After probably accepting that slightly subtle explanation, Kanne thought for a moment before standing again beside him. However, she still looked a little wary, as if afraid he might suddenly try to touch her stomach.
This made Ash laugh quietly. He simply reached out and tapped her on the head, then took a piece of candy out of his pocket.
"Want some?"
"I'm not a kid," She complained like that, but Kanne still took it. Confused, she asked, "Why does mister carry candy with him?"
"Just now there was a kid who kept crying, so I bought some. Throwing away the extra would be wasteful, so I kept it on me," He looked back at the book in his hands and answered without turning his head.
"So you really do think I'm a child?", Kanne muttered gloomily, but she still peeled off the wrapper and put the candy into her mouth, letting the sweet taste spread across her tongue.
Then she quietly leaned a little closer toward him, tilting her body as she peeked at the book in his hands.
"Mister, are you also waiting for someone?"
"I didn't arrange to meet anyone today. I just thought it must be boring for you to wait here alone, so I'm keeping you company for a bit until Lawine shows up."
"Heeey~ Mister is actually pretty gentle~"
"I've always said that, you're the one who didn't believe me."
"Now I believe it," A smile unconsciously bloomed on the girl's face.
The two of them leaned against the railing and chatted like that, though most of the time it was Kanne complaining about Lawine. But she spoke happily, and Ash quietly listened.
And before long, a familiar silver-haired girl appeared from the stairs below.
———
She had arranged to meet her childhood friend in front of the Magic Association and came to keep the appointment. At this moment her mood had been fairly good.
But when Lawine saw that Ash, an outsider, was also here, the expression on her face instantly froze.
"Why are you here too?"
"Just keeping Kanne company," Ash raised his eyes and glanced at the girl who always looked irritated. He replied casually, "No matter how you look at it, your attitude toward your elders is pretty bad. How about showing a little respect?"
"I do respect elders, but that's only if the elder is actually worthy of respect."
She was usually fine with other people, but when facing Ash, Lawine's tone was always filled with heavy gunpowder.
By now Ash didn't expect this girl to easily change her attitude toward him. Used to it already, he simply lowered his head and continued flipping through the book in his hands.
It was precisely this attitude that made Lawine stomp hard on the stone tiles as she walked over beside him and spoke unhappily.
"What's that supposed to mean? When someone talks to you like that, shouldn't you at least argue back?"
"Too troublesome. Forget it. I don't want to argue with you."
"You… you're really infuriating!"
Hitting a soft wall like that made Lawine stomp her foot in anger.
Kanne stepped forward and gave an awkward laugh.
"S-Speaking of which… you look even cuter than usual today, Lawine?"
"This outfit?"
Lawine lifted the hem of her skirt slightly with a gloomy expression.
Unlike the blue gothic outfit she wore during the exam, this time she had changed into a pure white dress.
The white dress combined cleverly with a light-blue short jacket, the colors fresh and elegant. On her head she wore a white sunhat with flowing blue ribbons, giving the impression of a gentle breeze on an early summer morning.
Overall, compared to before, she looked a bit more like a noble young lady, with a gentle and refined elegance.
Unfortunately, her actual personality was straightforward and competitive, and the way she spoke and acted was more like a boy's.
"Probably only if you don't speak at all, you would look like a proper young lady," Ash muttered after observing her for a moment.
"What did you just say?", Lawine, whose ears were strangely sharp, glared sideways at him after hearing the muttering.
"Nothing. Just felt like it doesn't suit you."
"You think I wanted this? My three older brothers came back from the imperial capital and brought a bunch of weird clothes. My mom got all excited too. She had the maid dress me in this directly."
"How nice, young lady."
"Don't think I don't know. You're actually some powerful big figure, aren't you? Even my grandpa told me to be polite to you. My eldest brother also hopes I can build a good relationship with you."
His casual remark immediately received a teeth-grinding response from the girl.
But he didn't care. He simply muttered quietly to himself.
"The imperial capital, huh? Looks like your family has had strong ties with the Empire for a long time."
