"Ugh… my body feels so heavy… so stuffy, I can't even breathe properly…"
"What happened while this Dio was dormant? With Alicia and the others around, there's no way I'd get attacked…"
"…Hm? Something soft and squishy…"
Seventy-nine years after Diego disappeared, with the help of necromancy, Diego overcame his inner shame and reunited with Frieren and the party once more.
After finishing his conversation with Übel, Diego's necromancy duration ended. He voluntarily transformed into a small dinosaur and entered dormancy.
Due to Diego's unexpected appearance in the second round, Serie personally volunteered to serve as chief proctor for the third round. All examinees eliminated in the second round were granted a revival match to participate in the final round.
The very next day, a powerful suffocating sensation jolted Diego awake. He slowly opened his eyes—only to be stunned by the pure white scene before him.
"Uhehehe…"
"Nya…"
Alicia and Mabel had sandwiched Diego between them, murmuring mysterious incantations in their sleep.
"Whoa, actually… I'm not waking up that fast. Still kinda sleepy… gonna sleep a bit more…"
With a faint smile, Diego slowly closed his eyes again.
In simple terms: while in his small humanoid dinosaur form, the sleeping Alicia and Mabel had unconsciously trapped him in the middle and were giving him a face-wash treatment.
Thud!
Diego's head suffered a heavy blow. A foot slammed hard into his forehead, forcing him to wake up early.
"Tch, which bast—" Recognizing the owner of the foot, Diego's words cut off abruptly. His expression instantly shifted to dead-fish eyes, his calm voice carrying a faint aura of death. "Frieren… has anyone ever told you your sleeping posture is terrible…"
Fully recovered from her injuries, Frieren had rolled from the neighboring bed all the way onto Alicia's. Incomprehensibly, while her head stayed off the bed, her lower body had landed precisely and delivered a fierce kick to Diego.
Thud!
Another kick!
"Sigh…" Diego let out a long breath, grew on the spot, returned to normal size, and prepared to carry Frieren back to the neighboring bed.
Click…
At that moment, the door opened. Fern pushed it open and entered.
"Frieren-sama, it's time to get up. Today we have to go for the third-round exa—" Fern witnessed the scene, her face instantly flushed red, mouth slightly agape. She slammed the door shut with a bang. "Diego-sama, you're so lewd!"
"…Mind your own business. I didn't sleep with your wife…"
Unable to explain, Diego withdrew his outstretched hand and muttered quietly to himself.
In Fern's mind, this Dio's image has already been completely ruined anyway. Since things have come to this, might as well sleep. Frieren will bring me to the third-round exam.
Thinking so, Diego returned to small dinosaur form and fell back into dormancy.
(In the end, Diego inexplicably woke up deep inside the Tomb of the Fallen King, inside the stomach of a treasure chest mimic. The reason? Frieren decided to go full gambler mode before the exam and try to gamble out a grimoire—accidentally swallowing Diego along with it.)
...
"I now declare the third-round exam officially begun."
"The content of the third-round exam is an interview personally conducted by the great mage Serie."
Outside the third-round exam venue, Falsch announced the exam details in front of all examinees—until a familiar scream shattered the brief calm.
"wryyyyyyy————!!!"
"Disqualified. Get out!"
"I don't care! I don't care! This Dio is going to become a first-class mage no matter what!! If I can't become a first-class mage, I'll die right here for you to see! Martial-magic dual cultivation sounds insanely cool, okay?!"
"Then go die right now." A dragon-slaying spell coalesced in Serie's hand, aimed straight at Diego's face. "Do you know how many kids with mage potential you've tricked into walking the dead-end path of warrior? And now the granddaddy of warriors himself tells me he's quitting to become a first-class mage?"
Diego had no other merits except being outrageously handsome. Somehow, he had mysteriously convinced many youths in the Northern Nations to train as warriors—the profession that couldn't survive without going full battle-crazed.
"That has nothing to do with this great one! Warriors are sneaky too, you know? Short reach, easy to kite. They have to stand in front of mages to protect their damage output—can't deal effective damage without getting close…"
Listening to Diego and Serie bicker, the fully recovered examinees exchanged looks, expressions strange. The same thought rose in everyone's mind.
So I got half-killed by this thing?
Since his registered identity as Joestar was dead, Diego had to sneak in through the back door for the interview—though Serie immediately told him to get lost the moment he entered.
Inside the third-round exam venue, Diego and Serie locked eyes in a stare-down, neither willing to yield.
"Serie, warriors have limits. From my short life, I've learned one thing… the more a warrior tries to close in on a mage, the easier it is to fall to unpredictable magic… unless one transcends being a warrior…" Diego spoke earnestly.
Serie sat calmly on the ground, utterly emotionless: "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I don't want to be a warrior anymore, Serie! I want to transcend being a warrior and become a first-class mage! I want acknowledgment from your own mouth!" Diego got hyped, spreading both arms wide. "wryyyyyy!!!"
Serie's face filled with black lines. Her tone remained cold as she issued the eviction order without hesitation: "Are you here just to mess with me? You're a warrior—what business do you have becoming a first-class mage? Do you even have mana?"
