"At a time like this, don't just 'feel' things. Please be serious. And I can't have children either."
"What, sterile?"
"No! I mean, ah, forget it. I'm not going to complain."
He felt like continuing this topic would get weird, so he forcibly ended it with a face like he'd swallowed a fly.
But even though he'd wanted an excuse to leave, he couldn't really get away now... he had this strange feeling that caring about it would mean losing.
Not long after, though, the rabbit-eared woman's voice disappeared.
She left with hurried footsteps, but then came the sound of casual, heavy footsteps... heading up toward them.
As Ash looked back, the old man who was still pulling up his pants happened to meet his gaze.
But Sauros had clearly overheard their conversation as well, he wasn't surprised at all and didn't bother with any pretense. He casually glanced at Ash and Ghislaine and gave a slow nod, "So that's what you two are? I thought you both weren't interested in that sort of thing."
"How could that be? I just think of Ghislaine as a brother... and by the way, can you pull up your pants while you're talking?"
"I'm doing it already. But this outfit is a real pain to put on!", Sauros complained in his usual loud voice while wrestling with his pants, and Ash...
"I don't want to know that," With a face full of black lines, he didn't even want to look at the old man.
But Sauros really wasn't embarrassed at all. He quietly walked up and stood beside the two of them, looking toward the faint dot of light glowing amid the dark clouds in the distance, "Speaking of which, Lord Ash, you're a pretty impressive mage, aren't you?"
"Not bad."
"Can you tell me, specifically, what level?"
"God level, maybe?"
"You're lying, right? You're so young..."
"Probably."
"'Probably' huh..."
Sauros wasn't quite sure how much water that claim held, and just assumed Ash was exaggerating... after all, young people had their vanity.
But he didn't press further. He just stood there quietly, gazing at the distant sphere, and suddenly said, "That thing, it seems unstable."
"Didn't you say before that it was a good thing, definitely not something bad? Instability shouldn't matter."
"That was because thinking that way was easier."
"And now?"
"I've been having a bad feeling lately," Sauros stroked his beard and slowly said, "What do you think of Eris?"
"That's sudden. She's a talented child, isn't she?"
"I mean, how does she look?"
"What do you expect me to say about her?"
"If possible, how about you marry Eris? I know she's still... but her mother... you know what I'm getting at, right?"
"Indeed! I feel like she'll definitely turn out as great as that lady!"
Ash unconsciously thought of that person with the same red hair as Eris and that magnificent chest, and nodded without thinking.
"I get it! We're both men! Liking big ones is only natural!", Sauros slapped his back hard with a lecherous grin, "And now... if you marry, you can have all of Eris."
"Let me ask, which 'all' are you talking about?"
"All of it, obviously!", Sauros answered immediately without hesitation.
Though he wanted to play innocent, Ash really did understand what "all" meant. Continuing this topic clearly went against his principles, his morals wouldn't allow him to go after her. So he sighed for the second time that day, "Though I did show some interest just now... are you really in a position to say that, as her grandfather?"
"Precisely because I'm her grandfather that I can say this! Just in case, if that thing turns out to be bad, we need to be prepared! Not just for the family, but for the child's future too!"
If something did happen, the situation for noblewomen would be worse than usual, Sauros knew that well from his many years of experience.
Especially now, with many nobles gunning for his house, and his family lacking a strong enough network... Ash could see that much from the incident two years ago when his granddaughter was kidnapped and they were powerless against the culprit.
Though Ash had also found out through reading memories that the noble he'd killed earlier was merely the most useful pawn of the real mastermind.
The true mastermind should be the most powerful and twisted minister of the Asura Kingdom, Darius Silva Ganius.
But that man was always in the royal capital, and Ash had never been there, so he'd have to deal with it later.
Still, for one of the four great noble houses of this kingdom, not even being able to handle a pawn was really quite...
"Don't worry. All two hundred and thirty-seven spies Darius planted in your territory have already been killed by me. I'll go to the royal capital and kill him when I have time. There's nothing to worry about."
"Go to the royal capital and kill Darius, wait, what? Why?", Sauros was stunned for a moment when he heard this. He trusted Ash's abilities, but...
"Eris is still interesting. Married or not, we've known each other, I won't just stand by. And Ghislaine is here too, isn't she?"
"B-But still, killing Darius is..."
Before Sauros could finish, the sound of heavy footsteps pounding the floor came from behind.
"What's all this?", Eris, probably drawn by Sauros's loud voice earlier, had her lips pursed, her cheeks slightly red but her tone clearly displeased, "Marrying this guy to protect myself or whatever... I don't need that!"
"Eris!"
"Grandfather!"
The grandfather and granddaughter started their shouting match again.
The old and the young both looked pretty fierce, like they were about to come to blows. Ash quietly pressed his hands down in a calming gesture, hoping they'd both settle down.
That topic naturally died without resolution, and Ash himself quietly slipped away under Eris's somehow resentful gaze.
After all, no matter what he said in this awkward situation, Eris wouldn't give him a good reaction, agreeing to Sauros would make him a pervert, but refusing might be seen as looking down on her.
Trouble in every sense, best to stay clear.
The range of the overcast sky was quite wide. Even after leaving the Boreas estate and even after leaving Fittoa territory, the drizzling rain still hung in the air.
Worried that the sphere really did have some connection to him, though certainly not much, his sense of responsibility still made him periodically go clear out the monster hordes gathering in Fittoa territory due to the concentrated magic.
Having just witnessed the old man's secret activities with the servants, and with that old man's strange remarks, he didn't really feel like going back for a while.
But the monsters in Fittoa territory had basically been swept clean by him, so he came to the neighboring Milbotts territory, since those monsters passed through here too.
Using magic detection to travel and search through the sky, he soon found his targets.
And so, he carried out his sweeping work in a simple, crude manner... wandering through the areas adjacent to Fittoa territory, spending most of the day clearing them out. Most of the agitated monsters had been pacified. But when he doubled back to Milbotts territory for a second check, he found another village under monster attack.
Beneath the gloomy sky, that solitary village looked like a small boat tossed in stormy waves, fragile and helpless.