"Eh? Really? Usually I have to pester you forever before you give in—how come you agreed so easily this time?"
Takanashi Rikka was completely unprepared for Diego's straightforward acceptance. For a moment, she froze in stunned silence.
"Well… maybe… I want to see her too."
...
Five years before Diego went missing...
—Central Nations, Flame Shrine west of Warrior Village—
"wryyyyyyy—!!!"
"Frieren! Water! Water! This lord's handsome eyebrows—!"
Flames enveloped Diego's entire body and continued spreading, clearly growing more intense by the second.
Diego frantically slapped at the fire, hopping and rolling on the ground, but the flames refused to go out.
Frieren sat on a rock, flipping through the grimoire in her hands. Without looking up, she asked, "Hm… what do you want water for?"
"..."
At those words, Diego froze mid-motion. It felt like the wrinkles in his brain had been instantly smoothed out—as though he were wandering through the land of sleeping souls, conversing with the phantoms of the dead.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Diego smacked himself three times across the face. He glared at Frieren with the look one reserves for the profoundly stupid—but when Frieren finally lifted her head and met his eyes, the genuine confusion in her gaze was unmistakable.
Only then did Diego finally understand: she wasn't messing with him. She genuinely didn't get it. She really was—(censored)!
Fine, fine. This is the mage I captured myself. Slapping myself twice is enough—I can't go breaking her.
Diego took a deep breath and forcibly calmed his raging temper.
"I… I just want to take a bath, okay?! Can I take a bath already?!" Diego's mouth twitched. His eyes were full of despair and pleading as he clutched his head and roared, "wryyyyy! Frieren, save me! ko no Dio was wrong—I really know I was wrong! I'll never sneak your desserts again—"
"Eh… you want to bathe in broad daylight? You really leave me no choice…" Frieren hopped down from the rock, brushed off her clothes, and a faint smile touched her lips. Her staff appeared in her hand.
"A magic that can summon a torrential flood."
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
A short while later, an enormous water sphere formed overhead. It looked extremely unstable, wobbling precariously.
Under Frieren's control, the sphere moved above Diego's head and burst. A deluge poured down, finally extinguishing the demonic flames that had roasted Diego into a delicious grilled chicken.
When the flood receded, Diego lay motionless on the grass like a dead fish, occasionally spitting out mouthfuls of water.
Poke poke...
"Dio, you can't sleep here."
Frieren crouched beside him, poking his head repeatedly with a tree branch.
"…Is it really okay for you to say such hurtful things in that calm tone?" Diego dragged himself upright, shook the water from his clothes like a cat, and muttered flatly, "The Flame Dragon's traits are so annoying. I really don't want to take this commission anymore…"
"The Flame Dragon's breath is covered in 'Flame Scales' that nullify all attacks. Legend says only by freezing and sealing it can the dragon be defeated." Frieren flipped through Magical Ecology, pointing out the page on Flame Dragons for Diego to see, then sighed. "You went off alone to subjugate the Flame Dragon this time—completely the worst possible strategy. You just burned yourself for nothing."
Diego's expression darkened. He muttered curses under his breath: "Damn it… damn it… If large-scale ice magic weren't so slow to cast, it could trap a flying Flame Dragon. But I don't have any effective way to completely restrict its movement. The Chain of Ten Thousand Miles can only confine it to a certain area. Otherwise, the previous attempts would've succeeded long ago!"
"Calm down, Dio." Frieren soothed him. "Modern elemental attack magic mainly manipulates existing matter. The Flame Dragon obviously doesn't live on an ice field, so you have to create ice from scratch. That process inevitably takes time—which is why the Flame Dragon keeps escaping…"
Damn it… are all those mages in the Magic Association just eating rice for free?!
Serie's ice-sealing magic is instant-cast! Can't those trash copy even one?!
At least going alone this time wasn't a total loss. At least now I know…
"If it really doesn't work, just give up the commission reward. We're not short on travel money anyway, right?" Frieren hugged her knees while sitting on the ground, tilting her head with a suggestion.
"Let's try one more time. There's something in this reward I'm really interested in…" Diego tapped his chin in thought, then held up three fingers. "Three days. If we still can't deal with the Flame Dragon after three days, we leave."
"Okay. Since you want that reward so badly, let's go borrow the Freeze God Sword from the Ice Tribe and see." Frieren made up her mind, sharing what she knew. "I remember the Ice Tribe's houses are in Warrior Village…"
"Freeze God Sword? What's that?"
