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

"Is that right?"

"Although I want to say that, in fact I..." Haita stopped midway through her sentence, glancing at Philon sitting next to Ash, as if he had something to worry about.

"what happened?"

"No, it's nothing." Haita smiled and shook his head, then looked at Philon again, asking curiously:

"Speaking of which, Philon... right? What a lovely little girl, it's such a waste for her to be with Ash~"

"N-no, that's not true!" Philon's face immediately hardened as she retorted with all her might, "Besides... please don't speak ill of Lord Ash!"

“Yes! Philon, that’s the momentum! Let’s have a good talk with this drunken monk!” Ash nodded repeatedly as he listened from the side, and then he started to instigate him.

This made Philon turn around immediately, looking troubled, and say, "Lord Ash, and Lord Haita is a bishop, right? This... I feel very uncomfortable."

"Haha, what an interesting child!" Haita laughed heartily, like an old man teasing a favorite junior. He then practically lay on the table, observing the child, and asked:

"Philan, what's your relationship with this guy? Are you his daughter? But judging from how you address her... it doesn't seem like it?"

"Huh? Me... me and Lord Ash?"

The sudden question plunged Philon into distress, because she had been pondering this question for a long time but had not been able to come up with an answer.

But now Ash reached out and placed his hand on her head, seemingly lost in thought, and said:

"Actually, it wouldn't be a problem to treat her as a great-granddaughter or something."

"Great-granddaughter? When did you get married?" Haita was somewhat taken aback.

"No, actually I want Philon to be your granddaughter."

"Be my grandson... um? Wait a minute? What—what do you mean?!"

His solemn words caught Haita off guard, and when he came to his senses, he simply grabbed the cane next to him.

But Ash casually pulled Philon onto his lap, instantly immobilizing him and preventing him from striking. Philon was both amused and exasperated, saying:

"How can you act like an elder? Using your own child as a shield?"

"What shield? You're such a grown man, how can your thoughts be so dangerous? I was just trying to show you my compassion."

He spoke in a serious tone, while casually patting Philon's head and saying with a smile, "Right, Philon!"

"Yes...that's how it is."

To be honest, being used as a convenient shield by these two adults during arguments was a bit of a headache for Philon, and he didn't even know what to say.

She didn't protest, but nodded with a distressed expression and sat obediently on his lap.

This look made Haita reveal a thoughtful expression: "Ash, let's talk alone, old friends?"

"what happened?"

"...This is a rather serious topic." Haita lowered his head and gently adjusted his frameless glasses.

"That's quite rare." He didn't seem to care much, and casually nodded before looking at the girl on his lap: "Philan, why don't you go outside and play for a bit?"

“Okay.” Upon hearing this, the exceptionally sensible Philon immediately nodded and climbed down with his help. He even jogged to the outside and considerately closed the door behind him.

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years Later: Chapter Seventy-One - Using Philon to Order Haita to Escape Responsibility? (4K)

After the door closed again and the interior returned to silence...

Haita didn't speak immediately. Instead, he turned and added a piece of firewood to the fireplace beside him. Then, he turned to Ash, who was observing the interior of the room, and pondered:

"Although I think it's unlikely, this child...you haven't abused him, have you?"

"Uh... what are you suddenly talking about?" Ash was completely dumbfounded by the abrupt suspicion.

"No matter what, even if it were you, I would still be angry if you did this to a child like that, and I would kick you out immediately."

"...So, what kind of person do you take me for?"

"Just kidding, I don't think you're that kind of person." Haita chuckled and shook his head, then looked puzzled.

"To be honest, I don't think you're the kind of person who would just pick up a child randomly, and... that child must have had a terrible experience before, right?"

"You can even tell that?"

"After all, I'm getting older, so I have some experience in judging people, and I work in a church, so I often encounter kids like this."

"is it?"

Ash nodded silently, but he was unsure whether he should bring up Philon's matter directly.

But upon closer reflection, there doesn't seem to be anything particularly that needs to be hidden, and the extra groundwork doesn't seem to be very necessary.

So, after considering his words carefully, he asked directly, "Are you aware of the war that happened in the south before?"

"Of course, I heard that the fighting is very fierce over there, and many refugees have fled here, and some have even gone north."

"Actually, this child is from the South, and is a descendant of my old friend. Her family all died in the war..."

