"What? Do you know something?", Frieren turned back curiously.
"The Demon King once had Grausam… one of the Seven Sages of Destruction, the great demon known as the Miraculous, have his subordinates observe spacetime fluctuations and guard the Goddess Monument," He paused halfway through before continuing, "But later, because the planet's seal was strengthened, the difficulty of traveling through time or something like that increased. It led to the amount of magical power the Goddess herself left here being completely insufficient to traverse time and space, so eventually that task was canceled."
"Travel through time and space? Isn't that a bit too much? And there are actually demons observing spacetime fluctuations? How do they even do that? More importantly, why do you know all this? Don't tell me you even know that Miraculous guy too?"
In just a couple of short sentences, he revealed way too much information. Frieren felt a bit dizzy listening to it, like her brain couldn't quite keep up.
That made Ash fiddle with the fragments of the stone monument while casually explaining.
This time, he directly attributed his return to a thousand years ago to the Goddess Monument.
His sudden disappearance was simply because the Goddess realized the one sent back was actually a demon, so she forcibly sent him back and strengthened the planet's seal.
As for the surveillance, he didn't hide anything, stating plainly that he heard it from Schlacht.
At least that was the most accurate prophecy Schlacht gave him before his death, the last time he helped him observe the future.
The Goddess Monument contained time magic. That was also Schlacht's answer, and it couldn't be wrong.
However, because of him causing the Goddess to strengthen the rules, Grausam's subordinate, an elite demon who controlled spatial magic, Zart the Remnant, never detected any spacetime fluctuations in the end.
So the Demon King canceled the order early on, and after the Demon King's death, Zart the Remnant also disappeared without a trace.
"Damn it! If I could've found them, I would've definitely tried learning spatial magic."
As he spoke, he looked like he'd just lost a fortune, pounding his chest and stomping his feet in frustration.
His overly regretful expression left the two of them not knowing what kind of face to make.
Frieren simply ignored him and crouched down, touching the broken Goddess Monument, "To think there's magic sealed inside this stone that can turn back time? The Goddess's magic really is incredible."
"Let's take some back and study it slowly. After all, there's still the Goddess's magic power on it, right?", Ash crouched down as well, casually picking up a piece of stone and slipping it into his pocket. Frieren followed his example, picking one she liked and tucking it away too, "Yeah. It's already broken anyway, so we might as well take it back to study."
"You two… you're treating the Goddess's only remaining miracle in this world like a souvenir from a sightseeing trip?", Fern stood behind them, looking like she wanted to say something but held back.
Seeing them do as they pleased, with no intention of returning it and even starting to walk away, she hurriedly bowed deeply to the Goddess Monument in apology before chasing after them, unable to stop herself from warning them, "What are you thinking? If you just leave like this, you might be punished by divine retribution! Hurry and put the stones back, okay?"
"It's fine. If divine punishment was real, I'd have been struck by it long ago."
"What are you even saying, Lord Ash? Please don't give up on yourself like that!"
"But I'm a demon. No matter what, the Goddess wouldn't bless me."
Rather, demons were the Goddess's true enemy. He wanted to say it outright, but held himself back to avoid worrying them, stubbornly refusing to return the stone despite the scolding.
Meanwhile, Frieren seized the chance, tiptoeing ahead while clutching her stone and quickly running forward. She neither wanted to give it up nor get dragged into trouble, ruthlessly abandoning her accomplice.
———
After the three of them returned near the checkpoint, they waited two days before passing inspection and happily stepping into the Empire's territory.
Originally, they were supposed to take their time wandering along the way, but in reality, not long after passing the imperial checkpoint, a passing merchant caravan told them that shortly after they left, the Kingdom's army had already begun constructing defensive fortifications outside the checkpoint, across the national barrier.
The Kingdom army clearly had their timing right and intended to resume the war. Frieren instinctively asked Ash if there was any way to temporarily mediate, but... he could only say there was nothing he could do.
After all, the war had been started by the Empire. It wasn't something that could end easily. And the Empire wouldn't just watch its territory be taken without retaliation. Restricting only the Kingdom would be far too unfair to them.
That left Frieren with nothing to say. She could only pick up the pace, hoping to meet the Emperor and try to resolve the conflict through him.
So they crossed mountains and ridges, and before long, they arrived near the Empire's core region, the Imperial Capital, but…
"You're sure you didn't remember the wrong path? Why is this road so terrible?", Ash, walking at the front, couldn't help complaining as he looked at the muddy ground beneath his feet.
