"Why is reality so different from stories? The village is rundown and lacks charm. These guys are practically dream-crushers, aren't they?"
Grumbling about his shattered expectations, Ash scanned the surroundings, noticing a petite elf in the crowd, seemingly the strongest among them.
The elf had a graceful figure, with silky silver hair cascading to her waist, shimmering with a soft, moonlit glow.
Her delicate, pointed ears exuded an otherworldly elegance, and her emerald eyes were deep and striking, unforgettable at first glance.
Though barely five feet tall, she possessed an indescribable, dainty charm. Her every move was lively and adorable, stirring an urge to protect her.
Well, that was just his imagination, embellished from storybook elf depictions.
In reality, while she had waist-length silver hair, long ears, and emerald eyes, she was tiny and flat-chested.
Her only merit was being somewhat cute, but she was a loli, and he wasn't into that. As expected, it didn't match his hopes.
As he sulked, the elf noticed his gaze, approached, and frowned. "Who are you? Why are you sighing at me?"
"Just a passerby." He sighed again. "I was just thinking of something sad. Don't mind me. I'm a good guy."
"Really?"
"Yup."
"Actually a good guy? Your aura's odd, and your killing intent is obvious." She pointed at his face, bluntly asking, "You're a fugitive, aren't you?"
"Do I look like one?"
"Don't know. Maybe?"
"I'm actually a kingdom general."
"Then why are you here?"
"I deserted."
"Deserted?" The elf girl widened her eyes slightly, surprised. "So, a fugitive? Why?"
"Because I want to learn magic."
"Learn magic? You seem pretty strong among humans, though I haven't seen many."
"You seem strong too. Can you teach me magic?"
Though she wasn't as strong as the last two he'd met, as a long-lived elf, she likely had unique magic. Ash pulled out two gold coins. "This is payment. Good enough?"
She glanced at his coins, shaking her head slowly. "We don't use money here."
"That's troublesome."
"But you can trade with hunted game."
"Hunting? I'm good at that." He smiled, extending his hand. "I'm Ash. You?"
"Frieren."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Frieren."
"Mm."
Frieren nodded coolly, heading toward a stone house without intending to say more.
Though a bit disappointed, he didn't mind much, just troubled about what to do next.
But Frieren paused, looking back. "What are you standing there for?"
"Uh, I'm wondering what I should do now."
"Come here."
"?"
"Edna's house has been empty for a while. She won't be back before you die, so you can use it for now." Frieren pointed to a vine-covered building.
"That's a dramatic way to put it. How long is 'a while'?"
"Thirty years or so?"
"That's quite a while."
Her casual mention, like talking about a ten-day trip, made him click his tongue. He glanced around, asking, "By the way, you all seem free. Why not fix up these houses?"
"They'll break down again in a while. Too much hassle. As long as they don't leak, it's fine."
"How long is 'a while'? Never mind, I can guess."
He rubbed his forehead, adjusting his thoughts.
Though a long-lived species himself, he couldn't yet adapt to the elves' unique sense of time. Still, he settled temporarily in this not-quite-hospitable elf village.
Since elves in this world were broadly considered human and sometimes called themselves such, they weren't hostile to humans.
Their long lives and magic studies made this village, unlike the first human one he encountered, surprisingly well-off, or at least not starving.
But deep in the mountains, gourmet food was out of the question.
"I didn't expect elves to be so good at barbecuing."
"Because we're free." Frieren's listless, obvious answer was reasonable yet begged for a retort.
His hesitant look made her raise an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"
"Nothing. Just hoping I can adjust here soon."
"No point. You'll leave soon."
"Really?"
"Everyone who comes here does. No one stays over a hundred years."
"They die, don't they?"
"Oh, maybe?" Frieren, with a slightly emotionless tone, stared at the fire, musing. "Human lives are so short. They die before you get to know them."
"Seriously, how slow to warm up are you?"
"What's slow to warm up?"
"It's... forget it." Feeling human slow-to-warm and hers were different, Ash dropped the pointless topic, asking instead, "Can I ask when you'll teach me magic?"
"After a rest."
"Let me confirm, how long is your 'rest'?"
"Thirty years?" Frieren answered casually, estimating. "Thirty years should be enough to settle in and start learning properly, right?"
"Are you serious?" He gaped, but Frieren looked puzzled. "Why would I lie?"
"I suddenly want to hit someone."
"Huh? You violent?" Frieren backed away, regretting giving him a place to stay.
Her wary stance made him rub his forehead, suppressing his boiling emotions to avoid smacking her. "Not that! You're the weird one! Normally, in thirty years, I could master C programming language from start to grave!"
"What's that language? Sounds weird."
He couldn't explain C programming and fell silent, clutching his face, dreading future interactions and life in this village.
Though a long-lived species, he couldn't yet handle this vastly different sense of time.
But having come this far, leaving felt like a waste. During dinner, he insisted on starting magic lessons tomorrow.
The next day, at the agreed time, Frieren didn't show. He went to her hut, opened the door, and saw...
"What's this?"
The silver-haired elf's lower half was on the bed, upper half dangling off, face pressed to the floor, as if propping herself up. It looked painful.
Stunned, he crouched beside Frieren, poking her cheek. "Wake up, Frieren. The sun's up."
No response.
"Hey."
Still nothing.
"Dead?"
Frieren's lack of reaction gave him a headache. He flicked her long ear.
Still no response.
"Not waking even now? Fine." After a moment, he grabbed her ankle, lifting her.
The ageless, loli-sized elf hung upside down.
Gravity pulled her white skirt, revealing plain white underwear as simple as her clothes.
"I've wondered why this era has underwear. Wait, should I be wondering why this elf's underwear is showing and she still doesn't react? Are all elves like this?"
Staring at the plain fabric, feeling no allure, he grew more exasperated.
No matter how he shook her, the elf stayed unresponsive, making him question the elf species.
But a speechless voice interrupted. "It's not that. Frieren just loves sleeping in."
"This is just sleeping in? First time I've seen someone this lazy." He turned to see a plainly dressed elf girl in a dark cloak, more mature-looking than Frieren, standing at the door.
"First time meeting?" She studied him curiously.
"Sort of. I'm Ash. You?"
"Millialde. Nice to meet you."
"Is it? Your name's a bit long. Can I call you Milli?"
"It's not long. Your name's too short."
"Speaking of, do you know magic?"
"This topic jumped fast, didn't it?"
"I think it's fine."
"Before that..." Milli tilted her head, eyeing Frieren, still upside down in his hand, eyes closed. "Shouldn't you put Frieren down? Her face is red."
"It's red, so she should be awake, right?"
"She is, but doesn't want to get up."
"Why? Her underwear's showing."
Milli pointed out, expressionless, "She's never left here, so she's oblivious to that. And to us, you're like a three-year-old."
"What a hassle. Such weird people."
"True, for a human, she might be odd." Milli glanced at Frieren, then back at him. "But for a human, your actions are odd too, right?"
"Back to my question, do you know magic?"
"You circled back?"
"It's important."
"You're interesting."
"Can you not dodge the topic?"
"Well, put her down first."