That moved him a little, "Frieren, are you willing to switch with me?"
"No~ I just wanted to tell you that the exam should be fair and just. So even if we're friends, I won't hold back. This time, let's see each other's real strength."
Frieren cut off his emotion and revealed an eager smile.
"To be honest, I wasn't that interested before. But now, I'm actually kind of looking forward to it."
"You really are my best friend."
"Of course!"
They had accumulated quite a few grievances over time. Now that she had a chance to properly deal with him in a fair way, Frieren was genuinely interested.
That made him carry a bit of hope as he looked toward Fern beside her.
After confirming their respective numbers, Fern spoke in a businesslike tone, her expression serious.
"I'm very much looking forward to competing fairly with Lord Ash."
"Looking forward to what?"
"To letting you truly see my growth."
'I've already seen it.'
Fern rarely showed this kind of enthusiasm. He wanted to sigh, but he couldn't really say anything discouraging.
Even though it felt like both of his companions had become opponents and were clearly planning to target him, making him fully experience the coldness of the world, it wasn't really a big deal.
Originally, he had thought he could just find an excuse to withdraw. But seeing how interested they were, backing out now didn't feel right either.
Still holding on to a final bit of hope for human kindness, he turned his gaze toward Ubel, who was watching him with a smile.
"Ubel, even though there were some misunderstandings at first, I think I treated you pretty well later on, more or less, right?"
"Aren't you very clear about that yourself?", Ubel opened her half-lidded eyes and gave him a mischievous smile.
There was no doubt. She was planning to use this opportunity to settle old scores properly.
At this point, he fully accepted reality. It was probably karma for not doing enough good deeds in daily life. Not only were his companions planning to be strictly professional, some of them clearly wanted to target him.
"In that case, I'll just play along a little. After all, I don't like losing either."
Even though they had teammates and he didn't, that wasn't really a problem. In fact, just like Frieren, he suddenly found things a bit more interesting.
After all, his goal was the world itself. If he couldn't even handle this level, he might as well go home early and cling to the thigh of that rich little girl watching from the sidelines, Sense.
Facing these girls who were clearly planning to repay grudges and settle complaints, Ash understood that it was at least somewhat related to his usual behavior.
But he didn't intend to change.
After all, rather than changing himself, it was better to change others.
"Forget it. In the end, it's definitely your fault. Bullying a lonely old man like me. Even if not for myself, for the sake of justice I have to properly teach you a lesson."
After finishing his internal reasoning, he declared boldly with a face full of righteousness.
However...
"This guy... actually still has the nerve to say something like that?", Frieren looked at him coldly. The disgust in her eyes couldn't have been clearer.
Fern, with almost the same icy gaze, couldn't stop shaking her head.
"Lord Ash's personality really needs to be corrected. At the very least, you should learn to be gentler with girls. Otherwise, it's no wonder you haven't been able to find a partner all these years."
"I already knew you were shameless, but I didn't expect you to lie so blatantly with a straight face. Hm, my understanding of you has deepened again," Ubel clasped her hands behind her back, smiling brightly, "But the rest of our understanding can continue on the exam field~ Whatever you did to me before, I'll return it in equal measure."
"Of course, no problem. Since you insist on this, I'll just follow the rules. But when the time comes, who's the hunter and who's the prey isn't so certain."
Looking at the girls, who were either glaring at him differently or brimming with fighting spirit, he returned their gaze with equal provocation.
At this moment, the circle of friends completely split apart.
Even though their objective should have been to pass the exam and become First-Class Mages, it seemed like their accumulated grievances mattered more.
Just as everyone followed the examiner and prepared to leave, Fern suddenly looked at him and said solemnly, "I don't need Lord Ash to hold back. But, if you fail to become a First-Class Mage, I'll be very angry. I won't speak to you for a whole week."
"So in the end, the most troublesome thing is all on me?"
"Of course. You're the one who said a man should take responsibility, right?", Fern lifted her chin and revealed a mischievous smile, "So, Lord Ash... let me properly see your sense of responsibility~"
After saying that on her own, she nodded happily and walked away without waiting for his response.
"Is Fern still a little angry, so she said that? But I don't like responsibilities that are forced on me."
