After Üffie’s explanation, Ethan finally got the whole story.
It started when Frieren got home before Ethan and sensed a mage’s presence in the house.
She decided to do a little probing.
Her method of probing was rather straightforward, and the resulting powerful magical fluctuations terrified Übel, whose magic hadn’t recovered, causing her to cry.
Frieren was a ruthless mage who had killed countless demons.
The pressure was too much for a child.
When Frieren realized it was Übel, whom she hadn’t seen in a year, she felt a bit awkward too.
After all, she knew the relationship between Ethan and the Übel sisters well, and she had simply been overzealous just now.
Though, for Übel, even Frieren holding back would have been too much.
Frieren made a mistake; she was anxious because there were many magic item collections in the wooden house, and if they were lost, she would probably cry for a long time.
So, in her haste…
In any case, to appease Übel, Frieren’s solution was to give the child a piggyback ride.
And so, the scene from before unfolded.
Üffie deeply respected Frieren.
In her childhood, she grew up listening to stories about the Hero’s party.
When she was still young and immature, she even attended Hero Himmel’s farewell ceremony.
At that time, she only caught a distant glimpse of Frieren heading to see him off.
At this moment, she felt so overwhelmed she couldn’t speak or walk.
Fortunately, she wasn’t the one cooking.
She immediately ran off to help Ethan.
Although she couldn’t use magic, she was completely adept at handling wild boar meat.
After all, she had been a warrior, so there was no concern about her strength.
Meanwhile, Übel and Frieren, waiting for dinner in the living room, sat on the sofa, staring at each other.
“Kid, do you have a problem with me?” Frieren asked expressionlessly.
After the piggyback ride, the two were even, at least that’s what Frieren thought.
It was only then that she realized this little girl was not simple.
Übel might have cried from being scared, but scaring Übel to tears seemed unlikely.
At least, from the girl’s half-smile, it was clear that Übel was quite stable emotionally.
Would she really cry from being scared by that?
It didn’t seem plausible.
“Are you the hero the grown-ups in the village talked about, the one who saved the world?” Frieren never expected Übel’s first question to be that, and it completely stumped her.
“( ´ω` ) W-well, perhaps?” Frieren never boasted about defeating the Demon King.
She lived her life as usual.
To her, defeating the Demon King was merely a phase in her ten years with the Hero’s party.
The Demon King’s death didn’t diminish her hatred for demons.
“I will become stronger than that.” Übel looked Frieren in the eye seriously: “Stronger than you, stronger than the Hero, stronger than the Demon King.” Frieren’s mouth fell slightly open, her gaze inadvertently flicking towards the kitchen.
Just then, Ethan’s back was still busy working.
“Kid, becoming stronger than Himmel isn’t something you can achieve with just words.
You must put in far more effort than anyone else, and you’ll need a bit of luck too.” Frieren sighed inwardly.
Becoming stronger for others was an emotion she still couldn’t understand, but she was happy to experience it.
Human emotions were something she found incredibly worth observing and learning.
A look of keen interest even appeared on her face.
She was eager to see what kind of being this emotion would eventually nurture.
For Frieren, this time, she had a front-row seat.
“Then I’m really looking forward to it.” Perhaps her expression was too kind, and Übel, realizing her provocation was completely ineffective, pouted her cheeks, unhappy.
But this unhappiness completely disappeared when the delicious pork was served.
“Try this, is it good?” Ethan nervously rubbed his hands together and stared intently at Üffie and Übel.
“Are you not concerned about my opinion?” Frieren asked, taking a bite, her eyes half-closed, looking at Ethan.
“Alright, then Master, what’s your opinion?” Ethan casually looked at Frieren.
“It’s incredibly delicious.” Frieren rarely showed a subtle smile, even giving a thumbs-up.
“Could you be any more perfunctory?” Ethan stared back with his eyes half-closed until Frieren looked away nervously.
“But, but it’s just as good as always…” Frieren muttered softly, fiddling with her fingers.
“This is so good!!!” Suddenly, a sharp cry came from across the table, startling the master and disciple mid-conversation.
They both looked up to see Üffie and Übel devouring their food.
Since learning tailoring from her mother, Üffie had shed her tomboy demeanor and was becoming more like an elegant lady, showing a kind and considerate older sister image to everyone.
Her hairstyle was even elaborately done.
Ethan hadn’t seen Üffie eat so uninhibitedly in a long time.
In other words, she couldn’t hold back her true nature anymore; it was more or less the same.
Übel had completely regained her childlike energy, eating with huge mouthfuls.
Ethan couldn’t help but wonder if she wasn’t fed at school.
In the end, Üffie and Übel finished the entire meal, leaving Ethan and Frieren with little to eat.
After all, watching others eat so heartily is the highest praise for a chef.
Frieren was simply startled.
“I…
I can’t eat anymore…” Üffie lay on the sofa, an unusual look of satisfaction on her face.
Perhaps her warrior instincts had awakened.
“Huff…
huff…” Übel fell asleep right after finishing.
That’s to be expected of a child; they sleep after eating.
“You two can stay here tonight.
We have guest rooms.” Actually, it was Frieren’s new room, but she hadn’t had time to put anything in it yet.
After settling the sisters, Ethan began washing the dishes with magic.
This was why he liked magic; it was so damn convenient.
However, halfway through washing, he felt a covetous gaze behind him, making his back itch.
“Ethan, I’m hungry,” Frieren said.
“…We’re out of ingredients.
How about I make you some noodles?” “Okay, pork noodles.” “Alright, coming right up.” Frieren wasn’t picky, especially with Ethan’s cooking.
For the past year, she had eaten whatever Ethan made, and it had become a habit.
Soon, a bowl of plain pork noodles was ready.
“I used the broth from braising the pork to cook the noodles.
Eat them while they’re hot.” “Heh heh, just as I expected.” Frieren nodded with satisfaction, swayed towards the dining table, and wore an expression of utter relaxation as she ate heartily.
“Oh right, speaking of which, did you sign up for your 5th class Mage exam?” “…Ah.” —