I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit [463] [200 PS]

Thirty years after the death of the hero, Himmel.

Frieren and her companions had just passed through a forest and were now walking along a wide road.

"The weather's been getting colder lately…"

Even though he was wearing his thickest clothes, Stark still rubbed his arms in a futile attempt to warm himself.

"Once we get over that mountain ahead, we'll reach the next village."

Leading the way at the front, Frieren glanced up at the sky, judging the time by the position of the sun. "At this rate, we should be able to reach the village before nightfall… right, Aesc?"

"Don't ask me, I have no idea."

Aesc responded indifferently, "Did you forget? I have a terrible sense of direction. I could get lost even with a map in hand."

"Huh? Lady Aesc, you're bad with directions?"

Fern looked surprised. They had been traveling together for over two years, yet Aesc had never shown any signs of being directionally challenged. "This is the first I've heard of it…"

Stark's curiosity was piqued, and he raised a hand to point in a random direction.

"Well then, Aesc, do you know if that's north or south?"

"…It's north. I might have a bad sense of direction, but I can still tell east from west, you know! What, do you take me for an idiot?"

Annoyed, Aesc raised her staff and swung it at Stark. He instinctively ducked, avoiding the strike. Their eyes met, and for a brief moment, they both froze.

"You dare dodge?"

"I was wrong, I was wrong! Please don't hit me again!"

"If apologizing was enough, we wouldn't need the authorities! Now, stand still and let me buff you!"

Aesc and Stark chased each other around Fern and Frieren in circles four times before Stark finally ran off down the road, clutching his head. Aesc pursued him without hesitation.

Left behind, Fern and Frieren exchanged glances. Frieren's expression remained calm as always, while Fern sighed in exasperation.

"Honestly… Lord Stark and Lady Aesc aren't kids anymore, but they still act like children."

"Isn't that a good thing? A journey should have this kind of atmosphere."

A small, almost imperceptible smile tugged at Frieren's lips, as if she had unearthed some long-buried, happy memories. "Back in the day, Himmel and Heiter used to bicker like this all the time too."

Aesc and Stark's antics were just another passing moment in their travels.

The only consequence was the small lumps forming on Stark's head, making him look somewhat comical. The unshed tears welling up at the corners of his eyes silently spoke of his grievances.

As they continued walking, something along the road caught their attention.

It was an overturned carriage. The horses and merchants that should have been with it were nowhere to be seen.

"What a mess…"

Frieren narrowed her eyes, deep in thought.

"There's no bloodstains."

Stark approached to inspect it, calmly assessing the situation. "But the goods were completely ransacked. From the looks of it… they were carrying food? It's all been eaten. The carriage too—two-thirds of it is destroyed. This was probably done by monsters."

As a warrior, Stark wasn't like Frieren and Fern, who, as mages, would be in danger if an enemy got too close. Plus, his endurance was far higher than that of a typical mage.

"I don't sense any traces of death nearby either."

Aesc lowered her gaze, sounding slightly relieved. "It looks like a merchant caravan was attacked by monsters, but the good news is no one was killed. It was probably a less aggressive type of monster."

Just as there were gem bugs that only fed on jewels and gold without harming humans, there were also monsters with relatively low threat levels to people.

"They must have been targeting the goods on the carriage," Frieren remarked calmly. "It's not surprising. Winter is approaching, and herbivorous monsters struggle to find food. They tend to attack passing merchant caravans… and even nearby farmland."

A short distance ahead, they came across a ravaged field—just as Frieren had predicted.

"They may be rare vegetarian monsters, but they still cause a lot of trouble for people," Aesc mused. "If left unchecked, it's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt."

Not long after, they arrived at the village.

As expected, the village was struggling with monster attacks.

Not only were the fields being raided, but passing merchant caravans were also being ambushed. If this continued, trade routes would be cut off, and the villagers wouldn't be able to sell their crops in the nearby cities.

"Honorable adventurers, please lend us your aid."

A woman named Nicola, representing the villagers, pleaded with them earnestly. Her sincerity was palpable.

Naturally, Aesc and the others would accept the request.

After all, when faced with people in need, wasn't it only right to extend a helping hand? If Himmel were here, he would have made the same choice without hesitation.

Frieren asked, "What's the reward?"

"My deepest apologies, but our village is not wealthy."

That much was obvious. With the merchant caravans transporting their goods being attacked, money was naturally scarce.

"Do you have any magic tomes?"

"We do not."

"No magic tomes, huh?"

Frieren didn't seem disappointed. Instead, she continued, "Then… what about magic tools?"

"A Magic Tool?"

"We do have one magic tool in our village, now that you mention it…"

Following Nicola inside her home, Aesc and the others watched as she retrieved a small box.

"It's this box."

She explained softly, "This box can preserve temperatures. Whatever temperature the food is when placed inside, it stays the same when taken out."

Hearing that, Frieren's eyes gleamed.

"Oh? A magic tool that practical? Now this is a great find."

Completely satisfied with the magic tool, Frieren and the group quickly came to an agreement—they would take on the request.

Following the clues provided by the villagers, they set off toward the area where the monsters were frequently spotted.

That was when Fern suddenly spoke up.

"Lady Aesc, you kept staring at Nicola's head just now."

Tilting her head slightly in curiosity, Fern asked, "May I ask why?"

To which, Aesc answered…

"Because Nicola is an NPC who gave us a quest. I was checking if there was a blue question mark floating above her head."

Fern furrowed her brows in confusion.

"NPC? A blue question mark?"

"Fern, just ignore her. Aesc is spouting nonsense again."

Walking behind Frieren, Aesc couldn't see her face, but she could tell from Frieren's light footsteps that she was in a good mood.

