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

But since no one was there, he naturally couldn't stay there. He took off and prepared to search for any possible descendants of his old friends among the displaced people who had been forced to leave their homes.

Although Anderson is probably not alive now, his grandson, a middle-aged man in his thirties, should still be alive... though he wouldn't have changed much in over ten years, Ash felt he should still be able to recognize him... probably.

However... as he quickly moved through the refugee crowd, he did not find any familiar figures. Instead, he noticed a strange little girl in the sky who looked shocked when she saw him.

The shock wasn't just that he could fly; it was mixed with other emotions as well.

This made him curious, so he landed on the ground and squatted down in front of the girl, looking her up and down.

This dirty child wore a simple, gray uniform like a magic apprentice, had a purple bob haircut, and equally beautiful purple eyes... Both his hair and eye color resembled those of Anderson and his great-granddaughter.

Image: "Philan", Location: "Images/1722786751-100409035-111972945.jpg"

Image: "Philan (grown up)", Location: "Images/1722786824-100409035-111972945.jpg"

As he examined the little girl, the girl, clutching the familiar wooden box in her hand, also stared wide-eyed in disbelief and asked uncertainly:

"You...you are...Lord Ash?"

"...The name is correct for now. You are Anderson's great-granddaughter? I remember your name was Marian...? Ah, no."

Anderson's great-granddaughter was only about ten years old then, and this one is at most seven or eight now. It's impossible for her to have grown smaller over ten years, right? In other words...

“Marianne is...my mother.”

"Really? She is... well, I'd better not ask."

The question was so predictable that he gave up halfway through and simply looked at the child, who was staring intently at him but remained inexplicably silent, with a troubled expression.

The two looked at each other speechlessly.

The girl seemed unsure of what to say, and he, in turn, was unsure how to handle the child.

After all, he is the descendant of a deceased friend, and now he is all alone and destitute. It is definitely not right to ignore him.

He could take care of the child... No matter how he thought about it, he didn't think it was a good idea.

But judging from the other person's appearance, if they were simply abandoned, they might not even be alive each day, because there were no adults around at this time. It's obvious what happened to their elders at home.

After a long silence, Ash finally reached out and placed his hand on her head, hesitatingly saying, "Why don't you come with me first?"

"Following...you?"

"Well, although I can probably only provide you with enough to eat and wear, if that's not a problem... why don't you stay with me for now? I'll at least raise you to adulthood."

"....Why?"

Unexpectedly, the girl did not show joy; her face was full of confusion.

It seems that even receiving help at this time doesn't bring much joy... probably because the death of a loved one is too devastating.

Thinking of this, Ash couldn't help but sigh deeply: "No matter what, I can't just watch my friend's descendant die by the roadside like this."

"is that so?"

"That's how it is, and it's okay if you treat me like your dad, after all, I've hugged your mom before."

"..."

This statement seemed a bit strange, but the girl didn't know what to say. She just looked at him with a slightly troubled expression and didn't say a word.

Ash felt that under normal circumstances he should say something more, but the other person's physical and mental condition was obviously very bad, which made him give up saying more.

Although he was very hesitant about this, and even wondered who would be best to take care of him afterward, now...

"Fine... no objection means yes, now come with me."

As he spoke, he grabbed the girl's hand.

Although the child opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, he didn't have a chance to say anything before he was forcibly taken away without any regard for his opinion.

However, it wasn't until they had left the wilderness and arrived in a nearby city that Ash suddenly remembered something and turned back to look at the filthy little girl he had been carrying on his shoulders:

"Speaking of which, what's your name again?"

"...Philan."

"Oh, okay, then you can come with me from now on. I'll try my best to find a good person to take care of you."

"Isn't it you...?"

"I'd like to, but the situation doesn't allow it, because I am... right, I am an evil mage."

He pondered for a moment, then smiled and patted her head again.

"An evil mage...?" Philon was a little confused, wondering what that meant.

However, forcibly taking me away, then complaining that I was walking too slowly, and carrying me on her shoulders; and only now remembering to ask my name... from this perspective, it shows a complete lack of consideration for the child.

This person is completely different from the gentle magician in my mother's story. He must be an evil magician, right?

