Compared to Fern's distress, Frieren lay on the bed, swinging her legs freely, completely unconcerned about the matter.
That overly casual attitude made Fern stare at her with a troubled expression for quite a while before finally letting out a long sigh.
"Sometimes I start to suspect that the relationship between you and Lord Ash isn't actually that good, right?"
"Why would you think it's good?"
"Because you've known each other for a long time, haven't you?"
"That's true..."
Frieren nodded thoughtfully, but then frowned again.
"But what exactly is the sense of distance between people, and their relationships?"
"Even if you ask me..."
The question suddenly becoming philosophical made Fern feel extremely troubled.
"But if it's something Fern gives him, he'll definitely be very happy, right?"
"If you say that... what about you?"
Feeling like Frieren was brushing off the problem she had worried about all night, Fern asked back with dissatisfaction.
"What exactly do you plan to give Lord Ash?"
"Heave-ho! You're still too inexperienced~ Only starting to prepare at the last moment, while I of course already prepared long ago! Actually, I prepared it a long time ago!"
Frieren proudly jumped off the bed and rushed to her luggage. After rummaging through it and making the room a complete mess, she pulled out a purple glass bottle and held it out to Fern.
"This is my secret treasure, a potion that can dissolve clothes!"
"???"
Perhaps because the shock was too great, Fern froze in place. Her eyes widened like copper bells, her astonishment beyond words.
At the moment that strange potion appeared, the air in the room seemed to freeze.
Everything suddenly became quiet.
However, Fern's shocked expression soon turned into disgust.
Then it gradually became outright contempt.
Her gaze became so cold it could rival the blizzards of this northern land, and the way she looked at Frieren was almost like looking at an insect.
But Frieren, who was always slow to notice things, didn't realize anything. She proudly showed off the knowledge she had learned from Flamme.
"Men~ If they receive something like this they'll definitely be happy!"
"Where did you learn such vulgar knowledge?"
"My teacher told me, hehe~"
Frieren's proud smile gradually became strange as she laughed, even somewhat crafty.
'Why is this elf who normally lacks expressions suddenly showing such rich expressions right now?'
Fern couldn't understand it at all.
But the disgust in her gaze had already reached its limit. With barely restrained anger she declared without hesitation, "Even if he received such a vulgar potion, Lord Ash would never be happy!"
"That's hard to say. Fern is still young so you wouldn't understand, but~ an older sister like me understands these things very clearly. Maybe he'd actually be happy... ah, Fern, do you like it too?"
"When you bought it I already told you to return it! And now you're even thinking about... ruining Lord Ash's reputation!"
Fern suddenly snatched the potion.
Then she directly pulled open the stopper and, without mercy, poured it straight onto Frieren's head.
"W-wait! Fern! That potion is expensive! I spent—"
Compared to the clothes dissolving and evaporating instantly, Frieren felt more pain over the cost of the potion.
But before she could finish speaking, her voice abruptly stopped.
Her gaze had already met Ash's, who had returned with a book in hand and was now standing at the doorway.
Frieren: (⚈_⚈)
Ash: (⚈_⚈)
The two stared at each other silently for quite a while.
Only then did Frieren come back to her senses, covering her chest as she slowly spoke.
"Fern..."
"What is it?"
"Ash... he's already—"
"Sorry, I came at a bad time. Please continue."
Before Fern even turned around, Ash, who had originally come back to get another book so he wouldn't be bored today, gave an awkward yet polite smile.
Then he slowly closed the door that Fern had left open earlier.
And to avoid trouble, the moment the door shut he escaped the house using high-speed movement magic, instantly disappearing.
He even decided not to return home for the entire day.
Inside the room, the two remained frozen for quite a while.
Then Frieren lowered her head, looked at her flat chest, and nodded to herself.
"So this is... embarrassment? First time feeling it..."
"I-is this really the time to be thinking about that? Hurry and put on some clothes!"
As she shouted, Fern excitedly grabbed a bedsheet from the side and wrapped it around Frieren's small body.
But facing the angry girl who looked almost like an adoptive daughter, Frieren only looked innocent.
"Wasn't it Fern who ruined my clothes?"
"That's true! But why are you still so calm right now?"
"I'm actually quite embarrassed... how should I describe it? Fresh?"
Frieren fiddled with her twin ponytails, her expression rarely showing trouble.
"Fresh?"
"And also... don't you want to punch Ash? He ran away naturally without even apologizing."
Thinking of Ash calmly watching them before smiling and quietly closing the door, Frieren felt strangely annoyed.
But since the man involved had already escaped, she looked up at the girl standing in front of her and pursed her lips unhappily.
"But before that, shouldn't Fern apologize to me?"
"Sorry! Now hurry and change into new clothes!"
"That apology feels very insincere."
"Is this really the time to care about that? What if Lord Ash comes back again? And honestly! Didn't this happen because you bought such a vulgar potion? I told you to return it! And you said you would return it, didn't you?"
"I bought it, but I never planned to pour it on myself. So it's still Fern's fault."
After Ash fled the scene, Fern gradually became frantic.
Frieren, irritated by her scolding, also became emotionally unstable and even started sulking.
The scene looked exactly like... a child throwing a tantrum at a mother who was lecturing them.
———
After leaving home, Ash felt that he probably wouldn't be able to return for a while.
So he decided to visit the Magic Association to pass some time.
"But why is it that just seeing a plain field gives me a feeling that something bad will happen? I can't even go home anymore even though I have one. It really feels like... such a loss!"
