"Yes, I really was lucky," Before Frieren could finish, Serie interrupted with a meaningful smile, "Next time, you won't be so lucky."
"What do you mean?"
"The future Demon King has already obtained unprecedented authority. Not only humans, but demons as well have been gathered under him. It's no longer just control through fear. If you want to stop him again, you won't be facing the Demon King alone."
Serie cast a casual glance at Ash, her tone carrying a hint of teasing mockery toward Frieren's luck.
But compared to being mocked, Frieren didn't care at all. What she couldn't ignore was the content of those words.
"Serie, do you know about it? About this strange calm right now."
"So what if I do?"
"Tell me."
"Why should I tell you?"
"This concerns the future of the world."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"That's true. You hate peace."
Seeing there was no way to get useful information from her, Frieren stopped expecting anything of value from this person. After a moment of thought, she changed the question.
"Since even you know, then the high officials of this country must mostly know as well, right?"
"Who knows."
"So the sudden mobilization of troops near the magic city by this country is also to deal with the new Demon King that's about to appear?"
"Perhaps."
"..."
No matter what she asked, Serie just responded with ambiguous words and a playful smile.
That made Frieren look toward Ash, "Ash, say something about Serie. Her personality is even worse than yours."
"I won't allow you to talk about Serie like that. She already works very hard every day. How can you say that about her?"
"Did you eat something strange today?"
His unprecedented show of support made Frieren suspect whether he had been hit by Serie's illusion magic, or fed something strange.
"That's really rude. Do I need a reason to defend my master? Isn't that only natural?"
"Huh?", His righteous expression left Frieren completely baffled.
Still confused, she was turned around by him grabbing her shoulders, as he tried to forcibly push her out of the room.
But at the last moment, Frieren, with a numb expression, suddenly noticed something. Her gaze shifted toward the flower bed beside them, and she stopped, turning slightly to look.
"Wait, these flowers… they're all created with magic, right? It's the magic teacher liked, the one that creates a field of flowers, you said it was boring magic, didn't you?"
"...", Serie, who had been watching Ash push Frieren out with great interest, paused when she heard that.
After a brief silence, she looked at the flowers beside her again and spoke plainly.
"To be honest, Flamme was a failure. She clearly had such outstanding talent, yet she never reached my level. After that, I took in many disciples… aside from Ash, none of them lived long enough to reach even close to my strength."
"Serie… you must regret it, right? Taking in those disciples. You've always said so."
"You're wrong. Although I say that, for some reason, I've never actually regretted taking in so many disciples… even though they were just students I accepted on a whim, I clearly remember each of their personalities and the magic they liked… even if they never left their names in history."
Serie stared at the flowers in front of her, for the first time revealing her true thoughts to an outsider… though the listener wasn't her own disciple.
But Ash, who was still pushing Frieren, couldn't help turning his head back when he heard that, showing a surprised expression.
"Serie… so you've always thought of me like that? Then you remember the magic I like?"
"Huh? What are you getting smug about? I don't know, not interested, you're an exception. The only one I regret. Now hurry up and get out with Frieren."
The moment he said that, Serie instantly shifted from that faint trace of melancholy to an impatient expression, firing back at him with rapid, merciless words.
This was basically no different from how she treated Lernen. If it were Lernen, he'd probably feel down for a while again, but…
"These days, having a troublesome master like you really makes being a good disciple a pain."
Ash didn't care about the harsh words at all. He simply went back to the rocking chair and sat down, completely ignoring her verbal jabs, even quite pleased as he resumed reading.
After all, dealing with someone as awkward as Serie, he felt that caring too much would be like losing… but this complete indifference only made Serie feel uncomfortable watching from the side.
Even though she didn't need to consider his feelings, her own mood worsened instead.
———
After Frieren took everything in, shook her head with a smile, and left, Richter, the middle-aged man who had sold earth magic to Ash, entered the room afterward, and was instantly overwhelmed by the terrifying magical power Serie was suppressing.
Of course… he couldn't actually perceive that suppressed fluctuation.
And on his second glance, he saw the owner of that magic power, a seemingly frail blonde elf, and…
"Why are you already here?"
Richter noticed the legendary great mage, and had just been wondering whether he should say something, when he was stunned speechless by the familiar young man lying on a rocking chair beside her, looking even more relaxed than Serie herself.
Serie only glanced at him and casually nodded, "Pass."
"Passed? Just like that? I haven't even said anything yet?", Richter felt like he should be happy, but the suddenness left his mind unable to process it.
Ash, still reading beside them, explained on her behalf, "Serie's intuition is very accurate. Just trust it."
"Ha, huh?", Richter didn't quite understand, but still nodded politely to both of them, then turned and left.
After that, quite a few people entered one after another. Many were eliminated, and many passed… but Ash could tell.
Calling it intuition was partly true, but she also judged based on preference and potential.
Even if someone didn't truly have first-class mage strength, it didn't matter. As long as their personality and potential satisfied her, they could pass. And even if someone had enough strength but didn't suit her taste, she wouldn't let them pass. Frieren was an example.
Before long, Ash saw Lawine appear.
However… compared to Richter, Lawine wasn't surprised by his presence at all. She just shook her head with a slightly speechless expression, but since the occasion was important, she didn't say anything, putting on a serious face as she looked at Serie.
After a brief thought, Serie nodded to approve her… though it was obvious she approved of her potential and personality, not her strength, since many others in this exam also lacked sufficient strength.
'Could this be mutual understanding between tsunderes?', Ash wanted to complain, but for the sake of his wallet, he gave up.
