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

"It's indeed very profound, but isn't this just how the scene is?"

"You have to be rejected when you genuinely like someone to truly understand, right?"

Do you have experience with this?

"...Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"why?"

"Are you one hundred thousand whys?"

........

Despite being a thousand-year-old loli, she kept asking questions like an innocent child, which really weighed heavily on Ash's mind.

During this process, not only Aura, but even Linne, who was sitting next to Aura, was staring at him, as if they were all very curious about this topic.

But he only felt a stomachache and didn't want to talk to them at all. He even wanted to pretend to be asleep to avoid this strange and boring topic.

But as expected, they used illusion magic to turn the group into human form. In this way, under the name of the Ester Kingdom's observation team, they made the countries that feared the Ester Kingdom dare not speak out. They openly observed the battlefield and secretly gathered the personnel they needed.

Solitaire was still like a curious child, constantly asking questions, which annoyed him so much that he wanted to find a place to throw her away.

Aura, however, was rather gloating, happily observing the battlefield before him and continuing his soldier-collecting plan... until the large-scale battle ended, at which point he led over a hundred newly recruited elite troops away, returning to the capital of the Kingdom of Esther.

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

In the autumn when leaves are falling.

Within the royal city, leaves dyed crimson fluttered gently and slowly. Solitaire, on the stone path, happily spread her arms and twirled around.

"This is really amazing, Ash! I think I might actually fall in love with you!"

"This is the first time I've ever heard of love so casually."

"The coexistence of humans and demons is perfectly harmonious in this royal city~"

As they were talking, Solitaire suddenly threw herself into his arms, tilted her head back, squinted her eyes, and smiled sincerely and happily: "Coming to you was definitely the right choice."

"...Then, as a reward for moving you, how about you teach me that magic that can conjure up a whole bunch of swords?"

"Oh, of course! It's not a problem as long as you can learn it, but there's a catch..."

"I will also teach you magic."

"Ah~ then it's settled~" Solitaire nodded to herself, her face beaming with happiness:

"This kind of partnership is fantastic! Why didn't I think of collaborating with you before? It's true that the longer you live, the higher the probability of encountering good things."

"...Your happiness is the most important thing."

The cooperation was temporarily confirmed, and Ash gave a perfunctory reply, but did not intend to say more.

Meanwhile, Aura, not far away, seemed completely oblivious to their conversation, still recording her findings in her notebook and muttering to herself:

"This was a very fruitful one too. Autumn really is the season of harvest."

"Don't treat people like wheat, you guys are really... Sigh, never mind, I'm too lazy to talk to you anymore."

Ash glanced at Aura and then at Solitaire, his mood naturally becoming heavy, and he couldn't help but sigh: "You guys, there really isn't a single one of you who's easy to deal with."

"Lord Ash, what about me?" Lina, who was obediently following beside him, couldn't help but tug at his clothes lightly with a blank expression when she heard this.

"...You just ate an apple again, didn't you?"

"Ah."

"You ate with this hand, and your hand wasn't washed, right?"

"....sorry."

Linne, who had been waiting for praise, suddenly lowered her head pitifully once again.

She always reacts this way when she's criticized, and she really looks quite pitiful, which really evokes a protective instinct in people. But... she always says the right things and apologizes to herself immediately, but she never changes.

This perfectly illustrates what it means to actively admit mistakes but never repent.

"...Why are these one, two, and even three of them troublesome? Is it true that being small means being naive and causing more trouble?"

"Who are you calling short!" Aura glared at him fiercely, her face contorted with a look of rage, but...

“...I’m talking about you.” Ash naturally grabbed her by the corner and dragged her forward. “It’s about time you rested. Don’t be too rowdy.”

"—I told you, don't grab my horns for no reason!"

"Sorry, it was just a slip of the tongue. I'll try to be more careful next time."

"How many years do you think I've heard this kind of talk?! Five hundred years! You said the same thing five hundred years ago!" This overly perfunctory attitude caused Aura, whose dictionary did not contain the word "tolerance," to raise her leg and stomp on his instep while angrily rebuking him.

He even deliberately picked at his fingers and stomped on them repeatedly. Ash didn't seem to feel much pain, but he still reluctantly let go and said hesitantly, "Is that so? I'm truly sorry..."

Before he could finish speaking, his gaze unconsciously drifted to the side, to Linne, who was staring at him.