"Heh heh, it's a special anti-Flame Dragon weapon. Legend says only the 'Freeze God Sword' can defeat the Flame Dragon…"
"I see. Wait—no! If there's a specialized weapon, then what was the point of all my earlier effort creating freezing-sealing opportunities for you?!"
"It proves you're fireproof?"
"By the way, how do you even know such ancient secrets? Information about a legendary dragon from the old era should be hard to come by, right?"
"Oh, this? Right here…" Frieren took out her portable suitcase, set it on the ground, and rummaged through it with rustling sounds. "I think it's in here… Found it!"
She held up a book titled Everything About the Ice Tribe ~Noble Bloodline and Duty~ and waved it in front of Diego.
"Ta-da! The previous guardian of the Freeze God Sword wrote this and sold tons of copies. This is already common knowledge."
Diego leaned in for a closer look and frowned.
Author… Flamme Rebele…
She made a fortune selling her tribe's secrets?
What a life…
The two chatted as they walked toward the village.
...
Upon entering the village...
The instant Diego was noticed...
"That damned murderer! Our village will never lose to a shithead wanted criminal like you!"
"Defending the village is everyone's duty!"
The village chief of Warrior Village led a furious mob of villagers charging forward, armed with whatever weapons they could grab on short notice:
Pots for stoking fires, steel forks for spearing boars, brooms for sweeping—only a few who happened to be training held actual swords.
"Wait, Dio won't just kill—" Frieren tried to stop the agitated villagers, but her voice was drowned out in the uproar and seemed insignificant.
The villagers demonstrated basic warrior discipline: they bypassed Frieren and charged straight at Diego, unleashing every ounce of skill in a group beating.
After an enthusiastic and passionate greeting...
Every man, woman, and child of Warrior Village knelt sincerely before Diego, faces beaming with "happiness," bodies bearing various injuries.
Frieren covered her eyes, unable to bear the sight of their misery. "That's why I said not to get so worked up. Dio really—every time we enter a new village, the first thing he does is beat up all the villagers."
Completely unscathed, Diego planted one foot on the leading middle-aged man and inspected him for a moment. Instead of asking about the Freeze God Sword, his first words were:
"Tch. Warrior Village can't even train a few decent fighters? What kind of trash level is this?!"
"Yes yes yes, you're absolutely right—we'll train harder!" The middle-aged man smiled obsequiously.
A nearby child whispered, "Chief, didn't all our village's strong warriors leave to join the Demon King subjugation party?"
"Shut up. Just go along with it for now. He's a ruthless guy who wipes out clans on a whim. What if he thinks we're making excuses?"
…You two idiots—I can hear you!
A joke: someone trying to whisper in front of Heavenly Restriction + dinosaur-enhanced hearing.
But this village is full of good seedlings for killing demons. Can't let them go to waste.
"Ohhh, I get it! I know what to do now!" The child's eyes flashed with sudden wisdom. He raised his hand resolutely. "Reporting to Black Boss!"
"? My name is Diego Brando!"
Diego flicked a small pebble. It flew out and accurately struck the child's forehead.
Thonk!
"Oww…" The child clutched his forehead, tears welling up, but still shouted loudly, "Reporting to Brando!"
"Speak!"
The child proudly folded his arms and nodded. "Everyone in our village is trash!"
"…" Diego's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He rubbed his temple. "I can see that. And you sound proud of it. That's enough…"
Diego kicked the village chief.
"Hey—even if the Demon King army's flames haven't reached here, you can't slack off like this. The whole village needs to be militarized!" Diego formed a tiny universe between his fingertips. "Know why you all attacked together and still couldn't beat me? Because I'm just a little stronger—and that little bit can be made up with just a bit of training. Like hunting magical beasts to gain real combat experience…"
The village chief listened respectfully. His eyes grew brighter as Diego explained training methods.
"Yes! Mission accepted!"
"That's more like it…" Diego nodded, then looked at Frieren in confusion. "Wait—what were we here for again?"
The cued Frieren lazily reminded him, "Freeze God Sword."
Diego coughed twice and got to the point: "Right. This Dio accepted a commission to subjugate the revived legendary dragon—the Flame Dragon. I need to borrow the Freeze God Sword. I heard the Ice Tribe that guards it lives in your village. Take me to see them."
"Yes, Black Boss!"
"Who the hell is Black Boss, you bastard!" Diego cursed and kicked the chief again.
On the way, Frieren walked beside Diego. She looked up at his profile and slowly spoke: "Dio, why don't you cover your face? It would reduce a lot of trouble."
