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

"...How strange, this shouldn't be! If he really really left, then news of that reckless guy, Guval, and that terrifying monster, would surely spread throughout the entire continent as soon as he reappeared in the human world."

For a moment, Frilian couldn't even comfort Philon; she was deep in thought, her brow furrowed, trying to figure out what was wrong.

Before she could find anything amiss, she realized yet another problem she had inadvertently overlooked:

“No, this is really strange! Not only the corrupt sage Guval, but also that bloodthirsty, bloodstained war god Livale, we haven’t heard of any city or village being breached in the past half-century.”

"Huh? But there used to be a great demon clan in the north who single-handedly conquered a large fortified city."

Philon recalled the biggest event caused by the demon race after the Demon King was defeated, which even shocked the entire world and plunged humanity into unease once again.

"Yes, a fortified city with meticulous protective spells and ancient barriers, as well as a large number of mages and warriors protecting it, would normally only be able to be breached by a single demon. But... that wasn't done by that battle maniac, Livale. I went to the scene myself, and the other party was clearly a mage, and a very powerful one at that."

Frillie lowered her head in deep thought, still unable to figure out who the other person was.

Based on its characteristics, the great demon who was alone in the fortress city was not a known great demon.

Even nameless demons don't act rashly; they usually choose to live in seclusion and study magic. So, it seems very strange that they would suddenly attack an entire fortress city after the Demon King's death... It's as if someone is directing them from behind the scenes.

"...But the Demon King and the Omniscient Shurahat are both dead, so who can command these great demons?"

Frilian was utterly baffled, her head throbbing with frustration. Normally, she would have given up on these matters long ago, but now she inexplicably felt as if an invisible hand was manipulating the demons from behind—those terrifying demons who could easily destroy a city with a single person.

Even if given some time, ordinary kingdoms would not be able to stop these powerful demons at the top from destroying their countries.

Ash, who was standing silently to the side, knew very well that the one who had attacked the city fortress was definitely the weak woman who claimed to be powerless—Solitaire.

But as she herself said, timid... that might not be the case, but Solitaire certainly doesn't like trouble and has always lived in seclusion.

Solitaire's sudden attack on the fortified city must have been an instruction given by the omniscient Shurahat, otherwise this action would be very inconsistent with Solitaire's illogical behavior.

After all, Solitaire believed in Schulahart's premonitions about the future, and even if she didn't know the specifics, she would still do it.

But this led Frillie to have a bold idea. She looked at Ash solemnly and said:

"Although it's just a guess, I suspect... there might be a very powerful demon among the demons who is now moving step by step toward the throne, wanting to become the new Demon King. Some of those demons have probably already submitted to him and become part of the power he is accumulating."

"No, even if you're saying this out of the blue without any basis, it's really quite alarmist..."

"—This isn't alarmist, nor is it unfounded! Think about it yourself, normal demons wouldn't come to rescue anyone, would they? Otherwise, we wouldn't have left that dangerous guy, Guval, here so easily!" Frilian asserted emphatically.

“But now someone has come to rescue us, so there must be something wrong! Moreover, that nameless great demon and the bloodstained war god Livale have also mysteriously disappeared and never appeared in front of people again. They must have been restrained by someone, which is why they are not acting recklessly.”

"..." Should I say something at this moment? Perhaps silence is the best course of action? — Faced with Frillie's concern, Ash rubbed his throbbing temples, wondering how he should react.

Upon hearing her speculation, Philon couldn't help but feel worried: "...Lady Frilian, is another large-scale war about to break out? Just like it did more than eighty years ago?"

"No, things should be better no matter what. After all, the previous Demon King was very strong, and now humanity not only has the Empire, but also the newly rising second largest country, the Kingdom of Esther. The situation should be much better than before."

Despite her own worries, Frilian smiled and patted her head, offering ample hope to comfort her anxious disciple, a child she had watched grow up.

Although the actual number of human magicians has decreased significantly compared to the time of the great war, while the demons are recuperating, it seems that no one has noticed the problem, which is truly worrying to her.

However, the rise of the second largest power after the war, and its even strong momentum to challenge the empire, made her feel inexplicably at ease.

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

Faced with the worried Frilian and Philon, Ash really couldn't say: The culprit you're worried about, and the new force on which you've placed your hopes... I'm the mastermind behind it all!

"I feel like it might be unexpectedly interesting if I get caught in the end. Maybe I should just leave it at that for now?" — Looking at Frillie, who was both relieved and a little troubled, he, who was both the savior and the great demon king, ultimately decided to say nothing. His expectation for an interesting future made him smile and reach out to touch the silver hair in front of him.

"....What are you doing?"

Frillie, who was also patting Philon's head, looked up at this strange, unexpected head-patting cycle with a rather bizarre expression.

"Don't worry about it, it's just a feeling." Compared to the elf's strange expression, Ash's face was full of smiles. He even slapped Frilian's hand away and took the initiative to touch Philon's hair, feeling the similar yet slightly different textures between his hands:

"...This is probably what it feels like to have two daughters, right? Surprisingly nice?"

"How many times have I told you not to touch my head...! You incorrigible bastard... you're really infuriating!"

For a moment, Frillie forgot her troubles and couldn't help but want to kick him because of this guy who repeatedly ignored her request not to be touched on the head, and now even tried to take away Philon's right to touch her head.

Although Philon didn't object to them patting her head, the current situation made her feel somewhat complicated as she watched their strange behavior... and she felt utterly helpless towards her two guardians.

But in any case, this strange atmosphere... at least greatly alleviated the terror and oppressive atmosphere brought about by the corrupt sage Guval and the likely mastermind behind it all.

