East-Haven Association Headquarters. President's Office.
"Luther, do you think he was the one who did it?"
President Simon asked the Director of the Secret Realm Office, his face pinched with a headache.
Luther hesitated before answering uncertainly. "From the motive alone, it does seem like Vice President Russell... but..."
"Vice President Russell probably doesn't have a card that can control others to commit suicide, right?"
In the square-faced middle-aged man's memory, the young Vice President should have only possessed a girl card that controlled lightning at that time—nowhere near mind control.
After all, the Railgun wasn't exactly a matter of psychological mastery.
Though the brown-haired man from the secret realm incident seemed capable of it, the timing didn't match.
Simon didn't comment on this. "Who knows if he's been hiding such a card in private."
"Besides, with his talent, would it really be surprising if he could do this with a Silver-rank card?"
Luther fell silent.
Indeed. With the talent Russell had displayed, possessing a Silver-rank card capable of controlling another Silver-rank cardmaker wasn't exactly shocking.
"Even if he did do it, then what?" Luther asked the key question, his voice deep. "That woman's identity wasn't clean either. You never told me before."
"Even if you asked me to investigate now—would you dare?"
He was angry. Back when Russell hadn't arrived yet, Simon had introduced Ms. Xie to him as an ordinary person.
Luther had simply assumed Simon and his backers were trying to use a honey trap.
Out of his own desire for the Vice President position, Luther had agreed on impulse—let his son cooperate with the woman in a little performance.
But after Ms. Xie's death, he'd discovered something was wrong.
Both he and his son had been subtly influenced by that woman.
As a Gold-rank cardmaker, Luther's situation was relatively mild. At least he could feel dissatisfied about it afterward.
But his son was different. When Ms. Xie was alive, the boy had practically been her dog.
Luther wasn't a fool. After her death, he'd immediately realized she had also been a cardmaker.
Simon was speechless, unsure what to say.
"Forget it." Luther's eyes showed a hint of disappointment. "Compared to Vice President Russell, I really don't have what it takes to become Vice President."
"I won't be accompanying you for anything else."
Simon was stunned at first, as if he hadn't heard clearly. Then his tone turned cold. "At this point, you don't think you can stay out of this, do you?"
But Luther just waved his hand, opened the door, and left the President's office.
After all, appointments for directors and above at a city association headquarters weren't decided by the local president. The president only had recommendation rights—so Luther didn't need to worry about Simon making things difficult for him.
As the office door closed, Simon sat silently in his chair.
After a while.
CRASH.
A ceramic cup was swept off the table.
"Luther." Simon's face was dark. "Very good."
"They all like going against me."
"In that case, don't blame me for being ruthless."
He took out his phone, intending to send a message.
But at that moment, there was a knock on the office door.
Simon placed his phone face-down on the table and said expressionlessly, "Come in."
The door opened. His secretary entered.
"President, Vice President Russell and Director Zayne fought a demon from the Unification Sect in Eastbrook District."
"The surveillance footage from near the battle site has been transferred to your computer."
The secretary glanced at the ceramic cup on the floor, bent down to pick it up and place it on the table, then spoke respectfully.
"Understood. You may leave."
The secretary bowed slightly and retreated.
Soon, a cleaning staff member came to the President's office and cleaned the water stains from the floor.
The only sound in the office was the fighting coming from the computer.
As the cleaner finished and closed the door, the video ended. The room fell silent.
"..."
"Can't wait any longer."
Simon picked up his phone and sent the message he'd been holding.
Russell and Zayne hurried back to Association headquarters.
The commotion had been massive—it was only right to explain the situation to President Simon.
The two arrived at the President's office. Before they could knock, Simon's voice came from inside.
"Vice President Russell and Director Zayne, yes? Come in."
Pushing open the door, Russell saw Simon holding a mouse, scrolling through something on his computer.
However, the reflection in the glass revealed what Simon was actually browsing.
It definitely wasn't work-related.
But Russell couldn't be bothered to call him out on it. He simply reported what had happened today.
Yet even after he finished his account, Simon was still browsing the content on his screen.
"President?"
Hearing Russell's voice, Simon's attention finally returned to reality.
"Oh, right. I'm already aware of the situation."
"Thanks to Vice President Russell and Director Zayne today—who knows what trouble the Unification Sect would have caused otherwise."
"Is there anything else?"
Russell was silent for a moment. "...No."
"You've worked hard. Go home and rest early."
Seeing that Simon had essentially issued an eviction order, Russell and Zayne didn't linger.
After leaving the President's office, the two exchanged glances. They saw helplessness and confusion reflected in each other's eyes.
"Director Zayne, please go rest. It's a good thing you were there today—otherwise we might not have found the Unification Sect's hideout so easily."
