Frieren: Understand Humans, Aura!

Hello, hello, it's been a while since the main story continued. To be honest, I almost forgot the plot and need to reread the previous chapters, hehe~

And to celebrate the return of the main story, here's a fan art of Aura after losing one of her horns. See the comment

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Though Aura had been accepted as the Goddess's representative, the foundation of religion, like everything else in the material world, had its limits.

For the common believer, the Goddess was a distant figure, an ethereal presence who offered comfort in times of despair. The promises of divine protection were more abstract than concrete, and for most, the belief in her was more an act of faith than a concrete connection. The Goddess existed in the realm of hope, something intangible, something to turn to when facing hardship. But the more distant and ungraspable she was, the more the people believed in her, offering their faith freely as they sought solace from their burdens.

However, faith becomes fragile when its objects become too tangible. If the Goddess were to manifest herself physically, demanding obedience, sacrifices, or tangible acts of devotion from her followers—such as asking them to surrender all their possessions or give away their food—those who once believed might find their faith shaken.

After all, it's one thing to offer prayers, to whisper hopes in the quiet of one's room, but it's quite another to face hardship and the reality of living for that belief. The moment the Goddess would demand something too specific, too real, too demanding, doubts would emerge.

For Aura, the representative of this very Goddess, the situation was even more complicated.

Aura had become a symbol of the Goddess's will, but her own legitimacy was far from secure. The followers had started to murmur, and cracks were beginning to show in their faith. After all, she was not a figurehead like the Goddess, but a tangible, mortal representative. To them, Aura was far too real, and her actions—her decisions—had very real consequences. The doubts were not just whispered anymore; they had begun to take root.

The new settlement, the village being built in the rocky valley, was not what had been promised. The believers who had once been used to the comforts and relative safety of the mountain stronghold now faced the harshness of manual labor. They had to endure long, grueling days under the hot sun, cutting down trees, clearing land, and working the soil without the comforts they once enjoyed. The food stores from the abandoned bandit stronghold had been rapidly consumed, and the luxurious days were becoming distant memories.

The valley was inhospitable. Unlike the fertile land around the mountain stronghold, this land was rocky, requiring back-breaking labor to even begin to make it suitable for planting. The initial investment in clearing and preparing the land was monumental, yet no immediate returns could be seen. The promise of a new village seemed distant and abstract, a far-off dream that didn't appear to match the physical exhaustion they now faced.

And in the face of hunger, rebellion began to stir.

While no one had openly defied Aura's authority, quiet mutterings were growing louder. Some started to question her legitimacy—why had she asked them to travel so far, to reclaim barren land, when they could have easily rebuilt the village in the fertile terrain surrounding the mountain stronghold? The labor required there was minimal compared to this arduous task. The stronghold's soil would have been easy to prepare, far less taxing than the work they were currently doing.

As the group worked in the oppressive afternoon heat, murmurs of discontent and skepticism drifted through the camp. These whispers had been building for days, fueled by both the backbreaking labor and the dwindling supplies, and it wasn't long before someone broke the silence.

"Hey, hey, it's been a while since we last saw Lady Aura, hasn't it?" a younger man muttered, his voice laced with weariness as he leaned on his hoe.

"Not just a while—I've never seen her at the new village!" replied another, an older woman with calloused hands who glanced around as if fearing Aura might overhear them, even from miles away.

"You don't think she's afraid of something here, do you? Ha ha," he joked, though his laugh lacked conviction.

"Come on, that's ridiculous," scoffed a third, wiping sweat from his brow. "Didn't you see her show of divine power? She burned through a mountain wall with a single wave of her hand. It was wide enough for three grown men to walk through side-by-side. Who can withstand that? Only a Goddess could do such a thing!"

"Yeah, I was just joking… Just joking, don't take it so seriously." The first man shrugged, but an uneasy silence settled over them. The work resumed, but the thoughts lingered, heavy and unspoken.

After a long while, someone on the other side spoke again.

