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

"Who knew you would actually believe it and even work overtime to decipher it? I did tell you not to work so hard, didn't I?"

"At that time, I actually thought you were worried about my health...!"

"What are you thinking? You've been lazy for so many years, it wouldn't be bad if you put in a little effort, right? I'm just worried that the harder you try, the angrier you'll get." He shrugged nonchalantly, admitting his initial thought.

This made Frillie grit her teeth in anger: "...Now that things have come to this, is this your attitude?"

"Okay, I admit I was a little wrong... I'm sorry."

Before Frilian could lose control of her emotions, he simply bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

Haita was also very loyal, and raised his hand with a smile: "Me too. If you want to vent your anger on anything, you can hit me without any problem."

"...How could I do such a thing? If I were to fight, it would be against that bastard Ash."

"By the way, I'm actually a centenarian too, aren't I?" Ash pointed to himself, his words quite reasonable, but his overly youthful appearance gave the impression of a shameless statement, which made Frilian furious: "A centenarian like you, even if you die, it would be considered a service to the people."

Although she said that... she only coldly rebuked them, and didn't do anything. After holding it in for a while, she finally suppressed her anger and glared at the two of them: "...Tell me honestly, what kind of devilish schemes are you two plotting?"

"It's nothing, it's just that you wanted to repay a favor... and the real favor I need is for you to help me take Philon on the trip later." Ash said with a smile, and Haita added cheerfully:

"This isn't about you taking on a disciple. After all, she's already capable of handling things on her own and should be a great help to you. At least for now... you shouldn't have a reason to refuse, right?"

"...You were plotting against me all along!"

"Haha~ Anyway, you guys should leave tonight. After all, as you can see, I can't hold on much longer." Despite her frustrated friend's complaints, Haita remained cheerful, ignoring her grievances, and proceeded to state her reasons:

“I don’t want that child to experience the feeling of losing someone again, so Frilian… I’m entrusting this child to you. This is my last request.”

“Shouldn’t you have talked to Ash about this? Oh, wait…?” She realized there was definitely something wrong with her statement, but before she could correct him, Haita revealed the truth: “Ash said it a year and a half ago.”

"You two are outrageous... you actually made decisions without our knowledge."

"I'm sorry..."

"But Haita, don't try to be cool now. Philen has already prepared to say goodbye. What you should have done before that was... to properly say goodbye to that child... and leave that child with as many memories as possible."

As they were talking, Frillie, who had sat back down in her chair, could no longer bear it. She lowered her head deeply, trying to suppress her emotions, but her voice and shoulders trembled uncontrollably.

Tears streamed down her face and onto the back of her hand, completely betraying her feelings at that moment.

It wasn't just heartache for Philon's child whom she had cared for for six years, but also an uncontrollable wave of grief over the impending death of her old friend.

This emotional breakdown caused Haita to reveal a troubled expression, yet he also smiled with a hint of resignation:

"Although you appear cold and ruthless, just like Ash, you are actually quite gentle... Frillian."

"Leave me alone...!" She turned her head away unwillingly, her trembling hands unconsciously gripping the hem of her skirt. But then she felt the familiar touch on her head and couldn't help but force out a sob, "Ash too!...Don't touch my head~!"

"...Don't complain. I also wish someone could pat my head. Think about it, this guy was still saying I was heartless at the end. I'm actually having a hard time getting over it too."

Ash and Haita smiled at each other and, as usual, began to tease their old friend of many years.

Even at the very end, Haita, as always, laughed and said, "How dare you say that? Even Frilian cried. Why don't you let me see your tears too?"

"No, no, no, at your age, you're already at the age of happy death, why would I cry? Or is there something you still regret?"

"Of course I do, and I'd also like to attend your wedding with Philon."

"That's a bit difficult. How about I just marry them all tomorrow?"

"Ah, this is good, all three wishes can be fulfilled at once."

......

The two joked around as usual, which unknowingly eased the sad atmosphere.

This caused Frillie to unconsciously stop her trembling sobs and stare blankly at Haita's face, which already showed the marks of time.

The vitality and radiance of youth have long since become gentle and reserved without our noticing, or perhaps it's okay if they've lost their brilliance and dimmed.

But at this moment, she suddenly had a completely new understanding of the concept of "aging"—it didn't seem as heavy and terrible as she had imagined.

During her time with Haita, she discovered that aging is a natural transition of life, like the changing of the seasons, with each stage having its own unique characteristics... It wasn't envy, but rather a new understanding of a concept she might never have been able to comprehend before.

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years Later: Chapter 81 A Temporary Separation - Aura Just Wants to Be Willful (3K)

While experiencing a new understanding from Haita, Frillie also felt that she and Felene could both give them a good scolding for their strange jokes, but...

Well, let them joke around for now—watching the two chatting happily, although she felt they were being rude as usual, she only watched the men's banter with tolerance and a little helplessness, a slight smile on her face.

