Fifty years after Diego disappeared…
Warrior Village—a place with no room for the weak, where countless warriors had once emerged.
"Great, we finally made it! So this is Mabel's hometown. It's really different from my kingdom." Sui stepped down from the carriage, looking around excitedly in every direction, taking in the local customs and atmosphere.
In the distance, a black-haired man wearing a black cloak, his face marked with several scars and his hair swept back in a large pompadour, approached slowly with an imposing, naturally intimidating air.
Beside him walked a red-haired little boy. Though young, he already carried the bearing of a warrior.
"Lady Elga, you've finally arrived. We heard several days ago that you were coming to Warrior Village to see Lady Mabel, so we've been waiting here for a long time.
Stoltz, greet Lady Elga from the Hero's party." The black-haired man patted Stoltz on the back.
"Yes, Father. Lady Elga, welcome to Warrior Village." Stoltz bowed with a level of courtesy unusual for a child his age, placing his hand over his chest in greeting to Sui.
"No need to be so formal—just treat me like a regular friend." Sui waved her hand dismissively, then stared thoughtfully at Stoltz for a moment. "Your son is quite exceptional. I'm sure he'll carve out a bright future for himself."
"Haha, you're too kind. But Stoltz really is my pride and joy. When we have a second child, I'm planning to name him Stark. What do you think of that name?"
The black-haired man's tone overflowed with unmistakable pride and joy. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he slapped his forehead in regret. "Oh no—you're here to see Lady Mabel, right? I got carried away chatting and forgot to take you there. This way, please."
The man gestured ahead toward a towering ancient tree in the distance and led Sui toward Mabel's home.
As one of the village's young warrior instructors, the black-haired man knew Warrior Village like the back of his hand. Along the way, he kept introducing various facilities and customs to Sui.
"…This training ground over here is where the warriors usually practice. Of course, the best training is still hunting monsters. The standard is judged by how much dirt stains the pure white cloaks—the less dirt, the stronger the warrior."
Just as he finished speaking, several students who had finished monster hunting appeared in his line of sight, panting and collapsed in a muddy pit.
"Hey! You lot! Look at the disgraceful state you're in after fighting monsters! How can you call yourselves warriors with cloaks covered in filth like that!"
"The warriors' training methods really are strict…" Sui sighed in admiration, twirling the sword in her hand in a graceful flourish.
"Sorry for the embarrassing display. These students are truly hopeless—I'll make them do extra training later. Ah, we're here. Lady Mabel is inside. I'll leave you here." The black-haired man bowed once more and then turned to leave.
Under the tree in front of them was a wooden door. A light layer of dust had settled in front of it, as though no one had come or gone for a very long time.
Knock knock knock…
"Mabel~ I'm coming in!"
The elf pushed the door open. Inside the treehouse was an entirely different world—composed entirely of hard, cold ice. The Freeze God Sword was embedded beside an ice bed, sealed in ice. No one lay on the bed; instead, an adorable dog with blue fur on its head was curled up sleeping there.
"Huh? Mabel went out?" Sui walked to the bed, glanced at the dog, looked around to confirm no one else was present, then immediately abandoned all decorum, scooped up the dog in a hug, and buried her face in its belly, inhaling deeply. "Kawaii! Mabel keeps such an adorable dog! I love it!"
In her sleep, Mabel—who hadn't left the house in five years—was startled awake by the sudden embrace. Dressed in a beast-fur robe, she blinked her eyes open, looked at the person in front of her, and froze in shock.
No way—the elf is here?!
Has it really been fifty years already?!!
Oh no—I've been holed up at home so long I lost track of time completely. If they find out I spent most of the last fifty years sleeping, they'll be furious…
What do I do, what do I do—I need to find a way to bluff my way through this.
"…Woof!"
"Oh, you're awake? Are you hungry? I've got some really good jerky here." Sui took out some beef jerky from her spatial storage magic. The savory aroma instantly filled the room. "But where did Mabel go? The half-century meteor shower is about to start…"
Mabel took the jerky and happily began eating. The moment she did, her cover was blown.
"…Mabel?"
