To peacefully exchange magic through persuasion, Ash spent the night heading toward the sounds of mages fighting each other.
Every time he "happened to pass by," the conflicts would be forced to hit pause and temporarily calm down. Under the crushing pressure of gravity, everyone could sit down and have a "friendly" talk for a while.
Before he even left, one side would realize they stood no chance. Taking advantage of the rare moment when they could finally free their hands, and to avoid being killed later by the other squad, they would quickly fire a signal flare to surrender. Then, unwilling to leave empty-handed, they would negotiate with him, exchanging their self-developed magic for corresponding spells to prepare for next year.
For a time, Ash, who had only intended to trade for magic he liked, directly became the peace envoy of the exam grounds. The survival rate on the battlefield shot up.
After all, this was not just an exam site, but a battlefield. The temptation of the "privileges" that came with becoming a first-class mage was enough to make them risk their lives. Unless they truly could not win, surrender was the only option.
But in battles where both sides were highly skilled and life or death could be decided in an instant, there was rarely a chance to pull out a signal gun. Without Ash showing up, they would have simply been killed.
The examiners clearly did not care about this. Or rather, the very setting of the signal gun had been added at Ash's suggestion. After all, these were precious talents. He did not want them to die easily.
———
As a court mage, the elderly Denken already had trouble sleeping at night. In this tense exam environment, he was even more unlucky and suffered from insomnia. At the same time, the booming sounds and fighting noises from the forest made him even more nervous. Almost no one could sleep.
In the middle of his sigh, he suddenly noticed an unfamiliar figure standing in front of him.
"...", Denken gripped his staff tightly and stared at him in silence. After a long while, he finally could not hold back, "What do you want?"
"Don't misunderstand. I just want to make a deal with this child," Ash smiled and pointed at the bun-haired girl who had also woken up and was now staring at him warily.
"Me? What kind of deal?", Laufen pointed at herself in confusion.
"You're from the mountain tribes of the Southern Lands. You're good at using your tribe's inherited 'high-speed movement' magic, right?"
"How do you know that? Did you investigate beforehand?", Laufen's face was full of suspicion.
He nodded without hesitation, "Of course. For the exam, you have to stay cautious. Investigating all competitors is just common sense, right?"
"I guess that makes sense?", Although she was surprised he had found that out, she was not overly shocked.
Denken, however, frowned and said, "With your level of strength, you don't need to investigate this kind of thing. From what I know, you have a close relationship with the legendary great mage Serie, and you're also close to several first-class mages."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Your goal from the start wasn't to pass the exam. It was the candidates' magic, wasn't it?"
"As expected of a sly old court mage. You really like accusing people," He had no intention of admitting anything. He only shook his head with a troubled look, "Just because you're that kind of person doesn't mean everyone else is. Eliminating corruption, maintaining order, promoting world peace. That's always been my principle."
"Is that really so?"
"Putting that aside," He clearly did not intend to keep talking to the unnecessary old man. Smiling, he looked at the girl beside him and asked, "I can teach you how to catch the Meteoric Iron Bird. You teach me your tribe's magic. I can also give you a spell you like in return. How about it?"
"No! No! No! I don't need that. We saw clearly how you caught it. No normal mage can use your method."
As one of the people who witnessed it, Laufen shook her head without thinking.
Ash was slightly surprised. He truly had not considered that.
After thinking for a moment, he looked at Denken, who was clearly the team leader, and suggested, "Then how about I just give you the bird directly?"
"Hmm?"
Denken could not tell whether he was playing tricks or genuinely willing to hand over the bird. He could only look to Laufen and let her decide.
She hesitated, then asked for help, "Grandpa, what should I do?"
"It's your magic. And he probably has quite a lot of spells. As an exchange, it shouldn't be too much of a loss."
"Really? I want a magic that can hide presence. Something comparable to high-speed movement. Do you have that?"
"A presence-hiding spell? Long-term concealment requires hard training. But short-term concealment when launching an attack, that I do have," Ash thought for a moment and offered an option.
