In Frieren as a 1000 years old Demon

Three years into married life—

After finishing her daily lessons for the court mages and assigning her disciples the task of designing [Cooking Golems], Furame set off home with her latest research topic.

"What will Agusheed make today?"

"He seems to have been studying desserts in his spare time recently..."

Walking along the nearly empty streets, Furame began pondering what dinner might be. She never used to consider this, as she had always been the one to cook. But ever since the incident on their first anniversary two years ago, Agusheed had never let her enter the kitchen again.

His reason was not wanting to see the kitchen blown sky high again someday. Furame didn't object to this arrangement either, as she'd discovered Agusheed had remarkable talent for cooking. His meals were indeed slightly more delicious than hers—just slightly, really.

"Mercury Pudding, Berry Sundae..." She brushed her fingers along a low wall entwined with honeysuckle vines, softly murmuring the desserts Agusheed might make. These were all treats they'd often enjoyed during their travels, and Agusheed had even obtained the recipes from merchant caravans passing through the imperial capital.

Just as Furame was anticipating dinner, a flash of white in a magic shop's window display caught her attention. "Red Mirror Dragon's Fang—I remember this material being perfect for weapon and golem core casings..."

She swiftly pushed open the door, the wind chime startling the white-bearded shopkeeper's napping Hachimi. "Lady Furame..." Recognizing his distinguished customer, the shopkeeper exclaimed in surprise and hurried to greet her. As he began to bow to the Grand Mage, Furame raised her hand to stop him.

On the third shelf sat the Red Mirror Dragon's fang, as long as an adult's forearm. Having visited frequently in recent years, they skipped the usual haggling and refusal of payment. As Furame's Rasiel gold coins clinked into the cash register, the shopkeeper neatly packaged the fang—then handed her a small box as well.

"Lord Agusheed ordered this material the day before yesterday. Since you're here, I might as well give it to you together." After completing the transaction, the white-bearded old man sat back down with Hachimi in his arms and said as usual: "Looking forward to your next visit, Lady Furame."

With a slight smile, Furame left the magic shop carrying two boxes—one large, one small. As dusk deepened, she quickened her pace, but stopped abruptly when passing the fountain square at the capital's center. Simultaneously, the dust-covered white figure seated by the fountain noticed Furame's halted footsteps.

"Furame, I've come to find you again," declared the rather disheveled Frieren.

......

"So... what exactly happened to make you rush to the capital in such a state?" Back in Furame and Agusheed's cottage, Furame wiped dust from Frieren's face with a silk handkerchief while watching her eat what should have been Furame's portion of Mercury Pudding. 

But the little disciple, reveling in both pudding and her master's care, didn't hear Furame at all. She just kept spooning the dessert into her mouth with blissful satisfaction. (◍´꒳`◍)

"Stupid disciple." Seeing Frieren completely absorbed in the food while ignoring her teacher's words, Furame sighed softly. Then she put down the handkerchief and grabbed Frieren's cheeks, kneading them mercilessly.

"Yamete yo... Furame..." Frieren's plea fell on deaf ears as Furame ignored her begging just as thoroughly.

"Are you two children?" Emerging from the kitchen with another plate of Mercury Pudding, Agusheed separated the squabbling pair. He seated Furame opposite Frieren and placed what should have been his own pudding before her. 

"Since things have come to this, let's eat first." Seeing Agusheed sacrifice his pudding for her, Furame stopped tormenting Frieren. She leaned against Agusheed and slightly opened her mouth. (*＾ワ＾*)

Furame: Tired. Feed me.

Agusheed didn't refuse—during their travels, he'd grown accustomed to feeding the occasionally lazy Furame. So when Frieren finished her pudding first and regained her higher reasoning, she was immediately treated to this sight:

Agusheed helplessly lifting the plate, expertly feeding pudding to Furame nestled in his arms. ╭(￣▽￣)╮

"How mushy..." The now-serious Frieren commented bluntly. But Furame just glared at her before continuing to enjoy her husband's feeding.

"Since you've finished eating, back to the main topic—" While continuing to feed Furame, Agusheed asked Frieren: "What happened to make you come seek Furame in the capital looking like that?"

Hearing this, a look of misfortune crossed Frieren's face. Propping her cheeks with both hands, she explained her reason for coming: "I encountered a nameless Great Demon in the Ernst region of the northern plateau. That thing chased me for a full month."

"When I truly couldn't handle that Great Demon anymore, I had no choice but to come find Furame." At the words "nameless Great Demon," Agusheed paused his feeding. Realizing Frieren had indeed faced a potentially fatal crisis, Furame stopped leaning against Agusheed.

She sat up straight, looking seriously at her disciple across the table. "A nameless Great Demon... what magic did it use? Any distinctive features?" Furame pressed for details about this demon.

"Hmm... it never used magic the entire time, probably one of the Demon Generals. Also... extremely tall, absurdly perceptive, and stronger than all the Demon Generals I've encountered combined. That's about it—"

Recalling how that nameless Great Demon could pinpoint her exact location from kilometers away, how it had chased her while enduring magical bombardment and casually punched through a mountain, Frieren still felt chills. Not even facing the Throne's Bazalt had given her such intense premonitions of death.

After hearing Frieren's description, Furame looked to Agusheed beside her. "Can you identify who that Great Demon is?" In response to Furame's question, Agusheed nodded calmly.

Then he fixed his gaze on Frieren across from them. "How amusing that you survived an encounter with him... Frieren, I'm impressed by you yet again." 

The description was so specific that Agusheed had known halfway through who the nameless Great Demon pursuing Frieren was. And coincidentally, it happened to be an old acquaintance and friend of his. Precisely because he knew that one's strength, he now praised Frieren without reservation. (ーー゛)

Furame elbowed the complimenting Agusheed, signaling him not to keep them in suspense. Taking the hint, Agusheed stopped speaking in riddles and straightforwardly revealed the identity of the nameless Great Demon yet to truly appear before the world.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Great Demon Frieren encountered is likely the strongest of the Demon Generals—"

"The Bloodstained War God, Liwarre."

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