Compared to last time, the sense of contempt was much less. It was mostly embarrassment instead. Even though it was the second time Ash had witnessed this scene, he still stood there stunned for quite a while, "Am I being treated like some kind of weird person? Is this how you show gratitude?"
"A-Anyway! You're a pervert! Be as happy as you want! Just for today, I won't laugh at you."
"No! No! No! I don't want to be called a pervert by someone who lifts her skirt and shows her underwear."
"Wha! Y-You! You're calling me a pervert?"
After struggling through her embarrassment for a long time before finally working up the courage to lift her skirt, the girl froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.
Ash, meanwhile, quietly walked up to her, skillfully patted that warm, soft little stomach, then casually pressed her skirt back down, saying seriously, "This is out on the street. Sure, there's not really anyone around, and people don't usually go out at night, but what if someone did show up? Besides, even if no one sees, catching a chill wouldn't be good, right? And honestly, seeing this myself, I don't even know what expression I'm supposed to make."
"I'll... I'll kill you!"
"Well, I definitely don't hate it, but I really don't know what I'm supposed to do here," Just as the girl was about to explode, he placed a hand on her head and responded with a troubled look.
"I-It's not like I had a choice! I didn't know what to do. You have money, so I didn't know what gift to give, and just saying thanks felt insincere. And... anyway, you've already seen it once, so it's not that hard to accept anymore... but I'm still really embarrassed! And you even called me a pervert!"
Grinding her teeth, Lawine stood on tiptoe and leaned in close, glaring at him without blinking.
If it had been before, she definitely wouldn't have stopped at just glaring. She might have already punched him outright.
"Calm down, calm down, good girl," Surprised by this change, he stroked her head while trying to soothe her. But as her gaze gradually lowered in embarrassment, he couldn't help teasing again, "But hey, didn't you say you hated me the most back in the dungeon? That changed pretty fast."
"I-I didn't! It's just... just not as much now!", The girl's cheeks flushed as she stubbornly lifted her head again, making a threatening sound, "Say anything else and I'll hit you!"
"I don't know what I said that was wrong, but since you put it that way, let's just say that's how it is. I was wrong, yeah, definitely."
As an adult, Ash naturally didn't press further. He just chuckled lightly and smoothed her hair like calming an agitated cat.
Although that made Lawine calm down a little, she still muttered unhappily, "What's with acting like some mature adult now? Your gaze just now was so indecent."
"It wasn't indecent. It was a gentle gaze!"
"Looking at someone's underwear and calling it a gentle gaze... do you think I'm stupid?"
"Speaking of which, you knew your underwear would be seen, so why didn't you change into something else? Well... I don't mind, though."
A silver-haired girl in gothic dresses, lifting her skirt, he couldn't think of any man who could resist that.
"You really are a pervert... perverted old man!", The girl didn't answer, just pressed her lips together and gave him a disdainful look.
In a situation like this, that kind of strange gaze could easily spark strange interests. But before Ash could say anything else, footsteps suddenly came from the side.
Both of them stopped talking and looked over instinctively. A long-haired girl with twin tails stepped out from around the corner, staring at Lawine with an expression of disbelief, "Lawine, what are you doing?"
"K-Kanne? W-Wait... why are you here? And since when were you eavesdropping?"
"From the beginning. I heard your mom say you weren't home and had come to Fern's place, so I followed you. But who knew, you just stayed here without going in, and even... even tried to seduce this old man with your underwear."
Completely unprepared to witness this, Kanne looked like she had been betrayed, pointing at her emotionally.
"Lawine! I really misjudged you! I didn't think you were this kind of person!"
"Huh? No! This is a misunderstanding! I just... just!"
Usually she would have already jumped in and started fighting Kanne, but now Lawine was so flustered she looked around helplessly before finally turning to Ash with a pleading look.
But even if it was left to him, Ash just felt a headache coming on.
Because he couldn't think of any proper or reasonable excuse to explain this situation. In the end, he simply started making something up with a straight face, "Actually... Lawine has been afflicted with a strange curse, so that's why she's acting like this "
"Old man, do you really think I'm an idiot?", Even though he spoke confidently, Kanne just looked at him coldly.
