Shichen still didn't take Frieren and the others away right away. Instead, he stayed here for three days.
Partly to revisit the life they used to have—and partly to keep Eisen company.
That guy never married. After the Demon King was defeated, he'd been living alone ever since. For a while he at least had a student around, but that student was scared of him.
When Heiter was still alive, Eisen could at least exchange letters with him. But now that Heiter was gone, Eisen didn't really have any friends left.
For him, Shichen and Frieren were his last friends. Leaving immediately would've felt wrong.
Besides, they weren't in a hurry.
And Shichen didn't think he could find Flamme right away anyway.
Finding her would be easy—but the ability he'd use to find her had been restricted.
After keeping Eisen company for three days, leaving him plenty of food, and even building him a new stone cottage—fully furnished, with everything he could need—Shichen finally took Frieren and left.
To Shichen, Eisen and the others were all "kids." That had been his mindset even back during the Demon King campaign.
Eisen and the rest had long since accepted that about him. On that journey, they'd relied on him more than they'd ever admit.
Back then, though, Shichen only handled the day-to-day stuff. Anything bigger than that, he always left to them to decide.
Treating them like "kids" didn't mean doing everything for them. Having a "mom heart" was enough.
Why not a "dad heart"?
A dad heart wouldn't work—a dad heart would just make life chaotic.
Because men stay boys until they die.
After parting with Eisen, Shichen was still in the mood to drive the carriage, so he summoned Groudon again and had it keep acting as the "horse."
Even if ordinary people saw it along the way, it didn't matter.
Magic was common knowledge in this world. You could just explain Groudon as something made with magic.
It even kind of looked like an earth-and-stone golem.
In short: magic could explain anything.
"Shichen-sama, which direction are we heading now?" Fern asked.
"Toward the center. We'll go check on Eisen's student."
"Okay." Fern sounded unenthused.
"Heh. With that attitude, Eisen will be sad."
"A student who ran away from home is already a lost cause," Fern said bluntly.
"It's fine. We'll just treat him like free labor—he can drive the carriage so I can sit back and enjoy the ride."
"Sitting in the carriage with Shichen-sama…" Fern pictured it, and suddenly decided having one more person around might actually be useful.
"Fern doesn't want to sit with me anymore?" Frieren, who was lying with her head on Fern's lap, opened her eyes. Her tone was faintly accusatory.
"Frieren-sama sleeps all the time…" Fern complained without mercy.
"I'm bored. And I didn't sleep well last night."
"How is that possible? You went to bed before me and woke up after me."
"Some things you only understand after you've experienced them." Frieren shot a glance toward Shichen's back.
Why did she sleep all day?
Because she couldn't sleep at night—Shichen always kept bothering her.
He constantly "trained his technique" on her.
Every night she ended up completely dehydrated.
It was miserable—except it also felt good.
She didn't even know what was so fun about it.
Why could Shichen enjoy it every single night without getting tired?
But she couldn't stop him, so she just… endured it.
"What things?" Fern asked, confused.
"That, you'll have to ask Shichen. See when he decides to teach you."
"Shichen-sama? What is Frieren-sama talking about?"
"Mmm… what is it?" Shichen played dumb.
"Shichen-sama!" Fern got annoyed.
"Alright, alright—I'll tell you soon. You've grown up."
"What does it have to do with me growing up?"
"Because if you don't grow up, you can't experience it."
"…I see."
"Fern, being curious won't help. Until Shichen takes action, he won't explain anything," Frieren said, settling back down. "Let me sleep properly and make up for my lack of sleep."
"Frieren-sama… are you really that tired?"
"You'll understand eventually. Oh—prepare water for me. When I wake up, I'll need to rehydrate."
"Why do you need water?"
"You'll understand eventually."
"Frieren-sama!"
Out of sheer curiosity, Fern pretended to fall asleep that night.
And in the middle of the night, she finally understood why Frieren was always so sleepy during the day.
The murmurs… the soft moans… the trembly, pleading sounds—
Just hearing them made her head go a little fuzzy.
That night, she understood everything. And she finally sympathized with Frieren.
So it wasn't Frieren's fault after all.
It was all Shichen-sama's fault!
And yet… even while thinking that, Fern couldn't help feeling curious.
What would it be like if he did that to her?
Why were her legs trembling on their own?
Fern didn't have to wait long.
A month later, one evening, they happened to pass a small village. Shichen stopped the carriage, summoned a house nearby, set up a barrier, and the three of them stayed the night.
That was normal for their travels.
Villages were rare, and whenever they found one, they'd rest there for a while.
Staying on the road nonstop wasn't great. Stopping to enjoy the scenery was part of the journey.
After the long ride, Fern didn't feel like cooking right away—she wanted to bathe first.
Frieren refused to bathe with Fern. The emotional damage was too severe. She went straight to the bedroom to sleep.
Shichen stood between them, looked left at Frieren heading into the bedroom, then right at Fern heading into the bathroom—and chose the right.
He didn't want to "eat" Frieren yet… and Fern was already mature.
Shichen knew about the night Fern had pretended to sleep and listened. He'd intentionally not hidden anything.
Because Fern needed to learn a little—and prepare herself mentally.
Over the past month, Fern had listened more than once.
Shichen figured the timing was about right.
He crept to the bathroom door.
At first he thought about pressing his ear to it—but then, thinking about his relationship with Fern, he decided to just go in.
He pushed the door open.
In front of him: a scene like moonlight.
So she really had grown up.
"Shichen-sama…?" Fern stood there holding the undergarments she'd just taken off, staring at him in a daze.
"Fern, want to bathe together?" Shichen closed the door.
"Huh…?"
Her brain stalled for a second—then her thoughts snapped into focus.
"Shichen-sama… isn't this… a bit sudden?"
"Is it? Weren't you looking forward to it?"
"I wasn't!" Fern immediately denied it.
"Really? Then who's been sneaking and listening every night?" Shichen stepped close and teased right by her ear.
"Mm…" Fern shrank her neck, unable to handle his warm breath.
"I… I wasn't…"
The denial had no conviction.
Shichen laughed, moved behind her, and gently wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Don't you want to experience it?"
"Mm…" Fern's heart jumped—she nearly lost her balance.
Shichen steadied her in his arms. "So you do want to."
"I… I don't…" She still tried to deny it—her shame wouldn't let go.
"Still stubborn? Let's see how long you can keep that up."
Shichen bent down, swept Fern up in a bridal carry, and walked toward the bath.
Fern instinctively looped her arms around his neck—no more resistance.
The tub was already filled, the water temperature perfect.
Shichen lowered them into the bath together.
Fern sat on his lap, frozen still.
Very quickly, cheerful, beautiful "music" filled the bathroom.
Fern couldn't control her voice at all.
Now she truly understood why Frieren got "bullied" every night and still didn't fight back.
Because you can't fight back.
Fern finally turned around, wrapped her arms around Shichen's neck, and kissed him first.
Only Frieren suffered.
She woke up hungry in the middle of the night—only to find no hot dinner waiting…
And the other two were gone.