Diego pondered: "I don't want to cover it…"
"Why not?" Frieren asked again.
"Because…" Diego's voice suddenly rose. His right fist clenched with excitement. "It would deprive the world of admiring this Dio's peerlessly handsome face!"
Frieren blinked, showing a slight surprise and confusion. Finally, she delivered a shocking line: "Are you handsome?"
Diego fell silent for a long while. One hand rested on Frieren's shoulder, sorrow beyond words: "I've decided to die right in front of you."
"Not watching."
Old thing really can't read the mood…
Under the chief's guidance, the two soon arrived at an enormous ancient tree. At its roots was a wooden door. They stopped there.
"…The successor of the Ice Tribe you're looking for is inside." The chief reached out to open the door. Worry was plain on his face. He steeled himself and gritted his teeth. "This clan's descendant is… a bit difficult to talk to. If she upsets you, please don't hit or scold her. If you're uncomfortable, just hit me. I'm an old bag of bones—I can take it. Mabel just doesn't know how to interact with outsiders…"
Hard kick!
"Don't think this Dio can't tell—you're a total masochist! Stop pretending to be noble!"
"If you want to get off on it, just say so!"
Diego ignored the chief's babbling, kicked him a few more times, and stepped inside first.
All that remained was the village chief, M attributes exploding, savoring the moment on the spot.
Creak—
The door opened. What met Diego's eyes was the object of this trip—the Freeze God Sword—sealed inside an enormous block of ice.
"As long as this girl—Mabel—still has ice in her heart, the seal on the 'Freeze God Sword' cannot be broken." The chief hurriedly explained.
Diego narrowed his eyes and peered through the massive ice block. Sure enough, he saw a blue-haired girl sitting alone on an ice bed, hugging her knees.
Hearing the chief's voice, Mabel awoke from deathlike stillness. She slowly raised her head. Her cold, frigid pupils met Diego's. She murmured softly:
"When I was little… at the summit of Mount Malkid… I watched the 'Scattered Flowers' with Mom…"
"So beautiful… huh…"
Seeing Diego frown in silence, the chief quietly left the ice house, leaving space for the three.
Looks like even history's worst criminal is helpless here…
The chief thought so.
Not long after the chief left, Diego seemed to realize something. He took three big strides forward, stood over Mabel, and looked down at her.
Mabel's expression remained cold and distant. Her downcast eyes didn't seem focused anywhere. Her inner monologue was…
Ah… so scary. Adventurers are so scary!
Why is he staring at me like that? Didn't Mom say that if I use this line, no matter how unreasonable or heavy the request, adventurers will work themselves to death to fulfill it?
This is weird! Why isn't it following the script?! (crying)
Waaah… why is he coming closer instead of going to pick flowers?!
Is he going to hit me? Nooo, don't come closer! I just wanted to stay home, so I asked for flowers from the Northern Continent!
"Dio, let's go. We'll pick Scattered Flowers on Mount Malkid." Frieren called from the doorway.
"No need for the hassle. My mom used to be a florist—I know where that flower is. Picking it takes at least months." Diego's face was expressionless. He raised his hand, fingers together. His tone was calm. "Anyway—as long as her inner cold melts, the Freeze God Sword seal will break, right?"
"That's theoretically correct." Frieren flipped through the Ice Tribe book again.
Diego raised an eyebrow and leaned his face closer: "You…"
"When I was little, at…"
"So beautiful… huh…"
?
Diego's smile froze. The curve of his mouth dropped. His movement halted.
My premium robot NPC girlfriend?
"More importantly… your face doesn't look good. You're Mabel, right?" Diego took a deep breath, cupped Mabel's face, and looked at her with extreme tenderness. "Have you been eating properly lately?"
Mabel froze for a second. Then her expression softened. She burst into tears. A large chunk of the solid ice sealing the Freeze God Sword melted instantly. That one question had broken the underlying logic of her AI responses: "Waaah… no! The villagers bully me! They say if I keep staying home all day and don't go out to work—if I keep relying on village relief—they won't send me food anymore! They force me to walk hundreds of meters every day…!!!"
"They gave me jobs, but whether it's being surrounded by seasonal flowers in the flower shop, tasting delicious cakes in the bakery, or touching cute dolls in the toy store… the heavy physical labor crushes me!"
"I'm so hungry! I haven't eaten in three days!"
Mabel cried loudly. The silence between the two was deafening.
"It's okay, it's okay. Then don't work. This Diego Brando will support you for life." Diego hugged Mabel, patted her back, pointed a thumb at himself, and smiled confidently.
