Chapter 39

Commence Capture Strategy is the thirty-ninth chapter of Yamada Kanehito & Abe Tsukasa's Sousou no Frieren.

Summary
Right after the events of the previous chapter, Frieren, Lawine, and Kanne are discussing their observations from Stille-watching. Frieren reveals she knows "Bird Capturing Magic" that can assist in capturing a Stille and decides on a strategy which she explains to her teammates. Meanwhile, Fern, Übel, and Land are trying to decide on a plan of action. They first decide to refill their water, but Übel notices that the terrain they are walking on is actually a dried up river. The Fourth Party concludes that Genau's barrier is keeping out the river water, causing most of the water in the Grube Basin to gather in the lake in the center of the examination grounds. They further deduce that Stilles need water to survive and will flock to the lake, and that other teams that have realized this will be gathered around the lake in order to catch a Stille. They decide to give up on going to the lake, but they are then attacked by Wirbel's team. Before a battle can break out, they are interrupted by magic being cast at the lake. To the consternation of the teams hiding nearby, Lawine has frozen over the entire lake. While other parties attempt to melt the lake, Denken infers that it is a wasted effort as the usage of so much mana will deter any other Stilles from showing up. Denken then decides their party will steal the Second Party's Stille, and Wirbel's party and Fern's party begin to battle. Meanwhile, the Second Party continues to enact their strategy around the forest.

Plot Details
Right after the events of the previous chapter, the Second Party sits together in a clearing in the Grube Basin and discusses what they have learned about the Stille. Kanne confirms Frieren’s claims that the Stille is able to fly faster than the speed of sound and is extremely robust, as she had attempted to catch a Stille using Flight magic and also blasted another Stille with offensive magic to no avail. Lawine adds that the Stille is highly sensitive to mana, but more importantly, it possesses almost no mana itself. As a result, Stilles are impossible to detect. Lawine and Kanne hypothesize that the Stilles in the area are being extra vigilant due to all the examinees on the hunt for them, as the party has only seen three Stilles in total since they began their observation.

The worst-case scenario is that the party never sees a Stille again, and Lawine further adds that even if they encounter a Stille, they have no way of capturing it. However, Frieren interjects and states that she has a solution for the latter problem: Bird capturing magic, the same magic she used to save Kanne the night before. Bird capturing magic is a powerful restraint magic that was developed by a race that was dependent on hunting. Frieren notes that it could probably restrain the magic of any bird-like creature in general since it worked on the monster attacking Kanne. When Lawine wonders why Frieren didn’t just capture a Stille the day before with bird capturing magic, Frieren reveals the limitation of the magic – it only has a range of fifty centimeters. With the Stille’s advanced mana detection, it is able to detect mages within twenty meters.

Frieren asks Lawine and Kanne if any of their magics would be able to stop the Stille long enough for her to get within range. Lawine, who possesses freezing magic, believes she could stop the Stille if she were able to freeze it cleanly. However, due to the Stille’s durability and speed, that is much easier said than done. Kanne explains that her magic, rather than generating water, is actually magic that manipulates water. As a result, she requires a water source to use her magic. Rain, which consists of many dispersed droplets of water, is the ideal medium for Kanne to manipulate; for larger quantities of water such as lakes, ponds, or streams, she must pour her mana into the body of water before she is able to control it. As a result, her magic would likely deter the mana sensitive Stille. Frieren ponders Kanne’s words about Stilles being deterred by mana infused water and thinks of a strategy that she relays to her teammates. Lawine feels the plan would likely work but points out that it will draw the ire of all the other parties. Even after Kanne points out that Frieren’s plan may be their only chance of passing, Lawine still remains hesitant, which leads Kanne to ask whether Lawine is afraid. This leads to Lawine sitting on Kanne and pulling her pigtails. She then leaves Kanne on the ground and tells Frieren they should try her plan.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Party is walking along a path in the Grube Basin. The members of the Fourth Party are introduced as Land, a second-class mage, Übel, a third-class mage, and Fern, also a third-class mage. As the Fourth Party has already secured a Stille, Land feels they should hide until the exam is over. Übel disagrees, stating that hiding would be boring and mages should fight with dignity, but Land counters that mages should also avoid unnecessary fights. Übel deigns to reply, instead going to take a drink of water from her canteen only to find it empty. Noticing that, Land concedes that before they hide, they should replenish their water supplies at the lake in the center of the exam grounds. As the party walks, he mentions that he is glad they were able to acquire a Stille so early on, as now all they must do is avoid conflict for the rest of the exam in order to pass. At this, Übel laughs and tells Land that his plan may not go as smoothly as he had hoped. She kneels down and points to the ground as she has noticed that the path she had believed they were walking along is actually a dried up river. Fern and Land are able to deduce that the antimatter barrier erected around the examination area is also blocking the flow of water into the exam grounds. Übel notes that based on how dry the ground is, the barrier must have been erected over a week ago, and Fern concludes that most of the water within the exam grounds will have gathered in the lake in the center of the basin by now. The examinees, who are allowed to carry their own water, do not necessarily need the lake water. However, the Stille, a living being just the same as the examinees, cannot do the same. The logical conclusion, as Land comes to, is that the lake is the most probable place to find a Stille, and other examinees that have realized this would be lying in wait around the lake. As a result, Land decides they should give up on water. Übel and Land begin to argue, with Übel claiming that her throat is already parched and there is no way they can last without water, to which Land simply replies that they can surely find a small pond and boil the water for sanitation.