"In that case…"
After hesitating, Laufen pulled out her tribe's inherited magic book from her bag. To their surprise, Ash cheerfully handed over the cage.
"Oh! Grandpa! We got it!", Laufen raised the cage happily, her face lighting up.
But before she could celebrate—
BOOM!
The bird inside instantly shot out of the cage and turned into a streak of light, disappearing from sight.
For a moment, three people and six eyes were completely stunned. Even Ash looked shocked and forgot to stop it.
"How could this...", Denken frowned as if he suddenly realized something and pointed at the cage, "Why was your cage door open and the bird didn't escape?"
"Huh?"
Ash looked at the cage he had just handed over and realized he had indeed forgotten to close the door.
But earlier, the bird had just crouched in the corner without any intention of escaping. It had not even tried to leave.
Because it had been so obedient, no one noticed anything strange. Everyone subconsciously assumed the slightly closed door had been shut properly, and that was why the bird stayed inside. No one considered that the bird simply did not want to go out.
Facing their suspicious looks, Ash himself was confused.
'It is supposed to be a fair trade. Why are they looking at me like I am scamming them?'
"Uh… well, actually, I developed feelings with that bird," After a brief mental scramble, he used the earlier bird's behavior to sell again, "If Denken is willing to teach me your magic, I can tell you how to build a bond with this kind of bird."
"I find that hard to believe. Did you abuse the bird? Otherwise why would it not run from you but run from Laufen?", Denken could not help suspecting the bird had been beaten into submission.
"Don't imagine weird things. You saw earlier, it was fine, right? I like small animals too. I'm a caring person."
Although he had smashed the Meteoric Iron Bird into the ground multiple times, its sturdy body meant it was likely just dazed but not truly injured. It simply did not want to come out and get slapped again.
Since it did not look injured at all, everyone was at a loss.
Before they could say anything more, Ash gave up on trading with this squad. With the magic book already in hand, he quickly left.
After all, it was payment for goods. He had handed over the bird. The transaction was done. To avoid any after-sales disputes, it was better to leave quickly.
This situation left the three of them looking increasingly strange.
"Grandpa… were we scammed?", Laufen looked like she was about to cry.
"Not really. Just bad luck. His situation is too special. He forgot something important by accident," Denken sighed.
"The shortcut failed. We'll just have to find one ourselves or steal from someone else," The middle-aged man in the team shook his head and closed his eyes, "For now, let's get some sleep and restore our energy."
———
On the other side of the forest, Ash looked at the empty cage he had retrieved and felt slightly troubled.
Without the Meteoric Iron Bird, making further trades would be difficult. He had no choice but to pause his transactions, wander through the forest, and flip through the high-speed movement magic book.
Learning it immediately was impossible, but that did not stop him from studying a spell he liked.
While sitting on a tree branch and flipping pages leisurely, he suddenly noticed a corpse-attracting bird descending from the sky.
Instinctively, he moved toward that direction, thinking maybe he could save someone and then… claim a favor.
After all, between self-developed magic and one's life, life should matter more. It would not count as forced trade.
But as he approached, he heard Kanne's scream from that direction.
He froze briefly, then pushed off the ground. With a booming sound, the earth shattered under his step as he vanished.
———
On the other side—
Pinned to the ground by a giant bird nearly two stories tall, the inexperienced girl had dropped her staff in fear. Without it, she even forgot she could still use magic. Under the crushing pressure, she widened her eyes in terror and cried out hoarsely, "La-Lawine!"
"Does it have to be Lawine?"
Instead of the close friend she imagined would come to save her, a strangely familiar voice arrived by her ear, along with a fierce gust of wind, appearing almost like teleportation.
Before she could even react—
BOOM!
"Ugh!"
As Ash planted his feet, the terrifying sonic boom exploded a moment later. She instinctively covered her ears and shut her eyes with a cry.
When she opened them again, the pressure on her body had vanished.
