LinieBaru ObsessionIF: Chapter 05 (Patreon)

Frieren and Fern walked side by side through the heavy blizzard that covered the Decle Region in thick layers of white. The wind pushed against their cloaks and forced them to lean forward with every step. Snow piled around their boots and made each movement slower than the last. The sky stayed a dull gray that offered no clear sense of time and the cold bit into any skin left uncovered. Frieren kept the enchanted compass in one hand and checked it every few minutes. The small device glowed with a soft blue light that cut through the falling snow and pointed steadily north. Creating the compass had cost her a large amount of mana and the effort still left a faint drain in her reserves two days later. She had spent most of an afternoon weaving the advanced detection spell that locked onto Stark’s unique mana signature and life force. The result confirmed what she needed to know. He was alive and still breathing somewhere far ahead of them.

Fern stayed close on her left side and matched the older elf’s pace without complaint. Her staff remained ready in case any monster decided to use the storm as cover but so far the blizzard itself kept most threats away. Two full days had passed since Stark vanished from the place where they had last seen him. Frieren had examined the site carefully before they set out. The ground showed clear signs of a hard fight. Deep cuts marked the frozen earth and broken branches lay scattered in a wide circle. A strong residual mana signature belonging to a demon lingered in the air but the signature itself felt incomplete as if the demon had left in a hurry. Frieren believed the girl had used some form of teleportation spell or a forced spatial transfer that threw Stark a great distance. Ordinary flight would not have carried him this far in so short a time and no ordinary demon possessed the raw power to move a human warrior across entire regions without leaving a clearer trail. The compass continued to pulse in her hand and the direction never changed. Stark was somewhere in the far north and the signal remained steady.

Stark himself was more durable than most humans Frieren had met across her long life. The only clear exception was her former teammate Eisen whose body had been as tough as the side of a mountain. Eisen could walk through rock slides and keep fighting after blows that would have shattered ordinary bones. Stark had trained under that same dwarf for years and the lessons had sunk deep into his frame. He could take hits that would kill lesser warriors and still stand up ready to swing his axe again. That natural resilience gave Frieren quiet confidence that whatever situation he faced now he would survive long enough for them to reach him. The compass would not lie about a living signature and the strength of the signal suggested he was not on the edge of death.

Fern maintained a calm composure that matched the careful way she had been raised. Her face stayed smooth and her steps stayed even even while the wind tried to push them off balance. Frieren had known the young mage long enough to notice the small signs that worry still lived underneath the surface. Fern’s grip on her staff tightened more often than usual and her eyes flicked toward the compass every time Frieren checked it. The silence between them stretched longer than normal and the questions that usually came during travel stayed locked behind careful lips. Frieren decided the quiet had lasted long enough.

She spoke without raising her voice against the wind.

“Wherever he is right now he is okay. The compass would not hold this strong a signal if he were badly hurt.”

Fern glanced sideways and gave a small nod.

“I know. Mr. Stark is strong. He trained under Master Eisen. Still I keep thinking about how far the compass is pointing. Two days of walking and we have only closed a small part of the distance.”

Frieren adjusted the hood of her cloak and brushed snow from her shoulders.

“It will probably take us a few more weeks if we walk straight like this. The Decle Region is wide and the storm will slow us further. We had to go north anyway so the path is not wasted.”

Fern stayed quiet for several steps while she considered the numbers. Weeks of travel through snow and cold meant long nights and careful rationing of supplies. She accepted the reality without argument because complaining never shortened a journey. The two of them had crossed harder ground before and they would cross this ground as well. The compass light remained steady and that single fact kept the worry from growing larger.

After another stretch of silent walking Fern spoke again.

“What about the demon girl? Do you think she is still with him?”

Frieren shook her head once and kept her eyes on the path ahead.

“It is probably dead. The residual mana at the fight site was strong for a moment but it faded quickly. That girl was nowhere near strong enough to beat Stark in a real fight. Even if she survived the first clash she probably ran away once she realized she could not win.”

The wind howled louder for a moment and forced both of them to stop and brace against the gust. Snow swirled around their legs and tried to bury the tracks they left behind. Frieren waited until the worst of the blast passed and then continued forward. The compass still pointed true and the faint life signature of their missing companion remained clear. Fern followed without another word for a long while. The blizzard showed no sign of ending and the northern horizon stayed hidden behind endless white. They walked on through the cold with the knowledge that Stark was alive somewhere ahead of them and that the distance between them would close one step at a time.

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Stark walked outside the village for the first time in days and felt the open air against his face like something he had almost forgotten. The shackles that had held him to the wall were gone and the loose chains no longer hung from his wrists. Subaru had removed them that morning after watching him for a long stretch of quiet hours and deciding the risk of him running was smaller than the risk of keeping him locked away forever. He could technically run right now. His legs were stronger than hers and his training under Eisen had given him speed that most humans and many demons could not match. One hard sprint toward the tree line and he would put real distance between them before she even realized he was gone. The idea stayed in his head for only a few seconds before he pushed it aside. Running carried its own dangers and he was not ready to test them yet.

