"Uh… I think I mentioned this last time…"
"Your family used to run an apple orchard a long time ago. But because you disappeared, it ended up being run by your younger sister's family all the way until now… so your sister's descendants also like eating apples."
"Right! That's it?"
"Then what about the apple orchard?"
"We've gone in a circle again?"
Focusing only on the apple orchard, Fern alone was already giving Ash a massive headache.
Give him some time and he could just ask around and find some orchard somewhere, but right now… how would he know where there's an apple orchard?
What kind of normal person actually goes out and grows apples? At least he thought he was a normal person, and he definitely wouldn't go grow apples.
The atmosphere on Ash's side gradually turned subtle, while Aura, who had swaggered arrogantly into the dining hall, ended up looking even more awkward when no one paid her any attention.
'What is this? I get why they are ignoring. But why is even Ash ignoring me? I pushed the door open so hard and came in, and none of these people have anything to say? I didn't even use any perception-blocking magic! When humans see a demon, shouldn't they at least be a little surprised? Even out of courtesy, shouldn't they be shocked?'
Being ignored like this, something she had never even considered, made Aura's expression almost fall apart.
She even seriously suspected she was being subjected to the legendary cold shoulder, and that the root of it was her bastard older brother who she had relied on since childhood, yet always "casually" bullied her.
But after realizing her entrance hadn't drawn the attention she expected, although she looked a bit annoyed and unwilling on the surface… that was exactly how she felt inside too.
Then she slowly let out a breath, and walked over to Ash at an unhurried pace, her movements elegant and confident, as if everything just now had only been a small interlude.
"Looks like everyone's busy. No one even noticed when I arrived," she said in a slightly sarcastic yet oddly polite tone.
Her voice was clear and pleasant, enough to make everyone present look her way. At that moment, her gaze casually swept over Ash again, trying to catch his reaction.
But… Ash carried through with his policy of ignoring her, lowering his head in thought as if he was still considering where an apple orchard would be suitable.
He hadn't even come up with an answer yet, but Aura, angered and unwilling after being slighted, finally couldn't hold back.
Her lips pressed into a straight line, and two unnatural blushes appeared on her cheeks, a mix of anger and embarrassment.
So, in a fit of rage, she lowered her head and suddenly charged straight at him, seemingly intending to pierce his chest with her horns.
But Ash reacted quickly, immediately standing up and freeing one hand to grab her horn, bringing her charge to an abrupt halt.
"What are you doing? Are you a cow? Or a sheep?", Ash said, his face dark with exasperation as he directly lifted Aura up like that.
Aura didn't even respond to him. Instead, she folded her arms and looked toward the two who had turned their heads again, showing a proud smile.
"Lowly humans! Now that you've seen such a powerful demon like me, it's about time you felt some fear, right?"
"No, earlier your magic did feel scary, but with Lord Ash here it's not a problem. And now… how should I put it… it's kind of…"
This strange female demon in front of them, her horn being held, both feet off the ground, yet still putting on a proud posture, compared to fear, Fern felt more… at a loss for how to even comment on it.
Frieren, expressionless, directly pointed at Aura and asked in a tone of distaste, "This one… is really a great demon?"
"Honestly, I'm wondering the same thing."
"It must be acting, right?", Frieren couldn't help but guess, "Putting on a ridiculous appearance to make us lower our guard, right?"
"If possible, I also hope it's acting. Really…"
A troublesome brat since childhood, still acting this embarrassingly when others came to visit his home, Ash almost couldn't resist throwing her out the window, 'Anyway, she's a demon, even if she can't fly she definitely won't die.'
Those words directly provoked Aura. Originally she just wanted to show off her authority and use those lines to ease the awkwardness so people wouldn't notice her feet off the ground, but now, her fierce gaze immediately turned toward Ash, her mouth even twisting with anger, "Isn't this all because of you! Why are you grabbing my horn?"
"No, you were the one trying to ram into me. I was forced to defend myself, right?"
"You're not allowed to defend!"