After finishing his conversation with Haita, Ash and Frilian left the room. Philon then entered with a smile, sat on the bench by the bed, and chatted and laughed with Haita...

The time that followed seemed to be all happy years.

But just as Haita himself had imagined, in less than half a month... his life finally came to an end.

He passed away peacefully in his sleep on a fine, sunny morning, and Frilian, who was the first to discover him, quickly informed the two of the tragic news.

As was her nature, Phil threw herself into Ash's arms and burst into tears as he comforted her.

As a retired bishop, the funeral was surprisingly simple, at Haita's own request before his death.

Apart from the three of them, only a few others, along with priests from nearby villages, participated. They were simply buried in the cemetery of the cathedral in the city.

As a former bishop who had saved the world, he should be considered a very famous figure. Yet, Haita's grave is simply a plain stone tombstone, without a trace of extravagance.

After attending the funeral, the three of them did not leave as quickly as the others. Frilian quietly went up to the tombstone and poured the wine she had brought six years ago on it, thus fulfilling the promise she made with Haita when he died in Simmel.

The three then packed their bags and embarked on a journey together, except... about two months after Haita's death.

Once Philon had calmed down completely, Ash used the excuse of having some important matters to attend to and, after confirming their travel itinerary, parted ways with them temporarily, planning to return to celebrate Philon's birthday later.

After all... no matter what, he simply couldn't bring himself to obediently follow Frillie's excessively time-consuming journey.

The result of this was that Philon was very angry.

"...I have a really bad feeling about this. This guy ran off so fast, leaving me here is going to be in trouble, isn't it?" Frilian cautiously looked at the purple-haired girl not far away, who was puffing out her cheeks and making a fuss because Ash wouldn't let her follow.

She was also frustrated and couldn't help but complain about Ash's irresponsibility.

Meanwhile, Philon didn't notice Frilian's sullen expression, because she was staring intently at Ash's figure as he gradually disappeared into the distance.

And he couldn't help but secretly vow to himself—next time they met, he would definitely get really angry.

However, in reality, he often goes out over the years... with many casual reasons, but they've probably gotten used to it.

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

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

Every time Ash leaves, he either goes to the magic city or to find the demons. Since he's going to the demons, he naturally can't tell them what he's going to do.

Although it was agreed that he would protect Philen, even a biological father can't follow someone forever, right? Anyway, with Frilian around, it won't be a big problem if he neglects his duties a little.

Meanwhile, in the capital city of the Kingdom of Esther, which he was secretly controlling, the two demon girls, one big and one small, were now acting recklessly and completely unconcerned about being exposed.

The reason why is that, over the past eighty years, everyone in the royal city has been instilled with loyalty from childhood through Ash's scientific education, systematic training, information management, and other methods.

And to be on the safe side, they were made to willingly submit to the magic, so that even if they saw it, it would not be a problem.

Upon arriving at the audience hall, Ash saw a pink-haired girl with two horns sitting arrogantly on the throne.

She was still holding the scales in her hand, casting a subjugation spell on the man below who was pinned to the ground by the knights and unable to move.

Although she hasn't grown taller or changed in appearance over the years, she is still a stunningly beautiful mature woman with a very impressive bust.

She's a bit short, but that's tolerable. It's her personality, though...

"Ara~ Isn't this my brother? He's here again today? You must have a lot of work to do~?" As Aura finished controlling the throne, she noticed Ash's presence and a bright smile appeared on her face.

He already had a large group of loyal people, but he still had to handle the most crucial parts. Now, facing the teasing, he just smiled with a suppressed headache as he stepped onto the stairs: "...Have you never thought about sharing the workload or anything?"

"No, this isn't your responsibility. To be honest..." Seeing his suppressed headache, Aura simply spread her arms wide.

"Even if everyone in the entire royal city is educated to be loyal to you and willingly accept obedience magic, you still need my obedience magic to put your mind at ease. In other words... no matter how you look at it, I'm already the greatest contributor, right?"

"...Even so, you still... Sigh, never mind."

He originally wanted to urge her to work harder, but he gave up after thinking about Awula's personality.

However, the disdainful look and the decisive attitude of giving up hurt Aura's pride. He dismissed his men, frowned, and rushed down quickly.

She stopped right in front of him, stood on tiptoe, and glared at him: "—A long, long time ago, I felt that your attitude towards me was rather rude?"

"so?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?"

“That’s right, but that’s not the point.” He ignored Aura’s increasingly dangerous gaze, reached out and grabbed her horn, then simply pushed her away.

"It's been so many years, don't you have a little self-awareness? After all, even if you're a demon, you should have made some progress by now."

"You bastard, how dare you look down on me like that...!"

"That's not true."

"....real?"

"Because I just think you're stupid, but you're actually quite useful, so it's not like I look down on you."

“——Go to hell!”