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

"What are you doing? Help her close her mouth first, what if a bug flies in? I'm worried about her neck if she hurts her head."

"...But why are you still touching her chin and hair after all this has been done?"

Philon stared intently at his hands, which were still busy stroking Frillie's chin and head, while the expression on his youthful face was quite subtle.

But Ash said in a very serious tone:

“Speaking of which, Philon, you may not know, but I used to have a furry pet. It would even obediently show me its chin to pet.”

"What does this have to do with your current behavior?"

"Don't you think that this guy standing there obediently is basically tantamount to acquiescing, or even waiting for me to make a move?"

"I don't think so... and treating guests like pets, isn't that a bit inappropriate? Please stop right now."

Unable to bear it any longer, Philon grabbed him and dragged him away from Frilian.

Because she also noticed... Frillie's sanity was returning, and her eyes were changing from a dazed look to a look of suppressed anger.

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

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

For Ash's safety, Philon tried to pull him away, both to lecture him and to prevent him from being bitten by the strange elf.

During this process, Frillie gradually sorted out her thoughts, recovering from the shock of her friend, who was still alive but had no idea why, suddenly appearing at the home of another friend who was supposed to be dying as well.

Recalling her previous treatment, she felt she had the right to be angry before getting to the bottom of things, however...

She took a step forward with her hair all messed up, but the door to the small house behind Ash suddenly opened, and another familiar figure appeared in her sight.

That familiar, hunched figure made Frillie forget her anger and stare in disbelief once again: "...You must be kidding me?"

Hearing the commotion outside, Haita, who had rushed out thinking it was Philen arguing with Ash, widened his eyes when he saw who it was: "...Frilian? You actually came to see me?"

"So you're still alive, you drunkard monk."

"Haha, you lot are really heartless, saying such things the moment you meet us? Or do you really want us dead?"

In a situation where one could normally be angry, Haita burst into laughter upon hearing this, pushed open the door behind him, and gestured for them to come in and talk.

Frillie, however, seemed slightly flustered, frowning slightly and glancing at Ash before offering her explanation:

"No, but... I do hope Ash dies soon. Every time he's about to die, he somehow manages to survive again. It's a really strange feeling, and... with this attitude, even I'm getting a little angry."

"I already told you, I'm concerned about your chin."

"No way, you just think it's funny!"

"Did they find out? I feel... a little embarrassed~"

"...Pretending to be something you've never known for years, do you think I've known you for that long?"

Frillie replied with a disdainful tone, but she was so disgusted by his feigned shyness and scratching of his head that she didn't bother to argue with him. She picked up her luggage and quickly walked into the room.

It was at this moment that Philen couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Are you really friends, Lord Ash?"

"....What's wrong?"

"For an elf to say that, it feels like we've known each other for a long time. Ash-sama is really over a hundred years old."

"So you have to be gentle with me, okay? After all, I'm getting old, and if I get too excited, I might die young, you know?"

Although in reality, even a hundred years is not a long time for an elf—though that's what he thought, he pretended to be weak and didn't intend to correct this cognitive bias.

But his words also made Philon show a slightly sullen expression:

"I want to be gentler, but Ash-sama sometimes acts recklessly..."

"Yes, yes, it's my fault, it's my fault~" Ash pinched Philon's cheek nonchalantly and quickly followed Frilian's footsteps.

Philon was left alone, troubled, wondering how to find a balance between being gentle and keeping him from misbehaving.

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

In this late autumn season, at this age when she is almost at her breaking point, the presence of two old friends at her home made Haita exceptionally happy.

Despite his advanced age and slightly trembling hands, he still let Ash and Frillie chat first while he went to the kitchen to prepare the food and drinks.

Although it seemed a bit inappropriate to treat a centenarian like this, everyone present except for Philon was older than him, and they were no longer in a relationship where they would stand on ceremony, so naturally no one competed with him for anything.

But as soon as Frilian put down her luggage, she sat at the dining table with her chin resting on her hand, staring at Ash with an unfriendly gaze, seemingly still not over what had happened.

At this moment, Philon took the initiative to hand tea to both her and Ash, and then obediently went to the kitchen to help.

This prompted Frillie to glance at the small girl and ask, "Who is this child?"

"My great-granddaughter."

"...Great-granddaughter? No wonder...wait a minute, great-granddaughter? Great--! Pfft—!! Cough cough cough! Cough cough!!...Cough cough!!!"

Frillie had just casually picked up her black tea when, after taking a sip, she gradually realized the gravity of what she was saying. Startled, she instinctively raised her voice to say something, but in her excitement, tea entered her trachea.

