Time in Frieren's world flowed past with its characteristic swiftness.
The scenery of the four seasons seemed to flash by in the blink of an eye, and now Nanoda—a long-lived old-timer—had, amid her training and daily life, unknowingly passed another ten years.
"Nanoda-sama, I've come again."
The floor of the little cabin already had quite a few spots that would creak and groan, especially the patch right in front of Nanoda's door.
Gazing at the hand mirror set on the table, polished until it gleamed, Nanoda tipped her chair back and yawned just as she always did.
"Then I'll trouble you, Yuna."
"Mm."
An opening exchange repeated who knows how many times.
Yuna smiled as she gathered up Nanoda's hair. This routine every morning was like a kind of healing for her, and looking at her freshly groomed Nanoda-sama, she too would begin each new day brimming with energy.
"Time really does fly, doesn't it? Even though your appearance hasn't changed at all, hasn't Nanoda-sama's hair grown a little longer again?"
Yuna spoke up first, lifting the hair and gently drawing the comb downward.
"Is that so? I don't really feel it. If it's getting in the way, should I just cut it off?"
"No, no, no, it's still very pretty. Maybe I could try out even more new hairstyles."
"Then do as you like."
Nanoda narrowed her eyes. She had to admit, over these years Yuna's grooming skills had only gotten better and better—not only was the process enjoyable, but the final hairstyle could even be called a work of art.
"Come to think of it, Yuna hasn't left Gaderia in a long while, has she? Won't you go out adventuring like before? If you invite me along, I'd go with you too."
"No, there's no need. Just being able to keep Nanoda-sama company every day like this already makes me very happy."
Yuna shook her head. She was now in her thirties; her looks hadn't changed much, but in temperament she had lost some of a maiden's coquettish spiritedness and gained a few measures of gentle grace.
Spending time together with Yuna, Nanoda increasingly had the feeling of having a mother-like maiden at her side.
"So then, does Yuna have someone she likes right now? A lover, for instance?"
"Eh?! Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh!"
The unexpected question threw Yuna into a flustered panic, two faint dawn-tinted blushes rising on her cheeks, and she nearly tied the hair she was braiding into a dead knot.
"Whatever for would Nanoda-sama ask such a question?"
The hands holding the hair came to a stop, trembling slightly with tension.
"Back where we come from, by this age one's about ready to talk of marriage, so I'm curious whether Yuna has a member of the opposite sex she likes."
Nanoda wasn't particularly interested in topics like romance, but when it came to her own disciple she did feel a bit curious—like gossip occasionally overheard in a tavern, she was curious how Yuna, being a Human, would think about it. And if there really was someone, then as her master she ought to do a bit of vetting too, just like with the future Fern and Stark.
"The Demon Race talks of marriage too?"
"Ah, this is something I also heard from other Humans."
"It wouldn't happen to be someone who likes Nanoda-sama, would it?"
Yuna's gaze suddenly turned sharp, and even through her back Nanoda could feel the line of sight coming at her like the prick of a needle.
"No, that sort of springtime thing has long been beyond my reach."
"That's good, then... no, wait, that's not..."
As if it took her some time to put her words in order, or perhaps because she had made up her mind, Yuna pressed her lips together and spoke words that took Nanoda by surprise.
"Nanoda-sama, I probably won't go looking for a romantic partner either... Recently, I've decided to open an orphanage!"
"?"
"Whether it's disaster or war, for those children who've lost their parents and have no ability to survive on their own, I think I ought to go and help them."
Nanoda fell silent, then came to terms with it.
She raised the hand mirror and looked at the somewhat anxious Yuna reflected within it. "I won't oppose a choice that is Yuna's own."
"Because I want to become someone like Nanoda-sama, to reach out a helping hand to those children who've lost their homes!"
Yuna's eyes shone with brilliance as she continued binding up Nanoda's hair.
"...That was just a momentary impulse. I'm not exactly some purely good-hearted person, and besides, I'm of the Demon Race."
"But it really was Nanoda-sama who saved me!"
"You really do have an answer for everything~"
Nanoda closed her eyes. Strictly speaking, her disciple had long since graduated from her tutelage; she was now a mature adult, and the road ahead ought to be hers to choose and to walk on her own.
"Ah, that's right. Today Uncle Aaron told me that if you're interested you can go to the Lord's Manor for a meal—apparently a guest has come."
"A guest? Understood."
Inwardly she thought, surely it wasn't the Hero Himmel come again? Though this time it seemed she had already fulfilled part of the promise she'd made back then, so there was no reason to go to war with him again—she just feared frightening Aura's fragile little heart once more. Although right now Aura ought to be out there contributing her strength toward her own grand undertaking.
The Demon King had already been dead for twenty or thirty years, and those members of the Demon Race who had drifted off into far-flung places were, after all, a hidden danger. If they didn't band together, no small number of the Demon Race would likely, relying on the deeds of the wartime era, go on slaughtering Humans and dragging down the Demon Race's reputation in this world.
The fortified city of Weise had Macht in it, and the bad reputation from earlier—when Weise had been turned into the Golden Land that fell—seemed over these years to have improved as well. At the same time, owing to Macht's formidable power, even as they vied for authority, the Northern nobles dared not act rashly in the face of the alliance between Gaderia and Weise.
So Nanoda sent out the thought-reformed Aura to win over those members of the Demon Race who had drifted off into far-flung places. Over these years, Aura had run about all over and brought back quite a few new members of the Demon Race to Gaderia. Although none among them were of general-class caliber—all just rank-and-file rabble—in terms of combat power, bullying a few ordinary folk was no problem at all.
The Demon Association, which had originally been gravely weakened by Aura's defection, had also recovered, and with the auxiliary management of Lugner, a thorough peace was maintained between Humans and the Demon Race within Gaderia. The possibility of the Demon Race harming people had nearly dropped to zero, and the populace, too, had from the very beginning been quite tolerant of the Demon Race.
"There we go, Nanoda-sama."
Perhaps it really was because of the grown-out hair—Yuna had tied a butterfly bow atop the long, straight, white-haired style.
"How amazing..."
Amid her marveling, a roar suddenly rang out from outside, followed by a slight trembling of the ground.
Even across some distance, Nanoda could keenly make out that this single sound was in fact produced by dozens or even hundreds of sounds converging together, and the direction of its source was Qual's research institute out there.
"Could it be an enemy?"
Yuna activated Mana Perception. Not far off, an enormous surge of Mana flashed by in an instant.
"That should be Qual. The commotion from his experiments lately seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Looks like that 'is not impossible to complete.'"
Nanoda felt a bit curious. Without those eighty long years of sealing, would the present-day Qual achieve a version that's ahead of the curve?
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