"Ohhh! Amazing! That's incredible!", Even though it was a scene totally unsuitable for children, the village chief clapped her hands and praised nonstop, her face full of admiration, "As expected of Lord Ash! You're really incredible! Even more amazing than the legends!"
"The difference between worlds really is huge."
Ash's gaze briefly swept over that immature face, and a ripple stirred faintly in his heart.
'If kids from the twenty-first century saw something like this, they'd probably be scared into tears. But here, it becomes a heroic feat in the eyes of children.'
'Is it because the environment they live in is full of danger everywhere, so even children admire strength this much?'
Before he could sort out his thoughts, the ground beneath his feet suddenly darkened, and not far away Fern cried out in alarm, "ABOVE! A—"
Before the girl's words could even land, Ash had already twisted his body and turned his head back, his blade flashing out of its sheath in that split second.
When exactly the blade was drawn, and when it was sheathed again, was so fast that neither Fern nor Frieren could see it clearly. All they could see was a semi-transparent slash bursting from the blade, instantly cleaving a towering upright wolf-shaped behemoth, over ten stories tall, cleanly in two.
The giant didn't even have time to let out a dying howl. Its massive body, split down the middle, fell to either side of Ash along with the momentum of its attack.
BOOM!
The two enormous halves slammed into the ground, triggering a terrifying rumble and a massive spray of snow that made Fern lose her footing and drop straight to the ground.
Yet amid the sky filled with snow and the rain of blood, in the center of that overwhelmingly shocking scene, Ash acted as if nothing had happened at all, calmly turning around and walking back toward them.
That perfectly ordinary expression was like snapping a weed by the roadside in passing. The speed of his attack was far faster than even casting magic.
From start to finish, not even a full second had passed. Fern's heart, which had just been lifted into her throat, didn't even have time to settle back down.
"So this is Lord Ash's true strength?", Fern murmured unconsciously, staring blankly at that familiar figure. The shock in her heart was beyond words, and it took a long time to subside.
The giant beast that had leapt out of the ravine beside the cave was killed in a single blow, a sight that left Fern dumbfounded.
The village chief, who had climbed up from the ground, ran over with shining eyes and threw herself straight into Ash's arms.
"Lord Ash actually killed the Mountain Lord in one strike! Then you should marry me after all! And then, let's stay here together forever, okay!"
"What nonsense are you talking about now?", Ash looked completely bewildered by the strange proposal.
But the village chief spoke with a straight face, "You don't know? Our village actually has a tradition that if you kill the Mountain Lord, you have to marry the village chief."
"Kill the Mountain Lord and marry the village chief? K!ds these days can even lie with a straight face now?"
Fresh from victory, Ash was unexpectedly tangled up by the village chief taking advantage of her age.
Having lost her mother early on, the girl now only wanted to keep this unbelievably strong person in the village to protect it, clinging to him and acting spoiled nonstop.
"I'm serious! And k!ds don't lie! Believe me~ Lord Ash!"
"I'm not saying this to be mean, but what on earth are you talking about? When I knew your grandmother, your mother hadn't even been born yet."
"You're definitely not a rigid person, right? So how long I have lived isn't a problem! As long as there's love, it's fine."
"Isn't that line normally supposed to be said by the older one?"
People in this world matured early, especially this girl, who had lost her mother young and been forced to inherit the position of village chief early. She seemed to understand the importance of strength even more.
And while he could understand why she valued power so much, and even let her hang onto him like this, he still couldn't help but cast a look for help toward Fern.
It was precisely that look for help that snapped Fern back to her senses.
"Hurry up and stop clinging to Lord Ash. Persistently pestering someone is not a quality a proper lady should have!"
She strode forward, grabbed the girl by the back of her collar, and forcibly peeled her off. Ignoring the girl flailing her arms and legs in protest, Fern looked at Ash curiously.
"The holy sword here still hasn't been pulled out, right? So does that mean, Lord Ash, even someone as strong as you can't pull it out?"
"No, it's just that he never tried," Frieren, who had been slacking off, suddenly hit the nail on the head, "He thinks the goddess doesn't like him, so he never even went inside."
"Is that so? Maybe Goddess-sama just wants to test you? Hurry up and try it!"
"I don't think that's very likely. Right now, the remaining demon wolves aren't a threat anymore. Everything's already been resolved, so let's hurry back."
Fern's face was full of anticipation, but Ash only chuckled lightly, casually patted her on the head, and brushed past her without hesitation, walking back toward the village. There wasn't the slightest intention of trying, as if the holy sword held no attraction for him at all.
That left Fern feeling quite regretful, but Frieren quickly caught up with him anyway. Of course, Frieren wasn't thinking about anything complicated. She just wanted to find somewhere warm as soon as possible.
