This left Ash feeling a little hurt, but he more or less pretended nothing had happened and looked toward the man opposite him.
"I can duel you, but if I win, you'll have to provide lodging."
"And free meals," Economically strained, Frieren couldn't afford to be picky right now and hurriedly added another condition.
"Lady Frieren?", Feeling like the village chief was probably pretty strong, Fern immediately panicked, "What if Lord Ash gets hurt?"
"No matter what, that won't happen. Don't worry," Frieren, on the other hand, had exceptional confidence in him and directly pulled Fern aside.
The village chief glanced at the two of them, then directly drew his sword and pointed it at Ash from a distance.
"I can agree to lodging and meals. But if you get hurt later, that's not my problem."
"That's what I should be saying. Also, if possible, can you provide alcohol?"
"Of course that's no problem. It's only right that the strong enjoy privileges. Alcohol will naturally be provided in abundance! But only if you defeat me!"
"Just so we're clear, if your clothes get dirty or something later, I won't compensate you."
"Draw your blade! Let me see what kind of ability you have to dare speak so arrogantly," Orden assumed an attacking stance, looking ready to teach this young man a proper lesson.
But Ash, who was actually much older than him, didn't even take a stance. He waved his hand.
"Let's not… that would be too much bullying. My body, once infused with mana, can already rival most weapons."
"Ridiculous!", Orden didn't believe him at all, but still stomped the ground and charged forward, intending to smack Ash's hand with the flat of the blade to teach him a lesson.
That speed was so fast that an ordinary person could hardly even see it.
Even Fern, at such close range, had no way to react, making her unable to bear watching the outcome.
But at the very next instant, when the distance closed and Ash's left hand entered striking range, making Orden certain there was no way to dodge—
Orden's worldview was completely overturned.
There was only a dull, sharp "bang!"
A streak of silver light flew out from his hand, wobbling and vibrating as it shot more than ten meters away, finally landing in a puddle not far off.
Just like that, the battle came to an easy end.
And only when that object hit the ground did Fern realize it was Orden's sword that had been sent flying.
The previously aggressive Orden remained standing there in his attacking stance, but his whole body was like he'd lost his soul, frozen and unmoving.
Because from start to finish, he hadn't been able to see Ash's movements at all. He had only felt an immense force come from the blade, most likely a single slap straight to the flat of the sword.
And that alone had been enough to make him lose his grip, sending the weapon in his hand flying uncontrollably.
The surrounding villagers who had gathered to watch were also as if struck by a paralysis spell, transforming in an instant from lively chatter to stunned silence, completely at a loss.
Orden stood there blankly for several seconds, then stiffly lowered his head to look at his now empty hands, then at the youth before him. His entire being looked dazed, as if he were questioning reality itself.
But at that moment, Ash smiled, "Village chief, your clothes didn't get dirty, and I've secured food and lodging. This is a perfect win-win, isn't it?"
"You… n-no, just who exactly are you?", Orden's shock was impossible to hide, his words barely coming out clearly.
"Come to think of it, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Ash. Just Ash… though I've had quite a few masters. One of them was the Southern Hero."
"The Southern Hero? That legendary strongest one?", Orden looked doubtful, "But wasn't that figure already dead over eighty years ago?"
"Yes. Actually, I'm already over ninety."
"You're joking, right?", Orden was left dumbfounded, while Ash stroked an imaginary long beard and said earnestly:
"If you really want an explanation, it was probably a magic experiment that left my appearance unchanged."
"A magic accident?"
"Anyway, how about we drink and talk? Or are you planning to go back on your word?"
"H-how could I! Please, follow me!"
Orden shook his head vigorously, clearly having no intention of reneging, and moved to lead everyone to a nearby house specifically for guests.
But Fern, who had been worried sick just moments before, now quickly walked over, grabbed Ash's hand, and pulled him into a corner. She looked up at him expressionlessly, cheeks puffed in anger.
"Lord Ash, did you lie to me?"
"Did I? About what?"
"You're clearly a warrior!"
"To be precise, I'm a mage, just one who also trains as a warrior."
"What do you mean 'also'? The village chief clearly looked very strong, but you defeated him in one move… n-no, did that even count as a move?"
Thinking back on the duel, Fern was now starting to doubt whether it even qualified as a duel at all. This was basically an adult bullying a child, wasn't it?
