Fern directly bowed her head and apologized on Ash's behalf, but Ash himself really couldn't feel happy about it.
Faced with the girl's proper scolding, and feeling wronged with cause, he argued back on principle:
"I did seriously reflect on it, you know. And back then, when Flamme scolded me, I already apologized. In the end, it's not like I didn't want to get something better, it's just that we were out in the middle of nowhere. Where was I supposed to get anything decent?"
"You were out in the middle of nowhere back then?", The name Flamme sounded a bit familiar, but Fern didn't think too deeply about it. She just looked at him coldly.
"Even if you were in the wilderness, a gift that should be prepared ought to be prepared in advance, right?"
"Having something is better than having nothing. And if we're really going to argue about this, then you should talk about Frieren first. She didn't give me anything at all."
"That's not right, is it? Didn't I give you stockings?"
It would have been better if Frieren hadn't said anything. That emotionless rebuttal instead shocked Fern into losing her expression entirely, her eyes going wide.
"S-st-stockings?"
"See?", Ash pressed his forehead and let out a long sigh.
"Compared to me, this one's obviously stranger, right? I remember those stockings were worn, too. Do you know how I felt, trading a gold ring for stockings that still had leftover scent and warmth?"
"Exactly! Lady Frieren, why would you give something that weird? That's way too improper!"
"Is it that strange? But my master said men all really like things like that. Ash just acted unhappy on the surface, but he must have been very happy inside. He probably even kept them carefully… maybe he's even still keeping them now? Hehe~", At the end, Frieren even narrowed her eyes and let out a strange, smug chuckle.
At this point, Fern could more or less realize that Frieren hadn't thought about anything weird at all, and didn't even have that kind of awareness. She had simply believed her master's misleading words and done something strange as a result.
Even though Fern couldn't understand why Frieren's master would say something so odd, she still couldn't help turning her head back toward Ash, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"Lord Ash... you didn't really..."
"What kind of person do you take me for? Don't look at me like that! I threw that thing away the moment I got it! Also, what do you mean stockings don't rot for a thousand years?"
Even though the fact that stockings existed a thousand years ago was already strange enough, he glanced at the black stockings Frieren was wearing even now. Thinking about medieval stockings, he decided not to dig deeper.
But to protect his reputation, he glanced at the ring in Frieren's hand and emphasized his argument, "Compared to that, I'm the one with common sense, right? Back then I only said that if I was short on money, I could sell it. Who knew this one would keep it until now and use it to scold me. Even if my gift was careless, it's still better than secondhand stockings you can't even sell."
"Secondhand stockings... isn't that a bit too much no matter how you put it?", Frieren looked innocent as she held the ring expressionlessly, shaking her head.
"You're always saying I'm cold, but even I wouldn't sell the only gift a friend ever gave me. Meanwhile, you turned around and threw away what I gave you. No matter how you think about it, you're the worse one."
"Can you think about this seriously for a second?", Being turned on like this made Ash step forward without holding back. He poked Frieren's forehead with his index finger over and over.
"If a decent person like me kept your stockings, what would people think of me? Can you think about me just a little?"
"You were a wall-hopping pervert to begin with. And now you care about that?"
"I already said that was an accident. Stop clinging to the past! Even someone as gentle and kind as me gets angry after all these years!"
"Isn't that already angry?"
Faced with the elf who was mostly calm but clearly dissatisfied, sounding genuinely wronged as she complained, and the human angrily ranting and accusing her in return, Fern stood caught between the two.
Listening to what they were arguing about, for a moment... she genuinely didn't know which one of them was worse.
After coldly observing the two as they finally stopped hurting each other by digging up old dirt, she let out a long sigh, swept them with an icy, disgusted gaze, and delivered her final verdict, "You're both about equally awful. Stop embarrassing yourselves in public. Even if you don't care about your own dignity, please think about me, okay? Lord Ash, Lady Frieren?"
"She's angry," Frieren's expression stiffened slightly as she complained quietly and unhappily.
"This is all your fault."
"You're the last one who gets to say that..."
"Enough. Both of you. Stop. Talking," Fern's cold gaze was accompanied by a voice that sounded almost like she was grinding her teeth.
""Ah... sorry.""
Realizing their fault, the two finally quieted down. After apologizing in unison, they obediently shut up, lowered their heads, and stopped attacking each other.
———
The clouds in the sky were dyed in brilliant colors by the setting sun.
Over the sea, a gentle breeze carried the ocean's unique freshness. The waves beat against the shore in their own rhythm, each touch stirring up fine white foam and producing the sound of splashing water that made one relax without realizing it.
