Frieren 10

Title: Parting Ways and Unexpectedly Joining the Army

Thanks to his lack of horns, their journey north went surprisingly smoothly.

The beast horde traveled through the forest on its own. Ash sat at the front, driving the cart as the coachman, while Aura, inside the cart, acted like a noble lady, dressed like a Middle Eastern woman with her head tightly covered.

“Ugh, I’m bored. Ash, tell me a joke.” Came Aura’s complaint from inside the cart. Ash replied without thinking, “Don’t bother me, I’m reading a book.”

“A new book? What’s so interesting about human history? You’re so weird.”

“I don’t want to be like you, uneducated.” Occasionally, Ash whipped the horses, but his eyes remained fixed on a book he’d just bought from a town, studying the world’s history.

From time to time, he humored Aura’s interruptions. He also found an intriguing figure in an old, yellowed, nearly crumbling history book given as a free bonus.

“…Five hundred years ago, a Great Mage, Flamme, ushered in an era where everyone could learn magic… Flamme’s teacher was even stronger, considered the mage closest to a goddess… Great Mage Serie?”

Carefully turning the damaged book’s pages, Ash felt like he’d discovered an extraordinary, long-forgotten figure. He muttered without reason, “…If only I could learn from her. Flamme’s magic from five hundred years ago already surpassed this era, so Serie must be even stronger, right?”

“No way those two would teach demons, right?” Aura poked her head out from behind, resting her chin on Ash’s shoulder, mercilessly pouring cold water on his thoughts.

“…I was just muttering. It’s been five hundred years; who knows if Serie’s still alive? By the way, your horns are poking my temple, and it hurts a bit. Don’t lean on me next time.”

Ash only felt regret for the legendary mage described in a single sentence.

If he had someone to teach him, and that person was the world’s strongest mage, maybe he wouldn’t have had to hide in the mountains before, and the village tragedy wouldn’t have happened, right? Since seeing this book, he occasionally pondered such thoughts.

It was just musing, as traveling through time was pure fantasy.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

For quite some time, the two continued their leisurely journey, thinking about how to find a peaceful place to continue their magic research.

One morning, as the sun just rose over the horizon, the air felt bitterly cold and slightly damp.

On a lonely, seemingly endless road, their lone cart moved slowly. As they were about to leave the country… they saw a group of fully armed soldiers guarding the border.

“…Because of the war, we can’t leave the country freely?” Ash felt a bit troubled. Aura’s voice came from behind, “Just kill them?”

“…Don’t act rashly unless absolutely necessary. What if there are other troops nearby?”

“Fine, fine, I’ll listen to you.” Aura gave up arguing.

Ash got off the cart, watching the approaching soldiers. He pulled money from his pocket, trying to bribe them to let them pass, but… the situation unfolded beyond his expectations.

These soldiers weren’t like the usual ones who’d leave after taking money. They wanted to take him away and told Aura, who looked very young, to go back.

The situation could only be described in one word—conscription.

During wartime, forcibly recruiting people for labor or as new soldiers was common. This made him realize why the road was empty… The locals knew there were soldiers guarding it for forced recruitment!

What to do? Take them out? Or go along for now and find a chance to escape? Leave peacefully? After a moment of hesitation, Ash shook his head slightly at Aura, watching from afar, and let himself be taken away under her gaze.

The two were forced to part ways.

Though Aura felt a bit worried, she chose to take a detour, leaving the war-torn country and continuing north, because…

“It’s Ash, after all. No way he’d die easily~” With that thought, Aura left without worry.

Without Ash, Aura could only avoid human settlements, taking a detour through the forest.

On the other hand, Ash, whether lucky or not, was taken straight to a training camp for new soldiers. He wasn’t sent to forced labor to build fortifications.

During registration, he said he could use magic and demonstrated it on the spot. He successfully became a war mage and received fairly good treatment.

In the military camp, most of the country’s magic was accessible to him, making him realize he didn’t need to go north. He could stay in the camp and study magic daily.

However, this life lasted only a month. Given a sword and a mage’s robe, he followed his unit and marched toward the enemy country.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

That night.

The mood among the group of mages was grim, as many, like him, had been forcibly conscripted and dragged into a war they didn’t want.

Ash and three comrades he’d recently met received special treatment as mages. Even while marching, they didn’t need to walk but stayed in a carriage.

Of course, this was to conserve their energy so they could contribute more on the battlefield. But…

“I’m gonna die, die, die, die, die, die…” A young female mage sitting in the corner across from Ash hugged her knees, her face grim, repeating the same word.

On closer inspection, her body was trembling.

A middle-aged woman sitting beside Ash, near the window, kept rubbing a letter with her thumb… Ash knew her and that it was a letter from her daughter.

Nothing unusual. Most people on the battlefield saw family or lovers as their hope to survive this hell. And it seemed that, even in another world, it was the same.

An old man with a long beard sitting opposite kept praying, holding a wooden goddess statue… But from their interactions, Ash knew he wasn’t a follower of the creation goddess; he was just praying in his final moments.

Whether praying at the last moment would work might be tested in the upcoming battlefield.