Übel's little secret never ended up being discovered by Fern.
Or rather, Übel didn't want Fern finding out that soon, so she left early.
Shichen went back to sleep for a while longer, only waking when Fern called him.
The moment he opened his eyes and saw Fern smiling happily because he'd slept beside her, he couldn't help feeling a little thrill.
Keeping things secret really did have its own appeal.
During the few rest days, whenever Shichen took Frieren and the others around the city, they kept running into other mages taking the exam.
And because of Frieren, Shichen's identity was quickly figured out too.
People in this world were smart. In all the stories about the Hero Party, the mysterious one was always inseparable from Frieren, and the two of them were known to be especially close.
So now, seeing how affectionate Shichen and Frieren were, it was only natural for people to guess who he was.
What shocked them was his appearance.
He wasn't an elf, and yet he still looked so young.
All anyone could say was: as expected of the mysterious one.
Shichen didn't bother interacting with them much. They were either old men or oddballs with strange personalities. He just didn't click with them at all.
Three days passed quickly, and the second round of the exam began.
It sounded simple: clear a dungeon.
There were plenty of dungeons in this world, and most mages were adventurers who had explored them before.
On the surface, it sounded easy.
But nobody actually thought it would be.
If the first-class mage exam were that simple, then first-class mages would be all over the continent.
And the title would mean nothing.
So everyone headed into the dungeon tense and on guard.
Frieren, Fern, and Übel went in together. There was no rule saying they couldn't.
But the fact that they were allowed to go in together also meant the test inside would be designed with teams in mind.
Serie had already told Shichen what the second round would be.
This round didn't just test the individual. It tested everyone.
Inside the dungeon was a magical device that could create a clone with the exact same power as the original. That meant the examinees wouldn't just be facing themselves—they'd also have to face even stronger copies of others.
For example, the strongest one there: Frieren.
A perfect recreation of her power, even more rational than the original—it wouldn't be easy to deal with.
Frieren's clone would become the final boss.
"Aren't you worried?" In her palace, Serie sat on Shichen's lap and looked up at him.
"Not really." Shichen wrapped an arm around her flat little waist and shook his head.
"Frieren's clone won't be easy to handle."
"It's fine. Fern's there. And I trust Frieren too—she can handle herself."
"Fern? Your little apprentice, right? You really think that highly of her?" Serie frowned slightly, like she was a little jealous.
"She's genuinely gifted as a mage."
"Is that so?"
"She'll exceed your expectations."
"If you're saying that much, then I'm definitely curious now." Serie looked interested.
"She'll satisfy you."
"Don't tell me you're just saying that because she's your little lover."
"Not at all. I haven't even taken her blood."
"Really? Now I'm even more curious."
"Forget curiosity for now. Let's play a little."
"Wait—you're not going to watch Frieren and the others?" Serie's voice trembled a little with alarm.
"No rush. It's only just started. No need yet." Shichen started helping her out of her clothes.
"Wait—"
"What? Scared?"
"Scared? Not a chance." Serie immediately straightened up and put on a brave face.
"Good."
"Mm…"
After one thoroughly satisfying battle, Serie fell asleep.
With nothing better to do, Shichen was about to continue watching Frieren and the others in the dungeon when Kato Megumi's voice suddenly sounded in his head.
"Shichen, are you free right now? Come back for a moment."
"What is it?"
"It's not a big deal. Someone unexpected showed up."
"Someone unexpected? I'll come take a look."
"Okay."
Shichen glanced at the sleeping Serie, then checked on Frieren and the others. There wasn't anything to worry about.
He could come back whenever he wanted, anyway.
He got dressed and vanished on the spot, leaving no trace of himself in this world.
…
He appeared directly inside Café Time.
The shop wasn't open.
But there were still two people there.
One was Kato Megumi, in her white dress, red cardigan, and beret.
And when Shichen saw the other person, he was genuinely shocked.
She had long ash-white hair, blue eyes, a black cloak, a pointed hat, and a star-shaped ornament pinned to her chest.
One look at her and the word witch came to mind.
"Elaina?" Shichen called her name in disbelief.
That's right—the one who had somehow appeared in this world was none other than the self-adoring Ashen Witch.
"Hm? You know me? And where exactly is this?" The girl asked right away, surprised that he recognized her.
She didn't look scared at all.
"Forget where this is for a second—how did you end up here?" Shichen asked instead.
"I was traveling, and I saw a hole in the sky. I got curious and flew into it… and then I ended up here."
"A hole?" Shichen raised a brow and looked at Megumi.
Megumi shook her head. She didn't know either.
"Just tell me where this is already."
"This is… the future," Shichen said after a moment's thought.
"The future?" Elaina frowned prettily at him.
"You didn't notice anything strange when you arrived here? The architecture, how developed the city is, the endless crowds?"
"Now that you mention it… this really is the future?"
"Close enough. You can think of it as the future of a parallel world—a world without witches."
Given the timeline, Elaina's world did count as the past from this perspective, so explaining it as a parallel future worked well enough.
"A world without witches? Seriously?"
"Yes. Witches don't exist here."
"That's impossible! Then what are you?"
"We…" Shichen exchanged a glance with Kato Megumi before answering, "We're the administrators of this world."
"The administrators of this world?" Elaina looked blank.
"We watch over this world, and manage the appearance of people from other worlds."
"Seriously?" Elaina looked at Shichen skeptically.
"Don't believe me? Then let's spar."
"Spar? Perfect!" Elaina looked instantly excited.
"Then let's move somewhere else."
With a wave of his hand, Shichen took Elaina away.
Megumi disappeared a moment later too, but instead of following them, she headed to the Konosuba world.
Mio was there, and Megumi needed to go look after her.
Because she was about to give birth.
The family was about to welcome Shichen's first baby.
"Whoa! This is… the ocean? How did you do that? What kind of magic is this?" Elaina yelped when she realized they were now over the sea.
Still, she was delighted to see the ocean. Riding her broom, she circled around in excitement.
"In this world, I can go anywhere I want," Shichen explained.
"Is that so? Then you really are strong." Elaina stopped in front of him on her broom, battle lust lighting up her eyes.
"Stronger than you can imagine."
"Then I'm going to enjoy seeing that for myself."
With a confident smile, Elaina waved her wand—
and the sea below surged violently, a towering waterspout rising into the air.
~~~
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