During the rest of the journey, whenever he had free time, Ash not only buried himself in researching the magic he specialized in, but also enthusiastically asked Ariel and Kumoko about their understanding of Abyss Magic.
Kumoko was completely unreliable, since she depended almost entirely on the System.
Ariel, however, was different. She hadn't lived all these years for nothing.
Although she wasn't known for being especially skilled with magic, after so many years she had already thoroughly figured out things like magical theory.
During this time, Ash also didn't forget about Sophia.
The baby often cried and complained during her daytime training, and Ash would occasionally encourage her from the side.
At night, when everyone set up the tents and prepared to rest, Sophia, who could barely endure the training during the day, started crying and insisted on sleeping with Ash.
Ash hadn't planned on sleeping anyway, so he didn't think it was a big deal and casually agreed.
That left Kumoko a little unhappy. Her huge body couldn't fit inside the tent, so she could only stay outside while sadly singing in her heart, Empty, lonely, feeling cold~ The helpless spider.
Before entering the tent, Ash looked back once and somehow felt... that expressionless girl looked so miserable it was almost overflowing. He didn't know what to say, so he could only think about getting her something good to eat later.
Ariel, meanwhile, happily hugged a barrel of wine and drank to her heart's content, looking completely carefree.
'So in this group, am I the only normal person?', Ash glanced at the two oddballs outside the tent and let out a tired sigh.
He wanted to find something to distract himself from the strange atmosphere, but suddenly noticed Sophia happily hugging his arm.
She looked pretty cute, making him smile.
"You know, at first you didn't actually like me, did you? At the beginning I really did force you to act like you liked me, but now your parents aren't around anymore. You don't have to keep forcing yourself."
"Huh?", Sophia froze for a moment at the unexpected question.
It was true. At first she had been forced to act as though she liked Ash.
But... lately she hadn't really thought about it.
After doing it for so long, it became natural, and she gradually got used to it... More importantly, there didn't seem to be any downside.
But now that he asked, Sophia seriously raised her little head and said,
"This isn't an act."
"Really?"
"You've always helped me. Back at my home... you've done so much for me, so I want to repay you, even if it's only a little."
She looked at him with complete seriousness.
"Then... well, just focus on getting stronger first."
He had originally wanted to tease her by saying that normally this was when someone would offer to marry their benefactor, but saying something like that to a baby felt too twisted, so he changed the subject instead.
In truth, Sophia hadn't had an easy time during this journey.
She had only just let go of her attachment to her previous life and decided to face this new life positively, only to run into one unexpected event after another.
She had been deeply loved by her parents in this life, making her truly cherish the family she couldn't bear to leave behind.
But she was a vampire, while her family were humans.
That was what worried her most.
Still... as long as Ash helped her find a solution, she believed everything would work out.
'Just having Ash beside me now is enough to save me. He's the person I can rely on most. Really... now all I feel toward you is gratitude.'
Sophia was filled with gratitude. The fear she once felt had become admiration, and over time that had turned into dependence.
Without realizing it, she hugged Ash's arm and asked hopefully, "When I grow up, can I become someone as strong as you?"
The girl's eyes were full of admiration.
Ash naturally smiled, "You little fool. What are you thinking?"
"So I really can!"
Sophia thought he was confirming it, and her eyes lit up, "Of course not. You're human. Humans have limits."
Ash answered with a serious face.
"Huh?"
The light in Sophia's eyes had only just appeared when Ash lightly flicked her forehead, and it immediately disappeared.
That made her so angry that she couldn't help biting his hand.
But... although her fangs were sharp, they were still too young to even break his skin.
She kept chewing on his arm, looking like a pet acting spoiled toward its owner.
Ash couldn't stop smiling as he shook his head, "Look at you. Other than covering my hand with drool, what can you actually do?"
"Uuu~"
The girl felt like she had been bullied and became even angrier, continuing to bite him over and over.
Just as Ash had said, all she managed to do was leave his hand covered in saliva.
Nothing else happened.
'Wow, this man really doesn't act like an adult at all. How can he be so mean to a kid? Even I know there are things you should say and things you shouldn't! That's why I decided not to say anything. But what he just said actually makes a lot of sense. Nice! Besides, there's no need to go easy on someone who's pretending to be young. Bully him as much as you can!'