The bitter tea shocked her so much that she sprayed water out, a shock she had never experienced before, and she also thumped her chest and coughed in pain.

"...Oh my, that's really exaggerated. I thought I'd be surprised, but...I didn't expect it to actually spray out!"

As Ash was prepared, a pale blue diamond-shaped shield appeared in front of him, completely isolating him from the tea, allowing him to happily savor the tea and enjoy the amusing sight of the elf opposite him struggling in pain from choking on the tea.

.......

.....

...

(PS: Actually, I've been waiting for someone to point out that the two characters in the book title "Funeral" are reversed compared to the comic's "Funeral," but... it seems like no one noticed? Or do they think it makes perfect sense?)

The Burial of Frilian: Chapter Seventy-Seven - Old Men's Tacit Understanding to Scam the Elf? (3K)

After a long while of calming down from her initial shock, Frillie finally came to her senses, but she still clutched her chest, trying to make herself feel better.

Throughout the entire process, her gaze never strayed from Ash, and she even couldn't hide her astonishment, saying:

"You...already have a great-granddaughter? When did you get married? Why didn't any of us know?"

"What's so surprising about that?" Ash asked with a leisurely smile. "Isn't it normal for humans to marry and have children?"

"That's right... but... no! At this point, I should ask, why were you never told to us before?"

"Didn't you know? Actually, Philon's grandfather was Haita."

"...Really?" The unexpected answer left Frillie speechless for a long time before she was so shocked that she slammed her hands on the table and leaned over to look.

However.....

"Don't get so excited, part of it was just a joke." Feeling that if he continued teasing her, this older elf's blood pressure would get out of control, Ash subtly reached out and pressed her head, pushing her back down. Then, while she was still in a daze, he smiled and said, "Actually, Philon is an orphan from the war-torn southern kingdoms."

"...Huh???" The completely opposite answer made Frillie's face instantly darken: "—This isn't just a part of a joke?! It's all..."

"But Haita really treats her like a granddaughter."

"Impossible!" Frillie denied without hesitation. "Neither of you are the type to offer help..."

“Her ancestor used to be my adjutant and also my first friend. I’m not very good at raising children, so I brought her along. Surprisingly, they get along quite well.”

"......"

Frillie, who was interrupted before she could finish speaking, was in a bit of a daze. She wanted to say something but was caught off guard by his sudden information. She didn't know whether to be angry at him for lying to her or to complain about something first.

But Ash leisurely sipped his tea and smiled, "More than our business, why did you suddenly come here?"

"...I was just passing by on my way to the Holy Capital to buy something, and I remembered that I owe Haita a lot of favors." Frilian turned her head and looked at the old man who came out of the kitchen after hearing the noise. She was silent for a moment before continuing, "If you are still alive, I want to pay it back before you die."

"Wait a minute, don't just return Haita's, what about mine?"

"I don't remember..."

"Ah~ If Millie were still here, she definitely wouldn't say that, would she?" He sighed heavily, feigning regret, as if he had made a bad choice in his friends.

This immediately reminded Frilian that she owed him a considerable favor a thousand years ago. However, because they were such good friends, they also had their share of occasional conflicts, so she hadn't thought of it for a moment.

Now, although she had to admit that she owed Ash a much greater debt of gratitude, she narrowed her eyes slightly, displeased by his attitude.

"...I originally wanted to pay it back, but since I haven't beaten you up yet, you should be hoping you'll get away with it."

"Hehe~ You two have always had such a good relationship." Sensing that they were about to start arguing, Haita remained calm, sitting between the two people facing each other, deep wrinkles appearing on his cheeks, and nodded with a gentle smile: "It's really enviable."

"It's not good at all, it's just a tragic fate." Frillie turned her face away, not wanting to pay attention to the two of them.

“A tragic fate is not bad either, but speaking of which…” Haita didn’t care. Instead, he glanced at Philon, who was obediently peeling potatoes in the kitchen, before looking back at Ash. He quickly thought of the successful tactic from last time and unconsciously revealed a meaningful smile.

Without needing to say a word, Ash understood his thoughts and nodded slightly.

The two of them stood up at the same time, leaving Frillie completely bewildered: "What's wrong?"

"Come here for a moment. There's something I'd like to ask you."

Ash and Haita spoke in perfect unison, one after the other.

This excessive chemistry gave Frillie a bit of goosebumps and a very strong sense of foreboding... After all, these two were arguably the strangest characters in the team.

But she didn't think the two of them would harm her, so after hesitating for a moment, she followed them to the room Ash was staying in.