Subaru stood in the open space near the edge of the village with a group of children gathered around her. The turban she had wrapped around her head covered the horns completely and from a distance she looked like any other traveler who had decided to play with the local kids. The children followed her every movement with bright eyes and loud laughter. She showed them a series of strange moves she called exercise. Her arms stretched high and then swung down in wide arcs while her feet stamped a simple rhythm on the dirt. The kids copied her as best they could and stumbled over their own legs more often than they managed a clean step. Subaru did not seem to mind the mistakes. She kept the pace light and the mood high.

She threw both hands toward the sky and formed a sharp V shape with her arms.

"Victory!!!"

The children shouted the same word and tried to copy the shape with their smaller arms. Some of them nearly fell over from the sudden stretch but they laughed anyway and demanded she do it again. Subaru repeated the motion and the yell and the kids followed without hesitation. Stark watched from a short distance and felt the weight of the choice settle heavier on his shoulders. If he ran now she would notice the moment he left her sight. She would try to chase him first. Her flight was fast but on the ground his trained speed should let him stay ahead long enough to reach deeper woods. The real problem came after that. If she could not catch him what would she do with the anger that followed? The children around her were close and trusting. They had no idea what kind of creature stood in front of them under that simple turban. A demon who lost control could turn on the nearest soft targets without a second thought. Stark had seen enough battlefields to know how quickly rage could spill onto the wrong people. He stayed where he was and kept his feet planted on the dirt path.

Subaru spotted him and her face lit up with clear delight. She waved one arm in a wide arc and called out across the open space.

"Oh oh! Meet Stark guys!"

The children turned as one and swarmed toward him like a small wave of noise and reaching hands. Stark braced himself and let them come. He had always been good with kids. Years of travel with the party had taught him what small humans liked and what made them quiet down when the excitement grew too loud. He crouched a little so their eyes met his at closer level and answered their rapid questions with short easy replies. One boy wanted to know if he really carried a big axe. Another girl asked if the scars on his arms came from fighting monsters. Stark answered each one and kept his voice steady while his mind stayed half fixed on Subaru who watched the whole exchange with open satisfaction.

A smaller boy near the front of the group tilted his head and asked the question that stopped everything.

"Are you really Subaru's boyfriend?"

Stark froze in place. The words landed harder than any physical blow he had taken in recent days. Subaru stood a few steps behind the children and stared at him with a happy and hopeful expression that made the moment worse. Her eyes shone with the same intensity he had seen when she offered to cut off her own horns. The children waited for an answer and the silence stretched longer than it should have.

Stark felt no romantic pull toward her at all. The strongest feeling he carried for her beyond the older layers of caution and dislike was simple pity. She was not actively trying to harm the humans around her the way most demons did and that fact alone set her apart from every other member of her kind he had met. At the same time she was forcing a one sided bond onto someone who had never asked for it and the pressure of that force sat heavy between them. If he answered the boy's question with a clear no she might lose control right there in front of the children. The risk of her going berserk and turning the happy gathering into something darker was too high to ignore. If he answered yes she would take the word as permission to push even closer and the idea of sharing any real relationship with a demon made his stomach turn. He needed a middle path that kept everyone safe for the moment.

He forced a small shrug and spoke in a calm voice.

"We are figuring that out."

Subaru's bright smile faded at the edges but she did not speak. The hope in her eyes dimmed a fraction yet she kept her posture steady and her hands at her sides. The children accepted the vague answer without further questions and immediately shifted to a new demand. They wanted to see how strong he was. Several of them tugged at his sleeves and pointed toward a clear patch of ground farther from Subaru. Stark saw the chance and took it. He guided the group away from her with easy steps and began a simple display of strength that would keep them busy and entertained. He lifted a heavy log with one arm and held it steady while the kids counted out loud. He balanced on one foot longer than any of them could manage and then showed them a basic stance that Eisen had drilled into him years ago. The children laughed and tried to copy every move. Their attention stayed locked on him and the distance between the group and Subaru grew by careful degrees.

Subaru remained where she was and watched the entire scene without calling them back. Her face stayed quiet and thoughtful. Inside her mind the careful answer Stark had given settled like a warm stone. He had not rejected the idea outright. He had said they were figuring it out and those words meant he was at least willing to consider the possibility. She did not know that his true thoughts ran in the opposite direction. She only heard the surface of the reply and decided it was enough to keep hope alive. The children shouted with new excitement as Stark showed them another simple feat and the sound of their voices carried across the open space. Subaru stood in the middle of that sound and let the feeling of progress fill the empty places that the faded smile had left behind. Stark kept the kids busy for as long as he could and measured every glance he sent toward the woman in the turban. The village continued its quiet afternoon around them and the choice to stay instead of run held firm for another hour.

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