章 55: Chapter 54
Chapter 54: The Difference Between Ideal and Reality
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Not only did she refer to herself as a "big sister," but truthfully, she could barely even be called a girl. The reality was that this poor elf, who clearly looked quite mature, proudly stood there with her hands on her hips and her chest puffed out, proclaiming herself as a "big sister."
To be honest, Ash had begun to suspect that this naive elf was poking fun at his dreams, mocking his goals in her own roundabout way.
But he was too tired to argue with Frieren, so he quickly glanced around, changing the subject with a sigh, "Forget that—how about a dwarf lady? If that's not an option, maybe the legendary dwarf loli... girl would work?"
"Dwarf lady? What do you mean by 'dwarf'... Wait, what do you mean by 'compared to this'? Are you seriously looking down on me?"
Frieren's eyes widened in offense. She was about to argue, but a rather rough voice interrupted from behind: "If you're talking about dwarves... I'm already here!"
Ash winced at the deep, gravelly tone, holding his forehead with one hand and muttering, "I suddenly have a bad feeling… although, maybe dwarves do sound rough? I mean, they must inhale so much dust from mining, so it would make sense for their voices to be affected."
"Why would dwarves need to mine?" Frieren asked, puzzled.
"Isn't that what the stories say?" Ash replied without much thought, which left Frieren at a loss. She looked at him, half exasperated, "...How old are you? Or have you just been staying in the mountains all these years?"
"Well, I was mostly training, so yeah, I've never really met a dwarf," he replied.
"Right... you're an absolute training fanatic," she sighed, finally understanding him a bit more. "No wonder you got tricked by the master and ended up in such remote places."
"Actually, dwarves don't mine. We're mostly warriors," said a rough-voiced dwarf with a super long yellow beard, a horned helmet, and a double-bladed axe strapped to his back, as he walked up beside Ash.
Ash's shoulders drooped as he realized the painful truth, "You mean Flamme lied to me... again?!"
The massive difference between the loli elf he envisioned and this tough dwarf uncle was so striking that Ash could hardly take it. He was momentarily dazed, his mind struggling to keep up with this jarring reality.
With a sigh, he turned around, crouched down, and placed his hands over his head, as if he was trying to ward off the overwhelming realization that his expectations had shattered into a million pieces.
He had to admit, deep down, part of his desire to become a hero stemmed from the hope of meeting all sorts of beautiful girls… That's why he'd been so eager to believe Flamme's tales, no matter how dubious.
But perhaps that's just how humans are, drawn to enticing dreams even when they know they might end up disappointed.
After so much anticipation and so many disappointments, he'd hoped that perhaps, just perhaps, he might meet a dwarf loli to bridge the gap between the reality and his imagined world.
Not that he was a "loli enthusiast"—far from it. He just thought that at least if there were a cute, younger girl around, someone a bit more lively than Frieren, it might make up for the harshness of the world a bit.
Not that he'd actually do anything, of course. He was a serious person and far too honest to act on any attraction to a loli, but... there was something endearing about teasing one occasionally, wasn't there?
But...
"Are you alright?" The dwarf man loomed before him, looking at him curiously. Although he was typically silent, he couldn't help but ask, "By the way, are you a warrior? Or a magician?"
Ash took a closer look. The dwarf uncle's entire face below his eyes was engulfed in an overly dense beard that cascaded down to his chest. His helmet obscured the area above his forehead, leaving only his two eyes visible.
"This beard… so much of it… Is this really reality? Cruel and ruthless, with no beauty at all..." Ash muttered, entirely ignoring the dwarf's question as he unconsciously reached out to tug at the thick beard in front of him.
The strange texture made him certain—this was indeed an uncle and definitely not a loli.
The sheer length and Volume of the beard allowed only the dwarf's eyes to be visible, with no other features discernible at all.
But… even if he were to imagine a loli of this kind, Ash felt sure he'd never accept such an odd loli.
…
The gap between his ideal and reality plunged Ash into a state of quiet despair, and he continued to tug on the overly long beard unconsciously.
The dwarf warrior appeared increasingly distressed, turning to Frieren for help: "Is this your friend? What's wrong with him? Could you please ask him to let go of my beard?"
"Sorry, Eisen, this guy is a little strange… But I'll have a good talk with him." Although she wanted to pretend she didn't know him, Frieren couldn't simply abandon him. She slapped his hand, still playing with the beard, grabbed his arm, and dragged him a short distance away.
Once they were far enough, she turned to him with a long, weary sigh.
"Ash, what on earth are you doing here?"
"Well…" he hesitated momentarily before saying, "...Actually, I'm worried about your safety. After all, the Demon King is very dangerous, isn't he?"
"Stop lying. You're just looking for a girl, aren't you? But as you can see, there's no pretty girl here except me. Go back quickly, shoo." Frieren waved her hands as if she were shooing away a stray cat.
"I won't comment on your self-assessment, but you can't stop my yearning for stories."
"A story about a chance encounter with a beautiful girl?"
"I have aspirations for that, yes, but I'm also somewhat interested in serious adventures." He stated his thoughts earnestly, as the curious voice of the dwarf, Eisen, sounded from behind:
"What? You want to join too?"
"...On second thought, maybe I'll reconsider."
Ash glanced back at the dwarf uncle, then looked at the remaining two male companions who were far from his expectations, and he silently began to worry once more.
This team looked more like a ragtag group of minor characters likely to perish halfway through than a proper hero's party bound for triumph.
The two people who supposedly could predict the future hadn't even hinted at which team would defeat the Demon King, making him genuinely worried about Frieren's chances of survival on the journey.
From his impression, Frank, who'd vowed to "pave the way forward," seemed more like someone who might emerge victorious in the end.
In other words, was this team doomed to fail partway? Or would they somehow manage to defeat the Demon King? The uncertainty gnawed at him.
"What's wrong, Ash? Why are you…" Frieren noticed his expression, a mix of concern and apprehension. She paused, surprised, but then seemed to pick up on his thoughts, and a warm smile softened her face. "I didn't expect… you would actually worry about me."
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