"Don't be unreasonable. Also… I haven't even settled accounts with you over the barrier yet, and you show up on your own first?"
"What are you talking about? I've never heard of that."
Aura shook off his hand, still keeping her arms folded, turning her head away coldly with a look of "I have no idea what you're talking about."
With that expression, anyone who didn't know better would probably think Ash was being unreasonable... but considering her personality and the way she entered, it was hard for anyone to believe her.
The previously harmonious atmosphere in the dining hall turned strange because of Aura's arrival.
Even though her violent act was stopped and no one believed her feigned ignorance, she herself didn't care at all, and quickly adjusted her strategy, the corners of her mouth lifting into a perfectly curved sneer.
It was an undisguised, smug smile, as if she had already foreseen some dramatic change about to happen. A crafty glint flickered in her eyes, but just as she opened her mouth, before she could voice her thoughts, Ash suddenly reached out and directly pinched her mouth shut, blocking her unspoken words in her throat.
Faced with someone like this, whose next move could never be predicted, the best method was obviously… to shut her up. That was Ash's choice.
After all, he had experienced Aura's scheming nature since childhood.
Although his eyes revealed deep helplessness and fatigue, as if he truly had a headache dealing with this demon, Fern couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for Aura and said,
"Lord Ash, although this girl is a demon, she's still a girl. Isn't this a bit too much?"
"No, no, Fern. You can't be too polite to demons. A lot of them pretend to be pitiful. And look at this one, she's not pitiful at all, just annoying, right?"
"So it's not acting?", Fern tilted her head slightly, clearly confused.
"To be honest… I hope it's acting."
"Then why is it like this?"
"Well…"
He couldn't answer. He simply raised his head at a forty-five-degree angle, staring into the distance as he thought about the fundamental problem of education.
'Why is it that Fern, whom I have also watched grow up, is a well-behaved child, while Aura is a small-time villain full of dirty tricks?'
'If it is a matter of race… whether demons or humans, when first born, it won't be wrong to call them beasts.'
Because the fundamental difference between humans and beasts lies in their highly developed brains, complex language systems, and social structures.
But without later education, the latter two could be ruled out… and a person's values, morality, good and evil are all formed afterward. To put it more bluntly, those concepts of good and evil are also determined by one's own standpoint.
And the social nature of humans, compared to the social mindset of demons… if you really examine the core, there isn't much difference. It's just a difference in survival strategies.
That's right. At their essence, both are methods adopted for survival.
After all, humans are generally weak, while demons have inherited memories from birth, and their physiques differ from humans, allowing them to survive independently.
Like the difference between felines and canines, except lions. But as the only large-scale social species among felines, lions also adopted that behavior due to survival pressures on the grasslands.
Other felines only form groups under specific conditions.
So in the end, the question remains: aside from race, what exactly is the difference between Aura and Fern?
"No, thinking about it carefully, it really is a race problem, right? After all, Heiter and Frieren don't feel much better than me either."
Admitting he was worse than those two in terms of education somehow felt like losing. After thinking it over again and again, Ash ultimately ignored other factors, including his own influence and the facts, and chose to attribute the responsibility to race.
He even nodded repeatedly at the end, as if it made perfect sense.
"I have no idea what you're thinking, but I feel like it's something very rude," Frieren lowered her eyes unhappily, staring at him as she probed, "What exactly are you talking about? What does that even mean?"
"Nothing."
The failure of his education was a lifelong pain. Even now, Ash had no intention of facing it, only silently shifting his gaze away and letting out a long sigh.
His strange expression and attitude made even someone as slow to notice as Frieren start to suspect, "Your relationship with this great demon seems quite good. It doesn't look like simple cooperation… but then again, this is the first time I've seen such a lively demon."
"Haha! Just acting, just acting. Don't worry about it," He simply couldn't say that this was actually her unfortunate personality.
"So you two are close? Is that because…"
"We've known each other for a long time."
He couldn't say that he had raised her himself.