Enduring it calmly might be fine.
But the more he thought about it, the more it felt like a loss.
However, when he reached the steps of the Magic Association, before even stepping onto them, he saw someone walking down from the top.
Sense. Her distinctive long hair was far too eye-catching.
Seeing her immediately lifted the gloom in his heart. He walked over and casually reached out to touch that smooth hair.
Sense stood there, her mouth slightly open in confusion for a moment before she finally spoke.
"Lord Ash, what are you doing?"
"I originally planned to find a place to read quietly, but now that I saw you, I thought maybe we could drink tea together or something?"
"Why?"
"We just happened to meet, and you probably don't have anything to do either, right?"
Sense still hadn't figured out the situation when Ash had already enthusiastically invited her.
After all, being idle was boring.
Reading while casually petting Sense would definitely make reading less dull.
But unlike his casual attitude, Sense looked extremely troubled.
Even as she subconsciously followed him, she couldn't help reminding him, "Lord Ash... I'm responsible for the next exam. This isn't very appropriate, right?"
"It's fine. If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, no one will know."
"It will definitely be discovered."
"When that happens, just push the problem onto Serie."
"If we did that, Lady Serie would get angry."
He said it very casually. But just imagining the consequences made Sense purse her lips. She clearly didn't want to face Serie's anger.
But her amusing expression made Ash pinch her soft cheek.
"I'm joking. If something really happens, just push it onto me. I'll deal with it."
"That's not good."
"There's nothing wrong with it. I'm well aware of my own selfishness, so you just need to push the problem onto me."
He smiled and patted his chest.
Then he casually wrapped an arm around Sense's shoulders and walked forward with this expressionless shorty in tow.
"....."
Sense said nothing.
She simply looked at him in surprise, tilting her small head slightly.
"What's with that expression?"
"A little surprised."
"I don't want to ask too much, but I feel like you should apologize to me."
"Sorry."
Somewhat unexpectedly, she actually lowered her head very obediently.
That made Ash feel like he was bullying her.
'Is this the so-called feeling of guilt?'
He rubbed his forehead in trouble for a while.
Finally, because the silence lasted too long and the girl was staring at him with her head tilted, he sighed and silently left the scene together with Sense.
———
Since going anywhere else wasn't very convenient, after all if someone saw them together he would probably have to explain things, the two of them ended up going to Sense's house.
At home they wouldn't be seen by outsiders.
That way them being together wouldn't cause suspicion about the exam having any inside manipulation.
But...
"Though thinking about it carefully, if someone just saw us outside together we could explain it. But if they saw me entering your house with you..."
Ash looked around Sense's courtyard.
Then at the end of his sentence he smiled at the girl beside him.
"They'd probably think you're using your position to take advantage of me, right?"
"Ah..."
Sense widened her eyes blankly, apparently only now thinking about that possibility.
Ash couldn't help laughing.
"When you accidentally cause trouble or worry, you always go silent like this. Really... you haven't changed at all these years."
"...."
Facing this teasing, Sense simply pursed her lips and didn't argue.
Instead she placed her hand on his stomach and tried to push him out of her house.
But as a mage with a small body, her strength was far too weak.
She couldn't push him at all.
And before she could think of a better solution, a mature woman's voice suddenly came from behind her.
"Oh my, Sense? What are you doing?"
Sense's mother rushed out of the doorway with a shocked expression.
Hearing that voice, Sense tried to push harder.
But Ash still didn't move at all.
That made her start getting anxious.
"Lord Ash... please go outside quickly. If someone sees this, things will really become troublesome!"
"It's fine. I don't think it's a problem. If I'm being taken advantage of by Sense, I think... that's acceptable!"
"I would never do something like that... and you're my superior anyway! What nonsense are you saying right now? What if people misunderstand the opposite?"
"I don't mind."
"Please mind."
"No."
"No? Can you even say that?"
Even Sense was left speechless by his carefree attitude.
And before she could think of a good way to deal with this sudden uninvited guest, her mother had already warmly grabbed his hand and began pulling him toward the house.
"Sense, you're being far too rude! How could you push your senior brother outside like that?"
Sense's mother scolded her daughter while showing an overly bright smile toward Ash.
One hand wasn't enough.
Her other hand even covered the back of his hand.
"It's really been a long time. Since you're here this time, don't leave so quickly. Stay for lunch with us, and you might as well stay for dinner too."
"Well... dinner might be a bit too much..."
"It's fine. You must have come here because of something important, right?"
"Not really... I just wanted to pet—cough! I mean, discuss magic with Sense."
"Is that so? Then don't be polite. I'll prepare some desserts first. Do you have any food restrictions for lunch?"
Watching her mother act even more enthusiastic than Ash himself, Sense couldn't say a single word.
She just stared blankly at the two of them the entire time.
.
.
.
Before long, they were brought into Sense's room.
Normally, when a noble family's daughter receives guests, they would go to the reception room.
At least the last time Ash visited years ago, he had been received in the reception room.
But now, they were directly taken into Sense's bedroom.
The door was even closed.
"Your mother really isn't worried that something strange might happen if her daughter is alone in a room with a man?"
"...."
'If anything, mother is probably hoping for something to happen.'
Remembering the meaningful smile on her mother's face just before the door closed, Sense couldn't say a word.
For a moment she even felt like she was sitting on needles.
But Ash didn't care about her silence at all.
He enthusiastically looked around her bedroom, a place no man other than family had ever stepped into before.
And that made Sense feel uncomfortable all over.
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