"I must say, the youth of today are truly incredible, to harbor such a level of ambition at your age. Fíliya, you must be a very persuasive child. If I were to set aside my personal feelings, I'd have almost been swayed by you," Flamme said.
This gave Fíliya a bad feeling.
"If I were to set aside my personal feelings"... doesn't that just mean that when it comes to the Demon Race's position, Flamme has a very clear personal stance?
"Remodel the Demon Race, and have the remodeled demons maintain a state of mutual vigilance with humanity... Are you saying that if external threats were to completely vanish, it would be difficult for humanity to unite? That is indeed true... but I still cannot accept your ideal," Flamme added.
This left Fíliya quite puzzled, so she pressed on.
"Why?"
"Hmm, this goes back a long, long time... Young one, are you interested in hearing the story of Frieren and me?"
Flamme looked at Fíliya with a gentle smile, and after Fíliya nodded, Flamme immediately shifted into a storytelling mode.
Flamme's story had no dramatic twists or turns; she simply recounted how she had saved Frieren in the Elven Village and how she took Frieren on as her disciple.
But that was enough. Because within that story, Flamme had already made it clear why she and Frieren hated the Demon Race so vehemently.
It was because she, like Frieren, was someone who had everything stolen from them by the Demon Race. That is why their hatred for demons burned in their hearts like an eternal flame.
"It doesn't matter if humanity continues to fall into internal conflict. That is a necessary part of the human experience. The future of humanity should be left for humanity to decide. But the Demon Race must be eradicated down to the last one... This is my personal grudge. I cannot accept that future of yours, one of coexistence with the Demon Race. Even if you could truly remodel them, I would not be willing."
Flamme's stance was far more resolute than expected.
This outcome left Fíliya somewhat speechless.
So she sighed and slowly stood up.
"I'm sorry, Flamme... It seems I presumptuously thought I could share my ideal with you. I am deeply sorry for disturbing your peaceful rest. Please just pretend I never said any of that."
As Fíliya spoke, she bowed to Flamme.
This, in turn, surprised Flamme somewhat.
"Oh? I didn't take you for the type of child who gives up so easily. Don't you want to try persuading me further?"
"There's no need. I can understand your feelings, and Frieren's. I didn't know you had such a past... A hatred on the level of 'having everything stolen from you' is impossible to resolve. Putting myself in your shoes, if everything I held most dear were taken by the Demon Race, I doubt I could leisurely entertain the sweet dream of 'remodeling the Demon Race.' I would most likely change my stance immediately and join the ranks of those supporting the extermination of the Demon Race," Fíliya said this with a completely sincere expression.
But this made Flamme even more perplexed.
At first, she had thought this child favored the Demon Race due to a lack of 'empathy' for humans.
But now, it seemed the child understood everything perfectly. So why was she still standing on the side of the Demon Race?
"Because I can do it. I will not allow the people I cherish to be harmed by the Demon Race, and I firmly believe that I can complete the incredibly difficult task of 'remodeling the Demon Race.' If there are people who loathe demons and want to kill every last one in the world, I can completely understand that. I won't presume to think that I can resolve that level of hatred. I simply want to accomplish my own life's work."
Fíliya seemed to have anticipated Flamme's thoughts.
And to say that Fíliya's words had no effect on Flamme would certainly be incorrect.
Flamme was truly shaken. She was shaken that at such a young age, Fíliya already possessed such an iron will, one that far surpassed her own at the same age.
This child... she was practically Master Serie's ideal disciple.
Sufficiently intelligent, sufficiently calm, and possessing sufficient ambition.
"You firmly believe you can do it..."
Flamme shook her head, and her gaze once again fell warily upon the two demons behind Fíliya.
In truth, from the very first moment she opened her eyes, she had considered launching an attack on those two demons.
But she had discovered something: the spell that maintained her existence was actually using the mana of those two demons.
That made sense. Although this young human mage before her was exceptional, in terms of mana capacity, she was still far from being able to stand on her own.
To be able to make two such powerful demons willingly offer up their mana... At first, Flamme thought Fíliya possessed some kind of powerful contract magic, relying on the binding force of a contract or curse to command these two demons.
But as time passed and her observation deepened, Flamme soon discovered that Fíliya had not placed any restrictions on the two demons.
Those two demons were truly, actively giving their mana to Fíliya to use.
This was a reality that rather subverted her understanding of the world.
That's why, the moment she confirmed this fact, she developed such curiosity about Fíliya. She was genuinely curious to know just what this young human mage was capable of achieving.
And so she asked.
"Fíliya, how long have you been living with those two demons?"
"Hmm, as of today, three months?"
Fíliya tilted her head slightly, roughly calculating the time.
Huh?
Flamme was just glad she wasn't drinking water. If she had been drinking water at that moment, she would have surely choked.
In her mind, Fíliya would have had to live with these two demons for at least ten years. She had even speculated that Fíliya might be an anomaly who had lived with demons since childhood.
Three months... That was a number that, no matter how Flamme predicted it, she could never have imagined.
In such a short time, Fíliya had formed a close enough relationship with two Greater Demons that she could directly draw upon their mana?
If before Flamme had doubted the young girl's 'boasts,' she now had a sliver of belief.
After all, this was a feat that an ordinary human could never accomplish. And then there was this magic that allowed her to cross a thousand years and appear in the present day...
Fíliya... perhaps this young one was the existence my master spoke of, the one who surpasses all imagination.
Taking a moment to compose herself, Flamme asked Fíliya again.
"Fíliya, I am very curious. From where does your binding power over those two demons come?"
"There's no binding power to speak of. All that exists between us is a simple verbal agreement. But at least in the time I've been with them, they haven't harmed any humans."
"Is that so... Then what will you do if they break that 'verbal agreement' with you?"
Flamme narrowed her eyes. She truly wanted to see this young one's true heart.
"In that case... I would be very disappointed, very sad... If something like that were to truly happen, I would have no choice but to take responsibility, hunt them to the ends of the earth, and grind their bones to dust," Fíliya said this with a faint touch of melancholy.
___
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