"I should be the one saying that. It's been half a year, so why are you guys still wandering around the edge of the Northern Plateau...? Honestly."
Since it was unavoidable, Miss Fíliya quickly adjusted her mindset and chatted with Frieren quite naturally.
"Because we are enjoying the journey, you know? If Fern hadn't kept urging me to get moving, I might not have even entered the Northern Plateau by now."
Frieren spoke slowly while glancing in Fern's direction. At this moment, Fern and Stark also caught up. Upon seeing it was Fíliya, they both greeted her.
"Fern... you really have done a terrible thing."
Just as Fern leaned in to greet Fíliya, Fíliya immediately took a deep breath, then pressed her hands onto Fern's shoulders with an expression of deep heartache.
"? Did I do something wrong?"
Fern's expression looked slightly startled.
"Uh... No, no, I really shouldn't blame you. If I have to say, I can only blame myself. Forget it..."
Fíliya's distressed appearance made Fern feel it was particularly amusing, as such an expression rarely appeared on Fíliya's face, so she hurriedly asked.
"How come you are here, Fíliya?"
"That's right. I thought the next time we met, you would have turned directly into a white-haired old lady, Fíliya."
Frieren added at this moment, but the instant she finished speaking, she was glared at by Fern with a look of disgust.
"Mistress Frieren, if you don't know how to speak, you don't have to."
"Uh... Okay, sorry."
Frieren shrank back sheepishly; she seemed to have realized the problem with her words.
After all, since defeating the Demon King, she had returned to a life of solitary travel. Although she made a promise with her old companions to 'watch that major meteor shower 50 years later,' when she met them again after fifty years, her two human companions had already become people on the verge of death.
Even though it was merely a fleeting moment to her, it was enough for humans to undergo tremendous changes. This was the first time she gained a profound understanding of the cruelty of time. It wasn't until she shed tears at Hero Himmel's funeral that she felt regret for the first time—regret that she hadn't tried to understand him more.
But it was precisely that memory, etched in her bones and filled with remorse, that truly planted the seed of 'cherishing the people before you' in her heart.
This is perhaps the reason why she likes to 'delay the itinerary' in this new round of travel.
Coming back to reality from her memories, Frieren took a deep breath, then looked at Fíliya again.
"Anyway, I am very happy to see you again, Fíliya."
"Mn, me too."
Fíliya smiled and nodded at Frieren. She also liked this white-haired, twin-tailed elven senior sister very much. The only thing that gave her a headache was Frieren's attitude toward the Demon Race.
Mn... After all, she often had disagreements, and even arguments, with Frieren because of topics regarding the Demon Race.
"By the way, you haven't said what you're doing here. And who are those behind you?"
As Frieren spoke, she leaned her head out slightly, wanting to carefully identify the three fellows behind Fíliya.
Sigh, what must come will come... Fíliya sighed slowly in her heart, then also looked behind her.
Ever since Frieren leaned over, those three demons had hidden behind Miss Fíliya one after another, stacking up like dominoes.
"They are my... uh, newly met teammates. This is Solitär, this is Li... A... Sss..."
At first, Miss Fíliya tried to struggle a bit, but she soon turned into a crestfallen state.
Solitär and Linie were easy to explain. Linie was a minor character, so Frieren naturally wouldn't know her. Although Solitär had once encountered Frieren, according to Solitär herself, she had only hidden and assisted from the sidelines back then... Furthermore, she was a member of the Demon Race who was extremely good at hiding herself, so Frieren shouldn't have any impression of her.
But Aura... There seemed to be no way this lump of stuff could hide from Frieren, right?
'Aura the Guillotine' had engaged the Hero Party head-on; it was impossible for Frieren to have no impression of this face.
Moreover... as Aura watched Fíliya's hand gradually point toward her, her head shook like a rattle drum immediately, and her eyes were frantically signaling the other party.
No, I can't possibly say my name is Aura in front of 'Frieren the Slayer', can I? Hurry up and think of a way!
This was the message Aura wanted to convey to Miss Fíliya.
"Mn? Why did you stop talking?"
Seeing Fíliya speechless, Frieren's curiosity seemed to be ignited. She narrowed her eyes and looked toward the girl whose name Fíliya hadn't reported.
A head of long purple hair was woven into a single braid hanging behind her head. Just looking at her face, she was quite an outstanding beauty... but why was this girl's expression so nervous? And there was a faint color of fear in her eyes, as if she had seen some ferocious beast...
Am I some ferocious beast? Or rather... to her, do I look extremely like a 'ferocious beast'?
And this face, I feel like I've seen it somewhere...
Frieren revealed a sharp gaze; she felt as if she had captured something.
Because she could see that the girl named 'Solitär', as well as this purple-haired girl with the single braid, were both using means of 'Mana Concealment'. And the technique was quite exquisite; it could probably deceive the vast majority of people in this world.
It's just a pity that the person standing in front of you is me... No one understands 'Mana Concealment' better than I do.
Frieren thought to herself.
So, what exactly is the reason forcing those two girls to suppress their mana? And even though they have suppressed their mana very low, it is still at the level of a human First-Class Mage... This implies that the original mana capacity of these two girls is extremely exaggerated, at least at the level of hundreds of years of cultivation... It is simply impossible for them to be new partners Fíliya found casually.
Very well, the matter has basically come to light. It just depends on whether this girl is willing to tell me the truth.
Frieren took a deep breath, then looked at Fíliya with a calm face.
And Fíliya finally became relieved, because she had already seen everything from Frieren's expression.
"Alright, alright... Since you realized it, I won't act anymore. Can we change locations to talk?"
Fíliya looked at Frieren with a somewhat resigned expression, while simultaneously holding Solitär's palm. Because she detected that Solitär had an intention to retreat, she used this method to comfort her.
Rest assured, leave everything to me.
Fíliya first gave Solitär a look to reassure her, and then directly conveyed her words to Solitär using mental magic.
____
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