Frieren 20

Title: Who Are They Here For?

A pair of dimly glowing eyes peered at the village from the darkness. These uninvited guests seemed to be waiting for everyone to fall asleep to launch an easy attack.

However, Ash, staying up late, also noticed the night’s unusually eerie atmosphere. Instinctively, he left his room and…

*CRASH*

He kicked down Frieren’s door.

The already dilapidated door—or rather, one he’d already broken—fell forward, kicking up dust on the floor.

“What now?!” Startled in her bed, Frieren sat up and glared at him irritably:

“I’ve been trying hard tonight, haven’t I? Why are you still wrecking my door?”

“Now’s not the time to talk about that.”

“No! If you don’t explain, I won’t let you off!”

“There’s danger; it seems like an enemy attack.”

“Enemy attack? At this time? Here??”

Words Frieren hadn’t heard in her years living in this village made her suspicious. Had Ash spent too long on the battlefield, making him paranoid… like a war veteran always on edge?

Of course, in this world, there was no concept like PTSD, a side effect of war. Just like in ancient times, such conditions weren’t diagnosed, but that didn’t mean they didn’t exist.

Having read about similar situations in books, Frieren looked at him with sympathy: “…Do I need to cast a calming sleep spell for you?”

“You… forget it. Come with me outside.”

“Huh? Wait…!”

Frieren didn’t have time to refuse. Giving up on explaining, Ash grabbed her ankle and forcibly dragged her from the bed.

He skillfully hoisted her upside down and walked out, ignoring her.

In these two years, Ash had done this at least five times. Though this was the first time he’d carried her out of the room upside down, Frieren’s expression remained flat.

Holding her skirt from the front and back—as Millie had repeatedly taught her—she gradually glared at him from below with dissatisfaction: “…This is what they call sexual harassment, right?”

“I’m not interested in kids.”

“I’m older than you, aren’t I?”

“I’m also not interested in grannies.”

“Grannies… that’s the second time.”

Frieren initially didn’t care much, but her face showed a subtle change upon hearing that word. It seemed she mentally noted it in her little book.

But Ash didn’t notice. He looked around: “Quiet down. Don’t you sense something’s off?”

“…The weirdest thing in this village is you, right? Put me down quick; do you know what time it is??” Still hanging upside down, Frieren didn’t see anything unusual around her. She even angrily kicked his wrist.

This made Ash casually let her go.

Frieren’s head hit the ground, causing her to clutch it in pain and groan:

“—Ouch…! You really dared! I’ve already… wuuu??”

“Quiet.”

Before Frieren could finish complaining, Ash shoved his fingers into her mouth, leaving her at a loss.

In her confusion, Frieren even forgot her pain. She just opened her mouth and stared at the jerk who’d stuck his fingers in it.

But at that moment, without their voices, she finally noticed the surroundings were far quieter than usual.

In this village deep in the forest, the absence of insect or bird sounds at night was extremely rare for Frieren.

Though raised in a peaceful village far from conflict, she finally realized something was wrong. She quickly pulled Ash’s fingers from her mouth and cautiously observed the surroundings: “What’s going on?”

“No idea. It seems like enemies are lurking at the village’s edge.”

“…Are they here to capture you?”

“Me??” Ash pointed at himself, confused.

Frieren asked with a flat expression: “Aren’t you a runaway general?”

“That’s true, but if they wanted to catch me, it’s five hundred years too early.”

“What do you mean five hundred years too early?”

“Instead of that, do you know anything? This must be your problem, right?”

“…Not at all.”

Having never left the village, Frieren couldn’t think of a reason why it would be attacked. Especially since the village hadn’t been attacked in years.

It could be said that the elves’ dislike for trouble was one of the secrets to their longevity, meaning…

“It’s really you?” After thinking hard and finding no reason, Frieren suddenly turned back to him: “—Be honest and apologize, how about that?”

“…What did I do?”

“The only person in this village who causes trouble is you, as far as I can think.”

“The kingdom I fled from is far from here; it can’t be them. And during my journey, I only freeloaded, nothing else?”

“…Freeloaded?”

“It means not working and eating off the parents at home.”

“…You even did something like that?”

Elves lived independently after adulthood, making Frieren feel disgusted by Ash’s freeloading behavior. She even began to suspect: “So, now your parents are coming for you?”

“I don’t think that’s possible. Don’t just accuse me. It must be your people who did something, right?”

“But we shouldn’t have caused trouble with anyone.”

“Really?”

“…If we were all like you, we wouldn’t have lived this long, right?” Frieren glanced at him irritably while cautiously scanning the surroundings.

But Ash didn’t care: “Who knows? Someone as lazy as you might have enemies too.”

“Besides you, I can’t think of anyone else who’d hate me.”

“Good point. But instead of that… shouldn’t we figure out how to deal with this now?”

“I don’t think it’s necessary… they’re already coming out.”

As they spoke, the strange figures—or rather, demons—hiding around the village, for some reason, gave up their stealth attack and emerged from their hiding spots.