Recently, she had let out a long sigh and temporarily given up on complaining about this disciple who lacked respect for her, continuing on her own, "This is a Migurd Tribe talisman. If you ever run into a demon race you can't afford to mess with, take this out and give them my name. They'll be a little more lenient with you... If you're lucky, maybe?"
"Is Roxy famous among the demon race?"
"No, so it's only a possibility," Although she wanted to appear dignified in front of him, Roxy was also worried that he might actually think she was famous and act recklessly. After just boasting about herself, she turned her face away somewhat awkwardly, "It's better not to get your hopes up. Stay away from the demon race, or you might run into trouble."
"Hearing you say that makes me feel a little complicated."
He had always been the one saying this before, and now that someone else was saying it to him, Ash couldn't help feeling... complicated in all sorts of ways.
Roxy, however, didn't know how to interpret his current mood. She only smiled slightly, stood on tiptoe, and rubbed his head.
"Don't worry about me. I stopped caring about what other people think a long time ago. Besides, not all demon races are dangerous, but it never hurts to be a little more careful. The ones you need to pay the most attention to are demon races with green hair and a jewel on their foreheads... I told you about this before too, so don't forget."
"The Superd Tribe, right?"
"That's right. Whatever you do, don't go near them, okay? I'm fine, and my own people are relatively normal, but the Superd Tribe is extremely dangerous. So remember, absolutely do not approach a race with green hair and something like a red jewel on their forehead."
Because even she, as a demon race herself, had been played around with before, Roxy really wasn't at ease and reminded him again and again at the very end.
After that, however, she still pushed him along and drove him away from the area... to keep him from causing trouble for her new disciple.
Although this attitude left Ash somewhat depressed.
He had originally thought they wouldn't meet again, but in reality, the place could be reached in half a day at a leisurely pace on horseback, or just two or three hours if he rode hard. So he decided that he would come over for a visit whenever he had time.
And maybe take a look at the mistress who had stolen his person away... No, that should be his junior.
———
After saying goodbye to Roxy... or rather, after being driven away by Roxy, Ash didn't immediately return. While casually riding around and considering whether to use space magic to teleport back or look around for a while, he suddenly heard what sounded like someone cursing him.
"Demons, don't stay in the village!"
"You filthy trash!"
"Get out of here!"
'How strange. Does someone know I'm a demon race? Or did they see me with Roxy just now and mistake me for one too?', Ash, who had been thinking with his eyes closed, opened them and looked in the direction of the voices, only to find four children looking up at him.
Two of the children were holding stones, apparently planning to throw them this way, while the other two had wooden swords in their hands.
The disgust on their faces made Ash feel quite annoyed as well. His mood had already been somewhat complicated, and now he was actually being attacked by children for no reason?
"They say human nature is evil from birth, so if my big sword cuts down the old and the young alike... I suppose that's also in accordance with human nature, right?"
With a smile, he drew the sword from his waist. He had already begun thinking that if these guys really had the nerve to attack him, he would cut them all down without hesitation.
After all, he hadn't even done anything bad, yet they were going to attack him. As the weak... Ah, no, as the victim, he naturally had the right to fight back in self-defense, right?
However... the moment he drew his sword, those little brats fled as if they had seen a ghost, crying out as they disappeared in a flash.
"Tch! And they dare cause trouble with that little courage," Ash gave a disdainful snort, shoved the sword back into his waist with an expression of disgust, and then prepared to ride away.
But when he looked ahead again, his peripheral vision finally noticed something, on the other side of the road, a child curled up on the ground was looking at him in surprise.
He should have noticed them earlier, of course, but the other person was so small that they were like an utterly inconspicuous little stone by the roadside, with almost no presence at all. Only now had they timidly looked in his direction.
Judging from the way they were lying on the ground, it seemed they had just been kneeling with their head covered?
The child wore a hood attached to their clothes, their shoulders trembling slightly out of their control, looking just like a frightened little animal. They looked rather pitiful.
There were still traces of blood at the corner of their mouth, several bruises on their head, and their face and body were covered in mud, making them look extremely disheveled.
But what stood out most was the child's bright green hair. According to what Roxy had said, they seemed to be from the dangerous Superd Tribe, practically a taboo among the demon race.
