Chapter 174

"I thought you were useless a thousand years ago. Now I think... my vision is really sharp." Ash didn't want to say anything to her anymore. He even looked at Fulilian and reminded her:

"You must not become such a person, otherwise you, who are useless to begin with, will definitely become completely hopeless."

".......I won't argue with you now, but I want to say that you should learn from Millie's attitude towards life. You will definitely die young if you are like this now." Fulilian not only didn't listen to him, but just stared at him with an unhappy face, and said in a gentle and persuasive way: "And I have felt that you have a problem with your mentality since the beginning."

".......Let's talk about some more practical issues." Ash silently ignored the questions raised by Fulilian and turned to look at Millie.

But Millie smiled and said first: "If you want to ask me about fighting the goddess, then you are asking the wrong person. My life span is not long enough to understand those things. You should ask Celia."

"...Speaking of which, she seems to arrive in two days to attend the banquet of the imperial minister."

"Isn't that an opportunity? I remember that she is a magician in the mythological era. Maybe only she can deal with the goddess...or maybe not?"

Halfway through, in order to avoid having too much hope, Millie corrected it slightly.

But even so, Fulilian's eyes still lit up and said: "Yes, if it's Celia, there should be a way - I will go with you!"

"No need, you and her don't get along, if there is a conflict, I will have to mediate between you."

"...Even I will look at the face and atmosphere!"

It was rare that she excitedly expressed her willingness to help him, but was not regarded as a help at all, which made Fulilian curl her lips and try to justify herself with an unhappy face.

Unfortunately... Ash just smiled awkwardly but politely, touched her head, and said nothing to comfort her.

There was no way. Even if he wanted to find him, he couldn't be found. He was even less able to read the mood and atmosphere than Fulilian. Wouldn't it be troublesome to bring him along?

...............................

After the short cocktail party, Ash welcomed Aura after leaving the two elves to enjoy the wine.

Aura learned from Linie that there was another increase in the number of women around him, and she looked disgusted.

But it was difficult for him to defend himself, so he could only silently ask her to control most of the nobles and the royal family including the emperor, and ordered the nobles near the imperial capital to come here to meet the emperor.

Therefore, in the next few days... the hinterland of the empire was corrupted and controlled one by one, but the nobles who assisted the border did not have a good opportunity to be recalled. After all, they needed to stay in the border, and it was really suspicious to suddenly recall them all.

Even among the high-ranking officials of the empire, strange rumors were circulated. In order to avoid the civil war in the empire, Ash, who wanted to advance peacefully, gave up the hasty action.

When the day of the banquet arrived as scheduled, Celia, who had already made safety preparations, strode into the banquet hall without fear.

Above the banquet hall with a high ceiling, the imperial marquis walked down quickly and invited her warmly. When she was curious about what the other party had, he took her to the private study on the third floor.

In the study, the person sitting on the main seat was... a person who was completely beyond Celia's expectations - Ash, and his disciple Zanze was standing next to him.

".... What, have you chosen to collude with the empire? And Zanze, you actually completely turned to him at this time?" Celia's tone was full of astonishment and confusion, her brows were furrowed, and her eyes flashed with doubt.

To be honest, Celia was not surprised even if Zanze betrayed her because of Ash.

After all, her personality...is not as easy to win people's hearts as Ash's, and even has the feeling of pushing people away, but Ash's position makes her more curious.

Although she doesn't think Ash will go to work for the empire.

As soon as she entered the room and spoke, Ash, who had been brewing for a long time, almost vomited blood. His face was dark, and he said helplessly:

"What are you talking about? It's okay that I don't respect the elderly and have a bad personality. Do you think I'm the kind of person who will betray my master for the sake of profit?"

"Yes!" Celia nodded without hesitation and confirmed it straightforwardly.

Now, even Zanze, who has always been calm, has an expression that is difficult to describe, and Ash even covered his face and sighed: "....Is our master-disciple relationship so weak?"

"Don't talk about feelings with me. Every time you talk about feelings, nothing good happens." Celia's words were full of vigilance and indifference, as if the person opposite was not her beloved disciple, but a malicious gangster.

"....This time is different!" Ash argued eagerly, but Celia's tone was full of sarcasm and disdain: "You say that every time."

"It's really different!"

"You need help from me?"

"...It's just a little thing,"

"Humph, it's still the same as always." Celia raised her eyebrows, a sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she even raised her chin proudly, turning her eyes to the silent Zanze, and warned: "I told you to stay away from him before, do you see it clearly now? This guy's true face is just profit-seeking."

"......" Zanze didn't know what to say now. After all, on one side was a sharp-tongued master, and on the other side was a senior brother who loved her very much. She could only silently be her puppet.

"Are you not talking again?" Celia was always cold and sarcastic about her silent tactics, and even had a bit of a yin-yang flavor: "You haven't made any progress in so many years. I really don't know if you can reach Fulilian's level in your lifetime. You obviously have great talents, but you are going to waste them all here?"