The voice belonged to a tall, middle-aged man with a sturdy yet lean frame. His face was stern and weathered, marked with sharp lines that hinted at years of toil and travel. He wore his hair cropped short, practical and no-nonsense, and his worn robe hung loosely around his shoulders. This was Roman—a familiar figure among the villagers, though still something of an outsider.

Unlike most, Roman hadn't been raised within the insular confines of the religious state, and he carried himself with a detached skepticism toward the fervor surrounding Lady Aura. He attended the daily prayers and observed the rituals like everyone else, but his faith seemed to lack depth—a duty, not devotion. His occasional murmurs and the indifferent way he mouthed the prayers left people wondering if he even believed in the Goddess at all.

Roman leaned on his shovel, squinting at the distance before he spoke. "Sasha said she found the Goddess's incarnation in that cave, the one who would deliver us from our suffering. And sure, she did save us from the bandits..." His voice trailed off thoughtfully, and then he continued, "But I've been in that cave. There's more in there than most people care to notice."

One of the younger men looked up, curious. "What are you talking about?"

"The bones," Roman replied, his voice low. "It's filled with bones. Some snapped in half, with bite marks on them. And not just bite marks, but deep gouges. Almost as if… as if they were gnawed on by something not quite human."

A younger man nearby, whose face still held the fresh fervor of newfound faith, immediately looked up, frowning deeply. "How dare you slander Lady Aura, you scum!" he spat, voice rising defensively. "You know it was her who saved us from the bandits! You wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for her!"

"Well… that's true, we should be grateful," Roman glanced at the person who had rebuked him, then looked away indifferently. Though his hands kept working, his mouth did not stop,

"I'm not saying I'm ungrateful. Things are better than they were under the lash, I'll give you that. But tell me, how long do you think those bandit supplies are going to last us?" He chuckled, a hollow sound. "We're consuming without producing anything—eventually, we'll run out of food… I'm not too concerned, I'm used to going hungry anyway, but do you think that divine lady would be willing to starve? When she's hungry, can she control her appetite? Or will she eat us like she ate those bandits?"

His words hung in the air, unsettling those who listened. One of the men, his face hard with resolve, scoffed, trying to brush off the discomfort. "If it comes to that… well, then so be it," he said, raising his chin defiantly. "If we starve and she eats us, then that's the path to Heaven that the Goddess has ordained. To be consumed by her would be a blessing. Wouldn't it?" His voice wavered slightly.

Roman raised an eyebrow, a hint of mocking in his gaze. "Are you stupid or just pretending to be? Being eaten leads to Heaven—that's clearly a made-up lie. The miracles she showed us are nothing but magic, not divine blessings. Sasha is young and naive, easily fooled, and believed that nonsense about dying and going to Heaven. Do you believe it too?"

"Bastard! Who are you calling stupid? Of course I know she's using magic, everyone knows that, but have you ever seen a mage who could carve through a mountain? Power like that—who but the Goddess could grant it? Not even the strongest mage in our previous country could do that!"

"Oh, I know alright. Maybe better than any of you. I've seen mages who could raise walls taller than this village in seconds, heard of mages from the Examination Era who could tear through armies. You're right, she's powerful—but divine? No." 

Roman sneered and glanced at the believer who refuted him. He certainly knew that no one present knew the power of magic better than him. "That so-called 'divine lady' isn't holy. Her magic isn't some blessing from above. If anything, she's got the mark of something far darker. Remember, the divine aren't just angels from Heaven—there are demons in Hell too. Ask yourselves: which one does a creature that eats people resemble more?" 

But precisely because Roman understood magic so well, he was certain,

The younger man couldn't hold back any longer. He stepped forward, fury twisting his face. "You bastard… How dare you slander Lady Aura!"

Thud!

The devout believer, his face flushed with anger, opened his mouth to argue but, unable to outtalk Roman, simply punched him in the face to silence him.

