At first, Ash thought that becoming a disciple might involve some strange tests, but in the end, it was unexpectedly simple.
Unexpectedly, he completed the apprenticeship. Unexpectedly, he obtained the magic of a great demon from the mythic era. And just like that, he stayed here, flipping through Serie's other books.
When you really get down to it, there wasn't any particularly special reason.
Serie had the ability to end the war, but she had no intention of doing so. In fact, unless it was absolutely necessary, she basically wouldn't take action against demons at all.
According to the research Ash had done before coming here, elves actually had a rather weak sense of racial identity to begin with. Compared to world peace, maintaining a state of war was what she preferred. Only if a massive catastrophe appeared would she decide whether to intervene. Or perhaps not intervene at all.
It was precisely because he had this level of confidence that Ash dared to come here. And it was also simply because Ash seemed interesting to her that she casually accepted him as a disciple, and then—
"Ash, since you've already become my disciple and I've taken in a new student, hurry up and prepare a big feast so we can celebrate together!", Serie, who had actually wanted to be freed from the kitchen for a long time, waved her little hand and unhesitatingly ordered her new disciple around.
However, Ash, who was still looking through her treasured collection of books, looked up, and the two of them just stared at each other wide-eyed. He showed absolutely no sign of moving.
This immediately made her unhappy, "Did you not hear what I just said?"
"No, I was just thinking... are you serious, Serie?"
"What do you mean? I'm teaching you magic, and you won't even cook a meal for me?"
"It's not that I won't. It's that I don't know how. Of course, if you want to try demon cuisine, I wouldn't mind showing off a bit."
"Demon cuisine?"
"We basically eat everything raw. But can your digestive system really handle that? If you can, I don't mind letting you try some."
Ash said this with a completely straight face, even though he himself didn't really know what he was talking about, and quietly stood up, clearly planning to go prepare some pork sashimi for her.
Just imagining the taste of raw meat going into her mouth was enough to make Serie's entire face scrunch up, "F-forget it, I'll handle it myself."
"By the way, I'm actually a bit different. I like eating cooked meat."
"Who asked you? Get lost! Go eat your demon cuisine outside!"
"No. Also, I can eat barbecue."
"You're not just too lazy to do it, are you? You're messing with me on purpose, right?"
"Believe me, I'm doing this for your health."
Serie really wanted to make Ash do the work, but unfortunately, even when she later tried to get him to cook, the results were unbelievably awful.
She tried to teach him, but in the blink of an eye, three years passed.
"Serie, add a bit of chili. Trust me, meat tastes better with chili!"
"I won't. I don't eat spicy food," Serie stirred the pan while scolding him without even turning her head, "And also! Why is it that I'm clearly the one teaching you, yet you're the one bossing me around here?"
"Come on, don't say it like that. We're master and disciple, why fuss over details?", He breezily ignored Serie's displeasure and continued on his own, "Use less salt too. Your food is way too heavy."
"You're just a demon, yet you're awfully picky."
"I'm worried that at your age, eating such heavy flavors will give you high blood pressure."
"I've eaten like this for thousands of years and I'm fine! On the other hand, you've only been here three years, and my blood pressure has already gone up a lot!"
Why did it turn into her culinary skills improving through teaching, and then her being stuck handling all the meals?
Even though she was often too bored, and Ash's ideas were indeed plentiful and not bad, that inexplicable sense of emptiness still made her extremely unhappy. She turned her head and shot Ash a vicious glare.
Already pretty familiar with the habits of this shorty elf teacher, Ash very naturally raised both hands, smiled, and quietly backed away on the spot, doing his best to avoid getting sent flying by his angered teacher.
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.
.
Days of freeloading always have their limits. Even though elves were extremely patient and their sense of time was different from humans, by the third year, Serie finally couldn't take it anymore and decided to force him to cook.
She even switched to supervising him personally, secretly swearing that she would definitely teach him to become an excellent cook so she would never have to enter the kitchen again.
"Yes! Like that, flip it. And add more seasoning. Hey! Don't think I didn't see that! No chili! If you dare sneak chili in while I'm not looking, I'll stuff it all into your mouth!"
