Led by Frieren, Fíliya arrived at the inn rented by her party.
Along the way, everyone seemed to have tacitly chosen silence... It wasn't until they entered the room that Fíliya stepped forward to break this strange atmosphere.
"Alright, I'll lay my cards on the table. They are the 'Demon companions' I mentioned. That purple one is 'Aura the Guillotine', whom you've met. Sigh, I just wanted to take them around a human city, but I ran into a big boss right off the bat."
Fíliya spoke, curling her lips in unhappiness.
Hearing her identity exposed, Aura instantly assumed a combat stance, but fortunately... no one paid her any attention.
"I thought as much."
Frieren nodded; after all, everything was within her expectations. Unlike her, the two little ones beside her wore expressions as if their worldviews had shattered upon hearing Fíliya say the three behind her were demons.
Although they had sensed something wrong along the way, the fact that Fíliya actually brought demons into a human city was still a bit too mind-blowing for them.
"B-But... they don't have horns, and they don't look like demons at all... Aren't demons supposed to have those dead, lifeless eyes and feel naturally 'inhuman'?"
Fern immediately voiced her confusion.
"Umu, credit for that should go to my good teaching."
Fíliya puffed out her chest proudly at this.
"As for how their demon traits are hidden, I actually developed a magic that helps them conceal their identities. You've seen the effect; it's perfect, right?"
Fíliya said, a smile rising on her face again.
"Indeed... the effect of this magic can be said to be perfect. Even I couldn't see through it and only found flaws through subtle clues... Fíliya, could you be any more talented?"
Frieren said, looking at Fíliya with displeasure.
"Mmhmm, say more, I love hearing this kind of praise."
Fíliya responded with a playful grin.
"Tsk, you really think I'm praising you? You actually dared to create such dangerous magic... Have you thought about the serious consequences if every demon learned this technique? If powerful demons used your magic to infiltrate human society, destroying it from within or starting a massacre... you would become a genuine 'traitor to humanity'."
Frieren spoke grumpily, though she was genuinely worried about Fíliya.
"Relax. I used 'Transfer Magic' to gift the disguise magic to the three of them, ignoring the learning conditions. Given the demons' impoverished imagination, they can't understand the principles of this magic at all, nor can they imagine the visual of 'themselves becoming human.' Without Transfer Magic, it's impossible for them to learn it on their own. The thing you're worried about won't happen."
Fíliya explained to Frieren in a calm tone.
At this, Frieren raised her eyebrows slightly, then revealed an expression of sudden realization.
"I see... you used 'Transfer Magic'. To think there's another busybody besides Serie in this world who would learn such magic."
After showing that 'understood' expression, Frieren fell directly into silence. After appearing to think for a short while, she took off her shoes and climbed onto the bed right under everyone's gaze, then burrowed into her quilt and closed her eyes.
"Can you all leave? I want to lie down for a bit."
Frieren's expression even became somewhat impatient as she directly started shooing people away.
"Hah? That's it? I thought you would say some words of dissuasion, Frieren... Moreover, there are three demons right here. In the name of 'Frieren the Slayer', are you just going to let it go?"
Frieren's behavior left Fíliya somewhat baffled.
"Otherwise? What can I do but let it go? You are the type who only insists on your own way regardless of how others advise you... Not to mention me, even Sense probably can't persuade you, right?"
Frieren opened her eyes, glared at Fíliya with a look of disgust, and then continued.
"Even Serie has tacitly approved of your raising demons... And what do you want me to do? Fight you? A slaughter? Two Greater Demons, plus you who can pose a threat to me... Spare me. I don't want to die here. I can't beat you, and I can't reason with you. Let's just leave it at this and pretend nothing happened, okay?"
Frieren's tone began to turn somewhat resentful.
Pretend nothing happened... That seems like a pretty good ending.
Fíliya sighed lightly, then gave Frieren a grateful look. After exchanging glances with Fern and Stark, she turned to leave.
"Wait a minute."
Just then, Frieren suddenly called out to her again.
Fíliya hurriedly turned around and met Frieren's extremely serious gaze.
"Fíliya... I'm too lazy to bicker about other things, but... I really want to remind you of one issue. I feel you should be able to notice this problem yourself, so I don't know if you've neglected it or chosen to ignore it... Anyway, I'm going to say it."
Frieren observed Fíliya's expression. Fíliya's face remained calm with a trace of elegance, as if she already knew what Frieren wanted to say.
"Huu..."
Frieren took a deep breath.
"Fíliya, looking at it now, you have indeed achieved something amazing... being able to restrain existences at the level of Greater Demons so they no longer commit evil. But have you ever thought about it? You... are a human. You will die, and you will die very soon... Sorry for being so blunt."
"Even if you can always restrain and manage them well, what about... after you die? Once you die, can you guarantee they won't do bad things? For us long-lived species, your human lives are truly too short... If they revert to their original nature after your death, do you have a way to stop it? In the end... your approach, your ideal... is bound to fail."
Frieren pointed this out without mercy.
At the same time, her words awakened another person present—Solitär.
Because 'Fíliya's' death was something Solitär had been unwilling to imagine or think about.
It wasn't until Frieren pointed this out that she finally felt a sense of... emptiness and dead silence, as if her heart were constantly falling.
Fíliya would die... and given a human lifespan, she would die very quickly... No, this was absolutely unacceptable.
Solitär's mind became exceptionally active in that instant.
Methods to help humans extend their lives... there seemed to be a few, but none of those means came without a painful price... Fíliya might become neither human nor ghost, or even lose her dignity as a human... Could Fíliya accept such an end?
Solitär thought anxiously, and Fíliya evidently noticed her emotional change.
Thus, Fíliya held Solitär's hand again and squeezed it slightly harder, injecting a trace of warmth into her despondent mood.
"Mn, you are very right. No matter what degree of success is achieved in life... once death comes, it's very easy for all efforts to be wasted... So my answer is also only one."
Fíliya looked calmly at Frieren.
"That is to finish everything before my life ends, achieving a solution once and for all."
...Frieren found it incredible, wondering why this human youngster was always so confident, confident to the point of arrogance.
"Are you that sure?"
Frieren couldn't help but ask.
"Umu... actually, I have no assurance at all. So, if I fail, I'll just have to trouble you. When that time comes and it's a mess, I'll have to rely on 'Frieren the Slayer' to clean it up, right? No one else has that ability."
Fíliya chuckled lightly as she looked at Frieren.
What... No assurance at all?! daring to spout wild words without any assurance, just what kind of person is this!
Frieren looked at the other party with a shocked expression, then let out a sigh.
"Tsk, truly arrogant and willful, planning to reserve trouble for me decades in advance?"
"Mn, exactly. I, Fíliya, am just a willful, arrogant, and unreasonable fellow."
Contrary to Frieren's unhappiness, Miss Fíliya appeared exceptionally happy.
"Che... Too lazy to deal with you! I'm going to sleep."
Seeing this, Frieren rolled over on the bed in anger, completely wrapping herself in the quilt.
____
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