Fern, swaying as she walked, sighed weakly, "My feet are so sore. I can't walk anymore."
"I can't help it. If you want to go to the Imperial Capital, this is the only road," Frieren pouted slightly, sounding a bit annoyed, "And I'm walking too, aren't I? Why are you two complaining first? It's like I led us the wrong way. If you don't trust me, let Ash lead."
"But Lord Ash isn't good with directions to begin with."
"No, wait a second. There's only this one road to the Imperial Capital? If you said it was a side path or shortcut, I'd accept that, but this is definitely the wrong way, isn't it?"
Looking at the overgrown mountain path ahead, clearly unused for a long time, Ash stopped and turned back, "Is this really a road leading to a nation's capital? It looks like it's been abandoned for at least decades."
"Maybe the main routes are in other directions. Anyway, there's no way I remembered it wrong," Frieren said firmly, her memory unexpectedly reliable, "More importantly, Fern aside, why are you, a warrior, complaining? At times like this, shouldn't you show some gentlemanly spirit and help the girl in front of you?"
"Girl?"
"What's with that attitude?"
"Nothing… I was just thinking, how about I carry you both?"
"Alright! It's decided!"
He had only said it tentatively, but Frieren immediately pushed Fern forward. After hesitating for a moment, he crouched down halfway.
"R-Really? Is that okay?", Fern looked flustered, but after a brief hesitation, she swallowed and said, "Th-Then! Here I go!"
Her words were bold, but her movements were slow. She carefully climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck.
It seemed like she had some concerns, trying to keep a bit of distance between her chest and him, but her ample figure made it hard not to make contact, and…
"Hey!", With a short run-up, Frieren leaped onto them, landing on Fern's back and pressing her fully against him.
The soft sensation he had felt before returned, far stronger this time. Ash tried to ignore it, shaking his head with a quiet sigh, "You both got on, huh."
"I-Is it heavy?", The girl's cheeks flushed red as she hugged his neck, unconsciously resting her chin on his shoulder while asking softly.
"No, not at all."
With one big and one small beautiful girl on his back, no man could say it was a problem. He stood up and, with Frieren excitedly calling out, "Oh~ this view is nice! Let's go!", he quickly headed toward what looked like a village in the distance.
At first, he thought it wasn't great for Fern, who was already grown, to be this close. The softness behind him and her pleasant scent were distracting.
But with Frieren causing a fuss, he ended up feeling like… he was just helping Fern take care of a kid (Frieren).
———
Even carrying two girls through the forest, Ash alone moved much faster than before.
Before long, at the edge of the forest, they saw an open area and scattered buildings.
It was only after the two got down and they soon encountered villagers that they finally understood why the road that supposedly led to the capital was overgrown with weeds.
"Ever since the main road nearby opened, basically no one uses our mountain path anymore, but," The kind-looking old man, the village chief Raadal, scratched the back of his bald head and chuckled as he looked at their muddy, disheveled appearance, "I never thought I'd still see adventurers coming here after all these years."
"I have to say, that road was pretty rough," Ash shot Frieren a complicated glance.
Raadal smiled and explained, "That road's been abandoned for thirty years. This village used to be on the main route to the Imperial Capital, but now… you came along a road that's been unused for decades. Of course it'd be tough."
"Frieren, what do you say? Remember 'there's no way I remembered wrong'?"
"I didn't remember wrong! It's just recent changes, how would I know," The truth hitting her so quickly left Frieren with an awkward expression.
Fern even felt a bit sorry for her and couldn't help speaking up, "Lord Ash, don't bully Lady Frieren too much."
"Yeah, yeah," Ash nodded indifferently.
Raadal stroked his graying beard and said kindly, "It's rare to have adventurers visit again, and you must be tired today. Don't be shy, stay in the village and get some rest."
"But… it doesn't look like there's an inn."
"There's no inn, but there's an empty house not far from the village. You can use it anytime."
Just as Ash showed a disappointed expression, Raadal warmly hosted them and led them to an empty house.
Raadal himself went back to helping around the village, chatting, or playing with children. He looked like a lively, good-natured old man.
And that was meant literally, a good old man.