If possible, outside, he didn't even want to admit he knew this disappointing person.
"Why aren't you looking at my eyes when you speak?"
"Your eyes are too beautiful. I feel embarrassed to look directly."
"What kind of playboy line is that?"
If someone else said it, she'd probably just find it disgusting. But coming from Ash… it just left her completely speechless.
Seeing them like this, Fern immediately came over with a slightly unhappy expression, giving him a sideways glance without saying a word.
That strange attitude made Ash feel troubled, "Don't tell me you're even jealous of Frieren?"
"No. I'm worried that Lord Ash likes someone like Lady Frieren."
"Wait, what's wrong with someone like me? And anyway, didn't Ash say before that he likes older women, especially someone like me?"
Fern's words made Frieren unhappy too. She unconsciously puffed out her chest, as if to emphasize her status as an older woman.
But Ash simply glanced down at that completely unremarkable area and let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Don't randomly change what I said, okay? I said I like older women, not someone like you."
"What right do you have to criticize me? Didn't I learn it from you?"
"Lady Frieren, since you know that's not good behavior, why choose to do it?"
———
The three of them somehow started arguing again, and without realizing it, the topic really was successfully diverted by Ash.
But… Ash's hand never left Aura's face, still pinching her mouth shut to stop her from saying anything that might disrupt harmony.
She was clearly in her own home, just here to meet some guests, but for some reason, from the moment she entered the dining hall, Aura felt like she wasn't welcomed by anyone. They were all chatting happily, making her feel like she didn't belong at all.
That made her angry, and in her anger, she got more angry.
But no one seemed to care. Ash even tried to move her farther away as much as possible, so…
"Ah! Woof!!"
Aura's magic suddenly swelled, pushing his hand away slightly, and then she bit down hard on the tip of his index finger before he could pull it away.
"...", Just as he had been feeling pleased that he'd finally shifted the topic, already worrying about how to get Aura to leave, that sudden bite drew everyone's attention back to her.
The two girls instinctively wanted to help, but he quickly raised a hand to signal them not to worry. With his other hand, he grabbed Aura's horn again and lowered his head to whisper in her ear, "What exactly are you trying to do?"
"What are you talking about, Ash?", Aura slowly released his finger, revealing an unusually sweet, innocent smile that didn't suit her, "You're my dear older brother. How could I possibly harm you?"
"Since childhood, the number of times you've tried to stab me in the back isn't just once or twice. Even actually doing it isn't just once or twice."
"Don't say it like that. Haven't we both grown up? So I want to help share your burdens too."
"You haven't grown an inch in 500 years, and now you're talking about growing up and sharing burdens? Just go lie down in your rocking chair properly, that would be the biggest help to me!"
He could clearly feel that Aura had a strong interest in both of them, and that was exactly what worried him the most.
Just as he was about to forcefully drive her out, a group of maids pushed in dining carts one after another.
The royal-exclusive desserts they had mentioned earlier were quickly brought in, temporarily interrupting their argument.
And Fern and Frieren's attention was immediately drawn to the wide variety of desserts.
Seeing that, Aura deliberately maintained an indifferent air, the corner of her lips lifting into a faint, slightly provocative smile.
"Hmph! What country bumpkins. Haven't you ever seen anything tasty? That's why humans are so shallow and ignorant."
A natural sense of superiority showed in her expression, as if the whole world should be beneath her feet, making both Frieren and Fern's expressions look particularly strange.
Ash looked like he had swallowed a fly, covering his face again, not wanting to look at her.
"Why is it that every time you speak, you sound exactly like a troublemaking villain, and a pretty low-level, small fry one at that? I don't think I've ever acted like that. Where did you even learn this? Or is this your so-called nature? But I've never seen any demon act as small-time as you…"
After a string of complaints, although he really wanted to distance himself from her as soon as possible, he also understood the current situation… there was no way to distance himself at all.
Whether it was their past of relying on each other or their current actions, the two of them were practically tied together like grasshoppers on the same rope, and…
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