Roman staggered back, but only for a moment. He'd been hit plenty of times before, and he wasn't about to let this slide. Roman struck back, his punch landing with a solid thud.

Thud! Thud! Thud!!

The two people were so angry that they lost their minds and started fighting each other on the spot.

The two men launched at each other, fists swinging wildly, bodies crashing against each other as they grappled, falling to the ground. Grunts and curses filled the air as they traded blows, oblivious to the shocked faces gathering around them.

The believers around heard the noise and gathered around to watch. Some people also tried to persuade the two men to stop, but the two men were so angry that they not only refused to listen, but the kind-hearted people who tried to stop the fight were punched in the face. After their faces turned blue and white, they also joined the fight.

The situation gradually escalated, and in the chaos of the fight, someone lost his mind and picked up a hoe.

"Stop! What are you doing?!"

A sudden, piercing voice rang out, cutting through the noise like a knife. Instantly, the clamor died down. Heads turned, and the crowd shifted aside, creating a path for a small, pink-haired girl with thick eyebrows and a determined expression.

It was Sasha. She had just completed her daily magic training with Aura, and despite the exhaustion that came with these sessions, Sasha had made it a habit to check on the believers' progress each day, overseeing their work with a sense of duty that belied her youth.

Though she was young, Sasha understood that the villagers' hard labor was essential to fulfilling Aura's vision for the village near the Holy Sword.

Still, she hadn't anticipated discontent to escalate this quickly. And what surprised her more was that the conflict wasn't directed at Lady Aura herself, but had erupted between the believers instead.

"In the Goddess's sight, we should unite and love one another," Sasha began, her voice steady and firm despite her age. "Have you forgotten the teachings? Lady Aura would never want to see her followers fighting among themselves. What has made you forget the Goddess's loving guidance?"

"Sasha, Roman just said—" one of the believers tried to explain, but Roman cut him off, his voice thick with frustration.

"It's the food, Sasha," Roman said, addressing her directly, his words heavy with resentment. "You must have noticed it too. The food in the stronghold is nearly gone. Some of us have already gone hungry. We're lost out here, cut off from any real supplies, and when the food's gone, what then? Will that so-called divine lady have an answer for us?"

Roman's voice was loud, which drowned out the voices of others. What's more, what he said was exactly what many believers were concerned about. Even the believers who had previously clashed with Roman suppressed the urge to report Roman's disrespectful remarks. They wanted to hear what Sasha, who served Aura and was closest to the Goddess's Envoy, would say.

"The food is running out… But we still have seeds, don't we?" Sasha tilted her head, her bright and clear eyes showing no sign of worry.

The believers who were watching all felt a sinking feeling in their hearts. They had forgotten how old Sasha was. Although she was precocious, she was still only nine years old. A child of this age could not fully understand the plight of food shortage.

"…Too long." Even Roman couldn't hide his disappointment. Although he had expected no real solution from Sasha, he couldn't help but feel disheartened when his expectations were confirmed.

When the anticipated reality appeared before his eyes, he couldn't help but feel disappointed... Are they really going to resist that man-eating demon?

Even if they wanted to resist, do they truly have the power to do so?

"It won't take long," Sasha said suddenly, a hint of optimism coloring her tone. She looked around, confused by the sinking expressions of those around her. Seeing that they were waiting for her to explain, she added, "Master Aura taught me magic."

Roman's eyes narrowed, a tremor in his voice betraying his wavering hope. "The magic… of harvest?"

"Yes, it's magic that accelerates the growth of seeds. It was taught to me by Master Aura."

Sasha lied.

The magic to accelerate the growth of seeds was something she had figured out on her own.

During Aura's lessons on magic, Sasha had already noticed that while Master Aura was adept at destructive magic used in combat, she was completely clueless when it came to other types of magic that had nothing to do with fighting or killing.

Most of the time, Sasha only heard theories about such magic from Aura. And when she asked in depth, Master Aura would show a confused expression - as if Master Aura could not imagine herself using this kind of magic at all.

