Chapter Summaries

Lowell, Frieren, and Fern returned to the inn after a lively dinner, where Frieren learned about dirty words and imagined missing Lowell for a hundred years. Lowell embraced her and promised he would never leave her.

• Lowell lamented losing money at dinner while Fern said she had enjoyed the lively meal with everyone.
• Frieren asked Lowell to carry her like Ruby had asked Himmel, and Lowell happily carried her back to the inn.
• Back in their room, Lowell served Frieren and Fern ice cream, and they ate together.
• Frieren asked what dirty words were, so Lowell asked what she would say if he left her for a hundred years.
• Frieren said she would tell him she missed him, and Lowell embraced her and promised he would not leave.

Lowell watched Frieren read in bed and asked to hold her while they slept, which she accepted. After Columbina interrupted them, Lowell sent her back to sing for Sandrone, then cuddled with Frieren as she fell asleep.

• Lowell watched Frieren read and told her she was beautiful and made him happy.
• Lowell asked Frieren if he could hold her while they slept, and she agreed.
• Columbina appeared at the window after singing outside Sandrone’s room and said she had come to greet Lowell.
• Lowell persuaded Columbina that Sandrone stayed awake to hear her singing, so Columbina went back to sing for her.
• Frieren told Lowell she did not mind him holding her every day, and he drew her into his arms.

Serie took over as examiner for the third exam because too many examinees had passed the second, and she wanted to avoid needless deaths. She discussed Frieren’s hidden mana and Lairen’s potential, then left reflecting that even Lairen could not clearly perceive her own mana fluctuations.

• Falsh told the examinees who passed the second exam to wait for the third exam to begin.
• Serie told Sense that the second exam had let too many people pass and announced that she would personally examine them in a more peaceful way.
• Lairen said Frieren’s mana rivaled Serie’s, while Falsh argued that Frieren had not been hiding her mana when he saw her.
• Serie warned Falsh not to underestimate Demons who concealed their mana and noted that Lairen was the third person to detect Frieren’s technique.
• Serie told Lairen that he might be able to defeat Frieren, then lamented that he had remained timid and unknown.
• Alone in the corridor, Serie spread her mana and realized that Lairen still could not clearly see its fluctuations.

Frieren and the other examinees faced Serie’s interviews for the First-Class Mage exam, with most of them failing. Serie unexpectedly passed Frieren, and Frieren left Fern’s result uncertain while telling Serie that Fern was an outstanding mage.

• Falsh announced that Serie would interview each examinee alone and decide whether they passed the third stage.
• Serie failed Kanne, Rabiñe, Dunster, Laufen, Länge, and Scharf, while telling Ehre to return in three years because she was immature.
• Serie questioned Frieren about her favorite spell and her belief in defeating the Demon King through companions, then passed her.
• Frieren told Serie that Fern was outstanding and that she expected Serie to pass her, then returned outside and told Fern that she had passed.

Fern passed Serie’s interview after refusing Serie’s offer to become her disciple, reaffirming her loyalty to Frieren. Serie then interviewed Lichta, Edel, and Wirbel, passing all three for their views on magic.

• Serie recognized Fern’s ability to see mana fluctuations and offered to teach her, but Fern refused because she was Frieren’s disciple.
• Serie passed Fern and contacted Ruby, asking her to come to Serie’s room that night.
• Fern told Frieren she refused Serie because Frieren needed her help, and Frieren proudly claimed Fern preferred her as a master.
• Serie passed Lichta after he described magic as useful in war and peacetime.
• Serie offered to teach Edel combat magic, and Edel accepted before Serie passed her.
• Serie passed Wirbel after he said magic was a tool for fighting.

Serie interviewed Duncan, Ubel, and Lanto for the First-Class Mage exam, passing all three. After Lanto revealed that he had sent a duplicate to the exam while his real body stayed at home, Serie saw through the trick and left him passed as well.

