With a loud "bang!", Aura slammed the door as she left. The sound was just as jarring as when she had kicked the door open earlier, completely lacking any sense of restraint.
At that moment, Ash couldn't bring himself to blame her, nor did he know what to say… he just felt a bit helpless.
Just as he was wondering whether he should go after Aura and say something, the still-open door revealed half of Fern's head peeking in. Only one eye was visible as she carefully observed the room, or rather, his condition.
Her hesitant, slightly timid appearance made him chuckle.
"It's really lively here tonight. What about you? If you have something to say, just come in."
"Um… Lord Ash."
"What is it?"
"Your… younger sister? She seems very angry?", Fern stepped into the room carefully, full of guilt, her head lowered so much she didn't dare look at him, "And it's all my fault, right?"
"Come to think of it… you still don't know her name?"
"Ah! No, you haven't told me."
"Hmm, then it's better if you don't know."
Compared to other demons, Aura's reputation was quite well-known. Saying her name might make people question his relationship with the kingdom.
Also, he had just said he was cooperating with the kingdom. If he revealed Aura's name now, and people connected it to subjugation magic, it would be troublesome.
Although there were records describing some great demons, Aura was the type with a big reputation who rarely acted personally. There weren't even any portraits of her.
If he said her name now, wouldn't that immediately contradict himself? At least for now, he really couldn't say it.
But in Fern's ears, those words took on a different meaning.
For example, Aura disliked her, so Ash didn't want them to have too much contact, to avoid further conflict.
That made the guilt on her face even more obvious.
Aura herself might not understand the source of her irritation, but Fern, as a human, and a young girl, was very sensitive to such things.
Just by overhearing nearby, she could clearly understand what Aura was worried about… and she herself cared about it just the same.
Seeing that she looked like she was about to cry, Ash put down his wine glass and gave a helpless smile.
"Don't worry about her. She says she hates you, but it's definitely not like that. It's just her personality, and she's throwing a tantrum for the moment. Actually, she likes you quite a bit."
"Really?", That unexpected statement made Fern's eyes brighten slightly.
"Well…", Her instinctive follow-up question made him fall silent for a long time.
At that moment, he genuinely didn't understand, 'Wouldn't it be fine to just go along with it? It is just something I said casually to comfort you, so why take it seriously? Isn't it obviously just polite talk?
'Isn't that what elders always say in social situations? Why take it literally? How could it possibly be true? Aura treats everyone badly, full of malice, that's exactly what she is. She's a demon. Being kind to humans? What kind of joke is that? At most, she treats Linie a bit better. Even toward me, her attitude has always been bad.'
Fern's gaze, filled with concern, made it hard for him to deal with. He couldn't stop complaining in his head.
But as her eyes gradually shifted from expectation to disappointment during his silence, he still forced himself to nod.
"Probably true?"
"Why did you hesitate for so long about something you said yourself? And why are you deliberately avoiding looking at me?"
His overly strange behavior made it hard for even the usually trusting Fern to believe him now.
But since he had already said it, he could only push through, putting on a firm expression and saying confidently, "If we put aside the facts… she's actually a pretty good person. Uh… I mean demon."
"If we put aside the facts, then what are we even talking about?", No matter how firmly he said it, Fern's face still darkened instantly.
But he spread his hands and gave a meaningless answer, "Idealism?"
"Why?", Fern's face completely darkened.
"Because there's nothing to talk about when it comes to reality, so we can only talk about ideals. But what can I do? I'm pretty helpless myself."
"Didn't you raise her? Why do you have so little confidence in the child you raised yourself?"
"It's precisely because I raised her that I have no confidence," He let out a long sigh and stood up, reaching out to gently pat Fern's head as he spoke earnestly, "You're still young. You don't understand how dangerous the world is. When you grow up, you'll definitely understand just how dangerous this world really is, and how hard it is to find even a bit of light."
"Sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about at all."
Hearing this string of grand principles made Fern frown deeply, her face full of confusion. She even started wondering if her own comprehension was too low, if she was just too slow.
