Chapter 91

Front Stage is the ninety-first chapter of Yamada Kanehito & Abe Tsukasa's Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.

Summary
Shortly after the defeat of the Demon King, Glück and Macht discussed the work the demon needed to do for him on the front stage, which is gaining the goodwill of the nobles of Weise. Glück also explained to him how he intended to teach Macht about "justice" and "evil" in exchange for using his power for his ends. Under this contract, Macht was introduced to the citizens of Weise officially as the Mage of the Glück family. In the following years, he socialized with the nobility of Weise and managed to integrate into the city. The nobles still intended to test his loyalty by asking him to defeat a remnant of the Demon King Army headed towards the Fortified City of Weise. Having no sense of loyalty, Macht effortlessly dispatched the demons, gaining the trust of the nobility and citizens of Weise.

When Macht volunteered to become an instructor of magic, Glück was at first skeptical but decided to accede to the demon's request. He introduced Macht to a child of his relative, Denken, whose parents were killed by demons, and commanded Macht to teach him magic. Macht obliged, introducing himself to Denken afterwards as the magic instructor of the Gluck family. Despite expressing his distrust of the demon, Denken agreed to become his apprentice.

Plot Details
On a balcony overlooking the city of Weise, Macht asked Glück about the work he was to do on the front stage as he was preparing tea. Gluck began by mentioning the Demon King's defeat at the hands of the Hero Himmel, to which Macht said he was aware. Gluck took note of his nonchalance and asked what Macht felt about his King being defeated. Macht told him he had no feeling in particular as he poured tea into the cup.

Glück then stated his intention to introduce the demon officially to the city of Weise as a personal mage of the Glück family as testament to the new peaceful era, as Macht served him tea. When Macht asked the reason, Glück pivoted to ask the demon if their race often enjoyed tea. Macht told him he was only copying the behaviors of others. Glück then asked about his choice of tea leaves, to which Macht replied that he had heard one of the servants mention that Gluck's deceased wife used to like this type of tea. Gluck noted that Macht was unnatural skilled at social interaction between humans and concluded that it is a trait inherent to demons. They are naturally inclined to deceive humans and gain their trust, even when they do not consciously intend to do so. Macht understood that Gluck intended to use this particular trait to deal with the nobles publicly as well, by using the demon to gain the alliance of the other nobles in the city.

Glück said that it was a good thing to have many allies and murder should only be the last resort. After drinking his tea, he changed the topic, telling Macht that they were having an "evil" conversation. Macht replied saying that he did not understand the concept of "evil", but he could only understand that Glück was having fun. Glück replied that Macht seemed to be having fun as well and told Macht that the latter was a monster who did not understand what is "just" and what is "evil". Therefore, Glück would be the one to teach him what is "just", and what is "evil". The demon would act according to these instructions and one day would eventually understand these concept himself. Macht asked Gluck what would happen if he still failed to understand after that. After some contemplation, Glück said that in return to using Macht's power, he would be by Macht's side until the demon managed to understand, even if it were to the bottom of hell. Macht then asked Glück if he already had a plan to eliminate the demon after gaining control of Weise. Glück asked him his thoughts, to which Macht replied he was looking forward to it.

Macht was then officially introduced to the citizens of Weise. He began to socialize with the nobles, such as accompanying them in their studies, playing chess, attending balls, riding horses and serving them tea whenever they come to visit Glück. Over the years, he had managed to gain recognition and appreciation of the nobles, even though they were still hesitant in trusting him.

One time, the nobles of Weise summoned Macht to a meeting and asked him the reason he had chosen to live among humans in Weise. Macht gave them a seemingly idealistic reason, stating that he believed conversation and living together were the first step towards coexistence between demon and humankind. The nobles praised his response and wished that all demons were as friendly as him. They told Macht that they wanted to trust him and asked the demon if he was willing to fight in order to protect Weise. At this timing, Glück appeared at the door, prompting Macht to leave the meeting to join him.

As Glück mentioned they were in a troublesome situation, Macht concurred, saying that the "enemies" had entered the range of his mana detection. Glück was amused at the word he used and explained that a remnant force of the Demon King Army were heading towards the Fortified City of Weise. He asked Macht what the nobles wanted with him. When Macht answered that they were testing his loyalty, Glück laughed at the foolishness of such idea, stating that Macht could not possibly have any loyalty, to which Macht only smiled in response. Glück then ordered Macht to destroy all of Weise's "enemies", saying that it should be easy for Macht to kill his own kind, as the demon did not have any loyalty.

Macht went on to carry out Glück's order and singlehandedly destroyed the demon army heading towards Weise. As he beheld the fading remnants of the fellow demons, he recognized one of them as "Shogun" Schräg, the Lightning Flash. Macht said he had thought Schräg to be a wiser man, implying that before their battle, Macht had tried some kind of "negotiation" to make the demons leave. He mused that the demon forces had became pathetic after losing the ultimate figurehead in the Demon King - the absolute power to unite and direct them. He then returned to the Fortified City of Weise under the citizen's applause and adulation.

Later on, Gluck mentioned that Macht once volunteered to be a magic instructor and asked if the demon knew human magic, unlike other demons. Macht replied saying he had learned them from a demon named Solitär before coming to Weise, as the latter also researched human magic. Gluck then asked if Macht knew how to use Soul Track, the current dominant magic of battle. In response, Macht claimed that Soul Track was a great demon magic an old friend of his invented and boasted that he was better at it than any humans. Taking note of the demon's words, Gluck agreed to his request and offered a proposal.

Gluck brought Macht to a church where Denken, a child of his relatives who died to demons, was praying and explained that the child used to be close to Gluck's daughter and always wanted to be a mage. The lord ordered Macht to teach him magic as a means to distract the boy from the death of his parents. Macht confirmed whether it was an order and obeyed, dutifully waiting outside the church for Denken. When the boy was about to leave, Macht greeted him, introducing himself as the magic instructor of the Gluck family. Denken answered that he was aware of Macht's existence, as he was the one who defeated the demons who came to assault Weise. However, the boy refused to trust Macht as his parents were killed by demons. Macht did not seem deterred by this, saying that there was even more value to teaching Denken magic because of this. Denken asked if Macht was strong, to which Macht confirmed, claiming he was the most powerful among the Seven Sages of Destruction. He then asked if he was able to become strong enough to kill Macht himself. Macht responded with a smile that such a thing did not depend on him.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Glück
 * Macht
 * Schräg
 * Denken

Locations
Fortified City of Weise, Northern Plateau

Events
Macht versus Shogun Schräg the Lightning Flash and his army

Spells
Di Agolze

Soul Track (mentioned)