People like that are all extremely rare geniuses.
And Linie is that type too, just an upgraded version in another direction. She does not even need to go through all that trouble. As long as she has seen it once, she can use someone else's technique.
But this kind of copying has a flaw. If you are not strong enough yourself, how much of what you copy can actually be reproduced is hard to say.
Still, Ubel is obviously very strong among humans. She should be able to completely copy and restore most things, right?
Of course, none of that has any meaning to him. For a Great Demon like him, his magic is not something she could understand or resonate with. Even if he explained a little bit to her, it would be useless.
After all, even if humans manage to learn it, they still cannot use the magic of the Great Demon Clan.
"Don't be so stingy~ Just chatting a bit won't hurt. I can also tell you about my life," Ubel had no idea what he was really thinking. Instead, it was as if she had discovered some once in a lifetime treasure, showing an unyielding spirit on the spot.
"Not interested."
"My older sister is a tailor. When I was little, I often watched her…"
Even though Ash had no intention of paying attention to her, just like she said about herself, Ubel liked to chat and talk. She simply kept going on her own.
Sein, listening from the side, was speechless, "She is a chatterbox."
"Be quiet. I'm a bit interested in her cutting technique. Why turn down free knowledge? I also want to try resonating with something. If it really doesn't work, we can just chase her away later."
"I've thought this before, but your personality really is terrible," Now even Sein was at a loss for words.
Ubel swayed her body slightly, wearing a bright smile that was almost frightening, "How mean~ You were already planning to throw me away after using me? Not even going to hide it?"
"Of course. We're not even familiar, and you were the one who came over yourself. If I use you and don't throw you away, what, am I supposed to keep you? Raise you?"
"Even though I know that's not what you mean, why does this conversation sound so strange?"
Listening to the two of them, Sein felt that if he had not heard clearly, he might have ended up judging Ash as some heartless scumbag.
Still, he lowered his voice and reminded him in his ear, "This girl looks really troublesome. The kind of woman who won't let things go. It's better not to get too involved with her."
"What a coincidence. I thought the same at first, but…"
"I think it's already too late~ I'm not someone you can just throw away that easily~"
Before he could finish, Ubel leaned in between them, smiling as she answered for him.
Sein was so startled that he took several steps back. Ash, however, remained calm and did not care at all. He listened to Ubel's increasingly detailed past, which seemed to be speeding up in order to deepen their "bond," while silently looking into the distance, starting to wonder why there were so few normal people around him, and why he kept getting tangled up with strange ones.
———
After Fern and Frieren helped out in the village and exchanged their work for some needed food, they came back.
But as soon as they approached, they saw Sein wearing a troubled expression while looking at Ash, and... for some reason, a strange girl who had appeared beside him.
"Lord Ash, this... is?", Fern stared at Ubel and frowned without meaning to.
"Someone I don't know."
"Ahh~ How mean. We've been chatting for so long and even built such an 'intimate' relationship, and you still say you don't know me?", Ubel tilted her body with a teasing smile, almost leaning against his shoulder.
"Oh? Intimate?", Frieren found it interesting and could not help asking, "Who are you?"
"Ubel. Nice to meet you~", Ubel smiled and held out her hand. But just like Ash earlier, Frieren did not take it. She simply stared at her, "You killed those bandits, didn't you?"
"Just self defense."
"I knew it."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Frieren did not want to say more. She asked expressionlessly, "What are you doing?"
"This man is very interesting. Just after chatting a little, I realized he's even more interesting than I imagined!"
"Is that so?", She nodded lightly, unconcerned, "Are you traveling too? Where are you heading?"
"The magic city of Oisast. The first class mage exam is about to begin there. I wanted to see if there are any interesting people. I didn't expect to meet someone this interesting before even getting there~"
"We're going there too."
"Oh my~ What a coincidence. Can I come along? I'm a bit scared traveling alone~"
"Doesn't matter," Frieren stared at her for quite a while, too lazy to expose anything, and casually agreed.
After all, since they were heading the same way, having one more person meant more support. She had no reason to refuse. But Fern's expression looked a little strange. She hesitated, yet in the end said nothing.