While Aura had given her ample knowledge in magical theory, Sasha found herself exploring the nuances of plant magic independently, learning through experimentation how to coax life from seeds with the mana she channeled. She had imagined each step so vividly that, with a spark of mana, the seeds had sprouted for her with ease. It had been her own discovery—a secret victory, almost—but here she offered it as though it was a gift from Aura.

After her experiment succeeded, Sasha described her result and ideas in detail to Aura, she still couldn't visualize the process of making a seed sprout.

But Sasha managed to do it effortlessly.

With everyone watching in a mixture of curiosity and awe, Sasha crouched down and placed her hand gently on the cultivated soil, where potato chunks had already been carefully planted. Her small fingers brushed against the earth, grounding herself before invoking the magic.

'Imagination... imagination... imagination—' she repeated in her mind, her breath steady but quickening with the weight of the task.

She could see it: the potato chunks sinking into the soil, roots reaching out from their core, tiny green shoots pushing through the dirt, eager for sunlight. Every inch of her focus sharpened on the scene she wished to bring to life. Sasha's mind was a whirlwind of images, of the plants growing, living, thriving, but it wasn't just an image—it had to be more. It had to feel real.

A soft green light began to glow from Sasha's palm, and the faint mana she had just begun to cultivate was rapidly consumed. The structure was complex—so complex, in fact, that it would have left even the most skilled mage speechless. But Sasha, with no understanding of the principles behind it, willed it to work with the stubborn conviction of a child who believed anything was possible.

There are geniuses among humans—the kind of absurd mages that even the demons find incredible, who clearly do not understand the principles of magic, but construct spells based on instinct.

Pop!

A single green sprout pierced the surface of the soil, delicate and fragile but unmistakable.

"Look! It's growing! It's growing!!" one of the believers gasped, her voice trembling with excitement. "I never imagined that Lady Aura could use magic to speed up plant growth—she's amazing, truly the embodiment of the goddess on earth!"

Roman, who had been standing quietly on the edge of the group, blinked in disbelief as the sprout unfurled, a testament to Sasha's power. His eyes darted back and forth, as if searching for some trick, but there was none—this was real, unmistakably real. Without a moment's hesitation, he shoved past the believers, his large frame brushing them aside with a frantic urgency. His breath came fast, shallow, as he leaned closer to the sprout, eyes wide with shock.

"How is this possible?" His voice was strained, like someone trying to make sense of a broken world. "How can such magic exist?!"

The others had quieted, watching the exchange with increasing tension. Roman was no longer the confident believer they had come to know; he was a man undone, left grasping at something far beyond his comprehension. And then, as if all the disbelief had become too much to bear, Roman's chest heaved, and he fell to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

The sound of his grief was raw, primal, a mournful cry that filled the air with a strange, almost sacred reverberation. His body shook, his hands trembling as they hovered above the sprout, hovering just above it, like he feared touching it would break the magic.

"I… I… Goddess, you really do exist," Roman sobbed, his voice breaking into jagged sobs. "Why couldn't I see this sooner… why couldn't I see this magic before… If only I had seen it earlier… earlier…" His words dissolved into incoherent weeping, and the group stood in stunned silence.

The believer who had previously mocked Roman's skepticism was now visibly uncomfortable, shifting awkwardly on their feet. His expression faltered as he glanced at the others. This was no longer a mere debate; Roman's reaction was too raw, too overwhelming. His sorrow seemed to bleed into the air, too much to ignore.

Roman, still kneeling, carefully kissed the soil around the green shoot, then touched the topmost leaf with reverence, as though it were a holy relic. The intensity of his actions made the others flinch. He turned around and, without warning, bowed deeply to the ground, pressing his forehead into the earth. The position was as if he were submitting, not to the land, but to Sasha, the one who had brought this miracle into being.

