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

Therefore, this time, he did not spend too long with Ash in the Holy City. He urged Ash to go back quickly, citing his poor health, and not to trouble this old man.

Although Ash wanted to do some more screening, he was worried that Haita might not be able to handle it, so he had to compromise and go back for the time being.

But... as soon as he pushed open the half-closed door, he unexpectedly heard the child's suppressed sobs in the living room.

"What happened? Did you fall or... no, that's not right."

Aside from the night they first met, Philon had never cried. Remembering this, he immediately placed his hand on the hilt of his knife and rushed into the room...

However, the expected situation did not occur.

What came into view was a child sitting on the ground, his hands tightly covering his face, trying to hide all the pain and sorrow, his small body still trembling.

Beneath the child lay a jumble of documents, and a drawer beside him was wide open.

Did I forget to turn it off? — Ash was slightly confused, but couldn't help but cast a pleading look at Haita.

But Haita acted as if he hadn't seen it, turned around with a faint smile and walked out, closing the door behind him.

This made him hesitate for a moment as he looked at the child on the ground, then he squatted down beside her, gently stroking her hair and trying to calm her down:

"What's wrong, Philon? Ah, no... in other words, well, how should I put it?"

He was a little confused about what to say at this moment, and couldn't think of any suitable lines.

But Philen's small body trembled the moment she was touched, and she finally noticed his presence. Wiping away her tears with one hand and grabbing his clothes with the other, she cried and apologized to him.

"I'm...I'm sorry! It's my fault...I did something wrong...I'm sorry...It's all my fault...I was wrong, so...I'm sorry..."

She choked up, her voice soft and trembling, her eyes filled with helplessness and even fear.

This immediately flustered him: "No, why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong, did you? Okay, don't cry. What do you want to eat? I'll buy it for you, okay?"

"No, no! I...I...don't want to be someone else's child...!"

Although it seemed to take all her strength to utter each word, Philon gave up even wiping away her tears, her little hands unconsciously clutching the hem of his clothes.

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years Later: Chapter Seventy-Three - I Shouldn't Have Touched Humans in the First Place (3K)

The young girl gripped Ash's clothes tightly with both hands, her fingertips even turning white from the force, as if... she was grasping at the last shred of support in her life.

Ash looked at those pale, slender fingers, and combined with her previous words, he felt as if the child was silently using this gesture to say: Please don't leave me, I will change, I really will change;

Although Ash couldn't understand why she apologized, he only glanced down at her small hands before becoming troubled.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze, and time slowed down dramatically at that moment.

His gaze softened from initial distress, transforming from complex emotions into tenderness and gentleness.

His heart seemed to be drawn by an irresistible force, causing him to gently stroke Philon's soft hair, while his other hand tenderly wiped away the tears that had slid down her cheeks, and he spoke in the calmest and warmest tone possible:

“I understand what you’re thinking… Although I really want to agree to it right now, it wouldn’t be responsible for either of us. After all, this matter is very important to both of us, so let’s talk before we hand you over to a more suitable family?”

“Talk…talk…talk…?” Philon’s words were broken and intermittent, choked with sobs, but her mind quickly grasped what she meant. In that instant, she shook her head violently, her voice resolute and trembling: “No!…I don’t want to talk!”

"Listen to me, Philon, I'm just..."

"I don't want to! Absolutely... absolutely not!"

"....Yeah?"

For Philon, who always acted like an adult, this was the first time he had spoken so willfully, but he quickly realized in his distress that words seemed to have no meaning.

Perhaps, as people generally say, the more rational and repressed a person is on a daily basis, the more difficult it is for them to control when they lose control.

Because such people suppress their emotions for a long time, once their emotions reach a certain critical point, they will suddenly erupt with a strong emotional reaction.

Unless I agree to her demands, words alone are meaningless, because people in this state simply won't choose to negotiate.

There are only two paths in communication—either you succeed or you fail completely.

But he didn't want to lie, nor did he want to face the risks that came with it.

Or rather, he hoped to avoid, as much as possible, the secondary harm to Philon if negotiations after deception failed to reach an agreement.

After all, if he agreed now and then went back on his word... he suspected the child would hate him later.

So when he saw his child clutching him with tears in his eyes, overwhelmed with emotion, he simply reached out and pulled him into his arms.

He gently let her trembling body rest against his chest, silently patting her back, hoping to calm her down with his actions—just like the night they first met.

In this silent embrace, time seemed to lose its meaning, the crying gradually subsided, and only their heartbeats and breaths remained.

