Frieren 49

Title: Ash Once Wanted to Be a Hero

Under the influence of obedience magic, none of the nobles and royal family living in luxury could put up any resistance.

The only exception was perhaps the bishop blessed by the Goddess. He collapsed to the ground and died without warning upon being controlled.

“I really can’t be a hero.” Watching the nobles and royal family kneel one by one, Ash couldn’t help but think of Frieren, who should be starting her journey. He muttered softly: “…Even with Frieren and her companions, I really can’t feel jealous.”

It wasn’t that he mocked them because he couldn’t have what they had. According to information Frank once shared, when their party first met a kingdom’s king, their blunt words displeased him. The hero and the dwarf were bound and forced to kneel, nearly beheaded.

Though they had the ability to break through by force, they didn’t resist the king’s arbitrary authority… If Ash wanted to be a hero, he’d have to accept the shackles and restrictions imposed by a king representing the law. He’d rather not be a hero.

Compared to following rules, if he had the power, he preferred to make the rules.

So he truly wasn’t jealous. Still… playing the hero occasionally might be interesting.

Thus, he decided that after resolving matters here, he’d seek out Frieren and her entertaining companions, because…

“When I was a kid, I also wanted to be a hero.”

Looking at the kneeling king, Ash couldn’t help but complain. Heroes were supposed to kneel before kings, but now it was reversed… though he wasn’t a hero either.

His mutter was overheard by Aura, who was playing with a crown nearby. She turned, as if hearing something absurd.

At that moment, Aura’s expression as she looked at Ash was like staring at a bizarre object. After hesitating for a while, she couldn’t help but say, puzzled: “I’m asking, Ash… is your head really okay?”

“…Don’t look at me like I’m an idiot.”

“That’s not it. We’re demons. And now we’re doing things villains do. In those storybooks you forced me to listen to, aren’t we the villains who’ll be taken down sooner or later?”

“Please… don’t raise weird flags.” Ash instinctively covered his face and shook his head: “I was just saying. Besides, everyone must’ve wanted to be a hero of justice at some point. Like you—”

“No.” Aura answered without thinking.

“Uh, right. But for now, let’s talk about something fun.”

“What do we do next?”

“…I said let’s talk about something fun. Why are we jumping straight to work again…”

Facing someone with no sense of social etiquette, Ash couldn’t help but sigh deeply, forced to accept his fate.

What could he do? Even if he wanted to be lazy, the work still had to be done… At least after controlling the king and nobles, he still needed to refine his plans.

For now, it wasn’t time to slack off.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

When Ash stormed the king’s palace, the city’s guards quickly came to support and protect the king, but…

Before they could even enter the castle, the king emerged, stating that the intruders had retreated and no reinforcements were needed.

The official statement was that the kingdom, shamefully, had to agree to the intruders’ terms and would no longer recruit orphans as cannon fodder.

Clearly, this was a nation’s compromise to a powerful figure. Though the actual situation… was slightly different.

Inside the castle, amidst the cleanup of the chaos and repairs to damaged areas, at the end of the audience hall, near the throne.

Aura, like Ash before, sat on the throne’s armrest, observing the kneeling nobles and royal family. She complained for no reason: “It’s unbelievable. Human generals and heroes, even when controlled, sometimes put up a little resistance. But… why can’t these high-ups resist at all? Why do the people on the front lines have to obey such weaklings?”

“The social structure is different.”

“I don’t get it at all~ This guy is mediocre and incompetent. He only thinks about women all day… Why don’t his followers just kill him? Wouldn’t it be better to replace him?”

Aura glanced at the king kneeling below the throne, having just described his own condition. Her face was full of confusion.

“Actually, he’s a pretty standard noble here. Since everyone’s more or less the same, no one can laugh at anyone else. Plus, they have to consider legitimacy and others’ support. A coup isn’t easy to pull off.”

“Hmm… I really don’t get it!” Though it was her own question, Aura quickly dismissed it. She paced back and forth by the throne freely, laughing like a child with a new toy: “But if we keep doing the same thing, controlling humans and using them to become the Demon King, it’s just a matter of time, right~?”

“…It’s not that simple. You just saw that bishop die, didn’t you? That must be because of the Goddess’s blessing, which prevents you from controlling people like him.” Facing the demon girl who could go out of control at any moment, Ash felt a headache coming on and reminded her: “Besides, faith in the Goddess is strong in the human world. I’m worried a new bishop will soon come to investigate the previous one’s death.”

“Just kill them, right? Kill one if one comes, kill two if two come. What’s so hard about that?”

“…Killing church leaders recklessly like that will cause big problems, and the nation will be in turmoil. It’s better to capture them first, then come up with a good excuse to cover it up and control the bishop instead.”

“Is Ash being soft?”

“Though I don’t like meaningless killing, it’s not about being soft.”

Ash let out a long sigh while propping his chin on the throne, worried Aura might do something strange. He gave her some knowledge about human society and more pressing issues.

After all, if it were that easy, the Demon King would’ve already ordered Aura to do it… And he still wanted to go play with Frieren. For now, Ash could only tell Aura the things she needed to watch out for first.