The corpse-attracting bird that had pinned her down lay to the side, heart gone. Its massive body was dissolving into particles of mana.
She had no idea what had happened. She had not seen anything clearly.
She only knew that the figure who had appeared like a gale and driven away the threat stood before her. The strong feeling of being pulled out of despair left her staring blankly at the figure she had once resisted.
"Um… sorry. I came a bit late?", Noticing the tears in her eyes and realizing she had been badly frightened, Ash shook his head helplessly. With an apologetic smile, he extended his hand, "Can you stand?"
"O-Of course…"
Kanne wiped her teary eyes hard. After hesitating, she carefully grabbed his hand and stood up with his help.
Even so, her face still looked shaken. Ash thought for a moment, then reached out and patted her smooth orange hair.
"Good girl~ Good girl~"
"I told you, I'm not a pet!", Kanne pouted.
"Don't sweat the details. I just want you to calm down."
"Thanks… but that's not a small detail."
Although the conversation overlapped with noon, her dissatisfaction was much weaker now. She did not push his hand away. Instead, she sat down at the edge of the forest cliff with a gloomy expression.
After a helpless sigh, she muttered, "Uncle… you're really strong, right?"
"I'm alright," He hesitated, then sat beside her. Thinking about the name she had called earlier, he said, "No matter how much you two fight, your relationship with Lawine is always good."
"Because I'm actually very timid. At critical moments, I always can't do anything. Lawine might be rough, but she's always been the one guiding me."
Perhaps because the person was not here, or because she had already subconsciously called out her friend's name earlier, she did not hide it.
"Thanks to Lawine, I realized that as long as you move forward bravely, no matter how scary something is, there's always a way to solve it."
"That's nice. What enviable friendship."
"Aren't you and Frieren close too?"
"We've known each other a long time. She's troublesome, but occasionally cute. Just a bit too vengeful. That part's annoying."
"Huh? Isn't Frieren very mature?", Kanne turned in surprise.
"What are you thinking? She's more childish than you imagine. If you call me uncle, at most I'll flick your forehead. But if you call her old three times, she'll cry for three days and three nights and drive you crazy."
"No way. You're definitely lying!"
"Why would I lie? I already told you, I'm actually pretty gentle. Frieren's the real troublemaker."
He mercilessly spoke behind Frieren's back. Maybe not badmouthing, just revealing truths no one else knew.
Seeing Kanne forget her earlier fear and smile curiously, he suddenly tugged at her twin tail.
"By the way, I didn't argue with you earlier since you were shaken. But you just called me uncle again, didn't you?"
"Uncle, that's too much! Who just grabs a girl's hair like that!"
"It's fine. I'm not pulling hard."
"It doesn't hurt, but it's weird! It feels weird!", Kanne frowned, "Uncle… you don't really think I'm a pet, do you?"
"No, it's just interesting," He turned his face away vaguely.
She looked troubled, then suddenly laughed, "Thinking about it now, you're unexpectedly kind of interesting."
"Don't call me uncle."
"By the way, uncle," She glanced around him and looked nearby, "Where's your cage?"
"My cage? Uh?", He touched his waist and realized the item that should have been hanging there was gone. He covered his mouth, "Crap! I rushed over and forgot it?"
"You forgot something like that? Go back and find it!"
She tried to stand, but he pressed her shoulder and pushed her back down.
"Forget it. It's dark now. Hard to find. Since you're fine, it's acceptable."
"You can just let it go like that?"
"I don't mind."
"This is the first-class mage exam! What are you even here for?", Though exasperated, when she met his warm gaze, remembering his words, a warm feeling rose in her chest.
She turned her face away and said softly, "Still, no matter what, thank you, uncle."
"Before that, shouldn't you apologize? You just called me uncle again."
"Alright! Alright!"
Shaking her head at his strange focus, she grabbed the hand resting on her shoulder.
After hesitating for a while, she leaned back slightly, hands behind her for support.
Under his puzzled gaze, she shyly turned her face aside and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito.
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