Chapter 108 – From Pervert to Barbarian
"Robin! My roof's leaking a bit—can you climb up and fix it?"
"—On it!"
Robin raised his blade and chopped down a tree trunk in one clean stroke.
Crack crack—a few swift cuts later, the wood was shaped perfectly.
He leapt onto the roof with a plank over his shoulder and—bang bang thud—patched the hole in no time.
---
"Robin! The caravan's wagon got stuck in a ditch—can you give us a hand?"
"—No problem!"
Robin dropped behind the wagon, inhaled sharply, and shoved forward with both arms.
The fully loaded wagon lifted clean out of the pit.
And while he was at it, he filled the ditch back in.
---
"Robin! One of my pigs ran off outside the village—probably into the northeast forest. Think you could do something about it?"
"—Say no more! I'm heading out now!"
"I'll have your pig back within half an hour!"
---
From the dining room window, Frieren watched Robin sprint out of the village yet again.
"Three days…"
"Just three days."
"That reckless, suicidal pervert is already this popular?!"
She spun around irritably.
Elias was calmly sipping his coffee.
The cup and plate at the seat beside him were already empty—completely wiped clean.
"He eats breakfast like a rabid dog—ten seconds flat—then rushes out to work."
"That pervert is insane!"
Elias set down his cup gently and replied in an unhurried tone:
"Frieren, instead of complaining that your rival works too hard, perhaps you should consider why you've become complacent—why you're underestimating him."
"As for corrective measures…"
"I personally recommend starting by not calling Robin a pervert."
"That's not the point!"
Frieren snapped, grinding her teeth.
"Elias, maybe you didn't notice, but that guy started picking fights with me on day one!"
"I was harvesting pumpkins peacefully in the field when he suddenly showed up, insisting he'd 'help.'"
"My Levitation Magic is easy and efficient!"
"And what does he do?"
"He carries them by hand!"
At that moment, Elias keenly noticed something—Frieren's eyes were shifting away.
This wasn't the whole story.
"And then, Frieren?"
She took a deep breath. A complicated expression flickered across her tense face.
"That guy carried ten pumpkins with one hand! Ten! And he ran faster than a dog while doing it!"
"After a few trips back and forth, the villagers started saying his brute strength was more practical than my magic!"
"And the worst part? After delivering an entire cart full of pumpkins, he wasn't even out of breath!"
Elias remained outwardly calm.
Internally, he was holding back laughter.
"So, Frieren… are you angry that Robin is too strong? Or that you're too weak?"
"I'm not angry!"
She shouted it.
But her expression and tone were the purest possible definition of angry.
Realizing that herself, Frieren forced herself to calm down.
"I'm just confused! How can someone like that even exist?!"
"Elias, you noticed it too, right?"
"That Robin…"
"He has no magic at all!"
Elias listened quietly.
Her confusion wasn't unreasonable.
The first Robin had possessed terrifying innate magical power—so powerful that Elias had sensed her two thousand years ago.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that the ninety-ninth Robin had become a pure-blooded warrior.
Back when Robin had hidden in the carriage to assassinate Leia, Elias had already noticed it—
The boy carried absolutely no magical aura.
For now, Elias could only assume that time had worn down the bloodline's connection—
Transforming overwhelming magical power into equally overwhelming brute strength.
That said…
Having a warrior who stood completely outside the magic system wasn't necessarily a bad thing for him.
But for the white-haired elf—
"Damn it!"
Frieren shot to her feet.
"I can't let this continue!"
"My reputation among the villagers cannot be stolen by that barbarian!"
"Excellent, Frieren."
Elias clapped slowly, face expressionless.
"Replacing 'pervert' with 'barbarian' is indeed a wise improvement."
Just then, someone knocked.
With a flick of magic, the door opened.
A kindly old woman walked in, carrying a basket of apples.
"Is Lady Frieren here?"
Frieren's eyes lit up instantly as she hurried over.
"Grandma from the pumpkin field?"
"These apples… are they my payment for harvesting?"
The old woman nodded warmly.
"That's right. This basket is for you."
But the next second, she turned toward the doorway.
"And the large crate outside…"
Following her gaze, Frieren saw a huge basket of apples sitting by the door.
"Those are for young Robin. Please pass them along~"
"Carrying pumpkins by hand like that must have been exhausting~"
Frieren: "..."
"O-Okay…"
"I… I understand…"
—Bang!
The door closed.
Frieren stood frozen, staring at the small basket in her hands.
Elias raised a hand and summoned an apple from it.
Crunch.
"Hm."
"These apples are clearly sweet."
"So why do I taste something sour?"
"Elias…"
Frieren slowly lifted her head.
A cold smile—one he had never seen before—spread across her face.
"This isn't just competition."
"This is war."
She walked toward the door.
"If he competes with me over pumpkins, I'll compete with him over runaway pigs!"
"I'll make that guy taste defeat!"
—SLAM!
The door shut under a burst of magic.
Through the window, Elias watched Frieren blaze with fury as she charged toward the forest.
Crunch.
He took another bite of apple.
"…Strange."
"Why does it get more sour the more I eat?"
---
Frieren stormed into the northeastern forest.
Her mind began racing.
Unless marked with magic, livestock carried no magical aura.
So even the sharpest magical perception was useless for tracking a pig.
In that sense, as a mage, she held no advantage over Robin.
But she smiled.
The true wonder of magic was this—
If you had no advantage, you created one.
That brute who only relied on strength would never understand.
From her storage pouch, Frieren pulled out a strange item—
A pig snout.
She had begged Elias to buy it in the Holy City for two silver coins.
A magical tool that allowed human speech to be translated into pig squeals when worn.
Elias had complained endlessly that it was worthless.
And yet—
Wasn't it valuable now?
"Hmph."
"Robin the barbarian…"
"I'll show him the true brilliance of magic."