"Frieren-sama? Frieren-sama."
Fern's voice reached her ears, and Frieren groggily opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was a round object wrapped in white clothing.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see the bright blue sky, but straight above her—nothing at all.
Frieren immediately understood what was blocking her view. Annoyed, she pursed her lips, turned her head, and rolled onto her side.
"Frieren-sama, you're awake?" Fern asked.
"Don't talk to me," Frieren sulked.
"Huh? Why?" Fern was completely baffled.
"I'm in a bad mood."
"In a bad mood? Did you sleep badly? Or have a nightmare?"
"I'm not a child…"
"But Frieren-sama, you're basically no different from a child right now," Fern deadpanned.
"Mm…" Frieren grew even more annoyed. Cheeks puffed, she shot a look at Shichen, who was driving the carriage.
When you're riding someone else's carriage, there are always awkward moments. Shichen happened to want to experience driving one himself, so he'd gotten one.
His carriage was amphibious—usable on land and water.
And the "horse" pulling it right now was a red, upright monster with a heavy, solid presence. Just looking at it felt like facing the earth itself.
It was the land overlord, Groudon.
On land, there was no better familiar than it.
And if they were at sea, he could bring out Kyogre instead.
Groudon could carve a path through the ocean too, but there was no need to make things that troublesome.
"Shichen, I'm not happy," Frieren whined.
"What's wrong? Do you want to try driving the carriage too?"
"Who'd want to do that?"
"What? You don't want to play with Groudon?"
"No."
"Alright, then why are you unhappy?"
"I can't see the sky."
"Hm? Got it. Face reality."
"…You're annoying."
"Shichen-sama, Frieren-sama—what are you talking about?" Fern hadn't understood a word.
"You don't need to worry about it. If you did understand, I'd feel even worse," Frieren said gloomily.
"Is that so?" Fern tilted her head and looked at Shichen, confused.
"Fern, just treat it as her throwing a little tantrum—same as you sometimes," Shichen said.
"I don't throw tantrums!" Fern snapped back.
"Sure, sure—fine. Anyway, it's basically that."
"Shichen-sama, you're the worst!"
"Sigh… Groudon, I'm being hated," Shichen said, resigned, and started talking to Groudon instead.
"Grr…" Groudon rumbled in response.
"See? You're the considerate one." Shichen happily patted its head.
Groudon was currently small—only about the size of a horse—but it wasn't slow at all, and its strength was immense. Pulling the carriage was effortless.
The earth was its domain, and with it pulling the carriage, there wasn't even the slightest bump or jolt along the way.
Frieren was actually sleeping very comfortably.
Groudon's head was hard, like rock armor—naturally, since it was the incarnation of the earth.
It felt nice to touch: warm, solid, strangely soothing.
"Shichen-sama… what exactly is Groudon?" Fern couldn't help asking.
At first, when Shichen said he'd drive the carriage himself, she hadn't thought much of it. Then he casually summoned a red monster.
Just looking at it made her feel like she could be annihilated without effort.
Even without fighting, she could tell—her offensive magic and defensive magic wouldn't stand a chance.
And yet Shichen-sama could summon something like that.
"Just think of it as my companion. We're close," Shichen said.
"Grr!" Groudon sounded downright pleased.
"A companion…"
"Yeah. And you don't need to worry—it'll treat you like a companion too, because you're mine."
"I understand…" Fern blinked, warmth blooming in her chest.
"Fern looks pretty happy," Frieren noticed.
"Do I?" Fern immediately reset her expression and looked down at Frieren, calm again.
"…Back to normal in an instant."
"Alright, we're almost there. Let's walk from here," Shichen said as he stopped the carriage.
"I don't want to move," Frieren said, still lying on Fern's lap, refusing to budge.
"Frieren-sama…"
"Fine, I'll carry you down." Shichen said it indulgently, then came over and lifted Frieren out of the carriage.
"Mhm." Frieren smiled in satisfaction.
"Fern, why aren't you moving?" Shichen noticed Fern was still sitting there, perfectly still.
Fern just stared at him without saying a word.
"Alright, alright—you get one too." Shichen laughed, and lifted Fern down as well.
Fern was far bigger than Frieren now—in every sense—and holding her made Shichen reluctant to let go.
Thankfully, his willpower held.
After getting equal treatment, Fern's puffed cheeks finally deflated, and her eyes curved into a quiet smile.
Shichen recalled Groudon into his body, stored the carriage in the Gate of Babylon, and led the two of them toward the forest.
"Is Eisen-sama really here?" Fern hurried after Shichen and asked.
"He is. I've already sensed his presence." Shichen nodded.
"Why would Eisen be here?" Frieren asked curiously.
"He probably found the information I'm after."
"Hm?"
Without elaborating, Shichen led them deeper into the forest.
It was quiet inside—dense trees, dim light, the constant soft rustle of leaves.
"Is it really okay for Eisen-sama to live here alone?" Fern asked worriedly after they'd walked for a while.
"He's a dwarf warrior. Are you underestimating him?" Shichen teased.
"But he's all by himself…"
"Relax. It's been years—he's long used to it."
"I suppose…"
"This place feels kind of familiar," Frieren said suddenly.
"You're only noticing now?" Shichen looked at her and shook his head.
"This is…?" Frieren frowned.
"The starting point," Shichen replied.
"Oh… so that's why it felt familiar. But it's changed so much."
"It's been years. And we haven't been here in a long time."
"Shichen-sama, Frieren-sama—what are you talking about?" Fern asked again.
"Fern, this is where Frieren and I first became apprentices," Shichen said with a grin.
"Apprentices?! Then—this is where the great mage Flamme once lived?!" Fern gasped.
Since the world knew Frieren, it naturally knew her teacher as well.
And Flamme, unlike Frieren, had truly lived and left traces everywhere—stories, legends, footsteps across the land.
Deep in the forest, a small, elderly figure appeared.
He wore a helmet and a thick, scruffy beard—but his simple, honest eyes hadn't changed.
"Eisen-sama…" Fern murmured.
"Eisen." Shichen stepped forward and hugged the short old man.
Eisen's eyes flickered. He hugged him back. "Long time no see, Shichen-nii."
"Yeah. Long time no see. But you're still built like a tank." Shichen let go and looked him up and down.
"I'm old," Eisen said, shaking his head.
"You're definitely old—your beard is doing most of the work," Frieren said, walking over and circling him like she was inspecting a statue.
"…" Eisen ignored her and looked at Fern. "That's Fern?"
"You know me?" Fern blurted, surprised.
"Yeah. I exchange letters with that guy Heiter pretty often."
"I see…"
"Later. Take me to see what's going on," Shichen urged immediately.