An axe crashed heavily to the ground.
Sitting on the ground in a completely ungraceful manner, Stark gasped for air, his chest rising and falling violently. His sweat-soaked clothes clung to him, making him look as if he had just been pulled out of a river.
Beside him, the remains of a dozen monsters were slowly dissipating.
"Hah… hah… it's finally over…"
It had been twenty-nine years since Hero Himmel's passing. Aesc and her companions were currently in a forest within the Northern Plateau.
The monsters here were far stronger and far more numerous than those outside the plateau. Even for Aesc and the others, caution was a necessity.
Not just Stark—Fern wasn't in the best condition either. Sustaining such high-intensity combat for long periods was incredibly exhausting.
"There shouldn't be any more fights like this ahead. We'll be reaching Moluff soon, after all."
Frieren's expression remained as impassive as ever, as if she didn't feel tired in the slightest. "Among the cities in the Northern Plateau, Moluff is one of the most peaceful."
"So we finally have a proper place to rest?"
Stark's face lit up in relief. "That's great…"
They hadn't had a decent rest in days.
Though they had passed through two villages along the way, both had already been ravaged by monsters before their arrival. Not only had they been unable to rest, but they had also been forced to exterminate the remaining monsters to protect the surviving villagers.
Fortunately, the monsters that attacked those villages had only destroyed the buildings—they hadn't been particularly focused on killing or eating people. In that sense, the villagers were lucky. After Aesc and the others wiped out the threats, the survivors still had the ability to rebuild.
"Moluff, huh…"
"Hm? What is it, Lady Aesc?"
Seeing Aesc rubbing her chin in thought, Fern tilted her head curiously.
But Aesc simply gave a knowing smile and said, "Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking… Moluff has had two rather remarkable city lords."
They continued their journey, and just as Frieren had said, they didn't encounter a single monster along the way.
As the sun began to set, they finally arrived at Moluff.
The city's wide, stone-paved streets were large enough for two carriages to pass side by side. The people walking the streets all had smiles on their faces.
"This place has changed a lot since the last time I was here," Frieren remarked as she took in the bustling scene around them.
"Lady Frieren, did you come here before with Lord Himmel and the others?"
"I did."
Frieren nodded. "The city lord at the time… well, he was capable, to some extent. But he was way too overbearing. We ended up spending most of our time in this city inside a prison cell. He even said he'd have us executed for being disrespectful."
"That's insanely dangerous!"
Stark looked horrified.
"Don't worry, he was only joking. He wouldn't have actually beheaded us."
Aesc casually inserted herself into the conversation. "But honestly, I have wondered before—could Eisen's head even be cut off?"
Falling from a hundred-meter height without a scratch, breaking swords and axes with his skin, getting bitten on the head by a dragon only for the dragon to spit him out because it couldn't chew through him—
Thinking about Eisen's past feats, Aesc truly doubted whether beheading would have any effect on him.
"Himmel himself was sent to the guillotine once for arguing with the king," Frieren added. "Heiter was terrified back then."
It had happened right at the start of their journey. "At the time, I genuinely thought our quest to defeat the Demon King would end before it even started."
Now that they had finally arrived in a city where they could rest, Aesc and the others planned to stay for a while—both to explore and to stock up on supplies.
They spent their first night in Moluff at an inn.
The next day, it was Frieren's turn to go out and handle the shopping. She accepted the task without protest. Since she had been to Moluff before, she believed she was quite familiar with the city.
And then…
She got lost.
"It's only been seventy-something years. How did everything change so much?"
Frieren couldn't wrap her head around it.
Just then, a raspy voice spoke up from behind her.
"Good day, Elf lady. Are you in some sort of trouble?"
Frieren turned around to see an elderly man leaning on a cane. His face was lined with deep wrinkles, his nearly-shut eyes barely visible beneath his drooping eyelids, and his long, snow-white beard reached all the way to his chest.
"If you're having trouble with something, feel free to tell me. Perhaps I can be of some help," the old man offered.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Frieren decided to explain her situation.
"I remember there used to be a shop around here that sold all kinds of adventuring supplies. It had a pretty good selection. But now I can't seem to find it."
"Ah… You must be talking about Igwin's shop. That place closed over forty years ago. After Igwin passed away, his son moved to another city, and the shop was sold off."
"I see… That's a shame."
Though she said it was a pity, Frieren's expression barely changed. She had seen this kind of thing too many times before.
"In that case, is there another store like it? I need to buy the items on this list."
As she spoke, Frieren showed the shopping list Fern had given her to the old man.
"Hmm… These are all fairly common items. Shouldn't be too hard to find."
The old man stroked his beard thoughtfully and said, "I happen to know a shop where you can get most of these. I can take you there."
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"
Frieren hesitated for a moment. Looking at the old man, she estimated he had to be at least eighty years old—quite a long life for a human.
But to her surprise, the old man let out a hearty laugh.
"Haha, no trouble at all. I was planning to wander around the city anyway. Guiding you won't get in the way of that."
"I spent my younger days buried in work. But now, I've passed all that onto my son. I finally have free time—so much of it, in fact, that I often don't know what to do with myself."
"Besides, when it comes to knowing this city, I doubt there's anyone more familiar with it than me."
"Don't worry about me. I'm still strong as ever… You'd be surprised how long people can live after they grow old."
At those final words, Frieren's eyes trembled slightly.
In the end, she chose not to refuse the old man's offer.
"Then, follow me, Elf lady. I'll take you where you need to go. It shouldn't take too much of your time."
"My name is Frieren," she corrected him.
The old man blinked in mild surprise.
"…I see. Frieren, huh… That's a beautiful name."
Lowering his head slightly, he seemed lost in thought for a moment.
"…Call me Vorm," he finally said.
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T/N: idk the names... if you do comment them down so i can fix! (i tried researching but no cigar)