"Sorry, Ash-sama… but there doesn't seem to be anything here I can use to wipe my hands," Linie lowered her head pitifully, clutching her hands and showing a dejected expression.
"And didn't you say a girl's image is very important? So…"
"A girl's image isn't just about appearance. Behavior is also part of that image."
'How exactly am I supposed to teach this child properly and turn her into an outstanding lady?'
Honestly speaking, at this point he had basically given up. Turning his head again to look at the ghost l0li on the ground, he could not help but let out a light sigh.
"By the way, how old is Solitar?"
"Why don't you just ask her?", Aura replied, sounding completely uninterested.
"That's true. Since we've run into her anyway, I'll go say hello."
After a moment of thought, he actually did just that. Under Aura's astonished gaze, he jumped straight down from the flying carriage in the sky and descended toward Solitar.
———
Inside the forest near the barrier.
The figure that shot down from the sky like a meteor was, in the split second before touching the ground, gently supported by some invisible force. It hovered briefly, unhurried and composed, before landing lightly on the earth.
The entire process only stirred up a gust of wind that sent fallen leaves swirling. The ground itself was left without even the slightest dent.
This scene, shifting from extreme motion to tranquil harmony in an instant, made Solitar clap her hands happily in praise.
"Since the last time we met, I think it was when the Demon King hadn't died yet? It hasn't even been eighty years since then, right? You've grown again, Ash. I'm very happy, you know?"
"Solitar, I've always had a question."
"What is it?"
"How old are you, really?"
"That?", Solitar tilted her small head cutely, wearing an ambiguous smile, and casually tossed out an uncertain number, "Hmm~ eight hundred?"
"No. I remember you once said you don't like war, because your friend died in a war long ago, a war started by a Demon King who wanted to understand humans. But the Demon King who just died had been in power for over a thousand years, and before that he never started a war. Which means…"
"Oh my, how rude~ randomly guessing a girl's age like that. Could it be that you've reached your rebellious phase too, Ash?"
His analysis made Solitar pretend to be displeased, putting on a troubled smile.
"No. I'm at least pretty old."
"Only pretty old by human standards, right? To big sister, you're still just a little brother~", Solitar stood on tiptoe and smiled as she patted his head.
This strange behavior gave him a headache, "What are you doing?"
"Ara? Isn't this a gesture of affection?"
"Affection?"
"Big sister has always liked you, you know~ The reason Schlacht asked me to go with you to lift Qual's seal and persuade Qual to listen to you was also because of me. I actually like you very much, you see?"
With her hands lightly clasped behind her back, Solitar leaned forward slightly and raised her chin, smiling brightly as she gazed into his eyes. She spoke of the true reason she had cooperated with him back when the Demon King was defeated by the Hero's party, to subdue the Sage of Corruption Qual.
But being liked by such a dangerous person made him silently take a step back.
"Let me confirm something first. This 'like' you're talking about, what kind of like is it? It's not the kind where you want to kill me, right?"
"How could it be? Besides, I'm a pacifist. And more importantly, your eyes feel like a mixture of human and demon. I really want to study you properly~"
"Please spare me from mutual slaughter and dissection."
"So really, what are you talking about? I'm not some violent maniac. My liking for you is closer to the goodwill humans have toward each other. And, from your goals, I see my own goals as well. In other words—we're truly kindred spirits~"
Solitar, who longed for coexistence between humans and demons, clasped her hands in front of her chest as if offering a prayer, gazing at his eyes with overflowing sincerity.
All it did was make him feel troubled. He quietly took another two steps back, raised his hand with an awkward yet polite smile, and waved it slightly.
"Sorry, I don't really understand what you're trying to say. How about you calm down a bit first? If there's a chance, we can sit down and talk slowly another time. Right now I still have a few things to take care of, so I'll…"
"Ah~ Ah~ that sounds great. I thought barging into someone else's place might not be very nice at first, but since you've invited me like this, I simply can't refuse~"
"Wait a second? Invited? Me? When did that happen?"
"Just now, didn't you say you wanted me to go to your country, sit down together, and witness a brand-new path that's never existed before?"
"That was just polite talk. How did you manage to imagine so much from that?", Ash's head immediately started buzzing. He had never expected polite words to be exploited like this.
But Solitar simply clasped her hands together in front of her, swaying lightly as she put on a sweet, delicate smile.
