"Nothing has changed at all."
"Hm? Haven't you been gone for a very, very long time?", Ash replied, puzzled.
"But even though half a century has passed, the memories I left here with my wife haven't changed in the slightest. Everything is still exactly as it was at the beginning," Denken gently brushed the bench by the roadside that had witnessed countless years of change. Before he knew it, his aged voice began to tremble, choked with emotion, "Lekture's health was never very good, so we often sat together on this bench to rest, or after the rain, we'd quietly take in the streets washed by the downpour. When the weather was nice, we'd sit here spacing out, tasting the lunch she made with her own hands."
"It's been half a century, you know?"
"Even after half a century, at least right now, here… I can still clearly remember her smile, her warmth, and even the thing I hated the most back then… the taste of tomatoes… all of it, all of it hasn't faded even a little in my mind… why… only now do I understand, the memories with her alone…"
By the time he reached this point, Denken's voice had grown even lower, and tears shimmered in his eyes.
Those memories were like a carefully painted scroll, every stroke vivid and deeply etched, making the light of the past flicker in his gaze.
Just returning to this hometown made it feel as though time itself had begun to flow backward, carrying him back to that unforgettable, distant, and happy time.
He walked ahead on his own, slowly stepping into the church. The familiar furnishings and atmosphere made it feel like he had returned to the past.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to catch even the faintest trace of his wife in the air. Even the slightest hint would have been enough to comfort him.
Even though… it was all in vain, everything familiar before him kept stirring the memories buried deep in his heart.
Once, they had walked into this church hand in hand. Now, only he remained… along with cold, lifeless gold.
'At a time like this, what kind of expression am I supposed to make?', Accompanying an old man revisiting his homeland, only to get force-fed all this lovey-dovey reminiscing. Listening to Denken talk to himself, Ash even felt like he should ask for extra payment.
But looking at the choking old man, he could only suppress a sigh, take a deep breath, and try to steady his own helplessness.
After all, he understood that Denken wasn't really talking to him. He was just talking to himself.
Before they knew it, they seemed to have arrived at the house where the two had once lived.
Denken walked over to his wife Lekture's desk. Her favorite books were still there, along with an unfinished paintbrush.
He picked up the brush, now turned to gold, and gently rubbed it, as if he could still feel her warmth and presence.
And at that moment, Denken could no longer suppress his emotions. He crouched down, covering his face with both hands, letting the tears flow freely.
At this moment, he was no longer the scheming court mage. He was just an old man who had lost the love of his life, helpless and fragile.
Watching the old man struggle to keep from making a sound as he cried, Ash found himself unable to mock him for being a grown man who still cried. He even had the urge to pat his head, but it didn't quite feel appropriate.
So he silently walked out of the room, gazing at the distant sunset outside, and let out a bored sigh.
"Humans really are fragile. Though… when Fern dies… will I come visit her grave like this too?"
"What exactly are you referring to?"
Before his words had even fully settled, a completely emotionless male voice came from the bend in the road not far away.
But in truth, Ash had already noticed the approaching man, Macht.
Just like Ash hadn't changed, Macht looked exactly the same as he had half a century ago. Long red hair, a pair of long horns on both sides of his forehead, not particularly large eyes but an exceptionally sharp gaze, and a rather striking appearance.
Even though the two had clashed before, neither showed any intent to attack… at least on the surface.
So faced with this sudden formidable opponent, Ash simply replied calmly, "I mean feelings and the body, I guess?"
"But even after being separated for half a century, Lord Denken feels sorrow, yet shows no regret whatsoever. Why is that? Is this the so-called love from legends?"
"Probably? Though more importantly, you're actually calling a human 'Lord.'"
"A matter of etiquette. After all, I did cooperate with Lord Gluck before and pledged loyalty to him. Lord Denken is Lord Gluck's son-in-law, and also my disciple."
"You've already betrayed him, and you're still hung up on that? Also, normally no one calls their own disciple 'Lord,' right?"
"Is that so? Human etiquette is quite profound," Macht pondered for a moment, then gave a slight nod, before unconsciously turning his gaze toward the house.