However…
"Don't worry about it. I just say whatever comes to mind. If you actually understood, I'd be the one troubled."
"Huh? What? Lord Ash… are you messing with me?"
Faced with the girl's stunned look and questioning, he didn't explain. He just smiled faintly, letting his fingers slide through her purple hair.
As he felt that familiar texture, Ash casually turned his gaze toward the floor-to-ceiling window. Looking at the ink-dark night sky along the city's horizon, he suddenly spoke in a thoughtful tone, "Nice weather today. It'll probably be sunny tomorrow, right?"
"Changing the subject again? Lord Ash, you really… haven't improved at all."
The overly deliberate remark made Fern puff up slightly, her face stiff with a hint of annoyance. Even so, with him gently stroking her head, her whole demeanor softened noticeably.
On this sleepless night, the girl who had been raised by him since childhood stayed by his side like this, a trace of helplessness in her expression. She quietly kept him company, pouring him drinks, until the night grew deep.
———
Even though it was a late night that Fern couldn't endure, Ash still stayed up. After she went to sleep, he wanted to have a long talk with Aura.
However, neither of them could convince the other. Aura ended up sulking and chose to let things be, not wanting to bother with him anymore.
So the next day, the group planned to leave the royal capital. Even Frieren, who usually loved lingering in magic bookstores, had no intention of staying in this big city this time.
At the final moment of leaving the royal city, Aura still carried that same unchanging arrogance.
Standing atop the city wall, she cast a cold glance over the two of them. Only at the end did her gaze fall on Ash. Yet she said nothing, simply looking down at him with a bored expression. In the end, she just gave a cold snort, turned her head, and walked away.
Clearly, even at the last moment of this brief parting, she still disliked Fern and Frieren. She had no intention of speaking to them at all, and was even sulking at Ash as well.
"I thought your personality was already bad enough. Turns out your little sister is even worse," Frieren calmly lowered her gaze, but when she looked at Ash, a faint mocking smile appeared.
Ash had no intention of responding. He silently smacked her on the head and strode ahead.
But while he didn't want to talk, Frieren quickly caught up and continued on her own, "Aren't you some kind of guide? Why are you going to the Empire?"
"To represent the kingdom in person and talk with the emperor. To promote world peace, and to prevent the emperor's ambitions from growing too excessive and leading him to do anything strange."
"You won't get arrested, right?", Frieren sounded like she was enjoying the drama, but his tone and expression remained calm:
"It's fine. I'm not the king, and there are only a few people who know my real identity."
"Wait. Thinking about it seriously, shouldn't I be worrying about the emperor instead of you?"
"I'm someone who loves peace. Helping this country serves the same purpose. What I'm doing now is also for the sake of peace."
He stated his thoughts very naturally, but Frieren looked at him with clear suspicion, "You went to the front lines yourself, though. Oh right, the great demon who showed up on the battlefield in those rumors, that was you, wasn't it?"
"That was to minimize casualties as much as possible. And if you only rely on words, peace is nothing but empty talk. You understand that too, right?"
"That's true."
Although the Empire army had suffered significant losses, overall casualties did seem to have been reduced. Frieren couldn't deny what he said.
And after pretending to sleep and overhearing his conversation with Fern last night, Frieren didn't doubt his nature at all. Still, as if something suddenly came to mind, she casually followed behind him and asked with feigned nonchalance:
"By the way…"
"What?"
"I'm your second friend. What kind of person was the first one?"
Even though she knew it was Fern's ancestor, she still couldn't help but be curious about what that person had been like.
"At this point, how would I remember?"
It had been over five hundred years ago, and for him personally, over a hundred years had passed. How could he remember so clearly?
But Fern suddenly leaned in at that moment, staring at him intently, "Please try your best to remember! I'm very curious too."
"Don't make things difficult for me, okay?"
"I heard walnuts are good for the brain. Want one?", Frieren rummaged through her pocket and expressionlessly pulled out a walnut with bits of lint stuck to it. No one knew how long it had been in there. She held it out to him while staring at him with inexplicable anticipation.
This made his face go dark, and he had no intention of taking it. He simply ignored the two overly curious girls.
