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

"...Is this something to be happy about?" Connie stared at him with an extremely resentful look: "I finally managed to forget about failing the exam, and now you're bringing it up again, Uncle?"

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

There was no other way, so he had to use his other free hand to stroke Connie's hair, trying to soothe the girl who seemed to be about to throw a tantrum as well.

However, even so, Connie was still somewhat unhappy, which made him laugh out loud:

"Don't worry about it so much. You'll have plenty of opportunities. You can take the test again in three years."

“But Uncle and Rabinha are not here, I definitely can’t do it…” Connie placed his hands on his lap in frustration and lowered his head deeply.

"If all else fails, try to curry favor with me, and I'll pull some strings for you?"

"...Is this okay?"

"It should be possible... If it really doesn't work, I'll take the test with you again?"

"Really?! Then... then it's a deal!"

The casual joke, delivered with a smile, delighted Connie, who grabbed his hand and held it to his chest, his eyes shining as he exclaimed, "Three years from now! Let's go together again!"

"...Ah, uh, that's what they say, but..."

No, no matter how you look at it, it's impossible for him to actually go and accompany someone to the exam, right? —Realizing that his joke had been misunderstood, Ash was dumbfounded and tried to clarify things in a vague way, but Connie's eyes were already shifting.

She would steal glances at Linne beside her, then glance at his face, appearing both shy and nervous, but he couldn't figure out what the girl was thinking.

Finally realizing that Linne seemed to be still in a daze, Connie mustered up her courage and even grabbed his hand, placing it on her exposed stomach.

At that moment, the girl, who could clearly feel the warmth and touch of that palm, froze, and the blush on her cheeks deepened unconsciously.

Her tightly pressed lips couldn't utter a sound, but her heartbeat and breathing became noticeably more rapid... Even Ash could clearly feel the softness and warmth under her palm, and the rapid heartbeat.

Linne's gaze followed, landing on his hand, and she wore a thoughtful expression, making him feel that he should do something, or say something.

Reason told him he should stop it all, but before he could even utter the words, a cold gaze pierced the air like a sharp sword.

Looking up, he saw Rabinha staring at him with eyes full of disgust.

The coldness in his eyes was comparable to the harshest blizzard in the north, as if it could freeze people from a distance.

"Wait a minute, you can tell from my hand movements that I was pressed down, right?" he hurriedly explained, trying to avoid escalating the misunderstanding and ease the awkward and delicate atmosphere.

"....??"

Rabindranath was taken aback by her words, then carefully examined Connie's hand gestures. He immediately felt a profound betrayal, rushed forward, grabbed Connie's wrist, and tried to push her to the ground, angrily accusing her:

"—Connie! You dared to talk back to me yesterday?! And now you... you actually... you're capable of doing something like this?!"

"I didn't! It was just... just Uncle's request!" In his panic, Connie, whose hands were locked in a stalemate with Rabine and who was trying his best to push her back in mid-air, blushed and subconsciously shifted the blame onto Ash.

Ash pointed at himself, dumbfounded, while Rabine's angry rebukes came like a barrage of bullets: "That perverted old man said it! And you just obediently agreed?! Are you an idiot?!"

“I won’t… wait! Didn’t Rabinhee show the old man his underwear yesterday too? Who’s the dumber one here?!” Connie retorted defiantly, instantly escalating the argument between the two.

Ash, who was perhaps an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire, was being stared at by Line with a blank expression because of the content of their conversation.