Reincarnated As Aura

Day 1

"Waaaaah!"

"You're crying way too much just because you got beaten to a pulp… Seriously, what's the big deal?" Aura sighed. The sound of Frieren's wailing filled the house, loud enough to make the walls vibrate. 

Day 2

"Waaaaah!"

"Sigh… Whenever she throws a tantrum, it always lasts three days," Aura muttered, glancing over at Frieren, who was curled up in the corner with her knees hugged to her chest. Her sobs echoed through the small living space like a relentless storm.

Aura, stirring the pot of stew on the stove, cast a side glance at the sulking elf. "You know, you'd recover faster if you ate something. Or is crying your idea of self-healing magic?"

Frieren didn't respond, the steady flow of tears continuing unabated.

Day 3

"――! ――――! (creak creak)"

The sound of Frieren's bed creaking under her weight punctuated her muffled cries. She was thrashing now, kicking her legs and tossing her blankets off the bed in frustration.

".........."

Aura stood in the doorway, watching the elf's tantrum with deadpan eyes. She crossed her arms and let out a long, tired breath.

Day 4

"Waaaaah!"

Aura pinched the bridge of her nose as Frieren's wailing reached a new, almost operatic pitch.

"This kid is crying even more than usual and just won't stop," she muttered under her breath. "I didn't even think it was possible to cry this much."

Day 5

"Waaaaah!"

"Hey, don't tell me something's broken inside her or something?"

Day 6

"...Nnn...ah...! (creak creak)"

Aura's ears picked up on the faint sound of Frieren muttering through her sobs, her voice barely audible but no less persistent. The bed creaked again as Frieren shifted, her movements restless and agitated.

"...The walls are thin," Aura muttered, resigned.

Day 7

"――――! Ahh...――!! (creak creak)"

"When is this going to end...?" Aura groaned, flopping down onto the couch and staring at the ceiling. She had already cleaned the house twice, made enough food to last three days, and even read through a stack of old magical tomes—all in an effort to drown out Frieren's incessant cries.

At this point, Aura wasn't sure if the elf was mourning her defeat or rehearsing for an opera. Either way, the performance had gone on long enough.

"Alright, enough of this!" Aura stormed into Frieren's room, her eyes glowing faintly with irritation. "You've cried for seven days straight. Either stop or at least cry quieter, Frieren!!"

Frieren sniffled, her tear-streaked face peeking out from under a blanket. "Hic… Aura, do you think… hic… I'm pathetic?"

"Absolutely," Aura said without hesitation. "But at least you're consistent."

――――――――

"Waaaah!"

"This kid just won't stop crying..."

A week had passed since the two of us had been utterly outmatched and toyed with by Schlacht, the Demon King's confidant and a seemingly impossible opponent to defeat.

The elf, who should have lived over ten times as long as I have, was still dragging out her defeat and crying her heart out.

Well, considering her sense of time, where "staying a bit in the village" has already amounted to about 14 years, one week isn't even close to being "just a little while" for this ancient twin-tailed monster.

I wish I could also adopt that ridiculous and crude sense of time. But alas, I was born with human knowledge and have only lived for half a century, so for now, my sense of time doesn't match Freiren's. I just think that the environment in which one grows is very important.

"Aura, you're such a perv..."

"What is wrong with her?"

Crying for a week straight despite being a freeloader, shamelessly consuming three meals and even snacks daily, and then having the audacity to call one of the homeowners indecent—isn't that just a great life?

Well, since staying alive and sticking close to the infamous Frieren the Slayer proves that I'm one of the rare demons who work alongside humans, I don't really mind her antics that much.

If this were the modern era, I'd crop her crying face and stick it on a huge pillow, then throw the image into several random threads online. But considering we're living in a civilization where wasting candles and oil lamps is frowned upon, the most I can do is scatter some raw onion slices in her dinner salad.

Even if Frieren cries and screams, it doesn't interfere with my work, as my workspace is at home, and my husband's is at the village hall. That said... should I also move my workspace to the village hall? It's closer to the villagers, and the village has grown significantly with new generations taking on non-farming jobs. It's practically a small town now, bustling with activity.

"Frieren-sama is so cute..."

While I was thinking about this, a comment came from beside me—something I could agree with, but being put on the spot made it hard to respond. Other than Frieren and my husband, the only one living with us now is...

"Elfs are cute, aren't they, Mom?"

...my third child, Aurelia. She was still in my belly when Frieren came into our lives.

Since then, Frieren—who's turned into a bit of a parasite—has also helped out with childcare to some extent. Fourteen years have flown by, and Aurelia has grown up splendidly as both a human and a mage. Since my appearance was frozen as that of a beautiful young girl, Aurelia, due to certain circumstances, ended up looking so much like me that from her face to her height, we're practically identical.

