Setting Out for the Demon King's Castle

Sword in hand, Dugu Qing stood before a mirror, striking poses and admiring his handsome face from different angles.

He paid no attention to what Frieren and Eisen were saying.

After a while, Frieren asked Eisen what he needed her help with.

Eisen suddenly led Frieren out the door.

Dugu Qing had no idea what was going on. He followed Fern to Fohr Basin.

The forest stretched as far as the eye could see, its peaks layered in lush green. Towering ancient trees stood in endless ranks, reaching into the clouds.

Eisen nimbly climbed onto a boulder, searching for the notes of the great mage Flamme.

Dugu Qing understood what he meant and could only follow Fern.

A moment later, Fern spotted an ancient tree to the west, towering into the clouds.

When Frieren heard the news, she remembered that a thousand years ago, Flamme had planted a sapling here.

If that little tree is still alive, it must be a thousand years old by now! It must have grown tall and majestic, spreading wide enough to blot out the sky!

"Say, why are you looking for Flamme's notes?"

On their way to the ancient tree, Frieren put the question on her mind to Eisen.

"You and Himmel were a pity. That day thirty years ago, you broke down in tears and said you should have gotten to know Himmel better. I think you should tell him that yourself."

Eisen's steady, firm voice was as reassuring as ever.

Standing behind Frieren, Dugu Qing's eyes lit up. He quietly tugged on Fern's sleeve.

"Fern, there's a story here!"

Fern had long known there was a story between Himmel and Frieren, and it was no ordinary story...

Dugu Qing was only finding out now. Fern was speechless.

This guy must have put all his talent points into cooking, fighting, and creating. He doesn't care about anything else at all!

He's such an elf!

No wonder he falls asleep so quickly and sleeps so soundly every night...

The four arrived beneath the great tree Flamme had planted a thousand years ago. Its roots were gnarled and intertwined, and they alone dwarfed ordinary trees. Enormous as a castle, it was protected on the outside by a barrier.

Frieren recalled the past.

Flamme had once said that sooner or later, Frieren would make a grave mistake and come to want to understand humans.

At the time, Frieren had thought Flamme was only looking for attention. The thought was laughable.

Now, time had flown by, and a thousand years had passed.

Frieren had a rough understanding of what Flamme had meant.

Her late teacher's concern had crossed a thousand years of space and time, piercing Frieren's icy state of mind and warming her heart, as though she were basking in love.

Frieren reached out one hand and touched the bark, gently undoing the barrier spread across its surface.

The four entered the ruins.

Flamme's notebook lay on a table in the very center of the ruins' hall.

Frieren picked up the notebook and happened to open it to the page where Flamme had written about heaven:

"At the distant northern end of the continent, I reached a place the people of this world call Aureole, the resting place of souls, where countless souls gather. I spoke with my comrades from the past. This discovery, the kind that comes only once in a century, will surely allow the study of souls to make a tremendous leap forward..."

Frieren stared at the notebook in a daze, her eyes full of longing for the past.

"Is this true?!"

Fern rested a hand on Frieren's fragrant shoulder and leaned close to her ear, looking over the notes as she asked.

"I don't know. You can't rely on her."

Faced with such momentous news, Frieren couldn't react for a moment.

She made a jab at Flamme only to hide her sadness, so she wouldn't actually shed any little pearls.

"Aureole exists. Isn't that what people would rather believe?"

Eisen looked at Frieren with his dead-fish eyes, as though reminding her of what had happened decades ago.

"Yes! I suppose I can believe her for once."

Sunlight streamed through the skylight and fell on Frieren's beautiful face. A hint of tenderness flashed in her eyes.

That's right. I'll believe her!

It's better than always dodging the truth and refusing to admit it... Actually, I miss Flamme and Himmel very much too, don't I?

Though when it comes to Himmel, it's mostly something I don't quite understand, whatever it is... If I see them again, talk things through, and say goodbye to each other, I'll feel a little better, won't I?

Anyway, it's only a ten-year journey from here to Ende. It's nothing remarkable.

In that case, it's happily decided.

The new goal of our adventure will be the northernmost end of the land, the present-day Demon King's Castle, the resting place of souls!

Hopefully those demons—the Seven Sages of Destruction, of whom only two remain—

Will obediently get out of the way and not jump out to stir up trouble and disturb the senior sightseeing group... Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey. The mature and elegant big sisters' second trip.

Speaking of which, what are the names of the two remaining Sages of Destruction?

Aura the Guillotine and Macht of the Golden Land.

It shouldn't be too difficult, should it?

"Then our new adventuring party is officially formed as of now."

Frieren used magic to put the notebook away, a spirited smile on her face and her expression full of vigor.

"Where are we going?"

Dugu Qing leaned against the door, his tall figure ethereal as an immortal.

"Ende. Dugu Qing, I appoint you the new hero and the main fighting force of the party. I hope you'll conduct yourself properly and stop slacking off from now on."

Frieren turned around. The moment she resolved to settle matters from the past, boundless motivation welled up within her.

"Hero? There are thousands of heroes in the world, but Himmel was the only one who became famous. I don't want to be one! Besides, the Demon King is dead. This world doesn't need a hero anymore."

Dugu Qing calmly refused. He would never be a substitute for someone one of a kind.

"What if a new Demon King appears?"

Fern looked at Dugu Qing expectantly.

"Fern, you can't just say things like that!"

Eisen was scared half to death. Defeating one Demon King had already consumed all the courage and willpower he possessed in his life.

If another Demon King appeared in this world, he really couldn't accept it...

He was afraid he no longer had the strength to pick up his sword and fight a new Demon King, either...

"If a new Demon King appears, that's an 'if'! Don't think about hypothetical things, or you'll only exhaust your mind and add to your worries."

Dugu Qing spoke at length, showing considerable knowledge of how to care for the mind.

"Frieren, it looks like Dugu Qing is destined to live even longer than you."

Eisen looked at Frieren teasingly.

Elves were a naturally long-lived, immortal race, and Dugu Qing also seemed well versed in preserving his health and calming his mind. Who knew how many years he would live?

"If you have regrets, the longer you live, the more you suffer."

Frieren closed her eyes and spoke of the downside of a long life.

That was also something she had recently learned from Himmel.

Dugu Qing wholeheartedly agreed.

"That's right. So I'm planning to research a forgetting spell that can make people forget all their sad memories."

Fern pouted and looked away.

She pondered to herself, Am I a sad memory or a happy one?

Surely he can't forget me too! Dame~

The four left the ruins, and Eisen returned home.

Frieren, Dugu Qing, and Fern set out on their journey once more.