He didn't have a choice. Lawine was stepping hard on his foot, forcing him to actively deal with it, so he forced a smile and said, "There's no choice, this isn't the time to pick methods or approaches."
"You should pick them! I'm not an idiot! And what does a curse have to do with this kind of perverted behavior?"
"Maybe it does?"
"I've never heard of that!", Faced with such blatant nonsense, Kanne got so worked up she was about to lose control and lunge at him.
"Alright, to be honest, I haven't heard of it either..."
"Then why say it?"
"I just said whatever came to mind."
Since this kind of thing couldn't really be explained anyway, he tried to muddy the waters as much as possible. But, it didn't seem to have much effect.
Lawine had already turned her back, covering her face, unable to face them and choosing to escape reality.
Kanne still looked angry, but her attention had shifted entirely onto him. Her eyes narrowed so much they were almost invisible:
"Old man... are you actually some kind of pervert with that kind of interest?"
"If you listened to the conversation just now, you'd know I was just passively looking."
"You looked pretty happy."
"Not that happy..."
"And in the dungeon, you forced Lawine too, right?"
"That was her misunderstanding... uh, you knew about that too?", Halfway through explaining, he looked toward Lawine, who looked like she wished she could disappear, and stared in disbelief.
"You said you couldn't tell anyone and you still told her?"
Honestly, he couldn't understand why she would bring that up. Covering her face, Lawine finally muttered softly:
"Because... Kanne already talked about the stomach thing... I couldn't just..."
"I don't think those are on the same level at all."
Even Ash felt like covering his face now. He hadn't expected that teasing one of them would be like stirring up a whole swarm.
Kanne, however, couldn't take it anymore, "Old man! You don't take any responsibility yourself, and now you're blaming Lawine?"
"I'm just stating facts and reasoning."
There really was no such thing as a free lunch. Was this the price of enjoying those perks? He mourned inwardly, then casually placed a hand on Kanne's head and sighed, "Anyway, how about I take you both back first?"
"You think we're that easy to dismiss?"
"Before we go back, I'll treat you to something else."
With his left hand pressing on Kanne's head and his right arm around Lawine, he forcibly led the two away from the scene.
Although both of them were a bit unwilling, they still half-resisted, half-accepted being taken away. After all, if Fern got involved, things would only get more troublesome.
———
As the night deepened, going out with two girls who were basically like his daughter's friends, and both were beautiful girls Ash couldn't help but feel something was off, though there was also a strange kind of excitement.
"But seriously, what am I even doing? This really isn't great, is it?", As the girls on either side happily ordered food, clearly planning to make him spend a lot, a bit of conscience made him shake his head.
"What are you complaining about? Two cute girls are willing to spend time with you, and you're still sighing?", Seeing his reluctant expression, Lawine angrily stepped on his foot under the table, venting her frustration.
'If it hurt, how heavy could a mage's foot be? I am more worried someone might see and think I have some kind of strange fetish.'
'Though the underwear design was indeed cute. Completely unlike her outward appearance... no, stop thinking weird things...'
"Kanne really is gentle," He simply ignored Lawine, resting his chin on one hand and smiling as he stroked Kanne's head.
Kanne immediately let out a "Hehe~" and obediently swayed her head.
But that made Lawine look very unhappy. She glared at him while continuing to step on his foot, even dirtying his shoes, like a child seeking attention, or... a sulking little wife?
"Alright... fine, Lawine is cute too," With no other choice, he freed up one hand and stroked Lawine's head as well.
"That attitude is so perfunctory. What do you take me for?"
"What counts as not perfunctory? It's not like I can kiss you, hug you, or lift you up or anything. If Fern saw me treating her friends like that, she'd probably stab me."
"I never said it had to be that far! Pervert!"
"Yes, yes, I'm a pervert, I'm indecent."
Even though she said that, her over-the-knee white boots finally left his foot, which made Ash wonder, 'Does she actually want to be lifted up?. But if I say that, she'll definitely get mad again.'
'So what is this, assertive or tsundere? Either way, this ks6 really troublesome. Just as troublesome as Serie's personality.'
Even while complaining internally, his hands stayed busy, stroking both girls' heads, trying to keep either of them from getting upset.
