Frieren: Understand Humans, Aura!

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My mana is depleted.

Aura just randomly chose a direction and ran away until she couldn't run anymore, then she stopped. The dual exhaustion of body and spirit slowed the recovery of her mana, drained from her confrontation with the demon general.

Ordinarily, as one of the Seven Sage Destructions and a high-ranking demon, defeating a demon general would be easy. But in her current weakened state, her most prized obedience magic couldn't be used without the magical artifact "Scales of Obedience." Additionally, the powerful warrior bodies she had accumulated over centuries were unavailable in this era.

As a summoner with no restrictions on the control position and who can exploit bugs to compete with warriors in magic power, she has actually fallen to the point of having to engage in melee combat.

Damn it, how did things get this bad?

"I have no strength left."

She reached the end of the road.

Aura knelt at the edge of a cliff, looking down at the flowing stream below and gazing at the distant horizon and saw the sun rising again. Sadness welled up inside her.

'Nothing has been accomplished, Aura.'

She hadn't killed those she needed to kill, nor changed those she needed to change.

'Am I truly the most worthless among the Seven Sage of Destructions?'

"No, no, no, Aura, how can you doubt yourself!"

"It must have been a trap!"

"Damn it, everything was so strange before I traveled to this time... It's my mind, my thinking has become odd. Damn you, Frieren, and adding that weight to the scale causing the obedience magic to backfire... My head hurts... hurts so much!!!"

Aura clutched her head, curling up into a ball with her head between her knees, only her horns visible.

After a while, the intense pain in her brain subsided.

"My horn, it's loose."

Aura suddenly realized this. When she saved Flamme from the demon general's axe, her left horn had been cut at the root. Later, while carrying Flamme, the human girl had grabbed and twisted it. Now, while clutching her head in pain, she had felt the looseness of her left horn.

"Am I going to be disabled?"

Aura carefully touched her injured horn. For demons, horns are vital organs and a symbol of status. If broken, it was akin to disfigurement for humans.

However, in this situation, disfigurement might be a good choice.

If she broke her horn, Aura could blend perfectly into human society, making it easier to hide or cause trouble.

"Moreover, if I appeared before Frieren and Flamme without horns, looking almost human, wouldn't that gain their trust and lead them towards a future more beneficial to demons?"

Aura already held a piece of iron wire, ready to saw off her horn. This wasn't the first time she had thought about it. She had taken this wire saw from a human village when she saw it.

Carefully placing the wire saw into the gap of her left horn, Aura gripped it tightly, breathing heavily in anticipation of the pain to come.

"For the Demon King, for the cause of the demons, I, Aura, am determined to sacrifice myself!"

With that, she pulled the saw.

Her vision darkened, eyes rolling back, and she fainted instantly.

Her last thought before losing consciousness was:

'Damn it, to hell with the demon cause and the Demon King, nothing is more important than my horn.'

It hurts too much!!!!

——

In truth, no matter how much Aura complained about other demon sages or criticized the actions of the omniscient Schlacht, she always respected the Demon King.

All demons revered the Demon King, the only being in a thousand years to unite the will of all demons. Whether they were magic sages or warrior generals, the Demon King's absolute power and knowledge had unified the demons like never before, driving them forward as one.

Such unprecedented achievements made even the rational demons praise and admire the Demon King.

No demon in the world would insult such a great Demon King!

All demons think so.

Yes, yes!

Aura strongly agreed.

For the will of the Demon King, for the glory of the demon race, Aura was willing to give everything of herself... except her horn.

"Aaaaahhhhh—"

"Don't cut off my horn, I'm willing to do anything!"

Aura woke up startled from her bed, finding herself inside a treehouse, a large tree with a diameter of about ten meters. The inside was hollowed out, furnished with furniture, tables, beds, and a few branches adorned with green leaves on the walls.

This hollowed-out tree was still alive, incredibly resilient.

"Where am I?" Aura was in a panic, reaching up to her head. Her two horns were still there, and the injured part of her left horn was wrapped up.

This is bad.

Being a demon is taboo in any race; whether elves, humans, or dwarves, they all harbor hostility towards demons.

Touching her body, both legs and arms were intact, no signs of stitches on her stomach, and her organs seemed intact. There was nothing like an anti-magic collar around her neck. Phew— it seemed she hadn't fallen to the level of becoming a prisoner.

"You're awake." A slightly hoarse voice came from behind, somewhat strange. It was obviously the voice of a young girl, but it had the tone of an old woman.

She turned her head to look.

A short elf with golden hair, as long as her clothes, wearing shorts that revealed her chubby legs and golden ankle cuffs.