Then… Fern appeared.
She had barely taken a couple of steps inside when she noticed Ash, and immediately frowned, "Lord Ash? Why are you…"
Before she could finish, she seemed to notice something else, staring at a spot in the air.
This made Serie, who had initially thought she wasn't suitable, suddenly realize something and ask sharply, "You, what do you see?"
"Magic power… it's fluctuating…?"
"Heh… your name is Fern, right?", Serie's lips curved upward for the first time, "Become my disciple."
From her attitude, Ash could tell that out of everyone, she was most satisfied with Fern. However…
"Huh? No," Fern was stunned for a moment, then rejected it without hesitation.
That made Serie's smile stiffen for an instant, but she quickly recovered and smiled again, "This won't be a bad thing for you. I can lead you to a higher realm, a realm no human mage has ever reached."
"Has Lord Ash not reached it either?"
"Then let's say, aside from Ash, no human has reached it. In short, it's a level beyond the founder of human magic, Flamme, the failure I raised on a whim, and beyond her disciple Frieren, allowing you to truly become a success within your lifetime."
"Within my lifetime?"
"It can't be helped. Human lifespans are too short. But your talent is exceptional. By the time you're a little over a hundred years old, you should reach Ash's current level… of course, in terms of magic."
"Wouldn't that mean I can never catch up?"
The excessively long time instantly wiped away the bit of interest Fern had just shown.
"I already said, human lifespan has limits."
"In the end, by that time I'd be about to die, right? Is there any magic that can make people immortal? Or at least extend life?"
"How could that exist? If such magic really existed, the emperors of the ancient unified empire wouldn't have died. Even if it only extended life, it would have been fought over and spread everywhere long ago."
Hearing such a foolish question from someone so talented made Serie somewhat displeased.
But Fern didn't notice at all. Instead, she frowned and seized this rare opportunity, asking the great mage closest to a god, who had mastered almost all human magic, "Isn't that strange? With current magical technology, things that don't exist can be created, even life can be created. With dwarves, elves, and demons as references, even copying them should be possible, right? So why is there no magic that can extend human life?"
"The world has its rules. To break that limit, you need to surpass the goddess."
"If I learn from you, is there a chance?"
"From a human perspective, it's impossible."
Hearing this answer, Fern already had her own conclusion, and said without hesitation, "I'm sorry, Lady Serie. I am Lady Frieren's disciple."
"Come to think of it, Ash… you know her too, right?"
Since she knew she wasn't good at persuading others, Serie turned to Ash, clearly wanting him to do it.
Ash naturally understood her unspoken intent and smiled.
"Serie, you probably forgot, back then, the child I wanted you to take in was Fern. You were the one who refused."
"It's actually this child?", A completely unexpected situation left Serie stunned once again.
Seeing this, Ash mocked her mercilessly.
"Regret it now? Serves you right~ Now that the kid's grown up, you're not getting her anymore~ Honestly, your judgment is terrible! Isn't this exactly what you said, that the student surpasses the master? At least when it comes to judging people, I'm way better than you~"
"Shut up! And didn't I already tell you to get out with Frieren? Why are you still here, get out now!"
Lacking any composure of a strong figure, Serie instantly became flustered with embarrassment from his mockery. With a raise of her hand, a strange sphere of light formed instantly.
Fern couldn't see anything clearly. The light shot out with a sonic boom cloud.
A moment later, a deafening "BANG!" exploded as the light detonated in the aerial garden.
The glass dome at the top of the tower shattered with a thunderous crash. Countless shards reflected the sunset as they rained down, while the surrounding flower buds and soil were reduced to dust by the shockwave.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Fern froze for a moment before instinctively pulling out her staff and taking a fighting stance, nervously shouting, "Lady Serie? What are you doing?"
"It's just a greeting. Why so tense?", Even though she was the culprit, Serie wore an annoyed, sulking expression, already unwilling to deal with her.
A sudden gust of wind swept away the smoke, revealing Ash standing in front of them.
Although his clothes were slightly torn, he was otherwise unharmed. He casually brushed himself off and said, "It's fine. This one's temperament is unpredictable. I'm more or less used to it. Just a bit sudden, so my clothes didn't make it."
"Hmph… as expected, you're fine. How irritating!"
Seeing he was okay, Fern relaxed, while Serie glared at him in irritation.
Ash didn't care about her mood at all. He just tilted his head at a 45-degree angle, staring at the sky, worrying about the cost of repairing the greenhouse.
Although Fern's situation made Serie very unhappy, Ash was quite pleased to see her frustrated expression, which only caused her dissatisfaction to pile up even more.
However… even so, she still chose to let Fern pass.
Although it made her feel like she had lost, she had her own principles and didn't want to miss such talent. She still allowed her to become a first-class mage, making her, in name, still her disciple.
After Ash persuaded Fern to leave, only the two of them remained, along with the now-ruined garden.
Only then did Ash suddenly speak, "Serie, do you remember what I said at the beginning?"
"About Fern? I've already lost interest."
"No, I mean the part where you'd definitely let me pass."
"In your dreams," Serie said decisively.
"Now you've let Lawine and Fern pass. If you don't let me pass… I'll go outside and ruin your reputation, say you manipulated things behind the scenes and used your position for personal grudges."
"You've got some nerve saying that. And right in front of me?"
"Sometimes it's important to fight back. After all, I've helped you quite a bit over the years with Flamme's last wishes, right? Even if there's no merit, there's at least effort, don't you think?"
Even though she spoke coldly, Ash began to reason with her calmly and sincerely.
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