"Serie~~~ You can't do this to this Dio! If you won't let this Dio become a first-class mage, I'll just stay here and never leave!!! Just say yes, let me become a first-class mage!! And look, Serie—I can use magic, see?" Diego lay on the ground shouting shamelessly, having completely abandoned dignity. "Water spirits, help me water all the flowers in the venue."
"Is that a systematic magic? If I give you a grimoire, can you cast it?"
"Don't worry about that—just answer whether I can use magic or not."
It's common knowledge: natural airheads counter tsunderes. Shameless rogue juniors can perfectly handle tsundere elders.
In the end, the ultra-tsundere grandmaster ancestor was the first to lose. She sighed helplessly. Having no way to deal with Diego's shamelessness, she compromised.
"I'll give you one more chance. Tell me what talent you have that would make me bend the rules and accept you as first-class." Serie squatted beside the small stream in the venue, stroking the fresh flowers grown with flower-field magic. She turned her head away, refusing to look at Diego anymore.
Hearing that Serie was willing to budge, Diego's spirit lifted. He stopped rolling around, instantly sprang up from the ground, raised an eyebrow, sidled close to Serie, thought for a moment, and began negotiating with a sleazy grin:
"I'm good at pretending to be a sadist, but actually I'm just a hot-blooded masochist. Using the excuse of 'holding back' to beat enemies half to death—does that count?"
"What do you think? You've already thrown away all shame—don't you have anyone left to care about?" For the first time in her long life, Serie genuinely wanted to strangle someone. Suddenly, something seemed to occur to her. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she asked with interest: "By the way, Dio—about that question from back then… is your answer still the same?"
"Which question? You've asked me quite a few… Oh, I think I know…" Diego dropped his sloppy demeanor. A nostalgic smile appeared in his eyes as he spoke slowly: "That one. My answer is: Of course—I'm still learning…"
"As for people I care about? They've already become mine. So losing face doesn't matter anymore."
[Diego Brando—you bastard—have you ever truly loved someone?]
[No, and I never will. I've always been alone. I'm used to it, so it'll stay that way…]
"You've split personalities? Saying 'it'll stay that way'—your answer has completely changed." Serie let out a soft laugh, reached out, and ruffled Diego's golden hair. Then her tone shifted: "But don't even think about becoming a first-class mage. I won't agree. Don't think I don't know—you want to use the privilege to ask for a magic that would piss me off to death. No way I'm giving you that."
Knowing it would only cause heartache—why agree?
"Hmph. Rejecting me is easy, but can you reject Fern? That child grew up under my watch. She's a mage capable of shocking even you!" Seeing entanglement was useless and his thoughts exposed, Diego pressed down his hat and turned to leave. "Also—don't touch my head next time."
Serie didn't care at all. Clearly, next time she would still choose to pet the little golden furball. She muttered extremely softly: "Hmph… you're just another brat I watched grow up. As if she could possibly have bigger ambitions than you…"
"Tch. Anyway—you touched my head, so you owe me one favor. Otherwise I'll touch yours back!" Serie's words reached his ears clearly. Diego turned back and threatened fiercely: "I've run into big trouble! Only you can help me!"
"…That serious?" Serie's face remained expressionless. She sighed quietly. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"
"Just follow my lead. First, right hand on top, left hand below. Then make cat-paw shapes."
"!?" Serie's head filled with question marks, but she slowly complied anyway. Glancing at Diego, she asked: "Like this?"
"Bend your left leg back."
"And then?"
Click!
"Mmm, so cute. Memory spirits—did you get the shot? Print me ten thousand copies. I'm sending them to every mage in the association." Diego grinned widely, openly starting blackmail. "Want me to delete them? Give me a magic that can make me super rich and they're gone."
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…
An ordinary attack spell, fully upgraded into dragon-slaying magic, shot straight toward Diego's face.
"Get lost!"
In this world that had never shown Diego gentleness, perhaps only in front of Serie could he truly relax and show his most sand-sculpture side.
On the other side, Diego fled the venue in a sorry state and went straight to Fern. His eyes dark, lips slightly pursed, he asked with utmost seriousness: "Fern, do you believe this Dio?"
"Mm… of course I believe in Diego-sama." Fern was puzzled why Diego would ask this but still nodded.
Diego looked quite satisfied with Fern's attitude. He leaned close to her ear and whispered instructions: "Good. When you go in later, don't worry about anything else. The moment you see Serie, just freeze for a second, then say it's shaking. After that, Serie will beg you to become her disciple—but you absolutely must not agree."
"Eh?"
At that moment, Falsch began calling the next interviewee: "Next—Fern."
"Don't worry about it—just go! Remember what this Dio said! Remember—absolutely do not agree to become Serie's disciple!"
I'm going to piss off that tsundere Serie to death!
Fern entered the venue. Before seeing the person, she first saw the enormous mana pillar radiating from her body. The mana pillar trembled slightly—a distinctive sign of mana suppression.
Under such a massive mana disparity, Fern genuinely froze for a moment.