Philen's family used to be quite well-off. Although they weren't nobles, they were well-fed and clothed, and their children were well-educated. They even hired a magician as a tutor.

However, it seems that her family had only mentioned that her elderly great-great-grandfather knew a mysterious magician. As for Ash's appearance, it was only when he handed her the family heirloom box before he died that she saw this person who appeared on the heirloom for some unknown reason. They knew nothing else.

As for whether her parents and family were attacked by soldiers or bandits... Ash didn't say anything, since he couldn't ask them about such things, so he didn't know what Philon's family had to say.

The town where their family lived was a strategic location due to its high altitude, offering a wide field of vision and providing both defensive and offensive advantages, thus often becoming a battleground.

Normally, if the snowfield were lost, the townspeople would evacuate immediately. However, the defeat happened too quickly this time, and the residents did not receive any news. There was simply no time for people to evacuate, which led to a series of tragedies.

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

After Ash explained the situation, the only sound left in the living room/dining room was the crackling of firewood.

After a long while, Haita took two glasses from the cupboard, filled them with liquor, and then drank them in one gulp. Only then, as if testing the limits of his lung capacity, did he let out a long sigh.

"...I understand the basic situation, but you brought this child here, you don't mean you want me to raise him, do you? My health is not what it used to be."

"How about you consider quitting drinking first?"

"What are you talking about? If it were that easy to quit, I wouldn't have been called a 'wine-and-meat monk' all this time, would I?" He had only just brought it up when Haita, an old man, started shaking his head repeatedly as if he were being difficult.

"What's the point of making things difficult for an old man like me now? Besides, alcohol is the best of all medicines. It's because of drinking that I've lived this long, isn't it?"

"...Is it really okay for a bishop to spout such nonsense?" Ash couldn't help but roll his eyes at this strange theory.

"It's alright, I wouldn't say that to someone who would actually believe me... But let's get back to the point." Haita filled his pockets again before teasingly saying, "For someone as heartless as you and Frilian to suddenly contact me, I knew something was up, and now it seems it really is related to that child, isn't it?"

"Wait a minute, are you suddenly launching a personal attack?"

"Isn't that the truth? Because even though I live in different places, I've always kept in touch with Simmel and Aize through letters. Only you two came once in fifty years, and there was no contact between you in between."

"—Indeed! The matter that requires help is directly related to Philon!"

Is that really true? Those guys are surprisingly serious, unlike their appearance. —Ash was surprised, but on the surface he pretended not to hear anything and seriously brought the topic back.

But this made Haita, who had already recovered his kind and benevolent demeanor, click his tongue in astonishment, completely disregarding his image:

"Tsk... It's amazing that you ignored my complaints and now you have the nerve to make demands?"

"Why would an old man like you bother with such trivial matters as me, a young man?" He shrugged, trying to ease the tension.

"Age-wise, you're older than me, right?"

"Who knows?" He said, then changed the subject and sighed softly, a sad expression on his face. "But to be honest, although I'm still in good health, I can't withstand the ravages of time. Of course, I understand... you might not believe me if I say that."

"Really?" Haita raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, but Ash laughed the next moment: "No, it's fake."

"...Really? I understand. Please sit there and don't leave. Wait for me a moment." After a long silence, Haita suddenly stood up and walked into the house.

"what happened?"

"The cane isn't quite right for me. I'll go get a metal one and it'll hurt more when I hit you."

"No... uh, are you serious?"

Seeing the old man pull out a spiked club from the room, Ash was dumbfounded and instinctively rushed out of the room.

But just moments ago, Haita was using a cane, but now he's wielding a spiked club and moving with incredible speed, as if he's about to bleed him to death on the spot.

However, he was forced to stop when he rushed outside and hugged the young girl who was watering the vegetable garden. He instinctively hid the spiked club behind his back, afraid that the child would see such a dangerous thing.

"--What?!"

Suddenly being picked up and placed on his forearm, Philon looked somewhat bewildered as he watched the man rush out the door one after the other.

Even so, when she noticed Haita sweating profusely on his forehead, she still worried about this old man who had suddenly become so agile.

"Lord Haita...you seemed to be running very fast just now. Did something urgent happen? Are you alright?"

"We're just competing to see who can catch Philon first!" Ash said with a smile, casually making up an excuse for Haita.

Philon seemed quite bewildered. This old man and Ash... could they really play such childish games?