Everything seemed so peaceful and beautiful, except…
At the seaside table, the three of them sat in silence. Frieren, wearing an uncomfortable expression, scooped pudding into her mouth one spoonful at a time, while Fern expressionlessly ate her cake.
Feeling especially awkward, Ash silently ordered a shaved ice, only to receive a cold look from Frieren.
"Pay for your own."
"So stingy."
"…", Frieren ignored him, hesitated for a moment, then looked at Fern and lowered her head again.
"Fern, sorry."
"About what just happened?"
"No... it's just that I don't understand you at all, so I didn't know what you like. But this is for you. Happy birthday," With a trace of guilt, Frieren took a small box out of her pocket and handed it over.
"Ah! Come to think of it, today really is my birthday?", Only then did Fern finally remember the birthday she'd almost forgotten. Because of the gift, a smile gradually appeared on her face.
"Can I open it?"
"Of course. That's why I gave it to you."
As she said that, she also kicked Ash under the table, signaling him to hurry up and take his gift out too.
But… Ash was completely frozen, like a wooden statue.
That made her frown slightly.
"Why are you spacing out at a time like this?"
"N-no... well..."
"You didn't prepare anything, did you?"
"I came in a bit of a hurry, but saying I brought absolutely nothing wouldn't be accurate either."
"What do you mean?"
"I have this."
Under Frieren's dumbfounded gaze, he pulled a dried apple out of his pocket with an awkward yet polite smile and set it on the table.
There was no helping it. He really had left in too much of a rush. He hadn't even properly lectured Linie, ran into Fern as soon as he arrived, and had completely forgotten about preparing a gift.
"You're basically this child's father, and you're actually worse than me at a time like this?", Frieren was utterly speechless now and didn't even feel like scolding him anymore. She just carefully watched Fern, who had taken the hair ornament out of the box.
Ash also looked at Fern cautiously, ready to be scolded, and quietly tried to defend himself.
"Believe me, Fern. I was planning to go buy something... If it's okay, can I go buy something now?"
"No need. The dessert Lord Ash treated me to earlier was already enough, and, I have this, and this too."
Unexpectedly, Fern wasn't angry at all. Instead, she smiled as she gently touched the silver bookmark and the hair ornament.
"Most importantly, Lord Ash remembered to come back on this day, so I'm already very happy. And Lady Frieren wanting to understand me also makes me very happy. Yes, since Lady Frieren is hopelessly slow, I'll just say it outright, thank you for wanting to understand me."
"Even though I didn't manage to?", Frieren looked surprised.
"That's okay. After all, Lady Frieren really doesn't seem to understand human emotions. Only when it comes to Lord Ash do your feelings get intense."
"Because the person I've known the longest, and who annoys me the most, is this guy," Frieren smiled helplessly and glanced at Ash, who very much wanted to be invisible right now.
"Also, Fern, don't be too polite with him. If you should get angry, then get properly angry. Otherwise, someone this thick-skinned will just act like nothing happened."
"It's fine, I know that already. But even though Lord Ash is human, he also seems pretty slow sometimes. Is that something he caught from you, Lady Frieren?"
"Don't talk about people like they're a disease, okay?", That strange phrasing made Frieren pull a long elf face and shake her head gloomily. Unconsciously, her gaze locked onto Ash, a hint of confusion appearing.
"But that said, Ash feels a bit different from when we first met…. or maybe not? Is that just my imagination?"
"Obviously it's your imagination. We've known each other for so many years. It'd be strange if nothing had changed."
"That's true."
Frieren stared at him for a while longer, then just shook her head and didn't pursue it further.
At that moment, watching the two of them, Fern became curious about just how long they had known each other, for Frieren to call him the friend she'd known the longest.
But… in the end, even after finishing the dessert, she still didn't ask.
Because Frieren suddenly remembered what she had said earlier about dessert, and suspiciously stared at the two who had eaten without her, turning around to scold them instead.
And so, as the gentle, darkening sky gradually lowered, seagulls traced smooth, lingering arcs across the dim yellow heavens, letting out crisp, melodious cries.
As the sun fully sank beneath the horizon, against the breathtaking ocean sunset, she ultimately never got to ask that lingering question.
Even so… at this overly lively birthday dessert gathering, eating cake twice in one day, surrounded by the people she liked the most, meant the smile on her face never faded that evening.
On her sixteenth birthday, the two of them both left her with perfectly unforgettable memories… unforgettable from every angle.