Oh dear, isn't this Serie?

Looks like my situation is worse than being a prisoner.

"About to be made into an experimental subject."

Sobs sobs—

Aura shed crocodile tears, feigning the pitiful expression of a suffering maiden, which, from a human perspective, made her appearance quite appealing, tearful and pitiable.

"Don't pretend like that, demon."

The short, golden-haired elf smiled faintly. Although her lips curved upward, Aura couldn't see any humor in her eyes, just a serene mirror-like calm.

"Do you understand the emotion behind those tears you shed?"

"I don't quite understand."

"To be honest, I don't understand either."

"Is that so?"

Aura wiped away her tears and dried the traces on her face with her sleeve. There was no sign left of her recent crying, not even redness in her eyes.

For the demons, crying was just a technique, a skill to elicit sympathy from humans. But this technique was completely ineffective against monsters devoid of human emotions.

The magician who revered as a living grimoire, the elf Serie was such a monster.

"Why didn't you kill me?"

"Do I have to kill you?"

"Is it true that the demons can't pose any threat to you at all?"

"A little bit."

"What about from me?"

"..."

"Well, that's a blow to my pride."

Serie's expression tightened slightly. She had encountered countless demons on the brink of death before—some begged for mercy, some self-destructed heroically, some engaged her in philosophical debates—but she had never seen a demon like the one before her now, who, after struggling, seemed indifferent.

But perhaps this was a peaceful acceptance of death.

As if having experienced too many helpless situations, one becomes indifferent.

"The only threat demons pose to me is that if all of you were to die, I'd be bored."

"Currently, one-third of the wars in the world are caused by demons. Magic developed around these wars is always rapid and innovative. If demons were wiped out, the pace of magical development would slow down, and my life would be deprived of one-third of its enjoyment."

Serie replied calmly, her voice hoarse yet composed. She handed Aura a bottle of potion. Aura didn't even look at it before drinking it all.

After all, she hadn't heard of any demons that Serie had taken an interest in and let live. With no hope left in this life, she might as well go along with it.

"Old hag, I've disliked you for a long time. Clearly you're so old, but you pretend to have a childish appearance to fool others. You're short and poor, and your dressing style is like a child. If it were me..."

"Aura, you are a unique specimen, so I won't kill you," Serie said calmly.

"...If it were me, I'd dress like that too. It's tasteful, simple yet elegant, with a childlike yet mature classical charm. It's just the style made for you."

"After I've probed your memories, you'll lose all your value as a specimen," Serie added.

"I've been sick of seeing that stinky face of yours for a long time. All the elves have the same expressionless face and are sexually frigid. The race is almost extinct, but you, the oldest elf, don't care. You deserve it..."

"We currently don't have magic that can probe your memories. I've tried; your mind is like a precarious stack of blocks right now, ready to collapse with a touch. Even I can't do anything," Serie changed the subject.

"...I deserve to worry about this. If you don't mind, I have some experience in studying the activity of souls, which should be able to solve the problem of the elves' weak desires. If you really don't want to, I can also help you try to study the topic of parthenogenesis."

"Don't be too nervous, Aura. Although I know time travel magic, under the rules set by the goddess, I can't use it. You're the only time travel case I've seen. You have important research value. I will not kill you unless it is absolutely necessary."

Listening to Serie's reassurance, Aura finally stopped trembling. She had just been disrespectful to the mythical era elf magic wielder, but fortunately, Serie didn't take offense at her offense. Otherwise, Aura would have died from her own trash talk.

"Then... what would constitute an absolute necessity?" Aura cautiously probed.

"The last two times were just that," Serie smirked with narrowed eyes.

Plonk—

Aura knelt down.

"Please, don't kill me. I'm willing to do anything!"

"Anything~"

Serie's tone was playful. She reached out and grasped Aura's injured horn, feeling the tremble of the demon beneath her hand, finding it amusing.

Actually, she was lying.

Aura wasn't as valuable as she claimed. Unique specimen? How could that be possible? She had just sensed a particular magical fluctuation and hurried to the scene, only to find a demon there.

It was the first time a demon had gained the goddess's attention, and Serie found it amusing, so she brought her along to observe.

Serie wasn't curious about what would happen in the future. The magic of predicting the future was too boring and was a subject she had abandoned. She was more curious about the goddess's favor.

She wanted to keep Aura around and wait for the next miracle bestowed by the goddess. Although the probability of such a thing happening was extremely low, there was no harm in trying... and there was no cost involved, just an impromptu investment.

