"Mm...", She wanted to argue back, but didn't know what to say.
"Haa! There are way too many things to complain about, so let's skip this topic for now," Ash wore a restrained, pained expression and didn't plan to continue this strange topic anymore, "You're at least someone from the mythological era, so you should know some information about the Goddess, right?"
"I do, but there's no point saying it, because I don't understand the key details either. The only thing I can confirm is that you absolutely aren't her match. And if the Goddess from the mythological era really has appeared again, then even I wouldn't be her match now. There's no hope at all. And you, if you don't want to die, you should hurry up and run away."
"Is the gap really that big?"
"Do you think I'm human or a god?"
"Human, I guess?"
"Right. Humans and gods are ultimately different. Even when reaching the limit, that difference becomes smaller, but it's still so large that even ten million years couldn't cross it."
Serie walked over, placed her hand on his shoulder, and grinned wickedly, "The curse on your body, if it's within a gap that can be bridged, ancient humans had methods to deal with it to some extent. If you had used that curse-reflecting magic earlier, you probably could've resisted it too. You were just careless yourself."
"Who would've known healing magic could turn into curse magic?"
"I helped remove it today. Tomorrow depends on you. If one day I get to see you cross the limit and kill the Goddess instead, that wouldn't be bad either. Though if you don't hurry and think of a way to run away, then next time I see you, your clothes will probably be underground."
Even though Serie spoke harshly, she wasn't actually that cold. Before leaving, she still used some unknown magic to remove the curse from his body.
Then she ignored everything else and left directly.
Even if there weren't any major gains, at least the curse on his wound was removed, which counted as a pretty good result?
———
After calming Serie down and preventing things from turning violent during their argument, Sense, the one most responsible for that, finally raised her head with a troubled look and looked at him.
"Lord Ash.... Run away?"
"What are you talking about? There's no way I'd run away. At the very least I have to fight once first," He lightly patted Sense's shoulder, his tone carrying a bit of apology.
"But you don't need to worry about that. And today was thanks to you too. There wasn't any conflict at all, and everything ended smoothly. That's really impressive, Sense."
"I didn't do anything. I just sat here."
"Even so, that's still amazing. And the weather's so cold now, with you here I don't even need to worry about freezing," He smiled and shook his head, then reached out to gently stroke the girl's cheek in his arms, enjoying the smooth feeling.
That made Sense look a little shy. She unconsciously shrank back slightly, trying to avoid him, but trapped in his arms, there was nowhere to escape. She could only ask awkwardly, "B-But now the windows are closed, and Lady Serie already left. Can I get down now?"
Seeing her act so timid made Ash feel a sense of affection. He became even more unwilling to let go, and while holding the girl in his arms, he deliberately dragged out his tone and teased, "Oh my~ Even though when you were little, I carried you before, and back then you wouldn't even come down from me? But now that you've grown up, on such a freezing day, you don't even want to stay a little longer?"
"Stop lying. You didn't even know me when I was little. Please let me down already."
"No. You're so cute, let me hold you a little longer. You keep me warm, and I get warmth and enjoyment too. What's bad about that? Isn't this a win-win? Or do you hate it?"
Sense's cheeks instantly turned red. She lowered her head, her voice as quiet as a mosquito's, "N-No, that's not it. I just, just think this isn't very good. It's a little troubling."
"But I think it's great, so what should I do? And look~ your current expression really looks like a shy little animal~ It's pretty interesting," Ash chuckled softly and spoke in a voice only Sense could hear.
Sense's face turned even redder. She deeply lowered her head, unconsciously clenching her clothes with both hands. Her voice carried a shy tremble. "L-Lord Ash, please stop teasing me..."
"I'm being pretty serious though?"
"..."
Hearing that, Sense slightly raised her head and looked at Ash with those clear eyes of hers. Her face was full of surprise and embarrassment, and her small mouth hung open as she froze completely.
