"Is that so?"
'They're definitely both troublesome, aren't they?', With a strange expression, Sense nodded slightly, though she kept that thought to herself.
Originally she wanted to say a little more, but new examinees arrived from behind. She quickly turned and left, afraid someone might see her standing together with Ash in such an obviously close manner and create unnecessary misunderstandings.
If people really thought there was some kind of under-the-table operation, it wouldn't be troublesome, but it would still make her feel awkward.
However… Ash's voice called out behind her with a reminder.
"You really don't need to worry. If anyone asks later, just push everything onto me for now."
"How could I possibly do that… Lord Ash really is… someone who causes trouble."
Sense didn't turn back. Yet as she murmured those helpless words, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly despite herself.
———
The people who arrived after Sense were, surprisingly, all acquaintances of Ash.
Aside from Ubel and Kanne, there was also the captain of the Northern Magic Squad, Wirbel, who had fled together with them.
Kanne had only just reached the gate to the deepest part. She hadn't even had time to marvel at the thoroughly wrecked hall before noticing Ash, who was still teasing the bound clone.
The sight immediately made her charge forward angrily.
"Old man! That was too much! You ran off while carrying Lawine! And you completely ignored us! Do you know how hard it was for us to escape?"
"What are you even talking about? This is an exam. Why would I keep helping you all the time? Lawine didn't even get the chance to pull out her bottle at that moment, so I stepped in."
Ash looked helpless and flicked her forehead with his finger.
Kanne clutched her forehead and stepped back, letting out a dissatisfied little "Uu~," like a puppy that had been bullied.
"Even so, you were definitely playing favorites, old man! It would've been enough to save her. Why did you carry her and run so far?"
"That's not what happened. Just focus on the exam, okay?"
Actually, he had found Lawine's embarrassed reaction amusing and ended up carrying her around a bit longer than necessary. But that wasn't something he could explain.
So he quietly looked away and tried to change the subject. However—
"Thinking about it carefully, Lawine got way quieter afterward. Something definitely happened between you two… I have that feeling!"
Kanne might sometimes get confused about other people, but when it came to the childhood friend she had grown up with, she had her own way of judging things. The way she stared at him even had a hint of scrutiny, as if trying to force him to reveal the truth.
But could those things be said out loud? No matter how he thought about it, that was impossible.
So he pretended he hadn't heard anything and calmly replied, "Right now, shouldn't the exam be more important?"
"Changing the subject?"
"Just handling official matters."
"You're not even an examiner, old man. You're an examinee just like us, right?", Kanne leaned forward slightly with her hands on her hips.
But he answered righteously, "Even so, as a member of the Magic Association, I have a duty to maintain fairness and justice in the exam."
"Still~ since the last opponent is just Sense now, that's pretty lucky~"
Ubel, who had been watching the fun from the side, licked her lips in a rather alluring way as she looked at the restrained clone.
"It's fine. I'll do it."
Just from that expression, Ash could tell she was confident.
Even though there was a huge difference in strength, Ubel's cutting magic had an extremely high ceiling. Ordinary mages couldn't deal with Sense's hair, but Ubel's unique cutting magic might happen to counter it perfectly.
Especially since during past conversations with Sense, the way she reacted to Ubel made it seem like she treated her as a natural predator. That made Ash even more certain.
So he quietly placed a hand on Ubel's head and pushed her away from the bound clone.
"Forget it. You can all just go through."
"Oh my… you're saying that now?", Ubel raised an eyebrow in surprise, "As a member of the Magic Association, I have a duty to maintain fairness and justice in the exam… didn't you just say that?"
"We've known each other for so long. Saying things like that now feels a bit too distant."
"You're saying that now? You definitely only use whatever benefits you, don't you?", Ubel waved her wand with a teasing smile all over her face.
"Even if that's the case, so what? No one loses anything. It's a win-win situation. What's wrong with that?"
"You really do have a nice personality~"
Seeing that he wasn't even embarrassed after being exposed and continued speaking confidently, Ubel, who had only been teasing him for fun, couldn't help laughing.
"But it's just a clone. Keeping it is useless, right? Why are you protecting it?"
"I just think it would be a waste."
"A waste? You don't happen to be someone with strange interests in monsters, do you? N-no, wait. Do you have strange ideas about Sense? Since the real one rejected you, you turned to the clone instead? That's pretty extreme, isn't it?"
Even Ubel started getting chills the more she thought about it.
Kanne frowned in displeasure, "How could that be? The old man probably just can't bear to see a humanoid creature get killed."
"You're imagining him way too kind, aren't you?"
The bizarre speculation made Ubel doubt her own ears. She even shot Ash a reproachful look, suspecting he had deceived this innocent girl.