"He's already retired. His strength isn't what it used to be."
"Even so! He should still be pretty strong!"
"Well… decent, I guess?"
"Then why did you win in a single move?"
"Wait, hold on, Fern. Why do you seem kind of angry right now? Shouldn't this be a time to celebrate? To feel proud?"
"Because I always thought you were weak!", Fern protested emotionally, looking utterly unable to accept it.
"I worked so hard studying magic all these years, and more than half of that was so I could protect you, so you wouldn't get bullied again! And now you're telling me you're actually really strong?"
"Ah~ so it's like a rich man deliberately hiding from his daughter that the family actually has a massive fortune?", He nodded thoughtfully, then said helplessly, "But, Fern, I don't think I ever said I was weak, did I?"
"But didn't you get beaten until you were covered in blood before?"
"There were reasons for that. And actually, I'm only a little bit strong…about this much?", He held up his index finger and thumb to show a tiny gap.
Then, to comfort the girl who now seemed so shaken that the meaning of her efforts was about to collapse, Ash smiled and patted her head, "And to be honest with you, I actually only know a little bit of magic. I mainly trained in martial skills, so in the future I'll still have to rely on you to protect me, Fern~"
Even though he said that, it was the first time Fern realized that the man who had raised her seemed to have far, far more secrets than she'd imagined.
Even though she'd known him for a long time, one could even exaggerate and say he'd been by her side for as long as she could remember, he had still hidden quite a lot from her.
This made Fern unable to control that strange sense of grievance from being kept in the dark. She lifted her head and stared at him without blinking. After a long while, she finally closed her eyes, let out a long breath, and slowly said:
"Lord Ash."
"Hm?"
"Exactly how many things are you still hiding from me? Can you just tell me everything?"
"Well… generally speaking, it's better for a man to have a few secrets, right?"
Even he felt that the secrets he carried were too many to count, and many of them couldn't be told to anyone.
Like those who taught him magic or martial arts... he could only mention a few. The ones he couldn't mention far outnumbered the ones he could.
The Sage of Corruption Qual, the Bloody God of War Rivale, the Omniscient Schlacht, and now there was Solitair as well.
But seeing Fern puff out her cheeks in dissatisfaction and glare at him angrily, Ash could only slightly adjust his wording.
"Well... it's not that exaggerated. At most, it's just a few little secrets. You can't exactly strip me naked and examine me thoroughly, right?"
"Aren't all of Lord Ash's underwear washed by me? And I'm the one who buys them too!"
"Uh… how do I even respond to that..."
Facing the child he had once taken care of, who now took care of him in daily life, and hearing her bring up his underwear, he truly didn't know how to react.
After covering his face and agonizing for a long while, he finally looked at the sulking girl and cautiously suggested, "For now... can we put this aside, okay?"
"Why?"
"Look behind you..."
"Behind me?"
Fern, who had already decided that if he tried to change the subject, she'd drag Frieren over and make him explain everything properly, turned around half-doubtfully.
But she had no idea that one look would nearly scare her to death.
Only when she turned back did she realize that more than half the village was curiously watching them.
There was no helping it. In a village that worshiped martial strength, a youth who defeated the village chief barehanded without even dirtying his cloak was bound to draw attention.
They hadn't seen the crucial part of the fight, but they had heard the girl talking about washing his underwear, while the boy patted her head to comfort her.
That conversation, combined with their actions and positions, didn't look like a simple couple at all. It looked more like a quarreling wife... even though Ash had just said he was over ninety, that claim was too bizarre for them to immediately digest.
Still, the moment Fern turned around, they realized that their gawking wasn't appropriate. One by one, they all turned away in unison, tacitly pretending they were just passing by.
Realizing that she might have said something outrageous in public without noticing, Fern froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, her cheeks reddening at a visible speed.
As the crowd dispersed, it revealed Frieren, who had been swallowed up by the taller people.
Compared to the villagers, who at least somewhat understood the atmosphere, Frieren was completely lost.
"What's wrong? Is this something to be embarrassed about?", She looked around, then observed Fern, who was covering her face, for a bit before finally looking at Ash in confusion.
"What is Fern embarrassed about? Isn't that a very normal thing?"