• Serie told Duncan that his drive had faded, but passed him after learning he had briefly considered fighting her and then recognized the gap between them.
• Serie passed Ubel before either of them spoke, and Ubel accepted the decision and left.
• Lanto told Serie that the First-Class Mage exam was taking place, then revealed a second identical Lanto had entered the room.
• Serie identified Lanto’s real body as sitting at home drinking sweetened black tea, and both Lantos reacted with surprise.
• Serie passed Lanto for knowing how to protect himself and keep ways to escape, then remarked that the candidates this year were strange.

Serie interviewed the final examinees for the First-Class Mage exam and passed Elder, Adonis, and Methode despite their unusual reasons for qualifying. Afterward, she told Sense that this year's examinees were better than usual but exceptionally strange, and an unidentified wail came from her room that night.

• Elder showed Serie his Dominating Stone Ring and said he wanted the privileges of a First-Class Mage, and she passed him.
• Adonis told Serie he wanted to become a First-Class Mage so he could try Emperor's Wine, and she passed him.
• Methode told Serie that she looked small and cute barefoot, and Serie passed her and sent her out.
• Falsh watched the final examinee leave and closed the hall door.
• Serie told Sense that the examinees were better than in previous years but unusually strange.
• An unidentified wail came from Great Mage Serie's room that night.

After Frieren and Fern received their First-Class Mage certificates, Lairen challenged Frieren with a deadly attack, hoping to become a legend so Serie would not be alone in the future. Frieren and Lowell talked him down, and Lairen apologized and agreed to treat them to a meal.

• Frieren and Fern admired their First-Class Mage certificates, and Fern said she only wanted to stay with Frieren.
• Lairen introduced himself as one of Serie’s disciples and said he feared being forgotten when he grew old.
• Lairen attacked Frieren with a powerful beam of mana, but she blocked it with layered Defensive Magic.
• Lowell confronted Lairen, and Frieren explained that Serie remembered all her disciples even if they never became legends.
• Lairen put away his bottles, apologized, and agreed to buy Frieren, Fern, and Lowell a meal.

After the mage exam, the characters parted ways or celebrated their results, while Frieren, Fern, and their companions ate together in Oysast and discussed the hardships of traveling north. Frieren remembered that Lowell could preserve food in his space and wondered why they had not stocked up on their previous journey.

• Ehre introduced her grandfather, Lairen, to Wirbel, Scharf, and Stoltz over lunch in Oysast.
• Lanto rode alone toward the Royal Capital, while Länge, Methode, and the disappointed Ton traveled toward the Continental United Academy.
• Duncan fussed over Laufen at a tavern, while Edel celebrated passing the exam with Bly and Dunster.
• Elder and Adonis set off toward the Northern Plateau, where Adonis planned to search for clues about the Emperor's Wine.
• At dinner, Rabiñe and Kanne described the scarce food and difficult travel in the Northern Plateau, prompting Frieren to complain about hard bread.
• Ubel reminded Frieren that Lowell could preserve food in his space, and Lowell explained they had lacked money to stockpile food on their earlier journey.

During dinner, Fern asked why the Northern Plateau required visitors to be accompanied by a First-Class Mage, and Lowell explained the mage profession’s influence and the region’s dangers. The conversation turned to Himmel’s journey and Lowell’s past, ending with Frieren calling him lazy and childish.

• Fern asked Frieren why travelers entering the Northern Plateau needed a First-Class Mage, and Lowell answered when Frieren struggled to explain.
• Lowell described how the Continental Magic Association and the public standing of magic gave mages greater authority than other professions.
• Lowell explained that the Northern Plateau’s monsters and surviving Demons made it dangerous, and that many people had doubted Himmel’s party could defeat the Demon King.
• Fern asked how Lowell and Frieren had helped Himmel’s group, and they recalled occasionally intervening, advising the party, and teaching Ruby.
• Fern and Ubel praised Lowell for being mature, but Frieren called him lazy and childish, leaving him unable to defend himself.

As dinner ended in Oysast, Lowell explained his elaborate color-based theories about fictional pairings and applied them to Ubel and Lanto. Frieren asked him to act out the pairings with magic, cheering him up as the group settled into the evening.