"You're really rough. But roasting a whole lamb without any spice, don't you think that's a bit much?"
"I'm the master. If I say no, then it's no! No talking back."
Watching her disciple squat in front of her turning the grill, Serie lifted her leg and lightly kicked his butt, then casually slapped away the chili powder he had just picked up.
"Tch! Old people these days really don't listen to reason at all," Ash muttered under his breath, clicking his tongue, then casually snapped off a lamb leg to taste what it was like without chili.
But the moment he forcefully tore it off, it was so hot he couldn't stand it. Switching between hands nonstop to avoid getting burned, he instinctively turned around and threw it over.
"Quick! Quick! Serie! Hot hot hot hot! Take it!"
"Eh? Ugh! So hot! So hot!"
Serie, who hadn't reacted in time, instinctively took it, and her expression immediately changed as she got burned too. She also switched hands frantically, then reflexively shoved it back.
Out of a reflex not to waste food, he instinctively caught it again, but immediately shoved it back at her.
"No! Don't give it to me! It's hot!"
"So hot! Hot? You brat… do you think I'm not afraid of heat?"
After one more round of this back-and-forth, Serie finally reacted. While switching hands, she quickly froze the entire lamb leg with ice and threw it onto the ground.
Only after successfully dealing with the scorching lamb leg did Ash wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, "Whew! That was close. My hands almost blistered."
"Yeah, you're fine, but," Serie's face was full of speechlessness. Her small hands, red all over, hovered in midair, and she looked at him like she wanted to strangle him on the spot, gritting her teeth, "My hands are already about to blister!"
Serie's curse-like muttering made Ash glance at her bright red hands. He quietly averted his gaze, pretending nothing had happened, and smoothly changed the topic.
"Ah! By the way, will frozen roasted lamb still taste good?"
"I don't know, I've never tried it. But I do know that if you don't give me an explanation today, you're definitely not going to have a good time," After all, she'd lived for thousands of years. Serie smiled as she spoke, clearly having no intention of letting it end there, forcing him to raise his hands in surrender.
"Alright… honestly, I thought it was hot."
"Am I not afraid of heat?"
"They say old people have thick calluses and don't feel pain."
"Ah! What a coincidence! I've also heard that demons have thick skin and aren't afraid of getting hit," The brightest smile she'd shown so far spread across Serie's face.
"Let's change today's lesson to magic offense and defense. I attack, you run. How about that?"
"I refuse!"
"State your reason."
"Because you'll definitely use it to settle personal grudges," He backed away while pointing at Serie, trying to stop her revenge by appealing to reason and emotion, "And think about it! Serie! Your well-behaved disciple worked so hard to cook for you. Shouldn't this be a touching moment?"
"Well-behaved? Hahaha! Hahaha! You're really interesting! I don't know how you have the nerve to say those two words, but I really am moved now. As a reward for guessing right, I'll give you," Dark flames rose from Serie's hands as she bared a ferocious grin, "The karmic flames of hell!"
BOOM!
The makeshift barbecue stand built outside the ruins was swallowed by raging flames in an instant.
Ash took advantage of the chaos to flee without a trace, but Serie, still harboring resentment, unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks.
In the blink of an eye, even the surrounding forest was completely destroyed.
.
.
.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
After eating the meal Serie reluctantly prepared, Ash planned to head out to explore the neighboring elven village she had mentioned, to see what the elves of this era were like.
"Serie, I'm heading out on a long trip. You won't need to prepare my meals for a while."
"Am I your mother? I've wanted to kick you out for a long time, you freeloader who eats and drinks without doing any work! If anything—" Serie, seated on her throne, first showed displeasure, then joy spread across her face, "Once you're out, don't come back!"
"Don't say it like that. A teacher for a day, a mother for life. In my heart, you are—Ugh?"
Before he could finish, a violent gust of wind cut off his words and blew him straight out of the hall.
Using magic to reduce his own weight, he rolled several times. Though he ended up covered in dust, he wasn't injured at all.
He stood up casually, patted the dirt off his clothes, and couldn't help complaining, "I'm studying diligently, you know? Kicking me out like this is a bit much, no matter how you look at it."