"!!! I-I've been found out…"
"What kind of dog picks up food with its paws and puts it in its mouth?!!!"
"I'm sorryyyyy!!!"
After a brief chase, Mabel sat respectfully kneeling on the ice bed, receiving a lecture from Sui.
"Mabel, you stayed cooped up at home for another half century, didn't you? Really…" Sui poked Mabel's nose a few times, then suddenly realized something was off and hurriedly asked, "You've been eating properly every day, right?! The reward for defeating the Demon King shouldn't have lasted fifty years!"
Mabel looked blank for a moment, then understood that Sui was worried about her. She scratched the back of her head and gave an embarrassed laugh. "I've been eating properly every day. Of course the reward didn't last that long. When I was about to go out, I found a huge stash of money under the bed—enough to last me a lifetime. I don't know who put it there. I was wondering if maybe Mom came back…"
...
Three days later…
—The Royal Capital—
Frieren arrived in the capital as promised, walking along unfamiliar streets.
The streets have changed so much compared to before…
"It was supposed to be here fifty years ago, right? Where is everyone?" Frieren turned her head, looking around, but saw no one.
"…Frieren?"
An aged voice came from behind her. Frieren turned and saw a kindly old grandmother standing there. Faint traces of Alicia could still be seen in her features.
"Grandma…" Frieren's eyes widened, her mouth falling open unconsciously, as though shocked that even the holy hero—Alicia Idlucia—had not escaped the ravages of time.
"Wah, that's so mean… Miss Elf and Mabel said the same thing…" Alicia looked dejected for a moment, but quickly rallied, spun in a circle, and hopped once. "But I still feel as light and nimble as when I was young!"
"It really is Alicia…"
In her memory, only Alicia would do something this adorably clumsy.
"Then where are the others?" Frieren craned her neck to peek behind Alicia, confirming no one was hiding there.
"They're waiting for us at the city gate. Let's hurry over!" Alicia took Frieren's hand and began recounting old memories.
"What have you been doing all these years?" Frieren asked curiously.
"Every few years I'd go to the frontier to clear out troublesome monsters. And every year, Lady Serie would come visit me. She's really so kind…" Alicia's expression turned nostalgic as she showed her signature cute smile—though it looked slightly out of place on her aged face.
"I see. That's wonderful."
Frieren smiled warmly. The two walked out of the city gate, where Sui was already waiting for them ahead.
"Where's Mabel? Why is there only a dog here?"
"Hmph hmph, I'm a terrifying beast, you know!" Mabel climbed up from the ground, pulled off the hood of her beast-fur robe, and revealed her originally breathtakingly beautiful face.
"None of your faces show the passage of time at all. As expected of elves and the Ice Folk." Alicia let out a long sigh—equal parts joy and faint regret.
After a moment of silence, Frieren spoke first: "Fifty years ago, I mentioned a place where you can see very clearly. It's still some distance from here, so it'll take about a week's walk from this point. Let's set out now."
"That far?!!"
"Making Grandma walk such a long way isn't good."
"Feels so nostalgic… like we've gone back to the old days."
...
Over the course of that week, the four of them seemed to ignore the flow of time entirely, returning once more to the days of their adventures.
Camping together, cooking dinner together, subjugating monsters together, searching for lost directions together…
"…It's so beautiful. This is the peak of the half-century meteor shower." Alicia gazed up at the starry sky, smiling as she pointed at the constantly falling meteors.
Mabel wore an expression that practically begged to be praised: "Hehe, this time I didn't oversleep."
"If only Dio were here…" Sui's eyes were vacant as she spoke words even she didn't know why she said.
On her forehead, the jewel shone faintly, emitting a soft glow.
Dio? Who's that…
Pffft!
Alicia, sitting beside Sui, suddenly sprayed a large amount of blood from her nose. She remained kneeling in place, staring fixedly at the meteor shower. Her pupils dilated and lost focus as memories flooded back all at once.
[…Diego Brando is looking for a powerful cleric for the party…]
[Stupid woman! Why are you pitying a guy like that?!]
[From today onward, you're the cleric I took—you belong to me…]
[What the hell… you're actually a few months older than me?]
