Chapter 87

Favour is the eighty-seventh chapter of Yamada Kanehito & Abe Tsukasa's Sousou no Frieren.

Summary
Back at the Warden's hut, Denken filled the others in on the history between him and Macht. He said that Macht had begun serving feudal lord 80 years ago and was only equipped with the Stone Bracelet of Sovereignty 20 years after. However, it was not the Bracelet that made him benign; during his servitude he had never once disobeyed Lord Gluck's orders. Denken then asked Frieren whether she had found out a clue to defeating Macht from the talk, but Frieren seemed to evade the question, saying that she did not have enough confidence to call it a chance of victory. She then asked Denken about the details of Macht's memories. Denken replied that he had not finished reading the memories due to the fact they cover up to a hundred years ago. Having heard this, Frieren agreed to help Denken analyze and read the memories together.

Meanwhile in El Dorado, Macht pondered to himself about the difference of sensibilities between humans and demons and predicted that Frieren would see his memories. He expressed the wish to "engage in battle" with her "for the sake of coexistence" and to find the answer he had been looking for there.

In Macht's recollection, he was in the midst of destroying a human village when he encountered a bishop who expressed pity for him. After killing the priest, he began having doubts about the emotions which humans possess but demons like him lacked. This was the beginning of his journey to attempt to understand human emotions and find a path for coexistence.

Plot Details
According to Denken, Macht was his magic teacher from when he was very young, and he was capable of using human magic despite being a demon. After asking for his age, which is 78, Frieren said the timeline did not add up, since Macht was put under control of the Bracelet about 60 years ago. Denken answered that Macht had begun serving Lord Gluck more than 80 years ago, even before being put under the control of the Bracelet. The demon had supposedly always been friendly towards the humans, never once disobeying the orders of the feudal lord. Denken claimed that even he once thought the Bracelet's safeguard was unnecessary. He then asked Frieren about her discovery in the meeting with Macht, but the elven mage appeared to evade the question, restating that Macht is unbeatable. When Denken pushed her, she only said that she did not have any confidence and that would not constitute a "prospect of victory".

Frieren then asked Denken about the prospects of victory he found in Macht's memories. However, Denken had not finished reading the memories yet because there were too many memories, dating back to a hundred years. Frieren praised Edel's mastery of mental magic again, then proposed to help Denken share and analyze Macht's memories.

Meanwhile, in the mansion in El Dorado, Macht mused to himself about the conversation. He admitted that Frieren posed an excellent question and that the answer to that question would be what guided his coexistence with humans. He welcomed Frieren to look through his memories as she wished and beckoned her to engage in a "battle for coexistence" and to tell him the answer he had been searching.

In his memories, Macht recalled the first moment he began holding an interest in humans. It was during a routine eradication of a human settlement under the order of the Demon King. The bishop of that village, once he realized something in Macht, expressed pity for his existence. After killing the bishop, Macht began to harbor doubt about himself, that he might know the words, but he did not know what the emotions those words describe. As he surveyed the battlefield, he claimed that he understood emotions of fear, anger, sorrow, and killing intent, but emotions like "malice", "guilt" are not intelligible to him. It was the first time that Macht actively wanted to know more about humans. He then came across two orphans and told them to kill one another, promising that he would let the survivor live. As he sat back to observe the fight, Macht told himself that he understood this new emotion. He called it "favour", explaining that he has come to like humans.

Characters in Order of Appearance
Denken

Frieren

Fern

Stark

Macht

Locations
Northern Plateau, Weise Region, Fortified City of Weise (El Dorado)

Spells
Di Algoze