'After all, the Goddess is the enemy of the demon race, so it would be strange if I could go to heaven,' just thinking that, he shrugged it off indifferently.
But that attitude made Frieren a little worried, as if afraid she had really hurt him, and she corrected herself,
"I was just joking. You are not already giving up on yourself, are you?"
"What is there to give up on," He shook his head with a laugh and casually patted her on the head, "You should be the one thinking about what to do next."
"I have told you so many times, do not touch my head," Frieren brushed his hand away in clear resistance, but with a trace of unspoken feeling, she tightened her grip on her suitcase slightly and swept her gaze over the two of them with her usual calm look,
"From here on, I will be the same as always. What about you?"
"I will go home. There is nothing special to do anyway," Eisen's tone was as dull as ever, but he had always been like that, so none of them really minded.
But Ash remembered Eisen's home that he had visited once before and could not help showing a slightly strange expression,."Seriously, you should go be an adventurer and make some money, and at least decorate that cave a bit. Last time I went, I thought I had come to an open air tomb."
"At least you do not have to worry about thieves. What is wrong with that."
"Because there is nothing valuable, so you do not have to worry about thieves. Is that really a good point?"
"Forget it. These old bones of mine cannot take that kind of tossing around anymore," Eisen slowly shook his head while stroking that still ridiculously long beard, "And I am used to living like this. Hunting is enough to eat. What is wrong with living carefree like this?"
"You guys really have no desires at all."
To be honest, as members of the hero party, aside from Heiter who made it big, the others were basically just scraping by.
Even as a demon, he felt that humanity's rewards to them were really stingy and yet they did not seem to mind at all.
But even though Eisen had changed the subject, Frieren was still staring at him, silently waiting for his answer.
Which made him, who originally did not want to answer this question that could not be properly answered at all, scratch his head in trouble before sighing, "I am not sure either. I will probably just wander around? Before I am gone, I have to go to the south once. There is an old acquaintance I should see."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
"Then... goodbye?"
"If we get the chance."
The two said their farewells to each other, and the silent Eisen also nodded.
A faint smile and a trace of imperceptible sorrow quietly intertwined, drifting slowly through the air.
Ash also took the initiative to be the first to leave among the remaining three.
Watching that figure she had known for a thousand years, so familiar it could not be more familiar, Frieren, standing there, felt what might be called, the pain of parting.
A subtle ripple also passed through her heart.
Was that the delicate sadness of separating for a while? She was not quite sure.
But then she thought about it. This was definitely not a final farewell, but a prelude paving the way for the next reunion.
After all, this person always popped back up when everyone else thought he was already dead.
With that expectation, she suppressed the emotions surging in her heart one by one, holding on to hope, believing that before long, they would surely meet again.
Even though reason told her that this time, there was not even a promise anymore, so maybe they really would not meet again.
But meeting and parting are the main themes of life, and she had long since gotten used to that. That was how it should be.
And yet, thinking about the possibility that they might never see each other again, she could not help but tighten her grip on her suitcase once more, and just stood there blankly, letting the sudden strong wind ruffle her beautiful silver hair.
———
When Ash once again arrived in the long missed south, the Kingdom of Tade, the former young man, Andersen, was now an old man with white hair, but when he saw Ash, after his surprise, he hurried over like an excited child.
Even though his parents had already passed away, and even his great granddaughter was already old enough to go buy soy sauce, Andersen still warmly welcomed him just like he had fifty nine years ago, even calling his own family over.
Though somewhat troubled, Ash still accepted the banquet, and when he could not refuse any further, he even held Andersen's great granddaughter up high and played with her for a while.
But he only stayed briefly before choosing to leave, and throughout that short stay, Andersen surprisingly did not ask a single thing about his not aging.
Was it that the old man lacked curiosity, or was there some other reason? Just like his appearance, his mindset had not aged, and even he could not figure it out.
"It really would be better if I did not come again."
After making sure that their family was doing well and did not really need his help, he decided not to visit this place again.
Because without even thinking about it, he knew that next time he came back, Andersen would definitely already be dead.
So he took one last look at that old man and his family, then gloomily lowered his eyes, and without staying the night, disappeared from everyone's sight before night fell.
And then, like this, on some day about eighteen years later, while eating on a street in the city, he heard some unexpected news from the traveling merchants at the table next to him, who had just returned from outside the city.
"The south is at war again."
"Isn't the south always at war? If anything, it was only quiet in the north in the past few years because the Demon King attacked. Hasn't it started fighting again recently too?"
"It is different this time. Three southern countries have formed an alliance. The first to be hit, the Kingdom of Erms, is already gone, and even the Kingdom of Tade probably cannot hold out much longer."
According to the merchants' conversation, the constantly turbulent southern lands had once again fallen into a massive war.
The Kingdom of Tade, where he had once served as a general, had been forced to retreat in this war, abandoning many cities in the process, which seemed to include the town he himself had founded back then.
Even though he had long since decided that he would never go back to that town, hearing a familiar name still made Ash worry about that family.
So after roughly confirming the news, he did not hesitate at all and hurried south.
Along the way, he saw countless displaced refugees in the sky, and several cities completely destroyed.
That familiar yet strange second homeland, the once prosperous town, was now nothing but ruins.
Countless houses had either been swallowed by flames, leaving behind only charred shells that told of the disaster, or were reduced to bare frames, barely still standing.
Even more had turned into rubble scattered all over the ground, piled layer upon layer into silent tombstones, marking the former prosperity and present desolation of this place.