—At this moment, Philon, who was being carried on his shoulder but kept shifting her body, trying to make herself more comfortable, couldn't help but think this as she looked at his profile.

Although she doesn't really understand what evil means right now.

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

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

In a hotel in the city.

After buying Philon some new clothes, Ash stood by the bathroom, arms crossed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what he should do with Philon next.

"Aura's place... that definitely won't work, right? Celie did adopt Volamere before, so we could try. Then there's Haita, Aize, and Frilian... well, Aize's conditions are really too harsh, and we don't know where Frilian is. Haita... is he still alive? Shouldn't we check on him?"

Although he had attended Simmel's funeral more than a decade ago, he thought that it might be better not to contact them again after this.

But now, he is troubled and can't help but feel that if he doesn't even attend the final funeral, would he be too heartless? Would he leave himself with regrets?

However, this troublesome matter remained unresolved. Instead, the sound of water in the bathroom gradually disappeared, and Philon, covered in steam, emerged from the bathroom first.

Noticing his headache, Philon seemed somewhat troubled as well, tilting his head slightly and hesitatingly saying, "Lord Ash..."

"Ah, are you done washing?"

"Yes, thank you."

With her hair still damp, Philon placed her hands unconsciously between her thighs and bowed slightly in a restrained manner.

She looked like a little beggar before, but now that she's cleaned up, she's surprisingly cute. Maybe she'll grow up to be a beautiful girl? He glanced at her casually and, without thinking much, pressed the towel onto Philon's hair.

He rubbed and dried her a little, then blew warm air from his palms to dry her completely before taking her to his room.

"You'll stay here tonight. I'm right next door. Just call me if you need anything."

"I understand, thank you... Lord Ash."

"No need to be so polite~"

Philen remained awkward and reserved, which made him shake his head slightly helplessly before he went to the next room on his own.

He had originally planned to spend the night pondering where to best place Philon.

But in the dead of night, he heard suppressed sobbing coming from next door.

This made him smile slightly with annoyance, then he threw off the covers, flew to the window, and quietly pushed open the window next door.

Upon entering the room, he glanced around and spotted the child huddled in a corner, hugging his knees, sobbing and trembling.

How long has this child been wandering outside? What exactly did he go through before? — This question involuntarily popped into Ash's mind, but he didn't intend to ask it. Instead, he quietly walked forward.

After agonizing for a while, he squatted down beside Philon and gently stroked the brittle purple hair that looked particularly dry due to lack of nutrition.

The girl, startled, trembled involuntarily. She reflexively looked up and saw it was him, which calmed her down slightly, but she didn't say a word. Instead, she buried her head in her knees again.

The sound of crying gradually became uncontrollable as he stroked her.

However, Ash remained silent and did not say a word, but instead pulled him into his arms.

Even he understood that at this moment, a warm hug was more reassuring than words.

Although he wasn't sure if his hug was warm, it was all he could do, but... he didn't know if he was using the wrong method or what.

After he hugged her, Philon's crying inexplicably became louder, and she even burst into a full-blown wail, no longer suppressing her sobs.

No matter how frantically he tried to comfort her, it was to no avail; instead, it only made the weeping intensify.

During this time, other tenants impatiently came to the door and started yelling, but they were all frightened away by just one look from him and ran away.

The sound of her sobbing continued until Philon was exhausted and fell asleep, finally calming down.

"Kids these days are really hard to raise... It's even harder than training Celia to cook."

On his very first day taking care of the baby, he already found it exceptionally challenging, and his shirt was soaked with sweat, causing him to sigh for the umpteenth time that day.

Even so, he didn't let go; his two little hands were holding onto his child without him even realizing it.

The Buried Frilian: A Thousand Years Later: Chapter Sixty-Seven - Searching for an Adoptive Parent - Celie's Daily Life - The emotionless loli - Zanze

Considering the child's physical limitations, and even though humans now possess flying magic, their flying magic is extremely physically demanding; even someone like Frilian can't fly for very long.

Therefore, to maintain secrecy, Ash did not continue flying with Philon, even though Philon was still a child.

They traveled by carriage along the way... and then, while she slept at night, they quietly sealed her away and petrified her.

Then, carrying that extremely hard stone, he flew at a suitable speed, crossing mountains and rivers, and arrived in the magical city in just one month.