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

After a long silence, Ash suddenly spoke again: "Speaking of which..."

"what?"

"Your desk is covered in strange magic. Those shouldn't be Vlamed's, right?"

“I collected them from various places in my spare time, and…” Perhaps thinking of something interesting, Frillie’s face regained its smile: “Two hundred years ago, the treasure chest I opened was identified as a mimicry, but it actually contained a magic book?”

"After all, one percent isn't nonexistent."

"Is that it~?" Frilian's long ears swayed up and down as she proudly raised her head.

This amused him, and he chuckled, "So, what kind of magic is inside?"

"A magic that makes the body smell good."

"Uh... so is it useful or not?"

"The types of smells vary from person to person."

"Hmm... if you get dirty, it can be used as a temporary solution, right? And if everyone is different, it should be quite interesting?" He stroked his chin, pondered for a long time, and then gave a vague response, which made the corners of Frillie's mouth curve even higher: "Right~?"

"...Thinking about it this way, you can actually find the magic you truly like yourself. It doesn't have to be about combat; the main thing is that it's fun and that you enjoy it."

"I like it... I understand ordinary liking, but the kind that's too specific always feels a bit hard to understand."

"It's okay, you can definitely do it."

Looking at his still bewildered old friend, Ash's eyes sparkled with a warm smile, and he casually patted her head.

"Can I... too?" Noticing the "temperature" in his gaze, Frillie involuntarily froze on the spot, taking a while to come back to her senses. She pushed his hand away and said impatiently:

"I thought you'd become so much more composed, but... don't try to touch my head while I'm distracted, you're going to mess up my hair!"

"fine."

"where?"

"At least my hair isn't messy."

"You...you really haven't changed at all."

Although her tone was a little rude, and she was criticizing him, Frilian herself didn't know why, but the corners of her mouth just couldn't help but turn up.

Although they were all just trivial things, I was surprisingly... quite happy.

She even couldn't help but think that she could really listen to him and try to find the magic she liked.

And so the leisurely time continued slowly, and five days passed in the blink of an eye.

The promised person—the Hero of the South—finally appeared on that dilapidated mountaintop.

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years Later: Chapter Forty - An Unalterable Miracle

In the early morning, Ash and Frilian, who rarely had anything to do, learned to identify edible wild vegetables in the bushes.

Frillie, who had never asked him why he was here at this time, suddenly seemed to remember something, looked up at him, and asked:

"It's a bit sudden, but Ash... are you afraid of dying?"

"Uh... this is really too sudden, isn't it?" Ash turned around in a daze, but her expression looked unusually serious:

"If there's anything you'd like to do, just tell me."

"What's going on? Don't suddenly throw some weird flag at me, okay? I haven't even been on the battlefield yet, have I??"

"Really? Then tell me when you think of something...anything is fine."

"I suddenly had a thought..."

"I got it?"

"No... I was thinking, is it okay for me to get angry now and maybe punch you?" As he spoke, Ash slapped her on the head with a "smack!"

"—Ouch!?" Caught off guard, Frillie covered her head with both hands, remaining crouched on the ground, and complained with her head tilted back, "...Why did you attack me when you were asking! I didn't even agree to it!"

"That's a good question, but if I asked you, would you agree?"

"Of course not!" Frillie answered without hesitation, prompting Ash to smile and say, "Then why should I wait for your answer?"

"Huh? That seems to be it... No, if that's the case, why did you ask?"

"Of course, this makes me seem more democratic."

Faced with the sullen-faced girl, Ash solemnly explained his opinion, which was unlikely to be accepted.

only.....

"....democracy?"

Forget about opinions, even the word "Frilian" was difficult to understand.

"It means respecting others."

Would someone who respects others resort to violence?

“Not necessarily. Sometimes it’s for education, like this is what it means now.” He reached out and placed his hand on Frilian’s head, gazing into her dull and somewhat resentful emerald eyes, and said solemnly:

"I know you care about me, but isn't this method a bit strange? It makes it sound like I'm about to die."

I feel... apologetic.

"No...shouldn't you be fighting back now?"

This was different from before; she was clearly too gentle, making Ash feel uneasy.

He couldn't pinpoint what the problem was, and before he could even say anything more, he roughly ruffled her hair, and then undisguised footsteps echoed in the distance.

Upon closer inspection, he saw a middle-aged man with long bangs and a beard, and two swords at his waist, which made him subconsciously withdraw his hand.

Frillie followed his gaze, observed his expression, and, while tidying her hair, asked curiously in a calm tone:

"An acquaintance of yours?"

"Hmm~ It's a bit hard to explain in detail." Ash stood up, looking slightly troubled, and observed his long-lost friend.

In fact, he did not formally become the other's apprentice; their relationship should be described as both teacher and friend.

He initially trusted Frank, but the future Frank described differed significantly from Shurahart's, leaving him somewhat confused about Frank's plans, or... what the two of them were scheming about.

"Long time no see, Ash, and Miss Frillian."

Frank stopped in front of the two, smiling as he turned his gaze to Frillie, who had just stood up while holding Ash's hand.

"...You've mentioned me to this person?" Frilian looked at Ash curiously, but he shook his head: "No, I don't think I've mentioned him."

"So....."

"Miss Frillian, may we speak alone?" Frank suddenly interrupted their conversation before Frillian could speak.

Seeing that the other party clearly had no hostility, Frillie agreed without much thought.

Ash could only watch from the sidelines for the time being, wondering what they had that they needed to keep from him.

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

It is quite a distance from Ash.

Frillie glanced at Ash, who was observing the scene from a short distance away, before speaking bluntly with an air of disinterest:

"If you have something to say, just say it."

"I was originally planning to invite you, but I knew you would refuse, so I decided not to."

"What do you mean?...The self-talk that's popular these days?"

"No, I just foresaw a future where you would refuse, and even if I spent some time figuring out how to get you to agree to join me in defeating the Demon King, the outcome wouldn't change... I guess it's best not to waste talent."

"..."

The strange statement made Frillie suspect that this person was indeed Ash's friend, but she also couldn't be bothered to pay any more attention to him.

"It's okay to tell you, since you won't tell anyone... Actually, I can see the future."

"is it?"

"Haha, I don't believe it at all." Frank didn't care at all, smiling as he gazed into the distance, continuing as if talking to himself:

"Although your future has opened up new possibilities, soon a young hero will come to find you, and he will be the one to save the world... It's truly unfortunate."

"I see absolutely no resentment in you..." Frilian looked puzzled and asked, "Instead, if I'm not mistaken, you're the Southern Hero, right? The strongest human? That guy is stronger than you? He defeated the Demon King all by himself?"

"Sorry, I misspoke. It was my fault. I unconsciously gave all the credit to the team leader. You guys should be the ones who saved the world." Frank gave a meaningful smile.

"It would be impossible to defeat the Demon King if any one of you were missing, because it is an unrepeatable miracle, and it would not be an exaggeration to call it a divine miracle."

"...I don't think that kind of thing will happen. Let alone the Demon King, there are quite a few Great Demons who can defeat me."

"Indeed, your strength should give you less than a one percent chance of winning, but if we send you, the chance of winning is one hundred percent. No matter how the Demon King and Shurahart change their tactics, the outcome will not change... It's like fate in the dark."

"Can you really see the future? How can someone who can see the future believe in fate?"

"We can change a lot, but there are still things we can't change, like fate, which is even more unreasonable than destiny."