Chapter 268

After returning to the inn, the four of them rested for the night.

Early the next morning, they packed their belongings, settled the bill, and headed toward the city gates, ready to leave Äußerst behind.

Along the way, people kept calling out greetings to Stark, and he waved back at each of them.

"Time to say goodbye to Äußerst."

Frieren sounded faintly reluctant.

They had stayed here for more than two months. Leaving so suddenly felt a little strange.

Fern glanced at Stark.

"Stark-sama really does become popular wherever we go."

"Do I?"

Stark looked genuinely confused.

He had never thought of himself as particularly popular. As far as he was concerned, everyone in Äußerst had simply been unusually friendly.

"It’s probably because you’re easy to get along with."

Haruto smiled.

Being able to get along so naturally with people of all ages was a kind of charm in itself.

"Really?"

Stark scratched his head.

Frieren smiled, then suddenly remembered something and turned toward Fern.

"Oh, right. Fern, what spell did you ask for yesterday?"

According to the rules of the Continental Magic Association, every newly appointed First-Class Mage had the privilege of receiving one spell from Serie.

Naturally, Frieren was curious about what Fern had chosen.

At the question, Fern stopped walking and a faintly smug expression appeared on her face.

She spread her arms and gave a small twirl in place, making her black coat flare around her.

Then she looked expectantly at Frieren.

"Can’t you tell?"

Frieren leaned closer and carefully examined her coat.

"Your clothes are clean."

Fern’s coat was spotless, without so much as a speck of dirt anywhere.

Frieren leaned in even farther and gave it a small sniff.

"And they smell like flowers."

It was a light, clean fragrance.

"Wait. Is this...?"

Realization dawned across Frieren’s face.

Seeing her surprised expression only made Fern look more pleased.

"It’s the Spell That Makes Clothes Spotlessly Clean."

"Doing laundry will be much easier from now on."

For people who spent most of their lives traveling, laundry had always been an annoying chore.

With this spell, their clothes could be restored to perfect cleanliness almost instantly while even gaining a pleasant fresh scent.

It was about as practical as magic could get.

Of course, Fern had another reason for choosing it.

When she was little, there had been a time when she got her clothes extremely dirty, and Heiter had struggled for a long time to wash them clean.

That memory was why Fern had always wanted a spell like this.

Haruto glanced at her coat.

He was interested in the spell too.

When he had the chance, he planned to learn it from Fern.

Never having to worry about laundry again sounded wonderful.

"As expected of Serie, the Living Grimoire."

Frieren’s smile deepened.

"I’ve heard that’s a legendary spell dating all the way back to the Mythical Era."

She reached out and patted Fern on the head.

"Well done, Fern. That’s exactly the kind of choice my apprentice should make."

Fern’s cheeks turned faintly pink, clearly pleased by Frieren’s approval.

"Of course, Frieren-sama."

She paused, then added,

"Although Lady Serie looked extremely reluctant to give it to me."

Fern could still vividly remember the expression of utter disbelief Serie had worn when she announced that she wanted to use her privilege as a new First-Class Mage on a laundry spell.

Serie had handed it over in the end, though not without looking deeply unhappy about it.

"I figured."

Frieren looked rather pleased with herself.

"Serves her right."

Serie had not only banned Frieren from every Continental Magic Association facility but also allowed one of her students to come bother her afterward.

Knowing Fern had used her once-in-a-lifetime privilege on a laundry spell had probably irritated Serie immensely.

As they talked, Lawine and Kanne arrived specifically to see them off.

After a brief farewell, Haruto and the others continued on their way.

Once they left Äußerst, the scenery gradually lost the polished prosperity of the magical city.

Smooth stone roads gave way to packed dirt worn flat by wagon wheels and countless footsteps.

Their destination was the Northern Plateau.

But throughout the vast northern lands, maintained roads and merchant caravans were far from common.

Most of the time, the four had no choice but to travel on foot. Only when they were lucky enough to encounter a wagon heading in the same direction could they hitch a ride for part of the journey.

As a result, their progress was not especially fast.

The days passed at an easy pace as they steadily made their way north.

Frieren, Fern, and Stark were long accustomed to journeys like this.

Haruto, however, could not help feeling slightly disappointed.

Not because the trip was slow.

Because there were no monsters.

Deep within the northern kingdoms, most dangerous monsters had already been exterminated.

