Fourth day of the winter journey—
In the study on the second floor of the castle, steaming mist slowly drifted out from the window.
The fragrance of black tea permeated the entire study.
Without a doubt—
Agusheed and Flamme were sitting together drinking afternoon tea.
Their movements and gazes were quite synchronized.
Both were using far-sight magic to observe Frieren, who was feeding the Heaven Vein Dragon.
"The Heaven Vein Dragon nearly starved to death because of her."
Holding his warm black tea, Agusheed, who had been silent for a long time, said this.
"For two whole days, the Heaven Vein Dragon didn't get a single proper meal."
"If I hadn't secretly gone to feed it every night, the Heaven Vein Dragon would have gone on strike long ago."
Flamme didn't speak. She just suppressed her laughter while looking at her helpless husband.
She drew elegant arcs in her teacup with a silver spoon, stirring the rose-colored tea—
"If that's the case, then why are you still making Frieren feed the Heaven Vein Dragon?"
Setting down her teacup, Flamme playfully poked Agusheed's face.
She drew circles on her husband's face with her finger, tilting her head as she continued:
"Although her total mana could theoretically maintain the Heaven Vein Dragon's minimum sustenance..."
"But in terms of mana control level, Frieren is completely inadequate..."
Agusheed didn't deny this point. He even provided more precise numbers.
"Indeed, Frieren's level of mana control is truly pathetic to behold."
"According to my estimates, she loses more than half her power just in the process of releasing mana."
Flamme's gaze followed Agusheed's perspective, turning once again toward Frieren.
Then she happened to see her holding up a small orb she had formed, trying to feed it to the Heaven Vein Dragon.
But not only did the Heaven Vein Dragon not accept it, it closed its eyes in exasperation.
Whoosh—
The Heaven Vein Dragon let out a heavy snort.
Although this wasn't aimed at Frieren at all—
And it wasn't because it was targeting her, but simply because the Heaven Vein Dragon was in a bad mood...
Even so, the little magic sprout was still knocked over by the residual force of the gust.
She puffed out her cheeks while rubbing her bottom, then got up and pathetically kicked the Heaven Vein Dragon's scales.
The consequences were obvious.
Since those scales were several times larger than her entire body—
The white-haired elf predictably began hopping around holding her little foot.
"Look, the current Frieren is completely hopeless..."
Moving forward and sitting on her husband's lap,
Flamme nestled in Agusheed's arms and spoke softly.
But she saw her husband shake his head.
His expression serious, he rarely took the initiative to praise that silly disciple.
"Flamme, haven't you noticed? Frieren has already improved."
Agusheed extended his hand, and under Flamme's 'interested' expression—
A tiny mana orb began to gather, mimicking the mana orb Frieren had formed a few days ago.
"Rough and crude—this was Frieren's level a few days ago."
"The Heaven Vein Dragon was purely using her mana as mouthwash back then."
Flamme touched her chin, carefully observing the mana orb in Agusheed's hand.
Then, under such close-range mana detection—
She could clearly sense that the mana orb in Agusheed's hand was beginning to change.
Subtle, almost imperceptible.
But definitely there, and it was guiding the mana orb toward a more complete state.
"This is what Frieren can do now."
"The Heaven Vein Dragon this time isn't unwilling to eat, but because this wouldn't even fill a gap between its teeth, so it's too lazy to open its mouth."
Having said this, Agusheed calmly dispersed the mana and closed his palm again.
"If I'm not mistaken, Frieren might be a genius at this."
Embracing Flamme's waist, Agusheed continued to express his views.
"Of course, although her talent doesn't even reach half of yours or mine..."
"But if she can continue like this, maybe she really could become a Great Mage in the future."
Flamme smiled slightly, then rested her head on Agusheed's shoulder.
"Those words... if you said them directly to Frieren, she would probably be very happy."
"If I told her these things, she would get a big head."
"You're still the same as always... you could praise her occasionally..."
Regarding Agusheed's consistent contradictory nature, Flamme only offered symbolic persuasion.
Then she asked the question she was curious about.
"Speaking of which, Agusheed, I didn't notice this when I was teaching Frieren..."
"How did you discover that she has talent beyond ordinary people in this area?"
After asking this question, Flamme could clearly feel that Agusheed's mood became less pleasant.
In fact, he even showed some indescribable distress.
But finally, after a long pause and a sigh—
Agusheed gave Flamme the answer to her question.
"Because of... Killing Magic."
Agusheed clearly didn't want to admit this point, but had to tell the truth.
"Among the magic I've taught Frieren, she has the highest completion rate with Killing Magic."
"In fact, you could say that this magic's compatibility with Frieren is absurdly high..."
Agusheed's words didn't immediately register with Flamme.
Because the term "Killing Magic" was too bizarre and sensitive—
Even Flamme showed a surprised expression.
"Wait, Agusheed..."
Flamme placed one hand on her forehead.
Then gave Agusheed a 'let me process this' gesture.
After several seconds of mental struggle, Flamme looked seriously at Agusheed's emotionless face.
"The Killing Magic you're talking about isn't the one I'm thinking of, is it?"
"It's exactly that one. Qual's Killing Magic."
That magic created single-handedly by Qual...
Simple and efficient at killing, requiring only mana control...
—Killing Magic
Agusheed closed his eyes, and Flamme could actually sense depression in his words.
"How ironic. My disciple happens to excel at learning Qual's magic..."
"If that guy found out, he'd probably laugh his head off."
Flamme heard her husband say this.
As if he felt that something about being a teacher had been defeated.
However...
It was natural for him to think this way.
Recalling the unbearable past between Agusheed and the Corrupt Sage Qual that he had told her about during their travels,
Flamme shook her head, a few strands of red hair gently scattering.
"This is actually a good thing, isn't it?"
"After all, who knows? In the future, Frieren might surpass Qual in Killing Magic."
Regarding Flamme's fantasy, Agusheed didn't hold much hope.
"You're always so optimistic, Flamme..."
"Qual losing to Frieren... I can't imagine such a scene—"
Flamme didn't refute her husband's words.
Because she actually had serious doubts about Frieren's talent for combat as well.
However, in the end, looking at Frieren who was still sulking with the Heaven Vein Dragon in the distance,
Flamme still lay in her husband's arms and praised her softly.
"But she's already doing quite well like this, isn't she?"
"And compared to combat, this child is actually more suited for academics."
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Powerstones?
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