"......" Still not knowing how to answer, Zanze just lowered his eyes silently.

Yaxiu was a little bit obedient, and took the initiative to stand up. "---=Okay, Celia, don't keep bullying my Zanze, okay? This child has actually made great progress in recent years."

"Just spoil her, you will regret it sooner or later." Celia didn't care.

"Compared to this, I have something serious to do."

"...You mean, what I said is not serious enough?" Celia narrowed her eyes, and there was a hint of ferocity in her eyes.

But Ash was not afraid at all, and silently stretched out his hands and put them under the armpits of the girl beside him. Just like that, as the girl exclaimed, he put her on his legs.

"——What, what's wrong? Master Ash?" Zanze, who always kept silent, could not continue to maintain the usual silence at this moment, and looked around in panic.

After all, the person in front of her now was her strict master. In her opinion... being seen by Celia... was more embarrassing to some extent than being seen by her parents.

...............................

The girl was suddenly picked up by a man, and even panicked and confused for a moment, but...

"Good girl, good girl~ You are my most lovely junior sister, so today I ask you to be a shield for me, right? It doesn't matter if you are held hostage by me." Ash smiled and stroked the soft long hair, trying to use sugar-coated bullets to make her work for him.

This made Zanze squirm in embarrassment, and he raised his head in trouble, blushing and whispering: "Okay... okay, if it's Master Ash... no, but next time, please tell me in advance..."

"Okay, I know, next time I want to hug you, just tell me first, right?"

"Huh? No...! That way... I will be very troubled..."

"It's not impossible to be troubled, right? Just think of me as being held hostage~"

He touched Zanze's head happily, and then without even waiting for his answer, he spread his hands to Celia: "Are you going to do it now? I won't talk about it for now, but my weak Zanze can't stand your revenge."

"... You are really getting more and more shameless, even my junior sister can be used as a shield! What about yours..." Celia glared at Ash fiercely, but she really couldn't do anything about him. After all, he used Zanze as a shield, how could he get angry in this situation?

Therefore, she could only stare at Zanze, with a bit of unwillingness in her tone:

"Zanze, you too! Being used as a shield, you should have some self-awareness now, right? Why didn't you even resist?"

"I was...held hostage?" Zanze's eyes kept drifting, and he subconsciously brought out the reason given by Ash, almost making Celia laugh: "Can you see my eyes when you say this?"

"...I'm sorry, Lady Celia."

"I'm not asking you to apologize!" At this moment, she was a little angry.

However, Ash reached out and covered Zanze's eyes, as if he was afraid that she would see something scary, and solemnly advised Celia: "The child is still young, why are you so fierce?"

"...Are you her father?" Celia didn't know how to spit out a grudge.

"I can't stand people like you who bully others."

"I am still a human being after all, but you are not even a human being! What qualifications do you have to say that to me? .... That's right! Zanze!" She was only halfway through her sentence when she suddenly thought of something and smiled confidently: "It's not too late to come down now. If you knew his identity, you would be scared immediately..."

"I know." Without waiting for Celia to show off, Zanze interrupted her, causing Celia, who was originally trying to grab Ash's pigtail and was proud of herself, to lose her smile instantly. After a long silence, she looked at Ash again:

"..... This guy is as boring as ever. You should tell me. Is there any What's interesting?"

"It's not interesting."

"Then don't talk about it, I'm going back."

"--Wait a minute! Don't leave so quickly!" Ash stretched out his hand to dissuade him, and Zanze's hair extended from his arms and pressed Celia's shoulders, making her look back speechlessly: "What's the matter? If you have something to say, just say it, if you have something to say, just fart it."

"Hey, aren't you curious, why am I here?"

"Why else, the imperial city was attacked a few days ago, and it was announced that the invading bandits were killed, but now I think... it must have been taken down by you, right? Why didn't the mechanism set up by Volame kill you, the evil disciple?"

"This is all thanks to Millie... ah, the Supreme Commander of the Holy Staff Court. She is actually my friend. I saved her a thousand years ago." As for this guy's venomous tongue, Ash shrugged and said in a relaxed tone.

This made Celia stare at him with a strange look: "....Your luck will become strange when you are strange, isn't this what you said before, that you will be a disaster for thousands of years?"

"No, the disaster for thousands of years I said refers to you, a teacher who is unkind!"

"Really? Really? Then I will be unkind to you now...what are you doing?"

Before Celia finished speaking, she saw him hugging Zanze's slender waist with both hands, and his chin was directly on Zanze's head, as if he was holding a baby. Her face turned black, but Ash was natural: "Don't mind, I just feel that the weather is a bit cold, so I hugged Zanze to keep warm."

"...I'm leaving!"

"Sorry, sorry, wait a minute, don't be so anxious, I haven't said anything serious yet."

Ash, who always couldn't help wanting to fight back, was afraid that she would really leave if he played too much, so he quickly let go of Zanze and waved his hand to apologize.

