Frieren: Twin Souls

Chapter 3 Past mistakes

Himmel stopped just outside the gate, took a deep breath, stretched his hands out in front of him and did a few heel turns, his face showing pure joy.

— It's wonderful to be here again. — Himmel's face showed genuine joy at the fact that he was once again allowed to walk the streets of the city that had been his home for years.

Fauna and Flamme seemed to be happy for him, while Menno remained calm and discreetly observed the area, and only now did it dawn on him how much had changed in almost 2000 years, and the last time he had been in this region, there had been a few miserable huts and rickety fences in this place, which did not resemble the capital it is now.

— We have some time before Milten returns. — Himmel said excitedly. — I really want to see what has changed in these 30 years.

— If it's not too much trouble, Funa and I would like to visit the local pastry shops, because in my day there wasn't much choice. — she giggled.

— Sure, so Menno and I will go and meet at the monument of heroes in 3 hours.

— See you later — Flamme replied, grabbing Flora by the hand, and after a moment they disappeared into one of the streets.

— Are you sure you know where you're going? — Fauna managed to keep up with her.

— No, but my nose tells me we're going in the right direction.

— Nose? — Fauna stammered, very surprised by the answer.

— Yes. If you don't know where to go, always follow your nose, or your gut feeling, although your nose is more useful when looking for a pastry shop.

And indeed, after a moment they reached a pastry shop with the pleasant name of Red Apple, where they were shown to a table and given a list of available sweets, desserts and cakes.

— I can't decide, so I'll take the first one and then the next one on the list. — Flamme said after a quick look at the menu. And what are you taking?

— Apple pie sounds good. — She replied after a moment of hesitation.

— Please wait a moment. — After these words, the bakery employee returned inside.

— Now we have time to gossip like women do. Right? — Flamme laughed.

— I have a strange feeling that we're not here just because you want something sweet, am I wrong? — Fauna narrowed her eyes suspiciously, looking at her smiling companion.

— You're right. — Flamme suddenly became serious. — You weren't entirely honest during our conversation. Your life was much more interesting than you claimed.

— That's understandable. — Flamme replied. — I don't know if he sensed it, but I do know that your mana level is extremely high, almost as high as Frieren's at least when I last saw her, and like her, you mask it perfectly.

— That's true, but so is he. That's why I don't want to give him anything he could use against me.

— Do you think Menno would use such knowledge against you? He seems smart, and without your stories, he might realize that you're not just any healer.

— Probably, but I'd rather be safe than sorry, but the truth is that I know, just like Menno, what the Shadow Blades are capable of, and I'll tell you, these demons are different than the ones you've seen.

— Different in what way? — Flamme asked, intrigued.

— They don't have to feed on humans, or at least not like other demons. They feed on manna, they can blend in so well with their surroundings that it's hard to tell them apart from other races, and on top of that they can use more than one type of magic. They're an anomaly, and a dangerous one at that. Imagine that in every village there's one such demon who causes chaos: he'll say something to someone here, he'll do something there, you know what I'm getting at?