"Was that magic I just sensed for a brief moment over there from Serie?"
Agusheed had long noticed that Frieren was spying on them,
But when he suddenly felt another powerful magic presence appear beside her, he asked Flamme, who was resting against his chest.
"Flamme, did she come here because of you?"
After yet another perfect step that landed right on Agusheed's foot, Flamme responded softly:
"Yes, my master has a spell book that I need, so I called her over."
A look of surprise flashed across Agusheed's face, although it soon faded back to calmness.
But he couldn't help but express his astonishment:
"Incredible... she came just for that?"
After a graceful spin, Flamme's slender body leaned back against Agusheed's chest.
Her face wore that familiar smile.
"A master spoiling her disciple—isn't that perfectly normal?"
With the dance steps, Agusheed let go of her hand, then pulled her back in.
He shook his head at Flamme.
"Normal?"
"So easy for you to say, Flamme."
"In just a few short decades, you managed to change that ancient war-hungry old fossil—"
"As I thought, you really are the most likely human to help me regain my emotions."
Old fossil—
Hearing those words, Flamme couldn't help but laugh out loud.
In that brief lapse of attention, she stepped on Agusheed's foot once again.
"If Serie heard you say that, she would kill you."
Agusheed didn't deny it; he simply looked at Flamme seriously.
"You would stop her, wouldn't you?"
Although it was phrased as a question, Agusheed's tone was full of certainty.
"After all, if it weren't for you being here, I would have fled the moment I sensed her magic."
"Did she really scare you that much back then?"
Flamme asked, curious about Agusheed's lingering fear of Serie.
"What do you think?"
"We demons are the race that values life the most…"
As he spoke, Agusheed wrapped his arm around Flamme's waist in time with the final notes of the dance.
"You should know, in these five hundred years, aside from His Majesty the Demon King, only she ever made me feel 'If I fight her, I will die.'"
Before Flamme could continue the conversation,
Both of their gazes turned simultaneously toward Serie and Frieren's direction.
Because right at that moment, Serie's vast magical power surged unabashedly, shooting straight into the sky.
And amidst that violent magical shockwave, Agusheed caught a faint trace of killing intent.
"Her magic is as absurd as ever."
"But why would she suddenly have such intense malice towards me?"
Flamme, having a rough idea of the reason, shook her head.
"Who knows…"
"Anyway, I'm going to see my master. Are you coming with me?"
Upon hearing this, Agusheed immediately declined Flamme's invitation.
"No, I think I'll pass…"
He stared at that overwhelming surge of magic and said:
"I just have this feeling that if I go there right now, something terrible will happen."
Although she was rejected, Flamme seemed to have expected it.
"Alright, see you tomorrow then."
...
"See you tomorrow?"
After placing the wedding gift that Flamme had requested in the letter directly into her hands, Serie—
Looked expressionlessly at Flamme, who turned around and left right after receiving the spell book.
"To say something so heartless after not seeing your teacher for ten years…"
"Flamme, you're really not cute at all now."
Serie waved her hand, and Magic of Levitation activated—
Flamme, who didn't counter it with magic, was instantly lifted into the air.
Serie: (=ω=)
Flamme: (罒ω罒)
Frieren watching from the side: (•ɷ•)
"Well, well… it's because…"
Flamme was about to start making excuses, but Serie clearly had no intention of listening.
The letter Flamme had personally written to Serie floated up,
And Serie practically shoved the parchment into Flamme's face.
"Flamme, explain this—"
"What is the meaning of— 'Master, are you free to attend my wedding?'
'P.S. Don't forget to bring a wedding gift—a copy of Sage Ewig's Spell book.'"
Almost getting the parchment smushed into her face, Flamme stammered:
"Well… that… it means… it's just… literally…"
Before she could finish, Serie narrowed her eyes and pressed the parchment completely against Flamme's face.
Serie crooked her finger, levitating Flamme to the exact height where her head was just within reach of Serie standing on the stone platform.
And then—
Thud, thud, thud—
Three quick flicks to the forehead later, Serie removed the parchment.
She looked at Flamme, who still seemed like she wanted to weasel her way out, and let out a heavy sigh.
"Marriage…"
"To be honest, Flamme, I don't oppose a short-lived human like you chasing after what you call 'love,' no matter how ridiculous it seems to me."
"But—why is the one you 'love'…"
Serie, exhausted in a way she couldn't quite express, placed her hand on the head of her only disciple.
She questioned, her voice full of disbelief:
"Flamme… do you realize just how absurd your idea is?"
Flamme didn't try to weasel her way out this time.
She knew that Serie was being serious…
But despite Serie's questioning, she silently nodded her head.
Boom—
An immense surge of magic erupted from Serie's body once more.
Under the gaze of both Frieren and Flamme,
The world's strongest Archmage, Serie, who had lived since the Divine Era—
Was now furious.
"Love?"
"Love who?"
"A demon that doesn't even have emotions?"
"Can he understand the feelings you have for him?"
"Can he comprehend the meaning behind your actions?"
"To him, your fleeting life is nothing more than the blink of an eye."
Serie grabbed Flamme's face and pulled at her cheeks—
"Even if you love him, does he love you back?"
"I bet he doesn't even know how to spell the word 'love'!"
"And after you die, in a hundred years…"
"No, maybe fifty, maybe eighty, he'll forget everything about you—"
Flamme finally spoke, cutting off Serie's anger.
Without the slightest bit of anger or frustration—
With the same smile she always wore:
"He won't forget me. Even a thousand years from now, he won't forget."
"What?"
Serie was stunned, unable to understand where Flamme's confidence was coming from.
"Heh—"
"Flamme… even I can't guarantee I'd remember you after a thousand years.
And you actually believe that an emotionless demon could do it?"
Recalling what Agusheed had said to her in front of the Goddess's Monument in the Offen Mountains…
Flamme's smile was full of certainty.
"I believe it—"
"And I believe that you won't forget me either, Serie."
Faced with her disciple's sudden flattery, Serie turned her head away in embarrassment.
Her anger mostly dissipated, but she still retorted mercilessly:
"You believe? You believe in a demon? That's just ridiculous…"
"I believe."
Noticing that Serie's fury had mostly vanished, Flamme snapped her fingers,
Cancelling the levitation spell, and landed on the ground, staring directly at the frowning Serie.
"Because I will make him fall in love with me."
Flamme placed her hands on her hips.
Just like when she was a child, standing before Serie, proudly declaring her dream of teaching magic to everyone—
Her voice was confident and unwavering:
"I, Archmage Flamme, will teach him what 'love' means with the rest of my life—"