Chapter 10

Solar Dragon is the tenth chapter of Yamada Kanehito & Abe Tsukasa's Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.

Summary
Twenty-eight years after the Hero Himmel’s passing, Frieren and Fern are in the Riegel Canyon. They try to defeat a Solar Dragon to get the grimoire in its nest but fail, so they think it is best to get a vanguard, Stark, who is living in a village along the canyons and is also Eisen’s disciple. They meet a villager who takes them to Stark. Along the way, she tells them Stark came to the village three years ago and saved them from the Solar Dragon, which was attacking the village. They meet Stark and find out that he is a coward who only managed to save the village three years back because the dragon left. Frieren gives him one night to decide whether to help them or not. At night, Fern hears a loud sound and goes to check on Stark, who she finds to be training.

Plot Details
Twenty-eight years after the Hero Himmel’s passing, Frieren and Fern are in the Central Lands, specifically the Riegel Canyon. They are looking to get a grimoire from the nest of a Solar Dragon, which will devour any and every adventurer it encounters. They decide to eliminate it, and Fern shoots magic from her staff at the dragon, but it seemingly does no damage to it. Suddenly, the dragon appears in front of them and they run away. After they manage to escape, Frieren starts heading back but Fern stops her because she is too frightened, and Frieren agrees that playing tag with a dragon is not a mage’s way of handling things. The duo decides to go to the village and enlist a vanguard.

A flashback occurs of the time when the duo was still travelling with Eisen. Eisen tells Frieren to recruit a vanguard by the name of Stark living in a village along the Riegel Canyon. He is Eisen’s disciple. Frieren asks if he is a good warrior, and Eisen wears a stern face, and the flashback ends.

Frieren and Fern enter the village and note how it is so peaceful it does not seem like there is a dragon nearby. As they walk, an old woman tells them Stark wishes to speak to them, saving them the trouble of finding him.

The old woman tells them that three years ago, the dragon attacked their village and Stark appeared before them. He did not take a single step away from the dragon, and after a long staredown, the dragon receded. Ever since then, Stark chose to stay in the village, and it has never been attacked by the dragon, allowing the villagers to live peacefully. Fern asks Frieren if they would be able to defeat the dragon if enlist Stark’s help, which Frieren affirms would be the ideal outcome.

They reach the base of a cliff that looks like it has been cut into and find Stark sitting on a rock, talking to some children. Stark is worried the dragon would attack the village again if Frieren and Fern agitate it too much, and tells them that dragons are very fearsome. After finding out who Frieren is, he asks the children and the old woman to leave, assuring them that it is fine as the duo is acquainted with his master. Once they leave, Stark asks if his master is angry, as he ditched him and came to the village in secret. Frieren asks why he has not defeated the dragon yet, as he has no reason to stay in the village. Before answering, Stark first asks more about Frieren and Fern. Frieren tells him that they wish to recruit him as their vanguard and are requesting his help to suppress the Solar Dragon first, as they want the grimoire in its nest. Stark asks why, and she tells him that there were once some idiots who praised the magic she acquired. Stark calls it silly, and Frieren agrees. Stark doesn’t mind becoming their comrade, as his master told them to take him along, but the Solar Dragon must be defeated first. Stark says it is too much for him to handle, and asks if Frieren would be able to do it. Frieren replies that if Stark could keep it still for thirty seconds, she would be able to defeat the Solar Dragon, but Stark asks if he needs to do that.

It is revealed that Stark has zero experience in fighting monsters, and when he came to the village three years ago, he also wanted to oppose the dragon but he was too scared to move. Stark thought the dragon spared him on a whim, but because it stopped attacking the village afterwards, the villagers started revering him as a hero, creating an atmosphere he couldn't run away from. Fern looks at Stark with disgust and suggests to Frieren that they look elsewhere for a vanguard. However, Frieren believes that Stark can fight the dragon. She inspects the unnatural cut on the cliffside, before giving Stark one night to decide whether or not to help them.

Frieren and Fern eat at a restaurant and learn that Stark is idolized by the villagers. Frieren says that he seems like a nice guy, but Fern calls him a coward. Frieren does not deny so, but recalls the time when Fern first fought a monster. This causes Fern to frown, so Frieren does not continue.

They leave the restaurant, with Fern wondering why the dragon no longer attacks the village. Suddenly, they hear a loud sound, and Frieren comments that it must be Stark. She tells Fern to go check it out if she is curious, and calls it a night, returning to their inn.

At the inn, Frieren recalls asking Eisen if Stark is a good warrior. He replies that Stark’s home village was attacked by demons and he ran away alone, just like Eisen. Therefore, he drilled everything he knew into Stark, so he’ll be able to fight for somebody else’s sake now. Frieren smiles and confirms that if that is the case, Stark is a good warrior.

At the cliffside, Fern sees Stark, and it is revealed that the cut in the cliff was as a result of his training.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Frieren
 * Fern
 * Eisen
 * Stark

Locations

 * Riegel Canyon

Battles

 * Frieren & Fern vs. Solar Dragon

Events

 * Frieren and Fern meet Stark and enlist his help

Spells

 * Unnamed magic that shoots a high concentration of mana (possibly Zoltraak)

New Tools

 * Stark's Battleaxe

Chapter Notes

 * It was Fern's first time seeing a dragon
 * Dragons use magically imbued items as materials for their nest. That is why a grimoire is in the Solar Dragon's nest
 * Magic that makes clothes transparent is recorded in the grimoire Frieren wants. It is implied that hidden weapons can be found if the magic is used
 * Stark claims that he got the scar on his forehead when he fought a Shadow Dragon in the past. Frieren did not think of his scar as significant though
 * Frieren suspected Stark was scared of fighting monsters
 * According to Stark, the villagers are super nice people