I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit [461] [50 PS]

"Not going to leave it to luck?"

Even Fern was gradually influenced by Frieren's confidence, unconsciously beginning to trust her.

Well, yeah. Lady Frieren is a mage who's lived for a thousand years. If she's this confident, she must have her own way of doing things.

"Could it be that you have a spell that can determine the value of objects, Lady Frieren?"

"No, how could I possibly have such a convenient spell?"

Frieren's cold splash of reality doused Fern's expectations, bringing her back to her senses.

"…Yeah, I guess that makes sense. After all, whenever Lady Frieren goes shopping at magic item stores, she always ends up spending a ton of money on things that are completely useless."

"What do you mean by that?! Everything I pick is valuable and useful, okay?"

"Then could you please tell me the use of that book you bought last time? The one where all the words written in it disappear after a minute?"

"…Alright, fine. Most of them are valuable."

Clearing her throat twice to cover her embarrassment, Frieren straightened up and said seriously, "What I meant was my eye for things. My insight. As a mage who's lived for a thousand years, my perception and experience are my greatest assets! If there really is some rare treasure in this place, I'd be able to recognize it at a glance!"

Fern's expression dulled, her eyes losing their light.

At this moment, she was desperately trying to figure out what kind of expression she should be making.

Unlike Fern, whose spirit seemed half-dead, Frieren was getting more and more excited.

"That's right! It's just like that story that Aesc told me—the protagonist had golden eyes that could see through the true value of all things, and then he went around appraising antiques, triggering a series of dramatic face-slapping moments straight out of a power fantasy!"

By the way, the terms "face-slapping" and "power fantasy" were things Frieren had learned from Aesc.

"Plus! I learned some incredible bargaining techniques from Aesc's stories. This is the perfect chance to put them into practice! To sum it up… I feel ridiculously strong right now!"

With that, Frieren grabbed Stark's hand and set her sights on a merchant.

"Come on, Stark! I need you to back me up!"

"So I'm just here to support your haggling, huh?"

After a lively and exhilarating round of bargaining, Frieren successfully bought a pot from a vendor.

According to her, this pot was an antique from the Unified Empire era. She was absolutely beaming with pride by the time they reached the inn where Aesc was staying, boasting about what a great deal she got.

Aesc took the pot from Frieren's hands, examined it closely, and then, with a completely blank expression, delivered his verdict:

"This is a fake."

And then—Frieren burst into tears.

The sequence of events could be broken down into three steps: pacing, rolling on the ground, and crying.

Fern patted Frieren's head, but instead of offering comforting words, she delivered a cold, cutting remark:

"Lady Frieren, you bought another piece of junk."

Frieren wailed even louder, her cries filled with grief.

"I'm just saying, Frieren…"

Aesc pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly exasperated.

"You're the only person here who has actually lived since the Unified Empire era, right? How did you not recognize whether this was from that period?"

A long, long time ago, this continent was ruled by a single nation—the so-called Unified Empire.

Frieren's master, Flamme, had been a court mage of that empire, meaning that the Unified Empire had already existed a thousand years ago. It wasn't until a few centuries back that it fractured into the various countries that exist today.

Furthermore, thanks to Flamme's influence, the Unified Empire was the first nation to seriously study magic and apply it to warfare. According to Frieren, back at its peak, magic was so widespread that you could find mages on every street corner.

Though the Unified Empire no longer exists, its culture hasn't vanished completely. In the northern lands, remnants of the empire still persist, forming one of the most powerful nations today.

Back when the demons waged war, they conquered vast territories and wiped out many smaller nations, forcing humanity to retreat. During that time, the empire found itself surrounded by demon-held lands, yet it still managed to repel their assaults again and again, never ceding its ground—proof of its immense strength.

Incidentally, the empire doesn't have a good relationship with the Continental Magic Association. The empire firmly insists that they are the true origin of human magical civilization, since Flamme, the pioneer of human magic, came from their land. By that logic, they believe the authority to govern mages should belong to them, not the Magic Association.

