After Frieren joined this forest cabin family, greatly raising the average age of the household, the peaceful days passed slowly.
As spring went and autumn came, Fern's hair gradually grew from shoulder length down to her waist.
In yet another winter, with snow outside the window falling in sheets and piling up thickly on the ground, with the wind howling nonstop outside, urgent and low, Ash's heart felt just as icy as the world beyond the glass.
"That child was always so well behaved and considerate, and now she's already in her rebellious phase?", Being avoided by the child he had watched grow up made Ash, sitting in his rocking chair, suddenly feel lonely and sad.
Frieren, warming her hands as close to the fireplace as possible, glanced over and said with certainty, "You disappeared for half a year this time. Fern must have grown distant from you. You're not even an elf, yet you're worse than me at understanding kids."
"Is that so?", Even though the fire was burning brightly, crackling as logs snapped and popped, the cold, distant attitude of the child he had raised, even more frightening than a rebellious phase, made Ash's heart grow even colder.
The old man sipping tea at the side rolled his eyes at their conversation, but could not be bothered to correct them.
Fern, standing nearby, puffed up her cheeks and stared at Ash in silence. When he looked back at her, she let out a soft huff and turned her head away, clearly refusing to talk.
Kids' feelings really are impossible for adults to understand. That must be the generation gap. Even though he felt regretful, Ash still habitually reached out and gently stroked Fern's head.
No matter how dissatisfied she was with him, she did not resist this one action, and the expression on her face softened without her realizing it.
Although she had already decided not to pry into Ash's affairs so as not to burden him, this time his sudden disappearance for so long made Fern unable to hold back her worries. Under that gentle stroking, she finally could not help asking,
"Lord Ash, why do you always have to leave?"
"Well... I have all kinds of things to do."
"What, don't tell me you're going on dates or something?"
"Dates?", Hearing that from Fern made him pause for a moment, a pleased look appearing on his face as he realized she was growing up, "So you even know about dates now."
"Lady Frieren said that Lord Ash has very vulgar desires and always wants to go watch shooting stars with women... is that true?"
"No, no, that's not vulgar at all, is it?", He shook his head in disbelief and glared at Frieren in dissatisfaction.
"You, what kind of nonsense are you teaching this kid?"
"I didn't say vulgar," Frieren waved her hands.
"Heiter!"
"What are you looking at me for?", Heiter shook his head helplessly, "I don't think it's vulgar either. If anything, isn't that a man's romance?"
"That's right!", With support from an ally, Ash immediately straightened up, "Not vulgar at all! Fern, that won't do, you know? You're judging my noble soul with such dirty thoughts, and even picking up weird ideas on your own."
"....", Fern ignored him and turned to glare at Heiter in dissatisfaction, "Lord Heiter...!"
Just that alone made Heiter instantly change his tune with a doting smile, turning his spear toward Ash instead.
"I was just joking. Actually it really is very vulgar. As a man, you really shouldn't."
"Lord Ash! Did you hear that? Even Bishop Heiter says so! Please reflect on yourself and correct it!", Instantly turning enemies into allies, Fern puffed up her cheeks like a pufferfish and righteously demanded that he change, leaving him staring in shock.
"Is this really my fault?"
"Of course it is!"
"Haa! I knew it. When kids grow up, they stop being affectionate and start rebelling," Ash did not argue with her. Instead, he quietly took out his treasured magic device from his pocket.
With a nostalgic look, he poured mana into it, and Fern's childish voice immediately played out.
["If it weren't for Lord Ash, I might have already died by the side of the road! It was Lord Ash who gave me hot food and a clean bed! Gave me a home! When I was scared, it was you..."]
"W-wait! Th- what is that?"
Fern, who had been puffing up her cheeks, quickly recognized her own voice. Her face instantly turned red as she rushed forward to try to stop it.
But he stood up and dodged her in an instant, sighing dramatically as he listened.
