Denken didn't really know how to explain it to him, so he could only turn his gaze out the window, roughly in the direction of his homeland that had been swallowed by gold, and calmly said, "This grave visit… is for myself, so I can completely let go of those memories."
"Sorry, I don't understand at all."
"As long as I see that my hometown has become completely unrecognizable because of the passage of time, I'll definitely be able to let go completely. Every little moment I spent with my wife must already be gone from that place. I just want to confirm it."
"Can one really give up happy memories that easily?"
To be honest, Ash was looking at it from a completely different angle, so he couldn't really understand the old man.
Lernen, who had stayed silent the whole time, lowered his eyes with a trace of melancholy and cut in, "Time is more terrifying than you imagine. If we can't leave behind strong memories, then one day, Lady Serie will probably forget us too."
"No, well, Serie isn't exactly a good person, and her personality's pretty awful, but isn't your impression of her a bit too far off from reality?"
"I'm just stating the facts. And even so, it was that person who acknowledged me and made me who I am now."
"I can't even tell if you admire her or hate her anymore," Coming from Lernen, who sounded almost like a devout follower of Serie, that strange way of putting it left Ash speechless.
Even though he hadn't planned to say much, he still shook his head and spoke up about something he had only heard from Serie earlier that day, "Do you know what kind of magic created those flowers in the sky garden?"
"Magic that creates a flower field? What about it?"
"That's Flamme's favorite. It's magic her parents taught her."
"Flamme's magic, I see. So it was that person's," Lernen widened his eyes in surprise and muttered to himself, "As expected, only disciples whose names remain in history can be remembered by Lady Serie…"
"No, what's with you suddenly getting so stubborn about this?", Ash shook his head repeatedly and explained, "Yeah, she did leave her name behind, but in Serie's eyes, Flamme is still a failure. She always says she was just a whim of a disciple she trained on a whim… but in reality, every disciple she took in on a whim, their personality, the kind of magic they like, she still remembers all of it clearly to this day. She's never regretted it. Especially me! That's what she told me."
"Ash…"
"What?"
"You're really kind," The slight stunned look Lernen had earlier turned into bitterness. He lowered his head and said quietly, "But thank you. Even if it's a lie, hearing you say that makes me happy."
"Even if an old man calls me kind, I'm not happy at all. And why are you thinking I am lying?"
"Because no matter how I think about it, I can't imagine a situation where Lady Serie would call you special. Which means… you're just trying to comfort me, right?"
"How did it turn into this?"
Even though he had mixed in just a tiny bit of personal bias, it shouldn't count as a lie overall. Yet his well-intentioned explanation ended up being taken the wrong way, which gave Ash a bit of a headache.
Denken didn't join their conversation either. He had already said everything he needed to say, and now he just silently watched Ash, hoping for an answer.
"Fine. If I happen to pass by, I'll go take a look with you."
In the end, that was all he said. With a faint headache, he quietly stood up and quickly left.
Because, from evening onward, he had already noticed Linie's gaze hiding in the distance.
He had originally planned to go find Linie when he left home earlier, but various things had delayed him. If he didn't deal with it now, he was worried that girl might just rush out directly.
———
While Ash was chatting with the two old men, Kanne and Lawine noticed that the conversation seemed to involve something very serious. The atmosphere felt too heavy, so they packed up their food and left briskly.
Left behind, Lernen was still feeling down about Serie's coldness, while Denken watched Ash leave and quietly let out a sigh of relief.
After all, the opponent was Macht of the Golden Land. Even with someone like Lernen, a peak human mage, plus himself, there was no guarantee they could make it alive to his wife's grave.
Now all he could do was hope that the magic Serie had granted him could block the goldification, and that Ash could deal with Macht.
Though Ash had said he would only go take a look if he happened to pass by, it would probably still depend on the situation before deciding whether to accept the request.
———
After walking out of the shop, Ash should have gone home under normal circumstances, but… he had barely left the tavern when a group of people emerged from an alley on the other side of the street.