Sein covered his face, unable to bear watching, "Whatever happens next, I'm not responsible."
"Lord Sein, have you ever taken responsibility for anything?"
"Even if that's true, why are you mad at me?"
Fern's displeased look made him instantly pull a bitter face and look toward Ash, planning to let the person who attracted this weirdo solve the problem. But…
"Let's go. Try to reach the next village before nightfall. Though at this point, I don't mind sleeping in the wild," Ash ignored his gaze completely. He stood up from the fence, dusted off his backside, and walked ahead.
Like Frieren, after thinking about it seriously, he did not object either. After all, it was not like he had anything better to do. The road could get boring sometimes. Having one more strange person to pass the time did not seem bad.
He was even a little curious what kind of interesting expression Ubel would show after wasting a lot of time, only to realize she could not copy his magic at all.
———
After Ubel joined, the journey remained unexpectedly peaceful.
It was just that from time to time, Ubel would ask the three of them about Ash, trying to see whether she could resonate with some powerful magic even without having seen his spells.
But Fern seemed to misunderstand her intention a bit, so she basically did not want to talk to her. Sein and Frieren could provide some information, but only the parts they personally knew, which were not complete at all.
Even if they were complete, it would not matter. The fundamental structure itself meant there was no hope. Even someone like Serie could not be an exception.
Unfortunately, after nightfall and continuing for some time, they still failed to reach the next village. In the end, they had no choice but to camp near a small grove on the plain.
On such a night, Ash sat by the freshly lit campfire reading a book. Fern, closer to him than usual, leaned right beside him, puffing out her cheeks and staring at him, as if wanting him to pay more attention to her.
But under that silent gaze, Ash did not know what to say. He even instinctively wanted to avoid it a little.
Frieren clearly did not want to get involved. She quietly read her book without saying anything.
Sein simply flipped through the holy scriptures, even putting on the look of a devout priest. Ubel, however, watched Ash with interest, resting her chin on one hand. She glanced at Fern and smiled.
"It kind of feels like, a little animal trying hard to show ownership~"
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing~ I just think you're all very interesting. And...", Facing Fern's serious stare, Ubel turned with a bright smile toward Frieren, who was still reading, "Fern feels very unfathomable, and Frieren gives off the vibe of a seasoned old mage~"
"Don't say old," Frieren immediately closed her book and hugged her knees, looking unhappy.
"Oh? I meant it as a compliment?"
"I hate being called old," While speaking, Frieren turned to Ash, who looked like his mind was wandering elsewhere, "By the way, just thinking about it makes me mad. Hmm! Ash is also very annoying."
"Uh, Why am I dragged into this again?"
"Because you say it the most."
"What is this, a hatred ranking and I'm number one?"
In this matter, the elf girl was very emotional, almost like she was sulking. As he found himself hit for no reason, he could only sigh and move to sit beside her, reaching out to stroke her silver hair, "There, there~ You're actually still young, so just forget about those things quickly."
"Don't touch my head! And don't treat me like a child!"
Frieren pushed his hand away. Though she was still glaring at him, the displeasure seemed heavier than before? Or maybe, not as heavy?
Honestly, he could not figure it out. He just felt frustrated. Frieren was clearly very old already, so why was she still this troublesome?
'Treat her like a child and it is wrong. Treat her like a senior elder and it is wrong. Does she only want the middle? She looks like a child, her age is that of an old woman, and she does not act like a young girl either. Why is she still this willful?', These strange teammates made Ash shake his head and sigh.
Throughout the whole process, Ubel kept observing every move he made. When her gaze swept over the other two mages, the corners of her mouth could not help but lift.
Only after truly joining did she realize this was a treasure team. Aside from the priest, she was not confident she could defeat anyone in the group.
They had not fought, but her intuition told her that each of these three mages was stronger than any mage she had ever seen before.
That made her think that while observing Ash, she should also carefully understand Fern and Frieren, to see if she could resonate with some unique magic.
———
As they continued heading north, with one more person, there was more chatting. The team atmosphere felt slightly strange compared to before.
But overall, it was not too different.