Amidst their bickering, Fern notices a disturbance and casts defensive magic just in time to block multiple strikes of Zoltraak. Wirbel’s team has snuck up to their party through the dense forest. Übel immediately summons her staff and attacks Wirbel from close range, but his staff is shorter and he is able to retaliate and hold Übel at staff point as well. Caught in a deadlock, Wirbel expresses his surprise that Fern was able to react to his attack, as he shot Zoltraak with the intention to kill. He then tells the Fourth Party to put the Stille down and go. When Übel questions what happens if they decline, Wirbel tells her there is nothing more to say and presumably begins to cast an attack.

However, their fight is paused by a huge outpouring of mana from a distance away, which Fern and Wirbel immediately both realize is coming from the lake. Lawine is shown standing in the middle of the lake. Ice spreads from where she stands across the water’s surface until the entire lake is frozen over. Various parties camped out around the lake express shock at Lawine’s actions. Based on the mana released, Wirbel deduces that the Second Party is the one that has messed with the lake, and he questions if they mean to make an enemy out of all the other parties. Back at the lake, the parties that were in hiding around the lake are shown trying to melt Lawine’s ice using various fire spells. One party is shown hanging back. The imperial mage Denken is in this party, and he turns his back on the lake, declaring that after the use of such gaudy magic, no Stille would dare approach the lake. He then states that their party’s objective will be to take the Second Party’s Stille, for no party would resort to such tactics unless they had contrived a means to capture a Stille. At the same time, the Fourth Party has begun to fight with Wirbel’s party. Übel takes on Wirbel himself while Fern and Land face off with other members of the party. Frieren herself is walking through a copse of trees. She has separated from the rest of her party – Lawine is running through the forest away from the lake, while Kanne is pouring mana into a small pool of water elsewhere in the forest. As she fights, Fern wonders what Frieren could possibly be planning.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Frieren
 * Lawine
 * Kanne
 * Fern
 * Übel
 * Land
 * Wirbel
 * Ehre
 * Scharf
 * Edel
 * Blei
 * Dunst
 * Denken
 * Richter
 * Laufen

Locations

 * Grube Basin

Battles

 * Fern, Übel, & Land vs. Wirbel, Ehre, & Scharf

Events

 * The members of the Fourth Party are introduced as Fern, Übel, and Land
 * The Second Party commences Stille-capturing strategy
 * Lawine freezes over the lake
 * Denken, Richter, and Laufen decide to go after the Second Party

Spells

 * Flight magic (used by Kanne in a flashback)
 * Bird capturing magic (used by Frieren in a flashback)
 * Defensive magic
 * Unnamed magic used to attack (may be Zoltraak)
 * Unnamed magic used to freeze water
 * Unnamed fire magic
 * Unnamed magic used to pour mana into water

New Tools Used

 * Wirbel's Staff
 * Land's Staff
 * Ehre's Staff
 * Scharf's Staff
 * Blei's Staff
 * Dunst's Staff