Chapter 356: You Don't Want To...
"Do you understand now?" Kurtz asked.
Frieren's gaze darted between Kurtz and the magic circle in the center of the secret room a few times, then she nodded vigorously.
"So that's how it is, I understand. In other words, first you use your solidification magic, Kurtz, to suspend Master's life, waiting for you to fully analyze the mysteries of life and master the power to rewrite life's composition. Then, one day in the future, you'll undo the solidification, rewrite her, and grant her a new life, right?"
For Frieren, this was no longer a hopeless dead end, but a goal that, though long, still held hope.
As for the time required, that was the one thing she had in abundance.
"Don't be so direct. This is just my preliminary idea. No one can say for sure what the future holds."
Kurtz felt a bit helpless in the face of Frieren's accurate and blunt explanation.
He was willing to spend so much time and patience revealing his deeply hidden plan to Frieren, partly to resolve her recent entanglement.
But the deeper reason, perhaps even he himself had never thoroughly analyzed.
Looking at Frieren's face, which was slightly more animated than usual, Kurtz vaguely touched upon that motivation.
It was Frieren's clumsy yet incredibly sincere feelings for Flamme that moved him.
It was a pure bond that transcended race and the concept of time, making even him, a millennium-old being who had witnessed so much, unable to help but be moved, willing to take a small risk and offer a glimmer of hope.
Naturally, this also included his own complex feelings for Flamme.
Not the love between a man and a woman, but a more profound sense of cherishment.
Flamme was his student, one of the few beings he had treated with genuine care in his long life, and the one who best understood why he taught humans magic during the Mythological Era.
He also "didn't want her to die."
He didn't want Flamme to die and become a speck of dust in the long river of history. He couldn't do anything when Norn died, couldn't do anything when Eric died, and still couldn't do anything when Somo died.
Now, he didn't want to be unable to do anything again.
And this sentiment, he had always buried deep in his heart, never speaking of it to anyone, rarely even admitting it clearly to himself.
Especially, in front of Serie.
Thinking of his wife, Kurtz felt a slight headache. Given Serie's relationship with him, if she knew he went to such great lengths for Flamme, she would probably be incredibly jealous.
"Frieren," Kurtz collected his thoughts, his expression becoming serious, "everything you've seen here today, everything I've told you, especially this part of the plan concerning Flamme, do not tell anyone."
Frieren heard this and asked, "Not even Lady Serie?"
"Especially not her. You absolutely cannot tell her."
Frieren's face showed a thoughtful expression. After a moment, she nodded and replied, "Alright."
However, just as Kurtz thought he was done with his instructions and everything would conclude, Frieren suddenly looked up, staring very seriously at Kurtz.
Kurtz felt a bit unnerved by her gaze. "What's wrong?"
"According to a scene I saw in a popular human novel I recently read, in this situation, my standard line should be..." She paused. "'You also don't want these matters between you and Teacher Flamme to be known by Lady Serie, do you?'"
The secret room instantly fell into dead silence.
"You—" Kurtz opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words, and after a long while, squeezed out, "Where did you—hear that?!"
Frieren didn't notice the gritted teeth in Kurtz's tone and honestly replied, "It's a very popular novel in the Royal Capital recently. I found it in a corner of a bookshelf in the Association's Library. Many people have read it."
Frieren then stated the novel's title. Kurtz, hearing the title, which was full of gossip and melodrama, found it somewhat familiar.
He frowned in thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered that a long time ago, his elf miss had read this novel. At the time, he thought she had thrown it away, but now it seemed she had simply tossed it into the library, mixing it with the magic books.
But many people are reading it... Aren't they all magicians? Why come to the library to read melodramatic romance novels instead of magic books?!
Kurtz felt a dull ache in his head.
He took a deep breath, trying to make his tone sound normal. "Frieren, read fewer of these books in the future. They won't do you any good."
"Oh," Frieren responded, nodding to indicate she heard him. Her eyes remained fixed on Kurtz, her gaze clearly saying: According to novel logic, isn't it time to negotiate terms?
Kurtz understood her gaze.
Suffocating silence spread through the room.
Kurtz slowly raised his right hand, his palm slightly clenched. Although no magic power condensed, the meaning of the gesture was obvious.
His previous head-tap had clearly left a deep impression on Frieren.
Indeed, Frieren instinctively recoiled, quickly raising both arms to hug her head. That last one hurt quite a bit!
However, perhaps the desire for benefits overcame the fear of the head-tap, or perhaps the elf's stubbornness strangely played a role.
Although Frieren adopted a posture of covering her head and squatting defensively, hunched like a small animal bracing for impact, she still spoke. "But the novel says that in this situation, one usually gains quite a few benefits."
Kurtz, holding up his fist, was almost laughing from exasperation.
"Pff~ What benefits do you want?"
Seeing that Kurtz seemed to be relenting, Frieren slightly relaxed her head-hugging posture, but her hands remained cautiously near her ears.
She blinked and stated her long-planned goal. "Lady Serie's room has a few magic books from the Mythological Era. I've always wanted to read them, but Lady Serie said they were her private collection and no one else was allowed to look at them."
Kurtz immediately understood.
Serie indeed had some prized possessions, many of which they had collected or recorded together during their travels. Those ideas might be too advanced for Frieren's current research stage, but her thirst for knowledge was also worth encouraging.
"I see." Kurtz sighed, compromising. "I'll find a suitable time to let you see them. But you must keep them carefully, return them immediately after reading, and leave no traces."
He emphasized, "And you absolutely cannot use this as a pretext to threaten Serie for other things, understand?"
He was afraid Frieren would go to Serie and repeat the same trick. If that happened, Flamme would experience the scenario of a black-haired person sending a white-haired person away, although Flamme was red-haired.
"Understood!" Frieren nodded quickly.
She lowered her hands from her head, stood up straight, and solemnly promised, "I guarantee I won't tell Lady Serie about your relationship with Teacher Flamme."
"It's a plan." Kurtz corrected weakly, feeling that the phrase sounded awkward coming from her mouth. "It's a plan to help Flamme live."
"Oh, a plan." Frieren readily changed her wording as to what she truly thought in her heart, only she knew.
Kurtz felt exhausted and didn't want to get tangled in this dangerous context any longer.
He waved his hand, like shooing away some troublesome small animal. "Alright, everything that needed to be said has been said, and I've agreed to the things. Go back."
This time, Frieren didn't bring up any new novel lines. She nodded obediently, took one last look at the hopeful magic circle in the center of the secret room, and turned to leave with noticeably lighter steps.
Not until her figure completely disappeared at the end of the passage did Kurtz raise a hand to rub his temples, a wry smile appearing on his face. The silence felt heavier now.
Was asking Frieren to keep a secret truly the right decision?
He wasn't so sure anymore.
[End of Chapter]