"Ahahaha!"
Seeing Frieren fall to the ground, Shichen couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Oww… that really hurt…" Frieren lay flat on the ground, groaning quietly.
Chapter 296: Bathing with the Family
"Shichen, how could you laugh at Frieren like that?"
Irisviel scolded him as she parked the bike, rushing to help Frieren up.
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
"Mmm… Bikes are no fun at all… I don't wanna ride anymore…" Frieren gave up on learning right away.
"Really?" Shichen rode his bike in circles around her. "You really don't want to learn? It's actually super fun~"
"Daddy! Me too!"
"Onii-chan, I wanna ride too!"
Illya and Sakura chased after him excitedly.
"Illya, Sakura, be careful," Irisviel reminded them gently.
"Don't worry."
Shichen stopped and smiled at the two girls who ran up. "You're going to be disappointed though—bikes can't carry passengers."
"Eh?"
Illya and Sakura was disappointment.
"But it's okay—since I spoil you two, I'll make an exception. Just don't let anyone see, alright?"
"Daddy! I love you the most!"
"Me too, Onii-chan!"
"Shichen… is this really okay?" Irisviel asked, unsure.
"Relax. I've got stealth skills. As long as we don't cause a scene, no one will notice."
"Alright."
"Daddy! Hurry up and take us!" Illya urged excitedly.
"Nope~ I can only carry one. Let Iri carry the other. You two can take turns riding with us."
"Huh? Me too?" Irisviel looked surprised.
"You've already driven over the speed limit before. Don't tell me you're scared of carrying someone on a bike?"
"Ugh..." Irisviel looked a little embarrassed.
"But still, we need to get Frieren to learn how to ride first."
"I don't wanna learn anymore… Falling hurts too much…" Frieren pouted.
"What are you, a little kid? Still afraid of pain? Fine, I'll teach you step by step." Shichen chuckled and shook his head.
"Step by step how?" Frieren asked curiously.
Deep down, she still wanted to learn. Watching Shichen ride circles around her had stirred her motivation.
"It's easy. I'll hold you from behind, and you just focus on finding your balance. Bikes are easy once you get it."
"Really? You're not going to let go on purpose, right?"
"Do I look like that kind of person?"
Shichen parked the bike, walked over, and gently took her hand to check — her skin was still fair and unscathed.
Not even a scratch.
Relieved, he propped the bike up and said, "Alright, hop on. I'll hold you steady. Today's mission is to learn how to ride."
"You got this, Frieren!"
"Go Frieren-neechan!"
Illya and Sakura cheered her on.
"Don't you dare mess with me on purpose."
Frieren emphasized skeptically, then clumsily got on the bike. With Shichen holding her from behind, she stayed steady.
"Hold the handlebars and start pedaling slowly," Shichen instructed.
"Okay…"
Frieren wore a serious expression, carefully pushing the pedals as she started to ride.
The area around the bike shop was spacious, with a large open space — maybe meant for test rides — making it a perfect spot for Frieren to practice without disturbing anyone.
Frieren's learning ability was impressive — maybe it was her curiosity, or maybe Shichen's help, but in just ten minutes, she was already riding.
She was still a little cautious, afraid of falling again — but that would pass with more practice.
Watching Frieren ride stiffly, face all tense, Shichen found it particularly amusing.
He had once wondered what this ancient elf would be like if she lived in the modern world.
And now, he had a real picture in front of him.
A shame he couldn't take a photo — but if his plans worked out, he might one day travel between worlds and bring things back and forth at will.
"Shichen, I've got it!" After riding for a bit without falling, Frieren excitedly called out to him.
"Isn't biking fun?"
"It's amazing! Who knew something like this could be so fun? I wonder what driving a car feels like."
"...Aren't you getting a bit ahead of yourself? Master the bike first."
"Are you underestimating me?"
"That doesn't sound like what someone who just fell earlier would say."
"Hmph~"
"Now that you can ride, let's bike around the city a bit. We'll grab lunch afterward."
"I want cola!" Frieren blurted out.
"...Got it." Shichen twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Frieren was probably going to turn into a homebody — addicted to cola now, electronics would follow.
Luckily, she didn't need to train magic anymore, so even if she got hooked on the internet later, it wouldn't interfere with anything important.
Otherwise, Flamme definitely wouldn't forgive him easily.
So Shichen took Sakura, Irisviel took Illya, and they rode bikes with Frieren to explore the city together.
Their appearance and clothes didn't exactly match the vibe of casual biking — but luckily no passersby noticed them, or they definitely would've caused a stir.
Riding bikes in the middle of winter was a bit chilly, but for them, it didn't really matter.
Frieren got better and better — eventually even taking the lead.
By dinner, Shichen took everyone for burgers, fried chicken, and more cola — which Illya and the others loved.
Irisviel complained about the lack of nutrition but didn't hold back — her mouth got messy with sauces and grease.
Still, with her youthful outfit, she looked especially cute.
Frieren was clearly hooked on cola — she drank three full cups by herself and burped without a care in the world.
Not caring at all about appearances.
After lunch, Shichen kept leading them around the city. There were lots of places he hadn't visited yesterday — but with bikes, they could cover it all in one go.
By dusk, they returned to the hotel just in time for dinner — and hotel meals were always a bit more luxurious.
After dinner, Frieren flopped onto the couch and groaned, "So tired…"
"Don't just fall asleep like that. Go take a bath," Shichen said as he patted her butt.
"Ugh… I don't wanna move..." Frieren squirmed.
"Once you're done bathing, you can snuggle into a warm bed. Don't you want that?"
"I still don't wanna."
"Really? Then how about I help you?"
"Fine, I'll do it myself." Frieren gave in and trudged off to the bathroom.
"Hehe~"
Shichen chuckled and looked at the girls. "You two not bathing yet?"
"We..."
Illya and Sakura looked at each other, then said in unison, "We'll wait a bit."
"What's the difference?"
"We want to bathe with Daddy!"
"Mm... Onii-chan didn't help me wash yesterday..."
"No. You two are getting too old for that. You can't bathe with me anymore."
"Why? Do you have weird thoughts or something?" Illya asked innocently.
"…Of course not!" Shichen denied righteously.
"Then there's no problem, right?"
Shichen looked toward Irisviel for help.
"Ahem… Illya, Shichen wants to wash alone. How about you two bathe with me instead?"
"No! We want to bathe with Daddy — and Mommy too!"
"Eh?"
Ten minutes later, when Frieren left the bathroom and returned to the room, Shichen and Irisviel were being dragged into the bathroom by Illya and Sakura…
"You don't have to go along with this," Shichen said to Irisviel.
"No… the girls are right. We're a family. Bathing together is totally normal," Irisviel replied.
"...I won't be able to pretend I didn't see anything," Shichen warned.
"Uhh… i-it's okay…" Irisviel blushed.
Shichen stripped quickly and slipped into the bath before the others could react.
"Daddy! Wait for us!"
"Onii-chan!"
Illya and Sakura followed closely behind.
One had skin as white as milk, the other pink like cherry blossoms. Both splashed into the bath, hugging onto Shichen's arms, one on each side.
The sensation on his arms was incredibly soft and slippery.
"Hehe~ First time bathing with Daddy, I'm so happy~"
"Me too!"
"You two..." Shichen shook his head helplessly and said no more.
Luckily, they just wanted to bathe — so it wasn't that big a deal.
After a while, Illya called out, "Mom, what are you doing? Aren't you coming in?"
"I'm coming…"
With a soft, slightly nervous voice, a silver-haired figure — glowing like moonlight — entered the room.
~~~
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