Now he finally understood why Linne was so eager to admit her mistakes and so unrepentant... Did she learn all her feelings from him?

"What's wrong, Lord Ash? Why are you staring at me like that?" Lina looked back blankly, then quietly withdrew her hand from wiping his clothes, still with that innocent look on her face: "Is something hurting?"

"It's nothing, just a bit of a stomachache. But thinking about it, you really are a good kid!"

"Is that right?"

His sudden 180-degree turn in attitude left Linne tilting her head, seemingly unable to comprehend why she was being praised again. Could it be...?

Ash-sama said he didn't want his hands wiped, but was he actually happy to have his hands wiped for me? — This doubt involuntarily surfaced in her little mind.

But... just as she was becoming certain, Ash slapped her on the head:

"Even if you're a good kid, don't rub apple juice all over me! How many times have I told you??"

"...Yes, I'm sorry, I'll definitely be more careful next time."

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years Later: Chapter 88 Aura Seems Useless - The Alternate Version (Line) is Still Useless (4K)

Although Linne looked very guilty and immediately bowed her head to admit her mistake, she also said some very nice things.

But just like Ash did with Aura... Lina was only saying it.

No, I might genuinely want to change, but that's just something I think about when I'm told to, and then I "accidentally" forget about it.

Just like Ash in this respect, he always says he'll be more careful next time, but once he gets into the habit, he still can't help but grab Aura's horns... There's no way around it, because the height and shape are just right for him.

Perhaps it's a matter of habit, but the strange cycle between Aura, Ash, and Linne seems impossible to break anytime soon.

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

As the setting sun quietly disappeared into the shadows of the mountains, a full moon rose leisurely, hanging high in the low-hanging sky, casting countless silver rays of light...

Inside the castle, in Ash's study.

Aura, who had taken over Ash's rocking chair, swayed freely while staring blankly at the ceiling.

Linne, who was sitting not far away, was leaning on Ash's desk, watching Aura, who was lost in thought not far away. She unconsciously wore an innocent expression, and then a random sentence broke the silence of the study, which was filled only with the sound of turning pages:

"Lord Ash, Lord Aura looks like a cripple."

"Don't speak too loudly, that good-for-nothing will get angry if he hears you."

"—I've already heard that!" Aura glared at Lina and Ash, who clearly thought so too, but she didn't have time to be angry with them right now.

After all, given her lazy demeanor, any explanation would lack credibility, and she wasn't in the mood for it anyway. She simply sat up and looked at Ash seriously:

"Solidil is dangerous, you should know that, right?"

"Don't worry, I know how dangerous that guy is, but we can still cooperate."

"Oh my god, really? I thought you were just attracted to her because she's short!"

Hearing him say that, Aura felt relieved, but at the same time, she habitually covered her mouth and chuckled mockingly.

This made him sigh helplessly: "...Don't really think of me as a weirdo. I should like older ones, and even if I like younger ones, I wouldn't like someone that old. Besides, you're clearly a demon, so what do you mean by liking...don't you find that strange?"

"Not at all, but then again, this rocking chair is really nice!"

"...I'm glad you like it."

Looking at Aura, who was lounging lazily in the chair like a useless person, Ash refrained from making any comments.

After all, he was the one who acted like this in front of her before, and he was a little worried that Aura was learning from him and becoming useless. Now, however, he could only lower his head and start working on the documents again, while casually patting the head of the emotionless loli next to him.

Although she is often disobedient and speaks quite recklessly, Linne is exceptionally well-behaved and compliant at this moment, even shaking her head comfortably.

The lazy Aura, the obedient Line, and a pile of documents that weren't particularly important but were still pending decision—everything seemed peaceful and no different from usual.

After all, normal matters can be left to his subordinates. What he is mainly dealing with now are some national transformation and reform issues, which can be done slowly but require his opinion.

"...Life, why is it so painful?" Ash glanced at the documents in front of him, then looked at the two troublesome guys over there, and couldn't help but want to grab Lina's horn and shake her head vigorously to vent his frustration.

But he couldn't bear to punish this emotionless little girl before she made any mistakes.

At that moment, the study door was gently knocked on, and the familiar, ghostly loli-like demon entered the room with a smile.

"Good evening~ It's time to learn magic now, shall we all study together?"