Even though the situation was a bit strange, and he felt conflicted, it was... unexpectedly enjoyable?
At least, even though he complained in his heart and muttered under his breath, his hands were having plenty of fun... a strange mix of suffering and enjoyment.
Of course, if they weren't his daughter's friends, it might have been even more enjoyable.
Unfortunately, he didn't get to enjoy this "double blessing" for long. A familiar, aged voice came from behind, "I always thought you'd be a bit more distant."
The old man with a monocle, Denken, finally couldn't help but walk over. Beside him was Serie's second senior disciple, the white-haired old man, Lernen.
Lernen, who had a relatively introverted and timid personality, lowered his head when he saw him, "It's been a while, Lord Ash. You seem to be in good spirits lately."
Before Ash could respond, the appearance of Lernen made Kanne and Lawine quickly slap away his hands from their heads and stand up to greet politely, "Good evening!"
"Principal, long time no see!"
"Good evening to you too. Lawine, you still have a lot of room to improve. Don't relax just because you've become a First-Class Mage. Kanne, work hard again in three years. You'll definitely succeed next time."
As the principal of the magic academy, Lernen smiled kindly and nodded at the two of them. After greeting his students, he gestured for them to sit without being so tense.
"Why does Lernen get such good treatment, but you show me so little respect?"
"Because! Mr. Lernen is our principal, and he even teaches us personally sometimes. Our teachers are all his students!", Sitting upright, Kanne explained in a small voice, while Lawine also spoke seriously, "And in terms of seniority, we should be polite, right?"
"But then shouldn't you be even more polite to me?"
"No, you're just Fern's uncle."
"Right, just a troublesome elder from a friend's family."
They spoke bluntly without holding back. But Lernen's attitude also made them realize, Ash's status was much higher than they had thought.
After all, not only could he act freely even in front of Serie, but even someone like Lernen, the second-in-command of the Magic Association, treated him as if he were of higher standing.
"Old man... you're not actually a grandpa, are you?", Kanne suddenly got a bit worried and leaned over the table to ask in a low voice.
Lawine pretended not to care, but the way she kept glancing at him made it obvious she was afraid he might nod.
"My situation is a bit special. Considering everything, I wouldn't really count as a grandpa," He had originally wanted to nod, but for some reason, he shook his head instead, with a hint of trouble.
But as soon as he said it, he regretted it a little. Unfortunately, it was too late to take it back.
Because the two girls had already let out a sigh of relief. Denken also cleared his throat, "I'll cover whatever you want to eat. You two should go sit somewhere else for now. We have something important to discuss."
During the exam it might have been different, but considering his age, and with the principal right there, the two girls reluctantly got up and moved to another table.
Denken and Lernen then brought Ash over to a corner on the other side. It was during the move that he finally learned the two of them had once been close friends, just not having seen each other for many years.
And this time, Denken had something to ask of Lernen, and also something to ask of him.
———
Since Ash already knew a bit about Denken's relationship with the Golden Land and Macht, Denken spoke plainly about his wish, to return to his hometown to visit the grave.
But his hometown and the surrounding forest had all been turned into gold. Even if he went there, he would only face cold, unbreakable gold. And...
"My master, Macht, is still there. So I hope...", At the end of his words, Denken directly stated his purpose. But before he could finish, Ash waved his hand dismissively and interrupted, "Give up. Even if you add Lernen, you still won't be able to defeat Macht."
"I know that. No matter how strong a First-Class Mage is, I can't surpass my master," Denken calmly shook his head, "But I don't want to go back to defeat him or save my hometown..."
"Then what?"
"It's just a protection request. Since Macht is still in that golden land, even if I obtain magic from Serie that can counter the gold transformation, I can't guarantee my safety. So I hope you can protect me while I return to my hometown to visit the grave."
"Going to such lengths just to visit a grave?"
"You're colder than I thought."
"Isn't that just reality? The person's already dead. What's the point of caring about this? It's more important to treat your wife well while she's alive. Risking being attacked by Macht just to visit a grave now... that feels like making a mountain out of a molehill."
"It's not that simple... Maybe for me now, recalling the happy times I spent with my wife has already become something frightening."
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