But Ash didn't want to say anything more. The more he tried to explain strange things like this, the worse it would sound.
So he simply pushed the three of them forward into the passage and stayed where he was, staring at the clone restrained by binding magic.
In truth, he didn't have any strange thoughts at all. It was just that…
"It's not that I have weird interests, but thinking about it seriously, isn't this basically a ready-made life-sized figure? That saves quite a bit of decoration money."
As he reached out and applied a sealing touch, turning the stone-like clone girl completely into stone, regret began to rise in his mind.
Why had he destroyed all the other clones earlier?
If he'd kept them, a bunch of statues like that placed around the room would've been interesting to look at. It would've saved a huge amount on decorations too.
Ash's calculations were simple. Once the exam ended, he would quietly take the petrified Sense clone and the Spiegel away.
The Spiegel would be secretly transported to the royal capital by someone else. As for the Sense clone, worried that people might think he had strange interests, Ash hid it in his wardrobe, and thought he will send it to the capital after he leaves.
"Good thing she's small. If she were bigger, this would've been troublesome."
After quietly hiding the petrified girl inside the neatly organized wardrobe, Ash wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Then he happily left the house, planning to find a good place to read and also fulfill the promise he had made during the first exam round by delivering the grimoires to those people.
———
And at that very same morning, at that very same moment, at the top of the Magic Association's white tower, the atmosphere was completely different from his relaxed happiness. Instead, it felt unusually heavy.
The blond elf girl, Serie, was currently sitting cross-legged in the deepest part of the meeting room, leaning back against the only chair positioned in front of a stained-glass window.
On both sides of the carpet before her stood four First-Class Mages who were still stationed at the branch, including Sense.
Yet inside the meeting room, the only sound was the faint crackling of firewood burning in the fireplace to the side.
All of them were famous First-Class Mages, yet every single person present maintained absolute silence.
Resting her cheek on one hand, Serie looked over them with a slightly amused smile before finally turning her gaze to Sense.
"Twenty-three people passed the second exam. That's far too abnormal. Too many. It's almost the same as everyone passing."
"Sense, although the cooperative-style exam you proposed was good, after all, First-Class Mages nowadays do lack coordination, this exam ended up having someone who was far stronger than expected. That person completely destroyed the balance."
"You mean Lady Frieren and Lord Ash, right?"
One of the examiners, Lernen, Ehre's grandfather, spoke while brewing tea for her.
He wore a white cloak, his hair completely white, and even his beard had turned white with age.
"Honestly, I think those two didn't need to participate in the exam at all."
"It's all thanks to them. No, it's all Ash's fault! Because of him, many people without enough strength passed as well. If things continue like this, based on the usual third exam, they'll all die."
Serie still sat in her unrefined posture and ignored Lernen. Instead, she turned her gaze toward the only other woman in the room and teased, "Sense, this completely goes against your hope for a peaceful selection process."
"...."
"Not talking again, huh? Never mind… I'm not asking you to apologize anyway. After all, it's all Ash's fault. It's all Ash's fault."
"Lord Ash's fault?"
"What's wrong?"
Seeing her speak for once, Serie looked interested.
"Come to think of it, you're always covering for Ash. Are you planning to speak up for him again this time?"
"The rules weren't clear to begin with, so part of the problem lies with me. Lord Ash didn't really do anything wrong. But…"
"But what?"
"I'm surprised that Lord Ash said something similar to what you just said… You and Lord Ash are actually very alike."
"Alike? Hmph! Impossible. It's just that the mature me is tolerating that reckless guy."
"Lord Ash said something very similar."
With her mouth slightly open, Sense had already decided she wasn't going to be surprised anymore.
The other First-Class Mages at the side could only smile helplessly. None of them understood how these two willful people had managed to establish a world authority like the Magic Association.
Of course, strength was one reason. But being this willful and still not causing disasters… it was probably because Ash had complicated ties with the kingdom, and because Serie had been strong enough during her time in the Holy Capital.
At this moment, however, Serie herself looked a little irritated.
"Enough! Special circumstances require special measures. In any case, I'll personally handle the third exam."
"A true peaceful selection… Normally, Lernen, you're the one responsible for the third exam. Any objections?"
She looked toward the old man.
Lernen simply placed his hand on his chest and bowed respectfully.
"Lady Serie's willfulness isn't anything new. I have no objections. Besides, leaving Lord Ash aside, I'm not qualified to test Lady Frieren either."
"Oh?", Serie crossed her legs with interest.
"You can tell with a single glance that Lady Frieren is suppressing her mana. Her true mana is enormous. It could even rival yours."
"What? Lernen, you noticed that?"
"Just a bit of luck."
"Heh! You said you could tell with a single glance, yet even now you're still humble and steady…"
Serie casually swung her leg.
