"Shichen? Shichen?" Elaina's voice echoed in his mind.
"What is it?"
"Why did you stop talking just now?"
"Something came up on this side."
"I see. Then can you tell me now what flavor of milk tea you like?"
"Why are you even asking that?"
"Just tell me."
"Alright, alright. I like the original flavor."
"That's way too ordinary."
"It's not ordinary. It's just that the original doesn't have extra flavoring added to it."
"What's flavoring?" Elaina asked, confused.
"It's simple. Take the strawberry milk tea you like, for example. It doesn't actually have strawberries in it. It just has strawberry-flavored additives," Shichen explained.
"What's an additive?"
"Something that imitates the taste of strawberries. It doesn't really have much to do with actual strawberries."
"And what's wrong with that?" Elaina asked innocently.
"..." Shichen had almost forgotten that Elaina hadn't been corrupted by modern society yet. She had no idea what the downsides of things like that were.
Then again, Shichen himself wasn't worried about those downsides at all. With his constitution, none of it mattered.
Elaina, though she was a witch, still had a mortal body. Shichen didn't even know whether these things would affect someone from another world.
Still, it didn't matter much. It wasn't like he couldn't heal her.
That was why he'd let her eat whatever she wanted. As long as it didn't make her sick on the spot, it wasn't a problem.
Besides, food safety here was still pretty well controlled.
"Forget it. It's not a big deal."
"Shichen, are you brushing me off?"
"How could I?"
"Then you went in a huge circle and still didn't explain anything."
"I did it on purpose. I just wanted to talk to you a little longer."
"You... fine. I'll be magnanimous and let it slide." Elaina instantly brightened and stopped asking.
After settling Elaina, Shichen had to deal with Serie and the others again.
They had already left the magic city of Äußerst and continued onward.
Even though Frieren hadn't passed the first-class mage exam, Fern and Ubel had.
With two first-class mages, there was naturally no problem getting through checkpoints.
Actually, Serie hadn't failed Frieren on purpose. It was just that Frieren didn't need the title at all.
Frieren was a Great Mage. Making her a first-class mage would practically be a demotion.
Given Frieren's reputation, she didn't really need a first-class certificate anyway.
The only reason it mattered was because human cities had regulations, and without proof of being a first-class mage, they wouldn't let people pass.
After all, they didn't recognize the Holy Wand Emblem.
But now that Serie was with them, whether or not they had first-class certification didn't matter anymore.
Still, being a first-class mage was proof of strength, identity, and status, so Fern and the others did need it.
With Serie around, the journey had basically turned into sightseeing. Before a monster or demon could even appear, it was already reduced to ashes.
Serie didn't give anyone else a chance to act.
And whenever she made a move, she naturally expected praise afterward.
"Serie, haven't you lain there long enough? It's my turn!"
"Nope. This is my reward~"
"That's bullshit! You didn't even do anything today."
"I can't hear you, can't hear you." Serie lay on one of Shichen's thighs with her hands over her ears.
This was the reward she wanted: Shichen's lap pillow.
On the very first day she joined them, when she saw Frieren and Fern lying on Shichen's legs from left and right, she'd wanted it too.
Just thinking about it felt comfortable.
She could sleep to her heart's content all the way along the road.
That was also the main reason she'd started wiping out monsters and demons before they even appeared.
That way, her lap pillow reward felt justified.
"How can you cheat like that!" Frieren finally snapped and moved in to fight her for the spot.
Fern had already taken the other side.
"Stop it!"
"You stop it!"
"Let go! Don't disturb me!"
"It's my turn to lie there!"
"No way, I'm not done enjoying this yet."
"You two, keep it down. Don't disturb the others," Shichen cut in to calm them.
They were the only two making noise in the carriage. Fern and Ubel both had their eyes closed, resting.
It was early afternoon, and they'd just finished lunch. Perfect time for a nap.
Stark was still driving the carriage.
At the moment, he was still full of energy, because his training was nearly complete—he just needed one real battle to prove it.
He'd already managed to break the horns off all four puppets Shichen had made for him.
Now he desperately needed to meet a real demon and prove his title as the Horn-Breaking Maniac so the name could spread.
Unfortunately, he still hadn't had a chance to act once on this journey.
Serie had killed everything first.
He still didn't know that, so he kept eagerly waiting for demons to appear.
After all, the farther north they went, the stronger the demons would be.
That was exactly why parties needed a first-class mage to pass through.
Who knew how long Stark's enthusiasm would last? If he never got a real chance to fight, he might lose steam.
Shichen definitely couldn't let that happen. This coachman was important.
Without him, there'd be no way for Shichen to cozy up with Frieren and the others in the wagon.
As a big brother, he had to fulfill his little brother's dream. The next demon they ran into, he definitely wasn't going to let Serie touch.
"Hmph."
Frieren and Serie both snorted and turned their heads away.
Those two were like real sisters, bickering nonstop.
They really did look alike too—both elves, both petite, one gold-haired and one silver-haired, like matching opposites.
And in a way, they really were sisters, all because of Shichen.
"There, isn't that better?"
Shichen laid them both down side by side across his legs. His legs were long enough.
Frieren reluctantly accepted it, closed her eyes, and stopped arguing with Serie.
Serie didn't mind either, since she was slightly closer to Shichen.
Across from them, Ubel opened her eyes and watched the two of them sleeping like children, finding it surreal.
The strongest and oldest Great Mage in the world was bickering like a little kid every single day.
It felt completely unreal.
She never would've imagined it before.
But now it was right in front of her.
She understood that Serie wasn't like this by nature. It was only because Shichen was here.
This man really was something extraordinary.
Even though she'd only seen a tiny tip of the iceberg, it was enough for her to be sure.
Just the fact that two Great Mages cared for him that much said everything.
His strength had to be on an entirely different level.
Someone like Serie, who had lived so long, had seen countless people. There was no way she'd fall for someone just because of their face.
The only explanation was that he was much stronger than her.
For mages who lived that long, admiring strength was only natural.
That made the whole thing even more exciting for Ubel.
It wasn't just that she wanted to get back at Fern. She could also steal the man of the oldest, strongest Great Mage, and the mage from the Hero Party who had been famous long before she was even born.
She felt pretty amazing just thinking about it.
Looking at Shichen made her itch inside. She was dying to start flirting with him right now.
But she had to hold back.
Shichen had no idea that Ubel's thoughts were getting weirder and more obsessive. Once the other two quieted down, he could finally go back to chatting with Elaina.
"Shichen, I think the movie theater has some new films showing."
"Really? What kind of movies?"
"I think one of them is a romance."
"Do you want to see it?"
"Not really. Watching that kind of thing alone sounds boring."
"Who said you'd be watching it alone?"
"Hm? You mean…" Elaina's voice instantly filled with anticipation.
"That's right. I can watch it with you. So, do you want to?"
"Well... if that's the case, I guess I could watch it."
"Then let's go tomorrow." Shichen smiled and settled it.
"Okay!"
~~~
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