Chapter 27: Frieren's Story Never Tries
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Although Frieren was reluctant, she knew that if she didn't want to use magic to attack the treasure chest monster, she had to temporarily compromise with Ash. The reason she avoided using magic was that, in such a confined space, the spell could easily backfire and cause more trouble, so she preferred not to resort to it unless absolutely necessary.
The sight of Frieren, scared of the dark and wiggling her hips in panic, was so amusing to Ash that he was tempted to give her a few more smacks. However, knowing that dealing with the aftermath would be more trouble than it was worth, he decided against it—since he hated unnecessary hassle.
Instead, Ash reached out, grabbed her legs from behind, and began pulling her out—like trying to uproot a stubborn carrot—attempting to extract Frieren from the treasure chest monster's gaping mouth. After a few hard pulls, Fulilian screamed in pain: "—Wait, wait! It hurts! It really hurts! I'm going to break in half!"
"…Well, that's on you. Even if you wanted to take a risk, shouldn't you have cut it open with a knife first to check?"
"Ancient magic books are fragile! Even a tiny scratch could ruin them! What if cutting it damages the treasure inside?!"
"…You're still arguing? Do you even understand the situation you're in?"
"Whatever! Just get me out! It's terrifying in here!"
At that moment, Frieren—usually calm and composed—seemed unusually vulnerable, like a frightened child. Ash felt it was a pity to let her off so easily, but keeping her in that state wasn't ideal either. Since her attitude had softened, there was no need to continue teasing her.
With a sigh, Ash got serious. He moved to the front, grabbed the treasure chest monster's gaping mouth with both hands, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled with all his might.
A loud, fabric-like rip echoed as the monster's mouth was forcibly pried open. Frieren, who had been partially swallowed, was jerked free. Her legs were still stuck but quickly "flew" out of the monster's maw. After briefly floating in the air, she crashed onto the ground with a thud, leaving her momentarily speechless from the pain.
The sight of the treasure chest monster, now defeated and dripping with saliva, made Ash cringe in disgust, prompting him to keep his distance.
"Ugh… it's so gross… and it hurts… this is unbearable," Frieren groaned as she lay on the ground, her face full of misery while she tried to fix her disheveled hair. As she did, she glanced at Ash with tear-filled eyes, clearly upset by his indifference. "What? Aren't you going to thank me for all the trouble I went through?"
"…Wasn't it you who hit me earlier?"
"Nope," Ash responded curtly, avoiding her gaze.
Faced with Frieren's resentful pout and teary eyes, Ash silently turned his head away, pretending not to hear her, with no intention of admitting anything.
Seeing this, Frieren narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "No! It was definitely you!"
"Stop imagining things. Didn't I just save you?"
"And… what did you call me earlier?"
Recalling how Ash had stood by, almost enjoying her distress while she was nearly swallowed whole, Frieren sat up abruptly and fixed him with an intense stare.
"…Did I say something?" Ash asked, feigning ignorance.
"…We are already quite old."
"What's wrong with that?"
"You called me old again…" Frieren turned her head to glare at him. "Three times is the limit! There won't be a next time—no! This time is the third time!"
"Uh? What? What third time?"
"You called me an old woman twice before!"
"Did I?"
"Yes!" Frieren nodded vigorously, certain of her claim.
This left him speechless. "What are you counting such an insignificant matter for? Are you really that vindictive?"
"Wait a moment; I'll show you how powerful I am…"
"What do you want to do…?"
Seeing the girl who seemed to be plotting something, Ash instinctively tensed, ready to run at the slightest change in her demeanor.
The next moment…
"Woo… Woooo…"
"Eh? W-what??? What's happening?!"
Noticing she had completed her plan, Ash had already taken two steps back. The loud wailing behind him made him freeze in shock, and he turned back blankly.
The girl who had just vowed to teach him a lesson was now curled up in a corner, hugging her knees and crying loudly.
He was so baffled that he stopped running and stared at Flamme, who had appeared beside him, looking equally astonished. "What is she doing…?"
"I don't know. You guys are more familiar with each other, right? What's going on?"
"You're asking me? Who should I ask? You're the master! Why don't you just coax her?"
"...I don't care if you make her cry."
It was clear that Flamme didn't want to get involved, so she left on her own after saying this.
This left Ash standing there, unsure whether to leave or stay. He held his forehead with one hand, pondering for a long time. Finally, he couldn't help but flick her long ear. "Frieren, I was wrong… I won't say you're old in the future, okay?"
Even though he had been forced to surrender, Frieren simply shook his hand off and cried even louder.
This made him give up on the idea of leaving the area first. However, he hadn't anticipated that she would follow him, even while crying. He was compelled to ignore this strange girl by burying himself in a book.
And so, this process dragged on for three days and three nights. Even though her tears had dried up, she showed no intention of stopping.
"You need to think of a solution quickly. This is all your fault, right?"
The nonstop crying had driven Flamme to cover her ears in pain.
Even Serie, who had lived deep within the ruins and hadn't come out for ages, was annoyed by the constant noise. She emerged for the first time, glared at him, and issued an ultimatum: "If you don't fix this, I'll throw her out with you."
"I didn't cry; why are you blaming me…?"
"—This is all your fault!"
"But I… oh, forget it…"
He still wanted to explain himself, but in the end, he simply carried Frieren on his shoulders and left quickly, hoping to avoid being kicked out because of her.
There was no way around it. Besides himself, there were only three other people in this ruin.
One of them had been made to cry by him, and the other two were still blaming him. If he didn't deal with this girl who was crying so miserably for no reason, it would be difficult for him to return.
He stepped outside the ruins and finally got to see the sky.
As soon as he set the girl down on the grass, Frieren stopped crying. She crossed her arms, raised her head, and revealed a smug smile that was completely different from her usual expressionless demeanor.
"Hmph~ How's it going? Do you know how powerful I am?"
"…"
What is wrong with this girl? Can I beat her up? Can I? Of course I can! Watching her mood shift so rapidly from sadness to joy left Ash so confused that his eyes twitched slightly, and his fists clenched unconsciously.