Tears streamed down his face, and he raised his hands toward the heavens, his voice desperate, pleading, "This is a miracle! A miracle!! Goddess, you really do exist! Please, grant us more… Please… let this magic save us... Why didn't I see this magic sooner? Our homeland... we would not have suffered…"

"Hey, hey, Roman, isn't that a bit much? It's just a spell. Haven't our country's mages performed many so-called miraculous spells before? You were just mocking us for being ignorant of a mage's capabilities, yet now you're acting... like you've lost your mind... all over a spell that makes seeds sprout?"

Roman's head snapped up, his face contorted in an expression of fury that left little room for doubt about his feelings. His breath was ragged, and for a moment, his eyes seemed to burn with a passion too intense for a mere human to contain.

"How dare you desecrate the Lady's miracle?!" he screamed, his voice a battle cry filled with fervor. "Do you have no respect for the power before us? You... You speak of magic like it's nothing, like it's just another trick, but you don't see what this truly is!"

Another conflict nearly broke out.

This time, it was Roman who had to be held back by the others, urging him to calm down. The other believers told Roman that the Lady is merciful and wouldn't mind a believer's unintended offense.

Roman looked at the bewildered expressions of those around him, who couldn't understand his intense reaction, and felt deep sorrow.

To think that the Lady's believers could be so ignorant and foolish.

The others might not realize it, but Roman knew best—the magic of harvest had never appeared in the history of magic.

Whether it was making seeds sprout, accelerating plant growth, or increasing the germination rate of potato chunks… these harvest-related spells only existed in the realm of fantasy.

Unless an unprecedentedly talented mage appeared… otherwise, it would take the incomprehensible power of the Goddess to create such magic with ease.

Sasha was only nine years old… yet, with her beginner's magic and the little bit of mana she had accumulated, she could make potatoes sprout instantly. This was an extraordinary feat, a miracle in the history of human magic. So... how else could it be explained except the favor of the Goddess?

Roman had fled to the religious country because of the famine, and it was hunger that made him doubt Aura.

But now, what appeared before Roman was magic that could actually bring a good harvest, magic that was enough to change human history and benefit millions of people... so, even if Aura was truly a demon, just for teaching Sasha this harvest magic, Roman was willing to devote himself to her.

Sasha, feeling her own exhaustion pulling at her, tried to gather her thoughts, still dizzy from the strain of the spell. Her voice was weak but resolute. "Please, everyone," she said, her words soft yet clear. "Master Aura... she believes in us. She believes that if we work together, we can make this land flourish. We must not fight among ourselves."

"As long as I can have enough food to eat, I... am willing to devote myself to Lady Aura while I am still alive!"

Roman gently stroked the newly sprouted shoot as if he were touching his wife or child. If it meant filling people's stomachs, what was the harm in putting a demon on a pedestal?

Roman turned to her, his face a mixture of awe and gratitude. "As long as I can have enough food to eat, I... am willing to devote myself to Lady Aura while I am still alive!" He said it as if it were an oath, a promise to a deity. His eyes locked on Sasha's, his voice filled with emotion, "You don't understand—this is history being made, the magic that will change everything. If Lady Aura is a demon, I don't care. This magic, it will save us all. I'll devote everything to her, if it means feeding my people."

Roman's eyes flickered briefly toward the others who were still uncertain, their faces tight with suspicion. He could see their hesitation, their doubts about what this all meant, but he would not let them see his own fears. Not anymore.

Then, another voice broke through the tension, almost a whisper: "Uh, being eaten alive in a ritual is a bit too much, Roman... don't you think?"

"What are you saying?! You don't even have the resolve to dedicate yourself to Lady Aura! I question your loyalty!!" Roman screamed hysterically, and he would not allow anyone to question Lady Aura!

Roman pointed at the believer who had previously argued with him about Lady Aura's legitimacy, his eyes stern as he harshly reprimanded him:

"Avery, you're not loyal enough!

Don't tell me that everyone has different levels of faith!

I'm telling you—

Anything less than complete loyalty is total disloyalty!!!"

The silence hung thick in the air as Roman's fervent outburst settled, leaving behind an uneasy calm.