"Garlan—!"
Seeing Garlan approaching from a distance, Lia, who had been sitting there looking exhausted, sprang to her feet and lunged at him without the slightest hesitation.
"Whoa, hey! Have some self-awareness as a young lady, would you?"
Even though Garlan looked at Lia—who was a head shorter than him—as a little sister, there was still a biological difference. Such intimate behavior made the "forever single" Garlan flush a bright red. Watching the two of them display such "indecent" behavior in broad daylight, Denken simply shook his head.
"But Garlan said he liked it when I hugged him like this?"
"Don't frame me, hey! When did I ever say something so embarrassing?"
Lia buried her face in his wind-dried shirt, but then suddenly pulled back with a look of pure disgust.
"I just finished a run; of course I'm covered in sweat! And you were the one who jumped on me, so don't give me that look!"
Apparently, the smell of sweat was too much for Lia. Was her sense of smell that delayed? It took her a good few seconds of hugging to realize he stank.
Denken walked over slowly, adjusting his monocle. Like a strict private tutor, he began to report Lia's training progress to Garlan.
"Long-range magic, like [Basic Offensive Magic], requires three essential elements: the quantity of mana, the intensity of the discharge, and the precision of control. Generally speaking, Lia possesses immense mana reserves and sufficient intensity. However, once the target distance exceeds a certain limit, her control drops off sharply."
He pointed to the boulder on the distant mountain.
"That attack just now dissipated right before impact. But there's no need for haste. Her progress is already terrifyingly fast. I estimate she'll be able to shatter that rock in a few weeks. With her massive mana, once she masters the distance, she'll be lethal even without perfect precision."
Lia looked incredibly proud, her cowlick swaying left and right in the breeze. Garlan felt a powerful urge to reached out and ruffle her hair, but he suppressed it in front of the serious Denken.
"However," Denken continued, "this is a major bottleneck. With her incredible casting speed, if she overcomes this control issue, she might very well become the fourth Great Mage in history. But if she relies solely on brute mana, further breakthroughs will be difficult."
The fourth Great Mage?
Garlan knew of Serie, the living grimoire from the age of mythology. Could Lia really stand beside such an invincible existence? Looking at the dazed, harmless-looking girl beside him, a giant question mark popped up in Garlan's mind. Still, he felt a surge of "fatherly" pride at Denken's high praise.
Regardless, I need to get her a real staff. Carrying a charred stick in front of Denken is just embarrassing.
On a bustling street crowded with merchants and travelers, a white-robed elf with red earrings carrying a suitcase stepped into a pharmacy.
"Excuse me, do you have Dark Dragon Horns?"
The white-haired shopkeeper paused, thinking. "Dark Dragon Horns? We don't carry things that dangerous. I remember those things emit a black mist; they're quite eerie."
Sigh. Himmel said the same thing, though I'm still not sure if they're actually harmful, the elf thought.
Hearing that they didn't have any, a flash of disappointment crossed her face. After years of searching, she still hadn't found a second one. It looked like she'd eventually have to go back to Himmel and ask for the one they looted from the Demon King's castle.
"Then... do you have Foxtail Grass?"
"The last batch was just bought by a customer right before you came. He's a famous pharmacist in Rohguri. If you really need it, you could try finding him."
"I see... thank you."
The elf looked around, found nothing else of interest, and turned to leave. The shopkeeper sighed, looking back at a magic item he couldn't decipher, wondering if he'd bought another fake. He looked up just as the customer crossed the threshold, and a strange sense of familiarity hit him.
So familiar... Why do I feel like I've seen a statue of her somewhere?
Frieren stepped out into the street. Pharmacist Garlan. In a city this big, where do I start looking?
"You just recovered and you're already shouting for a drink? Did you catch a virus from Locke?"
Garlan sat down with a groan, clutching the foxtail grass he'd just purchased. Despite his grumbling, a genuine smile was on his face. He was happy to see his old friend back to his radiant self. The confident grin on the man's face reclaimed his pride as "Black Sword" Glenn.
"I promised I'd buy you a drink, and I don't break my word! Barkeep, two barrels of the good stuff!"
As two wooden casks of golden ale were slammed onto the table, the two men began to talk.
"You want to learn the way of the Warrior?" Glenn asked, his face already flushing from the ale. "A Warrior... hic... just needs to completely suppress the opponent with their momentum."
"Momentum...?" Garlan was starting to feel a bit buzzed himself. "Do all you warriors just talk about momentum? Can I get some practical advice here?"
"Right, right... honestly, Garlan, your skills aren't bad. I'm just not sure exactly how strong you are. If you want to improve, you should go to the Adventurers' Guild and pick up some work. Subduing monsters is the best feedback for a warrior."
Glenn paused, his eyes a bit glazed. "Why don't you come spar with me next time? Let me see what you're made of."
"Oh? To be coached by the 'Black Sword' himself? I'm flattered," Garlan teased. He was actually quite pleased; Glenn's help would be a massive boost to his training.
Tinkle—
The bell above the tavern door rang. A woman in a white mage's robe stepped into the establishment. Amidst the scruffy, bearded men, she stood out like a pristine white shell on a sandy beach.
"Does anyone here know a pharmacist named Garlan?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but Garlan's sharp ears caught it instantly. Who would be looking for me? Lia? No, Denken has her buried in history books. Then who?
He turned his head toward the source. The moment he saw her, his drunken haze vanished instantly, replaced by a jolt of pure shock and disbelief.
"Frieren?"
___
There's a few advance chapters on my P@treon
Usually upload 2 Chapters a day in there, except Saturday and Sunday
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