• Lowell teased Ubel about her interest in Lanto, and she suggested Lowell was interested in him too.
• Lowell described red-and-blue and black-and-white pairings, but Fern, Ubel, Kanne, and Rabiñe found his theories unconvincing.
• Frieren asked whether Ubel and Lanto’s yellow-and-green hair made them a good match, and Lowell enthusiastically declared them perfect together.
• Fern and Ubel teased Lowell for his excitement, and Frieren said she was looking forward to his magical reenactments.
• Lowell hugged Frieren happily while Fern ate a cookie and Ubel, Kanne, and Rabiñe relaxed at the table.

Lowell, Frieren, Fern, and Ubel walked back through Oysast after dinner and talked about how ordinary comforts and being together brought happiness. After returning to the inn, Frieren told Lowell she had been happy that day, and they fell asleep holding hands.

• Kanne and Rabiñe parted from the group, and Lowell said he was happy after their meal while Fern questioned whether an ordinary dinner was enough to make someone so happy.
• Lowell explained that Ubel’s cotton socks were a treasured gift from Solitär, and Ubel recalled how their warmth and softness had been her first experience of luxury.
• Lowell said that having Frieren and their friends beside him made him happy, and Fern came to understand that having enough to eat and being warm were themselves great comforts.
• Back at the inn, Frieren reflected on Lowell’s words, then Fern dried her hair before Frieren and Lowell went to bed.
• Frieren told Lowell she had been happy that day, and they held hands as they agreed that ordinary moments together were the best.

Kanne, Rabiñe, and Ubel parted ways with Lowell, Frieren, and Fern after the exam in Oysast. As the three prepared to leave for the Northern Plateau, Lowell reminded Frieren that they first needed to visit the Sword Village.

• Kanne and Rabiñe said goodbye to Lowell, Frieren, and Fern and headed back to the academy.
• Ubel declined to travel with Lowell and the others, but Lowell gave her a black stone she could use to contact him.
• Ubel teased Lowell as she left, while Fern quietly waved goodbye.
• Fern asked whether they were ready to set out for the Northern Plateau, and Frieren agreed enthusiastically.
• Lowell reminded Frieren that they needed to go to the Sword Village first, and she admitted she had forgotten.

Frieren, Lowell, and Fern arrived at Sword Village, where the young village chief welcomed Frieren and reminded her of the village’s longstanding agreement with her. After learning that the Mountain Lord had damaged the village’s huts and threatened its people, Frieren agreed to hunt it the next morning.

• Frieren, Lowell, and Fern reached Sword Village during a snowstorm and met its young forty-ninth village chief.
• Lowell explained that Sword Village guarded the Hero’s Sword, which legends said only a hero capable of overcoming a world-threatening calamity could draw.
• The village chief repeated her grandmother’s message about Frieren’s promise to return, and Lowell recalled how Frieren had once agreed to help the village.
• The village chief told Frieren that the Mountain Lord had destroyed hunting huts, frightened livestock, and nearly harmed a child.
• Frieren agreed to exterminate the monsters the next morning and said she already knew which valley the Mountain Lord frequented.

Frieren, Fern, and Lowell climbed into the mountains to investigate the monsters threatening the village and found the mountain lord, King Wolf Andrius, guarding a sword in a cavern. After Andrius attacked Frieren, Fern protected her and Lowell restrained the wolf with magic.

• Fern killed a dozen Snowhorn Goats with Ordinary Attack Magic as Frieren and Lowell watched and praised her.
• The Village Chief led the group to a cave where the mountain lord and a sword were said to be hidden.
• The group entered the cavern and found a giant silver-white wolf, which Lowell identified as King Wolf Andrius.
• Andrius charged Frieren, but Fern's Defensive Magic blocked its attack.
• Lowell bound Andrius with nearly transparent strands of magic, stopping it from moving.