Raising a child meant occasionally having to endure childish willfulness. He understood that much.
And seeing Fern smile again was cute too. There didn't seem to be much to complain about.
But his gaze soon shifted to the two First-Class Mages watching this year's examinees from afar. Among them was Sense's small figure.
The man with glasses, looking to be in his thirties with slicked-back hair, was Falsch, assisting with this exam's administrative matters. He looked confused by Ash's gaze.
Beside him, one of the examiners responsible mainly for the second round was Sense. She stiffly turned her head away to avoid his eyes.
"There are quite a few strong candidates this year," Falsch, who looked more like a researcher, scanned the surroundings. Noticing Sense's unnatural behavior, he asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Do you know that young man?"
"It's not just a matter of knowing him," Thinking of how someone's small, almost petty stubbornness had forced her to secretly manipulate the bracelet grouping, Sense felt a bit guilty. She spoke casually, pretending indifference, "You passed in the previous session. Two years ago when Lady Serie held a meeting, you were outside. You probably haven't met him."
"Is he that impressive? By the way, Lady Serie actually met an outsider? Doesn't she ignore even nobles?", Falsch stared at Ash, observing his magic fluctuations while evaluating him, "His magic power is fluctuating, so he's definitely hiding his strength. But I can't see his true amount of magic at all. Is he using some special spell?"
"You'll know soon enough. If you can't wait, you can ask others. Most people know."
Avoiding Ash's gaze out of guilt, Sense had no mood to chat with this "new" colleague.
It was worth mentioning that Serie was one of the very few who didn't fear authority.
Among the examinees was the elderly court mage, Second-Class Mage Denken, a typical worshiper of power. He had seen many mages more talented than himself, even those comparable to First-Class Mages, persecuted, imprisoned, executed.
But it couldn't be helped. Most strong people in this world obeyed nobles and the state. Even when persecuted, they wouldn't resist. Under such conditions, those rules couldn't restrain someone like Serie, who was eccentric, self-centered, and willful.
Thus even a court mage who held authority had to obediently come here to take the exam.
When the Magic Association was first established, Serie had just left the mountains and clashed with the Goddess Church and nobles of the Holy Capital. She had even nearly destroyed the Holy Capital.
For the sake of face, the Holy Capital kept the incident secret. Ash only learned about it later and finally understood how Serie had built the Magic Association.
Basically, she established her position through force, making laws and rules collapse before overwhelming power. Faced with someone who didn't play by the rules, even if nobles hated her, they could do nothing.
After all, Serie wouldn't obediently go to prison like other mages.
So when it came to Ash, he directly granted Serie special privileges. Not because he was particularly filial or wanted to protect his teacher, but because he didn't want trouble. He didn't want anyone foolish enough to provoke her and cause him problems.
———
The first round exam site was a basin in the outskirts, far from the Magic City.
A massive city-level magic formation enveloped a lake and the surrounding forest entirely.
"In this exam area, there lives a bird called the Meteoric Iron Bird," The examiner held up a small cage and showed the bird inside as he introduced it, "You've already received the birdcage. Its barrier specifically seals Meteoric Iron Birds. There are only two conditions for this exam. First, capture a Meteoric Iron Bird, seal it in the cage, and bring it back before sunset tomorrow. Second, all team members must survive."
After finishing, the examiner paused and distributed magical signal launchers, similar to flare guns.
Each gun could only fire once. Firing or losing it counted as failure. Each gun had a unique magical imprint as identification. After firing, you could display it in front of others, and no one could attack you.
At the edge of the exam field was a small safe zone. Those who surrendered could go there. Reaching the safe zone also counted as giving up.
After hearing the final rules, everyone looked somewhat surprised, especially Lawine, Fern's other friend, who was on the same team as Frieren and Kanne.
Lawine had waist-length silver hair and beautiful blue eyes. She wore a carefully coordinated blue dress, its hem swaying lightly, matching her over-the-knee white boots.
Her outfit had a gothic-lol!ta feel. But unexpectedly, Lawine had a remarkably curvy figure. Her chest was surprisingly full, her posture straight, her curves graceful. She perfectly embodied the charm of contrast. She looked very much like a refined young lady.