There were eight of them, wearing uniform magic equipment, armed to the teeth, even their knight masks enchanted, royal guard knights.
Without a doubt, they were all people selected from various battlefields, individuals who should have died. They carried an aura of sharpness and composure forged through life-and-death trials.
They spread out in a coordinated formation, forming an unbreakable protective circle. At the center stood a small figure wearing a hood.
At first glance, the person they were protecting looked like a child straight out of a fairy tale, radiating an innocent, unworldly aura. The mismatched hood added a bit of mystery and childishness.
However, she had a pair of beautiful purple eyes, a delicate face, and a slender, soft figure. Paired with a Gothic-style dress blending pure white and brown, she naturally evoked both affection and admiration.
"Linie… why are you here?", The moment he saw the gothic girl, Ash already felt his stomach ache.
Across from him, Linie's childish face showed clear dissatisfaction, "Because Lord Ash and Lady Aura are about to have their birthdays, right?"
"You actually remembered."
"But you never showed up, and Lady Aura has been getting more troublesome, so I came."
"At times like this, even if you're lying, you should say you missed me."
"Is that so? Then I missed you, Lord Ash," Linie nodded as if she had learned something.
Then, after only a couple of lines, she casually took an apple from a knight's basket, wiped it on the inside of his coat, and took a big bite.
The smoothness of that action left him stunned. With a restrained headache, he grabbed the small horn on her head.
"Why are you wiping the apple on me before eating it?"
"I wiped it on the inside," Linie glanced up at him, tilted her head, and thought for a moment, "It shouldn't be dirty, right?"
"My question is… why are you using me to wipe it? I'm not asking whether my clothes are dirty!"
"Sorry."
"I haven't even started scolding you yet, have I?"
"Apologizing first is always right… that's what Solitar said," Linie took small bites of the apple, expressionless, completely exposing the mastermind behind it.
"I've told you before, don't hang around Solitar too much, right? You've been led astray again… sigh, I've been trying so hard to raise you into a good kid."
"Even though you say that, isn't Lord Ash actually pretty careless? You tell me to behave, but you mess around yourself. Sometimes you're even more troublesome than Lady Aura."
Although both Aura and Ash could be considered her guardians, Linie's respect for them usually only stayed at the level of polite speech.
Now, without holding back at all, she exposed his attempt to shift the blame to Solitar, even pinpointing the real issue.
'Are kids these days all this strange?', Faced with such sharp words, Ash was left speechless. For some reason, he even thought of how she resembled Fern, who was raised by him and "Mom" Frieren.
He really wanted to lecture her properly, but the setting clearly wasn't suitable. So he could only temporarily lead the group toward the local lord's mansion.
It was worth mentioning that although Linie wore a hood, long ago Ash had found an ancient perception-interference spell in Serie's library that made people ignore the existence of her horns. Even if the hood was removed, no one could see them.
The hood was purely for safety. After all, if a particularly skilled mage noticed that some kind of magic was being used on her, they could dispel it and expose the small horns on her head.
That was why, in a place like this, she needed the protection of royal guard knights to ensure absolute safety.
After all, in this kingdom, no mage would dare offend someone protected by the royal guard.
Though in reality, the royal guard hadn't protected the royal family for nearly a century. They mostly handled shady work now, with the extra duty of protecting Linie and Aura, and guarding the capital.
Compared to the past, the organization had grown countless times stronger, but its composition was now purely Aura's selection of battlefield survivors… like the magic knight corps, except all still alive, bound by agreements to move toward a shared ideal.
Additional obedience magic served as a second layer of insurance, while ideals and promises helped prevent even strong-willed individuals from resisting.
———
At the lord's mansion, the original guards had already been driven out, and the royal guard had taken over the surrounding security.
Ash didn't go to see the lord. Instead, he brought Linie to a guest room, planning to properly educate her.
However… as he sat by the desk, resting his chin in one hand and gathering his thoughts, he saw this "big" child, raised since childhood, looking more like a little girl than a young woman, yet actually nearly a hundred years old, wiping her hands on his clothes.
