Twenty-nine years after Himmel the Hero's passing, Frieren's Party are in the Northern Lands, specifically, the Schwer Mountains. Stark and Fern travel a bit ahead, while Frieren has a hard time with the cold and falls asleep with a nose dive into the snow. Fern notices this and returns to pick her up. Stark offers to carry Frieren, but Fern shuts him down.
While being carried, Frieren has a flashback of the Hero Party, where she remembers their audience with the King and their subsequent departure to defeat the Demon King. Eisen was surprised at the mere ten copper coins granted by the King for their journey, and Heiter explained that many adventurers had unsuccessfully tried to defeat the Demon King. Himmel supposed that their lack of funds just means they have the opportunity to earn more on their journey, and he explained that it feels like they are going on a real adventure, to which Heiter agreed.
Himmel took out and admired his sword, and Frieren identified it as the "Sword of the Hero," but Heiter corrected her and clarified that the sword is just a replica. Himmel recalled the events leading to him receiving the sword: the sword was gifted to him as a token of gratitude by a merchant he saved from a monster, and the merchant described it as a sword for a hero. Frieren asked him if that was why he wanted to become a hero, but Himmel denied this, and he explained that he wanted to prove Heiter wrong, as when they were younger, Heiter told him that he would only become a fake hero with a fake sword. Therefore, he resolved to become a real hero and acquire the real Sword of the Hero and defeat the Demon King. As they continued traveling, Himmel joked that Heiter was a fake priest who only drank, and they all laugh and move on, except for Frieren, who is speechless and fascinated when Himmel turned back to her with a smile.
Back in the present, Frieren wakes up and instructs Fern, who is currently carrying her, to press forward, as she finds the current landscape familiar. She mentions that she underestimated the weather in the mountains, however, their destination—a village—should be nearby. Fern asks if Frieren can walk, but she refuses. Stark offers to carry her, but Fern rejects his offer and continues carrying Frieren until she eventually starts walking on her own. The snowstorm subsides, and the trio notice their destination in view as they pass by a broken-down building. When they reach the fortified village, they are welcomed to the Village of the Sword by its chief—a young girl who introduces herself as the 49th village chief.
While walking with the chief, Frieren asks what the destroyed building was, and the chief tells Frieren that it was a hunter's cabin in the past that was destroyed by the Lord of the Mountains. As Frieren tries to recall if there was a "Lord of the Mountains" in the past, Stark recognizes the name of the Village of the Sword, and Fern asks if he was aware of it. Stark explains that this village protects the "Sword of the Hero," a famous sword allegedly embedded by the Goddess of Creation, and it was said to have been extracted by Himmel eighty years prior, the first to do so since it was placed. The village chief recites the legend of the sword, which describes it as something that can only be pulled by the hero that drives out the great calamity. Fern clarifies that Himmel was the one who pulled out the sword, and Stark confirms. Stark is confused about how Fern does not know such a famous story, and Fern replies that Heiter never mentioned it to her.
Frieren's party accompany the village chief into a building, where Frieren sits by the fireplace to warm up. The chief recites the will of her grandmother, a past village chief, and she acts out her grandmother's anger towards Frieren given the elf was late on her promise to return half a century later to help protect the village. Frieren says that she expected it would be safe for 80 years, but the village chief stresses that she still has to fulfill her duty. Fern asks what the chief meant by duty, and Frieren tells her it is monster extermination. The chief explains that the "Ruler of the Mountains" has been troublesome, and Frieren decides they will start on the task the next day.
The next day, Frieren's party starts to defeat many wolf-like monsters, and the chief applauds their efforts. Fern asks why they did not issue a subjugation request to adventurers, and the chief replies that they could, but Frieren ends her reply with the statement that Himmel is the Hero, leaving Fern confused. Stark sees more monsters congregating at the entrance of a cave and proceeds to kill them. As he turns to talk to Frieren, he is pushed down by the Lord of the Mountains. The chief confirms that this monster is the Lord, and Frieren is unimpressed that, within eighty years, the monster would consider itself a Lord. She faces the creature and demands Stark to move if he still can. Stark complies and cuts the monster's arm off, which prompts the monster to take a swing at Frieren with its remaining claw, but Fern casts a spherical defense spell around herself and Frieren. Frieren praises her and then proceeds to exterminate the monster with a blast of offense magic.
