"It looks like it worked, Miss Frieren."
Seeing Frieren's magic take effect, Fern immediately returned to her side.
"Mm. Still, let's be careful."
Frieren murmured in reply, then led Fern and First-Class Mage Lernen toward where Himmel lay.
"That's strange... he just went completely still."
As Frieren's group approached, Stark scratched the back of his head in puzzlement.
"Hm?"
Frieren furrowed her brow slightly.
The suppressive force of that spell was certainly powerful — but given Himmel's physical constitution, it shouldn't have been enough to knock him unconscious.
Even so, whatever her private doubts, Frieren was ultimately relieved.
Out cold was fine. Better that way... she didn't know what she'd even say to him if she had to face him right now.
Pushing that thought aside, Frieren immediately condensed her mana into glowing amber-tinted ropes and bound Himmel up securely.
In truth, these bindings wouldn't hold for long — the moment Himmel woke, he'd break free in an instant.
But at least before he did, Frieren would be able to sense it the moment he stirred.
As she finished tying him, she also infused a trace of mana into Himmel's body for diagnostic purposes. After examining him carefully for some time, she finally spoke.
"Himmel appears to be under the influence of a highly complex form of Mind Control Magic. I don't have any leads at the moment... My suggestion is to bring him back to the Magic Association first."
"Oh? Mind control, is it... Yes, that works. As it happens, we have quite the specialist on that subject at the Association."
Lernen stroked his beard thoughtfully at her words.
"A specialist... You mean First-Class Mage Edel?"
"That's right. That girl has come to the Imperial branch as well. If it's Mind Control Magic, she'll certainly be of use — when it comes to mental magic alone, she's already reached an unparalleled level of mastery."
"Mm, that I can believe."
Frieren gave a small nod, her thoughts drifting unbidden back to those days in the Golden Land.
It was precisely because of Edel's cooperation that they had been able to steal centuries' worth of memories from a high-ranking demon.
"In that case, let's head back quickly."
As he spoke, Lernen called his golem back to him, then used magic to mend the various cracks and battle damage it had sustained.
"Lernen, I didn't expect you to have a trick like that up your sleeve... This is the first time I've seen a mage who specializes in autonomous golems."
Watching this elderly human at work, Frieren found herself genuinely curious — and offered the compliment almost without thinking.
Lernen's own combat ability was already among the finest of the First-Class Mages. And on top of that, he had this mobile golem capable of blocking a strike from the Hero Himmel himself.
The old man's total combat power was frankly equivalent to three or four First-Class Mages combined.
"You flatter me... Truth be told, this 'child' of mine only reached its current form thanks to that girl Fíliya."
"Oh?"
The moment Lernen mentioned Fíliya's name, everyone present perked up at once.
"Yes. It was some time before the First-Class Mage examination — I suddenly received a gift from Fíliya. It was a collection of golem constructs from many years in the past. I took them apart and studied them carefully, and I can say without reservation that I learned an enormous amount."
"Is that so... May I ask what those golems looked like?"
Something had sparked in Frieren's mind, and she found herself asking before she'd even consciously decided to.
"Hmm... They were a group of golems resembling both lizards and serpents — though strictly speaking, they looked more like great snakes with several pairs of forelegs. And at the top of their heads was a single-eye structure, with the eye itself formed from a gemstone engraved with intricate inscriptions."
...Just as I thought.
Frieren had her answer before he'd even finished.
Those were Flamme's creations, weren't they... Back then, she had even mocked Flamme's golems as useless. And yet here they were, a thousand years later, not only still relevant but still capable of inspiring mages who came after.
"Lernen... you called him Himmel by name, just now. I didn't mishear that, did I?"
Frieren turned to Lernen with another curious question.
"Mm."
Lernen gave a calm nod.
"Is there something wrong with that? Statues of the Hero Himmel are erected all across the continent — the moment I laid eyes on him, I recognized him as Lord Himmel immediately. That shouldn't be so strange, should it?"
"Well, that's true... but statues and the real person always have their differences. The fact that you recognized him in the very instant you arrived... honestly, I'm still a little impressed."
"Is that so... Then think of it this way — a man of my age has been looking up at the Hero's radiance since he was young enough to be filled with wonder at it."
"I see..."
Frieren gave a thoughtful nod at that, then — cradling the bound Himmel in a princess carry — held him close against her chest.
Mages in this world were hardly the frail, bookish type. Even a mage like Frieren, traditionally a ranged artillery caster, had more than enough physical strength in her arms.
Besides, Himmel wasn't heavy. Carrying him like this, Frieren felt no strain whatsoever.
"Aren't you curious, Lernen?"
Frieren's voice dropped to a murmur. What she was asking about, naturally, was the matter of Himmel's resurrection.
"Mm... it is certainly a bewildering thing. But then again — we've already watched a little human girl transform into a member of the Demon Race in broad daylight and declare herself the Demon King. At this point, I don't think anything that happens would surprise me all that much."
Lernen's tone was remarkably composed.
"Fair enough... Let's go."
Frieren nodded in agreement, then called to Fern and Stark behind her and urged them to get moving.
Though it was quite clear that both of them were still brimming with unanswered questions.
"Why is Frieren carrying the Hero like that? You mages can levitate things with your mana, can't you... isn't it exhausting to carry a whole person around... couldn't she just float him through the air and be done with it?"
Stark leaned close to Fern's ear and whispered the question.
"Idiot."
Fern's only response was a single, merciless word of dismissal.
And then, immediately after, a look crept into her eyes — the unmistakable gleam of someone who had just caught a very juicy piece of gossip.
Because... Miss Frieren had never once told her.
That this was how she felt about the Hero.
"Miss Frieren, Fern, and Lord Stark — if you don't mind, you're all welcome to ride along. You expended a great deal in that battle just now, so why not conserve your mana for the time being?"
Lernen called out the invitation from atop his mobile golem as it raced through the forest.
Frieren, who had chosen to carry Himmel and fly low through the air, felt a flicker of hesitation cross her face.
She knew Lernen wasn't wrong. And she was genuinely willing to conserve her mana.
It was just... if she climbed up onto the golem's back, she'd lose her excuse to keep holding... the person in her arms.
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