However… Serie deep inside the hall ignored him completely, leaving him feeling awkward. With a huge bundle of ancient magic books he'd conveniently swiped from Serie, he swayed off, temporarily leaving the place.
———
On the way to look for the elven village, Ash hadn't found any elves yet, but instead ran into someone who looked oddly familiar.
'But, thinking carefully, in this world five hundred years ago, I shouldn't have any acquaintances, right?', Though that was also true five hundred years later.
The newcomer had long orange hair covering half her face and looked to be a woman in her early thirties. After a brief moment of doubt, he immediately remembered seeing plenty of information about this person in his research, because, she was the woman who would become the founder of human magic in the future, Flamme.
And now—
"You," Flamme stared at him, as if sensing something off, "Why are you staring at me?"
"Ah~ Ahem! you're Flamme, right? I've heard of you."
"Heard of me?", Flamme, who always kept a low profile, frowned at this and raised her guard, even secretly preparing magic.
After all, this chaotic world was filled with all kinds of dangers. Even the strongest mage could be sent off by a dagger from behind if they weren't careful.
"Don't misunderstand. I heard about you from Serie."
"Master?"
"To be honest, I'm your junior disciple."
"Junior disciple? Master took in a new student?"
"Is that strange?"
"Very strange," Flamme nodded without hesitation and examined him closely, "Given Master's personality, she wouldn't take in disciples that easily. What exactly did she see in you?"
"Probably sincerity and diligence?"
"It's not really my place to say this, but Master isn't the type to accept a disciple just because someone is sincere and hardworking."
"And she's quite rough too. She even blew me straight out when I left. Sigh! I really wish she understood the importance of respecting the elderly and caring for the young."
"....", Flamme didn't respond, only continued to silently observe him.
From appearances alone, Ash didn't seem suspicious at all, but his aura gave her a strange feeling.
What concerned her the most was that Ash's aura clearly told her one thing, he had killed many people.
Was it just because this was the first time she'd seen someone who'd killed so many, making his aura feel off? To be honest, she couldn't be sure either.
Out of caution, she didn't say anything more. Instead, she quietly went around Ash, planning to verify things with Serie after returning.
Standing in place, watching Flamme leave until she disappeared from sight, the smile on Ash's face gradually faded, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
"The aura-concealing method Serie taught me really works. If I'd run into her right from the start, I definitely would've been exposed, right?"
Even though they hadn't fought, just from her aura he could tell that Flamme was absolutely the strongest human he had ever met. Even though she seemed to be hiding her presence.
But since she had already avoided him, he naturally didn't think too much about it, and cheerfully headed toward the village marked on the map Serie had given him.
Not long after leaving the ruins, he gradually realized that Serie giving him the map and telling him the location of the elven village, might have been to send him away? To avoid him staying there and mooching off her?
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.
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After a long journey, Ash finally followed the map and successfully found the legendary elven village, but…
"Isn't the gap between this and what I imagined a bit too big?"
Deep within the remote primeval forest, the hidden elven village felt as though it had been forgotten by time.
It lay quietly in an open yet shadowy clearing, tightly surrounded by vast, dense ancient trees. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy, casting mottled light and shadow, draping the land in a veil of mystery tinged with desolation.
The elves' stone houses were scattered irregularly across the clearing. Their exteriors weren't fancy, and the interiors... were just like the outside, lacking any rustic charm, leaving only plainness.
The rooftops were covered in moss and vines, with time leaving mottled scars upon them, as if telling stories of wild, unchecked growth from the past.
The doors and windows were small and somewhat dilapidated, yet no one bothered to repair them.
The elves' clothing was sparse and extremely simple, even giving off a refugee-like feel. If not for the fact that their clothes were at least clean, these overly plain villagers would be no different from refugees. They looked just like ordinary medieval villagers.
Each of them wore an unmotivated expression, going about their own business. There were no children or elderly in sight. Though even if there were, he probably wouldn't be able to tell.
Serie, that shorty elf, already had a strange enough personality to completely shatter Ash's understanding of elves.
After all, elves in stories were usually supposed to be very beautiful, often with traits like elegance as well. But reality…
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