"Fern used to be so cute and even said she liked me the most. But now Fern. Haa! I really do like little Fern more."
"W-when did you record that? Please, hurry up and hand over that weird thing!"
"Nope~"
"I... I'm really angry now!"
"Even if you're angry, I won't give it to you. This is my emotional support. Losing it would be like losing my soul!"
Even when Fern threw herself at him and kept standing on her tiptoes trying to grab it, Ash did not give in at all. He even kept going until the recording finished playing.
With no other choice, Fern clenched her fists and puffed up her young face until it was round as a ball. Even though she was already red with embarrassment, she kept glaring at him.
If you had to say whether it was cute, it really was extremely cute, not scary at all. So Ash had no intention of giving in and happily showed off his treasure to Frieren.
Frieren could not help nodding in admiration.
"You really do have something nice there. To think that such a cold Fern once had such a cute phase. Even I didn't expect that."
"Right?"
The two of them got together and chatted enthusiastically, but the price was that Fern puffed up her cheeks, turned her back on them, and ignored them all night.
It was the same the next day. Heiter did not help them say a single good word, forcing the two of them to apologize to her one after another.
Even so, she forgave Frieren but not Ash, because Ash still refused to hand over the recording or tell her where he went.
As a result, Fern went into a cold war with him for several days, forcing him to decide that unless it was a critical moment, he should not casually bring out this trump card again.
In truth, it was not that Ash did not want to tell them what he was doing when he left. It was just that most of the time he could not explain it clearly.
Aside from going to the magic city, most of the other places he went were royal capitals and the Demon King's castle.
Because in the Demon King's castle there were two great demons, the Sage of Corruption Qual and the Bloody God of War Rivale. One could teach him innovative magic, and the other could teach him martial arts.
And both of them were extremely strong. If left unchecked, they might cause huge trouble outside, so he had to go there regularly to keep them in line. Of course... he also wanted to improve himself, which was why he often went to the Demon King's castle.
If he did not go from time to time, who knew how many towns and villages would suffer. Qual was fairly focused on research and would not go out much, but Rivale was a berserker who always wanted to fight worthy warriors. He even wanted to go to the warriors' village to see if anyone could take one of his blows, only giving up because a more worthy opponent had arrived.
Fortunately, he had only occupied the Demon King's castle and had not declared himself the Demon King, which avoided a lot of trouble.
Compared to how things at the Demon King's castle remained as usual, the forest cabin, as time passed, slowly shifted from a warm and harmonious atmosphere into something heavier and more tense.
Because Heiter's body grew weaker with time, and at night you could even hear his unending coughing.
Magic could heal external injuries, but it could not heal illness, nor could it do anything about the aging of the body. Not only Frieren and Ash, even Fern could clearly feel that Heiter's life was nearing its end.
That was why, when she saw Heiter fall and become bedridden, she could not help anxiously asking Frieren, "Lady Frieren, has there been no progress with that grimoire? Can't you speed it up even a little?"
"That grimoire, I think... no, don't worry. I will speed it up," Frieren stopped halfway as if she had realized something, silently shook her head, and chose not to say more.
———
In Heiter's room, Ash sat on the chair by the bed with his arms crossed, saying nothing.
Heiter, lying on the bed and needing time to recover from his fall, looked at him with a smile.
"After this, I'll be leaving that child to you."
"It's too early to start talking about last words."
"But it's probably soon."
"That's true."
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For all sorts of things," Heiter slowly closed his eyes. There was not much fear of death on his face, only reluctance and attachment.
In the days that followed, Fern practiced magic nonstop, hoping to fulfill the promise she had made with Heiter for after he was gone.
Using attack magic, she wanted to pierce through the rock on the far side of the cliff behind the mountain, to become an independent mage, so that Heiter, who had become almost like her real grandfather, could leave this world at ease.
Feeling that he did not have much time left, Heiter even began to think about whether, at the very end, he should tell Frieren the truth about how he and Ash had worked together to trick her.