Russell meant it. Though the expressionless middle-aged man before him was secretly a Spirit Begging Society agent, he never slacked off in his official duties. In fact, he was far more diligent than President Simon.
It made Russell wonder who the real traitor was.
"Thank you for your hard work, Vice President. I'll take my leave." Zayne lowered his head slightly, then turned and left.
Watching the Director of Public Security depart, Russell glanced out the window. It was nearly dusk.
"Time to clock out. I'm way more exhausted every day than when I was in school." Russell sat down on a chair that a Shadowkhan had produced behind him, rubbing his brow tiredly. "Let's go home and have Unohana give us a massage."
As captain of the healing squad, Unohana Retsu was naturally well-versed in relieving fatigue.
As the young man sank into shadow, the corridor became empty once more.
After a while, Russell's daily routine returned to normal.
No demon invasions. No disturbances from the Unification Sect. Everything seemed peaceful.
He basically worked during the day and went out with Zayne at night to recruit new members for the Spirit Begging Society.
The results were quite gratifying—many unstable elements in society were now under reliable supervision.
Yes.
Supervision by the Spirit Begging Society.
However, after this period of intensive recruitment, only a few of the contracts that Regent Jin had previously given Russell remained.
After keeping some contracts in reserve for emergencies, Russell suspended the Society's summer enrollment.
That night, Russell sat in his study. Bright light illuminated the materials before him.
"[Grand Mage of the Curse-Heart School], [Heart of Desire], [Knowledgeable Immortal Seed]."
"Time to begin."
Russell calmed his mind, picked up his brush, and began sketching on the blank material.
Soon, a white-haired elf girl with twin-tails appeared on the card.
"Let's go."
[Please begin compiling your story.]
[On this continent, there exist creatures called demons. Since their emergence, they have harbored infinite malice toward all other living beings.]
[One night, thousands of years ago, an unknown village was attacked by demons. A young elf girl named Frieren witnessed the villagers' deaths. At the critical moment, the great human mage Flamme saved her.]
[Afterward, seeking revenge against the demons, Frieren became Flamme's apprentice.]
[Flamme was the most powerful mage—and the disciple of Serie, who stood beneath the gods. She was equally formidable.]
[Under Flamme's tutelage, Frieren successfully became a powerful mage.]
[Like her teacher, she spent her entire life suppressing her mana to deceive the demons who prided themselves on their power.]
[However, this tactic of playing weak to devour the strong carried one fear—encountering a monster stronger than the tiger.]
[After her teacher Flamme passed away, Frieren encountered one of the Seven Sages of Destruction, the strongest demons.]
[Macht of the Golden Land.]
[Frieren was defeated. But fortunately, she escaped with her life.]
[Since then, she lived in seclusion in a forest.]
[Her peaceful days ended with the arrival of a hero named Himmel.]
[Persuaded by the young man, Frieren joined his party to defeat the Demon King.]
[Before their expedition, the kingdom's king generously funded them with ten copper coins.]
[As Frieren's group set out on their journey, the Hero of the South—who had once invited Frieren—faced the Seven Sages of Destruction alone.]
[He successfully defeated three of them, and died together with Solitär the All-Knowing, who also possessed the ability to see the future.]
[It must be said that Frieren was indeed powerful as a great mage. She excelled at everything from devastating attack magic to everyday spells like growing flower fields.]
[Moreover, driven by her hatred for demons, she killed more demons than anyone else in the party.]
[Gradually, the name "Frieren the Slayer" spread among demonkind.]
[However, the journey was far from smooth. When facing the killing magic of Qual the Corrupted, Frieren and her companions had no good solution—so they could only seal him.]
[But Frieren's magic analysis ability was extraordinary. With her help, the Mage Association successfully mastered Qual's killing magic and the defensive magic to counter it.]
[As time passed, the hero's party grew steadily stronger.]
[They successively defeated Aura the Guillotine, Böse the Immortal, and another unknown member of the Seven Sages.]
[At the end of the story, the hero's party successfully defeated the Demon King.]
[After returning to the capital and accepting their reward, Frieren bid farewell to her companions and set out once more on a solitary journey to collect magic.]
"Success."
As the creation completed, Russell returned from the mysterious space in a trance.
Looking at the card floating before him, he couldn't help but smile.
(IMAGE HERE )
"Now I'll have the strength to fight regardless of which identity I'm using."
Previously, the Spirit Begging Society only had Kumoko. In battles, that left things stretched a bit thin.
After all, Kumoko had to protect Russell as the cardholder while simultaneously fighting powerful enemies.
Though that was nothing for Kumoko, who possessed [Parallel Consciousness].
Putting away Frieren's card, Russell began reviewing the information.