"…Eh?! Eh?!! Eh?!!!"
"Legend says there are only seven Cosmic Stone rings in the world. By chance I obtained an extra-large Cosmic Stone. I broke it down and made a Scattered Flower ring." Diego composed himself, knelt on one knee seriously, took Mabel's hand, and slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. "With this, I can support you for life."
"Eh, um, ah… that's not good. I'm sorry, I can't accept your kindness…"
Whoosh!
The solid ice sealing the Freeze God Sword melted instantly, turning into water that flowed throughout the room.
"Yes! Now we can use the Freeze God Sword to take down the Flame Dragon!" Diego instantly teleported beside the sword, raised it triumphantly, and laughed.
Eh… this… he's using my sincerity, isn't he…
Crack crack crack!
Ice instantly reformed on the Freeze God Sword's surface, encasing Diego along with the blade. Inside the ice sculpture, Diego remained frozen in mid-laugh—looking utterly ridiculous.
Crack crack crack! Boom!
A few breaths later, Diego shivered and struggled out of the ice layer, covered in frost, teeth chattering nonstop.
"S-Suddenly what the… so cold, haah haah… making me work so hard to escape."
"Wuu… wuu…" Mabel sobbed.
Diego stood there motionless. His whole body stiffened. His expression was complicated. Slowly he spoke: "Hey, Mabel—I won't deny I had designs on the Freeze God Sword. But my words were serious."
"I swear on only one thing: 'This Diego Brando will absolutely take responsibility for life.' If that can put your mind at ease…"
"In three days, I'll leave this village. If you're willing, come find me at the summit of that mountain. Come with me to subjugate the Demon King."
"By the way, the Freeze God Sword is seriously strong. It should be ridiculously effective against demons."
"Of course, if you don't want to leave and just want to live peacefully as a shut-in, I'll leave behind enough money to keep you fed and comfortable for life."
"Eh?" Mabel stopped crying. She looked up in confusion—but Diego had already left the tree house with Frieren.
"I… I'll think about it…"
Mabel murmured to herself.
...
After leaving Mabel's home, the two hurried to the village inn, booked two rooms, moved their luggage inside, and Diego flopped onto the bed to rest.
At that moment, Frieren—who had been silent the whole time—suddenly spoke: "Ohhh, I see. Now I understand…"
"What do you mean?" Diego cracked one eye open.
"Dio—you're dating early!" Frieren's mind was still stuck on the image of Diego kneeling on one knee.
Diego's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He covered his face, buried it in the blanket, and acted like he didn't know Frieren: "I'm not just dating early—I'm also a murderer…"
...
Three days passed in a flash. Diego and Frieren arrived at the agreed-upon mountaintop.
While waiting, Frieren noticed the burn scars under Diego's collar with her peripheral vision. Curiously she asked: "Dio, did you sneak off to fight the Flame Dragon again? Your clothes are covered in wounds!"
"Ah, you noticed?" Diego instinctively reached to cover them. The corners of his eyes curved slightly—as though smiling. Then he pulled a sealed bottle from his pocket. "Heh heh—this time I cut off the Flame Dragon's entire head."
(Quick—praise me! Praise me!)
"That's amazing. Even against a Flame Dragon that nullifies all attacks—even without the Freeze God Sword—you still did it…" Frieren praised sincerely. She reached out and ruffled Diego's golden hair. "Dio really is strong. Can you tell me how you did it?"
"Heh heh—the claim that it nullifies all attacks is wrong." Diego tapped his chin, full of pride. "Fight fire with fire. When I went alone, I noticed that the instant you're burned by the Flame Dragon's demonic flames, you can inflict slight physical sword damage. Once you know that, the next three days are just attacking the same spot over and over until the Flame Dragon dies from exhaustion."
Three straight days…
Dio was burned by demonic flames for three days…
Frieren keenly caught the keyword.
"Oh, right." Diego suddenly remembered something. He opened his mouth and spat out Ugly Treasure.
Ugly Treasure climbed onto Diego's neck, grew larger, and covered the burns.
Diego patted Ugly Treasure's head, reached into its mouth, pulled out a grimoire, and handed it to Frieren.
"Here."
"Eh—this is?"
Frieren took it blankly.
"Birthday present. It's growth magic. I saw it in Flamme's notes. Today's your birthday. Happy birthday, Frieren." Diego sat on the ground, propped his chin, and smiled gently. "When we were taking black-market commissions, didn't your eyes practically sparkle when you saw this?"
