'I see. So what should I do from here?'
Looking at the nervous nine-year-old in front of him, Ash nodded to himself, but also felt a bit of a headache.
"What? Not gonna do it?"
"Don't say weird things."
"Weird?"
"There's no way I'm doing that."
"Why not? You're the one who told me to apologize properly!"
Under normal circumstances, Eris should have been relieved. But because of her hatred for Ash, her temper flared up instead, and she started butting heads with him over the strangest thing.
Even if it meant hurting herself just as much, that kind of thing... never factored into her considerations. First things first, she'd make things difficult for this guy.
And Ash, he really had never, in his entire life, come across such a bizarre request.
The strangest request he'd ever received in his life left Ash staring at this girl who was supposedly apologizing, yet still standing there with that arrogant posture. His expression was rather complicated.
Because he didn't know if he should be angry, and he'd seen people make things difficult for others, but he'd never seen anyone make things difficult for someone else while also screwing themselves over.
First of all, even if he agreed, this girl would probably die, and the cost to himself would be total humiliation. Besides that...
'To lay a hand on this girl, could that even be called human? Could anyone actually do that... Huh, although I'm not human, humans actually might be able to do it?', Just as he questioned the absurdity of the condition in his mind, he thought of the perverted nobles who coveted Eris, and couldn't help but glance at the ice sculptures nearby.
In that moment, he felt like these people were more demonic than he was... though even demons weren't this bizarre.
"What's wrong! Just give me an answer—WAH?", Before Eris, standing there with her arrogant pose, could finish, Ash hoisted her onto his shoulder and, before she could even react, gave her a slap on the rear.
"Huh?", Accompanied by the crisp sound of the slap, Eris let out a pained cry, remarkably similar to the "painful voice" she'd described earlier.
This made her completely forget her original purpose. She nimbly wrapped her arms around his neck, poked her head out from his other shoulder, and glared at him reflexively with eyes full of fury, "What are you doing—MMPH?"
Before Eris could finish, Ash shoved the bread he'd originally intended for her straight into her mouth to shut her up.
Then, with one hand holding her thigh in place, he gave her another slap on the leg with the other, "Alright, quiet down. For now, I'm taking you home."
"Pfft!", Eris spat out the bitten bread, scratching and clawing at him, "Why? Weren't we going to get revenge?"
"That's what I said, but let's let your grandfather handle the problem first. If he can't, then I'll step in."
"You-you lied to me?"
For the first time, she'd trusted an outsider like this, even paid such a price, only to be met with this betrayal. Eris, still perched on his shoulders, bit down on his shoulder in rage.
"Haah...", Glancing at the girl gnawing at his shoulder like a vicious dog, unable to even break the skin, Ash felt like he was really carrying a medium-sized dog on his shoulder. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh, "What do you take me for? I just think this matter is better handled by your grandfather... If it doesn't work, I'll step in."
"Really?", Eris paused her biting slightly, eyeing him suspiciously.
"At least it'll be better for your family. You can get some compensation, right? And politically speaking..."
"I don't get that kind of stuff!"
"In short, trust me."
"But you just betrayed me!"
"I never swore loyalty to you. At most, I cooperated with others and sold something that was never mine to begin with. Simply put, it's just a no-cost deal for me.",
Although Eris was acting like a spoiled, willful young lady, Ash calmly carried her on his shoulder, walking along and reasoning with her.
She completely refused to listen and kept biting him afterward, of course... all she could leave on his shoulder was saliva, nothing else.
———
Carrying Eris on his shoulder, Ash mounted the nearby "wild horse" that had just lost its owner, and rode off with her.
By daybreak, they had returned to the fortress city. However...
The moment she saw the familiar town and the castle standing in the distance, Eris relaxed, and eagerly jumped down from the horse in front of him.
"Hah! I'll never trust an adult like you again! You types are all filthy, despicable—mmph?"
As soon as she dismounted, she walked briskly ahead, made a face at Ash, and happily skipped forward.
But who could have guessed, the moment she passed an alley entrance, someone clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her into the dark corner, leaving only a few muffled cries echoing in the air.
"Too happy too soon, huh? I told you not to rush things," Ash covered his face and shook his head, unable to watch, yet feeling a bit heartless enough to want to laugh.
Then he heard Eris's curses and dull thuds of punches. Eris, putting up a fierce struggle, must have taken another hit.
"That's pretty pitiful treatment, but why doesn't she understand that the stiffest branch breaks first? In this situation, she should have compromised first. Ah! No, struggling is probably instinct too?"
He dismounted, scratched his head, and walked over, troubled about what expression to make regarding Eris's predicament.
Part of him felt she had brought it on herself, but she was indeed a girl... and she'd been spoiled her whole life. Of course, her grandfather's influence might have been even worse. So, thinking it over, her current behavior was probably normal.
"Still, with this personality, people can't help but feel she brings everything on herself. Sure enough, how you conduct yourself daily determines how others see you. Hmm... I should take this as a lesson too. Try to make everyone see me as a good person, so that no matter what happens, I can stand on the moral high ground and lecture others."
Muttering to himself, Ash quickened his pace and entered the alley.