Kumoko, who had been sadly "singing" while secretly listening to the conversation inside the tent, was delighted after hearing Ash say that. She almost couldn't help changing to a cheerful song instead.
———
In this world, their group could be considered the strongest possible lineup.
Other than Sophia, who was still a baby, the other three could each easily sweep across the world.
As a result, they encountered almost nothing during their journey that could truly stop them.
Only one day, while they were setting up camp and preparing to eat lunch, just as Ariel enthusiastically got ready to show off her cooking skills, which matched her age even less than expected, a familiar figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
The young man wore armor like a black shell.
His handsome face was dark, and his red eyes, the only feature with a different color, coldly stared at Ash, who had been looking forward to lunch.
Kumoko instantly became alert.
Out of habit, she quietly stepped behind Ash, like an animal instinctively seeking shelter.
Sophia had no idea who the newcomer was, but after seeing how cautious Kumoko had become, she copied her and hid behind Ash as well, looking nervous.
Only Ariel acted as though she hadn't noticed the unexpected visitor at all.
She continued cooking by herself, moving skillfully while humming an unknown tune.
She looked completely entertained by herself, making even Kumoko envy her state of mind.
After waiting in that strange silence for a long time, Ash finally frowned and spoke first.
"If you've got something to say, just say it. Why do you keep staring at me?"
"I've made my decision."
"And?"
"I'll work with you."
Gulie took a deep breath. Determination flashed through his eyes as though he had finally made up his mind.
"For Sariel and the world she loves, I'm willing to go to hell if that's what it takes."
"Really? That's great. But... why do you sound like you're making some heroic sacrifice? You're making me sound like the demon."
Ash wore an expression as though he had swallowed a fly.
"Aren't you a demon?", Gulie replied as if it were obvious.
"Uh... I guess that's true..."
Ash couldn't argue with that, leaving him strangely frustrated.
He held back the urge to complain that a god was being so wary of a mere demon.
Instead, he turned around and looked at the two girls who had unconsciously moved farther away from him, forcing himself to keep smiling.
"Why are you two hiding from me too? Don't tell me you actually think I'm a bad guy because of what he said?"
"..."
'You're definitely not a good person anyway. Besides, instead of wondering whether you're bad, I admire your courage for accepting reality. But I'm kind, so I won't say it! Yep! That's kindness too!', Kumoko's two heads seemed to agree with each other, both turning to the left while deliberately looking anywhere except at Ash.
Sophia simply babbled in baby talk as though she really couldn't speak...
But Ash knew her well enough to know she was pretending to be clueless.
'Seriously, not one reliable companion?'
'What about Ariel...'
Ash couldn't help looking toward the girl who was still focused on cooking.
"Ariel, you..."
Ariel lived up to his expectations.
She turned around with a cute smile.
"You really have no self-awareness at all, do you? Did you really think I'd say something nice about you? Think about how you treated me before. And how did you respond to my request?"
"You little brat... How can such warm lips say something so cold?"
"Instead of talking about me, shouldn't you reflect on yourself first?"
"Hmm... Actually, I have been seriously reflecting on the parts where I'm not good enough."
"Oh? Really? For how long? Has it helped?"
Ariel stopped cooking, folded her arms, tilted her head, and stared at him curiously.
Ash could only answer awkwardly.
"At least I'm more willing to reflect than before."
"Does that really count?"
Ariel smiled without saying anything else, but her attitude already made her opinion of Ash perfectly clear.
Ash really had nothing to say.
He silently ended the topic, walked over to Gulie, and deliberately changed the subject with a serious face.
"Where were we? Let's continue talking about business."
"You all get along well."
Gulie watched their interaction and spoke with some emotion.
"I think so too."
"I'm a little jealous..."
Gulie spoke quietly, and the loneliness in his eyes became even more obvious.
"Even though I said that, I never expected you... to want people to think you're a pervert."
"Huh? Wait... so people think you're a pervert?"
"No, I'm joking. They just think I'm an ordinary bad guy."
Ash shrugged casually.
"You're definitely a demon."
Although Gulie wasn't angry after being teased, he looked even more convinced than before.
Ash immediately realized that this guy was completely rigid and boring.
He couldn't understand jokes at all.
He was like a block of wood.
———
To keep everyone from thinking even worse of him, Ash quietly led Gulie to a quieter place.
