Chapter 40

Bird Capturing Magic (をまえる) is the fortieth chapter of Yamada Kanehito & Abe Tsukasa's Sousou no Frieren.

Summary
Right after the events of the previous chapter, the Thirteenth Party, which consists of Denken, Richter, and Laufen, moves to dismantle the Second Party's elaborate plan. The Thirteenth Party notes how inexperienced many of the examinees are. Richter states the exam is so dangerous because the Continental Magic Association wants to foster strong first-class mages, but Denken disagrees with this ideology as he values authority over strength. The different teams are shown all attempting to obtain a Stille in their own ways. Denken notes that every body of water they come across has faint traces of mana circulating through it. He deduces that there is one body of water the Second Party has not tampered with, and their whereabouts must be nearby it. Meanwhile, Frieren completely suppresses her mana and sits in wait for a Stille. Finally, after significant time has passed, a Stille lands on her shoulder, and Frieren uses her bird-capturing magic. This reveals her position to the Thirteenth Party, and Laufen quickly uses her magic to intercept the Second Party before they can escape.

Plot Details
Right after the events of the previous chapter, the imperial mage Denken’s party is shown heading away from the lake. They are introduced as the Thirteenth Party, consisting of Denken, Laufen, and Richter, all second-class mages. Denken calls the parties trying to melt the lake foolish – with so much mana used, no Stille would approach the lake, and thus any mana expended to melt the lake is wasted. He notes that parties which have realized this fact are now trying to search for Stilles in other ways, such as the parties using Flight magic to get a birds eye view of the exam grounds, but that they are being too lax with their mana detection, and will be caught unawares by aerial threats. Another party rushes past the Thirteenth Party bemoaning that the Second Party has made an absolute mess of the first exam. On the contrary, Denken recognizes that freezing the lake must be part of an elaborate plan by the Second Party and vows to dismantle it. Further away from the lake, the Thirteenth Party comes across the bodies of one of the parties that Denken had spotted in the air. Based on their injuries and the way they have been strung up in a tree, Denken concludes that they must have been attacked by monsters and he makes to move on since they are already dead.

Laufen requests that they at least take the bodies down, which causes Denken to direct her attention skywards. A flock of the same monster that attacked Kanne the night before is shown patrolling the skies, and Denken mentions that these monsters have cast magic on the corpses which allows them to detect those that attempt to move the bodies. The monster in question is the alluring corpse bird called the Geisel, and it is by preying on others’ sympathies that they lure their next prey.

Laufen brings up how strange it is that such a dangerous examination ground was chosen. Richter wonders if this is Laufen’s first time taking the first-class exam and provides a simple reasoning for the perilous setting: any mage that would die from the exam is not qualified to become a first-class mage in the first place. Richter notes that there are some in the Continental Magic Association that hold the strength and pride of the mages that fought against the Demon King’s Army as the standard for all mages, and in general, the Continental Magic Association cares deeply about the quality of its first-class mages. Genau is briefly shown sitting within the forest on a chair and sipping tea from the table in front of him. A Stille is perched on his teapot. Evidently, this is the viewpoint Genau holds.

The scene returns to Denken who laments that the Continental Magic Association is behind-the-times. This comes as a surprise to Richter, who believed Denken to be someone who would also espouse that ideology, but Denken argues that quality is not the end all be all for mages. In his lifetime, after witnessing mages more superior than himself being persecuted and overthrown by the masses, Denken has realized that no matter how strong a mage becomes, if they cannot win the hearts of others, they are effectively powerless. In other words, it is the authority of mages that grants them power, not their magical talent. Those that are powerful may have authority because they are feared, but this authority does not last, and Denken also states that magic is not something to be proud about anyways. Hearing this, Richter queries if being as weak as Denken would be perfect then, to which Denken replies that he could beat Richter with his eyes closed.

Meanwhile, various parties around the forest are all attempting to locate or defend a Stille. Some parties remain at the lake and attempt to melt it still, while others have dispersed through the forest and face other dangers such as the Geisel. While Lawine hides from other parties, Kanne travels between different pools of water and imbues them with her mana and Frieren arrives at a pool at the base of a cliff. All the while, Fern and Wirbel’s parties continue to face off.