Those that remained generally hid in remote areas far from human settlement.

Haruto had been hoping to encounter a few along the road so he could test his new magic on them.

So far, he had been out of luck.

They continued onward, stopping and starting as the landscape gradually changed.

Open wilderness gave way to muddy wetlands, and the air grew noticeably more humid.

By now, the four had entered the Zaom Wetlands within the northern territories.

One evening, they checked their map and calculated the remaining distance.

The next village was still far away.

Traveling through wetlands after dark was dangerous, with the terrain becoming difficult to distinguish once night fell.

After a short discussion, they found a dry rise nearby where the ground was slightly higher.

Dense bushes grew behind it, shielding them from the cold wind while keeping them away from the damp air hanging over the wetlands.

It was an ideal place to spend the night.

Stark efficiently gathered dead branches and built a fire.

Soon, orange flames illuminated all four of their faces.

After a simple dinner, they settled down beside the warmth of the campfire and fell asleep.

At dawn the following morning, Stark was the first to rise.

He grabbed a fishing rod and headed toward the river, hoping to catch a few fresh fish for breakfast.

Fern had already woken as well and was preparing to gather some edible plants nearby.

Then she noticed that Frieren was sitting up.

Fern froze.

This was almost unheard of.

Normally, Frieren never got out of bed before breakfast was ready. Fern usually had to call her three or four times before she finally emerged with messy hair and half-open eyes.

Fern had no idea what had possessed Frieren today, but she immediately smiled warmly.

"Frieren-sama, you actually woke up this early today. That’s amazing."

Frieren responded with an unmistakably proud expression.

Haruto nearly laughed.

The real reason Frieren had broken her usual routine was simple.

She had sensed something unusual nearby.

From the moment she got up, she had been searching constantly, bending over to inspect the grass, digging around tree roots, and checking cracks between stones.

Haruto already had a rough idea what she was looking for and left her to it.

Instead, he joined Fern in preparing breakfast.

Calling it preparing breakfast together was somewhat generous.

Haruto was naturally doing most of the actual cooking.

This was his specialty, after all.

The ingredients were all freshly gathered from around the wetlands that morning—wild greens still carrying droplets of dew, along with several kinds of mushrooms.

Haruto had enormous stores of ingredients inside the Gourmet Restaurant, of course.

He had offered to use them before, but Frieren and the others had declined.

They simply did not want to depend on Haruto for every meal.

Haruto respected that.

Besides, even ordinary wild vegetables and mushrooms could become delicious in his hands.

He quickly cleaned the greens and sliced the mushrooms into pieces of perfectly even thickness.

Then he set a pot over one of the heating magic circles he had prepared earlier, poured in water, and added the mushrooms first to simmer gently.

Fine bubbles soon began forming in the pot.

The mushrooms released their natural sweetness and savory fragrance into the broth, the aroma mingling with the morning mist until merely smelling it seemed enough to warm the stomach.

Just as the mushroom soup began bubbling steadily and its aroma grew richer, Stark returned.

"I caught a fish."

He walked over and proudly held out his catch.

It was a fish smaller than the palm of his hand.

Fern accepted it and stared down at the tiny thing.

Silence followed.

The fish was almost pitifully small.

"I’ll definitely catch a bigger one next time."

Seeing Fern’s reaction, Stark scratched his head, his voice becoming noticeably quieter.

The fish was so tiny that there was no chance of dividing it among four people.

It would barely qualify as a mouthful for one.

Then Stark noticed Frieren crouching nearby and rummaging through the grass.

His eyes widened.

"Whoa. Frieren’s awake this early?"

"She said something nearby caught her attention."

Fern set the tiny fish aside as she explained.

"Did you praise her properly?"

Stark looked at Fern with complete seriousness.

"Of course."

Fern smiled with a hint of pride.

At that moment, an excited little sound came from the grass.

Frieren soon emerged holding a stone.

It was a clear, translucent ice-blue color, and the morning sunlight refracted through it in delicate, beautiful halos.

"This one’s really big."

Frieren held the stone in both hands and turned it over repeatedly, looking rather pleased with herself.

Then the heating magic circle beneath Haruto’s pot abruptly went dark.

The mushroom soup, which had been bubbling steadily moments earlier, instantly fell silent.

Haruto looked down at the extinguished magic circle.

Then his gaze shifted toward the blue mineral in Frieren’s hands.