"What are you saying? A gentle big brother like you surely couldn't bear to see a poor, helpless little demon girl like me wandering alone in the wilderness, right?"
"Big brother… no, a little demon over a thousand years old?"
This sweet voice from a millennium-old demon l0li left him unsure whether to complain about her pretending to be young, or about how she had just called herself 'big sister' a moment ago.
'As expected, a woman's words really are lies,' or so it felt to him.
Still, thinking about his own goals, he did not really mind having another powerful ally. Even if she was a very strange one, though among great demons, there really didn't seem to be many who weren't strange.
After a brief inner struggle, Ash ultimately chose to compromise.
Originally he had not wanted to get close to the barrier, but now, with a "since I'm already here" mindset, he went together with Solitar to the edge of the barrier, planning to study it for a bit first.
However…
"Ara~ this barrier is… a crystallization of wisdom constructed by the world's top-tier human mages. The magic theories of different nations and races are intricately intertwined here. Amazing~"
Just by lightly touching the barrier, Solitar immediately arrived at an answer, though her face still wore that innocent smile.
"Thinking about it that way, without this kind of knowledge it would be absolutely impossible to open it. That must be why he's been trapped in there all this time."
"No, Solitar, what you're saying is too absolute."
"What?"
"There's a flaw in your magical theory. Or rather, the knowledge you've acquired is a bit too mainstream. Probably because you've been hidden away for too long. Your thinking has become rigid."
"Too mainstream, rigid?", Solitar tilted her head dramatically, still smiling.
Ash casually patted the ghost l0li's head, then flicked the barrier with a finger and spoke offhandedly.
"Understanding something before breaking it is the standard way of thinking. It's necessary when you haven't reached a certain level yet. But once you cross a certain threshold, understanding the magic itself becomes meaningless."
"Using overwhelming brute force to break through the barrier? But a barrier of this level shouldn't be something you can break with brute force, should it?"
"Over forty years ago, Macht's magic easily broke through my defenses, and he definitely doesn't understand human defensive measures. The Sage of Corruption was the same in the past, easily destroying those defensive spell formations. Did they need to understand them?"
"This…"
"Also, according to information I got from the Magic Association, this barrier has been under constant erosion and has been forced to keep expanding outward. It used to only cover a city, but now even the surrounding forests have been swallowed. Clearly, this barrier can't restrain the ever-spreading gold, and that isn't even something Macht is doing deliberately," Ash rubbed Solitar's head again, then kicked the barrier beside him before continuing.
"In the end, people say magic is a world of imagination, but it still needs a certain foundation. If I think I'm omnipotent, do you think that magic would actually work?"
"If even basic spell formulas can't be constructed, that kind of baseless wild imagination is meaningless. If that could succeed, magic wouldn't need research or training at all. Just constant self-hypnosis would be enough. A mentally ill mage truly believes their imagination is real, would that mean they could be invincible?"
Solitar smiled and spread her hands, and Ash kicked the barrier hard once more.
"Same principle. If I had Aura bring over a mage, used illusions to destroy his mind and hypnotized him into believing one hundred percent that his magic could break this barrier, would it really break?"
"Definitely not."
"And conversely, just because they and you believe they can definitely trap Macht, does that really mean they can?"
"What you're saying makes a lot of sense," After a moment of silence, Solitar asked in confusion, "But if that's the case, why doesn't Macht come out?"
"From my previous interactions with him, he seems to be living quite happily inside. He's originally from the steady, conservative faction of the Demon King's army. Being able to live peacefully without disturbance might actually suit him. Haven't you noticed he hasn't even tried to attack the barrier continuously, not even to wear down its energy?"
"So… he never intended to come out at all?"
After hearing his explanation, Solitar's smile widened. She nodded repeatedly, her eyes fixed on him.
"Following you really was the right decision. Your magical knowledge and theories are completely different from those of an old fossil like me. No wonder the omniscient Schlacht values you so highly. Now I finally understand."
"And then?"
"You want to become the Demon King, don't you?", Solitar stared at him, then smiled sweetly in a way that was so cute it sent chills down the spine.
"I'll support you. Any demon or human who stands in your way, I'll find a way to eliminate for you. In exchange, become my partner~ Leave everything to me, and I'll give everything I have to you."