Though the two were a bit dissatisfied, they could only hurry to catch up. Everything seemed just like usual.
Everything that had happened in the royal court seemed to have been temporarily forgotten. The relationships and distances between them didn't seem to have changed at all… or maybe they had?
———
The group left the royal capital noisily, traveling north by carriage. When the carriage could no longer continue, they began to cross an unvisited forest on foot under the gentle afternoon sunlight.
The swamp forest was deep and intricate. Among the marshes and greenery, many dangers were hidden. A single misstep could sink you into the mud, so every step had to be taken carefully.
So when sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting mottled shadows, the group chose to fly quickly instead, trying to cross the dangerous swamp directly.
After all, even if they weren't afraid of the swamp, they still had to worry about their clothes getting dirty. However…
Before they had flown very far, almost at the same moment, like helicopters losing power, they suddenly lost their ability to fly. Their flight magic was forcibly interrupted, and they all dropped straight toward the ground.
"W-what's happening?", Fern looked around in panic, while Frieren stroked her chin, deep in thought.
But without exception, both of them instinctively grabbed onto Ash.
Ash, on the other hand, remained the calmest. As they grabbed him, he reacted quickly, grabbing the backs of their collars with both hands. With a slight upward toss, he caught them around the waist, immediately adjusting their posture and preparing to absorb the impact upon landing. But… the moment they hit the ground, before they could steady themselves, the earth suddenly cracked open.
With a loud bang, the ground beneath Ash gave way again.
"The ground in swamp wetlands really is unstable."
As the ground collapsed, Ash muttered softly, almost like a casual observation, as his body once again fell uncontrollably downward.
"Ah… this might be a bit troublesome?", Frieren, held under his arm like a sack, glanced downward. When she noticed what was below, her expression suddenly turned subtle.
Fern also widened her eyes when she saw the dense blue crystals below and instinctively cried out, "M-magic nullifying crystal!"
Bang!
Before her words even finished, Ash's feet had already struck the ground with a heavy thud.
Yet the ground remained completely intact. Instead, the impact left his feet slightly numb.
Falling rocks and sand scattered around them, but likewise caused no damage to the uneven crystal surface beneath.
Looking up, they were at least twenty meters below the surface. The surrounding "walls" were all irregular crystals, reflecting golden-blue light under the sunlight spilling in from the opening above, creating a strangely dreamlike atmosphere.
"Really beautiful," He couldn't help but say it out loud.
While he was admiring it, the two girls in his arms wore displeased expressions.
Because of how he was holding them, they both felt like they were being carried like objects.
Frieren even poked his thigh with her finger. When he looked over, she sighed in annoyance, "If you're going to admire it, fine… but you should probably put me down by now, right?"
"Ah, sorry, I almost forgot," Only now remembering he was still holding them, he quickly let go and steadied them.
Frieren placed her hands on her hips and stretched, while Fern rubbed her waist, unable to stop frowning.
"Even though both of you took some impact to your waists during the fall, Frieren seems fine. Is that a matter of physique or weight?", He had just muttered when Frieren, still staring at the nearby crystals, answered without thinking, "Because Fern is much heavier than me, right?"
The moment those words came out, Fern froze. Ash simply glanced back at them and quietly walked toward the edge of the pit, where there was a surprisingly wide cave entrance.
Not long after, as expected, Fern's voice full of restrained anger scolding Frieren, along with Frieren's apologies, echoed from behind.
———
Only after Fern finished scolding Frieren did Ash return from exploring the cave, acting as if nothing had happened.
Before the two could speak, he looked up and said, "I just checked inside that cave. The exit seems pretty deep… how about I just carry you both and jump up?"
"What are you even saying? Jumping that high in one go, you might be fine, but our bodies can't handle that kind of sudden acceleration. There's no magic here to protect us. Let's just look for another exit properly."
Frieren, looking somewhat gloomy, shot him a resentful glance for walking off on his own earlier. After lecturing him, she headed into the cave he had just explored.
