"What jealousy? I have no idea what Shichen-sama is talking about." Fern turned her head away and denied it.
"You can't fool me. I've watched you grow up." Shichen gently turned Fern's face back toward him.
Her cheeks were smooth and soft—still a little baby-faced.
"What is it you're trying to say, Shichen-sama?" Fern seemed to give up resisting and stared straight into his eyes.
"I want to ask—when did it start?" Shichen's expression turned serious.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Yeah. I don't know when it started, but at some point, seeing you and Frieren-sama being affectionate just… made me unhappy." Fern answered honestly.
"Do you at least remember roughly when?"
"About a year ago."
"A year ago…"
A year ago, Fern was thirteen—right at the age when first feelings bloom. And by her side, there'd only been Shichen.
Shichen still looked young, and he was always with her: teaching her magic, keeping her company, letting her feel warmth and presence.
Most importantly, Shichen and Frieren were glued to each other every day. With that constantly in front of her, Fern's "growing up" happened faster.
As for Fern's feelings changing—Shichen didn't have much to say. This was what he'd intended.
He just hadn't expected her to mature this quickly.
"Shichen-sama… are you troubled by it?" Fern asked cautiously when he fell silent.
"No." Shichen stroked her cheek and smiled.
"Then what were you thinking just now?"
"I was happy."
"Happy?"
"Yeah. I didn't expect Fern to like me."
"I… I never said I like you." Fern blurted out, flustered.
"So you're a tsundere too, huh?" Shichen teased.
"What's a tsundere?" Fern hadn't heard the word before.
"Like what you're doing right now—saying one thing while feeling another. Too embarrassed to admit it."
"I-I'm not a tsundere!" Fern shouted, denying it.
"Heh. Tsunderes never admit they're tsunderes."
"Mm… Shichen-sama, you're so mean."
"Because Fern is just too easy to bully." As he spoke, Shichen pulled her into his arms.
"I… Heiter-sama told me to follow you two. Not so you could bully me." Fern didn't resist; she just pressed against his chest and protested softly.
"Oh, that's not necessarily true~"
"Huh?" Fern lifted her head and looked at him.
"Heiter might've predicted this situation."
"This situation?"
"You accidentally falling for me."
"I-I'm not in love with you, Shichen-sama!" Fern looked down again, still denying it.
"Alright, alright. I'll just pretend that's how it is." Shichen didn't mind. He patted her head.
"You seem pretty pleased with yourself," Fern muttered into his shoulder.
"Of course I am. Finding out how you feel about me—how could I not be?" Shichen admitted shamelessly.
"W-what feelings?! Shichen-sama, don't say nonsense!"
"Okay, okay. Whatever you say."
"Mmph…" Still annoyed, Fern lightly punched him—completely lacking strength.
"Oh? Hitting me now? Embarrassed and angry, huh?"
"No. It's just that Shichen-sama makes people want to hit you." Fern tried to justify it, her lips lifting despite herself.
"Ah, Fern wants to hit me—what can I do? Guess I'll just take it."
"It's because Shichen-sama deserves it."
"Alright. Everything's my fault."
"Hmph. You don't look sorry at all."
"How am I supposed to apologize—kneel or something?"
"That's not necessary…"
"Then how about this?" Shichen held Fern by both shoulders, easing her out of his arms so they were facing each other.
"L-like what?" Fern's heart started pounding wildly.
She wanted to turn around and run, but she forced herself not to—because she could feel it: Shichen was about to do something.
And deep down… she was looking forward to it.
"Of course…" Shichen said slowly, leaning closer and closer.
As his face neared hers, Fern got so nervous she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself like she was about to be bullied.
She even lifted her chin and pouted her lips on instinct.
Shichen didn't kiss her.
He watched her reaction and chuckled.
A girl who'd just started catching feelings being curious and eager was normal—but he couldn't indulge her like that.
He had to guide her slowly, step by step, until she understood.
That said, Shichen wasn't going to do nothing, either.
He leaned in and gently kissed her forehead, then pulled back.
"There. How's that apology?"
"…"
Fern opened her eyes in confusion and touched her forehead.
"Shichen-sama… that just now was…?"
"An apology."
"How is that an apology?" Fern glared at him, indignant.
Her eyes practically screamed: That's it?!
The kid was greedy.
"Well, of course it counts. What else do you want? Do you want me to do something?" Shichen asked with a grin.
"I… I didn't say anything."
"Heh. Relax. Step by step—don't rush." Shichen soothed her.
"Step by step?"
"You're still young. You need to learn slowly, okay?"
"Shichen-sama… does that mean… I can keep feeling this way?"
"What feelings?" Shichen played dumb.
"It's nothing…"
"Heh. Let's head back. It's about time."
"Yes."
On the way back, neither of them spoke, but Fern's mood was unbelievably good.
She walked lightly, like she might start skipping at any moment.
Shichen had seen her like this before—back when she was younger, when she'd just learned a new spell and he'd praised her.
In the blink of an eye, she'd grown this much.
Though… was it really "this much"?
She'd been under ten when he first met her, but even then she wasn't that little. And in Shichen's memory, she'd always been the girl who looked nearly twenty.
They stayed in the small village three more days, then left. The whole village came out to see them off.
Whether the villagers truly understood or not, once Shichen's party checked the area, it meant there definitely weren't any demons.
The hero party's reputation still carried weight—no one would doubt their word.
And this kind of situation happened over and over on their journey.
The Demon King was defeated and the world had entered an era of peace—but it was only the beginning.
Outside the capital, there were still countless small villages, and not many real towns.
In small villages, information was sealed off. People knew nothing, understood nothing, and could only rely on what outsiders brought them—sometimes even false news.
As they traveled, Shichen's group wasn't just wandering—they were bringing "new things" to places that hadn't caught up yet.
There were so many villages, and they'd often linger in each one. If it was summer or winter, Shichen and Frieren especially didn't want to leave.
Whether you could resist heat and cold with magic was one thing; whether heat and cold existed at all was another.
That was the point of traveling—you couldn't just magic away every inconvenience.
So in those seasons, they'd simply stay until it passed, then move on.
Like that, reaching a town could take months at minimum—sometimes a full year or two.
"Shichen-sama, we're in town."
"Finally, we can sleep at an inn."
"Isn't your conjured house better?"
"This is called ritual, okay? You take Frieren-sama to register at the inn—I'm going to wander around."
"Huh?"
Fern froze as Shichen really did turn and leave without hesitation.
"Is there a problem?" Shichen asked.
"No…"
"Then it's settled."
And with that, Shichen ditched the two of them and disappeared into the crowd.