"You seem pretty happy, Frieren."

"Of course. That magic tool is extremely useful."

A small smile graced Frieren's face. "With it, I won't have to worry about snacks going cold and losing their taste."

"You shouldn't let snacks sit for too long anyway. It's best to eat them while they're fresh."

Aesc reminded her, "That tool only maintains temperature, not freshness. If you leave food overnight, you'll still get a stomachache."

"…Got it."

Judging from the damage to the farmland and the wreckage of the merchant cart, they deduced that the monsters they were dealing with were some kind of mid-to-small-sized bird-type creatures.

Then, cross-referencing the villagers' accounts…

"It must be Blue-Feathered Birds."

Fern made the guess, and both Frieren and Aesc nodded in agreement.

"What, seriously? Just Blue-Feathered Birds?"

Stark instantly relaxed, sighing in relief.

His reaction was understandable—Blue-Feathered Birds were among the least threatening monsters, practically bottom-tier in terms of danger.

Although they never acted alone, they typically appeared in flocks of no more than a dozen. Any trained mage or warrior could easily handle them alone.

"This takes me back… I never expected to run into Blue-Feathered Birds here."

Stark let out a lighthearted laugh. "When I was training under my master, I took down an entire flock of them by myself."

Back then, even as a novice, he could handle nearly ten of them alone. Now, he could probably take on hundreds or even thousands without breaking a sweat!

"Feeling confident, huh?"

Aesc raised an eyebrow and smirked. "How about this? You handle the frontlines solo this time. I'll stick with Frieren and Fern and play a nice, quiet backline mage for once."

"No problem!"

Stark agreed without hesitation.

Hearing this exchange, Frieren sighed and shook her head.

"Stark is still too naive… We're not far from the Empire now. If it were just a few Blue-Feathered Birds, there's no way the Empire would have left them unchecked for so long."

Blue-Feathered Birds didn't eat meat. The only things that attracted them were crops, fruits, and seeds.

To make themselves a target, Aesc and the others carried seeds with them—otherwise, if the birds didn't come to them, it would be a real hassle.

Time passed, and suddenly, they noticed the sky darkening.

For those with magic perception, nothing seemed unusual. Only Stark looked up in confusion.

"Huh? Why is it getting dark? Is it going to rain?"

Gazing up, Stark saw a vast, dark cloud blocking out the sun. That must have been what dimmed the sky.

But something felt… off. Narrowing his eyes, he focused on the "cloud."

"…Wait, no! That's a flock of Blue-Feathered Birds!"

A dense, flapping mass filled the sky, so numerous that from afar, they looked like a moving storm cloud.

Elsewhere, Blue-Feathered Birds usually appeared in small groups of a dozen or so. But here, in the northern highlands, their numbers easily surpassed a hundred thousand.

This monster subjugation could be considered easy—after all, Blue-Feathered Birds ranked at the very bottom in terms of threat level. For Aesc and the others, the battle posed no real danger.

This monster subjugation could also be considered incredibly difficult—because there were simply too many of them. Even though Aesc and the others could wipe out thousands with a single spell, dealing with them all still took an immense amount of time and energy.

"Ugh… I'm dead… I can't move anymore…"

After the battle ended, Stark collapsed face-first onto the ground, not even caring about the dirt. His voice was completely drained of strength.

Now, he finally understood why Aesc had volunteered to stay in the backlines.

If he had to keep swinging his sword in close combat like this, exhaustion would have literally killed him.

While Frieren and the others had expended a fair amount of mana, they still had it much easier than Stark. After all, magic had a far greater attack radius than swinging an axe around, didn't it?

"I suddenly want to be a mage…"

"If Eisen heard you say that, he'd probably be furious."

When monsters died, their bodies disintegrated into dust and scattered with the wind—a convenient mechanic, especially now. Otherwise, dealing with over a hundred thousand bird corpses would have been an absolute nightmare.

Then again…

If the bodies had remained, they could have turned a hundred thousand Blue-Feathered Birds into food.

That would've been enough to feed a lot of people. It was basically a hundred thousand roasted chickens…

Even if they couldn't eat them all, they could sell them. That would've been a fortune.

Fern walked over to the sprawled-out Stark and asked quietly, "Lord Stark, we should head back. Can you stand?"

"No."

"…I see."

In the end, Aesc used a floating spell to carry Stark back.

Completely drained, Stark passed out the moment his head touched the pillow.

Poor guy. He really had it rough.

After resting in the village for a night, they met with Nicola the next morning to receive their reward.

"Now then, let's put our new magic tool to the test."

With excitement in her voice, Frieren turned to look at Aesc.

The other two followed her lead, their eyes also locking onto Aesc.

"…What do you all want?"

"It's your time to shine, Aesc. Head to the kitchen and make some sweets. Then, put them in the box."

"If it's just a test, any snack would work, right? Just admit you want me to make something."

"…I do want you to make something."

"…Did you really just come out and say it?"

The so-called "test" was just an excuse. Frieren simply couldn't forget the taste of Aesc's homemade sweets.

Stark and Fern were the same. Ever since they had tasted Aesc's desserts, they couldn't get them out of their minds.

The newly acquired magic box was promptly forgotten, abandoned in a corner. There wasn't even a chance for it to be tested—because the moment Aesc's sweets were ready, the three of them couldn't stop eating.

If they had gone through with the test, it would have meant placing the freshly made treats inside the box… and then agonizingly waiting while knowing the deliciousness was right there, untouched.

Their decision was made in an instant.

The test could wait.

Aesc's sweets? Those were a rare treat they couldn't afford to delay.