In the end, Fern didn't get away. She got dragged into a game of Fight the Landlord too.
Of course, that only happened because Übel provoked her.
Fern normally would never have teamed up with her, but Übel pushed too far and hit her right in the face with it.
There was no way Fern could let that slide.
She was going to make Übel understand what kind of girl Shichen-sama really liked.
Übel was just a passing fling, that was all.
That game of Fight the Landlord lasted until evening.
When Shichen came out of Übel's room, he found Frieren and Serie already sprawled over the dining table, limp and exhausted.
"Finished already?" Serie tilted her head and glanced at him, her expression a little cold.
"Ahem. When did you two wake up?"
"What do you think?" Serie shot back.
"Hmm… sometime today, probably."
"Cut the nonsense and hurry up and cook for us!"
"Right away~ Let me show you my skills."
Shichen immediately headed into the kitchen.
"Shichen, hurry up… I'm starving to death…" Frieren muttered, still draped over the table.
"Alright, alright. I'll steam you a giant lobster first."
"Okay…"
Her voice was weak and lifeless, like she really was about to starve.
Shichen immediately used holy flame to steam a giant flower lobster for the two of them.
The moment each of them got half a lobster tail in them, they came back to life.
"You really are something. You actually took Übel behind my back," Serie began accusing him.
"What do you mean 'behind your back'? It was completely out in the open," Shichen retorted without a shred of guilt.
He wasn't afraid of Serie.
"Hah. And then you even dragged Fern into it too. Bet that was fun."
"It was pretty nice."
"..." Serie choked on that and had no idea what to say.
Shichen wasn't scared of her at all, so what could she do?
Under the table, Serie kicked Frieren.
"What?" Frieren glared at her, annoyed.
"What's wrong with you? You don't have any reaction at all. Can't you say something to him?"
"It's useless. You don't even know the worse stuff yet. It'll scare you to death when you do," Frieren said, completely giving up.
"What nonsense are you talking about? You're just going to let him keep doing this? What happens when there are even more girls later?"
"Sigh. You just don't get it." Frieren shook her head.
"Have you starved your brain dry?" Serie looked at her like she was an idiot.
"I don't mind. You'll understand later." Frieren gave her a small smile.
"...Forget it. I won't waste words on you. Let me just ask this—don't you mind that even Übel, who came later, got there before you?"
"..." Frieren fell silent.
That line hit her hard.
"Even Übel, who came after you, got there first, and you still don't care? You're amazing. I definitely couldn't take that," Serie continued fanning the flames.
"Shichen…" Frieren finally turned to him.
"I'm mad now."
"Really? Then I'll make your favorite braised pork ribs."
"That works." Frieren nodded in satisfaction.
"..." Serie shook her head, like she was disappointed beyond words.
Since there were only three of them eating dinner, Shichen didn't make much. Besides, Frieren and the others had already eaten a huge lobster tail, so none of them could eat much anyway.
But halfway through, he remembered Stark.
So he piled the leftovers together into a bowl and sent it over to him.
Stark didn't care. He polished it off in a few bites and went right back to training his horn-cutting technique.
He'd already gone completely off the deep end.
Still, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. As long as he wasn't getting addicted to gentle comforts, it was fine.
That evening, Shichen first helped Frieren fall asleep, then went to sleep with Serie.
The next morning, Fern woke him up. She'd woken up hungry.
She'd even dragged Übel awake too.
So in a way, they'd forged a deep friendship after all. Fern no longer minded Übel's presence.
As expected, the easiest way for women to grow closer was to go into battle side by side.
Shichen made breakfast for the two of them, healed Übel up again, and then ate with them.
Übel still wasn't quite used to Fern suddenly acting close with her. This wasn't what she'd wanted.
She'd originally been aiming to make Fern crack.
If she'd known it would turn out like this, she wouldn't have provoked her last night. She never expected it would end with friendship instead.
But there was nothing to be done now.
Truthfully, she didn't regret it either. The feeling wasn't bad at all.
Shichen didn't rush to leave. He let Übel rest for another day before taking them with him again.
He had a feeling they were about to meet Flamme very soon.
A few months later, they arrived in a remote region.
Strangely enough, there were no signs of demons there at all.
It was as if the whole place had been cleared out.
And on top of that, they could smell flowers.
They passed through forest, through a gorge, and suddenly the view opened up, full of floral fragrance.
They had arrived in what felt like a fairyland, surrounded by gardens.
"It's so beautiful here," Fern exclaimed.
"It looks like a paradise from a movie," Übel said.
"Heh." Serie gave a small laugh. She had already realized why.
"Looks like we've reached our destination," Frieren said.
"Yeah." Shichen smiled and walked into the flower garden first.
Frieren and the others followed behind him.
"Shichen-sama, what is this?" Fern noticed something different about him. He looked excited.
"Did you forget why we came?" Frieren reminded her.
"Don't tell me…"
"That's right. Flamme is here."
"Flamme? The legendary Great Mage?" Übel was stunned.
"That's her."
"So this place is really…"
As Shichen walked through the flower field, an empty patch of space shimmered like an illusion breaking, and a small stone house appeared.
Looking at it, Shichen smiled.
"It's exactly the same as the little stone house we lived in at the beginning," Frieren said.
"Yeah."
Click.
Just then, the wooden door opened, and a mature woman stepped out.
She wore a simple white dress, her hair braided down the front of her body, and a flower crown rested on her head.
"You're here," Flamme said, smiling as she looked at Shichen.
Her appearance hadn't changed in the slightest. She looked exactly the same as she had over a thousand years ago, when Shichen first met her.
That was all because of him.
He hadn't wanted Flamme to die, so he had forced immortality onto her.
But that was never what Flamme wanted, and that had driven a wedge between them.
Now, after so many years, Flamme had finally forgiven him.
"Master, it's been a long time." Shichen smiled.
"Mm. It has. Come in and sit down. Master, you too," Flamme said, looking toward Serie.
"Hah. You still love flowers as much as ever."
"After all, it's still my favorite kind of magic."
When they entered the stone house, they found food already set out on the table in the living room.
It was as if Flamme had known exactly when they would arrive and had prepared it in advance.
Shichen and the others didn't stand on ceremony. They sat down and shared a long-overdue meal with Flamme.
After the meal, Shichen took the initiative and apologized.
"Master, I know I was wrong."
"Mm." Flamme merely nodded.
"Hah. What's the big deal about immortality?" Serie sneered.
"Serie, shut up,"
"...Fine." Serie folded her arms and looked away.
Flamme's expression grew a little strange.
Her student was casually telling her own master to shut up.
Of course, she knew what kind of relationship those two had.
Still, no matter how she thought about it, the whole thing felt a little off.
"Master, come with us from now on," Shichen invited.
"No. I like this place. I want to stay here."
"So you still haven't forgiven me?"
"I already have." Flamme shook her head calmly.
"Then why won't you come with us?"
"I've already traveled through this whole world. I just want to stay here now."
"But the world changes in an instant. And don't you want to see other worlds too?" Shichen asked.
"Well…"
Fern and Übel both looked at him, clearly not following what he meant.
"Master, come with us. I want you to see my child."
"A child?" Flamme froze and looked at him in confusion.
"Yeah. My child is about to be born."
"A-a child? Shichen-sama?" Fern cried out, thinking she'd misheard.
Serie and Übel looked at him too, equally baffled.
"It's time I explained everything to all of you."