In the end, she gave up struggling and let Ash keep holding her.
Looking at how obedient she was now, completely different from her usual cold attitude toward others, Ash also felt full of joy. Holding that soft, fragrant, warm body in his arms naturally left him deeply satisfied.
While thinking and feeling the warmth in his arms, as time slowly passed, he still gently patted Sense's back and softly said, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. Ah, no, it wasn't completely teasing either. You could say I was satisfying my own selfish desires?"
"...", Sense's face turned even redder. She lightly bit her lip and still couldn't say anything.
He placed her back on the ground and simply held her hand as he led her away from the hall, but her gaze still couldn't leave the person in front of her, just like always.
Even though her heart felt warm and her head felt fuzzy, that trace of worry still wouldn't disappear. No, before she had only worried about lifespan issues, but now there was a new thing to worry about.
And just like Fern, she still hoped to stay by his side.
But that risk was really too hard to bear.
———
[At Night, Inside the Audience Hall]
Ash, who had just received medicinal treatment, sat on the throne listening to reports from many controlled ministers and demons. After those ministers withdrew, Solitar sat on the armrest of the throne.
As the oldest demon present, she directly spoke about rumors she had heard from old friends who had died during the war started by the Demon King before the previous one.
The contents were similar to what was on Frieren's stone monument, but there was one extra piece of information. Or rather, there was a clearer description of a "key point" that had accidentally been overlooked.
"From shortly after that village girl disappeared to suddenly turning into that strange and powerful Hero, I remember there was a period of time in between," Solitar pressed her slender finger against her chin and thought hard.
"Although at first I didn't think there was anything wrong with that description, but if you seriously think about that absurd Hero, if she wanted to subjugate someone, she could've just finished preparing and charged straight in to kill them. Then the story shouldn't have needed that part. It sounds normal, but it's actually a somewhat unnecessary addition. Maybe the Goddess or her apostle needs time to adapt first when borrowing someone's body?"
"Right. Thinking about it now, it really isn't normal. This description is obviously unnecessary, but it's actually the most important point," Once that key point was mentioned, inspiration immediately flashed through his mind. He frowned while muttering to himself as he thought, "And even if the Goddess suddenly descended into someone's body, how could a human adapt to that kind of mana? Even if our mana was suddenly poured into an ordinary person or normal mage, they absolutely wouldn't be able to endure it either."
"Which means she needs time to adapt to the body," Even Aura, whose brain usually wasn't very sharp, nodded uncertainly, "Or maybe she uses that time to modify the body? So it can endure her power? Or part of it?"
"Right. Since that's the case, then we just won't give her time to modify it," After grasping the key point, Ash immediately smiled and looked at Aura seriously.
"Pass down the order. Arrest every holder of holy swords, and confiscate all holy swords. Whether they're replicas or genuine, collect every single one and bring them to the Imperial Capital. Both the Empire and the Kingdom must carry this out."
"What about the other countries?"
"The other countries must assist us in completing this task. Otherwise the Empire and the Kingdom will declare war on them at the same time, the allied army will massacre cities and seize land wherever it goes, leaving nothing alive."
At this moment, it was no longer a time where he could afford kindness. Even though he didn't want to create more killing, now he could only treat it as something unavoidable and hope they would obediently follow his orders. He reached out for the documents Linie handed over, and to avoid Aura forgetting, he simply wrote the decree while speaking, "Anyone among the civilians who reports someone secretly hiding a sword with the appearance of a holy sword will receive ten silver coins as reward. The treasury will advance the payment first, then collect a fine from the reported person afterward. Anyone who refuses to hand them over, regardless of status, whether noble or commoner, will all be treated as rebels and executed on the spot."
With a single decree from Ash, holy swords and their replicas were directly classified as dangerous items and designated as sealed objects. No one was allowed to carry, use, possess, or collect them anymore. Everything had to be handed over to the Empire or Kingdom.
