Frieren 44

Title: Who Will Be the Demon King, and Who Will Be the Prince?

Aura’s swift and blunt rejection left Ash momentarily speechless. He rubbed his forehead, thought for a moment, and then looked down at her: “I want to ask…”

“Why?” Aura, propping up her chin, glanced up at him, looking utterly uninterested.

“Normally, even if you want to refuse, shouldn’t you at least be polite about it? You remember everything else, so why forget the manners I taught you?”

“That’s garbage. Why should I, a demon, be hypocritical like humans?”

“Yet you always remember things like foot-licking and other weird stuff…”

“That’s the core.”

“Ugh… fine, let’s drop that for now… we’ll talk about it later…”

Aura’s inexplicably serious and unshakable response made Ash take a deep breath, his lips twitching as he suppressed the urge to complain.

Then, as if to dispel all his emotions, he let out a long sigh and finally calmed down: “Aura, you might’ve misunderstood. I’m not asking for your help for free. Even siblings should be clear about money matters, right?”

“We’re not even real siblings.”

“…Don’t say things that ruin our relationship at a time like this.”

“Oh, right~ Now that you’re begging me, you’re talking about relationships. Have you forgotten how you treated me back then?”

“Raising a naughty kid with love?”

“Sorry, I didn’t hear that clearly.” Aura widened her wicked smile: “Ash, what did you say? Could you repeat that?”

“Alright… Back then, as your big brother, I was wrong. Forgive me for all my mistakes, and please give your brother a chance. This time, I want to be a good brother.”

“Saying that while sitting on my throne?”

Realizing Ash needed her help, Aura acted smugly, pointing at the throne’s armrest he was sitting on.

“Ahem…” Ash cleared his throat, quietly stood up, and smiled: “There… is that okay now?”

“My dear jerk of a brother, tell me first, how are you going to be a good brother?”

“Well…” Slightly taken aback, Ash wiped Aura’s horn, which he’d grabbed earlier, with his sleeve: “Like this?”

“I want you to apologize.”

“Sorry. Next time, I’ll be gentler.”

“There’s a next time?!”

“No, no. Just kidding…” Ash smiled after finishing cleaning her horn and stepped back: “So? Dear Aura, my… uh, not sister, my little sister? What do you think of my offer?”

“Terrible.”

“…Are you going to stay loyal to the Demon King?”

“No way. Who do you think I am?”

“Then…”

“Are you crazy? That guy (the Demon King) has held the throne for over a thousand years. He’s probably been alive for over two thousand years, right? Maybe even since the Mythical Era. He’s a monster among monsters. In his eyes, we, who are just a few hundred years old, are like babies. You want to compete with him for the throne?”

Aura’s gaze at him seemed to question his sanity, almost saying outright: Are you stupid? If you’re stupid, don’t drag me to my death, okay?

“Theoretically, sure, but…”

“What?”

“I’m preparing for after the Demon King’s death.”

“…Are you serious? Someone can defeat a monster like that??”

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Ash met her suspicious gaze with unprecedented seriousness.

This made Aura stare at him for a long time before she leaned back on her throne, tilted her head, and curled her lips into her signature smile—one devoid of good intentions: “If that’s the case, there’s still room to negotiate. But before that—let’s talk about who’ll be the Demon King and who’ll be the prince.”

“No need to ask. You’re definitely the prince.”

“Why?”

“I’m stronger than you.”

“Haha~ We haven’t met in five hundred years, and you haven’t grown taller, but your voice has gotten awfully cocky.” Aura propped up her chin, crossed her legs with enthusiasm, and her smile brimmed with competitive spirit: “Other things can be discussed, but on this matter… looks like we need to settle it with strength, like old times—you don’t mind, right?”

“I don’t mind. Whoever wins gets unconditional support. I’ll even let you gather your undead army. So don’t complain if you lose, how about that?”

“Oh… absolutely!”

“…But before that, one question. If I destroy too many of your undead troops, what then? You won’t ask for compensation, right?”

“If you can do it, go ahead! Today… I’ll definitely get my revenge! I’ll make you kneel at my feet!”

Aura slammed the throne’s armrest hard, speaking boldly, ready to compete with her brother and settle all her past grudges.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

To prevent Aura from cheating after losing, Ash naturally let her properly assemble her army.

Standing behind her troops, Aura, near the castle gate, gazed at the neatly lined-up headless soldiers. She was already thinking about what she’d make Ash do after she won.

In the war between the Demon King’s forces and humans, she had managed to gather thousands of carefully selected elite troops. With this many, her victory was assured.

She even began to worry that her win would be too overwhelming, lacking fun or a sense of accomplishment.

After all, defeating Ash and becoming the ruler was her greatest dream all this time. She thought Ash was dead, and that was nearly her greatest regret.

“But… Ash has gone downhill. He used to be craftier. Now he’s… huh??”

Aura, mid-yawn, stopped in the middle of her sentence.

As the undead army charged, Ash showed no fear facing their overwhelming numbers.

The moment a sword nearly struck him, Ash slightly bent his knees. A strange gravitational force caused the headless soldiers around him, along with the pebbles and sand on the ground within a hundred-meter radius, to float into the air, losing their ability to move.

And in the next second…

*BOOM!*

With a deafening explosion, the ground suddenly cracked, and dust scattered. Ash’s figure vanished from his spot, soaring into the clouds in an instant.