"Hmm… yeah, without relying on magic, crushing this kind of ore with bare hands is pretty difficult," The crystal walls were too smooth to climb, so after Frieren rejected his idea, he could only choose the most straightforward way out.
There was no helping it. Magic nullifying crystal was the hardest of all minerals, even harder than diamond. Magic didn't work on it, and brute force was extremely difficult to use against it.
"But this is the first time I've seen such a large vein of magic nullifying crystal. A piece the size of a fist can nullify magic within a three-meter radius. A vein this large, I don't even know how wide the area of effect is. For now, we can only rely on you, Ash."
Frieren reached out and touched the ore in the wall, then suddenly smiled slightly and looked back at him.
"After all, here we're just ordinary girls who can't use magic. Be careful not to stray too far from us."
"Girls?"
"What? Do you have a problem with that? You've called me an old hag and old woman a total of seven times. I haven't forgotten."
"You're even keeping count? Besides, I didn't say anything this time, did I?"
"Like I don't know what kind of person you are. And unlike someone who claims five hundred years but actually only lived a hundred, I don't forget things that easily," Frieren's tone carried a hint of sharpness.
He just shrugged helplessly, "What can I do? Not everyone has the memory of an elf. Speaking of which, didn't that dwarf completely forget his beloved too?"
"He's a dwarf. That's completely different. And is it really okay to talk about your friend like that?"
"I'm just stating a factual example."
"But you're a demon, right? Your lifespan is much longer than a dwarf's. At least I've never heard of demons dying of old age," Frieren instinctively argued, then seemed to recall something and frowned, "Come to think of it, you've always lived like a human, haven't you? Very… rushed. Not like a long-lived being at all. If you lived differently, maybe you could have a memory like mine?"
"Living lazily like you, doing basically nothing and just wandering around? I'll pass."
"What's that supposed to mean? Do you have a problem with me?"
"Not at all."
Ash didn't say more. He just smiled lightly, patted her head, and walked ahead.
Although she had plenty to complain about, given their current situation, she didn't say much and quickly followed.
Watching the two who kept arguing now and then, Fern had no intention of mediating. She simply looked at them warmly, following along while smiling helplessly and calling out:
"Lord Ash, please slow down. Lady Frieren won't be able to keep up. And Lady Frieren, if you run that fast, what if you fall?"
"Am I being treated like a child?", Hearing that from behind, Frieren stumbled slightly, nearly falling, and muttered gloomily.
"Don't worry about the details. If you actually fall and scrape yourself, Fern will get mad. And I'll get scolded too."
"Then I'll just say it was your fault."
"You really have no shame."
"It is your fault," Frieren puffed her cheeks slightly and turned her head away in dissatisfaction.
Honestly, she really did look like a sulking child. But for the sake of some peace and quiet, Ash stuck to silence.
.
.
.
As they went deeper into the cave, the air gradually grew colder.
Inside the spacious mine, a faint breeze could be felt, clearly indicating there was an exit somewhere, allowing air to flow.
Along the way, the entire cave was filled with crystals containing immense magic power. These crystals emitted a faint blue glow, different from reflected sunlight, providing them with clear visibility.
Because of this, they occasionally saw the stark white bones of beasts scattered throughout the cave. In one sunken area, they even found a large pile of massive skeletons stacked together.
"This is probably the nest of some large monster, right?"
Standing before the bone pile that towered over her like a small hill, Frieren remarked casually, then began looking around here and there with excessive liveliness, wanting to inspect everything. Anyone who didn't know better might think she was an elementary school kid out on a spring outing.
Fern, on the other hand, kept holding onto Ash's clothes, not daring to stray far from his side.
As night deepened, the three of them sat by the wall to rest. Frieren had already collapsed beside Ash, leaning against him and sleeping soundly.
"Ah, her drool is dripping again. That's gross…", Ash looked at his shoulder with a displeased expression as a glistening trail of saliva slipped from the elf girl's lips.
But Fern patiently took out a handkerchief to wipe it away, gently pressing her lips together as she admonished him, "Lord Ash, how can you say that? If Lady Frieren heard you, she would definitely feel hurt."
"I don't think so."
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