[You don't have memories before age nine? Then just believe—believe in me, Diego Brando, with all your heart. I'll take back the memories you lost. It's a promise…]
[Alicia is still the best…]
[The real reason I let you choose the Salvation Wand…]
[I'm sorry… I lied to you…]
Dio, you big liar… you altered my memories…
Then, overwhelmed by the massive mental shock, Alicia fainted and collapsed straight to the ground.
"Miss Hero!"
"Miss Alicia!"
"Alicia!"
The three anxiously lifted Alicia and rushed at full speed toward the nearest town to find a cleric.
On the way, "Serie" appeared in front of them. She took Alicia from Sui's arms, her face showing no emotional fluctuation.
"Step aside. Even at your speed, you wouldn't reach the capital by dawn. Alicia is the strongest cleric in the world today. If even she can't resist this injury, no cleric in this remote place can heal her."
"I'll take her back."
With a violent surge of wind, "Serie" vanished instantly.
On the hillside where the four had watched the half-century meteor shower, in a corner no one noticed, several drops of blood glimmered under the light of the falling stars.
"Spirits of the wind, carry the two of us to Serie!"
There was no Serie—only a disguise created by a appearance-altering sprite at Diego's request.
"Damn it, hold on just a little longer! Give me just a bit more time—the capital is right there!"
Just a little more… just a little more… no matter what, I want to hold her a little longer.
Feeling his body steadily breaking down, Diego roared in fury, pushing his speed higher and higher, shielding Alicia in his arms from the raging wind.
Time rewound to when the four first arrived at the hillside.
At that moment, Diego had been worried whether the critical node of the half-century meteor shower might cause someone's memories to return.
So, with the help of the little sprite, he had arrived the day before on a treetop several kilometers away from the hillside.
From here, the half-century meteor shower wasn't clearly visible, but the entire hillside where Frieren and the others were could be seen perfectly—allowing him to observe their reactions for the precious twenty minutes he had.
"What the—Serie actually kept her promise to me properly." Diego's lips curved slightly upward as he kept watching the four figures until Alicia collapsed. "Blood… I can't hide it anymore…"
That's it. The memory sprite can't alter the same memories a second time, or it would affect her personality…
Never mind. Fifty carefree years was enough.
After having the appearance-altering sprite change his form and features, he rushed straight to the three of them and took the unconscious Alicia into his arms.
Time returned to the present.
With the wind sprite's help, Diego successfully reached Serie while carrying Alicia. Limping, he handed her over.
The scent of death clung to Diego. Gasping for breath, his crumbling body could barely produce sound as he delivered his final words in a dying whisper:
"She's fine… just her memories… recovered. She's unconscious now. Help her…"
Thud!
Diego collapsed straight to the ground. The body created by the goddess could no longer sustain that terrifying physical and mental intensity. His soul was expelled.
Serie glanced once, then took Alicia. The illusion magic that had been placed on Alicia all these years was dispelled. The kindly old grandmother instantly transformed back into a vibrant young girl.
...
When the three returned to the capital, the deathly silence in the city filled them with dread. As the bells tolled loudly, cries echoed from the great cathedral where Alicia usually resided.
The sound drained all strength from Mabel. She staggered lifelessly into the cathedral. Sui's expression was grim, but she forced herself to walk in as well.
In the center of the great cathedral, a coffin was surrounded by mourners. The elderly Alicia lay inside, encircled by flowers, clutching the Salvation Wand that symbolized the hero.
Frieren's face remained expressionless, as though the person who had died in the coffin was not their former companion.
As the coffin was sealed, shovelful after shovelful of earth was thrown onto it, gradually burying it completely.
One by one the mourners left, until only the former Hero party remained standing before the grave.
Even at this point, none of the three showed grief on their faces.
But a few minutes later, Frieren's body began to tremble uncontrollably. Sobs broke from her throat as tears streamed endlessly down her face. It seemed she had finally realized that the girl who loved to smile would never appear again.
"Alicia…?"
…I think I finally understand a little… the reason Dio altered all our memories…
I'm sorry, Dio… I think I realized it too late…
Even though I knew nothing about you… why did I never think to try to understand you more…