thefictionvixens Page 139
Page 139
At this moment, Frillie's buttocks began to wriggle even more violently, kicking repeatedly towards Ash:
"—Who? Who hit me? Ash?! It was definitely you!?"
"How could that be? Actually, it was Philon who couldn't help himself."
"...No, absolutely not! Only you would hit me when I'm being bitten!!"
"Don't talk nonsense, Vlame sometimes plays with me too."
"—But the teacher is long dead! Only you would kick someone when they're down like this!" Frillian said with absolute certainty, almost as if she were seething with hatred.
But no one at the scene could sympathize with her. Even Philon couldn't help but speak up for Ash: "Since you knew you would get beaten up, why did you still crawl in there? Can't you learn from this next time?"
"But only by seeing through that 1% of great magicians can a historic discovery be made! If even I give up, who else can persevere? In the end, I didn't get bitten because I liked it!"
"...But in fact, you didn't see through it either, and you fell completely for it, didn't you?"
"Small setbacks are possible for anyone, but we shouldn't give up on everything because of one small failure!"
Frillie was quite soft all over, even her buttocks were soft to the touch, but she was incredibly stubborn.
Ash patted him again and shook his head, saying, "Judging from the actual situation, you've been hit more than once. In fact, I've seen it happen hundreds of times."
"Anyway! It'll definitely succeed! And... you spanked me again, didn't you? And were you lying to me again just now? You liar! You traitor! — I will never forgive you this time!!"
It was really hard to refute, but she still refused to change, causing Frilian to struggle while gritting her teeth: "You promised me last time that the Church would be on my side next time! You treacherous bastard!! Now you've betrayed me time and time again~!"
"...Although I did promise you this, you have to consider the actual situation. How can I stand by your side after what you just said? You're a girl, so it's okay, but if I said anything, I would definitely be in a much worse situation than you!"
If he were to foolishly reveal what Philon and Zanze truly cared about, Ash suspected that the two might fight him on the spot.
Therefore, this is the only thing he absolutely cannot stand on Frilian's side, even though he did initially intend to keep his promise and stand by her side once.
Although she felt that Frillie had brought it on herself, Philon felt a pang of sympathy for her, seeing that Frillie was already pitiful enough and was being spanked.
While holding onto her legs and trying to pull her out, Philon looked at Ash and pleaded, "Lord Ash, could you please let her out a little while longer and then help me get her out quickly?"
"Philan, it's because you always spoil her that she's become so reckless and doesn't know how to learn from her mistakes."
"I'll have a good talk with her when I get back! So hurry up and give me a hand."
"...No, I'd better go now."
"Master Ash?!"
"...Actually, don't pull it outwards, just push it inwards a little, and the mimic will feel uncomfortable and want to vomit."
To avoid trouble from Frilian later, Ash casually taught her the method of pulling people out without looking back, and then left without hesitation.
The strange little trick left Philon standing there dumbfounded for a while, wondering how many times he had pulled Frilian away, and then he took the measures he had mentioned with a mixture of belief and doubt.
He just pushed it in like that, and then, like pounding garlic, he poked it a couple of times with Frillie's head...
With a "pop!" sound, like a cork popping out of a bottle, the mimic actually spat out Frillien.
"...Ugh, Philon, where's Ash?! This time I'm definitely not going to let him get away with this—!"
Frillian, who was spat out and fell to the ground with a thud, covered her backside while looking around for the guy who had kicked her while she was down.
Zanze, who had been standing there in a daze and hadn't left with Ash, stood there blankly, pointing to the intersection they had come from.
But now, not only can you not see a person, you can't even hear footsteps anymore.
"Damn it... He really did run away first... I knew that guy was cunning from the start!"
Frillie, who was rubbing his buttocks, was so angry she wanted to grind her teeth, but unfortunately, she couldn't do anything about it for the time being.
Philon sighed and shook his head as if addressing a naughty child, then took out a handkerchief, wiped her hair, and asked:
"Speaking of which, Lady Frilian, you just said that after ten centuries someone finally believed you. Were there others a thousand years ago?"
"...Ash, and Master." Frillie sat on the ground with her arms crossed, turning her face away angrily, and named the two people she knew best.
But this answer left Philon even more confused.
"....??" Since she had already been fooled by the same method before, why would she be fooled again? Philon really couldn't understand.
"That look in your eyes... what rude thing are you thinking about?"
"...Did Lady Frillian's master truly believe in Lady Frillian?"
"No... Master is just as much of a scoundrel as Ash." Actually, this wasn't the first time she'd been fooled like this, and she even knew the reasoning behind it perfectly well... because a thousand years ago, both Master and Ash had taken turns using this excuse.
Because every time she caught them, their reasons for begging for mercy were surprisingly consistent: they simply found her silence in front of the mimic too troublesome... and preferred to be swallowed quickly.
After recounting what she knew, Frilian muttered under her breath, her face full of displeasure, "Master can no longer take revenge, but that Ash guy absolutely cannot be let go... This time, we have to settle both old and new scores... Hmm, let's count Master's score as well!"