Because of Ash's special nature, Heiter could not be sure how long he would take care of Fern.
So before Frieren left, he hoped Fern would at least have the ability to keep up with one of them, or that when he passed away, he could see that Fern had the ability to support herself. Only then could he leave in peace.
Just as Fern treated him like a grandfather, he truly regarded this small life he had encountered at the end of his own life as his granddaughter.
Ash understood his thoughts quite well. Looking at the weak and exhausted old man on the bed, he could not help sighing.
"I know what you want, but you've misunderstood something. At this point, there's no way I would abandon her. I can tell you that clearly. If she improves just a little more, she'll be able to stand on her own as an adult and earn a living. There really isn't much to worry about."
"Honestly, what is Fern to you?", Heiter suddenly asked this strange question, making Ash pause slightly.
"Fern? A child, of course. What else would she be?"
Having watched her grow up, it was really hard for Ash to see her as anything else.
"Haha! True, in our eyes she has always been a child," Considering the reality, Heiter could not help laughing. Then he added meaningfully, "But children grow up. One day she will become a graceful young woman, and you will not age. Before long... at least in appearance, you two will be peers."
"Only in appearance, right?"
"If when she was little she could see you as a father, when she grows up and looks just like you, can she really keep seeing you that way? I think it would be very hard. And what do you think?"
Ash's situation was very special, so Heiter sat up in bed with a serious look, as if a grandfather were guarding his granddaughter.
That strange attitude made Ash puzzled.
"What do you think about all day? Of course I'd be her older brother."
"No blood relation."
"Then the neighbor's big brother."
"The neighbor's big brother... who took care of her from childhood. What is that?"
"Let me think."
"We can put that aside. In the future she'll look about twenty something. What about you?"
"The neighbor's little brother? Hey! Stop thinking about all this weird stuff," Not wanting to be bothered by this anymore, Ash waved his hand to cut Heiter off and said firmly,
"No matter what, I'm still an elder. I believe that even though she seems a bit rebellious now, she respects me in her heart. When she grows up, she'll still see me as an elder."
"Even if, worst case, that's how she thinks. What about you? Don't you keep saying you want to find a proper young lady to watch shooting stars with? Fern is already pretty cute now. When she really grows up, she'll definitely be even cuter, right?"
"So what kind of person do you take me for? How could I ever lay a hand on a child I watched grow up? I'd sooner lay a hand on a demon, on an angel, or mess around with an old elf, than do anything to Fern."
His old friend's ridiculous suspicion made him answer without hesitation, almost ready to swear an oath on the spot.
Besides having watched her grow up, there was also a very real reason... the difference in lifespan. That was a fundamental problem.
Like the case they had encountered on their adventures, where a dwarf married a human wife.
The result was that the human wife passed away early, while the dwarf husband stayed behind, guarding her grave and village, not knowing how many more years he would have to endure.
Races with different lifespans should never be together. That was a lesson history had taught them.
Even if there were no relationship issues, he would still one day see Fern grow old, that was unavoidable.
Thinking of that, Heiter said no more. With a helpless sigh, he looked up at the ceiling and said softly, "Then from heaven, I'll pray for you."
"Don't think about that now. Just live properly."
"Haha! That's true..."
With a weak smile, Heiter closed his eyes, and Ash also looked away, turning his gaze to the window.
At that moment, it was as if heaven itself pitied this old man who was over a hundred and still had so much to worry about. Outside, a storm raged, rain pounding against the windows, creating an eerie sense of impending doom.
After a long silence, Ash suddenly spoke.
"But... no matter what happens, no matter how Fern sees me, I will protect her until the end of her life. Not for you, but because I can't stand to watch a child I raised die an untimely death."
"That is... better than anything. But now I feel very sorry toward you."
"Forget it. This is my choice."
"Is that so? Then... thank you. I'll be counting on you."
Their conversation ended there. After that, only the mournful sound of the wind blowing through the cracks of the window remained in the room.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[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.