The World of Long-Lived Races

After saying goodbye to the village chief, they set out once more.

Dugu Qing, Fern, and Frieren headed north.

The Central Countries, at the entrance to the Glanz Strait.

The three entered the town and rested at an inn.

When the town mayor heard that a mage had appeared, he came on his cane to personally invite the three of them to clear the shipwreck debris from the beach.

The reward was a Grimoire.

Frieren opened the Grimoire and saw that it was a work by Flamme.

When Fern saw Flamme's name, she knew it was a fake. She didn't understand why Frieren, as Flamme's disciple, would take the job.

Holding the book, Frieren looked out at the planks drifting on the sea, a nostalgic expression on her face.

To elves, there was nothing special about time.

A year, a hundred years, a thousand years.

The vast changes and grand expanses of time and space in the human world.

To elves, they meant nothing.

But Frieren had traveled from country to country, all over the world, and the people she encountered most were humans.

To Fern, time mattered more than anything, and was full of meaning.

But Frieren didn't feel that way.

Even though the mayor of Strait Town could only offer a fake Grimoire, Frieren was willing to take the job.

Not because Frieren was kind, but because she had chosen to live that way.

Besides, many years ago, she and Himmel had spent a tender stretch of time here that was worth remembering...

Whether the sunrise at the New Year celebration was beautiful or ugly, Frieren had missed it, and that remained a regret.

It stayed in her heart, impossible to make up for.

Now that she was revisiting the place, she might as well see if she could get up early and enjoy the beautiful sunrise over Strait Town.

"Frieren, let's take our time! It'll snow soon, so let's stay through the winter before we leave."

After Dugu Qing became an elf, the units by which his life was measured had changed from years, months, and days to ten thousand years, a thousand years, and a hundred years.

The quality of life mattered far more than its length.

So of course he would slack off whenever he could.

Even if the world were ending, it wouldn't be as important as following his routine and washing his hair clean.

"No problem."

"All right! As long as I'm with Dugu Qing, I'm happy no matter what we do."

Although wasting time was a bit like breaking a cardinal rule for Fern, as long as Dugu Qing was with her, even the most ordinary, mundane days shed their dullness and became radiant and full of tenderness.

The three settled in for a long stay at the inn.

With Frieren lying in her warm bed in the morning, there was no chance of her getting up.

Fern would take a basket to the market to buy groceries, then join Dugu Qing in making good food to save money.

Dugu Qing created new magic while clearing the beach.

Their days passed at an especially leisurely pace.

Sometimes Frieren couldn't get up even during the morning, sleeping on with a bubble at her nose.

Dugu Qing and Fern each took one of Frieren's hands and led her, still groggy and swaying, to the beach.

They brought a pirate skeleton up from the seabed and placed it in front of Frieren.

A cold gust blew past, and Frieren slowly woke. She opened her eyes to see a frightening skeleton wearing a captain's hat with a hole in it.

"Dugu Qing, Fern."

Startled, Frieren's eyes turned into circles.

Fuming, she raised her staff and chased Dugu Qing and Fern.

Compared with Dugu Qing, Fern was frail and weak, and couldn't run fast.

Dugu Qing glanced at Fern as she gradually fell behind, then suddenly took her hand and vanished like the wind.

Several months later, the three had cleared all the debris from the beach.

The sea was clean and clear again, and ships could pass through.

Fish also came swimming happily from every direction, leaping out of the water.

The New Year celebration was held as scheduled.

Frieren couldn't get up again, so Dugu Qing and Fern took her hands and brought her to the beach.

Golden light spread along the distant horizon as the rising sun slowly showed its outline and climbed bit by bit, staining the sea and sky red.

Frieren watched the sun in the east, and the regret that had weighed on her heart for decades was finally laid to rest. A serene smile appeared on her face.

They spent the New Year in town.

Dugu Qing, Frieren, and Fern put on new clothes, replacing the old, and set out again.

Twenty-eight years after Himmel's passing.

The Central Countries, the Bret region.

The dwarf warrior Eisen stood in a clearing, clad in armor and a red cloak, his long beard flowing as he prayed with his eyes closed.

He hoped Himmel and Heiter were happy, far away in heaven...

"Eisen, I came to visit."

A steady, measured set of footsteps approached.

Frieren, Dugu Qing, and Fern came slowly toward him.

"That's hardly how you greet someone you haven't seen in thirty years."

Eisen opened his eyes, his gaze blank, struck by the air of ease the elf revealed, whether intentionally or not.

He turned around, ready to catch up with Frieren.

When his gaze passed over Dugu Qing, a flicker of emotion crossed his eyes.

He saw Himmel's bearing in Dugu Qing.

Gentle and refined, clean and pure, full of righteousness, sacred and immaculate.

This boy was so, so much like him!

He was practically a super-ultra-enhanced Pro.Max.Deluxe version of Himmel!!

Then the Battle Sword he'd gone to such trouble to have a dwarf master weapon smith forge wouldn't have to gather dust in its case, would it?

After all, a new storm had already appeared, so how could they stand still?

A warrior should cut through all obstacles and make saving the world his duty!

"Who is he?"

Eisen looked at Dugu Qing. His dead-fish eyes, unchanged for decades and centuries, finally shifted, filling with kindness.

"Dugu Qing? He's my friend. I teach him magic once in a while, too."

Dugu Qing had never formally become her apprentice.

But since Frieren introduced him that way, Eisen took Dugu Qing to be her student.

That made Dugu Qing his junior, on the same footing as Stark.

"I never thought you'd take on a student."

Eisen walked over to Dugu Qing and discreetly examined his hands. Their joints were well-defined, and they were bony and slender; one look showed he was a master swordsman.

His mood suddenly improved, and he led the three to his home and brought a box out from under the bed.

"What's this?"

"A weapon forged by Master Bandal, the Silver Moon Clear Radiance Sword. It was meant for Himmel, but I didn't expect him to die so quickly, so I've kept it here all this time."

Eisen opened the box, and the dark room was instantly illuminated, filled with shimmering splendor and golden brilliance.

A moment later, the light faded. Eisen took out the sword and handed it to Dugu Qing.

The Silver Moon Clear Radiance Sword was lustrous white as snow from end to end, without a trace of another color, as though cast from solidified moonlight. Its hilt curved like a crescent moon, wrapped in fine, closely spaced golden patterns.

It was cool and sacred, awe-inspiring and majestic.

"A fine sword."

Dugu Qing looked at the Silver Moon Clear Radiance Sword, his collector's urge kicking in. He wanted it badly.

"Keeping this sword is no use to me, so I'll give it to this young man!"

Holding the sword case, Eisen walked over to Dugu Qing.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to put it to good use."

Dugu Qing took the sword from the box. A powerful righteous energy surged into his body and resonated with the sword, its aura soaring to the heavens.

"You two really hit it off!"

Eisen and Dugu Qing admired each other, and seeing the newcomer and her old friend getting along so well, Frieren felt especially gratified.

"Dugu Qing really is extraordinary. People like him wherever he goes!"

Seeing how popular Dugu Qing was, Fern was very happy too.