The Thirteenth Party walk through the forest and attempt to locate the Second Party based on their mana, stumbling at various points across the pools Kanne has infused with mana. When their search continues to be unfruitful, they rest at one such pool where Richter and Laufen conclude that the Second Party must be concealing their mana and hiding. Here, Denken reveals that all of the water sources they have come across thus far have contained mana circulating through the water, albeit faint. Denken determines that this mana is meant to be imperceptible to any but the caster themselves, but with their acute sense of mana detection, the Stille would be able to tell the water had been tampered with and would thus not approach the water source.

After a moment’s thought, Laufen realizes that there must be a water source somewhere with no circulating mana, and the Second Party must be near this water source. Having approximated the Second Party’s plan, to Richter's consternation, Denken decides to go rest against a tree. Denken tells him to just wait, as searching for mages that have perfectly concealed their mana in an exam ground as big as the Grube Basin is futile, and the Second Party will have to reveal their mana eventually.

The Second Party is shown having rendezvoused at the pool Frieren arrived at. Kanne reports that she poured her mana into any ponds and springs that she came across but warns that she may have failed to notice other water sources in the basin. Frieren reassures her that as long as they limit the sources of water that the Stilles in the basin have access to, their plan should work. Now that her party members have reported back, Frieren sits down and conceals her mana to the point it disappears in order to ambush a Stille. Lawine expresses her shock that Frieren is able to make her mana completely disappear, but Frieren points out that she must maintain complete stillness or else mana will end up leaking out. Lawine and Kanne move back into the forest to serve as lookouts, with Lawine telling Kanne to not hold her back. The pair begin to bicker, with Kanne arguing that she is a powerful ally to have in the rain, leading Lawine to point out that the barrier would repel any rain, thus Kanne is effectively useless. Meanwhile, Frieren continues to wait. Various forms of wildlife approach the pool including, at one point, a Geisel. Finally, after much time has elapsed, a Stille alights on Frieren’s shoulder. She smiles at it before restraining it with her bird-capturing magic. Seeing this, Lawine and Kanne approach and ask if Frieren was able to capture a Stille, and Frieren shows them the cage with the Stille inside. Believing that they have beaten the first exam, Lawine and Kanne sit down, disarmed, but Frieren warns them that the exam is not over quite yet.

Elsewhere in the Grube Basin, the Thirteenth Party are resting in a clearing. Denken senses Frieren’s mana as she uses her bird-capturing magic. He states that no matter how superior a mage, they must ultimately resort to magic in the end and usage of magic is impossible to mask. From her position on the ground Laufen abruptly disappears, too quickly for Richter and Denken to have even gotten up yet. Frieren notices that another party has detected them and tells Lawine and Kanne they should hurry and relocate, but as Laufen suddenly appears in front of the Second Party and blocks off their escape route, Frieren notes that it is too late for that.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Denken
 * Richter
 * Laufen
 * Genau
 * Edel
 * Blei
 * Dunst
 * Methode
 * Länge
 * Töne
 * Lawine
 * Kanne
 * Frieren
 * Fern
 * Ehre
 * Übel
 * Wirbel

New Tools Used

 * Methode's staff
 * Länge's staff
 * Laufen's staff

Locations

 * Grube Basin

Battles

 * Fern, Übel, & Land vs. Wirbel, Ehre, and Scharf (continues)
 * Frieren, Kanne, & Lawine vs. Laufen

Events

 * The members of the Thirteenth Party are introduced as Denken, Richter, and Laufen
 * Various parties are killed by Geishel
 * The Thirteenth Party figure out the Second Party's Stille-capturing strategy
 * Frieren catches a Stille
 * The Thirteenth Party detects Frieren
 * Laufen intercepts the Second Party with her magic

Spells

 * Flight magic
 * Unnamed magic that is cast on corpses for detection
 * Unnamed magic used to melt a frozen lake
 * Unnamed magic used to attack (may be Zoltraak)
 * Unnamed magic that circulates mana in water
 * Bird-capturing magic
 * Unnamed magic that allows the user to move faster than perception

Chapter Notes

 * One of the parties that Denken comments on being inexperienced is the same party that he and his team find slaughtered by Geishels.
 * Laufen wishes to lay to rest the deceased party she comes across despite the traces of mana cast on their bodies, indicating she may be more inexperienced as compared to the rest of her party.
 * Genau, the first exam proctor, is having tea within the boundaries of the exam. A Stille is perched on his teapot, meaning he has completely repressed his mana.
 * Denken is shown to have had his monocle from a young age in flashbacks.
 * While Frieren is suppressing her mana, a Geishel flies down to have a drink. This implies Geishels only attack mages that are actively revealing their mana.