If things didn't go well, she could kill her and wait for the next one.

Elves had endless lives; she had plenty of time to wait and experiment.

"If you're willing to do anything, then be my assistant."

"Huh?"

Feeling the small elf's hand release from her horn, Aura was taken aback.

Is that all?

Was Serie satisfied just by making her an assistant?

Aura had thought Serie might angrily break off her horn or suspend her in a sealed glass tube, sustained by nutrient fluid.

"Taboo experiments are something I haven't done in a long time. In the mythical era, all the taboos you can think of were turned into reality in that crazy era by similarly crazy people."

"Human experiments or demon dissections have long been outdated."

With Serie's words, Aura's body shuddered:

"Can you hear my thoughts?"

"It's not mind-reading magic; your expressions are just easy to read."

Serie replied expressionlessly. it was strange that although the elves and demons were hostile to each other and were classified as the human side, in terms of racial habits, the elves and demons were closer, and they were both immortal species with indifferent emotions.

Like the strange demon before her, who displayed such rich facial expressions, was rare.

"Do you have a mental illness?"

"You're the one..."

"Hmm?"

"...You're perceptive, Serie-sama. Others of my kind say I have mental illnes."

Aura puffed up her chest proudly, as if Serie had praised her instead of suggesting she had mental illnes.

"Zanze, take her to the library."

Serie's voice rang out, and a... dwarf entered through the door?

Sorry, please tolerate Aura's use of this slightly offensive word. She really needed to lower her head to look at the human girl who came in.

Haha, this is of course because she is tall, not because she is sitting on the bed and looks taller.

Aura couldn't help but think maliciously. Maybe it was because Serie, who was shorter than the average elf due to slow growth, specifically found such a short human to serve as her personal assistant.

"I feel your gaze is very offensive." The girl, with pink hair and dark circles under her eyes, in a weary state, raised her head and glanced at Aura's horns.

"What's wrong? Are my horns beautiful?" Aura had already rolled off the bed and grabbed the tips of her horns with both hands, not sure if she was showing off her height with added horns or measuring if her horns had been maliciously ground away by some elf as material.

"Hey, Serie, aren't you afraid I'll lay hands on her? I'm a demon after all." Before leaving, she turned to Serie to test her.

"If you can do it, you can try." Serie didn't turn her head, waved her hand, and the bed Aura had messed up was floating in the air, then neatly folded.

'This damn elf...'

Aura's eyes dimmed.

'Did you really see through it? For the demons, survival is the first priority, and dignity comes second.'

'No matter how you look down on me, all I want is for me, Aura, to be alive.'

With a change of heart, Aura obediently followed Zanze to the library, where Serie said it would be her workplace for a long time to come.

Along the way, Zanze remained silent, and Aura merely surveyed her surroundings without speaking to her.

In magical perception, there were few signs of life nearby, and visually, all she could see were quaint, stone-built buildings. Many were uninhabited. This place resembled a miniature town, with a castle at its center. It seemed to be built on a hilltop, with high altitude judging from the humidity and temperature of the air, but where exactly it was, Aura didn't know.

Besides Zanze, this small town also showed traces of other life forms, mostly human, but there were no dwarves or elves; all were magic wielders.

As Zanze led Aura through, human magic wielders glanced at her with interest or raised their wands in caution, but upon seeing Zanze leading the way, they relaxed their guard.

It seemed these magic wielders had been well-trained by Serie.

—Even though she thought so, Aura subconsciously reached out to cover her horns, trying to hide them.

"Take this." Suddenly, a cloak was handed to her, Zanze's own cloak. The small stature of this human was not tall, and the cloak was short, but it was enough to cover Aura's horns.

"Aren't you going to thank me?"

"Should I do that?"

Aura tilted her head, looking nonchalant.

Zanze paused for a moment, then came to herself. Through the gap in her face-obscuring pink hair, she glanced at the wound on Aura's exposed shoulder.

"These wounds of yours, just ordinary blunt instrument injuries. Why did Serie-sama specifically take you to her room and personally treat you?"

"She helped me bandage it?" Aura reached for the bandage on her left horn, soaked with potion, It felt tingling and the corner was no longer loose. She smirked disdainfully, "How should I know."

"Oh, it must be a mental illnes then, even Serie-sama said it's tricky. Are there mental illnesses among demons too?"

"...Do you know that the way you say it is very annoying?"

"I know."

"You!!"

"You're welcome."

Damn, are human magic wielders always this disgusting?

Aura gritted her teeth. As expected, demons and humans will always be natural enemies. It is impossible for them to understand each other!