But... right after doing all that reflexively, her hand clenched unconsciously.
Honestly, she regretted it a little.
She couldn't say why she regretted it. Her gaze merely lingered unconsciously on Ash's palm again... When Ash noticed this scene, he simply smiled and grabbed the little hand that had unconsciously lifted.
"Wh-what are you doing!", Eris suddenly raised her head and glared at him as though she had been burned.
"You're not afraid, but can't I be afraid?"
"This... Hmph! I-I really can't do anything about you!! I'll let you hold it for now!"
Although Eris looked extremely unwilling, the corners of her mouth that had lifted slightly completely betrayed her... There wasn't even the slightest feeling that she was helpless about it.
What a simple child... Although her personality was pretty bad, she really was simple. As expected, she had been protected too well. Would it be better for her to experience some more battles?
Ash, who was preparing himself to tell her about the death later, muttered this inwardly, while his other hand unconsciously reached out and rubbed Eris's head again.
This behavior made Eris unhappy. She frowned and complained, "What?! You're treating me like a kid again?"
"That's not it. Hurry up and go over. I have a way to make them warmly welcome us with a single sentence."
Eris puffed up her little cheeks and put on a deliberately fierce expression, but no matter how he looked at it, there was no intimidation at all. Ash paid it no mind, simply pulling her by the hand and walking ahead.
That confident back carried a kind of reassuring strength.
Eris followed behind him. Although she still complained a little under her breath, when she looked at Ash's back, the heavy unease that had originally filled her heart seemed to be gently brushed away by an invisible hand, gradually dissipating.
She had never seen such a reliable back before, as if there was nothing to fear as long as she stayed beside him... Although she herself didn't know when she had begun thinking this way, by now it was difficult for her to deny it.
Although this guy was the greatest motivation behind her practicing swordsmanship... still, it was motivation in the negative sense, which made her extremely unwilling to admit it.
And when they gradually approached the village, the sight before them was somewhat beyond Eris's expectations.
Standing guard at the entrance to the village was actually a blue-haired boy who didn't look much older than her.
This made Eris breathe a sigh of relief, but at the same time, she was somewhat disappointed. She tugged on Ash's hand and pointed at that person unhappily.
"What?! This is a demon? Aren't demons supposed to have horns growing out of their heads, or have horse faces or donkey faces or something? Or be like the guy yesterday??"
"...Calm down a little, and don't point at other people for no reason. It's rude," Ash slapped her hand down, and seemingly feeling somewhat scolded himself, he unhappily rubbed her head and lectured her, "Whether they have horns or not is one thing, but donkey faces and horse faces? That's just malicious slander!"
"I wasn't talking about you, so why are you unhappy?"
"Because you're being rude. Of course I have to say something."
Besides, when he arrived at this village, he had basically already confirmed it... this was Roxy's hometown, which was why he was confident that he could make the other party warmly welcome him with a single sentence.
Therefore, after knocking on Eris's head one last time, he approached while pulling Eris along, with a little anticipation, under the wary gaze of the "boy."
———
The boy guarding the entrance looked like a young boy, but since he was a Migurd, it was difficult to judge his age from his appearance alone. He also had a sword hanging at his waist.
The more Ash looked at him, the more familiar he seemed. Although he should never have met him... perhaps it was because the characteristics of this race were basically all similar to Roxy's?
Although he wanted to try recalling the memories he had read from Roxy, because of various problems, he ultimately decided not to look through those memories.
After all, if he accidentally saw Roxy and her mother bathing, and then happened to see Roxy again next time, he wouldn't even know how he should face her.
"Stop! Who are you people!?", The boy stared at the two of them warily, while his hand quietly moved to the hilt of his sword.
Obviously, the environment of the Demon Continent was harsh and competition was fierce, so they had no choice but to guard against outsiders.
Ash sorted out his thoughts slightly, cleared his throat, put on a friendly attitude, and smiled.
"Sorry, I'm Roxy Migurdia's disciple. My name is Ash. We came here because of an accident..."
"Ro-Roxy's disciple!?"
Before he could finish, the boy's expression instantly changed, and he even cried out in shock. This startled Eris as well, and she unconsciously tugged on his clothes, "W-what's wrong? What is this person talking about?"
"Don't worry. I don't know either."
"Then how can I not worry about it?!", Eris couldn't help blurting out. Meanwhile, the boy opposite them seemed to have been stimulated by something and kept circling around him, sizing him up.
That stern and hostile expression looked just like a father-in-law scrutinizing... some blond-haired outsider, his eyes full of disdain and displeasure.
Especially when he saw Eris holding hands with him, his expression became even more displeased.
"W-What's wrong? He doesn't look like he's going to warmly welcome us either?", Eris unconsciously shrank beside him.
"I want to know too...", The inexplicable slap in the face left him wearing an awkward yet polite smile. He took out the Migurd talisman necklace Roxy had once given him, and continued speaking in the Demon-God Tongue, "Really... I'm not lying. Look, this is what my master gave me."
"What is your relationship with Roxy!?", After briefly confirming the talisman, the boy moved right in front of him, rose onto his tiptoes, and glared at him aggressively.
"...I already said I'm her disciple," Ash couldn't help wondering whether he had encountered someone who had a crush on Roxy or was pursuing her, mistakenly treating him as a romantic rival. He asked bluntly, "What about you? Who are you? Do you like Roxy?"
"Of course! No one in this world loves her more than I do!"
"...It's already reached the level of love, huh..."
"Isn't it obvious?! If you don't even have this much resolve! What right do you have to become Roxy's disciple?"
"Uh... I-Is that so? Then I'm sorry...", Ash had never heard that being a disciple required loving one's master. Although he didn't understand, he simply took it as a tradition of the Migurd race and forced a smile.
"Then in the future... I'll try to love her a little? Uh... Why does that sound kind of weird?"
"The weird one is you! It's because you're thinking weird things! That's why you think it sounds weird!"
"...Is it really me? Besides, if you put it that way, it's actually pretty hard not to think of weird things, right?"
Ash's expression was somewhat subtle, but the boy remained extremely agitated and reached out, trying to snatch the talisman away.
Seeing this, Ash stopped being polite. He swung his hand around and slapped the boy squarely in the face.
This not only stopped the boy from approaching in time, but with a little force behind the motion, he pushed him aside, causing the boy to instantly lose his balance and uncontrollably fall headfirst to the ground, ending up covered in dust.
Ash stood over him, slightly frowning as he looked down at the boy on the ground and shook his head.
"What are you doing? Suddenly trying to snatch someone's things... That's too rude, isn't it?"
"You bastard...!", The boy was angry and annoyed. His face flushed red as he climbed up from the ground, his voice full of gritted teeth.
"What?"
"Whatever! I'm going to beat you up!!"
The boy roared, completely abandoning any concern for his image as he charged at Ash with his fists swinging. From the look of him, he was determined to teach Ash a lesson... He had even been blinded by anger and failed to notice the difference between the two of them.
This left Ash rather troubled. After all, he still didn't know what exactly this boy's background was. Could he be one of Roxy's relatives or friends?
If he accidentally hurt him, it would be difficult to explain himself afterward.
Therefore, Ash immediately made his move. His hand shot out like lightning and precisely grabbed both of the boy's wrists. Then, with a little force from his hands, he directly lifted the entire boy off the ground.
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