"By the way, what are you and Lord Denken doing here? Revisiting old places? Or are you also trying to understand humans?"
"I'm just accompanying him to visit a grave. So if possible, could you pretend you didn't see us?"
"Of course. I don't like fighting with others. As long as you don't disturb the peace here, I have no reason to fight you."
Ash had assumed a fight was unavoidable, but Macht turned out to be surprisingly easy to talk to. After agreeing without hesitation, he turned and left with no expression.
This left Ash standing there, momentarily stunned. Having prepared himself for battle, the lack of one made him oddly dissatisfied.
After all, times had changed, and he had improved quite a bit. He wouldn't have minded a fight.
"But… even if he says he'll let go, Denken definitely can't let go of his hometown and his memories with his wife, can he?"
After watching Macht leave, Ash's gaze drifted toward the house that had long since turned to gold. From Denken's earlier behavior, he was certain… the old man would change his mind.
So the question now was, 'Should I leave cleanly, or help Denken?'
As things stood, Ash couldn't really think of a reason to help. But after seeing him like that earlier, leaving just like this felt… off.
———
Not long after Macht left, Denken wiped away his tears and composed himself. His expression looked normal again, aside from slightly reddened eyes.
Holding his staff, he stepped out of the house at an unhurried pace.
Sensing the approach of that overwhelming magic earlier, Denken had just pretended nothing had happened. Now he looked at Ash with some surprise.
"Do you know Macht?"
"Sort of."
"He didn't attack…", Denken muttered softly, unable to grasp the situation, "Looks like he doesn't plan to kill us. At least for now."
"Probably," Ash shrugged helplessly, "So? Want to look around a bit more?"
"No. Let's go visit the grave," Denken glanced around once more, then sighed and walked ahead.
Even though the surroundings were still familiar, after crying, he had temporarily pulled himself out of his immersion in the past. He led Ash all the way to the hill behind the village, to the lone gravestone atop it.
From that position, the entire village could be seen below.
And right beside the gravestone, stood Macht, who had just left earlier.
Why Macht was here, neither of them knew. Perhaps he simply wanted to observe how humans mourned the dead.
Denken didn't ask. Macht merely smiled, as if welcoming Denken's return.
After that, no one spoke. Under a strange tension, they quickly finished the grave visit. Which, in truth, was just brushing dust off the gravestone, followed by a brief silence before leaving.
After all, the flowers and grass had all turned to gold… there was nothing to tend to, aside from wiping away dust.
On the way back out of the Golden Land, Denken continued to lead, since Ash had no sense of direction.
But just as Denken stepped out of the barrier, he suddenly stopped and spoke without turning back, "I said before that everything I shared with my wife no longer exists in this place… and that I only came to confirm that."
"Yeah, you said that."
"But now, I want to take it back."
"I figured."
There was nothing surprising about it. After seeing him earlier, Ash had already expected this.
"Sorry. But I don't intend to throw my life away. If I die, I want it to be after seeing the beautiful scenery of my hometown again, not this cold, lifeless gold."
"Do you have any chance of winning?"
"If I gather enough information, there might be a slight chance."
Even as he said it, Denken didn't have much confidence.
"I can listen, at least. Tell me everything you've gathered."
'Just listening wouldn't hurt.'
So Ash decided to stay for now and see how things developed.
———
On the way back to the hut in the forest, Denken organized his thoughts and information, then laid everything out without holding anything back.
For example, through the "privilege" of becoming a First-Class Mage, he had obtained the magic of "Curse Reversal" from Serie.
And that was his trump card against Macht. The curse reversal magic could automatically reflect any effect classified as a curse. It didn't matter if he didn't understand the opponent's magic at all.
Because this magic that reflected "curses" back to their caster was a crystallization of human wisdom from the mythological era. It couldn't be explained or understood even with the most primitive magical theory, it was truly myth-level magic.
Even Serie had taken over a hundred years to learn it. For ordinary humans, they would die before ever mastering it.
