Chapter 13

Liberation Festival is the thirteenth chapter of Yamada Kanehito & Abe Tsukasa's Sousou no Frieren.

Summary
Twenty-eight years after the Hero Himmel’s passing, Frieren, Fern, and Stark are on the Eng Road. They travel with a merchant after clearing the road which had been blocked due to a landslide. When they reach the town, they find out the Liberation Festival is taking place the same night, which commemorates the day the Hero Party subjugated the demon that was oppressing the region. The townspeople celebrate by decorating the statues of the Hero Party. The merchant tells Frieren that it is on this day everyone remembers Himmel and his party, making her recall a memory of when Himmel told her he makes statues of himself and the party so that Frieren would not be alone in the future. They reach the town and see the statues decorated with flowers. The next day, the trio continues their voyage towards Heaven.

Plot Details
The chapter begins with a flashback of when the Hero Party was rewarded with a fake grimoire of Flamme for a subjugation quest. Frieren talks about how there are no real books by Flamme and that this is the most flawless fake she has ever found. Heiter is unsure if any real grimoires exist, and Eisen thinks that Flamme herself came out out of a fairy tale. Frieren thinks about how it was once upon a time when Flamme was alive and states that she is probably the only one who remembers her face. The flashback ends with Frieren waking up from her dream.

Twenty-eight years after the Hero Himmel’s passing, Frieren, Fern, and Stark are in the Northern Lands, specifically the Eng Road. They are with a merchant clearing a road that has been blocked due to a landslide. After finishing the job, the merchant offers to guide them to town, and they accept.

Along the way, the merchant tells Frieren it is his first time seeing an elf. She explains that elves’ numbers are incredibly scarce and even she has only seen a handful of her kin. Elves live long, though due to factors such as affection and reproductive instinct feeling inferior to them, they are slowly becoming extinct. As the party nears the town, they see many wagons lined up in front of the town's gate, and the merchant explains that it is because the town is holding the Liberation Festival that night, to commemorate the day the Hero Party subjugated the demon oppressing the region. The townspeople decorate the statues of the Hero Party erected in the central plaza, and then the entire town holds a grandiose celebration. Frieren comments that humans are eager to make festivals out of anything and everything. The merchant tells her that it has already been over 80 years since the demon was defeated, which is more than enough time for humans to forget something completely. Nonetheless, everyone remembers Himmel and the others on the day of the Liberation Festival. Frieren then recalls a memory of when she was travelling with the Hero Party.

Himmel stares at his newly-made statue, which had to be redone five times. Frieren remarks on how Himmel has had a great number of statues made after his image. He replies that it is so everyone can remember them, as, unlike Frieren, humans live transient lives. But the most important reason is so Frieren would not be alone in the future. The Hero Party won’t become part of some fairy tale, like Flamme. They will definitely have existed.

The flashback ends and Frieren’s party is in the central plaza, looking at the decorated statues of the Hero Party. Frieren asks the merchant if the festival will continue for the next century, and he replies that it will continue for as long as this town stands.

The next day, the trio leaves the town and continues their voyage to the ends of the north.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Heiter
 * Frieren
 * Himmel
 * Eisen
 * Fern
 * Stark
 * The merchant

Locations

 * The Eng Road (Locality)

Events

 * The Liberation Festival, which commemorates the day the Hero Party subjugated the demon oppressing the Eng Road

Spells

 * Unnamed magic that makes objects float

Chapter Notes

 * Flamme is said to be the creator of mankind's magic
 * Fern was shocked as Frieren woke up early for once. She praises her and rewards her by feeding her and making Stark massage her shoulders
 * As they were clearing the road, Stark asks Fern to stop calling him formally, as he is not much older than her. Fern then begins to speak callously to Stark, but Stark doesn't like that either. In the end, she thinks he is a pain and still calls him "Master Stark"
 * Heiter remarked that Himmel's statue, redone five times, did not take as long as usual
 * The merchant seemed to understand that the Frieren he was travelling with is the same Frieren in the Hero Party