Time passed quietly, and by the time Fern came to her senses, her eyes were already welling with tears.
Realizing her tears were about to fall, Fern quickly closed the book and rubbed her eyes with the cuff of her pajamas.
This wasn't to hide any shyness, but simply because she didn't want the slightly salty droplets to fall onto the pages.
"Fern, here."
At that perfect moment, Frieren, who was beside her, handed Fern a new, clean handkerchief.
Fern said nothing, just silently took the handkerchief and wiped her eyes again.
"Mmm... It seems Fíliya was right again."
Frieren murmured, not even realizing that she had used Fíliya's common verbal tic. It was uncertain if this was proof of their mutual influence.
"...?"
Fern looked at Frieren with a baffled expression.
Frieren continued,
"Fíliya said you would most likely cry after finishing the book, so she had me prepare a handkerchief in advance."
Frieren explained honestly.
Fíliya again...
Fern shook her head, but her emotions were different now compared to before.
At this moment, she could no longer feel jealous of the green-haired girl who was just a little over half a year older than her.
Her heart was now filled with gratitude for Fíliya.
Because she knew very well that this magical item was most likely Fíliya's creation; after all, the Lady Frieren she knew lacked this kind of creativity.
For her, this was truly... a heavyweight gift, so significant that she couldn't imagine how she could ever repay the other.
"How on earth was this done... This magical item, why can it reproduce my memories... Even Heiter's voice is exactly the same as I remember."
Beyond her emotional response, Fern's curiosity as a mage was successfully piqued. She was now desperate to know how her master and Fíliya had created this magical tool.
"You'll have to ask Fíliya about that; I don't know how she did it either... She spent an entire afternoon questioning me about the past, including information about Heiter... In the end, as if that wasn't enough, she had me lower my mental resistance, saying it would be faster to read my memories directly."
"I cooperated with her on some small experiments, and she successfully read the part of my memory concerning you and Heiter."
"I have to say, Fíliya is a true prodigy... This technique, which can reproduce human thoughts and memories so vividly, is, as far as I know, unique in this world. It's a domain that many great mages of the past couldn't reach... I really don't know how many more surprises she has that we don't know about."
Fern fell silent. A few days ago, seeing Frieren praise Fíliya so openly would have surely made her jealous. But now, it was different.
Fern's mindset was quite understandable. It's like when someone sees a person who is 10 or 20 percent better than them, they naturally and instinctively feel annoyed. When that percentage rises to 40 or 50 percent, one feels deep jealousy.
But if that percentage continues to rise, when the gap becomes more than 100 percent, the initial feeling of jealousy quickly transforms into admiration.
Fern no longer felt bitter that Fíliya received more of Frieren's attention than she did. She even felt that this was how it should be.
"Fíliya... why can she create this kind of magic..."
Fern's gaze was distant. Although she had figured out many things, new questions had arisen in her heart.
"Well, about that, Fíliya and I actually discussed something today."
Frieren spoke slowly, while Fern pricked up her ears, adopting a posture of attentive listening.
"Fíliya asked me what kind of magic I thought could represent the 'pinnacle of magic.'"
"And... how did you answer?"
Strictly speaking, Fern wasn't someone who was particularly passionate about magic. Her initial reason for learning it was simple: Heiter had said she had talent, so she began studying it so as not to disappoint her adoptive father.
But now, perhaps due to Fíliya's influence, this 'Miss Purple Eggplant' had also begun to take an interest in high-level magic.
"I said, 'I don't know, I've never considered that question.'"
Frieren's answer was, as always, very honest. After all, she was the opposite of the Demon Race in almost every way. Unlike demons, who were skilled liars, she was completely incapable of lying... Of course, there were exceptions. When fighting the Demon Race, she had no problem giving them a taste of their own medicine with lies and deception.
"Pfft... That's an answer very much in your style."
Fern finally broke free from the previous atmosphere, a smile appearing on her face.
"Mm... that's what Fíliya said at the time, too. She called me a bookworm who only knows how to collect magic, not interesting at all... told me to go sit at the same table as Serie... That's a huge misunderstanding. Serie is the blockhead who only knows how to collect magic and fight. I'm actually very good at analyzing and developing magic..."
As she spoke, Frieren's tone couldn't help but carry a hint of resentment.
"Serie?"
But Fern could only blink blankly upon hearing this unfamiliar name.
After all, she was a half-self-taught mage. Growing up, she had hardly any contact with others of her kind besides Frieren... so many concepts that were common knowledge to modern mages were exceptionally new to Fern.
"Mm... she's a very powerful elven mage. In your case, Fern, you'll probably meet her soon."
Frieren said, looking at Fern with a proud expression. She had complete faith in this apprentice of hers.
"Very strong... Stronger than you, Lady Frieren?"
"Of course, much stronger."
"Is that so... The world of magic... it's truly interesting."
The curve of Fern's lips tilted up a little more.
"So, after hearing your answer, what was Fíliya's reaction?"
Snapping out of her reflective state, Fern immediately pursued her curiosity and asked the question.
"She said, 'Creating matter? Annihilating matter? Knowing the past, seeing the present, predicting the future? Controlling time, space? Or perhaps omniscience, omnipotence, immortality? No, no, no, in my view, these are just synonyms for 'powerful.' The pinnacle of magic should be something simpler, more direct.'"
"'That is, to make people feel happy, to let them find happiness. That is the highest state of magic.'"
Frieren said this with one hand on her hip, her tone slightly arrogant, as she was deliberately imitating Fíliya's demeanor at the time.
"Pfft... Lady Fíliya is quite the eccentric, isn't she... According to her theory, wouldn't any child who has just learned a bit of magic have already reached the 'pinnacle'? After all, children who have just learned magic are the happiest and most fortunate people."
Fern covered her mouth and chuckled. She found it particularly amusing; every time she elevated Miss Fíliya to a grand height in her mind, Miss Fíliya would personally do something to lower her evaluation.
Frieren also shook her head with a wry smile, expressing her exasperation with Fíliya.
"Yes, every time you think she's about to make some profound statement, it always ends up like this..."
Fern said, a light of admiration twinkling in her eyes.
"But... it's precisely because Lady Fíliya holds such a wondrous ideal that she can create such an incredibly gentle magic, I suppose."
"'Gentle'... you're right. A magic that allows lost memories to reappear... it certainly deserves to be called 'gentle.'"
As Frieren spoke, a memory from that afternoon resurfaced in her mind.
After completing Fern's birthday gift, Fíliya had, of course, pestered Frieren with a question.
"Hey, Frieren, want me to record Himmel's voice in the book too? If you just beg me a little, I'd be more than happy to oblige."
Frieren felt she wouldn't forget Fíliya's arrogant expression at that moment even in another hundred or two hundred years.
So, at the time, she had given Fíliya two very forceful elbow jabs to the waist.
___
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