"Back then, Heiter's and my clothes were handled by women hired from the outskirts. Now it's Fern... if we were actually father and daughter, it wouldn't be strange. But consider my appearance and my actual relationship with Fern."
"Hm? That's still normal. What's wrong with it?", Frieren stared at his face and tilted her head unconsciously, racking her brain but still unable to see any problem.
"Let's just pretend I didn't say anything."
Forced once again to realize just how dense Frieren was in this regard, Ash simply ignored the obtuse elf, grabbed Fern, and led her away from the corner behind the building.
Leaving Frieren alone, still confused and troubled, until in the end she simply tossed aside the incomprehensible problem and hurried after the two ahead of her.
———
Village Chief Orden, who had initially been dissatisfied with Ash, unexpectedly swallowed the bitterness of his crushing defeat rather quickly, despite the heavy blow.
Although Ash lacked a warrior's pride and reserve, didn't even consider himself a warrior, and treated their insistence on spotless white cloaks as if watching a curiosity, while not exactly disrespectful, it certainly wasn't reverent either.
Orden felt he could accept all of that, because Ash was far stronger than him. Even if he were back in his prime youth, he didn't think he could have won.
And when truly facing him as an opponent, Ash felt even more unfathomable than the strongest warrior Orden had ever known, the dwarf warrior Eisen, who had once passed through the village and stayed there.
Thus… other thoughts naturally arose.
After laying out good food and fine wine, he completely changed his previous attitude and his usual strictness toward the villagers. Doing his best to appear warm, he poured Ash a drink and probed carefully.
"Lord Ash, you said... you're actually over ninety, right?"
"More or less."
"Do you have any disciples?"
"No."
"Then why not settle down here in our village and spend your old age in peace? With a warrior like you joining us, and if you could teach these useless kids a move or two, it would be a tremendous contribution to our village, the kingdom, and even all of humanity. And it would prevent the legacy of the Southern Hero from being cut off."
Orden's eyes burned with enthusiasm as he toasted and earnestly grabbed Ash's hand, clearly with no intention of letting go unless he agreed.
So whether human or demon, attitudes toward strangers were always based on strength, weren't they? The only difference was that in the 21st century people worshiped money, while this village worshiped strength.
That didn't seem strange at all, yet Ash didn't know how to evaluate the man's words.
Because even if everyone in this village died of old age, he wouldn't.
Even if the village's lineage ended and the country vanished, he would still be alive... at least, he didn't think this village or this country would still exist a thousand years from now.
Thus, faced with the village chief's enthusiastic invitation, his expression naturally turned subtle.
Meanwhile, Frieren, freeloading on food and drink beside them, suddenly chimed in, "Ash doesn't have that kind of grand sense of duty. Instead of tempting him like this, you'd be better off just finding him a proper pretty girl."
"A pretty girl? Huh... a pretty girl?", Orden initially agreed, but quickly started thinking in other directions, his head almost unable to keep up.
After all, if this really was a man over ninety with peerless martial skill, from a conventional perspective, using a pretty girl as bait seemed almost insulting.
'But this elf looks like his companion, more like a bad friend?', That's what Orden couldn't help thinking.
Seeing his disbelief, Frieren silently put down the chicken leg in her hand, wiped her mouth, and said, "He said it himself. Over seventy years ago, when the half-century meteor shower appeared, his wish wasn't even something extravagant like a pretty girl. He just wanted a normal girl to watch the meteors with him."
"Ah! Ah! I see. Over seventy years ago," Orden understood instantly.
But Fern, who had been thinking about something else, heard this and was utterly shocked. Her purple eyes widened as she stared at Ash, who was still drinking beside her.
"What's wrong? Is that really so strange?", Ash awkwardly turned his face away, not wanting to delve into this topic at this time or place.
But Frieren remembered how he'd once defended himself against accusations of being old yet liking young girls, and couldn't help adding, "Exactly, what's so strange about it? Even if someone over ninety likes eighteen-year-olds, isn't that normal? After all, men will always like eighteen… that's what Ash said."
"Lord Ash!"
"Don't look at me like that... that's just a fact, right?", Being stared at so intensely made Ash uneasy. He turned to Village Chief Orden for support.
Despite having plenty he wanted to criticize about such shameless behavior, and being a bit at a loss for words, Orden still had no choice but to back him up, since he was the one asking a favor.
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