What if you are reborn as a demon after a funeral?.

Ash countered with reason and evidence: "If we go at full speed, half a day should be enough."

"—That's a warrior like you or Azer, right?! A monk like me couldn't possibly get here in half a day! Besides, I still have to carry a stone statue on my back..."

"look."

Before Sihaita could finish speaking, Ash threw his hands up and used magic to levitate Frilian in mid-air. Then, with one hand pushing the floating Frilian, he quickly rushed out of the cave.

Seeing this, everyone could roughly guess what method he intended to use for transportation, but their expressions were all incredibly strange...

However, from a rational perspective, this is indeed the safest and most effective way to reduce Frilian's suffering from illness... it's just a little bit unattractive, and a little bit inhumane.

But since the petrification had already occurred, everyone silently turned their backs, neither opposing nor agreeing.

Ash, with tacit approval, pushed the levitating Freylian away quickly, disappearing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.

But they could see from afar at the cave entrance that, because he was rushing too fast, the suspended stone statues would occasionally fly up at the end of the uphill road due to the force of his running, but he would quickly catch them and then continue to push them out... pushing them along the way.

Considering that Hyta's pace was too slow, Simmel and Aize were unable to keep up and instead stood on the ground watching the comical scene that was both amusing and strangely resembling someone running while popping a giant balloon.

"...Now I finally understand why Ash, despite being good-looking, strong, and having many admirers, didn't succeed with any of them..."

Haita pushed up his glasses and silently looked away from Ash's back, feeling as if he had finally understood the mystery that had troubled him for many years.

The remaining people also silently lowered their heads, no longer looking at the strange scene in the distance.

The three of them reached a tacit understanding: for the sake of Frillie's feelings and their friendship, it was best to keep the truth to themselves.

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

On the other side, away from the three people.

No longer needing to conceal his flying ability, Ash simply carried the petrified Frilian into the sky, arriving at the magical city in just over an hour.

They found a hotel, put down the stone statue, bought the medicine that Haita had mentioned, and asked the pharmacist to brew it.

Upon his return, he removed Frillie's petrification.

"This is...wait, the ceiling??"

In her feverish, delirious state, Frillie stared blankly at the ceiling above, her already struggling mind completely blank.

"Oh dear~ Frillie... you're finally awake?" Ash feigned concern and grabbed her burning hot hand.

"So...so cold—!" Frillie instinctively withdrew her hand, feeling the cold, and glared at him with a rather helpless and resentful expression:

"You rascal... just you wait... next time you're sick... I'll grab your hand with my cold hands too...!"

"Ah, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

He rushed to the city without resting and got involved in a bunch of messy things. Only now did he realize that his hands were as cold as ice, and he couldn't help but give a frustrated, embarrassed smile.

His appearance left Frillie speechless, and she sighed softly, "...I should have just closed my eyes for a moment...Where am I?"

"Actually, you were unconscious for three days, and we have already arrived in the magic city."

Three days...? You must be kidding me.

Why would I need to lie to you?

"But... I should just... sigh... never mind... as long as you don't do anything reckless at this time..."

The girl, her head spinning, was completely confused by his serious expression. In the end, she just sighed softly, closed her eyes again, and gave up on caring about these things at this moment.

She didn't even realize that, apart from her own portable bedding, the bedding in the hotel rooms was unusually cold... as if she had just gotten into bed.

Ash hesitated for a moment, then brought the medicine he had just prepared to her side: "I won't do anything reckless, anyway... drink some medicine first?"

"Um... Ah, thank you."

Taking a deep breath, Frillie tried to sit up, but with his help, she was finally able to half-lie down against the bedside.

It was only then that Frillie realized he seemed to be cold all over, and she was somewhat puzzled:

"You... just to make me feel cold... did you go out for hours just to walk around outside?"

"No, it's just that something came up... By the way, why do you think of me like that?"

"Because you usually... when you grab my hand, it's on purpose... to freeze me."

“This time is different. I heard from Simmel that grabbing someone seems to be very useful at this time, right? He did the same thing when Haita was sick last time, didn’t he?” He reminisced about the past while bringing the pot to her lips with a smile. “Haita wasn’t very happy, but it was quite effective… well, at least he didn’t object as much as you did?”

"Because...your hands are so cold...how do you manage to make them so cold?"

"Well, let's drink the medicine first, shall we?"

“Afterwards…” Frillie took a small sip of the medicine, her brow furrowed at the bitter taste, staring intently at him as she muttered softly, “You need to explain things to me properly…”

"what?"

"I have a feeling... you're hiding something from me..."

"Alright, alright, take your medicine first, come on... good girl." Before handing over the medicine, he blew on it, which made Frilian gasp slightly and show a displeased expression: "Are you... treating me like a child?"

"It's a little hot, so..."

"I've never seen you so gentle before." After so many years of friendship, Frillie had reason to suspect that this guy must have done something to wrong her.

He surprisingly shrugged, revealing his honesty: "Because I was worried you'd be angry later."

"....What?"

"Let's talk about this when you're better."

He didn't intend to reveal that he had petrified her for the time being, so when faced with Frilian's gaze, he simply continued to vaguely offer her the potion.

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

After a while, Frillie drank the whole bowl of medicine and then took a sip of water before lying down again.

