Since the purpose of this journey was to deliver a letter, and while it wasn’t an emergency requiring a thousand-mile sprint for someone of Heiter’s skill, Frieren’s usual leisurely travel style wouldn’t cut it.
So, this time, they traveled by carriage.
Ethan didn’t want to use high-speed travel magic.
It was fast, sure, but it couldn’t be sustained.
If they ran into any demon remnants, it would be hard to guarantee absolute safety if one of them wasn’t at full strength.
With horses and drivers changed at every post station, the carriage could travel non-stop, 24 hours a day.
This allowed them to get enough rest and maintain their peak condition at all times.
It took about a month for them to reach the border of the Southern Kingdoms.
From here on, they couldn’t use the carriage.
The trade routes across the border were semi-blocked, and anyone wanting to pass through needed to be strong enough to defend themselves.
This essentially made it convenient for adventurers or mercenaries to go provide aid to the Southern Kingdoms.
The title “Minus the Rebellious Witch” had already spread throughout the border cities.
The refugees fleeing from the Southern Kingdoms told similar stories, which confirmed their accounts were largely true.
Minus, one of the three Arch-Mages, had gone mad.
She had destroyed a small country almost overnight and led her army in a massive war across the Southern Kingdoms.
Ethan had looked at the continental map.
The border between the Central Kingdoms and the Southern Kingdoms was already the narrowest part of the continent.
If Minus conquered the entire south, it was hard to guarantee she wouldn’t march north.
At that point, Serie, who was also an Arch-Mage, would likely intervene, given Frieren’s description of Serie’s personality.
However, for Serie, this would probably be a battle fought from a position of moral and humanistic superiority while still following her own desires.
“This is going to be troublesome,” Frieren said in the inn, her expression grim as she studied the map with a troubled look.
“Indeed,” Ethan agreed, also looking worried.
According to the intelligence, Minus hadn’t started from the southernmost country.
She had begun in a small country on the southeastern coast, which wasn’t too far from the border.
Her strategy to push further south would naturally aim to crush any united armies formed in the lower countries before they could grow strong.
A direct march north would surely result in being attacked from both sides.
This meant she wasn’t truly insane but was orchestrating a calculated war, which was far more troublesome than dealing with a mere madwoman.
And the last confirmed sighting of Heiter was in enemy territory, over a month ago.
Just as Ethan was about to propose a clever infiltration plan based on the map and terrain, Frieren decisively put the map away.
“Oh, wow, she’s amazing!
My teacher is so quick to make a decision.” “Ethan, let’s retreat.
Instead, we can just post a missing person request at the Adventurers’ Guild.” Huh?
“What do you mean, teacher?
Isn’t Heiter your friend, your family?” Ethan grabbed Frieren’s shoulders and shook her back and forth.
“Yes, and because of that, I know he wouldn’t die from something like this,” Frieren said, being shaken back and forth while making a classic pouty face.
“Based on past experience, he’s a crazed monk who can dodge even a killing blow from enemies when he’s hungover.” “As convincing as that sounds, running away and abandoning a friend still doesn’t feel right…” Ethan narrowed his eyes at Frieren, who subtly turned her head away.
“It’s just that it might be a wasted effort.
It absolutely, absolutely isn’t because I’m scared of Minus…” “…” At that moment, Ethan’s eyes were filled with disdain for his teacher.
“Then I won’t give you that mercury pudding then—” “Alright, I was just kidding,” Frieren’s expression instantly returned to normal.
“Just trying to lighten the mood, kid.” “…” I hope you were just trying to lighten the mood.
Playtime is playtime, and joking is joking, but Ethan knew that if Frieren really wanted to run, she wouldn’t have hesitated this long.
She might actually be trying to lighten the mood now.
Thinking about this, Ethan felt he deserved credit for Frieren learning how to joke around.
Do you know what this past year has been like for me!
To “educate” Frieren, how many mercury puddings did I sacrifice!
“In any case, tomorrow we’ll follow this route,” Frieren unfolded the map again, drawing a line on it with a confident expression.
“I’m sure we’ll find Heiter soon.” Ethan looked down.
The first stop on this route led directly to the small country that Minus had completely destroyed when she began her rampage.
Wait, why are we going to the enemy’s headquarters first?
Ethan looked at Frieren with confusion.
“Kid, you don’t get it,” Frieren said proudly, raising her head.
“Minus, she’s an elven mage.” “Okay, and?” “She wouldn’t have many friends around her.
Her so-called army is basically just her own creations, like golems or summoned creatures.” After all, she’s a pure destructive force.
The refugees said the same thing.
“So, wherever she is, her army is there.
And Minus, who is still heading south, wouldn’t have left anything behind.” It actually made sense.
“The residents who weren’t killed immediately would return to the ruins after confirming Minus had left and try to rebuild.” It was starting to sound more and more plausible.
“And Heiter, as a monk, would surely be at the forefront, whether it was to guide the spirits of the dead or to help the disaster-stricken people.” Damn, perfect logic.
“So, if we follow Minus’s path south, we might just run into Heiter.” Ethan started to clap, praising her brilliant intellect.
And it wasn’t a baseless guess either.
Minus was like a force of nature.
If only she herself needed supplies, she would hardly return to places she had already destroyed, but would continue to attack intact countries.
In just over a month, she wouldn’t have possibly returned to the small country that took the brunt of her initial assault.
As someone who wasn’t a primary combatant, Heiter, given his age, wouldn’t naturally go to the front lines.
The most likely scenario was that he’d go to help the disaster victims.
Seeing Frieren’s confident expression, Ethan could only express his admiration.
She might not know Minus well, but she definitely knew Heiter.
This was very likely the case.
“You know, don’t underestimate me.
I fought demons for a thousand years and even went to the Demon King’s castle with Himmel.
What haven’t I seen?” Frieren picked up her staff and gently tapped Ethan’s head.
“You’ve still got a long way to go.” Whether in his past life or his current one, Ethan, whose age didn’t even add up to a fraction of Frieren’s, could only meekly accept her words.
Seeing Ethan’s submissive demeanor, Frieren smiled even more happily.