Stark sits down in front of the cave entrance and confronts Frieren about what is inside it, which is the "Sword of the Hero," still embedded within a rock. She tells him that it was the reason that monsters are attracted by the cave, as they cannot resist the urge to destroy the blade even though the sanctuary is protected by a powerful barrier. Stark says that he did not mean the monsters, and Frieren, understanding his confusion, explains that Himmel could not pull the sword out as she recalls when the Hero's Party visited the same cave eighty years ago.
In Frieren's flashback, Himmel unsuccessfully retrieved the sword. The village chief at the time—the grandmother of the present one—remarked that he must not be a true hero either, as he failed alongside those that previously attempted to remove the sword. Heiter tried to console Himmel, but before he could, Himmel stated that it was fine if he was a fake hero. He reassured his determination to defeat the Demon King and bring peace, and as long as he is able to achieve this feat, it will not matter if he is a fake or real hero.
In the present, Frieren describes that Himmel was ultimately able to accomplish his goal, and even without the sword, he had proved that he could save the world and that he was a real hero. Fern asks why this was kept a secret, and Frieren replies that it was probably the doing of those who wanted Himmel to be the hero. She explains that unsavory anecdotes would be detrimental to his story, as heroes are glorified by future generations and their stories eventually become unrecognizable. Frieren, Fern, and the chief head back to the village, but Stark stays behind and contemplates their discussion. He looks at the Sword of the Hero stuck in the stone and has a sudden memory about a man with red hair standing in front of a burning house.
Later, Frieren's party prepares to continue on their journey. The village chief thanks them in a manner her grandmother would express and asks Frieren not to be late next time. Frieren's party subsequently departs from the village.
That same year, Frieren's party travels further in the Northern Lands and arrives at the Appetit Region. They reach a town and settle at an inn, deciding to relax for the rest of the day. Frieren chooses to read grimoires in her room and Fern prepares to head out to explore the shops on her own. Before Fern leaves, Frieren suddenly remembers that it is Stark's eighteenth birthday. Fern panics, as she has not arranged a gift for him. When Frieren suggests simply buying one while she shops, Fern mentions that she is unsure about what Stark likes. Frieren teases her for her uncertainty, which Fern blames on her.
Fern asks Frieren what she intends to gift him, and Frieren excitedly jumps out of bed to open her suitcase and says she planned something special. She holds up a potion and reveals that it is capable of dissolving clothes, and she smirks while saying her master told her that men would be very happy to receive such a gift. Fern is shocked and disgusted by the idea and takes the bottle out of Frieren's hand. Much to Frieren's dismay, Fern opens it and pours the contents onto her, melting her clothes, and Fern comments that this vulgar purchase should have been returned back when bought. She promptly leaves, slamming the door. A devastated Frieren grumbles that the drug was precious and wraps herself in a blanket. As she thinks about a new gift for Stark, she goes over the contents of her suitcase once more. Her attention falls on a ring, which she picks up and stares at for a moment. She then notices a slip of paper, which gives her an idea.
Fern chooses to investigate what to gift Stark, and upon discovering his empty room, she begins asking the townsfolk for help locating him. Multiple individuals recall encountering him after he had helped them with various tasks, such as a merchant lady whose cart he helped push, some kids he played with, a child with a cat he retrieved from a tree, and a cattle breeder whose cattle he helped round up. After hearing these stories of Stark being courteous, Fern reinforces her idea that Frieren was being inconsiderate for generalizing his personality. Right after, she discovers him on a bench. As she approaches him, he loudly points out vulgar cloud shapes to himself. This causes her to retreat to a house corner, and she realizes that Stark has childish thoughts. He comments out loud that he will tell Fern about his cloud discoveries, and Fern is unsure how to respond. Eventually, she resolves to approach him and addresses him from behind. He turns around and begins to tell her about the clouds but falls silent upon seeing Fern's facial expression.
Fern invites him on a walk, and as Stark asks her about why she was angry, she ignores him. She is unsure how to bring up his birthday and decides to ask directly. Surprised, he questions her if she would be gifting him something, but his words anger her and she tells him to forget about it. Stark plays his words off as a joke and reflects on how he has never received birthday gifts growing up, even from his family or his master, and he has come to accept this. He explains that after all, he was raised in a village full of warriors, and they did not value weaklings.