Asking along the way, Sein really did learn from villagers by the roadside that there was an old woman who called herself the stubborn granny(stubborn old lady in the wiki). She had a close relationship with his best friend, the Gorilla Warrior, and probably knew where he was headed.
In order to get that information, the group was thoroughly ordered around by the stubborn granny. To avoid messing things up, Ash was assigned the job of delivering a letter.
After delivering the letter to the neighboring village and returning, he noticed that the four of them had already followed the old woman deeper into the canyon.
He sighed and followed, glancing at Ubel, who had somehow grown familiar with Fern and the others. He could not help but laugh, "You've become free labor."
"Everything has meaning. You've also gained quite a bit of information."
"Is that so? Then keep working hard~"
Seeing Ubel's smug expression, Ash just held back a laugh, casually patted her on the head, and quickly walked ahead of everyone.
At the end of the canyon, there were unexpectedly two moss covered stone statues. One of them was...
"Kraft?"
He looked a few more times and recognized who the familiar looking elf statue was.
The old woman behind him was shocked, "What, you actually recognize him? It's said they were heroes who saved the world a very, very long time ago."
"That long ago? As expected of an elf, still alive."
The warrior monk Kraft once saved the world. He really did not expect that. Sein, hearing their conversation, excitedly pointed at the other statue.
"If that elf is Kraft, then who is this one? Who is this person?"
"The other one was human and died long ago. How could I know?"
"Uh, that makes sense..."
"Though that human looks a lot like you. Is he your idol? If we meet Kraft again, should I ask him for you?"
"No. It's just that in our village, there's also a pair of statues like this, so…"
Sein shook his head and spoke about how he once saw a statue with his best friend, accompanied by Heiter.
In order to avoid being forgotten like the heroes in the statue, his best friend named himself the Gorilla Warrior, while Heiter jokingly called him the Bearded Priest.
"Speaking of which, what's your best friend's actual name?", Ash had heard Sein mention his friend many times and even seen photos taken by magic, but he had never heard his real name. He could not help feeling curious.
The question made Sein freeze, "His name?"
He stroked his beard and pondered for a long time, yet could not remember.
Even Ubel could not help but complain blankly, "Is he really your best friend?" [T/N: Tbh, now that I recall, even I don't know my best friend's full name.]
"It's not my fault. He always asked others to call him that, and introduced himself that way too. After so many years, 'Gorilla Warrior' has sunk too deep into people's hearts. I really can't remember what his real name was."
Sein looked embarrassed and tried hard to defend himself.
Honestly, if they had not seen how persistent he was in searching along the way, they might have doubted whether their relationship was truly close enough to be called best friends.
Ash did not continue teasing. He simply observed the statue and nodded unconsciously, "This statue is preserved pretty well."
"Well, it's a stone statue," Ubel smiled, resting her forearm on his shoulder and looking at his face from the side, "What, do you also want to become someone like this? A hero who saves the world? Chat with me about it too."
"Actually, a long time ago, there were statues of me in the south."
"Oh~ Really?"
"Let's leave that aside. But," Ash did not mind this girl who was always trying to pry into him. He turned to Sein and asked, "Even if people know the nickname, but the real name has already been forgotten, what meaning is there? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse from the start? Instead of using a strange name so people remember you to avoid being forgotten... since the statue can be preserved so well, why not just carve the name directly on the base of the statue? Wouldn't that leave your name in history more effectively? You could even carve your achievements on it too."
"There's such a move?", Sein's mouth hung open in shock. He looked at Ash, then at the well preserved statue. After a long while, he stared at Ash in disbelief, "You... are you a genius?"
"No, actually, I'm more surprised that neither you nor your friend thought of it. You used that backward method to try to be remembered, yet your own best friend ended up forgetting his name."
"Didn't I say when we first met? That guy was like a gorilla, simple minded and strong."
"And you?"
"Speaking of which, this is the stubborn granny's last job. As long as we finish this, she'll tell me where that guy went. Let's hurry up and work."
Sein very deliberately pretended not to hear. He bent down, wet a cloth, and silently started cleaning the statue.
Seeing this, the others just shook their heads. They did not say anything more and silently stepped forward to help deal with the statue. Because for a moment, they did not even know how to comment on the two of them.
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