It was another gentle, sunny morning. Fíliya rose from her bed at the call of others, then, still in a daze, sat down at the dining table.
"Hmm? Why is today's breakfast a bit strange?"
Fíliya slowly rubbed her eyes, then looked at the bizarre and motley collection of food on the table.
"Because Lady Frieren is in charge today."
Fern spoke softly from the side. As she spoke, her hands did not stop moving, swiftly pinching a lock of Fíliya's hair.
"Stop... wait, Fern! I don't look good with tied hair..."
Fíliya seemed to wake up with a start, instantly becoming energetic as she issued repeated refusals.
"Just try it, I feel it will look very good... Hmm... Miss Sense might like it too, you know?"
Fern continued to persuade her.
And so, Fíliya ceased her struggling movements and obediently let Fern tie her hair into twintails.
"Look, how is it?"
After helping Fíliya tie her hair, Fern handily pushed her in front of the mirror.
"Not great; as expected, it doesn't suit me."
Fíliya's tone sounded rather listless.
"Really, Fíliya is a girl too; you need to care a bit more about your appearance."
Fern said, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance.
"No need, I possess natural beauty."
Fíliya retorted with a face full of arrogance.
"By the way, Frieren, you actually know how to cook?"
After sitting back at the dining table, Fíliya casually struck up a conversation with Frieren while eating her breakfast.
"Otherwise? When Fern was still small, I was the one taking care of her and raising her."
Frieren spoke with an expression of slight displeasure, seeming very dissatisfied that Fíliya held such prejudice against her.
"Uh-huh, and then when Fern grew to a certain point, the positions of you two instantly swapped, becoming Fern taking care of you, right? You big kid who never grows up."
As Fíliya spoke, she looked at the other with a disdainful gaze.
"Heh, what about you? I saw it very clearly. Such a big person, yet you still throw yourself into Sense's arms to act spoiled. You really have no shame."
Frieren glared back without showing any weakness.
"Tsk, speaking of which, where is Stark?"
Fíliya simply looked away.
"Still upstairs... Honestly, whether it is Lady Frieren or you, Fíliya, you two are so troublesome every morning. I have to spend a lot of time managing both of you, so I ordered him not to come downstairs without my permission... Hmm, it should be fine now. I will go call him."
Saying this, Fern stood up directly and walked toward the stairway.
"Tsk tsk tsk, poor child, being managed so strictly."
Looking at Fern's retreating back, a look of lamentation couldn't help but appear on Fíliya's face.
"Indeed..."
Frieren also shook her head. It seemed that on this matter, the two of them had rarely reached a consensus.
"Come to think of it, Frieren, don't you feel you owe me a 'Thank you'?"
Fíliya turned her head back and suddenly spoke again.
"Hmm?"
Frieren blinked drily, her face full of confusion.
"Look, it was all thanks to me this time, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have become a [First-Class Mage]."
As Fíliya spoke, she winked at Frieren, sending a hint.
"Hmm... that is true. I completely didn't expect Serie to let me pass. I thought the conversation would be disagreeable like before, and then I'd be driven away."
Frieren said, resting her chin on one hand in a gesture of thought.
"Heh heh, in fact, Serie already wanted to drive you away back then. You two are really interesting; the moment you entered the door, you stared each other down, and neither was willing to speak first."
"Because I know Serie doesn't like me, and she knows I don't like her, so there's nothing to talk about."
"Mutually hating each other, huh? Hmm... Serie likes mages with ambition and desire, so she can't stand a type like you who relies solely on interest and wastes talent...
"But then again, when we humans hold a grudge, it lasts ten days or half a month... but you two really don't interact for hundreds of years. This attitude of thinking time is always sufficient, so you postpone everything, is truly typical long-lived species thinking."
"..."
Listening to Fíliya's words, Frieren chose to maintain her silence. Seeing this, Fíliya decisively chose to press the attack.
She moved her chair directly next to Frieren, then extended a finger and poked Frieren's cheek.
"Playing dead is useless, you know? Answer quickly! Admit it, you stuborn duck."
"Admit what? Stop poking!"
Frieren unhappily reached out and grabbed Fíliya's finger, her tone somewhat impatient.
"Hmm... Admit that you actually care a lot about Serie. After all, she counts as a figure at the [Grand-master] level to you. Even if just for Flamme's sake, you would definitely care about her."
"Is that so."
Frieren released Fíliya's finger, then slowly lowered her head.
In this instant, she suddenly thought that for an elf like her, as a long-lived species, she indeed had a very big flaw.
That was: it was too easy to [lose] things.
Looking back over these thousand years of time, aside from this powerful strength, she indeed hadn't been able to leave anything behind.
On the contrary, Serie, this person she hadn't interacted with for hundreds of years, had evoked many beautiful memories for her upon meeting again.
"You are right. I might... not dislike Serie that much."
Finally, as if relieved, Frieren slowly raised her head and admitted this point.
"Hmm, look, doesn't your heart feel much better after figuring this out? It's not that hard to accept."
After seeing that expression on Frieren, Fíliya chuckled lightly and sat back in her own seat, then added:
"Actually, Serie is the same. You elves aren't all fellows who are tough on the outside but soft on the inside, are you?"
"Hmm?"
Hearing Fíliya's words, Frieren instantly became interested. Her curiosity lay in why Fíliya would say Serie was the same as her.
"Why do you think Serie made me her assistant that day?"
Fíliya asked Frieren. To this, Frieren only slowly shook her head; naturally, she didn't understand.
"I feel the biggest reason was still you, Frieren."
"..."
Frieren was somewhat surprised in her heart, but she feigned calm and said nothing, simply waiting for Fíliya's next words.
"Although you indeed don't fit Serie's selection criteria of being [Rich in Ambition], she still wanted to let you pass. She just wasn't willing to say it clearly, so... she used this method to hint at me to plead for you. Look, didn't she let you pass as a matter of course after I pleaded? I don't think I have that much influence; this is all because of you."
"Is that so... But I still don't feel that this [First-Class Mage] has any use for me. I was already prepared to be rejected... Anyway, Fern can definitely pass. To go to the Northern Plateau, we only need one First-Class Mage."
Frieren said, turning her head to look elsewhere again.
"Of course it is useful. Hmm... You can treat it as a brand new link between you and Serie. I feel that you long-lived species should cherish existences like yourselves even more. After all, only when you two long-lived species meet can you mutually regain the qualification to [Reminisce about the Past]."
"..."
Frieren fell silent again, so Fíliya continued speaking.
"Moreover, this [First-Class Mage] title has tangible benefits. Hmm... for example, you can receive a considerable stipend every month, you know? If you are to continue traveling, no matter which city you are in, as long as there is a branch of the Magic Association, you can collect money."
"Is that so... That really is not bad."
Hearing this, Frieren finally revealed a smile, though whether what truly moved her was the money or the words spoken before, no one could know.
____
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