Then....In Celia's impatient eyes, he stroked the girl's hair as if petting a cat, and slowly told her the current situation he was facing.

...............................

...............................

For Celia, Ash had nothing to keep back, and directly confessed the problems he was facing.

About being cured by the goddess' magic but turned into a curse, and... now it is estimated that a village girl has drawn the holy sword and wants to kill him.

"....Although I have not heard of the stone tablet that Fulilian mentioned, it may be something before my time, or it may be something I accidentally missed when I was resting."

Due to her long life, Celia often wastes time and studies magic. It is not surprising that hundreds of years have passed and the situation outside has changed drastically, but...

When she heard that Ash was still injured and might be killed by the hero who was unknown, Celia couldn't hold back the corners of her mouth, and she didn't even do the surface work He laughed loudly:

"--You deserve it! Isn't this retribution? Your retribution has come? What kind of wine do you like? When you die, I'll bring you some wine. After a few hundred years or a thousand years, when I remember you, I will definitely dig you out and treat you to a drink. Oh, no, you are a demon. You died without even a complete body~ It's a pity. Then I'll bury some of your clothes appropriately."

"Lady Celia... This statement is a bit too much, isn't it?" His master gloated to such an extent that even Zanze couldn't stand it.

But Celia snorted coldly and still didn't spare him: "Hmph, I haven't said anything about you, Zanze, even if you are turning your elbow outward, it's too exaggerated, aren't you? You are my disciple first, and then his junior sister, right? What is this now? Even the master has to say it for a wild man?"

"Well..." She wanted to talk back, but didn't know how to say it.

"Haaa... there are too many points to complain about, let's skip this topic for now." Ash had a look of suppressed headache and didn't intend to continue this strange topic: "You are also a person from the mythological era, you should know some information about the goddess, right?"

"I know, but it's useless to tell you, because I don't understand the key situation. The only thing I can be sure of is that you are definitely not the opponent; and if the goddess from the mythological era really appears again, I am not the opponent now, there is no hope at all, and you... if you don't want to die, you'd better run away quickly."

"... Is the gap that big?"

"Are you saying I am a human or a god?"

"Human?"

"Yes, there is a difference between humans and gods after all. Although this difference will become smaller when reaching the limit, it is still It is so big that it cannot be overcome even after tens of millions of years. "

Celi Ai walked up to him, put her hand on his shoulder, and grinned: "Even if the gap between the curse on you can be equalized, ancient humans can have more or less targeted means for this. If you used the magic of curse return before, you would definitely be able to resist it, but you neglected it yourself."

"....Who knew that healing magic would become curse magic?"

"I will help you remove it today, and it depends on you tomorrow...If one day I can see you cross the limit and kill the goddess, it would be good. Although if you don't find a way to escape quickly, I guess your clothes will be in the dirt next time I see you."

Although she has a sharp tongue, Celie Ai, who is not so cold in reality, still used unknown magic to remove the curse on him before leaving.

Then she left the scene without caring.

Although there is not much gain, at least the curse on the wound is removed, which is also a good gain?

...............................

The hero who stabilized Celia's emotions and did not fight because of the quarrel, Zanze also looked up at him with a bitter face at this time:

"Master Ash... are you running away?"

"What are you talking about? How can I run away? I have to fight first." He patted Zanze's shoulder gently, with a bit of guilt in his tone:

"But you don't have to worry about this, and it's thanks to you today that there was no conflict at all, and I landed smoothly directly. It's really amazing, Zanze."

"I didn't do anything, just sitting here..."

"Even so impressive, and now the weather is so cold, I don't have to worry about freezing with you." He smiled and shook his head, and reached out to stroke the girl's cheek in his arms, enjoying the silky feeling.

This made Zanze look a little shy, and he unconsciously shrank his body a little to avoid it, but there was no way to escape in his arms, so he could only ask in embarrassment:

"No, but now the windows are closed, and Lady Celia has left, can I come down soon?"

This somewhat timid look made Ash's heart surge with love and pity, but he was even more reluctant to let go, and even hugged the girl in his arms, deliberately lengthening the tone, teasing:

"Oh~ I held you when we were children, and you didn't even want to get down from me at that time? Now you have grown up... On this cold and windy day, you don't even want to stay a little longer?"

"Don't lie! , you didn't know me when I was a child.... Please put me down quickly. "

"No, you are so cute, let me hold you for a while, you can keep me warm and enjoy it, what's wrong with it, isn't it a win-win situation? Or is it annoying?"

Zanze's cheeks were instantly stained with two red clouds, she lowered her head, her voice was as thin as a mosquito: "No, no, I just... I just feel that this is not good, a little troubled."

"But I think it's good, what can I do? And, look~ you look like a shy little animal now~ how interesting?" Ash laughed softly, saying in a voice that only Zanze could hear.

Zanze's face became even redder, she lowered her head deeply, her hands unconsciously clenched the corners of her clothes, and her voice was trembling with shyness: "A, Ash, don't tease me..."