"Frieren has spent all these years training that impractical skill, devoting her entire life to it. Even among demons, who are extremely sensitive to mana, almost no one can see through it except the Demon King."
"Even so, if two people are evenly matched, underestimating someone because you can't see through them would be fatal. That's probably the main reason she chose to train that skill."
"But if she had focused on other magic, she would already be several times stronger than she is now. She might even be able to fight Ash in his full state… or become a force capable of restraining that guy."
"Lord Ash's full state?", Lernen didn't quite understand those words, though Sense showed a thoughtful expression.
"Even though he's an irritating guy, Ash is a genuinely talented bastard. He's already grown to a height none of you will ever reach," As she spoke, Serie stepped down from her chair.
Sense silently draped a coat over her shoulders using her hair.
As Serie passed by Lernen, she spoke casually.
"In contrast… it's been half a century since you became the first First-Class Mage, yet you're still a timid child. That disappoints me greatly."
"You might not reach Ash's level, but you at least reached the level of seeing through Frieren. Now your time is nearly up."
"You'll never have the chance to fight Frieren in this life. Even if… you might have had a chance to defeat her."
At the doorway, Serie glanced back at Lernen with a trace of regret and a voice filled with barbs.
Then she shook her head and left.
"I shouldn't have taken humans as disciples after all… what a pity."
'In the end, that child couldn't see it either… the fluctuations of my mana.'
As she walked away with regret, Serie truly felt disappointed in her heart.
Perhaps his talent simply wasn't enough.
After all, Ash, a demon, had noticed the fluctuations of her mana the very first time they met, when he had still been weak.
Her regret wasn't only about Lernen's nearing death. It was also that even at the final moment, his effort still couldn't surpass talent.
After Serie left, the people in the room who had just been scolded by their blunt master didn't make a sound.
They simply stood there in silence.
Especially Lernen, who had been lectured the most. He lowered his head, unable to hide his disappointment.
After a long time, he finally seemed to finish thinking. He slowly raised his head and broke the silence, revealing a decision that shocked everyone present.
"I will… kill Lady Frieren."
"Why?"
Sense spoke on behalf of everyone.
"To prove yourself?"
"I don't want that person to be alone in the future."
"I don't understand at all."
"Among Lady Serie's disciples, the only one who left a name in history was the legendary great mage Flamme. When I die of old age, there will be one less proof that Lady Serie existed."
"I don't want that person to be alone in the future. So even if I leave behind a bad reputation, it doesn't matter."
Lernen spoke of his own view to the younger mages.
The other two seemed half-understanding, half-confused.
Only Sense widened her eyes slightly and murmured softly,
"When you put it like that… I think I might… kind of understand."
"Is that so? You also don't want Lady Serie to be alone? Or…"
"..."
Sense didn't answer. She simply continued thinking in silence.
Lernen didn't press her further. Instead, he looked toward the direction Serie had disappeared.
The other two exchanged confused glances. They had no idea what those two were talking about or what they understood.
Yet… as colleagues, it didn't seem like they had any reason to stop him either.
In reality, Lernen hadn't spoken the true reason he wanted to kill Frieren.
Only Sense understood it.
Lernen hoped to leave his name in history. He wanted, in the distant future, for Serie to still remember him and occasionally recall him.
Rather than being completely abandoned and forgotten in the long river of history.
Even if the method he used left behind nothing but infamy.
———
After fulfilling his promises to others and reading outside for a while, Ash finally returned home.
When he arrived, he saw Kanne and Lawine chatting happily with Fern and the others.
The girls seemed to be eagerly waiting for news about the third exam, hoping they would pass it easily as well.
"If I go in now, I'll probably get lectured. Maybe I should just go somewhere else today."
He had already been avoiding Fern the entire previous night, and he had left early in the morning too.
Thinking about it now, he quietly turned around to leave again.
But he had only just turned around when a blue bird flew down in front of him and dropped a letter.
He opened it casually and took a look.
Immediately, a slight headache crept in.
And so… he headed toward the Magic Association.
———
At the top of the white tower was a vast glass dome, bathed in gentle sunlight like a special greenhouse.
Within this miracle where nature and architecture blended together, an artificial pond shimmered with rippling light, reflecting the carefully arranged flower beds around it.
Lush trees and rare plants surrounded the area, weaving together a vivid ecological scene.
Along the straight path at the center, a blond elf crouched beside a flower bed.
Her eyes were fixed on a blooming flower, where a colorful butterfly fluttered lightly.
It should have been a beautiful scene.
Unfortunately, without even lifting her head, she spoke toward Ash who had just arrived. Her voice carried a bit of surprise and a trace of displeasure.
"You actually dared to come."
"Let me say this first. I don't think I did anything wrong."
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