However, the empire can't exactly ignore the presence of Serie, who oversees the Continental Magic Association. As long as Serie remains in power, the empire wouldn't dare make any moves.

Serie is believed to be a figure from the mythological era. She's mentioned multiple times that she's been around "since the dawn of human civilization"—as if she had personally witnessed its birth. If a true Creator Goddess exists, then Serie is probably the one person most likely to have seen her.

Having lived since the mythological era, it's impossible to fathom how many spells Serie has mastered or how powerful her magic has become.

By contrast, Frieren hails from the Unified Empire era. When she was very young, demons attacked her village, massacring every other elf. She was the sole survivor, escaping only because she feigned weakness and caught the enemy off guard, managing to kill them in return. Afterward, she was taken in by Flamme as a disciple.

"The forgery techniques aren't even that impressive… I really don't get how you fell for it."

Aesc glanced at the pot a few more times before turning back to Frieren.

"So? How much did you pay for this useless thing?"

"…Ten silver coins."

"…How much?! Ten silver coins?!"

Aesc looked at Frieren in sheer disbelief.

"Do you realize that for ten copper coins, I could probably buy two of these and get a third one thrown in for free?"

"Aesc, if you keep going, I think Lady Frieren might just die of shame."

Aesc shot Frieren a glare, then, in an almost pitying tone, added, "If it were possible, I'd recommend you download an anti-fraud app… and I'd specifically get you the senior citizen version."

With a heavy sigh, Aesc's voice was filled with resignation.

"For now, let's at least try to find the vendor who sold you this pot. If he's still there, we'll demand a refund. Though honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he's already taken the money and skipped town…"

"If we can't find him, well, just consider it a paid lesson."

"After all, we made a fortune from that last dungeon expedition. Taking a small loss won't hurt us. Learning through spending is a privilege of the wealthy, you know!"

Aesc was, of course, referring to their encounter with the Gem Bug Queen.

That dungeon had been a massive, previously undiscovered ruin. Even though many treasures had been devoured by the Gem Bug Queen, and even though they could only carry so much loot, they still made an absolute fortune.

Aside from their shared travel expenses, everyone had gotten their own personal stash of money—essentially, private funds.

And right then, Frieren raised her hand with a miserable expression.

"My private stash… is already gone…"

"…How did you burn through that much money?"

Aesc was utterly baffled. They hadn't really had any major expenses during their journey, so where had all of Frieren's money gone?

Could it have been that solvent that dissolves clothing? No, that thing was expensive, but not enough to drain her entire earnings…

Unless… she bought a dozen bottles at once?

"Lady Frieren, what exactly did you spend all your money on?"

Fern's expression darkened slightly.

"Fern's eyes… are terrifying."

Stark shuddered, unconsciously taking two steps back while Fern wasn't looking.

As expected of the "Household Tyrant"—even Frieren shivered when she felt Fern's gaze lock onto her.

Under Fern's icy gaze, Frieren wore an expression straight out of a Bilibili buffering screen and admitted frankly,

"When we were in Moluf, I came across an extremely rare magical material—the tentacle of a Crimson Abyssal Demon… At the time, we had just earned quite a bit from that dungeon expedition, and my private stash was full, so I couldn't resist buying it… Actually, I've wanted that tentacle for over a hundred years, but I didn't have the money back then, so I had no choice but to give up on it… I never thought I'd get another chance to buy it…"

Before Fern could scold Frieren for her reckless spending, Aesc spoke up first.

"A Crimson Abyssal Demon's tentacle?! Alright, fine. If it was for such a rare material, then spending that money isn't entirely unreasonable."

"Lady Aesc, why are you taking Lady Frieren's side?"

Fern turned to Aesc in protest, her tone filled with reproach. However, Aesc simply shrugged.

