A carriage drove slowly along the road. Curiously, however, there was no driver on the coachman's seat. The horses pulling it seemed to have gained a mind of their own, walking dutifully along the predetermined route without the slightest deviation.
Inside the carriage, an elf mage with long orange hair was staring out the window in sheer boredom. Then, she conjured a bouquet of pale blue flowers out of thin air to observe them closely.
If anyone else had been present, they would have instantly recognized her as the elf known as the [God of Magic], Lady Serie.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, Serie abruptly sat up a little straighter. She quickly turned the flowers in her hand into specks of light that rapidly dispersed.
"Hmm? Do you really hate letting me see your [Vulnerable] side that much? You say she's your [Most Disliked Disciple], yet you clearly remember her favorite things," a figure instantly appeared beside Serie, addressing her in a teasing tone.
"...Tch. Your growth rate has far exceeded my expectations. What is this now? Where did you learn Spatial Teleportation Magic? Could it be that you had some serendipitous encounter while I wasn't watching?"
Serie looked at the side of Fíliya's face with deep displeasure, seemingly complaining about why this girl had chosen such a moment to appear.
Oh?
Hearing this, Fíliya felt a surge of joy in her heart. In that casual exchange, this God of Magic had inadvertently exposed her own limits.
Hmm, Serie definitely wouldn't stoop to lying about such a thing... Which means...
This girl's detection range isn't actually as far as I thought, is it? While in Äußerst, she had no idea what I was doing in the Empire.
"Hehe~ So there are things even you don't know. I really thought you were omniscient and omnipotent."
A hint of a smile appeared on Fíliya's face, and her gaze toward Serie grew a bit more arrogant.
"Tch, you disrespectful brat who has no respect for her master."
Serie also expressed her disgust at Fíliya's unreliable demeanor.
"Hmm? You aren't my teacher. I remember rejecting you quite decisively back then, right?" Fíliya said as she stretched her body slightly, a look of reminiscence revealing itself in her eyes.
"Becoming a [First-Class Mage] means you have become my honorary disciple," Serie stated simply.
"?! Is that so... Is it too late for me to quit now?" Fíliya asked, feigning shock (ΩΩ).
"..."
For the first time, Serie was left slightly speechless by this girl... However, the feeling wasn't too bad. In this entire world, this young person was the only one who dared to speak to her like this.
"Alright, enough with the nonsense. What exactly do you have to say to me?"
Taking a deep breath, Serie finally looked back at Fíliya.
But Fíliya didn't meet her eyes. Instead, she stared intently at the shadow behind Serie.
"It's a bit strange. Brother Falsch actually isn't here. How could he allow you to move around alone?"
Only after confirming that Falsch was not present did Fíliya meet Serie's gaze.
"That child did strongly insist on acting as a guard... but I refused. Such a thing is completely meaningless."
Serie sighed somewhat helplessly, then reached out and touched the cloak draped over her body.
"Hmm, that's true. Why would a god need a [Human] as a guard? But you still accepted their sentiments, didn't you?"
Fíliya's gaze also slowly shifted to the eye-catching cloak on Serie's body.
"I just couldn't outstubborn the young ones..." Serie said, her eyes subconsciously darting elsewhere.
Hehe... Although her strength is at a god-like level beyond the rules... she still has a human heart.
In a way, couldn't this be considered a... weakness? Fíliya couldn't help but think this as she looked at Serie.
"Alright, I suppose I should explain the purpose of my visit," Fíliya said, also taking a deep breath.
"Serie, do you know that your existence is an extreme [Eyesore] to a certain faction of humanity?"
...
Fíliya's words plunged Serie into a brief silence. It was only after a minute or two that she spoke.
"...Is it that mysterious organization from the Empire? It seems there is a group of people plotting to kill me."
"? So you already knew."
Fíliya raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering to herself: didn't this girl just say she couldn't see that far?
"The Magic Association has its own intelligence network as well... Do you remember [Linie]?"
"Linie?"
Upon hearing this name, a look of sudden realization dawned on Fíliya's face.
"Of course I remember. That girl never gets along with Sense. Every time the two of them meet, they end up fighting. Tch, if I hadn't been so young back then, I definitely would have helped Sense take her down," Fíliya spoke indignantly, even clenching her right hand into a fist and taking a random swing at the air.
"Linie is our spy planted in the Empire. She has been living in the Empire since fifteen years ago and has now managed to infiltrate the upper echelons, so she can often send back useful intelligence," Serie completely ignored Fíliya's gestures and spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Oh? So that's how it is. I was wondering why this registered First-Class Mage only returned to the Association once every few years... It seems she is quite formidable as well, being able to stay undercover in a place like that and quietly climb to a high position... Yeah, I definitely wouldn't be able to do that," Fíliya remarked with an admiring tone.
"Naturally. If it were you... let alone staying undercover, you'd probably start a fight with anyone you didn't like on the very first day," Serie said, rolling her eyes at Fíliya once again.
But Fíliya was highly delighted by this.
Amazing, I actually managed to make [Lady God] show such an expression. I'm so awesome, she thought smugly.
"Linie sent back word that there is an organization in the Empire aggressively assassinating all sorts of mages, and that they view the [Magic Association] as a thorn in their side... After receiving the news, I used [Prophetic Dream] to verify it. The information is indeed true. Those people who call themselves the [Shadow Warriors] have truly made killing the surviving [Great Mages] their highest priority."
"Hmm?"
Within Serie's explanation, Fíliya noticed another detail that caught her intense interest.
"Wait a minute? Prophetic Dream? Why would you use such an inefficient method? Among all the [Future Sight] magics, isn't Prophetic Dream the lowest level and the least accurate form of precognition?" Fíliya asked with a face full of confusion.
"..."
Her words caused the ancient shut-in elf before her to fall silent once again. It wasn't until a good while later that she finally spoke up, sounding somewhat embarrassed.
"Because... this is the only one I know now. Over the past century or so, I've given away all my other [Future Sight] magics... Magic that sees into the future is extremely difficult for humans to learn. Unless they have a monster-level talent like yours, it would take them at least a hundred years to learn precognition magic..."
"So when those humans thirsting for[Future Sight] sought privileges from you, you just gave all those future-seeing magics away one by one? Leaving yourself with only an inefficient Prophetic Dream?!"
Fíliya stared at the side of Serie's face with a look of utter disbelief. She knew the supposed [God] before her loved humanity, but she completely hadn't expected her to go to such an extreme.
____
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