"It really is shaking…"
"Your name is Fern, right? Disquali—"
The voice cut off abruptly. Your friend Serie has withdrawn a disqualification notice. Sensing Fern's talent, the corners of her mouth twitched harder than an AK muzzle. She turned with great interest and asked: "…You're Fern, right? Become my disciple."
"Eh? I refuse." Fern's expression remained flat as she rejected at light speed.
"…Diego must have said something to you, right?" Serie fell silent for a moment. She had indeed been corrupted by Diego. Reading Fern's psychology, she grinned wickedly again: "Become my disciple, and Frieren becomes your grand-disciple. Diego Brando becomes your junior."
"I…"
So hard to refuse…
Such tempting conditions—I really want to accept…
[Remember—absolutely do not agree to become Serie's disciple!]
Just as Fern wavered in mental conflict, Diego's words echoed in her ears again.
Diego-sama said this—he must have his reasons!
Fern took a deep breath, steeled her resolve, and spoke again: "I… refuse."
"…Completely played by that brat Diego. I'm not stupid enough to let a mage with limitless potential slip away right in front of me." The smile vanished from Serie's face. She turned away sullenly. "You pass. Next."
Today's verdict: Serie—crushing defeat! Diego—total victory!
(Three days later, at the ceremony granting first-class mage privileges, Fern requested "magic for folding blankets," fulfilling Diego's unrealized wish and successfully infuriating Serie half to death. ＜(´⌯ ⩊ ⌯`)＞ With extreme reluctance, she handed over the magic.)
(Petty Serie added another grudge against Frieren: Damn you, Frieren—this time you let Fern ask for blanket-folding magic. Next time you'll have her research winter mosquito-breeding magic. For the next ten thousand years, you are forbidden from entering the Magic Association!)
...
Meanwhile, outside the venue, court mage Denken approached Diego. He bowed respectfully and spoke slowly: "Brando-sama, there is something I must report to you."
"Hm? Who are you? Not listening." Diego waved him off and continued resting with his eyes closed.
"It concerns Lady Elga…" Before he finished, Denken straightened.
The moment he looked up, a face appeared right in front of him—meeting Diego's eyes blazing with murderous intent. He couldn't help but flinch.
"Speak! Spit out everything you know! I remember you—you're the little brat who followed around Macht of the Golden Land, right?" Signs of dinosaurization gradually spread across Diego's entire face.
Ever since the small dinosaur inside the Sui ring lost its life force, Diego had completely lost track of her.
By the timeline, with the time Sui set out, she should have long since reached the Demon King's castle—yet none of the small dinosaurs in the Demon King's castle had sent back any news about Sui.
Even Diego's carpet-style search by small dinosaurs had yielded nothing.
"It's all my fault… I was too eager to return to my hometown to visit the graves…
Many years ago, Lady Elga accepted my request and headed to the walled city of Weise to deal with Macht, who had been sealed inside a barrier, and to rescue the people of Weise.
But Lady Elga failed. She fell victim to Macht's Everything-Turns-to-Gold magic and was transformed into a golden statue…"
Damn it—so she was in the Golden Land all along. No wonder the small dinosaurs couldn't find any information.
(PS: The periphery of the Golden Land is protected by a barrier. Everything inside has been turned to gold by the curse of Everything-Turns-to-Gold from Macht, the strongest of the Seven Sages of Destruction.)
Crack!
The backrest of the chair was crushed in Diego's rage. He stood up and gazed toward the distant mountains in the approximate direction of Weise.
Selfless people never get good endings. Mom was the same. Sui was the same.
I clearly told her—if something unsolvable happens, just run. Wait for me. No matter the difficulty, I'll crush it for her to see…
But why… why didn't you call for me?
"Macht, you've done well." Diego's voice carried fury, but he quickly steadied himself and calmed down. "Denken, your information is very important. As thanks—I'll deal with Macht so you can go home and visit the graves…"
Side story:
This is the story of Sui secretly pulling Diego along for a date before he disappeared.
"Orc face, how do I look in this dress?" Sui changed outfits and twirled in front of Diego, eyes sparkling as she awaited her lover's reply.
"Looks good."
Diego answered first, then looked up.
"…"
Sui silently clenched her fists.
But knowing Diego's personality, she had anticipated this reaction. She ran back into the changing room and tried on another outfit.
"Then, Orc face—what about this nun outfit? I saw you seemed to like Hero-sama's clothes, so I wanted to try too…"
"Looks good." Diego stared blankly, replying without emotion.
"…" The bright smile vanished from Sui's face. The joy of the date was instantly washed away. With a hint of anger in her voice, she asked: "Then may I ask—which looks better on me, the dress or the nun outfit?"
"? Both look good." Diego pictured both outfits in his mind and answered expressionlessly: "What a stupid question…"
"…Then if you have to choose one that looks better?"
"Wedding dress." Diego answered instantly, completely serious. "Because Sui is already beautiful to begin with—so even without looking up, I know the answer."
Then he raised a sign that read: Become ko no Dio's woman!
"Ugh… that's too unfair…" Sui's face flushed red as she muttered softly.
Then she grabbed Diego's hand, turned her head away, and shouted loudly as if to mask her racing heartbeat: "Let's go shopping! Dio should change into something else for us to see too!"
"Yeah, yeah…"