Stark thinks back to his childhood and recalls a scene where his father scolded a handful of warriors with blemished white cloaks and expressed that they should look up to Stark's brother, Stoltz, who stood uninjured in front of a defeated boar-like monster with his white cloak still pristine. Stark's father claimed that Stoltz is the strongest and the pride of the village, and as he walked by a young Stark training, he considered the boy a failure in comparison.
As it started raining, Stark's father headed home first, but Stoltz stayed behind to help his brother. As Stark practiced his sword technique, Stoltz took the initiative to train his younger brother and was patient with him, praising him for his concentration and giving him pointers on how to improve. In the present, Stark remembers Stoltz was the only individual who was like that with him. Stark recalls another memory, where a demon that had attacked the village had a standoff against the village's warriors. Upon realizing the gravity of the situation, the young Stark turned away and fled the attack.
After thinking back to his past, Stark remarks that he abandoned Stoltz and fled during the demon's attack. He blames himself for running and thinks that his family was right to never have celebrated his birthday. Stark then remembers the Sword of the Hero and mentions that Himmel would not run away in the same circumstances.
After hearing Stark's story, Fern tells him that he should go with her to pick a present and not concern himself with his past, as she only knows the Stark that has fought back and never fled. Stark reminds her that he may flee in the future, but Fern rebutes him and tells him that she and Frieren will not let him do so. She says she will pick out his present on her own if he does not come along with her, and after he reluctantly agrees, they spend time in the shops choosing his present. Stark ends up picking a silver bracelet, and the two of them return back to the inn, with Stark sporting the bracelet.
Frieren welcomes them back and tells them they are late as she serves giant hamburger steaks, fried over an open fire. Fern questions her intentions, but before Frieren replies, Stark says that this is how birthdays are celebrated. Stark mentions that despite never receiving presents from Eisen, his master would always make him these steaks for his birthday. Frieren asks if Eisen has ever told Stark the idea behind it and remarks that warriors are awkward, and given that she is too, she understands Eisen's point of view. Frieren tells Stark that those who are awkward cannot properly express their thoughts unless they are put into words.
Frieren refers back to a time the Hero Party was camping at night, and Eisen was busy with frying massive hamburger steaks on a grill. When Frieren asked why he would cook these steaks on their birthdays, the dwarf explains that it was a regional custom to thank warriors for their hard work. Himmel commented that the Hero Party's members aren't warriors, but Eisen replied that he defined a warrior as anyone who puts in their best effort. Stark muses over Frieren's explanation and Eisen's statement, and he thinks back to one of his birthdays, where Stoltz had also secretly made a hamburger steak for him. He then remembers the night of the demon attack, where Stoltz had instructed him to escape and live. Frieren cites Eisen for the steak recipe and asks about its taste, and Stark replies that he enjoys it.
After their meal, Frieren reveals the potion that dissolves clothes and points out there is a little left. An upset Fern replies that she will pour the remainder onto Frieren's head again. The curious Stark then asks what the potion was, but he receives a flat reply from Fern, who calls him a pervert.
When Himmel describes how he got his sword, a panel of him saving the merchant as a kid from a bird-like monster is shown in the manga, and this scene is not adapted by the anime.
The anime includes an additional scene in the episode that is based on a volume extra from Chapter 25 in the manga: Frieren says to Fern: "Smells nice" and her apprentice replies with "Sheesh," while carrying her master.
The memories of Himmel that Frieren has while talking about his legacy anime original.
The memory of Stoltz that Stark has while sitting in front of the cave is anime original.
As Frieren goes through her suitcase in the anime, she looks at a ring with the mirrored-lotus flower motif before spotting Eisen's recipe. This is an anime original scene and alludes to Episode 14.
The potion that only dissolves clothes was first introduced by Fern, who remarked that it was an unnecessary purchase in Episode 3.
The anime includes an additional scene at the end of the episode that is based on a volume extra from Chapter 26 in the manga: Frieren gives Stark the potion, and when Stark asks what it is, Fern calls him a pervert.
