“…I see.”
Frieren felt a tiny bit regretful, but partings were always abrupt, no matter who it was. This time was no different. And it wasn’t as if this was a final goodbye in this lifetime. It was just a different place to get off the carriage.
So they would meet again.
Frieren swallowed down the various emotions swirling in her chest.
“Well, I can’t stop you then.”
Himmel gave a gentle, faint smile.
“Hey, Frieren. Sleeping was fine, but having a silly conversation wasn’t so bad either, was it?”
“Yeah, it was a good way to pass the time.”
“I’m glad to hear that. As long as you were enjoying yourself, that’s all that matters to me.”
Himmel opened the carriage door and stepped down to the ground.
“See you.”
“Yeah.”
The door closed, and the carriage started moving.
Frieren discreetly peeked out the window at Himmel. Himmel stood there quietly, watching the carriage carrying Frieren and the others depart. As the distance between them grew, thoughts crossed Frieren’s mind – whether Himmel had anything more he wanted to say, whether they should have talked more. But the carriage kept moving on.
Frieren looked away from the window, thinking “This doesn’t seem like me.” Then Heiter spoke up.
“Shall I continue the silly conversation?”
“Has the drunkenness worn off?”
“Yes, thanks to that I can drink again.”
“This old priest is still going to drink more…”
“I’ve learned my lesson about drinking in the carriage, so I’ll wait until we get out.”
The words “get out” cut through Frieren’s chest like a cold draft.
“…So Heiter will get off first, huh.”
“Yes, unfortunately, but it can’t be helped.”
“Can’t be helped, huh.”
It didn’t explain anything, but Frieren supposed she had to accept it as “can’t be helped.”
Frieren was gradually becoming aware of the situation she found herself in. The only thing she couldn’t figure out was where this carriage was headed – that part was a mystery.
“What about Eisen?”
“I plan to keep riding for a while.”
Eisen lowered his eyelids kindly.
“You’ve started caring about these things too, huh.”
“What things?”
“Ah, never mind.”
“The atmosphere is getting a bit gloomy. Let’s try to have more fun!”
Heiter said cheerfully, trying to liven up the mood.
Eisen agreed, and Frieren nodded.
Heiter may be a drunkard, but he’s good at this kind of consideration. He really pays attention to the people around him – a skill Frieren completely lacks. So she thinks, “Nice work,” realizing Heiter’s brightness has probably helped her in many situations that Frieren never noticed before.
“You’re pretty remarkable, Heiter.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re looking out for us. You should be thanked.”
“It came out of nowhere, so I don’t understand…”
Heiter scratched his head and chuckled.
“Well, let’s just take it as a compliment. Thank you.”
“You can be even more grateful, you know.”
“Okay, okay.”
Brushing it off lightly, Heiter brought up a new topic –
about the people they’d met on the journey, the delicious food they’d eaten in town, the monsters they’d struggled to defeat.
The conversation shifted to stories from when their party was just starting out. Back then, their coordination was poor, and they’d have a hard time even with dungeons that were no problem now. They’d been on the brink of a total wipe more than once, but now those memories were just funny stories.
“Oh yeah, that’s right – you ended up getting eaten by a mimic, didn’t you? That was rough.”
“Heiter could barely move back then because he has hungover, you know.”
“Really, the only ones who could fight properly in that dungeon were me and Himmel.”
“You got completely lost and disappeared, didn’t you?”
“I just ended up wandering off without realizing it.”
“You were supposed to be the frontline fighter!”
“But we made it through in the end, right?”
“…Though if Himmel hadn’t insisted on taking a side trip, we wouldn’t have had to go into that dungeon at all.”
“Yeah, you could say it was all Himmel’s fault.”
“Honestly, we were just being jerked around the whole time.”
“Ugh, always going on these stupid side quests.”
The three of them nodded in agreement.
A small, bittersweet laughter and sentiment filled the carriage.
“…It’s about time.”
Heiter said as the carriage stopped.
“Are you going to drink again once we get out?”
“Yes, I’ll indulge in some good drinks.”
“Just don’t throw up this time.”
“I won’t.”
Heiter got out of the carriage, wearing a satisfied smile.
“Enjoy the rest of your journey!”
“Yeah, we’ll do that.”
The carriage started moving again, and Heiter waved goodbye until he was out of sight.
Finally, it was just Frieren and Eisen left in the carriage. Even though it wasn’t a large space, it felt eerily quiet.
“It’s gotten quiet, hasn’t it.”
“Yes, it has.”
“Eisen, you’re still not getting off, are you?”
“No, but I’ll probably be the next one to get off, not you.”
“I know.”
Frieren rested her elbow on the window frame, gazing out absently.
“I wonder why everyone keeps getting off so quickly.”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Well, I was just wondering out loud.”
Eisen gave her a concerned look.
“Don’t get so down.”
“Do I look that depressed?”
“A little. But there’s no shame in that.”
“And you, Eisen, you don’t seem to feel anything.”
“It just appears that way.”
“…I see.”
The creaking of the wheels and the silence filled the space.
It was quiet.
This time may not be bad, but somehow it feels unsatisfying.
“It’ll be alright, Frieren.”
