Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Differences in Concepts

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Ash could barely suppress the urge to hit someone, but Frieren, sharp as always, noticed his clenched fist right away.

But instead of being afraid, she wiped the smile off her face and warned him, her tone serious, "What's wrong? Are you planning to hit me, Ash?"

"What? You really think I wouldn't…"

"If you hit me now, I'll cry for another three days."

Her tone wasn't threatening or oppressive, just matter-of-fact, with her head tilted slightly. But the mere thought of being tortured by three more days of crying made Ash's raised hand freeze in midair. Slowly, he lowered it.

Instead, he placed his hand on Frieren's head and ruffled her hair roughly, forcing a twisted smile. "Seriously… can't you act a bit more like an adult? What kind of threat is that? Or are you just a kid at heart?"

"…Again." Frieren stared at him, expressionless.

"Wait, what? Again?"

"What's wrong?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, it's a warning. Three times was a typo. Twice—you know the drill."

"…Fine. You win."

"Good, now take your hand off my head."

Seeing Ash back down, Frieren, clearly pleased, swatted his hand away.

Ash felt defeated. He didn't want to admit it, but there was nothing he could do. This elf, who was supposed to be much older than him, could cry for days without shame, and the thought of going through that again exhausted him.

"Ha… never mind. I'm done with this. I'm going to study."

He reluctantly dropped his hand and turned away, clearly frustrated. But Frieren, undeterred by his irritation, followed him, keeping close without bothering to give him any space.

After that, the four of them stayed in the ruins for about a month before Ash packed his things and left with Frieren and Flamme.

Naturally, he took a new magic book with him. And as for why he didn't stay? Well, there was no choice. Serie preferred solitude and wouldn't teach anyone no matter how much they begged. On the other hand, Flamme was more than willing to share her knowledge, so Ash followed her instead.

...

Three years later, the group returned to visit Serie, who had been living alone like an old recluse. Despite the passage of time, Ash's appearance hadn't changed, and people would've grown suspicious, but Serie took care of that too.

She explained it away easily, saying it was the result of an experimental spell of eternal youth that had been cast on him. The spell had only succeeded once—by pure luck—leaving Ash forever youthful. Since the success rate was so low, no one had dared to try again. And with Serie vouching for him, no one questioned his appearance.

As Ash flipped through his collection of books, "updating" them, Serie watched him with amusement from her throne. Finally, she couldn't resist teasing him.

"Ash, are you really the type of guy who thinks anyone who gives you milk is your mother?"

"I just love knowledge."

"I'm still your master, aren't I?"

"What does that matter? Flamme and Frieren know magic I don't, and they're willing to teach me. I'm willing to learn. It's a win-win."

"A win-win? It's all for your benefit! Honestly—the seniority here is completely messed up, you idiot!" Serie huffed, grabbing a book and flinging it at him without thinking.

Ash caught the book midair, quickly slipping it into his bag. He sighed helplessly, "If you don't teach me, what am I supposed to do?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't teach you. I just taught you last time. Can't you wait a little?"

"A little? Fifty years?"

"Thirty years, maybe. Before that, I want to be alone for a while."

"…Then I might as well look for Flamme."

"It's only thirty years, can't you wait?"

"Only thirty years…"

Serie knew he was a demon and didn't care about waiting thirty years, but Ash didn't know how to correct her odd sense of time. Waiting thirty years wasn't something he could just accept easily. Still, Ash realized that arguing wouldn't get anywhere, so he decided to drop the topic.

Frieren, standing nearby, said with a serious tone, "Ash, you should learn to take things slower. Don't always rush around like Master. You act like time is running out, even when nothing's urgent. That's why humans don't live long."

"…I've already told you, these are two completely different things…" He really didn't want to continue this conversation, but he couldn't help glaring at Frieren.

At that moment, Flamme smiled bitterly and added, "Frieren, Master, you're both elves, so your perspective is different from ours. But it's not that humans move too quickly and shorten their lifespans. It's that our time is limited. We're closer to death than you are, so we can't afford to wait. We have to act faster."

"I get it, believe me. The only one who doesn't understand here is Frieren, right?" Serie, who had lived through countless eras from the mythological age to now, shook her head while glancing at Frieren. She knew that having lived in a secluded elven village, Frieren wasn't accustomed to dealing with humans or their urgency.

"…"

Frieren said nothing, not because she agreed, but because she was too lazy to argue. Just like all elves, her understanding of time was vastly different from humans. They could tell humans to "wait a little," yet that wait could last decades.

Even knowing that the person was a human, elves found it difficult to adjust their views. And from the human side, it was just as hard to understand why the elves took such a leisurely approach. It was simply their nature to never rush, even when it concerned others.

After this conversation, which led nowhere, Ash still remained diligent in learning from Flamme and Frieren. Despite Serie's accusations of confusing generations, he even followed them out of the ruins under her speechless gaze.

But as Ash was leaving, Serie called out from a distance, offering some final advice: "Ash, I don't care what you do, but don't pick up bad habits from those two. They waste so much time learning useless tricks, like controlling aura to hide their strength from demons."

"That's impractical?"

"If they'd spent all that time training in other skills, Flamme wouldn't need to sneak around hiding here. Focusing on such techniques is inefficient… Don't disappoint me, either."

"I got it, no need to worry." Ash waved a hand dismissively, not bothering to turn around. That was enough to signal his agreement.

While Ash might have brushed Serie off on other occasions, this time, he found himself leaning more toward her viewpoint. He didn't plan to waste much time mastering aura control. He would practice it just enough to get by in ordinary circumstances. Beyond that, it wasn't worth it.

Because, rather than focusing on sneak attacks, Ash preferred the idea of using his time to grow stronger—and then overpower his enemies head-on.