"Roxy just told me not to go near them, and now I've run into one already? Somehow... this is pretty interesting?"
Ash muttered under his breath as he dismounted.
The child who had been lying on the ground immediately looked at him with fear as if by instinct. Their eyes happened to sweep over the sword at his waist, and they instinctively tried to get up and run away in fright.
But after taking only two steps, they cried out in pain and fell to the ground with a "thump."
It was obvious from the way they ran that they had already injured their foot earlier. That was probably why they hadn't managed to escape just now.
Normally, if you wanted to tell a child's gender, looking at their hair would definitely work. Long hair meant a girl, while short hair meant a boy.
And the child in front of Ash had hair so short that it didn't even cover their ears... Although those ears were surprisingly long. Judging by them, they should have elven blood. Perhaps they were a half-breed between the demon race and elves?
But even if their ears had been normal in length, their short hair clearly showed that they were a boy.
Looking more closely, although the child still had a frightened expression and was dirty all over, it was easy to see that their skin was as white as porcelain, with a delicate sheen.
Along with their long eyelashes, thin lips, straight nose, and graceful jawline, all of it came together to make them look like a pretty little boy.
With this appearance, it felt like they could easily be snatched away by some noble and taken as a toy... Even a priest would probably take a particular liking to them.
"So you're the demon race they were talking about," Ash shook his head somewhat speechlessly.
Of course, even if it wasn't a misunderstanding, he still couldn't stand watching a child get beaten like this.
Although he acted according to his mood, if someone provoked him, he wouldn't care who they were, whether they were young or old, or whether they had some special status.
But when it was within his ability, he never minded lending a little help. Normally, it was just a small favor anyway... If it was difficult, that was another matter. After all, he had his own mission to deal with too, right?
The child's body began trembling uncontrollably again when they heard this. They curled themselves into an even tighter ball on the ground.
They looked as if they had already prepared themselves to be beaten, leaving Ash speechless.
"Don't worry. I'm not interested in weak people who don't provoke me, and I have no intention of bullying the weak."
"?", The little boy tightly shut his eyes, so frightened that he didn't even dare breathe loudly. His body continued trembling.
"But you're a boy, right? Then show some courage. If you get hit, hit them back... Forget it. You probably can't beat that many people by yourself. At a time like this, you should figure out a way to go home and find your parents," He sighed and gave up on commenting further, crouching down and reaching out his hand, "Anyway, let me treat your injuries first."
In an instant, a gentle warmth spread throughout the child's body. The pain from their injuries quickly disappeared like snow under the warm sun.
The child seemed to notice the change in their body and unconsciously stopped trembling, cautiously looking at the man before them with a gentle smile.
"Th-Thank you... big brother?", The little boy's voice still carried an unmistakable fear. He carefully thanked Ash, as if afraid that the slightest mistake would make him angry again.
"You're welcome. Hurry and get up," Ash smiled without a care and held out his hand to the child on the ground.
The child hesitated for a moment and wiped their hand on their dirty clothes. But then, as if afraid of getting Ash's hand dirty, they instinctively pulled their hand back, their eyes filled with hesitation.
In the end, Ash simply reached out and pulled him to his feet.
"Th... thank you," The child quietly thanked him again, still sounding nervous.
"Mm~ I'll be going now. You should hurry home too," Ash casually patted his head and was about to leave, but...
He had only taken two steps when he noticed that the child behind him was still following him. He turned around and asked, "What are you doing? Why are you following me?"
"I-I'm sorry!", He hurriedly apologized in fright, his voice even carrying a hint of tears.
"No... I'm not angry. I just don't really understand."
"My... um, there are guests at home today, so... I don't want to go back.... B-but..."
The little boy stammered as he spoke, finally managing to explain why he had appeared here.
Because he was very afraid of people, when he heard that guests were coming to his home, he instinctively ran away. Unfortunately, he happened to run into the village children, and then... came the situation Ash had seen. The guests probably hadn't left yet, so naturally he didn't want to go back.
After all, his green hair would cause people to bully him if they accidentally saw it... No matter where he went, he might run into someone who would beat him up. So Ash had directly become his temporary shelter.