“What will?”
“Even if I get off, another new person will get on this carriage. If that happens, you can have some mindless chatter with them. And when they get off, someone else will eventually get on. It never ends.”
“People who get on the carriage?”
Eisen silently pointed behind him. There was only a wall there. From outside the carriage…he must be telling me to look ahead.
Frieren opened the door halfway. Leaning out to avoid falling from the moving carriage, he looked down the lone road ahead.
In the distance, there were people.
A young girl with purple hair stood holding a mage’s staff. Next to her was a red-haired boy carrying a large axe on his back. They seemed to know each other. Though Frieren couldn’t hear what they were saying, the boy was dramatically reacting to the girl’s words, and she would playfully hit him. They appeared to get along well.
Further ahead, an adult man was smoking, gazing up at the sky and exhaling smoke. He had an air of melancholy about him.
And even farther, Frieren could see someone else standing, their race and gender indistinguishable. And beyond that, more figures.
Those must be the new passengers boarding the carriage.
Frieren’s heart pounded.
It was an omen.
Happiness or unhappiness, something that encompassed it all awaited down this road.
She wasn’t filled with expectation or pessimism.
But Frieren…
Frieren simply wanted to see what lay at the end of this endless path.
At that moment, a strong wind blew, sending Frieren’s hair flying.
The scent of grass enveloped her.
“…Please wake up.”
Frieren’s eyes fluttered open.
She was inside a carriage. A young man with the carriage driver was looking at her, seeming a bit exasperated. Perhaps he had tried to wake Frieren several times.
Frieren stretched while still seated. She must have fallen asleep while being rocked by the carriage.
She felt like she had a very long dream,
though she couldn’t remember the details. Just a strange, wistful afterglow.
“Well, now that you’re awake, please get off. We’ve arrived.”
“Arrived where?”
“Are you still half-asleep?”
The driver said with a bewildered tone.
“The capital.”
It had been half a century since Frieren had last seen the capital.
Walking down the main street where a triumphant parade was once held after defeating the Demon King, Frieren noticed no one seemed to recognize her anymore. She was grateful for that.
Not only the people, but the city itself had changed dramatically. Taller buildings had been constructed, increasing the density of the urban landscape.
Frieren had come to the capital to obtain a dark dragon horn, a necessary ingredient for summoning rituals. She remembered leaving one she had found in the Demon King’s castle with a man named Himmel, who lived in this city.
And soon, it would be the time of the half-century meteor shower.
Half a century ago, she had promised the members of the hero party that they would watch it together.
It had been half a century since she had seen them all.
“I wonder which way it is…”
Frieren headed deeper into the city, trying to recall the location of Himmel’s house. The increased number of buildings made it harder to navigate.
As she proceeded, guided by her memories from half a century ago, a voice suddenly called out.
“…Frieren?”
Someone called her
She recognized that person immediately,
even though it had only been half a century. Somehow, it felt strangely nostalgic.
Thinking of that narcissistic hero, Frieren turned around.
continue
Afterword
Author: Mei Hachimoku
I, Mei Hachimoku, was the one who wrote the ” Novel Frieren : Beyond Journey’s ~Prelude~”. I was surprised when I was offered the opportunity to write a novel based on “TFrieren : Beyond Journey’s”, as I never imagined I would be involved with it. It is a great honor.
I love the world of Frieren, where everything is serene, and everyone lives with quiet determination. I hope this book will help expand the world of Frieren for the fans.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Kanehito Yamada san, who supervised this work, and to Abe tsukasa san, who provided the illustrations. I also thank Mr. Ogura and Yoshinaka san from the Weekly Shonen Sunday editorial department, as well as the editor in charge, Hamada san.
And finally, thank you to all the readers who made it to the end.
As a fan myself, I am looking forward to the further developments of “The Funeral Procession of Frieren”.
Original work: Kanehito Yamada
After reading the unpublished short stories by Mei Hachimoku san featuring Himmel’s group, I was impressed not only by the depth of understanding of the characters and the world, but also by the sense that the author had truly enjoyed writing them. That is why I asked Hachimoku san to write this novel.
I also thoroughly enjoyed supervising this work. The stories, which included the adventures of my personal favorites Lawine and Kanne, as well as the reunion with the demon tribe whose roles had ended in the main series, were all bittersweet to finish reading.
Illustrations: Abe tsukasa
This time, I was in charge of illustrating the novel.
I was able to enjoy drawing the protagonists of the five stories.
Especially drawing Aura was a real pleasure, as it had been a long time.
Shogakukan e-Books
Frieren : Beyond Journey’s ~Prelude~
Released as an e-book on April 17, 2024
Author: Mei Hachimoku
Original work: Kanehito Yamada
Cover illustration: Abe tsukasa
Publisher: Torimitsu Yutaka
Editorial supervision: Hoshino Hiroki (Gagaga Bunko)
Editor: Hamada Hiroyuki (Gagaga Bunko)
Editorial cooperation: Ōshima Kazunori, Ogura Kouga, Yoshinaka Hironobu (Weekly Shonen Sunday)
Published by Shogakukan
The poll is open again, please vote!!!
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.