After they spread out and looked around a bit… when Fern went to buy ingredients, Frieren leaned by the window with Ash, seemingly looking at the distant mountains, but casually glanced toward Raadal and asked,
"I asked around. The villagers respect that chief a lot. They say he's steady and friendly. Other than that, he's just like a normal person."
"What, you noticed he's killed quite a few people?"
"Huh? Killed people? N-No… I just thought he seemed suspicious," Frieren turned her head in surprise at the unexpected conclusion.
Her reaction made Ash smile wryly, "So you couldn't tell."
"When I shook his hand, it felt like the hand of an active warrior, like he trains every day. Other than that, I couldn't sense anything. His aura and presence are completely ordinary… maybe he uses some special training method? But if he were a warrior, magical detection shouldn't read the same as a normal person."
Frieren stared at Raadal for a while but couldn't find anything unusual. Even from his build, that frail old man didn't look trained at all.
"Well, if you can't tell, forget it. Don't worry about it. I'll handle it appropriately."
"Right, with you around, what's there to be afraid of," Frieren turned with a grin, "By the way, I'll leave night watch to you too, okay?"
"Yeah, leave it to me."
"Oh… how manly~", Frieren praised him with a smile, then suddenly changed tone, "Though it doesn't suit you at all."
"Say whatever you want."
He had no intention of responding to the teasing. His thoughts had already returned to the shadow warrior assassination plan he once saw.
If Ash remembered correctly, there was once a five-man shadow warrior squad assigned nearby.
Because the road beside this village used to be the only route from the south to the Imperial Capital, that squad was stationed in the village, lying in wait, and on their assassination list was Frieren.
In this magical world, people with sharp intuition, or those in professions like warriors and mages, can usually sense something different about someone who has killed before, a certain atmosphere, or an indescribable feeling.
However, shadow warriors had special methods to hide this. Even at such close range, they could deceive Frieren's magical detection and not be recognized as warriors.
So Ash naturally couldn't help suspecting that the seemingly kind old man was a shadow warrior… no, more than likely, he definitely was.
"But if he really is a shadow warrior, isn't this too much patience? It's been almost eighty years, hasn't it? And he's still waiting here?"
Watching the old man playing happily with children in the distance, Ash was genuinely surprised by their patience, muttering to himself.
But if they were the Empire's death soldiers, then it wasn't that strange… they were death soldiers, after all.
The old man seemed to notice his gaze, turning back with a puzzled expression before raising his hand and waving at him with a gentle smile.
"From the outside, he really does look like a kind old man," Ash calmly waved back, then silently pulled Frieren beside him back into the house.
———
Down below, in the village square—
After stepping away from the children and sitting on a bench by a building, Raadal, the village chief, was suddenly addressed by an elderly woman in a cloak beside him, his wife.
"Everyone really respects you. The children like you too. You're completely different from how you used to be."
"Is that a good thing? People in the village always come to me, the chief, whenever something happens. All the extra work has kept me busy… really… somehow I ended up becoming the chief. Is it just because I'm the oldest?", Nearly a hundred years old, Raadal shook his head with a bitter smile, then, as if reminiscing, looked into the distance and spoke slowly,
"Now that I think about it, you were the first to lend a hand to someone like me with an unknown background. Back then, you suddenly gave me a sandwich, it really startled me."
"Oh? You seemed pretty calm at the time."
"When a strange girl suddenly offers you a sandwich, of course it's surprising," Raadal kept smiling wryly, shaking his head, "And even now I remember… the sandwich you made back then looked terrible."
"Sorry my sandwich looked so bad."
"But that sandwich… it really tasted good…"
"Is that so? But… what's with you today?", His unusual tone made his wife show concern, "Did something happen? You don't usually say things like this."
"It's nothing. I just suddenly remembered I still have some unfinished work that I have to deal with," Raadal closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and then quickly headed toward home.
Left alone, his wife frowned and murmured to herself, "So… you still can't give it up?"
After being married for over half a century, even though Raadal hid it well, she had noticed something different about him from small clues, and a notebook that was constantly being marked.
She had once accidentally flipped through it. It was a strange list, dozens of pages long. Each page had four people, with simple sketches and notes about their combat abilities.
Some of those names she had even heard from passing adventurers.
Most of them were heroes, outstanding talents, local champions, or remarkable mages.
But… every time her husband went out, one name would be crossed off. Occasionally, when adventurers passed through and mentioned someone's death, another mark would appear.
She could more or less guess what it meant, but…
"Please come back safely."
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