———
After helping the Sword Village, they were naturally given a warm welcome by the villagers and were even put up directly in the village chief's home.
At the grand banquet the villagers organized, the village chief still didn't forget about wanting to get married, sitting beside Ash and constantly acting spoiled and cute.
Unfortunately, Ash was at least a proper person. There was no way he could accept a that proposal, so he treated all of the village chief's actions as childish nonsense and casually rejected her again and again.
And then, the very man who had so dashing rejected her during the day quietly came to the cave of the sanctuary late at night, when all was silent.
A broad-bladed sword that looked quite plain was embedded in a protruding rock inside the cave, with a bit of rust on it.
Considering it had been stuck here for at least several thousand years, that was understandable. And the fact that just a single rock could stop all kinds of heroes from pulling it out was impressive in its own right.
However, when Ash tentatively reached forward, a semi-transparent barrier instantly appeared at the cave entrance, mercilessly blocking him out.
"As expected, even after all these years, the barrier here still won't let me in," He muttered softly and stepped back.
At that moment, streaks of purple lightning appeared around his body.
Compared to before, this finer gravity lightning caused the surrounding space to show faint signs of distortion.
After Ash set up an additional barrier, the lightning circled briefly, then surged out all at once.
BOOOOM!
The ground cracked under the ruthless pressure. The invisible barrier left behind by the goddess was forced inward, rippling violently as if it were about to shatter.
However, no matter how the lightning lashed it, the semi-transparent barrier never gave the feeling that it was truly about to break.
"Even after twenty years, it still looks like it's about to break, but in reality there's no sign of it actually breaking at all. As expected of a barrier bestowed upon a sanctuary by the goddess. Just like those stone tablets, it's a miracle rarely seen in the world."
Ash stepped forward, and the invisible gravity pressed the barrier back continuously.
In the end, when the gravity could no longer overpower it, he helplessly stepped back a few paces and withdrew from the sanctuary's range.
After casually tidying up the scene with magic, he left with a sense of regret.
———
The next day, the village, unaware that anything unusual had happened, happily waved them off as they departed.
But until the very end, the village chief clung tightly to Ash, refusing to let go, wanting to keep him in the village to guard the holy sword together with everyone.
Even though she was young, Fern couldn't take it anymore. She forcibly pulled them apart and dragged Ash away at a brisk pace.
This left the girl looking as wilted as a frostbitten eggplant. Comforted by the village elders, she could only temporarily give up on her goal, while reminding Frieren to definitely be on time in fifty years, and also—
"Lord Ash, please remember! No matter when you return, I'll be waiting with all my heart! Especially our reunion ten years from now! By then I'll definitely be a graceful, beautiful girl and welcome you in my most beautifully!"
The village chief hopped happily behind the group, waving her small hand nonstop, her clear voice full of longing for the future.
"Alright! Alright! If I remember, I'll definitely come back. Uh, why are you looking at me like that? I'm just joking around with her."
He stopped halfway through when he noticed the subtle looks the two girls on either side were giving him at the same time. He quickly cleared his throat, trying to defuse the awkwardness. After giving a brief explanation, he sped up his pace to avoid more misunderstandings.
Seeing this, the corner of Fern's mouth curved into a barely noticeable smile. She murmured softly, something only she could hear, then temporarily gave up on lecturing and hurried to catch up with the other two.
———
Leaving the Sword Village behind, they continued their northward journey across the towering mountain range toward the magic city.
Along the way, as the seasons changed, the harsh winter cold gradually faded. The forests along the route put on fresh green attire, becoming lush and vibrant with new life.
And it was during this process that Frieren failed to return for a long time while gathering medicinal herbs.
This prompted Fern to urge Ash to go look for her. He hadn't gone very far when he spotted, by a small swamp, Frieren sitting there hugging her knees with a blank expression, watching an uncle not far away who was talking about something.
"I used to have a friend who always went on little adventures. He was smart in the head but simple in the limbs, like a gorilla. But he was also a good gorilla who cared about his friends," The uncle, with brown hair tied into a small ponytail at the back of his head, a beard, and wearing monk's robes, spoke slowly while gazing at the distant sky with a look of reminiscing about the past.
"But after growing up, when all those past dreams had gradually been thrown behind me, that guy suddenly came to find me and asked if I wanted to become an adventurer together. If I had been able to grasp his hand back then, things definitely would have been different, right? But..."
At the end, the monk uncle lowered his head gloomily and let out a long, faint sigh.
"That was all ten years ago. It's just... even now, I still regret it."
"Mm-hmm," Frieren didn't move at all, still sitting there hugging her knees. With a calm, expressionless face, she said, "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because.... my village is holding a harvest festival. My older brother told me to go into the forest to pick some edible wild vegetables, and then... just like you see, I got stuck in this bottomless swamp and there's no saving me."
