Frieren Returns to the Future
(This extra chapter takes place after Frieren returns to the future through the Goddess’s Monument. It has no bearing on the main storyline, and the protagonist does not appear.)
“Looks like you’re back, Frieren.”
Himmel’s voice came from behind her.
Frieren sighed and removed her hand from the Goddess’s Monument.
The monument was no longer reacting at all.
“So you really did know before I went there, didn’t you, Himmel?”
Frieren walked up to Himmel and grabbed both sides of his face.
“Seriously! You, Heiter, and the others were all hiding it from me!”
“Hahaha. Well, you’re the one who said that revealing information about the future might cause unpredictable changes, Frieren. Of course we couldn’t tell you.”
Himmel apologized with a laugh.
The two youngsters standing behind them exchanged glances, then quietly slipped away.
“Still, I never realized it before. Himmel back then was so reserved. And shy, too. You were pretty dense as well. You couldn’t pick up on any of the hints in what I was saying.”
“Well, the language of elves is very difficult to learn.”
Himmel laughed heartily as he tried to defend himself.
“Besides, time travel was way beyond anything we could’ve imagined back then, wasn’t it?”
“Oh really~? After traveling with me for so long, that’s still your excuse?”
Frieren folded her arms.
“Even I have the right to complain a little.”
“And when did Heiter come to the Goddess’s Monument and carve those words into it? I didn’t notice a thing.”
“About that… by the time Heiter grew stronger later on, he was perfectly capable of moving around on his own. After all, we’d all gained the powers of our jobs. A priest might not be particularly powerful in direct combat, but Eisen was with him too.”
“Ah!”
Frieren made a =w= face as realization finally dawned on her.
“No wonder there was a period when I kept looking for those two and they always said they had something to do! I was already used to Yakumo constantly disappearing, so I should’ve figured it out!”
“Hahaha, don’t put it like that. Everyone was just using their own strength to help you.”
Himmel gently patted Frieren on the head.
“Still, I didn’t expect you to go back into the past and come away without finding any useful information.”
“It’s worse than that. We still haven’t found the Hero of the South’s seal, and Macht, the only person who might know where it is, had that part of his memory erased.”
Frieren scratched her cheek.
“It feels like things are only getting more troublesome.”
“But that’s exactly why our efforts have meaning.”
Himmel smiled as he answered.
“And isn’t that also what allows us to keep going on this long journey?”
“It’s also why I finally got to take you back to my hometown and show you the Blue-Moon Weed. That was one of the happiest moments of my life.”
Himmel scratched his hair.
There had once been a time when he’d thought he would never get another chance to fulfill that wish.
“It really was an exceptionally beautiful sight,” Frieren admitted.
“It would’ve been even better if a certain someone hadn’t been acting so narcissistic beside me the whole time.”
“Hahaha. Who could you possibly mean? Just how narcissistic would someone have to be for even Frieren to complain about it?”
Himmel immediately began playing dumb.
“You!”
Frieren’s voice was filled with exasperation.
“During the quest to defeat the Demon King, you looked like an unbelievably dependable companion. How did you end up turning into some smooth-talking old man afterward?”
“How rude. No matter how you look at me, I’m still a handsome young man.”
Himmel struck another outrageously self-satisfied pose.
“Countless people still admire my heroic appearance, you know.”
“Right. A handsome young man who’s almost a hundred years old.”
Frieren immediately fired back.
“Frieren, the old you would’ve never cared about a mere seventy or eighty years.”
Himmel sounded nostalgic.
“For humans, seventy or eighty years is an incredibly long time. For elves, it’s little more than the blink of an eye.”
“For elves, that’s certainly true.”
Frieren freely admitted it.
“But what was I supposed to do when I had a traveling companion who liked taking me back to the same places every few years?”
“Elves may be indifferent to the passage of time, but that doesn’t mean we ignore what’s happening right in front of us. It’s not just me. Serie is the same way. She remembers every single apprentice she’s ever taken.”
“Himmel, if this was all part of your scheme, then I suppose it worked.”
Frieren gently touched the ring on her hand.
“Is this the sort of cunning that’s unique to humans?”
“You can think of it as a boy being a little clever.”
Himmel smiled gently.
“People always become unusually clever when it comes to the things they care about. As it happens, I was just clever enough.”
“Hmph. I suppose that amount really was just right.”
Frieren turned her head toward the Goddess’s Monument.
“By the way, you weren’t the one who smashed the Goddess’s Monument here, were you?”
“Of course not. If I’d smashed it, Heiter would’ve tried to kill me.”
Himmel immediately protested.
“He was more devout than anyone. Naturally, he’d treat anything created by the Goddess with the utmost reverence.”
“That’s true. Ever since he became a bishop and discovered that the phantom created by his skill had transformed into the Goddess, he became even more enthusiastic about spreading her teachings. Even I don’t dare provoke him anymore.”
“So the collapse of the Goddess’s Monument really was just an accident.”
Himmel extended a hand toward Frieren.
“More importantly, what should we do next? Are we still heading north? I don’t think the Hero of the South’s seal is anywhere on this continent.”
“Who knows? Let’s go take a look first. Maybe that Demon Saintess is inside the Demon King’s Castle?”
Frieren naturally placed her hand in Himmel’s.
“If Yakumo hadn’t run off again, this trip might’ve been a lot easier.”
“Hahaha. After calling him ‘Papa Yakumo’ for so long, children have to grow up eventually, don’t they?”
Himmel joked.
“Tch. I don’t buy it.”
Frieren looked toward the distance, where the little eggplant and little tomato were whispering to one another.
“He probably just ran off somewhere to have fun again. Every time he comes back, he always brings some bizarre local specialty with him.”
“All right, all right. No more complaining. We’ve still got quite a way to go.”
Himmel continued,
“Don’t forget, it’ll take us a day or two just to get out of here. We might even have to sleep outdoors.”
“Can’t we just use a Return Scroll?”
The moment Frieren heard how long it would take, she immediately lost all desire to walk.
“Unfortunately, our travel funds are a little tight right now…”
Himmel answered with a troubled expression.
“It’s strange. Back when we were on our quest to defeat the Demon King, I never once felt like we were short on money…”
“How about…”
Himmel hesitated.
“Do you want me to carry you out?”
“Sure. Carry me.”
Frieren immediately climbed onto Himmel’s back.
“Then let’s go, Himmel-mobile.”
“Please stop learning things that have absolutely no practical use…”
Himmel could only smile bitterly in resignation.
“Fern, Stark! It’s time to head back!”