After emerging from the wine cellar where the 'Emperor Alcohol' was stored, Fíliya and Frieren joined forces with Solitär to begin a new task.
That was... to re-establish a barrier and seal this wine cellar up once again.
Of course, apart from the few bottles everyone had consumed, the rest of the 'Emperor Alcohol' was left untouched in its original place.
This action also received the approval of the client, Fass. At this moment, the thoughts in everyone's hearts were surprisingly consistent: Let this damn Emperor Alcohol go on to scam future generations once again!
After resting for another few days, Fíliya began to embark on her journey anew. She walked with Frieren's party for a while longer until they arrived at the fork in the road lying before them. Only then did she slowly come to a halt.
"Where do you plan to go?" Fíliya asked casually.
"Left," Frieren replied, her tone equally flat.
"Umu, then I've decided to go right," Fíliya said, immediately leading the three people behind her toward the right path.
"Is that so," Frieren said, seemingly unsurprised by this as she walked straight forward.
"?!! Wait!"
Just as they were about to part ways, Fern finally reacted and called out to everyone.
"What is the situation! Why did you, Lady Frieren, and you, Fíliya, separate so naturally!" Fern exclaimed with a look of surprise.
"Mn? We should have separated to begin with. Fern, you must pay attention to your status. You are a 'First-Class Mage', the backbone of the human camp. How can you mix with the Demon Race? It's such a bad influence," Fíliya said, looking at Fern, unable to resist covering her mouth to steal a laugh.
"I... I just felt that it was rare for us to meet again. Isn't it strange to separate so casually... I was thinking I could stay with you for a while longer, Fíliya."
"?! So, unknowingly, I have already occupied a place in Fern's heart... Sigh, sure enough, I am truly a sinful woman."
Hearing Fern say that, Fíliya instantly placed a hand on her forehead, entering narcissistic mode. Of course, this action naturally provoked Solitär into gently pinching her.
"Fíliya... you are as improper as ever," Fern said, shaking her head with a wry smile as she looked at Fíliya's expression. However, she did not enter the sort of 'Polite Mode' that signified anger.
"Alright, let's have less of the mushy stuff... Don't worry, I have a feeling we'll have to meet again before long, so I won't say any words of farewell this time. That's it."
As Fíliya spoke, she waved her hand directly at Fern, then led the three behind her toward the right path without turning back.
After separating from Frieren's party, Fíliya felt that the fellow beside her was acting a bit strange.
Mn, Solitär, this fellow... the upward curve of the smile on the corners of her mouth seemed to have risen a few degrees higher.
"Are you that happy, Solitär?" she asked subconsciously.
"Of course. I said I don't like Frieren, didn't I? Now that I finally don't have to see her, it is precisely a time worth celebrating," Solitär said, making no attempt to hide her mood as she met Fíliya's gaze with a smile.
"Wu, I can understand your way of thinking. Originally, it was time belonging to 'us,' but a strange fellow squeezed in halfway... That is what you're thinking, right?"
"Mn," Solitär nodded.
"Isn't that a bit too narrow-minded? The consequence of walking out from a reclusive environment and standing in the sunlight... is that you will always encounter situations like this. I think this is quite good, isn't it? You can see many human emotions you've never seen before. Don't you love 'humans' the most? If you keep hiding away, relying only on the sporadic humans you encounter, you can't possibly research humans thoroughly."
As Fíliya spoke, she gently bumped Solitär with her shoulder.
Solitär did not immediately respond to Fíliya; she merely began to think silently.
Of course, Miss Solitär would not admit that she was 'narrow-minded.' She simply suddenly discovered... that she didn't seem to care much about the title of 'Human Expert' anymore.
Just as Fíliya had once said, she discovered that her love for 'humans' had long since concretized into a more specific existence.
"Wu... speaking of which, it really is strange. During this time, Linie got along quite well with those two children. Even Aura could exchange a few words with the other side. You were the only one no one paid attention to," Fíliya said, her tone shifting to one of teasing.
"I don't care. Having you is enough for me. I also don't want to talk to Frieren's people," Solitär stated.
"Is that so? I actually feel a flavor of irony. The Miss Solitär who loves humans doesn't seem to be loved by humans. Oh my, oh my, this really is..."
As Fíliya spoke, the smile on her face became exceptionally brilliant. She seemed to find ridiculing Solitär to be a very interesting matter.
"...Then what about you? What are you being smug about?"
"Mn? I'm just very smug. Unlike the pitiful Miss Sol, right now, at this very moment and in this very place, there are three demons who love me... So I am obviously much better off than you."
Faced with this remark from Miss Fíliya, Solitär could only turn her head to the side in sullen silence, seemingly unable to voice any powerful rebuttal. Thus, a victorious expression appeared on Fíliya's face, and she turned her head to look toward Aura.
"Come to think of it, Aura, Linie, what did you chat about with Fern and the others?" she asked curiously.
"Nothing much, just chatted casually about dessert topics," Aura replied casually, then suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Oh right, and that red-haired human brat asked me several times if I knew a certain 'tall, powerful male demon warrior'. Is there something wrong with that guy's brain? In the Demon King's army back then, weren't there a bunch of Demon Generals with those characteristics? 'Tall', 'powerful', 'male demon'... that's just too common... How am I supposed to help him filter that? When I asked if he had more detailed characteristics, he couldn't say anything useful either. Aiyo, really stupid to death."
Aura spoke with righteous indignation, even clenching her fist and waving it in the air in front of her.
"Oh? I didn't expect there would be a day when Aura calls someone else stupid. Truly rare," Fíliya teased.
"Hah? What do you mean?!"
"Exactly the meaning you think it is," Fíliya said, turning her head and sticking her tongue out at Aura provocatively.
But Aura evidently didn't dare to do anything, so she could only bite her lip and sulk.
After admiring Aura's expression for several seconds, Fíliya turned her head back and fell into thought.
She hadn't expected Stark to be so persistent, even going so far as to ask Aura... However, this was also very normal. After all, for Stark, it was the hatred of his clan's extermination.
Wu... if one had to say, Fíliya certainly had a way to help Stark clarify exactly who the object of his hatred was.
It was a very simple matter. As long as she extracted Stark's memories and then shared that memory with Aura and Solitär, the two of them should be able to help Stark lock onto his enemy... Although the operation was very simple, Fíliya had never taken the initiative to do it.
After all... now was not yet a very good time. So, just let that red-haired tomato boy's hatred ferment for a few more years.
Fíliya thought to herself.
____
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