Ash, whose hands were warmed by the medicine bowl, grabbed Frillie's hand again from under the covers, causing the drowsy elf girl to glance at him suspiciously: "What...are you planning to do now?"

"I just wanted to put your mind at ease, because people often feel uneasy when they are sick."

"With you holding my hand, I... feel even more uneasy..." Frillian pursed her lips, panting, staring weakly at him.

"Don't say that. We've been together for so many years. Even if you don't trust others, you have to trust me, right?"

"Then tell me quickly... what exactly did you do? I promise... I won't be angry..."

"Oh dear, don't think too much when you're sick. I'll definitely tell you when I'm better!"

He held the still-childish little hand of the older elven girl in one hand, while his other hand smiled and touched her slightly disheveled silver hair.

This made Frillie turn her head away in strong resistance, but she couldn't dodge it. She couldn't even pull her hand back, and could only let out a weak complaint:

"How many times have I told you... don't treat me like a child... don't touch my head..."

“I’ve heard that for many children, being gently patted on the head by an adult brings a sense of security and being cared for. This physical contact can also convey a message of warmth, support, and protection, making the child feel valued and loved.” Instead of the girl’s protest, and unable to think of any good stories to lull her to sleep, Ash, in a moment of inspiration, launched into a spiel, explaining to her on the spot:

"Especially when children feel uneasy, anxious, or need comfort, this kind of close physical contact can make them feel safe and comfortable. So, personally, I think that patting their head is actually more effective than shaking hands. However, since Simmel has said so before, I also intend to respect the local tradition. With this two-pronged approach, do you feel twice as reassured and comfortable? Well, although you might be a little shy, but you think..."

"........"

His incessant scientific explanations and conversation left Frillie speechless. Weak and exhausted, she felt both frustrated and somewhat amused, but also...

Surprisingly, it actually feels quite reassuring? But being called a child by this guy is really unpleasant... However, well... let's leave it at that for now? I'll settle the score with him later—Frilian closed her eyes with a slight pant, feeling this indescribable sense of security, as well as an unspeakable sense of shame, but temporarily gave up her plan to forcefully push him away.

However, for the sake of her own pride, she secretly decided that she must "get revenge" later.

The next day, after a full day and night of sleep, her cold and fever symptoms had mostly disappeared.

She couldn't quite remember what happened yesterday, and the ensuing questions only added to her suspicions, leaving her no time to dwell on yesterday's events.

According to Ash, Simmel and the others seemed to have arrived in the magical city in a hurry and went to the nearby labyrinth... They've temporarily lost contact.

She didn't see them for the next few days, and... even when they came back, their expressions were very strange. They were inexplicably hesitant and unwilling to talk to her properly about what happened during her illness.

It was as if something had happened during that time. But Frilian couldn't fathom what they could possibly have that they needed to deliberately hide from her, until—80 years later, the events of the past seemed to come full circle and happened to Philon.

Chapter Twenty-One: The Belated Truth and Understanding - Finally Arriving in the Magical City - The Legal Loli Zanze

Let's go back to the present.

All these years have passed, and Frilian still doesn't understand why the entire squad kept it from her.

Until... she saw Ash reach out and lift Philon into his arms.

"Lord Ash...you...you are...?" Philon opened his eyes weakly, and even his originally rosy face seemed to have become even redder than before.

She wanted to say something more, but Ash gently and reassuringly stopped her:

"It's alright, Philon, close your eyes and rest for a bit, it'll be over soon."

"This conversation... it sounds strangely familiar...?" Frillian stroked her chin, deep in thought, trying hard to recall the past.

Although Philon didn't quite understand what he wanted to do, she trusted him completely and, like Frilian before her, closed her eyes without any suspicion. And then...

To everyone's astonishment, the sickly Philon, along with the blankets wrapped around her, turned to stone in Ash's hands.

"Wait, wait a minute...?" For a moment, Frillie made an exaggerated expression, clutching her throbbing head, and tried to force a smile to calm herself down as she asked:

"Ash, although I think it's unlikely, but in the past... you wouldn't have done the same thing to me, would you?"

"Well... if you look at it on a bright side... sometimes things that seem impossible actually happen, isn't that a kind of surprise?"

"......"

Ash awkwardly looked away, while Frillie clearly didn't feel any joy, but rather quite surprised.

She was so caught up in her brainstorming that her mind seemed to have gone blank, and she couldn't even speak. She stared blankly at the petrified girl in his arms.

After a long while, she stared at Ash suspiciously and murmured, "I won't ask anything else now. Just tell me... before flying magic existed, how did you manage to transport me to the magic city?"

"This... um, like this?"

He tried to make history repeat itself, using magic to levitate the statue, and then pushing it through the air with one hand.

As he turned back, the stone statue floated away, prompting him to quickly chase after it and catch it again.

It was this inexplicable resemblance—the action of dribbling and charging forward, then turning back after hitting the ball—that suddenly conjured up a strange image in Frillie's mind.

Now she finally understood why everyone else had a strange, hesitant expression when they only asked about what happened during her illness.

And why did Ash say back then that he was worried I would be angry, so he was being gentle with me beforehand, and he even looked guilty... but he just wouldn't say it?

This made her purse her lips and say, "You...were you just like when you were playing ball, taking me, who was sealed away, around everywhere? And you didn't tell the truth until the very end when you finally broke the seal, making me think that I was in a daze and accidentally arrived at the magical city?"