Fern used Purification Magic to calm the King Wolf Andrius, who became the guardian of the Hero's Sword. Andrius's pack gathered around him, and Fern caught a wolf pup as Lowell explained that the pack had changed because she persuaded its leader.

• Lowell persuaded Fern to use Purification Magic on the bound King Wolf Andrius, and she recited the spell's set lines while touching his head.
• Andrius's eyes turned ice blue, his body shrank, and his aggression faded; he rubbed his head against Fern's arm after Lowell freed him.
• Lowell explained that the magic required a pure-hearted cute girl, and Frieren eagerly volunteered to try it on a dragon someday.
• The Village Chief emerged as Lowell introduced Andrius as the Hero's Sword's new guardian, and Andrius summoned more than a dozen snow wolves.
• A wolf pup jumped into Fern's arms, and Lowell explained that the pack had changed because she had persuaded its alpha.

Frieren, Fern, and Lowell found the real Hero's Sword, and Lowell explained that Himmel had carried a replica and accepted the legends others created about him. After leaving the mountain village, Fern suggested Lowell was also trying to become the person people expected him to be.

• Fern asked whether the sword in the pedestal was the Hero's Sword, and Lowell confirmed it was while revealing that Himmel had never pulled it out.
• Lowell explained that Himmel's sword had been a replica and that Himmel had accepted the embellished legends, striving to live up to people's expectations.
• Frieren left Andrius in charge of guarding the sword and the village, and the group headed back down the mountain.
• The Village Chief thanked the group and watched them leave, then reassured the villagers that the danger had passed.
• On the mountain path, Fern told Lowell he seemed to be doing something similar to Himmel, and Lowell took Frieren's hand as they walked.

Lowell, Frieren, and Fern turned back toward Nod-Krai and reunited with an old former bandit who had become a successful merchant. At a restaurant, they unexpectedly encountered Linié and Lupa, who greeted them enthusiastically.

• Lowell decided to return to Nod-Krai with Frieren and Fern to visit the academy and restock their supplies.
• Lowell and Frieren recognized an old merchant as one of the men who had once demanded a toll, and he told them their advice had led him to an honest life.
• The merchant invited Lowell, Frieren, and Fern to a meal in town to thank them.
• Lowell reminded Frieren that she had once charged Ruby for magic lessons, and Frieren explained why she had never charged Fern.
• At the restaurant, Linié recognized the group while Lupa jumped up and greeted Lowell, Frieren, and Fern.

Lowell teased Lupa and Linié about their relationship while Fern tried to understand their banter. Lupa said she planned to visit the academy, and the group spent the afternoon eating desserts together.

• Lowell teased Lupa about being on a date with Linié, and Linié agreed with Fern that they were in that kind of relationship.
• Linié claimed Lupa had done things with her but refused to make their relationship official, leaving Lupa red-faced and speechless.
• Lowell asked whether Lupa was passing through or returning to the academy, and Lupa said she planned to visit it.
• Linié pretended Lupa was tired of her and would leave her behind, prompting Lowell to praise her pity tactics.
• Frieren ordered more desserts, and the group relaxed over food as the afternoon passed.

Lowell explained to Frieren and Fern how his family’s deaths in war shaped his desire for peace and his fear of letting dangerous people go free. Frieren reassured him that she would stand by him, and Fern recognized that seeing people change gave him hope.

• Frieren noticed Lowell had been unusually happy after meeting an elderly former bandit, and Lowell explained that the man’s changed life showed him that change was possible.
• Lowell described how his grandparents, parents, and years of witnessing war had shaped his belief in sparing people and seeking peace through strength and care for others.
• Lowell admitted he was tired of pursuing peace and still feared that sparing evildoers could lead to future suffering, especially while Demons remained restrained by Dominating Stone Rings.
• Frieren told Lowell she knew he was a good person and would stop anyone he spared from harming others, then embraced him as he laughed with relief.
• Fern said that Lowell was happy because the former bandit’s transformation proved people could turn back and that peace could grow from such changes.
• As they went to sleep, Frieren held Lowell’s hand and asked him to smile more often, and he promised he would.