The two quickly held a simple negotiation and soon finalized their agreement.
The contents weren't complicated and were almost exactly the same as what they had discussed before.
Ash would handle preparations for saving the world.
If everything failed, he would find a way to move part of humanity to a new world.
The most important task, however, was freeing the goddess Sariel.
No matter what happened, that goal had to be achieved.
In return, Gulie would help Ash break the Holy Sword's seal and restore it to its original state so Ash could use it.
He would also provide Ash with all kinds of Forbidden magic, including grimoires containing the extremely rare Time Magic.
Most people couldn't obtain such things.
But Gulie belonged to the gods, and more specifically to the True Dragons, a powerful race that was destined to become gods from the moment they were born.
For him, it wasn't difficult.
Although Gulie's status among the dragons wasn't especially high, the dragon race was very united.
Knowledge within the race was openly shared.
He only needed to return home once to obtain all the magic Ash needed.
As for why Gulie didn't simply ask other dragons to help if they worked together so closely, that was because this planet had already been marked as D's property.
No other dragons or gods would come here.
"I'm really making a deal with the demon. I even had to steal magic from my own people..."
After using Spatial Transfer to visit another planet and returning with everything, Gulie couldn't help sighing.
He then directly took out a huge pile of copied books.
His words made Ash a little worried that both of them might end up punished by the dragons.
"Is it really that serious?"
"Not exactly. There's no rule saying I can't do this. I just don't feel good about it. And in principle... it probably isn't allowed," Gulie frowned.
"Wow, you..."
Ash was speechless.
He suddenly had the urge to complain about dragons.
But for now, he still needed Gulie, who wasn't very good at handling these kinds of matters, to ask his elders to restore the Holy Sword.
So he forced himself to swallow the complaint.
Ash held it back.
Gulie, however, expressionlessly looked at him and said coldly, "I'll leave these copied magic books here first. Let's confirm the details of our cooperation one more time, then we can sign the contract."
"We still have to confirm it? Don't you know what kind of person I am?"
"A demon."
Gulie answered without hesitation.
"We're on the same side now. Can't you let that one go?"
"Remember this. No one else can know about this. Not even Ariel. If the others in my race find out and disagree, both of us will be in trouble."
Ignoring Ash's complaint, Gulie finished everything he needed to say before getting straight to the point.
"So, how do you plan to save Sariel?"
"Now you're not even hiding your real goal anymore. At first you said we were saving the world."
"Don't change the subject."
"Fine, fine. I'd like to do it as soon as possible too, but it'll probably take some time. I need to become strong enough first."
"How much preparation time do you need?", Gulie asked.
"Twenty years?"
Ash cautiously gave a number.
"Fine. Let's sign the contract."
Without thinking, Gulie nodded and immediately took out a contract.
The contract clearly listed the twenty-year cooperation period, their objectives, and restrictions on spreading the magic.
In other words, Ash could not teach anyone the copied dragon magic.
Once he learned it, he had to destroy all the books.
Neither side was allowed to reveal the agreement to anyone.
Ash naturally had no objections to a soul contract.
He immediately signed his name.
The contract was complete.
The next moment, Gulie silently stepped back into empty space.
At least, that was what should have happened.
Just before disappearing, he suddenly stopped and spoke with unexpected seriousness.
"Ariel is a very honest child. She has common sense, values relationships deeply, and treats her own people very well. She's a kind child."
"Huh? What's with that all of a sudden?"
"No matter how much power she has, she would never use it for evil. She's kind. I once hoped that child could live peacefully, but now she's been forced to carry the responsibility of becoming the Demon Lord."
There was a trace of helplessness in Gulie's eyes as he continued.
"Although this isn't part of our contract... if possible, I hope you'll protect her."
"Are you her father? Besides... why does this sound like someone's dying wish?"
Ash joked with a laugh.
"I wish I were... but I'm not. And now, the one who has failed to act until now... has to begin acting."
After saying something that sounded strangely like entrusting someone with a child, Gulie lowered his eyes, took one final step backward, and completely disappeared.
"What an unfriendly partner. We've already signed a contract, yet he still treats me like someone he has to guard against. Then he suddenly says something so strange. Seriously..."
Ash simply shook his head helplessly, stopped thinking about it, carefully put away the books as though they were priceless treasures, and returned to the camp.
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