. Someone in the village is badly injured and needs the bleeding stopped."
"What?!"
Instantly, Frieren's eyes blazed with righteous urgency.
"Elias, what are you doing?! Hurry up and undo the seal!"
Two minutes later—
A white-haired elf in bunny pajamas burst into the clinic like a meteor.
The moment Julie saw her, she clutched her chest as if her soul were escaping.
…What… WHAT is this creature?!
That adorable face…
those long ears…
Is she… an elf?
And that bouncy rabbit onesie—
that should be illegal.
"Is she the one who needs the hemostasis magic?"
Frieren knelt beside Emma and lifted the music box to her ear.
As the soft melody flowed into the girl's hearing,
the bleeding wound on her thigh slowly… gradually…
stopped.
Lucas nearly jumped to the ceiling.
"It stopped—! The bleeding stopped!!"
Julie staggered forward, her legs trembling, and knelt beside Frieren, eyes sparkling like diamonds.
"Thank you, mage! May I know your name?"
Frieren lifted her chin proudly.
"Heh… Hehehe…"
Frieren rubbed the tip of her nose with a smug little gesture.
"I am the one and only disciple of the great Archmage Flamme—
and the strongest mage in the entire village… Frieren!"
"Whoa! So you are Flamme-sama's disciple! No wonder you're unbelievably—
I mean… unbelievably strong! Not… not cute! Definitely not cute!"
Julie clapped excitedly, then her gaze wandered—slow, careful, longing—
straight to Frieren's long, delicate ears.
"Um… Frieren-sama… I've only ever seen one other elf in my life—Lady Serie.
So I was wondering…"
Her eyes gleamed like a greedy cat.
"C-could I… touch your ears?"
Frieren: «(≖_≖'')»
"That's your way of thanking me?"
"No no no! We'll pay for the healing separately!
It's just—Frieren-sama is so irresistibly adorable…"
Hearing this, Flamme—who was still concentrating on the stabilization spell—smiled proudly.
Of course.
Aside from that ice-hearted demon Elias, was there anyone who didn't see Frieren's cuteness?
Perfectly expected.
At that moment, Elias walked in, instantly freezing the warm atmosphere.
"Since the immediate crisis is resolved—
tell me where the Crystal Turtle is.
I'll finish this before dawn."
Julie's smile vanished.
She lifted her massive axe, planting herself firmly in Elias's path.
"Crystal Turtle is our Giant Axe Mercenary Corps assignment.
It has nothing to do with you."
"You're a mage—you should know the consequences of stealing someone else's job."
"And besides… with your strength, you'd just be throwing your life away."
Elias smirked—quiet, almost bored.
"You think that just because you don't tell me the location… I can't find it?"
Without another word, he turned and walked out.
Julie blinked.
"…Huh?"
"What is he pretending at?!"
"I told him he'd die, and he just goes anyway?!"
Cursing, she swung her axe up onto her shoulder.
"Lucas! We're going!"
"W-wait, Captain!"
Lucas lunged forward, panicked.
"With just the two of us, even if we fight to the death, we can't beat the Crystal Turtle!"
Julie took a deep breath, then pulled out a many-faced cube engraved with tear-like fissures.
"Captain — you're going to use the Phantom Cube Bomb?!
But that thing costs more than this entire job's reward!"
"Reward?"
Julie sneered.
"Lucas, what's the most important thing for a mercenary?"
"Money?"
"No! Reputation!"
"The reputation of a mercenary corps is more precious than gold!"
"We will not hand our mission over to someone else!"
Frieren watched them storm out and lazily covered her mouth with a yawn.
"Adults are so strange…
Going out to fight monsters in the middle of the night…
Well, whatever. I'm going home to sleep~"
---
Meanwhile…
Within ten seconds, Elias had already extended his mana perception across the entire mountain range.
Ten miles to the east—
he sensed a turbulent, restless presence.
"There."
He was preparing to take off—
but he felt mana signatures behind him.
"Heh… still following me?"
If he flew in front of humans, his identity as a demon would be instantly exposed.
Troublesome.
Looks like he'd have to move using ninja-style movement through the treetops.
Just as he was complaining, a sudden whirlwind swept past him—
Julie blasted ahead, leaving behind the shimmering afterimage of a raised middle finger.
"…Hm."
Elias raised a brow.
Given her… ample physique, moving that fast was honestly impressive.
He sharpened his vision and finally noticed the boots sparkling on her feet.
"Oh. Magic boots, huh."
"I overestimated her."
Then—
"Haa… haa… Captain, wait for meee!"
Lucas stumbled up behind Elias, nearly collapsing.
"I can't… breathe… That's it… I'm done…!"
Elias sighed.
Julie and Lucas wearing matching boots?
Impossible.
In the next instant—
Elias vanished.
"…Huh?!"
Lucas rubbed his eyes frantically.
"He was right here! Just now!"
"Could that Elias guy… be faster than Captain with her speed-boosting boots?"
"Or am I just hallucinating…?"
He looked down—
Two sets of footprints.
One set shallow—Julie's, left at high speed.
The other—
extended to where Elias had been standing…
and then simply vanished.
"D… disappeared into thin air?!"