Journey to Godhood Begins in Frieren

"What's with this place? We've been sitting here forever and they haven't even brought us tea. Are they looking down on us or something?"

"I‑I'm terribly sorry! I'll bring the tea right away!"

"Wiz, ignore her. And you—stop messing around."

Shichen called out to Wiz and gave Aqua's cheeks a firm pinch.

This guy really treated Wiz badly. It wasn't enough that he sprawled in his chair like a hoodlum; he even tried to bully her.

Then again, the two of them were natural enemies, and Wiz certainly looked easy to pick on.

"Shichen, what's your problem? Why are you siding with an outsider? Do you have feelings for her or something? If you like her, I can help—let's take her down together!"

"Take down your head!"

Shichen smacked her on the forehead.

"Ow—‑‑!"

"Pay no attention to her, Wiz."

"R‑really? You're not going to do anything to me?"

Wiz asked timidly, staring at Shichen.

"...How did you reach that conclusion?" he sighed.

"B‑because you seem so friendly toward me. But I'm a lich, you know."

"That's true," Megumin nodded solemnly beside Shichen.

"From the moment you two met, he's been unusually kind to you. It's only natural to suspect he's after something. But you're a lich—ordinary people avoid you. Therefore the only possible reason is—your figure!"

Megumin thrust a finger at the proud curves hidden beneath Wiz's robe, looking as though the mystery had been solved.

"F‑f‑figure…? I‑is that really it?"

Wiz blushed, glancing anxiously at Shichen.

"...Sorry. It isn't."

He answered with a blank face.

"Really…?"

Wiz wilted in disappointment.

"Hey! Why the long face?" Megumin shouted, annoyed.

"E‑even if I'm a lich, I'd still like someone to like me… And I'm not getting any younger—I've never even been in love…"

Wiz cupped her cheeks shyly.

"Ha! A mere lich daring to feel romantic? How bold! I'll purify you—"

"Ouch! Shichen, why'd you hit me?"

Aqua puffed out her cheeks, looking aggrieved.

"Quit fooling around. We're here on business, remember?"

Shichen withdrew his hand, exhausted.

"Business? What business?"

"...This is a Magic Item Shop. What else would we be doing? I already told you why we came—weren't you listening?"

"You never let me listen!"

"Whatever… Just keep quiet for a bit."

"Then what about this lich?"

"She's not threatening anyone. Why do you care?"

"Impossible! A lich is always a threat! And this is human territory—she's running a shop right here. Of course she has ulterior motives!"

"Exactly! I agree with Aqua!" Megumin chimed in.

Shichen glanced over; Yunyun and the others were busy examining the merchandise and paid them no mind.

"So, Wiz, do you have some ulterior motive for opening a shop here?"

"Huh? A motive? Does… making money count?"

Wiz asked hesitantly.

"Why ask me?"

"Because I… I just wanted to open a store, nothing special."

She paused.

"I get it! You're trying to swindle money from humans to fund the Demon King! Unforgivable! I'll purify you right now!"

Without another thought Aqua lunged at Wiz.

"No, please! That's not it—I'm not funding the Demon King, and I've never harmed humans! It's true I'm a Demon King general, but only in name!"

"You're… what?"

Aqua froze.

"Ah—" Wiz realized she had blurted it out.

The shop fell silent; one could hear a pin drop.

Yunyun and the others set aside their curiosity and turned to Wiz.

A Demon King general—second only to the Demon King himself in threat level—humanity's sworn enemy!

After a moment's hush, Aqua snapped back to her senses and dove at Wiz.

"Quick, someone grab her!"

"Wait! Miss Aqua—Lady Aqua! Please hear me out first!"

Pinned beneath Aqua, Wiz could only beg, but Aqua ignored her, wiping imaginary sweat from her brow and looking triumphant at Shichen.

"Shichen, I caught a Demon King general! We'll get a hefty reward, right? We can buy a house with it, can't we?"

"Nope." Shichen spread his hands, smiling.

"Eh? Why not?"

"Because there's no bounty on Wiz. Catching her is worth nothing."

"W‑what…?"

Aqua turned to Darkness in disbelief.

"Is he telling the truth?"

"It's true," Darkness nodded.

"None of the wanted Demon King generals are named Wiz—or described as a lich."

"How could that be…?"

Aqua's strength drained away; she let go of Wiz and muttered, "Why are you so useless? Aren't you a lich?"

"I‑I can't help it…" Wiz protested weakly.

"You're not lying about your name, are you? Maybe you're not actually Wiz?"

"I‑I really am Wiz. I'm a lich and a Demon King general, but it's just nominal. Aside from maintaining the castle barrier, I've never done anything for the Demon King!" Wiz explained frantically.

"I don't get it, but you're still a lich. Maybe I should just finish you off first."

"No, please!"

"All right, that's enough. You're scaring Miss Wiz," Shichen said, amused, and pulled Aqua back.

"Hmph! I'm not scaring her."

"Let's get the facts straight, okay? Be good."

"…Fine."

"Miss Wiz, you really haven't harmed humans?"

"Never!" Wiz shook her head vigorously.

"Then what's this barrier you mentioned?"

"I know about that," Darkness broke in.

"Around the Demon King's castle, there's a protective barrier no human can breach."

"So you're protecting the castle?" Kazuma asked.

"I‑I'm only doing it at the Demon King's request… Besides, other generals maintain the barrier now; I'm hardly involved anymore."

"Does that mean we can't defeat the Demon King unless we deal with Miss Wiz first?" Kazuma continued.

"Is that so?" Aqua eyed Wiz, ready to pounce again.

"Wait! Please wait!" Wiz cried.

"With Lady Aqua's power, if only two or three generals remain on the barrier, she can break through easily! There are eight generals in total—just take out the others. I don't want to die; I still have things to do!"

"…You're really that afraid of dying? And you're telling us to take out your comrades? Aren't you on the same side?" Aqua looked at her oddly.

"I‑I don't want to be a general either… hu‑hu‑wu‑‑"

Wiz actually squatted down and started to sob.

"Hey, why are you crying? I didn't lay a hand on her! You all saw that—she started crying by herself," Aqua said, distancing herself.

"Okay, okay, don't cry. Relax—no one here wants to eliminate you," Shichen knelt in front of her, soothingly.

"R‑really?" Wiz raised her teary eyes.

"Of course. Right, Aqua?"

"Hmph." Aqua turned away but didn't deny it.

"See?"

"Mr. Shichen, you're such a good person." Wiz smiled through her tears.

"I'm good, but don't call me a good person."

"Just ignore him," Aqua explained.

"He likes to say weird things."

"Oh."

Shichen let out a long breath and grinned.

"Good, everything's calmed down. Let's get back to business."

"Business?" Wiz tilted her head in confusion.

"We came to a Magic Item Shop. What else?"

"Oh! Welcome, then!"

"First, show us what interesting items you have."

"Of course! Right this way."

Wiz led them to the shelves and enthusiastically introduced her stock.

"This potion bottle explodes when subjected to a strong impact; this bottle explodes as soon as it's opened; this one explodes on contact with water; and this one explodes when heated…"

"Why does everything explode? That's way too dangerous!" Kazuma couldn't help complaining.

"Because these are all from my Explosion series—"

"I‑I'm kind of interested! Can I buy a few?" Darkness asked Shichen excitedly.

"Heh‑heh—of course… not!"

"Aw, come on…"

~~~

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