As Philon's tears gradually subsided, her small hands tightly embraced Ash's waist, as if afraid that if she let go, she would lose this warmth and support.

Ash didn't let go either, but gently embraced the fragile little girl who seemed like she could be broken if he used too much force.

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

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

He left the room, but didn't actually go far. Instead, he hid outside the window, secretly watching the two's actions.

Even he felt at that moment that everything around him seemed to have lost its color. This brief silence was interwoven with the most genuine emotional bonds, but...

"...Ash can't possibly accept this so easily, can he?" Just like his understanding of Frilian, he also had a fairly thorough understanding of Ash.

Although Ash did not reveal who he was, Haita could tell that he was not human. At least, no human could have lived this long; his physical functions had not aged and were even getting stronger.

For such an immortal species, accepting a human child... is indeed very difficult.

That's why he couldn't blame Ash, because it was indeed a case of "a short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one," but...

"...That child really wants to be with you. He's so sensible, so sensible it breaks my heart."

Haita turned his gaze away from the window, letting out a long, drawn-out sigh.

If he were ten years younger, or if Philon hadn't met Ash, he felt that even though it was very unsuitable, he would still reluctantly adopt the child.

But as long as there's even a slightly reliable person around, he can't take over.

Because of his age, he... is already over 100.

At his age, he even had to worry that if he didn't wake up after a night's sleep, his body might rot on the bed if no one found him.

Although it sounds terrible, it is the objective reality he has to face as an elderly person living alone.

Therefore, even if Ash is extremely irresponsible and just runs away, he still has to find someone to take care of Philon, otherwise... how will this child survive on his own?

He originally didn't intend to interfere much, but he genuinely felt sorry for Philon, so he intervened a little and—prepared to stir things up a bit more.

After waiting for a long time, Philon cried himself to sleep and was carried to his own bed by Ash before he stepped back into the room.

Because Philen hadn't let go of his hand even while asleep, Ash could only stare at the open drawer in the room from afar, and quickly turned his gaze to Haita, who had tiptoed in without even using his cane, afraid of making a sound. He asked suspiciously:

"Haita, did you open that drawer?"

"...You suddenly doubt your own friend? Did you forget to lock it?" Haita looked surprised.

There was even a hint of grievance on the old man's face.

But Ash looked at him coldly, showing no sympathy for the old man, and even said in a cold voice, "Stop pretending, don't I know you?"

"Ha... I never imagined that I would end up like this, with my family and friends turning against me." Haita shook his head repeatedly, looking as if life was not worth living.

The sheer amount of posturing made Ash almost lose his temper and rush over to punch him.

But touching the hair of Philon, who was sleeping soundly with tears in her eyes, her head resting on his lap, he still managed to exhale a long breath, as if trying to expel all his emotions into the air, before he could barely calm himself down.

"...If it were simply a matter of forgetting to lock it, the child definitely wouldn't have opened it to look inside. Someone must have opened it beforehand and revealed the name..."

"You really know Philon."

"...Whether I like it or not, I've known her for over a year now, so I probably understand her."

"Really? Really?" Haita nodded with a smile.

Ash couldn't help but want to throw something at him for this attitude: "I've caused you trouble for no reason, and this is your attitude now??"

"Oh dear~ I'm so sorry, haha~ haha~"

Before this conversation, Haita had already made up his mind. Now, he smiled and reaffirmed his goal. He then turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him.

What's wrong with this guy all of a sudden? Ash stared blankly at the door for a while before looking down at the small girl lying on his lap, unconsciously stroking her hair and letting out a sigh:

"Taking care of children is more troublesome than I imagined. I shouldn't have come into contact with humans in the first place..."

But it seems too late to regret it now, and he has even forgotten that he was once human, only... he has spent far more time as a demon than as a human.

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

The next day.

When Philen woke up, she found Ash lying next to her, but upon closer inspection, she realized... she was sleeping in his room.

Memories of last night flooded back at this moment, making her feel a lump in her throat, and she barely managed to hold back the emotions surging up again.

But after tidying up the clothes she hadn't been able to change into the night before, she carefully got out of bed and skillfully went to the yard to fetch water from the well.

In the fenceless courtyard, the gentle morning light caressed the skin, bringing a delicate warmth. Birds chirped in the surrounding trees, as if being embraced by nature... Everything was so peaceful and serene.

Just thinking about what happened last night made Philon's face turn somewhat gloomy, because Ash had not agreed to his request in the end.

It was as if everything was already destined, and the thought of having to talk about this again later made her feel incredibly heavy-hearted.