And later that night, even though Fern said she didn't need a gift, Ash still dragged a very reluctant, clearly unwilling Frieren along to buy a bracelet for her.
———
The next day, Ash, who wasn't planning to leave immediately, continued traveling together with Frieren and Fern.
Along the way, Frieren sparred with Fern from time to time, doing her best to help her build combat experience.
But compared to their usual aimless travels, this time Frieren very clearly led them to a village that looked quite familiar to Ash.
"This is…", Just upon reaching the village entrance, Fern couldn't help asking in advance.
"Are we collecting strange magic again, Lady Frieren?"
"No, this time is different," Frieren gently shook her head, her expression more serious than ever. Ash, wearing a slightly strange look, added, "We're here for the Sage of Corruption, Qual."
"The Sage of Corruption, Qual?", Fern asked in confusion. That made Frieren turn to stare at her.
"Didn't you read the magic history book I gave you?"
"Well..."
"What's important in magic isn't just combat experience. I guess I'll read it to you before bed."
"No, I'll read it myself. I'm not a child... and you could just explain it now, couldn't you?"
Frieren's treating-her-like-a-child attitude made Fern resist strongly. She then looked at Ash at the end, curious.
"Lord Ash knows, right? Who is that?"
"The strongest mage in the Demon King's army. It's said that 40 percent of adventurers and 70 percent of mages died to his killing magic. Not only that, as a demon race inherently sensitive to magic, he possessed talent far beyond human reach. Most spells he could understand at a glance, find their weaknesses, and even replicate them."
"That strong? Then wouldn't that mean," Ash's explanation moved Fern despite herself.
Frieren calmly replied, "Yes. He was completely a monster. Back then, even the four of us working together couldn't gain the upper hand against him."
"Then now wouldn't it be..."
"Don't worry. He's been sealed for eighty years. His magic has basically been analyzed. We just need to deal with him quickly and it'll be fine. If he escapes, then... but don't worry. I absolutely won't let him escape."
As Fern grew increasingly uneasy, the advantage gained through time made Frieren smile with confidence. She stretched out her hand and patted Fern's head.
Frieren's rare, confident words greatly eased Fern's anxiety.
And Ash, who would normally be the first to comfort Fern, was unexpectedly quiet at this moment, as if his mind were wandering far away.
But there was nothing he could do. Right now, he couldn't say anything at all.
After all, the person they were worried about had already been released by him over seventy years ago. The defensive magic designed specifically to counter the Sage of Corruption Qual had been completely understood by Qual on the very first day it was revealed, and after some time, Qual had even reverse-engineered an evolved version of killing magic.
When Ash dealt with Aura's killing magic, the gravity thunder that shattered it in one blow was the result of fusing Qual's newly created magic, designed specifically to counter killing magic. Of course, the same-frequency defensive magic born to block killing magic could also be shattered in a single hit.
In terms of the speed of magical updates and improvements, Qual far surpassed humans. To Ash, Qual was basically the cornerstone of a future peaceful world, something he could never possibly hand over to others. Naturally, silence was his only choice now.
And it was precisely because of what he'd secretly done over seventy years ago, cutting in first and taking Qual away, that Frieren's confidence didn't last very long.
———
When they arrived at the village, an elderly man who had been chatting stopped and stared at Frieren, this striking elf with silver twin-tails. After a long moment of confusion, he showed a surprised expression.
"You… you wouldn't happen to be Lady Frieren, would you?"
"You recognize me?"
Returning to a place after eighty years and still being recognized by a human was a rather rare experience for Frieren. She couldn't help showing a hint of surprise.
But once she admitted it, the old man showed a somewhat awkward expression and explained, "Because Sir Himmel was worried about the seal on the Sage of Corruption, Qual, and came here once thirty years ago."
"He really was a good person," Frieren murmured softly. Seeing her lack of tension, Fern, now reassured, couldn't help lecturing her, "Sir Himmel came thirty years ago. Compared to that, why did you delay for so long, Lady Frieren? Since you're confident, you should've dealt with it sooner. Then everyone wouldn't have to live in fear, right? Or was your analysis and countermeasure not ready fifty years ago?"
"No, it was basically ready fifty years ago," As Ash said that, he added at just the right moment, "If you really want to know why it was delayed so long, there's no special reason, it's simply because this one is lazy."
"Well... I did plan to go, but before I knew it, thirty years passed. I couldn't help it, right?", Faced with an undeniable fact, Frieren surprisingly didn't argue back. She just responded vaguely in an ambiguous tone.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.