Frieren: Demon of Domination

"Worried about me..."

"Teacher, why would you say such a thing?"

Because he had suggested wanting to get off the ride early—

The Hero of the South, who was directly refused by Agusheed with 'I'm worried about you,' looked rather helplessly at his teacher who was sneering at him.

"I just told you the owner of the Hero's Sword is still alive, and you immediately want to get off here—"

"Guess whether I know what you want to do?"

Of course, the Hero of the South wanting to get off after learning the Hero's Sword's owner was still alive wasn't to find that person.

Because with his 'future sight,' he was very clear.

Since he had seen that person's figure in the future but hadn't discovered their identity,

That meant they had made the same choice as Agusheed and Serie.

They wouldn't interfere with anything, much less choose to defeat the Demon King.

—So finding them would be meaningless.

The future the Hero of the South had chosen was still undoubtedly the optimal solution.

The reason he wanted to get off early

Was simply because after learning of the Hero's Sword owner's existence, he wanted to make some minor adjustments to the details of the arrangements he'd made for his affairs.

Regarding this, Agusheed's attitude was—

"Unnecessary."

"I know full well the outcome you hope to achieve—"

"If there really are any deviations in the details later, I'll personally help you correct them then."

"So now, just stay here obediently and don't do unnecessary things."

Since his teacher had personally said he would help handle his affairs,

The Hero of the South had no reason to disagree with Agusheed's request.

Rather, he had said that from the beginning to get Agusheed's promise.

And Agusheed had also guessed his disciple's true intention,

So he simply accommodated his wishes.

After all, to him, these were all just small matters.

Indulging him a little wouldn't hurt.

This was what Agusheed thought.

And having received his teacher's promise, the Hero of the South naturally moved past the previous topic.

While following Agusheed's steps, he occasionally asked questions to keep him company.

Some of these were things the Hero of the South already knew, and some were things he was currently curious about.

For example—

"Teacher, is the owner of the Hero's Sword an elf?"

The Hero's Sword had a previous owner—

And that owner was still alive today...

Excluding demons and dwarves whose lifespans were also relatively short,

Elves became the only choice in the Hero of the South's mind.

Combined with the moss-covered stone sculpture he had seen on Roya Boulevard in the northern nations,

And the elf monk in his future visions who looked exactly like the hero in that sculpture—

The Hero of the South had almost instantly identified the Hero's Sword owner.

And Agusheed's tacit acknowledgment confirmed his speculation.

"You should have seen him in your 'future sight,' and should have seen his sculpture during your travels."

Agusheed unconsciously rotated the ring on his hand, softly responding to his disciple's speculation.

"But since he's long been forgotten, plus he almost never takes action—"

"That's probably why you didn't recognize his identity before..."

Even my thoughts were completely replicated one-to-one—

Should I say 'as expected of my teacher'?

The Hero of the South chuckled, then continued gathering information from Agusheed.

"Teacher, do you know the owner of the Hero's Sword?"

"I know him, but our relationship is quite ordinary, so don't expect me to know much about him."

Despite saying this, the Hero of the South detected a rare hint of nostalgia in his teacher's voice.

And Agusheed clearly wasn't trying to hide this.

He straightforwardly told his disciple about his relationship with that elf monk.

"If I had to say, we could barely be considered friends."

"It's just that guy is very mysterious, even more reclusive than Serie."

"Other than seeing him travel with a monk while wielding that Hero's Sword long ago—"

"And later having a few interactions with him during my journey to Aureole with Flamme—"

"I know nothing about anything else, including his age and the great deeds he once accomplished."

Not even knowing his age—

That was indeed excessively mysterious.

Although curious about what kind of great deeds this owner of the Hero's Sword had accomplished,

Since even his teacher knew nothing about it, the Hero of the South didn't delve deeper.

However, there was one question he was troubled by and that Agusheed definitely knew the answer to.

"Then Teacher, do you know how strong he is?"

Finally, the Hero of the South asked this question he cared about most.

And Agusheed gave his disciple a straightforward answer.

"Stronger than you."

"That's quite hurtful... Teacher..."

"It's the truth."

"Could you be more specific?"

More specific...

Agusheed was silent for a moment, and after a few breaths of thought,

The Hero of the South heard his teacher's low and solemn voice.

"It's hard to say more specifically since I've never fought him at full strength."

"What about just based on feeling?"

"Just based on feeling..."

Agusheed raised his head and slowly closed his eyes.

"He probably isn't much weaker than the three of us—the Demon King, Serie, and myself."

That is to say—

He's undoubtedly one of the world's peak combat forces...

Thinking that such a person also chose not to interfere with worldly affairs like his teacher,

The Hero of the South sighed with some feeling.

"How troublesome. Whether it's you, Teacher, or that owner of the Hero's Sword..."

"As one of the few beings in this world who could possibly defeat the Demon King one-on-one—"

"Yet both refuse to do so for your various reasons..."

"Could this be some curse that comes with being too powerful?"

Curse—

This explanation rarely earned some agreement from Agusheed.

"There might really be such a possibility."

Reaching the end of the bluestone path, Agusheed faced the sunlight and spoke to his disciple behind him.

He extended his hand, listing examples including himself one by one.

"The curse of 'War' makes Serie unable to imagine a world without war."

"The curse of 'Love' makes me unable to survive in a world without Flamme."

"And the curse of 'Forgetting' makes that guy retreat into a world of faith in the goddess."

"Looking at it this way—"

"The possibility that 'being too powerful results in being unable to defeat the Demon King due to curses' is almost one hundred percent..."

'War'—

'Love'—

'Forgetting'—

The reasons why Serie and Agusheed couldn't defeat the Demon King—

The Hero of the South had known from the beginning and could understand their respective choices.

But the elf monk's reason left him somewhat speechless.

"'Forgetting'..."

This should have been the least problematic issue for a hero to worry about.

Yet the Hero of the South couldn't make any judgment about that elf monk's choice.

Because for elves—

Nothing was a more cruel curse than 'Forgetting.'

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