Frieren: Reincarnated As a Demon

Chapter 161: Connie catches an adulterer?

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The silver-haired girl stood under the dim glow of the magic stone lamp, her hesitant expression making Ash pause. With a hint of confusion, he asked:

"What's wrong, Lawine? If you're here to see Fern, you can just go in, right?"

"No, no! I'm here to see you, uncle!"

"Me?"

"Yes... you!"

In the deserted and quiet street, Lawine took a deep breath, seemingly steeling herself. Finally, she spoke:

"If you hadn't helped me all the way, I never would've become a first-Class magician. So… I wanted to thank you properly."

"...Suddenly so formal? That's not like you." Ash chuckled and shook his head, though a faint hint of relief flickered in his eyes. Stepping closer, he reached out and lightly ruffled her silver hair.

"Don't worry about it. If you really want to thank me, just treat me to a meal, alright?"

"I will. But… that… and this… this!"

Lawine's lips tightened, and her fingers trembled slightly as if struggling with some inner turmoil. After making sure no one else was around, she finally lifted the hem of her skirt with both hands, her face flushed crimson.

In that moment, as though replicating a past scene, her smooth belly was revealed. But this time, beneath the hem of her skirt was pure white, delicate, and captivating fabric.

Time seemed to freeze. The world quieted, leaving only Ash and Lawine in this stillness.

A breeze occasionally rustled her hair, adding a soft, carefree charm to the moment. Under the dim light, her face seemed softer, even prettier than usual.

Despite this, the shyness and embarrassment lingered, her cheeks flushed as red as embers. Unlike last time, there was less of the sharpness or defiance in her expression—shame had taken its place.

Even though Ash was witnessing this scene for the second time, he was left stunned, his mind struggling to process it.

"...Am I considered a weirdo? Is this how people express gratitude now?"

"You're pervert! If you're happy, then be happy! But just for today, I won't laugh at you..."

"No, no, no... I'm not accepting this. And I definitely don't want to be called a pervert by someone lifting their skirt in the middle of the street!"

"What…?! You, you! How dare you call me a pervert?!"

Lawine, enduring her overwhelming shame, had clearly wrestled with her feelings for a long time before making her move. But at Ash's words, she froze in place, her face turning crimson as if struck by lightning.

Ash, however, walked up to her silently, gently patted her warm, soft belly with practiced ease, and then pulled her skirt back down. Speaking solemnly, he said:

"This is the middle of the street. Even if it's quiet now and no one's around, what if someone does show up? And even if no one sees, it's not good to catch a cold, right? You've done this, and now I don't even know how to react."

"—Kill... kill…!!" Lawine stammered in fury, her face burning with both anger and embarrassment.

"Look, I don't hate you or anything," Ash said quickly, placing his hand on her head with a sheepish expression. "But I really don't know how to handle this."

"You don't know what to do?! I don't know what to do!" Lawine snapped, her voice trembling. "You're rich, so I didn't know what kind of gift to give you! Just saying thank you felt insincere. And besides... you've already seen it once, so it shouldn't be a big deal. But even so, I'm embarrassed! And then you call me a pervert?!"

Lawine gritted her teeth, standing on tiptoes as she leaned closer, staring at him intently.

If this had been the Lawine of the past, it wouldn't have stopped at a glare—she probably would've punched him already.

"Calm down, calm down, be good, be good~" Ash said, surprised by Lawine's sudden change in demeanor. He stroked her head gently, trying to comfort her. However, as her gaze gradually lowered in embarrassment, he couldn't help but tease her:

"But didn't you say you hated me the most back in the dungeon? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"N-no! It's not like that!" Lawine stammered, her cheeks flushing red. She quickly lifted her head again, her stubbornness returning. "I just don't find you that annoying anymore! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll beat you up!"

"Although I have no idea what nonsense I said," Ash replied with a chuckle, "let's just say you're right. I was wrong. Yes, it must be like that."

As an adult, Ash naturally didn't press the matter further. Instead, he laughed softly and ran his fingers through her silver hair, much like stroking the fur of an irritated cat.

This action seemed to calm Lawine a little, but she still muttered in dissatisfaction:

"…What? Now you're pretending to be all mature? You looked so… gross earlier."

"It wasn't gross; it was gentle!"

"Looking at someone's underwear with such a 'gentle' gaze… Do you think I'm stupid?"

"...Come to think of it, you knew your underwear would be seen, so why didn't you change into a different outfit? Not that I mind, of course."

Ash couldn't imagine any man being able to resist the sight of a silver-haired girl in a Gothic Lolita outfit lifting her skirt.

"You're such a pervert… a perverted uncle," Lawine retorted, pursing her lips and giving him a disdainful look.

Even though the situation was already strange enough to stir odd feelings, before Ash could respond, the sound of approaching footsteps interrupted them.

The two immediately stopped talking and turned toward the source of the sound.

From around the corner, a long-haired girl with twin ponytails appeared, staring at Lawine with an expression of shock and disbelief.

"Lawine… what have you been doing?"

"Kanne? N-no, wait… wait a minute—why are you here?? When did you start eavesdropping?!"

"From the very beginning," Kanne replied flatly. "Your mom told me you weren't home and had gone to Fren, so I followed you. Who knew you'd stay here instead of going in—and even use your underwear to seduce an uncle!?"

Kanne, clearly unable to process what she was seeing, pointed at Lawine, her voice rising with outrage.

"Lawine! I can't believe you! I really misjudged you! I never expected you to be this kind of person!"

"Huh? No! This is a misunderstanding! I just… just..." Lawine, who usually had no problem standing her ground with Kanne, panicked for once. She glanced around desperately before finally turning to Ash for help.

Unfortunately for her, Ash was at a complete loss.

Faced with such an absurd situation, he couldn't think of any reasonable explanation to give. With no other option, he resorted to improvising and spoke with a serious expression:

"Actually… Lawine was struck by a strange curse, which is why all of this is happening!"

"...Uncle, do you really think I'm that gullible?" Kanne asked, her tone icy as she glared at him.

Ash, however, had no choice but to stick to his story. Lawine, in her panic, was stomping on her foot, silently urging him to keep going.

Forcing a strained smile, Ash replied, "Well, there's no other way... This isn't the time to be picky about methods."

"Methods?!" Kanne exclaimed, her voice rising. "Do you think I'm an idiot? What's the connection between a curse and this kind of perverted behavior?"

"Uh… maybe there's some connection?" Ash said weakly.

"—I've never heard of that!" Kanne snapped, clearly furious at his nonsensical excuse. Unable to contain herself, she lunged forward to confront him physically.

"To be honest, I've never heard of it either," Ash admitted, stepping back defensively.

"Then why on earth did you even say it?!" Kanne demanded.

"I just said the first thing that came to mind..." Ash muttered helplessly.