"So I went and killed the Flame Dragon. This morning I picked up the reward at the black market."
"…" A strange, indescribable feeling welled up in Frieren's heart, but she couldn't put it into words. She simply fell silent.
After a moment, she looked dazed and murmured softly: "What's a birthday present?"
Diego's sharp hearing caught every word. His vision instantly darkened.
Frieren big dummy—(censored)
Wasted my carefully prepared birthday gift.
"Thank you…"
"Growth magic."
After reading through the grimoire and understanding the principle, Frieren immediately summoned her staff and cast it on herself—growing instantly to 2.5 meters.
"How's that? Now I'm taller than Dio—and older too. I'm completely your big sister now."
(Diego is 1.95 m)
The enlarged Frieren held her staff, smile unwavering.
Diego sat cross-legged in displeasure, forced to look up at her.
Having to crane his neck to see the child who'd always been shorter than him felt extremely uncomfortable.
Who grows up like this?
Then Frieren put away her staff and reached out to pat Diego's head.
"Pat pat, pat pat. See? You can't reach my head anymore. Now I'm the one patting yours."
"This is the view Dio usually sees…"
Hmph…
Old thing's actually kinda cute…
Whatever—Frieren's happy every day…
Diego chuckled inwardly, stood up, and brushed the dust off his clothes.
"But you grew too tall. This isn't the view this lord usually sees, so…" Diego spread both arms and scooped big Frieren up in a princess carry. Their heads returned to the same level.
Gazing into Frieren's emerald pupils, Diego gave a light laugh, corners of his mouth lifting: "Now the view we see is the same. No matter how tall you get, this Dio can always carry you."
Frieren's gaze fell on Diego's face. She looked dazed and spoke calmly: "Why did you suddenly pick me up? How rude."
¬_¬!!!
Diego's veins bulged. He looked thoroughly displeased. He sighed inwardly, slowly set Frieren down, took a perfectly preserved candy from Ugly Treasure's body, and popped it into his mouth.
The candy's sweetness washed away Diego's frustration. A few minutes later, with a crunch, he swallowed it—marking the end of the waiting period.
"Hm~ Looks like Mabel's planning to stay home." Diego stretched, gaze unfocused. "Frieren, let's go. I already left the promised money under her bed. When she runs out, she'll find it."
"Mm. Let's go—to the holy city of Strahl. First heal Dio's burns, then find a powerful cleric to travel with." Frieren agreed.
"Correction: capture an awesome cleric. Preferably one who can use awesome attacks. Also—that little burn will heal on its own after a while."
"I see. By the way, Dio—did you see the cookies I left on the table? I was saving them for breakfast…"
(Facing Fufu's questioning—if you were Diego, how would low emotional intelligence you answer?)
(Low EQ: Pull out even tastier, more varied snacks from your bag to distract Fufu. When a better substitute appears, people often stop caring about what they lost.)
(Medium EQ: Forgot earlier, forgot later too. Anyway—what's with the little mouth babbling? Kiss. Little mouth babbling is so cute—kiss again. That dazed look is cute too. I'll kiss you to death—kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss…)
(High EQ: Lean close to Fufu's ear and whisper—I'm high EQ. Don't embarrass me.)
"Didn't see them. Maybe some handsome, dashing guy took them." Diego's eyes drifted upward—clearly ultra-ultra-ultra-ultra high EQ.
Stolen snacks taste the best!
Stare…
As the two descended the mountain, they ran into Mabel running toward them, panting hard.
"Haa… haa… Thank goodness… I made it… I finally made it." Mabel bent over, gasping for breath. "I'm a nocturnal creature—I accidentally overslept!"
(At this moment, the elf Sui was still galloping over on horseback, secretly tailing Diego—cute!)
...…
Seventy-eight years after Diego went missing...
—Northern Nations, Tich Region—
At the foot of the Huvia Mountains stood two small cabins in a blizzard: one wooden, one made of ice.
"Hehe—that's how I met Dio!"
Inside the wooden cabin, the fireplace was the only source of warmth.
After asking Fern to light a fire with magic, Mabel sat in front of the hearth, constantly feeding wood into it while simmering soup.
Frieren supplemented the story at key points. Fern sat beside her, listening attentively and nodding from time to time.
"Lord Diego was so mean!" Fern clenched both fists, indignant.
Meanwhile Stark…
"Achoo! Achoo!"
He was frozen stiff, waiting for Mabel's hot soup to warm up.
"But… this is supposed to be the story of how I first met Dio—why does Frieren have more screen time than me?!!!"