Fifty years ago, Serie had successfully used this unreasonable magic to reflect Macht's "Diagoldze," known as the strongest curse, turning one of Macht's hands into gold, though Macht immediately reversed it himself.
But that alone was enough to prove that this magic could counter Macht and break his ultimate ability.
After saying this, Denken continued, "As I mentioned earlier, before I came here, Lernen had already sent a young but highly experienced First-Class Mage, Tau, to lead the reconnaissance team for the Golden Land of Weise. Along with him were five Second-Class Mages, although they…"
"That's quite the lineup. But let me interrupt for a second… can you tell me who this woman is?"
Before he could finish, Ash couldn't help interrupting, pointing at a woman among the golden statues closest to the hut. She was kneeling on one knee, with a clear blade wound still visible on her shoulder.
It was obvious she had been speaking to someone just before being turned into gold.
This had caught Ash's attention earlier as they passed by.
"She was one of the reconnaissance team members sent to the Golden Land shortly before I took over as manager, a Second-Class Mage," Denken looked at the kneeling woman with a trace of regret and stated her identity plainly.
"She was turned to gold while reporting back to Lernen, likely released as a warning. As for the rest of the team, including the First-Class Mage Tau, they were all killed instantly by Macht."
"Killed? Not turned to gold?"
"With a blade. It was so fast that none of them had time to cast any magic," Denken sighed softly, "Even though Macht is clearly a mage, he's also extremely powerful as a warrior… this was the first time I learned that."
"Are you stronger than Tau?", Hearing this, Frieren, who had just walked out of the hut, couldn't help but interject, "That Tau is from your generation, right? One of those elites who passed the brutal third round and truly have the level of a First-Class Mage, not like the ones this time who became First-Class because they had potential or the right personality and were favored by Serie?"
"That's right… his strength is unquestionable. Even if I could beat him, it would probably be a narrow victory."
Despite his age, Denken understood that his talent as a mage wasn't exceptional. There were plenty with better talent and combat ability. His real strength lay in scheming.
After all, a court mage valued manipulation over raw strength. He had spent years in intrigue, rarely needing to fight directly.
Against a battle-hardened First-Class Mage like Tau, it was hard to say if he could win. And with five Second-Class Mages assisting, he couldn't imagine any chance of victory.
Which meant, if Macht chose to fight like a warrior, simply cutting him down, Denken would be slaughtered like chopping vegetables.
After all, the reconnaissance team had entered the Golden Land with extreme caution. There was no chance they were caught off guard. Fundamentally, demons held immense pride in magic, they wouldn't resort to sneak attacks against mages, only fair confrontations.
Hearing this, even Ash was stunned.
"If he's that strong in close combat, what's the point of gathering information? Even if you can counter 'Diagoldze,' it's useless. He doesn't even need magic, he can just cut you down and it's over, right?"
"Good point. Let's pack up and go back."
After realizing Macht's absurd close-combat strength, Frieren immediately turned around and headed back into the house, ready to pack up and leave.
But before she could take two steps, Ash suddenly grabbed the back of her collar and pulled her back.
"Don't rush."
"What now?"
"I feel like leaving just like this isn't quite right."
"Since when did you become such a good person?", Frieren looked back at him expressionlessly, as if seeing something novel.
"It's not that. It just feels wrong to tuck tail and run," As he spoke, he turned to Denken, "After knowing all this, you still don't plan to give up. Can I ask why?"
"He will underestimate me."
"Underestimate?"
"That's right. He will underestimate me, or rather, he will greatly underestimate us fragile humans," Denken stood there, stating it firmly, "And that is our greatest advantage."
"Let me ask first, this reasoning is based on?"
"After the reconnaissance team was wiped out, Lernen went in once with Edel. They managed to escape with serious injuries. Edel even succeeded in touching Macht while Lernen distracted him, read his memories, and escaped without a scratch."
Denken held nothing back, explaining everything that had happened before he took over.
But hearing this, Ash and Frieren both felt like it was completely surreal.
Because they both knew the two people Denken had just mentioned.
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