As the monk spoke, he continued to sink, stretching out his hand toward Frieren with a smile that seemed to be seeking salvation.
"But if you can take my hand now then things will definitely change, just like ten years ago, if I had taken my friend's hand."
"Wait a bit, I'm kind of conflicted."
"At a time like this, what is there to be conflicted about?"
"Your hand is very dirty," Without a moment's thought, Frieren gave her answer, freezing the monk uncle's smile in place.
"No matter how you think about it, this isn't the time to worry about whether a hand is dirty or not, right? And miss, people are all filthy creatures anyway."
"But something this dirty in a physical sense, it's my first time encountering."
Frieren looked at the uncle continuing to sink in front of her. She had no interest in that trembling dirty hand at all. After calmly rebutting him, she turned her gaze aside and recalled, "Wait a bit. I'm thinking of a spell that can pull someone out of a swamp."
"I-is that so? Then... please hurry... hurry..."
"I'll do my best."
"By the way," The monk uncle, wearing a look like he was about to cry, turned his head to Ash, who had quietly sat down beside Frieren during their conversation, and couldn't help asking, "This handsome young man, what about you? Why are you just watching from the side?"
"Because it's pretty interesting, so I'm watching."
"Is that so? Then that's really great," Meeting two weirdos at once, the monk uncle, with his life on the line, truly felt like crying on the spot, "But at a time like this... is this really the time to watch the show?"
"That's true. I also have something Fern told me to do. If I go back too late, I'll get scolded," He suddenly realized something and stood up.
That bizarre focus made the monk slap the swamp in front of him, splashing up a large amount of mud, and shout in agitation, "Compared to a life right in front of you! You're prioritizing some trivial thing instead? It's fine if elves are cold, but you've just been watching from the side too. Is that really okay?"
"Every second in this world, a lot of lives are being lost. If you care that much about death, wouldn't that be exhausting?"
"That's true! That is true! But! I'm right in front of you! Just reaching out would solve it! The reason relationships between people are so cold is because there are too many people like you!"
After venting his anger, the monk uncle forced a smile, trying to calm himself down, and extended his hand toward Ash once more.
"Don't you want to make the world a better place? For example, starting by grabbing my hand? As long as you make that choice, the world will definitely become warmer because of you. At least, at least I'll be able to feel this rare warmth."
"Your hand is too dirty, I don't really want to wash my hands."
"I'll wash them for you! I absolutely won't leave a single speck of mud! So hurry," The monk uncle shouted in desperation, doing his best to guarantee it.
But Ash looked troubled, "But the scene you're describing is already kind of gross just imagining it. I don't really want some middle-aged uncle carefully washing my hand. At least change it to a pretty older sister."
Frieren, who hadn't moved even a bit from start to finish, glanced over when she heard that and answered without thinking.
"I won't help you wash them."
"Don't flatter yourself. Before saying that, take a good look at yourself and see where you look like a pretty older sister?", Ash was already used to her self-praise and just made a dismissive comment.
The uncle, who was still in danger, unexpectedly showed an expression as if a goddess had been blasphemed, and excitedly pointed at her.
"That? You call that a pretty older sister? Don't insult the term 'older sister'!"
"Let's ignore Ash being rude, do you even understand your situation?", Frieren raised her eyebrow in surprise, "You're actually daring to talk to me like that now? And you still want to be saved?"
"If you ask me which is more important, my life or my faith! Then that would definitely be..."
"Your life?"
"No, before answering that, can you tell me whether you've remembered yet.... that ma—guh! Hel, hel!"
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The poor monk uncle, stuck in the swamp, didn't even get to finish what he was saying. His mouth sank into the mud, bubbles rising nonstop.
"Lord Ash, why did you go looking for someone when I asked you to, and yet... huh?"
With the man she'd asked to find someone gone, Fern was forced to come over herself. Before she could finish speaking, she saw an extremely bizarre scene in the clearing among the bushes.
Frieren, expressionless, was squatting by the swamp hugging her knees. Ash was sitting cross-legged beside her. One cold, one curious, both staring at the person in front of them... who had basically sunk into the swamp and looked like he was about to drown. Yet neither of them showed any intention of helping at all.
This scene was so strange that it made Fern doubt her own eyes. Her mind froze for a good while, unable to understand what they were doing at all, 'Are they tacitly watching someone die? Or are they trying to see how long it would take for someone to drown?'
"Ah! I remembered."
Before Fern could even ask, Frieren suddenly recalled the spell she had accidentally forgotten and grabbed the staff lying beside her.
The monk uncle struggling in the swamp was instantly yanked out of the mud like a forcibly pulled lotus root, and then... casually tossed aside by her.
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