The Fall of Frilian: The Official Beginning of the Journey: Chapter 5 Warrior Village - A Complete Victory Over the Village Chief - I Still Need Fellen to Protect Me (4K)

Amidst some noise and a bit of distress, the group quickly bid farewell to the village, where there was no longer any need to linger.

Not long after, they arrived at a village of warriors that was famous throughout the country. However, it was precisely because of its fame that it almost became one of the places where the blood-stained war god Livale sought a worthy opponent.

"...In other words, it's the place where Livale almost wiped us out." He muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the village of warriors, who were rumored to be extremely martial and had some strange obsessions and rules.

This village is far from the hustle and bustle of the world, isolated from all others, with only winding paths leading travelers or occasionally lost hunters into it.

The village is scattered yet harmonious, with most of the houses being adobe houses, but they are clean and orderly, yet orderly to the point of being almost obsessive-compulsive.

However, the ground beneath the buildings is paved with stones, and the land within the village, enclosed by wooden fences, is basically just the soil itself. It happened to have rained last night, and the roads throughout the village were incredibly muddy.

Even in this environment, all the men in the village wore pure white cloaks, but none of them dirtied their cloaks, and they seemed to cherish them very much.

Only one middle-aged man, who had a knife scar on his right eye and was clearly a one-eyed man, was wearing a black cloak. Judging from his demeanor and imposing appearance, he was obviously the village chief.

But in terms of strength... to be honest, they only managed to escape a disaster.

Although the villagers, as a whole, weren't weak, they were far inferior to Livale; their strength levels were simply not in the same league. Furthermore...

"Are all the people in this village obsessively clean?"

"—This is a soldier's honor, and it's only right to avoid tarnishing it." The village chief clearly heard his mutterings, turned sharply, and said sternly:

"You're a soldier too. You need to keep yourself spotless in battle and in life to prove your excellence. Don't you understand that? By the way... what kind of mess are you in?"

"Just wandering around?"

"This is outrageous! Aside from your strength, don't you have any pride as a warrior?!"

"That's a really bad thing to say."

Ash was indifferent and didn't bother arguing with him, but Philon couldn't help himself and stepped forward, complaining:

"What honor of a warrior? What does this have to do with Lord Ash? Lord Ash is a mage! It has nothing to do with warriors."

"A magician? Impossible!" The village chief dismissed it without a second thought, as if he'd heard a joke.

"Look at yourself! Even if you're a novice mage and can't see his sharpness and battle-hardened aura, you should at least be able to see the calluses on his hands! That's not something any mage would have! It's definitely the result of wielding weapons for a long time!"

"Calluses from wielding weapons...?"

The other party's confident statement made Philon turn his gaze to the military knife he always claimed was for self-defense, and to his hands, which were indeed rather rough for a mage.

The girl's suspicious gaze brought a subtle smile to Ash's face: "Well... how should I put it? Actually, I'm a mage, but I also picked up martial arts along the way, so I'm kind of a warrior, though not as good as you guys~"

"Learning martial arts halfway through life?" Upon hearing this, the village chief frowned and his face turned angry. "Are you belittling us?!"

"What do you mean?"

"Despite being a warrior and having reached a considerably high level, you so blatantly disregard the dignity of warriors...!"

"...You have a really strange obsession with strange things. Why don't you just do whatever you want?"

Ash was truly speechless at the sight of the village chief, who was unusually strict and even got angry in this strange place.

Frillie, however, found the other party troublesome and casually suggested:

“Your understanding of warriors is completely different, and you can’t convince each other with words… Since neither of you can convince the other, why don’t you just fight?”

"—Lady Frillien!?" The strange suggestion almost made Philon jump, while Ash waved his hand dismissively, "Let's not bully her..."

“Bullying people…?” The village chief, Eustace, showed an anger far greater than before.

He felt as if he had been severely underestimated by this young man.

But Ash shook his head and sighed, thinking of him: "You were a little better when you were young, but you're already in your forties or fifties, right? Fighting like this at this age is really something."

In this world, the profession of warrior is basically similar to that of athlete. Unlike magician, who becomes more sought after as they get older, the peak age for warriors is usually in their twenties.

By the time one is in their twenties, or at most thirties, the human body is no longer at its peak, and various physiological functions will gradually decline, including muscle strength, endurance, and reaction speed.

This is a natural law in biology, and it is clearly the same for humans in this world, such as the dwarf Azer of the Hero Squad.

Although Azer could live for a considerable time, he had passed his prime and his health was declining, so he naturally had no choice but to retire. The same reason why the hero Simmel basically retired after ending his adventure was also similar.

Otherwise, why didn't he go to the north to continue ridding the people of evil? You know, the demons in the north have never stopped wreaking havoc. In the Golden City, Mahat killed the demon general who was causing trouble everywhere, and Solitaire also went to conquer a fortress. And that was only a year or two ago, when the hero's party had just finished their adventure.

If he could maintain his peak for a while longer, and become even stronger in his thirties or forties, would Simmel's personality prevent him from gathering his companions to deal with the corrupt sage, and would he leave that enormous scourge untouched?

There's nothing we can do about it; the limits of human capability always arrive unexpectedly quickly and early.

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

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

Even the bravest cannot escape their limits, and neither can the village chief before them.

Although Eustace, as the village chief, has stepped down to a less prominent role and his son is now in charge, he remains full of confidence.

"Even though I'm old, I'm still the village chief of the Warrior's Village! I'm more than capable of dealing with a young man like you. Even if you lack physical strength, my experience and awareness are enough to turn the tide."

"...Young man? Actually, I'm a bit older than you look?"

"Could he be over twenty?" Eustace was taken aback when he looked at Ash, who looked no older than eighteen or nineteen, somewhere between a teenager and a young adult, and tried to guess as much as possible.

Ash hesitated for a moment, then said seriously, "...Okay, just kidding. Actually, I just turned eighteen this year."