But at this moment, this supposed young lady was rudely pinning Kanne to the ground, seemingly fighting with her.
Just like most situations at Ash's house, Lawine once again had the upper hand, pressing Kanne down.
"They never used to care about lives before. What's going on this time? And besides..."
Because several of her older brothers worked in the Magic Association, Lawine knew about previous exams. But halfway through her confusion, she tightened her hold on Kanne, who was struggling fiercely beneath her, and gritted her teeth.
"Kanne! Stop resisting and give me the cage!"
"No! I should hold it! Lawine should give up!"
Clearly weaker in physical strength, Kanne still refused to back down, using all her strength to try and flip things around.
Their strange conflict made Frieren watch with a weird expression, not knowing what to say.
Back at Ash's house, these two were always like this, 'Maybe there is no need to interfere?'
But just as she decided to let it be, Ash had already walked toward them.
Frieren gave up resisting, but Ash squatted beside the two girls. As they glared at him in the middle of their love-hate struggle, he suddenly smiled.
"I know you like arguing. It's proof of a good relationship, right? But, shouldn't you temporarily make up for now? After all, you're about to take an exam."
"It's three against one now. Shouldn't you, the one alone, run first?", Lawine turned her head to glare at him. Her blue eyes were full of hostility.
"Why are kids these days so unfriendly?"
"Because it's you."
"Let the past stay in the past. We should look to the future. People stuck in the past won't improve."
With a seasoned expression, Ash smiled and patted Lawine's head.
"What's with this old man acting so familiar?", Lawine looked displeased. If she weren't busy dealing with Kanne, she would've hit him first.
"Not that familiar. Didn't you stay over at my house last night?"
"That's Fern's house!"
"It's my house too."
"Then if we take you out now, it'll become Fern's," A dangerous smile appeared on Lawine's face.
Ash remained unmoved and shrugged.
"And this is how you treat your friend's guardian?"
"And is this how you treat your kid's friends?"
"Because you're my kid's friends, I want to build a better relationship. Otherwise, every time you come over and make a face at me, it hurts a little."
"I hate adults who don't respect kids."
"Because you are kids, right? I already explained that matter. I had my own difficulties... and in the end, didn't I fulfill my responsibility as a guardian?"
"What difficulties could you possibly have? Don't think I'm like them and know nothing. I know your real identity," Lawine narrowed her eyes, "I can't imagine what problems someone like you could have."
"That's a child's perspective. I'm actually very busy. Taking care of kids is really... sigh! Forget it. I'll go."
Although the identity of being his "daughter's" friend gave him a strange thrill and made him want to tease them more, for some reason, teasing girls like this gave him a strange extra excitement.
Saying he was too busy to take care of kids would probably just anger them more. So even though he felt a bit regretful, he quietly turned and left.
His lonely back looked oddly desolate compared to the teams of three scattered across the field. Even Kanne felt a little uncomfortable.
"Is this really okay? Even if that old man sometimes did want to avoid responsibility. In the end, he raised Fern and even apologized. If he gets attacked here..."
"Kanne, adults like that need to be taught a lesson. Otherwise, what if he tries to abandon Fern again? And don't forget what Fern said about how he once wanted to find someone else to adopt her in the Holy Capital."
"Well..."
Before Kanne could finish, Lawine added while looking at his retreating figure, "In the end, that guy won't be taken down so easily. Even if he's a lousy old man, he's actually a terrifying one."
"He's definitely strong, but there are also many strong people here..."
"He's stronger than you imagine. Instead of worrying about him, we should worry about ourselves."
Before Kanne could finish, Lawine shook her head and cut her off.
Meanwhile, Frieren watched them with a hard-to-describe expression. Even while discussing Ash, the two girls were still shoving each other.
"Is this team really going to be okay?", Frieren looked at them, then at where Ash had disappeared, and at the other teams gradually moving away. She let out a long sigh.
———
Not long after leaving the starting point, walking leisurely alone through the forest, Ash had been thinking about where to catch a Meteoric Iron Bird when loud booming sounds echoed in the sky.
Looking up, he saw that the source of the noise was just a small orange bird.
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