Eisen

Year 28 of the Shinshi Era

Bret Region, Central Countries.

"Eisen, I came to see you."

Frieren sounded delighted.

Eisen was the dwarf warrior of the Hero Party. Now, only he and Frieren remained of the party.

Rienta and Fern had heard stories about the Hero Party many times from their adoptive father, Heiter.

Though this was their first time meeting him, he was no stranger to them.

Eisen, who had his back to the three of them, stopped praying when he heard Frieren and said:

"You don't sound like someone who hasn't seen me in nearly thirty years."

Frieren stopped behind Eisen with Rienta and Fern and said in confusion:

"It's only been thirty years."

"That's true." As a dwarf, Eisen had a long enough lifespan, but he still couldn't understand how oblivious elves were to the passage of time.

"Come inside for some tea, Frieren." Eisen led the way.

Once all three had sat down, Frieren said:

"These are my apprentices, Rienta and Fern."

Rienta and Fern stood and bowed.

Eisen waved a hand and said, "There's no need to be so formal."

He poured tea for the three of them, then looked at Frieren and said:

"I never thought you'd take on apprentices."

Frieren didn't answer. She took a sip of tea and asked instead:

"Eisen, is there anything you need my help with?"

Eisen rubbed his hands around his cup of hot tea and said softly:

"Frieren."

"You asked Heiter the same question, didn't you?"

"But it's a little too early to be granting my last wishes."

Frieren looked at Eisen curiously. "How did you know about that?"

Eisen chuckled. "Because we've been writing to each other all along."

"I didn't expect someone as rugged-looking as you to be so devoted to your friends."

"Or maybe you're just too cold?"

Rienta and Fern drank their tea quietly, not daring to join their seniors' conversation.

Frieren looked seriously at Eisen. "So, is there anything you need my help with?"

Eisen looked at the elf before him and was silent for a moment before saying:

"There is one thing I need your help with."

"Let me take you somewhere."

Eisen drained his tea and went out to find someone to rent a carriage from.

Rienta looked at Frieren and said:

"Lady Frieren, what's this about?"

Frieren shook her head, indicating that she didn't know where Eisen wanted to take them either, or why he even needed to rent a carriage.

Eisen was quick. Before long, he had the carriage ready.

Frieren didn't ask where they were going. She simply led her two apprentices into the carriage.

After about an hour, they reached their destination.

Frieren stepped down from the carriage and looked at the familiar scenery around her.

"The Foel Basin. This brings back memories."

Eisen was surprised. "You've been here before, Frieren?"

"I came here a long time ago." Frieren headed into the forest.

Rienta, Fern, and Eisen huddled together, and Eisen whispered:

"Just how long ago does she mean?"

Fern glanced at Frieren in the distance and whispered:

"The ancient era?"

Rienta agreed and nodded.

Frieren's voice came from a distance:

"I'm not that old yet."

Fern hurriedly covered her mouth, while Rienta was somewhat relieved he hadn't given an even more outrageous answer.

The three caught up with Frieren.

Frieren asked, "So, what are we looking for?"

Eisen stopped walking and said, "The notes of the great mage Flamme."

"?" Frieren rubbed her chin and said in confusion, "I suppose we can look."

"But you should know that Flamme never left any writings behind, Eisen."

"I have a lead." Eisen looked at Frieren seriously. "Heiter found it while researching church documents."

"The real notes are somewhere in the Foel Basin."

"You knew about this too, didn't you, Frieren?"

Frieren looked somewhat shocked. "Heiter actually looked into it that deeply?"

"In that case, let's start by looking for a large tree."

Eisen looked at the boundless forest and said:

"There are large trees everywhere here."

"But we have plenty of time."

Frieren looked at the forest before her and replied quietly, "We do."

She edged up to Eisen and whispered, "Rienta doesn't mind this sort of thing."

"But Fern will be unhappy, so let's try to get it done quickly."

Seeing that Fern had already turned into a pouting mushroom, Rienta spoke first:

"Fern, let's do our best and finish early."

With that, he took Fern by the hand and left ahead of them.

Eisen watched the two leave and said with a hint of emotion:

"You've changed."

"You never used to care about other people's time."

Frieren thought for a moment, then said:

"Because Fern is very scary when she gets angry."

The group searched until evening but failed to find the large tree Frieren had mentioned.

Frieren happily took out a bunch of grapes and cast that spell that "makes grapes sour."

Rienta looked at Frieren's smug face and at Eisen, who was enjoying the grapes.

Staring at the sour grapes in his own hand, he began to understand why Frieren collected these spells.

The next day, Fern flew high into the sky to look for the tree and made a new discovery.

"Lady Frieren, there's a large tree growing on some ruins to the west."

Fern and Rienta led the way through the air.

Frieren walked through the forest with Eisen.

Frieren asked curiously, "Eisen."

"Why are you looking for Flamme's notes?"

Eisen's voice was as steady as ever. "At that funeral thirty years ago."

"You said you wished you'd gotten to know Himmel better."

"You should say those words directly to Himmel."

"Those notes contain an account of a conversation with the dead."

Frieren instinctively objected. "That's just a fairy tale."

"Besides, I stopped thinking about seeing him a long time ago."

Rienta and Fern stopped in front of a large tree, which was protected by a powerful barrier.

Frieren arrived soon after and stepped forward to touch the tree.

The words her master had spoken when she planted this gatekeeping tree a thousand years ago kept echoing in Frieren's mind.

"When you want to understand humans, come back here."

"I, the great mage Flamme, will help you."

Frieren easily opened the barrier surrounding the tree.

The inside of the tree was spacious, but it was also very bare.

There was only a stone pedestal, with a grimoire floating above it.

Fern looked at Frieren, who had already picked up the grimoire and was leafing through it, and asked:

"Are those really Flamme's notes?"

"They are." Frieren's tone was the same as ever.

Rienta was more interested in the barrier magic that had lasted a thousand years.

Eisen explained to Fern, "Frieren is Flamme's senior apprentice."

Fern was somewhat shocked. Flamme was a hero from the ancient era, which meant Lady Frieren really had lived from the ancient era to the present.

So Frieren cares about her age too.

That thought occurred to Rienta first. Then he gave careful thought to the possibility of learning barrier magic.

Eisen turned his attention away from the two and asked Frieren:

"Is there an account of a conversation with the dead?"

Frieren looked at the grimoire in her hands and said softly without turning around:

"The book thoughtfully opened itself to that very page."

*?*

I never saw any record saying the great mage Flamme could use divination magic too.

Rienta was somewhat shocked now as well.

Frieren continued, "In the far north of the continent."

"Master found the place where souls rest, Aurevole."