Between the ruined buildings of the town lay countless corpses and remains. It was probably because they were rushing their advance and had not even had time to collect the bodies. The logistics did not seem to be able to keep up either. There was not a trace of life to be seen, only carrion vultures flying through the city.
"They are gone. Did they flee? Or did they... die somewhere out there?"
Standing in front of the only building on th street he recognized, now also burned by fire, Ash's expression could not help but turn gloomy.
But since no one was here anymore, there was no reason for him to stay. He immediately took off, planning to search for any possible descendants of his old friend among the refugee groups who had been forced to leave their homes.
Even though Andersen was probably no longer alive, his grandson, a middle aged man in his thirties, should still be alive. Though after more than ten years, he might not change too much. Ash felt he should still be able to recognize him, probably.
However, as he moved quickly through the refugees, he did not find any familiar faces. Instead, he noticed in the sky a strange young girl who showed a look of shock when she saw him.
That shock was not just surprise that he could fly. It also contained some other emotions.
Which made him curiously descend to the ground and crouch in front of her to look her up and down.
This child, dirty all over, wore a plain gray uniform like that of a magic apprentice. She had purple bobbed hair, and her eyes were the same beautiful purple. Both her hair color and eye color were like Andersen's and Andersen's great granddaughter's.
While he was looking at her, the girl, clutching a familiar small wooden box in her hands, also stared at him wide eyed in disbelief and asked uncertainly, "You... are you... Lord Ash?"
"The name is correct, at least. You are Andersen's great granddaughter? I remember her name was Ma... Marianne? Ah, no, that is not right."
Back then Andersen's great granddaughter had only been about ten. This one was at most seven or eight. It was impossible that she would get younger after more than ten years. Which meant...
"Marianne is my mother."
"Is that so? Where is she... no, I will not ask."
The answer was obvious, so he stopped himself halfway through, only looking at this child who was staring at him without blinking yet strangely saying nothing, with a troubled expression.
The two of them looked at each other in silence.
The girl did not know what to say, and he did not know how to deal with this child.
After all, she was the descendant of an old friend and now all alone. There was no way he could just leave her.
But taking care of a child himself, no matter how he thought about it, he did not think that was a good idea.
Yet looking at her like this, leaving her behind was even worse. She might not even survive a single day. With no adults around at a time like this, there was no need to ask what had happened to her family elders.
After a long while, Ash finally reached out and placed his hand on her head, hesitating as he said,
"How about you come with me for now?"
"With... you?"
"Yeah. With me, you will at least not have to worry about food or clothes. If that is okay, come with me for now? I will at least raise you until you grow up."
"Why?"
Unexpectedly, the girl did not look happy at all. Her face was full of confusion.
As if even getting help at a time like this was not something she could be happy about. Probably because the blow of losing her family was too great.
Thinking that, Ash could not help letting out a big sigh.
"No matter what, I cannot just watch the descendant of my friend die by the side of the road, right?"
"Is... that so?"
"That is how it is. And you can just think of me as your dad if you want. I even held your mom when she was little."
"...."
That sounded a bit strange, but the girl did not know what to say. She only looked at him in slight distress, without saying a single word.
Ash felt that under normal circumstances, he should say more, but her physical and mental state were clearly very bad, so he gave up on saying anything else.
Even though he was very hesitant about this, and was even thinking about who he should hand her over to later, right now...
"Forget it, not objecting means you agree. Come with me for now," As he spoke, he grabbed the girl's hand.
Even though she opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, she never got the chance, and was forcibly taken away without her opinion being considered.
.
.
.
However, only after they had left the wilderness and arrived at a nearby city did Ash suddenly remember something and look back at the dirty girl he was carrying on his shoulder.
"By the way, what was your name again?"
"Fern."
"Oh, then from now on you will come with me. I will do my best to find a good person to take care of you."
"Not you?"
"I would like to, but it is not really possible, because I am... Oh right, I am an evil mage," After thinking for a moment, he smiled and casually patted her on the head again.
"Evil mage?", Fern did not really understand what that meant.
But being forcibly taken away, then scolded for walking too slowly and simply slung over his shoulder, and even now only remembering to ask her name, judging from how little he cared about children, this person was completely different from the gentle mage in her mother's stories. He probably really was an evil mage.
At this moment, Fern, shifting around on his shoulder to try to get more comfortable, could not help thinking that as she looked at his profile.
Even though right now she did not really understand what evil meant.
———
Inside the inn in the city.
After buying some new clothes for Fern, Ash stood by the bathroom with his arms crossed, staring at the ceiling and worrying about how he should arrange things for Fern from here on.
"Aura is definitely not an option. Serie has taken in Flamme before, so maybe I could try that. And Heiter, Eisen, Frieren... well, Eisen's conditions are a bit too harsh, Frieren does not even know where she is, and Heiter... is he still alive? Should I go check?"
Even though more than ten years ago, after attending Himmel's funeral, he had thought that after that, it might be better not to contact them anymore.
But now, in his worries, he could not help feeling that if he did not even attend the last funeral, would that be too heartless? Would it leave him with regrets?
But before he could reach any conclusion, the sound of running water in the bathroom gradually stopped, and Fern, shrouded in mist, walked out first.
[T/N: As I was reading comments, I came to know that there are other translators working on this novel, but some of you advised me to continue despite it. Do not worry guys, as long as everyone comments on daily chapter, the series will continue. Unless I die suddenly of course. I have over 500 chapters in raw, so read with peace of mind. Also, you can support by joining Patreon. Thank you, enjoy~]
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[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.