"Isn't the Magic City originally territory the Kingdom seized from the Empire during the war against the demon race, taking advantage of the chaos in the southern regions? Of course my family has quite a few relatives among the Empire's nobles. Besides, the Kingdom never prohibited that in the first place."
"That's true. But I think it'd be better if your brothers stopped going to the Empire."
"What do you mean?"
If someone else said that she wouldn't care at all. But Ash's identity had always been mysterious. As someone whose family had considerable status in the Magic City, Lawine vaguely knew a little about it, so hearing him say this made her curious.
"A judgment based on the current situation," With an ambiguous smile, he casually offered the advice without even looking up.
"Is that so? I'll tell my grandpa when I get back."
"Alright. That's good."
The girl's straightforwardness surprised him, making him look up again.
But the moment he did, Lawine became unhappy.
"What's with that weird pause and that look?"
"I thought you wouldn't listen to me."
"Listen, I may hate you, but I still know you're capable."
"Then how about flattering me a little? There'll definitely be benefits."
"Then tell me what benefits are first," Lawine showed a mischievous grin and directly held out her hand.
Ash reached into his pocket and placed a candy on her palm.
Lawine's expression froze for a moment.
"What's this… Are you treating me like a child?"
Even though she said that, she still popped the candy into her mouth just like Kanne had.
But she couldn't help adding another complaint.
"A grown man carrying candy around with him. Are you secretly very childlike?"
"No. It was to calm a lost kid this morning. That child kept crying nonstop."
"Eh?"
"What?"
"I thought if you saw a crying kid you'd just kick them."
"Seriously, what kind of person do you think I am?"
"An old bastard," Lawine gave the usual answer without hesitation, making Ash's expression slightly complicated.
Kanne laughed and once again stepped in to mediate.
"Come on~ Mister should already be used to it, right?"
"I am used to it. I'm just not used to someone dressed so ladylike speaking so crudely. But how should I put it, it's surprisingly interesting."
"Interesting? Where? Wait… you don't have some weird fetish, do you?", Seeing the indescribably troubled expression on his face, Lawine seemed to imagine something strange and instinctively took two steps back.
Although his way of putting things might indeed have been a little strange, being avoided so directly still hurt Ash slightly.
However, he opened his mouth as if to speak, then stopped.
In the end he chose to remain silent.
Because whether he denied it or admitted it at this moment, the result would be the same. It would only create unnecessary misunderstandings and make things worse. It was better to say nothing and let the rumor fade on its own.
"H-Haha!", The strange atmosphere between Lawine and Ash left Kanne laughing awkwardly on the side, a bit at a loss. Still, trying to change the subject, she enthusiastically invited him.
"S-Speaking of which, we're about to go find Fern and Frieren. Mister, aren't you coming home with us?"
"No... I'm planning to run away from home for a while, so don't worry about me."
He refused almost instinctively. But Kanne didn't give him any chance to refuse. She simply grabbed him and dragged him along toward his home.
"Mister is already an adult, so stop acting like a kid and running away from home!"
Originally Lawine didn't want to bother with him. But seeing how resistant he was, she couldn't help herself. She joined Kanne in dragging him along and forcibly brought the unwilling Ash back home.
———
At first Ash was thinking about when he could slip away somewhere.
But, halfway there, when the two girls stopped to buy some pastries as a thank-you gift for Frieren, he suddenly saw a pair of familiar figures selecting bread inside the bakery.
"Oh? Fern! We came to play with you!"
Kanne immediately let go of Ash, rushed forward, grabbed Fern's hand, and happily shook it up and down.
"Kanne? Why are you her—Lord Ash?", Fern froze for a moment and nodded subconsciously. But when she noticed Ash standing near the door covering his face as if trying to escape, her expression instantly tightened.
Frieren also walked over and stood in front of him. Looking up at him expressionlessly, she asked, "Ash… do you have something you want to say to me?"
'My chest muscles are bigger than yours! What could I even say? Running away from home over something like that… it's just not worth it! Life isn't worth it!'
Although he really wanted to argue like that in his heart, there were more people here than just Frieren and Fern. If he actually said it out loud he'd probably die of embarrassment on the spot.