At this point, he didn't even want to comment on that anymore. Instead, he scolded her about showing up here, "Fine, you came here, whatever. But why make such a big scene? What if your identity gets exposed?"
"It's fine, Lord Ash. I've been very careful. And actually, I came for something important too."
"Something important?"
"Isn't a war about to start? I brought part of Lady Aura's magical beasts. I'm mainly here to coordinate in battle."
Having spent a lot of time with the Bloodstained War God and him, Linie's close-combat ability was well assured. With the royal guard protecting her, there shouldn't be much to worry about.
But the biggest issue was that she sometimes didn't listen… Still, with war approaching, her bringing a beast horde was a decent backup force.
After all, Aura only trusted Linie and him with control over the undead army. Everyone else was out of the question.
That gave him a bit of a headache, but he decided not to dwell on it and instead teased, "Since you know my birthday is coming, what are you planning to give me this year?"
"A gift?", Linie thought for a moment, then slightly bent her knees, and right in front of him took off her black stockings, revealing her pale, soft little feet, and handed him the pink fabric.
"Lord Ash, here."
"What?"
"Underwear," Linie tilted her head, her purple eyes full of confusion, as if she didn't understand why he didn't know.
He subconsciously took it, then nearly lost it, "I know! What I don't understand is why you're giving me this! Do I look like some kind of pervert?"
"Before, when a human showed you something like this, you looked very happy. So I thought I'd let you keep it and look at it every day."
"Wow, thanks a lot!"
Holding the warm piece of fabric in his hand, his blood pressure shot up. He didn't even know what to do with it.
Linie seemed to think she had been praised. She slightly curled her lips and held out her hand, "Just give me apples from the central lands as a return gift."
"I wasn't actually thanking you!"
"Lord Ash is a liar."
"I'm not lying either!"
"Then what is it? Please explain clearly."
"Why are you the one getting sulky now?"
Looking at the girl pouting her lips, he felt like he was the one who should be sulking.
After complaining for a bit, Ash set the underwear aside, then habitually pulled her onto his lap, planning to talk to her properly.
But this time, Linie turned her face away, like an unwilling cat being picked up.
That left him at a loss, "So why are you the one acting unwilling?"
"When Lord Ash looks at other people's underwear, you look happy."
"Don't say nonsense, I'll get labeled a pervert."
"And you didn't bring the apples you promised."
"Trust me, apples from the central lands aren't that different from those in the north. And seriously, stop fixating on the apple thing."
'Why am I the one comforting a sulking child when I am supposed to be the one doing the scolding?', Honestly, even Ash didn't understand, and it gave him a headache.
But after roughly understanding the situation with Aura and the capital from Linie, he stopped worrying about that side.
The only thing to watch out for was Aura being a bit sulky because he didn't return for his birthday this year. But normally, pretending not to notice for a while would be fine.
Since the two of them were basically born on the same day, probably, he had just set it that way casually. Normally, demons didn't even have the concept of birthdays. It was something he had taught Aura.
That led to Linie understanding it too, but the gifts he got from her always left him at a loss.
Because of unexpectedly meeting Linie again, he ended up staying at the lord's mansion that night. Of course, he still forced her to put her underwear back on. If he actually accepted that, his reputation would be completely ruined. Not that he had that much reputation anyways.
———
The next day, he should have gone to the front lines to check the situation.
But since the war hadn't actually started yet, he could delay for a couple more days. And when he woke up, he found that Linie, who should have been in the next room, had somehow crawled into his bed and was half lying on top of him.
Meanwhile, the tightly shut door had been completely torn off, lock and all, and thrown aside. He just stared at it in disbelief.
"What have you been doing all day?", Ash couldn't hold back and smacked her on the butt.
"Uu!", Half-asleep, Linie let out a cute whimper and reflexively bit his neck, leaving him staring blankly at the ceiling with a completely lost expression.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[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.