Chapter 6

Twenty-eight years after Himmel's death, Frieren and Fern arrive at the Granz Channel, where a village elder asks them to clear the coast of wrecked debris in exchange for a book attributed to the Great Mage Flamme. Fern recognizes the grimoire as a fake, yet Frieren takes the job anyway, moved by the elder's worry and by her own curiosity. The work stretches across three winter months, during which Fern mothers her forgetful master and the pair grow close to the locals, including a fond bakery owner.

Learning that the village greets the New Year by watching dawn break over the cleaned sea, the two finish in time for the celebration. Frieren, who has never once managed to stay awake for the sight, swears to pull an all-nighter but dozes off regardless, until Fern wakes her. At the shore they watch the sunrise glitter across the water, and seeing Fern captivated, Frieren finally grasps the meaning behind Himmel's old wish for her.

Frieren and Fern accept the village elder's request and spend three months clearing the Granz Channel coast. With the coast cleared in time, the two join the village's festival and watch dawn break over the water together.

The reward grimoire, supposedly penned by Flamme, proves to be a counterfeit, though Frieren accepts the task regardless. A flashback recalls Himmel scolding her for skipping an earlier New Year's Festival while Heiter slept off his drink; asked why it mattered when the others attended, he answered that the party wanted her to enjoy it too. By dawn Frieren understands that the joy she feels rises from Fern's smile, exactly what Himmel had meant.