Chapter 24

Elven Wish (エルフの) is the twenty-fourth chapter of Yamada Kanehito & Abe Tsukasa's Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.

Summary
Twenty-eight years after the Hero Himmel's passing, Frieren's Party is in the Decke Region. Stark has collapsed and there is a heavy snowstorm so they seek shelter in an old cabin at the base of the Schwer Mountains. As they enter, they see an elf doing squats. Fern protests staying there and suggests finding another place as there is a pervert inside. Before they can leave, the elf opens the door and asks Frieren if she is also an elf. They head inside and the elf, who is a monk named Kraft, converses with Frieren about how long it has been since he encountered another elf and how he arrived in the cabin. As Stark rests in the cabin after being warmed up by Kraft, Frieren and Fern help Kraft carry food from his cart. Frieren's Party spends half a year in the cabin due to the dangerous weather. Close to spring, Kraft and Frieren discuss the Goddess of Creation. Kraft believes in the Goddess and Heaven as well as he wishes for someone to acknowledge his achievements. He then asks Frieren to tell him about herself so that he can praise her in the Goddess' place as she does not believe in the Goddess. This causes Frieren to remember how Heiter asked the same of her in the past and she declines Kraft's offer. Frieren's Party and Kraft part ways as they continue their separate adventures, with Kraft promising Frieren they will meet again.

Plot Details
Twenty-eight years after the Hero Himmel's death, Frieren's Party is in the Northern Lands, specifically the Decke Region. While traveling through a blizzard, Stark collapses. He is unable to be carried by any magic that Frieren or Fern possess, so they resort to carrying him, which Fern is tasked with doing. Fern bears with a mumbling, half-conscious Stark until they reach a cabin that Frieren remembers was at the foot of the mountains eighty years ago. Upon arriving, Frieren opens the door to see an elf doing squats. Fern immediately drags Frieren out and tells her that they need to go somewhere else, as there is a pervert inside. Before they can get away though, the elf opens the door and asks if Frieren is also an elf.

Everyone heads inside the cabin and Frieren and converses with the elf. He tells her that this is the first time in three-hundred years that he has encountered another elf. He even wondered if they had already gone extinct. He thanks Fern for the fire, explaining that he lost his charcoal in the blizzard so he was unable to light a fire himself, and had to resort to doing squats to heat himself. He then introduces himself as Monk Kraft, and Frieren and Fern proceed to introduce themselves and Stark. When Kraft learns that Frieren's Party is traveling to Aureole, he says that their devotion is admirable, but Frieren responds that she is only half devoted. The conversation is cut short because Fern informs them that Stark's temperature is dropping.

After a while, Stark wakes up to see that he is sleeping next to Kraft, who is keeping him warm, which alarms Stark. He asks who the geezer he's sleeping next to is. Kraft takes his comment in stride and tells Stark he should be thanking Kraft for warming him up. Stark then compliments Kraft's body, saying that it is nice. Fern gets the wrong idea and Stark clears up the confusion, saying he was referring to his well-trained body, and he deducts that the elf is very strong. He then asks for Kraft's name and comments that he has not heard of him, but believes that he is a famous monk. Kraft then tells Stark to rest and asks Frieren and Fern to help him carry some food from his cart which is located nearby.

They reach Kraft's stranded cart which has frozen food, and he tells them to take as much as they wish because there is plenty. Frieren looks at the Schwer Mountains and decides to stay a bit longer since hiking in the blizzard would be suicidal. While returning to the cabin, Kraft asks Frieren if she knows who he is, to which she responds in the negative. He figures so since he also knows nothing about Frieren. Fern tells him that Frieren was a mage in the Hero Party and Kraft asks what she was before. Frieren asks what he is implying, and he answers that they are elves.

Half a year passes, with Frieren's Party and Kraft spending their days in the cabin and passing the time with chores and training while waiting for the weather to improve. Soon enough, signs of warmer weather begin to show themselves. Frieren and Kraft are in a forest having a conversation while Kraft whittles away at a wood carving. Kraft thanks Frieren's Party for the helping him survive the harsh winter of the Northern Lands and asks Frieren to give a handmade necklace to Fern, complimenting her for her strong devotion to the Goddess. Frieren asks Kraft why he believes in the Goddess, claiming that apart from mythical times, she has never shown herself throughout the long history of the world. Kraft then states that Frieren must be young, since he was doubtful like her in the past, but now he truly believes in the Goddess. He says that he would be troubled if the Goddess did not exist, or rather, he needs the Goddess to exist. Since everyone who knew about his great accomplishments has long passed, he wants the Goddess to honor him. He says that it is cruel that nobody will remember the tracks they left in their lives. Frieren then says that being remembered is just a wish that elves have, and Kraft rhetorically asks if that isn't Heaven as well. Kraft then changes the subject, asking Frieren to tell him about her, as if she does not believe in the Goddess, he will honor her himself. This causes Frieren to recall a memory of when she was travelling with the Hero Party.

Himmel and Eisen are surrounded by happy children, with Frieren at the back talking to Heiter, saying she never imagined he would pay for the reconstruction of an orphanage, so the fact he did surprised her. Heiter tells Frieren that he was also an orphan. He believes that the Goddess will honor him for living purely and righteously, which Frieren disagrees with, asking what the corrupt priest is saying while getting drunk. Heiter suddenly asks her if she has anyone to honor her, and she asks why. Heiter explains that it seems that she does not believe in the Goddess and that if she tells him about herself, he will honor her in the Goddess' place. Frieren says that she has been living leisurely until now, so she hasn't done anything worthy of being honored. Heiter states that despite that, she has dedicated her life to constantly limiting her mana. Frieren is surprised that Heiter had noticed, but adds that it isn't an interesting story. Heiter says that he does not mind, saying that it would be good for future reference since his child might become a mage. Frieren questions Heiter about that since priests are supposed to be single for life, which makes Heiter laugh.

Frieren says that she will pass on Kraft's offer, since she already has somebody to honor her. Kraft understands and tells Frieren to treasure them. This makes Frieren pause for a moment, before she tells Kraft that her friend is already in Heaven. Kraft says that means Frieren will see him again one day, to which Frieren agrees.

Later, once warmer weather has set in, Frieren's Party and Kraft part ways and continue their separate adventures. Before parting ways, Kraft tells Frieren that he does not consider this their final farewell, and that he will see her again, however many centuries later.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Frieren
 * Fern
 * Stark
 * Kraft
 * Himmel
 * Eisen
 * Heiter

Locations

 * Decke Region

Battles and Events

 * Frieren's Party passes the winter at the base of the Schwer Mountains

Spells

 * Unnamed magic used to make objects float
 * Unnamed magic to light a fire

Chapter Notes

 * The necklace Kraft carved for Fern had two wings (possibly symbolizing the Goddess)
 * It is also the same as the necklace Kraft wears
 * Kraft believed Fern had a strong devotion to the Goddess because she was raised by a priest