When we stand side by side, apart from the absence of my horns and the light in my eyes, we look like twin sisters. Walking outside holding hands with her draws odd comments from villagers and travelers alike, like, "It's messing with my brain" or "I thought I was under some kind of magical attack."

"Mom's not fair! She has such a sloppy, useless, and disappointingly cute elf as a pet! I want one too!"

"...Sob... Waaaah!"

"She finally stopped crying, and now you've made her start again!"

Apparently, even being "cute" wasn't enough to redeem Frieren in this situation.

However, strangely enough, despite me raising her and perfectly faking my role as the ideal mother—this daughter of mine has grown up to adore older, "cute" individuals. To put it nicely, she loves them dearly. To put it bluntly, she harbors an incomprehensible fetish for leeching off ancient, superior beings and spoiling them rotten.

"On the contrary, you're the one being kept as a pet by them, you know."

"If anything, that's a reward!"

I'm at a loss. I can't understand what my daughter is saying at all. It feels impossible to win against her. How did she end up like this after growing up watching me balance taking care of Frieren and raising children—a life that should inspire sympathy based on human standards?

"One day, I'll raise and pamper my own amazing elf-sama, just you wait!!"

"What's with that weird tone at the end?"

Shaking with passion, Aurelia pointed an accusatory finger at me, leaning back slightly as though issuing a challenge.

How strange. My parenting philosophy should have been flawless. In fact, my first two children turned out... normal? Well, compared to Aurelia, they were much less eccentric and successfully became independent. This has to be Frieren's influence. Her presence has clearly had a terrible effect on my children's upbringing. Those twin tails are ruining lives.

Also, I'm a demon so it's fine, but don't point at people in public, okay? Eh? You won't do that even if you die? I see... You're quite obedient.

"By the way, Mom, I need some of your saliva. Just fill this glass tube up to about halfway, okay?"

Don't think you can change the subject with a conversational segue like that.

Why would I have to go through this reincarnation to do something like a COVID-19 antigen test kit? Eh? For your magic? I see... I guess that can't be helped. The pursuit of magic should take priority over anything else.

My children, much like demons, are natural-born mages. While I don't have enough proper examples to compare them to—besides Frieren and the occasional visiting mage—it seems their talents are noteworthy, given that traveling mages sometimes mention my eldest.

Still, they're two levels below me or Frieren in both intellect and ability. That said, their ability to instinctively use flight magic and their dedication to lifelong magical research should serve them well.

Among my children's pursuits, Aurelia's chosen magic is particularly bizarre. Whether it ever amounts to anything remains to be seen, but as both a mother and a mage, I have no reason to discourage her.

"Just so you know, my spit is gross. It's fine to use it for magic, but make sure you dispose of it properly when you're done."

"What? There's no way my mother's saliva was gross. Please apologize, hurry up."

"For what, exactly?"

"Listen, Mom! From the tip of your hair to the ends of your horns, you're the most beautiful, delicate, and precious demon ever. You should be treasured, protected, worshiped, and praised! So apologize and—"

"Spell of Obedience: Auserlese! Sit at the dining table until lunch."

"Uwaaahh!! Why did you cast a spell on me?! I'm against violence!"

"It's called discipline, my dear."

For some reason, Aurelia also seems to harbor strange feelings toward me. She keeps nitpicking me even though I'm telling her the truth about my body and mind as a demon.

Why, though? No matter how much I think about it, I can't figure it out. I'm just a demon, after all. From what I know of human knowledge, there's nothing about me worthy of praise.

But the thing I find most incomprehensible is this: the personality I supposedly had in the past, according to human knowledge, doesn't seem all that different from Aurelia's now. None of it makes any sense to me.

"Aura, it's about lunchtime, isn't it? What's for lunch today?"

And so, since the perpetually hungry elf of the house has started moving around, it's about time I prepared lunch.

With the image of a family of ducks crossing my mind, I headed to the kitchen with Frieren in tow.

――――――――

500 Years Later

"――And then, at that moment, I said this to that brat, the hero Himmel: 'I was held in Frieren-sama arms countless times when I was just a baby, but what about you?'"

"Ugh..."

In the firewood chopping area adjacent to a small cabin on the outskirts of the holy city Strahl in the Central Lands.

Hearing that despicable, arrogant remark, Fern decided that she never wanted to become an adult like that.

An adult - a female mage named "Aurelia."

This woman, who looked identical to Aura but without horns and with light in her eyes, seemed to visit Aura regularly. While helping with household chores, she would share old stories with Fern as she chopped firewood.

The Sage Aurelia.