Despite falling for their tricks every time, Frilian always seemed to be furious with the two of them. This made Zanze tilt his head and blink his confused eyes two or three times, still unable to understand why he would fall for the same tricks when he knew so clearly the reasons they were lying to him.
It must be because so much time has passed, a thousand years have gone by, that we've simply forgotten about it.
Besides this, she really couldn't think of any other reason.
..............................
..............................
After a long-awaited spanking of Frillie, a refreshed Ash began searching for Cornelius, Labinie, and the others in the dungeon.
Although he himself felt that it was not good to have toyed with Frilian's trust after a thousand years and made her happy for nothing, it might be good if he could learn a lesson from this and not be swallowed by the mimic monster again in the future.
"...But if it could change things like that, it would have been changed 1000 years ago, wouldn't it?"
As for why she didn't take any precautions at all, perhaps she genuinely believed every time that it was a real treasure chest?
If that's the case, why bother guarding against treasure chests? But as for learning from mistakes... gamblers never learn their lessons.
How many gamblers actually learn from their mistakes? Even after losing everything, many gamblers will still gamble without hesitation.
If ordinary gamblers are like this, let alone a long-time gambling addict like Frilian.
It could be said that he was fooled every time, and every time it was the same; because of this, he would immediately forget his slight guilt after a little annoyance and give up on the idea of helping Frilian grow.
However... while searching for other candidates, Ash hadn't found anyone else yet, but he spotted Zanze in another open area.
Unfortunately, it was a clone, and its already excessively long hair was even longer than normal, making it float in mid-air.
Such a scene, if described in words, would inevitably carry a hint of absurdity and foreboding.
The petrified face and posture of the Kezanze replica, under the dim interplay of light and shadow, strangely matched the image of a giant deep-sea octopus, especially those seemingly endless "tentacles," which added a touch of unsettling mystery.
From a distance, if one cannot clearly see the petite figure itself, the sight is enough to send chills down one's spine.
However... Ash only had this feeling, but the three-person team facing Zanze was truly terrified.
Their tension was almost at its peak; every tiny movement seemed capable of triggering a fatal crisis, and cold sweat poured down their faces like a fine rain.
Until Ash's figure came into view... the girl in the lead, wearing knee-length black stockings and sporting a pink mushroom haircut, couldn't help but shout, "Please! Save this old man!"
"...Won't that work? If I deal with Zanze's clone like this, the exam will become too easy, and Zanze will be angry, won't he?"
Faced with the girl whose tone was inexplicably old-fashioned, Ash simply shrugged, looking completely helpless.
Zanze's clone, who originally intended to eliminate the three, became wary of him because of his appearance... seemingly remembering their previous collaboration against him.
This prompted the young girl—Level 2 Mage Etilius—to immediately suggest, "If I remember correctly, you've been collecting magic, haven't you? You even obtained magic from the examinees during the last exam!"
"...I think I understand what you're trying to say, but please don't underestimate me;" Ash frowned slightly, shaking his head sternly, "If you are in mortal danger, I will still help, but I won't break my principles for the sake of magic. After all, Zanze is my junior, and if he accidentally messes up the exam, I might..."
"Give me ten gold coins, help me deal with this guy, and I'll teach you the family's magic!" Born into a family skilled in mental magic but living in extreme poverty, Etilu had an intense desire for money and to become a first-level mage.
Although she was a little reluctant to give up her family's magic, tempted by the "privilege" of being a first-level mage, she gritted her teeth and gave it her all to avoid being eliminated... and incidentally asked for 10 gold coins as a reward.
Despite wanting to say that she was insulting herself and trying to stick to her principles... the other party, although only a second-level mage and with little combat ability, was more skilled in mental magic than any first-level mage in the Continental Magic Association.
Therefore, Ash opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't utter any harsh words or firmly state his position and principles. Instead, he silently nodded.
"...Okay, I'll give you 10 gold coins once we get out. Now you guys hurry up and leave, I'll keep her under control."
"Alright! Then we'll retreat first, and I'll leave this place in your care!"
The unexpected deal left Etilu with mixed feelings, but she still took her two companions and ran away without saying a word, leaving Ash standing there confronting the clone.
The two stared at each other for a while... Sensing that the other party didn't have any major intentions to attack, he silently backed away.
The whole process went surprisingly smoothly, without any conflict, and he completed his transaction. It was so simple that he even started to worry about whether he should give Etilu some more money.
..............................
After parting ways with Etilu, Ash continued to wander aimlessly through the dungeon.
This time, he also tried his best to implement the previous point of view of not interfering with the exam, so as to avoid facing Zanze's accountability later, as well as the possible deaths and injuries in the final round of the exam.
But not long after, he saw it...
Rabine, the silver-haired girl who was separated from Frilian and the others due to the trap, is running away with her body covered in wounds, and chasing after her is a clone of Yubel.
Although they are both level three mages, Yubel is clearly stronger.
Furthermore, Rabine, who focuses on manipulating matter, was clearly countered by Yubel's severing magic.
After a brief resistance and a long escape, Rabindranath, exhausted, was driven to desperation. He suddenly turned around and, starting from the tip of his wand, conjured up a dozen ice spikes, causing the temperature in the narrow passage to drop continuously.