For efficiency, he even added another rule: anyone who voluntarily submitted them could receive one silver coin as compensation and reward. However, making new ones was forbidden. Making even one would result in a ten silver coin fine, along with trial for manufacturing prohibited items.
If other countries issued the same order, then the Kingdom would also provide funds to compensate based on the number of confiscated holy sword replicas.
Under normal circumstances, Aura didn't like work like delivering orders. Even though she usually had so much free time that she just lay around complaining about boredom.
But at a critical moment like this, she stopped complaining. After all, those were all people under her control, and it was convenient for her to personally deliver these mandatory orders.
After hearing his orders, Solitar slightly nodded and sighed with a flower-like smile, "Not a bad method. This way, there probably won't be many holy sword replicas left on the market soon. Anyone holding one alone will definitely be exposed immediately. Even collectors with unusual tastes would probably hand them over. In that case, it'll depend on whether that Hero is hiding in another country, and whether those other countries will obediently listen to us."
"The Kingdom and Empire together already make up around one-third of all countries in the world. As for military power, there's no need to even mention it. Those small countries wouldn't dare resist at all, and they definitely wouldn't offend these two countries over something like this. Unless some king has lost his mind. But in that case, we just need to directly lead troops into the royal city and force them to sign a surrender treaty."
At this point, Ash no longer cared about methods. If someone truly refused to obey his orders, then he could only make an example out of them.
He wouldn't even need to bring troops. He alone could easily conquer those small countries. They had no room to resist at all.
So whether countries bold enough to refuse would appear wasn't a problem to him whatsoever.
While planning methods to draw out the Hero and how to properly carry them out, his thoughts drifted as he considered how to subjugate her.
"Right. To avoid people not knowing what holy swords look like, we should make copies of the designs and post them throughout the streets too. After that, the biggest concern should be what to do after finding them. Mm?"
Halfway through muttering to himself, the gothic girl who had been standing nearby the whole time suddenly seemed to notice something. She wrinkled her small nose and started sniffing all over him, directly interrupting his thoughts.
That made him unconsciously grab Linie's horn and move her head away from himself as he said with a dark expression, "Linie, what are you doing?"
"Lord Ash smells like that long-haired woman," Linie seriously stated something completely unrelated to the tense situation.
"So what?"
"I hate that smell," Linie expressionlessly voiced her dissatisfaction, "Lord Ash only needs to smell like me."
"You're really selfish. But I'm thinking about something serious right now. I'll deal with you later. You can stand over there as punishm—uh..."
Before he could even finish speaking, Linie naturally turned around and sat directly on top of him. She raised her head and calmly said, "Alright, Lord Ash. Please continue thinking. I guarantee I'll stay quiet."
"You...", He wanted to lecture her, but Linie was too cute. In the end, his words turned into a helpless laugh. He rubbed her soft pink hair and lightly sighed, though his eyes were full of affection, "Forget it, forget it. Do whatever you want. But behave and don't move around, understand?"
"Mhm, I'll behave," Hearing that, Linie's eyes lit up. She immediately nodded obediently like a kitten, lightly wrapping her arms around his neck and finding a comfortable position to sit in.
———
At first, Linie really did stay quiet like she said she would. But her small hands lightly grabbed Ash's clothes, as though doing that let her stay a little closer to him.
After a while, Ash's train of thought was interrupted again by Linie's small movements. He lowered his head and looked at her, only to see her staring at him with those watery eyes.
"Linie, didn't you say you'd stay quiet? Why are you causing trouble again?", Ash's tone was full of helplessness, while Linie blinked innocently.
"Lord Ash, I just wanted to see whether you were seriously thinking."
"Alright, alright, I'm seriously thinking, so stop causing trouble," Ash felt both amused and helpless because of her words.
"Sorry," Linie lightly nodded. After habitually apologizing, she quieted down again. It left Ash not even knowing what to lecture her about. And afterward she really was well-behaved, making him wonder whether this was Linie's own way of helping him ease his tension.
