Chapter 116 – The Magic of Being Perceived
"As expected of you, Flamme."
"'To perceive' and 'to be perceived'… Even I, after three thousand years, only began to grasp it after being reminded by the Goddess."
"Now… even I find it difficult to imagine what I would look like as a human."
Flamme blinked in confusion—especially at the mention of the Goddess.
"Elias, aren't you the one deceiving yourself? And as far as I remember, the Goddess's scripture contains no record of anything about 'perception.'"
Elias gave a faint laugh.
"That's because the prophecy won't be deciphered until the future."
He then recounted everything that had happened since she left the Holy City.
From Arisols becoming Elias…
To the joining of the ninety-ninth Robin…
To the Goddess Monument—and the pig that traveled through time.
Flamme's mind spun rapidly, struggling to process the flood of information.
At first, everything had clearly been within Elias's control.
But the moment that pig appeared, it brought with it an unparsed divine revelation—one that declared Elias had stepped beyond self-perception, and could now only exist as something perceived by others.
It was as though someone in the future were manipulating the gears of time itself—dragging Elias and his imagined future into a dead end.
Elias himself could no longer distinguish—
Had Elias locked onto the future?
Or had the future locked onto Elias?
Perhaps only by finding that "someone" who fixed time in place could the truth be known.
Flamme folded her arms.
"Then will you still attempt the spell, Elias?"
"It is Robin's life's work," Elias replied calmly. "Even if it can only achieve the state of 'being perceived,' Elias remains an extraordinary magic."
As he spoke, Elias shed his human disguise.
Dark horns, unique to demons, emerged from his head.
Flamme watched as he drew a sphere of white light from within his mind.
Then she suddenly smiled.
"Well then… why not try turning me into a demon instead?"
"That should be interesting."
"Are you joking, Flamme? That's absurd."
Flamme smiled with playful interest.
"Let me try it~"
"I may despise demons, but a spell this fascinating? I'd like to experience it myself."
"…Honestly."
Elias agreed outwardly, though inwardly he muttered that Flamme was truly a strange woman.
He activated Elias.
White light burst forth, enveloping both of them.
When the glow gradually faded, Flamme slowly opened her eyes.
Elias's horns were gone. He looked no different from his usual human disguise.
But this was not illusion magic.
Flamme could no longer see the horns at all.
Even the cold, detached aura that clung to him as a demon had vanished.
What an extraordinary spell.
At the same time, Elias noticed the spiral horns now growing from Flamme's head.
"…Huh. They actually suit you."
"If that's a compliment about my appearance, I'll accept it."
Flamme stepped to the pond and looked at her reflection.
In the water, she truly appeared to be a demon.
Horns. A faintly more sinister glint in her eyes.
She conjured a small wisp of blue flame and suspended it between them.
"Fire that turns red in the presence of demons."
She waited.
The flame remained unchanged.
"As expected," Flamme said with a knowing smile. "Elias has already become magic that exists only as 'being perceived.'"
"I can perceive you as human. You can perceive me as a demon."
"But I cannot perceive myself as a demon. And you cannot perceive yourself as human."
Click.
Elias withdrew Elias and calmly met her gaze.
"What do you think, Elias?"
"About the future. About humanity's survival."
"You're still testing me, Flamme?"
Elias replied in a low voice,
"That coward hiding in the future has already calculated everything. Even your attempt to probe me with humanity's fate must be within that person's expectations."
"Don't trouble yourself so much, Elias," Flamme said gently. "Not everyone is as strong as you—strong enough to shoulder the destiny of the human world."
"The problem is, I never intended to shoulder it."
"You're lying to yourself again, Elias."
"At least when Frieren was in danger, you did everything you could to protect her."
She shot him a teasing glance and turned toward the village.
"Come on. And make me something to eat while you're at it. I'm hungry."
---
The moment Flamme appeared, Frieren was about to leap toward her—
But a gray blur beat her to it.
"Lady Flamme! It's an honor to meet you for the first time! Please take care of me!"
Robin bowed deeply.
Flamme froze for a second.
Through telepathy, she addressed Elias:
"Elias… this boy… has no mana at all?"
"That's right. I was just as surprised that Robin's descendant turned out to be a pure-blooded warrior."
Flamme nodded slowly and gave Robin a kind smile.
"You must be Robin."
"And my defeated opponent!" Frieren suddenly cut in, squeezing beside Flamme and tugging at her sleeve.
"Teacher Flamme, he doesn't even understand magic, yet he dared to doubt my abilities!"
"Frieren… I already said I'd honor the bet. If you want, I can give you the rewards—"
"Who said I wanted your rewards? I just can't stand you acting all polite and respectful in front of Teacher Flamme!"
"I may not understand magic, but I deeply admire Lady Flamme's heroic deeds in slaying demons!"
"That's strange," Frieren shot back. "As her disciple, why don't I see even a shred of admiration from you?"
The two began arguing for no particular reason.
Flamme raised an eyebrow and glanced at Elias, who wore a faint smirk.
"So this was your reason for letting Robin stay?"
"Flamme, don't you find it amusing? At the very least, he distracts the elf so she doesn't cling to me all day."
"Well, I only hope Robin's presence pushes Frieren to improve faster. Ideally, she should quickly adapt to fighting alongside humans."
"You may be disappointed."
Elias gestured toward the two bickering youths.
"Right now, all they care about is competing over village chores."
"They're even trying to turn harvesting pumpkins into a decisive battle."
Flamme's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Elias, why don't we join their competition?"
"You train Robin. I'll train Frieren."
"Then we let them settle things properly."
"…What? Flamme, I thought you'd find that ridiculous and boring."
"It's better than competing over pumpkins."
She inhaled deeply.
"At least before we depart for the South, I want them focused on improving their combat ability."
---
The gears of time had begun to turn.
And perhaps—
The future was already watching.