So helplessly, Ash lowered his head and apologized.
"Although it wasn't my intention, the fact is I saw something I shouldn't have seen, so I'm sorry."
"What do you mean something you shouldn't have seen?", The statement sounded normal yet somehow very problematic, making Frieren grab his collar while raising her brows unhappily, "What do you think a girl's purity is?"
"A girl?"
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"No."
Even though she was a thousand-year-old old woman, judging by her appearance and the fact that she wasn't married, she could technically still be considered a girl, right?
Thinking that, he quietly turned his head away, avoiding Frieren's threatening stare. He was honestly worried that if he called her old, she would burst into tears on the spot and cry for three days straight.
Kanne looked at the two of them carefully, feeling that the atmosphere seemed a bit strange.
"Um… did something happen?"
"It's nothing. Frieren and Fern are just having their usual little quarrel," Ash smiled and reached out to pat Frieren's hair.
But as expected, the moment he touched it Frieren immediately slapped his hand away and gave her usual warning.
At that moment Fern also stepped closer, standing on her toes to stare directly into his eyes.
"Lord Ash, please answer honestly. Where did you go yesterday?"
"A friend's house."
"A friend? What friend?"
"It's fine. Their parents were home."
"So it was a woman?"
"You're suddenly so sharp at times like this."
Fern normally looked a little absent-minded, but at moments like this she was unexpectedly perceptive. This made him glance toward Kanne.
Kanne had just been thinking that Fern sounded like a wife checking on her husband, but now she looked curious too.
"Mister has other friends?"
"Someone from the Magic Association, perhaps?", Fern guessed further.
Frieren also seemed interested. Stroking her chin, she mentioned the only first-class mage she knew who had a good relationship with Ash.
"It probably isn't Serie… could it be that Sense?"
"Ah, these cookies look pretty good. Lawine, buy me some, will you?", He picked up a cookie and pretended to be very interested, turning to the only girl who hadn't joined the conversation and was still choosing the gift.
Although Lawine hadn't joined the conversation, she had been secretly listening. She glared sideways at him unhappily.
"You old man are really shameless, trying to avoid the question at a time like this."
"You're so noisy. Don't talk about me."
"Huh? You were the one who spoke to me first!"
As expected, Lawine got angry again before long. Even though she was dressed very ladylike, she rolled up her sleeves as if ready to fight him.
But Ash casually said a single sentence and then quietly walked out of the shop as if nothing had happened, completely ignoring her anger.
This left Lawine's brewing fury with nowhere to vent.
Seeing him act like that, everyone knew continuing to question him would lead to no result, or rather, they had already gotten their answer. There was no need to ask further.
———
Although he really wanted to slip away, Fern firmly grabbed his sleeve, so Ash ended up being dragged home together with them.
Inside Fern's room, Kanne and Lawine presented Frieren with a basket of cookies and assorted pastries.
The girls sat together on the soft bed. Laughter mixed with the crisp aroma of cookies and the rich fragrance of black tea, weaving a warm and harmonious little melody of daily life.
Yet outside that warmth, Ash seemed to exist in a different world.
He quietly sat at the desk, the sound of turning pages forming a sharp contrast with the laughter around him.
He tried to keep the lake in his heart calm, unmoved by the surrounding joy, immersing himself in the ocean of knowledge.
During this time, Kanne's gaze unintentionally fell upon Ash's focused figure. Curious, she asked, "Is mister always this hardworking? At times like this, most people would probably join us and chat."
"Maybe he's just putting on an act in front of girls. The childish guys at the academy are always like that. And besides, there are four beautiful girls here right now~"
Hearing that, Lawine curled her lips into a playful smile. Her words carried a teasing tone, and she proudly puffed out her impressive chest as she spoke.
However…
"Heh!"
Ash simply lifted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping across the four of them. Then he let out a faint scoff and lowered his head back into the book.
His calm focus made it seem as though he hadn't heard a single word of the discussion around him.
[🎉 Shoutout to TheGod and Reign for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[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.