"That suddenly got heavy," Ash shook his head in disbelief, then had a sudden flash of inspiration and laughed, "How about this? Let's compromise. I'll agree to the first part and the last part. Let's skip the middle."
"Ara? That's a novel kind of compromise. But I think I look pretty decent myself?"
"I like big."
"Size? Chest?"
"Mostly the latter. I'm also pretty fond of mature women."
"That's a bit troubling, but it's fine. Feelings can grow with time. I know that saying too, you know~"
"Anyway, let's head back first."
As a proper adult, Ash knew all too well that there's no such thing as a free lunch falling from the sky.
So he refused the ghost l0li who had dropped from the heavens without hesitation, turned his back, and flew straight toward the carriage.
'Such an interesting person. Well then… I'll observe a bit more,' Solitar narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, then followed after him with a smile once more.
———
A carriage that had originally only held three people now had an extra ghost-l0li-like great demon, just because Ash had gone out for a bit.
Honestly, he felt that the lineup of female figures in this carriage could easily give people the wrong idea about his tastes.
'Why were they all so small, like l0lis? I remember that aside from beast-shaped demons, there are plenty of demon women with mature builds. So why are all the ones around me l0lis? This is unbelievable,' Ash crossed his arms and closed his eyes, pondering deeply.
Aura, who was sitting opposite him, stayed silent for a long time before finally losing patience and kicking his shin.
"What's with this woman? Why are you pretending to sleep instead of explaining clearly?"
"Don't be too hard on him. I followed on my own initiative," A smile appeared on Solitar's lips, "And it's been quite a while, hasn't it, Aura? I think the last time we met was about three hundred years ago? You've become cuter again."
"Save the human-style pleasantries. I haven't changed at all in these three hundred years."
"Hmm~ such hostility. Ash, my little sister-in-law seems hard to deal with. What should I do?", Solitar looked at him with a smile.
Those words immediately drew Aura's gaze to him.
"Little... sister-in-law…"
"Could you not look at me at a time like this?", With a weary sigh, he pressed one hand to his forehead and tried his best to avoid both of their gazes.
"I'm not that familiar with Solitar. She's just saying this on her own. Don't mind it."
"Oh dear~ Rejected again. How sad~"
"So that's how it is. A woman who keeps clinging without permission has appeared, huh? You've grown too. To think a woman would come chasing after you."
Solitar and Aura gave completely different reactions, exactly as expected.
Solitar, sitting right beside him, even tugged at the corner of his clothes. When he looked over, she put on a sorrowful expression.
"Is this… what heartbreak feels like?" [T/N: Lmao!]
"Don't just put on a sad face and decide it's heartbreak," Faced with these strange demons, Ash felt genuinely exhausted, even feeling a bit like he was dealing with Fern back when she was young.
Even though Solitar's expression was very convincing and she really did look quite sad, Ash was not naive enough to believe that she had suddenly fallen in love with him, even without much experience dealing with demons.
Solitar showed no embarrassment at being seen through. Instead, she rested a fingertip against her lips and put on a troubled look, "It really is profound. But isn't that how the scene usually goes?"
"At the very least, you'd have to genuinely like someone and then be rejected to experience that, right?"
"Do you have experience with that?"
"Even if I did, there's no way I'd tell you."
"Why?"
"Are you a 'why' machine with a hundred thousand questions?"
A millennium-old l0li acting like an ignorant child and asking nonstop questions made Ash feel heavy-hearted.
And during this process, it was not just Aura. Even Linie, sitting beside Aura, was staring at him, clearly curious about the topic as well.
But all he felt was a stomachache. He had no desire to deal with them at all and even wanted to pretend to fall asleep to avoid this strange and boring topic.
In the end, just as expected, they used illusions to take on human appearances and, under the banner of an observation group from the Oisast Kingdom, openly observed the battlefield. The surrounding nations, fearful of Oisast, dared not voice their anger, while they secretly gathered the personnel they needed.
Solitar continued acting like a curious baby, constantly asking questions about everything. It annoyed Ash so much that he seriously considered dumping her somewhere.
Aura, on the other hand, looked quite pleased at his misfortune, happily observing the battlefield and continuing her plan to collect soldiers… until the large-scale battle finally ended.
Only then did they leave with over a hundred newly acquired elite troops and return to the royal capital of the Oisast Kingdom.
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