Although he often couldn't understand what this expressionless girl was thinking, he still subconsciously stroked Linie's head. But, just after Linie quieted down, Solitar leaned over again with a smile and moved close to his ear, whispering softly almost like a murmur, "How come you're always so gentle with Linie? Share a little of that gentleness with me too~ Didn't I help you find the Goddess's weakness?"
"It's different. Linie is more innocent. As for you, you'd definitely make strange demands."
"How could that be? I just simply want your love~", Solitar lightly folded her hands in front of her chest. Her smile was as sweet as a blooming flower, but her words left him speechless for a moment.
After all, that request sounded simple, but in reality it really wasn't. And he was completely certain that if he agreed, this woman would absolutely cling to him endlessly.
"Oh? That look... are you guarding against me again?", Solitar seemed to notice something strange and lightly raised her brows.
"It's just the look I give weird people."
"How cruel. I've worked so hard for you, yet this is what you think of me?", Solitar pouted and pretended to feel wronged.
"Don't say it like I'm some heartless man. Sigh!", Ash rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
But Solitar refused to let it go and continued, "Then be a little gentler with me. I need your care too."
Looking at Solitar like this, Ash knew she wouldn't stop unless he gave some kind of response, so he could only nod.
"Alright, alright. I know you've helped me a lot, but love isn't something you can just hand out. When there's a suitable opportunity, I'll properly thank you."
Solitar's eyes lit up, "Really? Then you can't go back on your word."
"I don't remember ever breaking a promise. Now let me properly think about serious matters first."
"That's true. I'll think about how exactly you should thank me then."
Although Solitar was somewhat unwilling, she also knew she couldn't keep disturbing Ash.
She obediently retreated to the side, though she still occasionally looked at Ash with expectant eyes, as if reminding him not to forget his promise.
That left him only able to bury his face in Linie's pink hair and sigh, 'As expected, girls really do smell nice.'
At least girls had relatively cuter personalities and didn't cause trouble, though neither Sense nor Linie were actually of young anyways.
But he quickly stopped dwelling on that issue and focused his attention back on the problem in front of him, thinking about ways to deal with the Goddess and the holy swords.
And these two with completely different personalities, Linie and Solitar, also rarely behaved themselves and stopped interrupting his thoughts.
———
The two sides that had originally been enemy nations suddenly returned to peace because of the sudden decree. It even felt somewhat like they were moving toward an alliance.
This left the surrounding countries, which had originally been waiting to profit from the conflict, completely stunned. While doubting whether the Imperial Capital had truly fallen before, no country refused this threatening, mandatory request for cooperation.
At the same time, they also suspected that both sides had discovered some common enemy, which was why they issued such an order.
As for why everyone cooperated with this request, it was because this was basically something insignificant. After all, everyone knew where the genuine article was, and those replicas weren't worth much anyway. One silver coin was even slightly higher than their actual selling price. There was no reason to take that kind of risk and give the two strongest countries a reason to act against them.
Most people who collected these things also consciously handed them over to avoid causing trouble for themselves. After all, this stuff really wasn't important. And who didn't have enemies? If someone reported them, it would just become troublesome.
And there actually weren't that many replica swords anyway. After all, the last Hero had appeared eighty years ago. Most people didn't even care about the bronze statues of the Hero's party anymore, let alone the style of sword the Hero had once used.
As for those "statues," some probably still remained. But there were far too many similar stone and bronze statues across the entire continent. Most people simply didn't care about those things.
Because of that, the process of carrying out his orders went extremely smoothly, without encountering any resistance.
On the other hand, Ash also couldn't think of any particularly good way to deal with the Goddess. After all, without even basic information, how was he supposed to think of anything?
He couldn't just sit and wait for the goddess to attack. He even had to race against time and kill the opponent first. Against an enemy like that, how was he supposed to prepare? He could only think of ways to strengthen himself, right?