[Frieren, the Millennium Mage]
Rank: Gold
Quality: Red
Category: Biological
Skills:
[Combat Magic]: Including but not limited to killing magic, defensive magic, hellfire magic, destructive thunder magic, and other combat magics.
[Everyday Magic]: Non-combat magic Frieren collected during her long journey. May prove useful in daily life.
[Magic Analysis]: Frieren can spend time analyzing magic she has encountered, with a chance to successfully reproduce it.
Traits:
[Immortal Species]: As an elf, Frieren possesses an extremely long lifespan. Compared to humans, the mana she possesses is enormous.
[Treasure Chest Enthusiast]: Frieren cannot resist the temptation of mimic monsters. When encountering mimics, Frieren will be involuntarily drawn to them. However, mimics cannot harm Frieren.
[Frieren the Slayer]: As the one who has buried the most demons, Frieren bears the title of the Slayer. When facing demons, Frieren's attack power is greatly increased.
[The Last Great Mage]: Frieren is the last great mage of this generation besides her master Serie. The power of magic she uses is comprehensively enhanced compared to ordinary mages.
Introduction:It's wonderful that I can go on this adventure with all of you.
Bonds:
When appearing simultaneously with [Serie] and related cards, the effect [Great Mage] can be activated.
When appearing simultaneously with [Himmel] and related cards, the effect [Demon-Hunting Party] can be activated.
"Not bad."
Though Frieren appeared to be a glass cannon, the defensive magic derived from deconstructing killing magic was actually incredibly powerful.
And her magic was remarkably comprehensive—attack, detection, defense, all covered.
There was even magic that could conjure hot tea and create shaved ice.
From this perspective, Mikoto Misaka would have to give up her title as the Russell household's beverage queen.
Though both of Russell's Spirit Begging Society cards used magic to fight, strictly speaking, Kumoko wasn't a ranged fighter.
Thanks to the defense and recovery from [Ruler·Perseverance], plus the speed of [Skanda], the little spider was also formidable in close combat.
"But can [Magic Analysis] analyze Kumoko's magic?"
After a moment's thought, Russell decided to try.
He summoned Kumoko. A ripple of energy—and he arrived at the abandoned factory again.
After scanning with his mental power and confirming no one was nearby, Russell summoned Frieren.
The white-haired elf appeared before the young man with an indifferent expression.
But before Russell could say anything, Kumoko started chattering. "Oh! An elf! How wonderful~"
"Little spider wants to be reincarnated into a race that actually looks like a person too~"
At this stage, Kumoko hadn't yet discovered that the elves in her world were actually the culprits who had nearly caused its destruction. So as a shut-in, she naturally still yearned for this race of beautiful people.
"Spider." Frieren glanced at the white spider before her, then turned to Russell. "Let's begin."
Both Frieren and Kumoko naturally understood why Russell had summoned them.
"Alright, watch carefully! Next up is the great Spider-sama's magic show~!"
Kumoko raised a pair of forelegs and waved them like a star performer.
Then, a series of small magic circles appeared above her head.
Seeing magic she had never encountered in her long life, Frieren's expression turned serious.
She used her mana to carefully feel and analyze the magic Kumoko released.
After a while.
"Dark Spear."
As the white-haired elf calmly spoke the spell's name, a pitch-black spear instantly shot from the tip of her staff into the distance.
"It actually worked." Russell was surprised. He hadn't been confident that Frieren could successfully analyze Kumoko's magic.
After all, they belonged to completely different magic systems.
But somehow, it had succeeded.
"If that's the case..."
"Doesn't that mean any quasi-magical ability could potentially work?"
Russell stroked his chin. Though it would be difficult to achieve in actual combat, at least the possibility existed.
Then, Kumoko and Frieren experimented with other magics.
The result: magic that didn't involve Ruler skills could be learned—abyss magic, spatial magic, and so on.
Russell wasn't surprised that Ruler skills couldn't be learned. Kumoko's Ruler abilities weren't magic at all. They should be considered the underlying code of her planet—after all, the system covering the entire world was created by Evil God D.
At this point, Frieren—having learned new magic—smiled faintly. "Russell, I'm very happy to learn new magic."
Russell smiled and patted the white head.
Frieren puffed her cheeks slightly and reached up to remove Russell's hand.
Just as Russell was about to say something, he frowned and looked toward the east of the abandoned factory.
To conceal its location, Kai had chosen an abandoned factory very close to the coastline.
Now, the mental energy Russell had released detected something strange moving along the coast.
Name Conversions This Chapter:
Fulilian → Frieren (official anime name)
Volame → Flamme (Frieren's teacher)
Celia → Serie (the great mage)
Xinmei → Himmel (the hero)
Mahat → Macht (Golden Land)
Shuharat → Solitär (All-Knowing)
Guval → Qual (the Corrupted)
Bezer → Böse (the Immortal)