"It can't be helped, Fern. That's a Crimson Abyssal Demon's tentacle we're talking about—super rare magical material! Even if you had money, you wouldn't necessarily be able to buy it. The last time I saw one on the market was at least a hundred years ago."

"Exactly, exactly!"

Seeing Aesc defend her, Frieren perked up and nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Please be quiet, Lady Frieren. We still haven't addressed your reckless spending habits."

With just a glance from Fern, Frieren instantly deflated.

Although Fern was a naturally gifted mage, she wasn't the research-oriented type like Aesc and Frieren. She specialized in combat, so she didn't share their enthusiasm for rare magical materials.

For Aesc and Frieren, even if they spent all their money, it didn't really matter. They had all the time in the world—if they ran out of money, they could just go earn more. They were bound to make it back eventually.

But Fern was different. As a human, her time was limited. That gave her a sense of urgency, making her want to spend her precious years on things that truly mattered—unlike Frieren and Aesc, who never seemed to see wastefulness as an issue.

It was simply a difference in perspective.

That said, thanks to Himmel and the others, Frieren had been gradually growing closer to the way an ordinary human lived.

It was as if… until Himmel passed away, time had never really started moving for her.

Thirty years after the death of Hero Himmel, Aesc and the others arrived at a city called Rofkoro.

They planned to stay here for over a month, and the reason was…

"F-R-I-E-R-E-N! I'm here to support your business!"

The glass door swung open as Aesc strode confidently inside, with Stark and Fern following closely behind.

"Welcome."

Frieren's flat, monotone voice rang out. Right now, she looked completely different from usual.

Which was only natural—because at the moment, Frieren was working as a waitress in this shop.

Since she had blown through her entire private stash, Aesc had suggested making her work as a waitress for a month so she could learn the value of money.

It was obvious to anyone with half a brain that this was just an excuse for Aesc's own amusement. The one most excited to see Frieren in a waitress uniform was, unsurprisingly, Aesc.

"You're doing it all wrong, Frieren! How can you be so cold when talking to customers? What if you scare them away?"

"If I could scare you away, that would honestly make me the happiest person alive."

Frieren sighed in exasperation.

Aesc continued, "That's so cruel! I even brought you plenty of customers, you know! Shouldn't you be thanking me?"

"And what kind of person attracts customers by shouting in the middle of the street, 'Come check out the cute elf waitress!' huh?! I'm not some performing monkey."

Frieren tilted her head slightly, her emerald-green eyes staring at Aesc with an unreadable expression.

"Even if you're trying to teach me a lesson by making me earn money myself, there's no reason I have to be a waitress. I could just take on some commissions or something."

"That wouldn't work. It wouldn't teach you anything. You've been living the same way for a thousand years, haven't you? If you just went back to doing what you've always done, there'd be no point. You need new experiences. That's the whole point of a journey, isn't it?"

"Watching me like this must be a new experience for you too, huh? I bet you're just doing this to satisfy your own twisted sense of humor."

"Well, I won't deny that."

"You're not even denying it…?"

Frieren let out another sigh. Ever since she started this job, she had been sighing a lot more than usual.

Aesc led Fern and Stark to a window seat before calling Frieren over to place an order.

Naturally, she was the one taking their orders.

Raising a hand, Aesc grinned and called out in an exaggerated voice,

"Waitress! One serving of spicy hotpot, please! No spice, no heat, no broth!"

"You're just messing with me, aren't you?"

Frieren shot Aesc a deadpan stare.

"I may not know what 'spicy hotpot' is, but I do know that you wouldn't like it. You've always hated greasy food. Even if I brought you this so-called 'spicy hotpot,' would you really eat it?"

"Alright, you got me. I was just joking."

Aesc shrugged, then held up a finger.

"In that case, I'll have a parfait. Same order as last time—remember?"

"Double the sweetness, extra fruit?"

"Exactly!"

After that, Fern and Stark also placed their orders.