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

"...This guy is shameless, Philon, don't follow his example."

"Don't worry... I absolutely do not want to become like Lord Ash."

As soon as he said that, both Philon and Frilian showed obvious disgust on their faces, and they seemed to understand each other perfectly.

This hurt Ash somewhat, but he pretended nothing had happened and looked at the man opposite him:

"I'll duel with you, but if I win, you'll have to provide accommodation."

"And there are free meals too." Even though she was struggling financially, Frillie couldn't care less about him at this point and quickly added another condition.

"Lady Frillien?!" Feeling that the village chief was quite strong, Philon immediately became anxious: "What if Lord Ash gets injured?"

"It's not that bad, don't worry." Frilian had a lot of confidence in him and pulled her aside.

The village chief glanced at the two men, then drew his sword and pointed it at him: "I can agree to lodging and food... but I won't be responsible if you get hurt later."

"I should be the one saying that. Also, if possible, could you provide drinks?"

"Of course, no problem. It's only right that the strong enjoy special privileges... Drinks will be plentiful! But the condition is that you defeat me!"

"Let me make this clear beforehand: if your clothes get dirty later, I won't compensate you."

"Draw your sword! Let me see what you're capable of before you dare to spout such nonsense." Eustace assumed an attack stance, looking like he was about to teach this young man a lesson.

But Ash, who was much older than him, didn't even bother to make a move, waving his hand and saying, "Let's forget it... that would be too much of a bully. My body, when infused with magic, is comparable to most weapons."

“…Ridiculous!” Eustace didn’t trust him at all, but still stomped his foot and rushed forward, ready to use the blade of his sword to slap his hand and teach him a lesson.

Those moving at such speeds are almost impossible for ordinary people to see.

Even Philon was completely unable to react at close range, making her unable to even bear to watch the battle.

But as the distance between them closed and Ash's left hand entered attack range, in the next instant when Eustace was certain that he couldn't dodge—Eustace's worldview was completely overturned.

There was a muffled, sharp "bang!"

A silver light flew from his hand, shaking and vibrating, flying more than ten meters away before finally landing in a puddle not far away.

The battle ended just like that, so easily.

It was only when that thing landed that Philen realized it was Eustace's sword that had been knocked away.

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

Eustace, who had been so aggressive earlier, remained in his attack stance, but he was completely stunned, as if he had lost his soul, and did not move an inch.

Because he never clearly saw what Ash's movements were, he only felt a tremendous force coming from the sword... probably from being slapped directly onto the sword.

Even so, he could no longer hold the sword, and the weapon in his hand flew out under the irresistible force.

The villagers who had gathered around were also frozen in place, their previous chatter turning into utter astonishment... the change was so swift and bewildering.

Eustace stood there, lost in thought, for several seconds before stiffly looking down at his empty hands, then at the boy in front of him. He seemed completely dazed, as if he were already questioning reality.

But Ash smiled at this moment: "Mr. Village Chief, your clothes didn't get dirty, and I got food and lodging. Now it's a perfect win-win situation."

"You...no, who exactly are you?" Eustace's face was filled with unconcealed shock, making it difficult for him to even speak clearly.

"Speaking of which, why haven't I introduced myself yet? My name is Ash, and that's all... But I have many masters, one of whom is the Southern Hero."

"The Hero of the South? The legendary strongest?!" Eustace looked doubtful upon hearing the name: "But wasn't he a figure who died more than eighty years ago?"

"Yes, actually I'm over ninety years old."

"...Are you kidding me?" Eustace was speechless for a moment, but Ash stroked his non-existent long beard and said earnestly, "If you really want to know, it's probably because of a magical experiment that has kept my appearance unchanged."

"Magical accident?"

"Anyway, shall we chat over drinks? Or are you planning to back out?"

"H-How is this possible! Please come with me!"

Eustace shook his head vigorously, showing no intention of backing out, and was about to lead everyone to a nearby house reserved for guests.

But Philon, who had just been terrified, quickly walked over, grabbed his hand, pulled him to a corner, and stared at him expressionlessly, her cheeks puffed out in anger.

"—Lord Ash, are you lying to me?"

"Really? What is it?"

"You are clearly a soldier!"

"To be precise, I am a mage, but I am also a warrior."

"What do you mean by 'cultivating both skills'! Village Chief, you seem obviously very strong, but you only managed to do it in one move... no, did that even count as one move?"

Recalling the previous duel, Philon is now starting to doubt whether it even counts as a duel. It was more like an adult bullying a child.

"Actually, he has already retired, and his strength is not what it used to be."

Even so, he should be pretty strong!

"Well... it's alright?"

"Then why did you win in one move!?"

"Wait a minute, Philon, why do you seem so angry right now? Shouldn't we be celebrating and feeling proud of this?"

"Because I always thought you were weak!" Philon exclaimed, looking utterly incredulous.

"I've worked so hard to learn magic all these years, mostly to protect you and prevent you from being bullied anymore! But now you're telling me you're so powerful?"

"...Ah~ Is this like a wealthy person deliberately hiding from their daughter that they actually have a huge fortune?" He nodded thoughtfully, but said helplessly, "But, Philonise, I don't think I've ever said that I'm weak?"

"But didn't you get beaten up and have your head bleeding before?!"

“There’s a reason for that, and actually I only have a tiny bit of that feeling…” He held up his hand and gestured with his index finger and thumb to indicate a tiny bit.

Then, to comfort the girl who seemed to have lost all hope and was almost devastated, Ash smiled and stroked her hair: "And let me be honest with you, I only know a little bit of magic. I mainly practice martial arts, so I'll still have to rely on you, Philon, to protect me from now on~"

Although that's what he said, it was the first time Philon had discovered that the man who raised her seemed to have far more secrets than she had imagined.

The Burial of Frilian: The Officially Beginning Journey: Chapter Six, Philon: Didn't I wash all your underwear? • Men should like 18-year-olds (4K)

Despite having known each other for a long time, or even to exaggerate a bit, having been by each other's side since I can remember, this person is hiding quite a few secrets from me.

This made it difficult for Philon to control the strange, aggrieved feeling of being kept in the dark. She tilted her head back and stared at him intently for a long time before closing her eyes, letting out a long sigh, and slowly saying:

"....Master Ash."

"Ok?"

"What else are you hiding from me? Can you tell me everything?"

"Well... normally, it's better for men to have some secrets, right?"

He has so many secrets about himself that he can't even count them all, and many of them are things he can't tell others.

Just like those who teach him magic or martial arts... there are only a few things they can say, and far more things they can't say than they can.

For example, there's the corrupt sage Guval, the bloodstained war god Livale, the all-knowing Shurahat, and now there's also Solitaire.

But when Philon puffed out his cheeks in dissatisfaction and glared at him angrily, Ash could only slightly adjust his words and carefully craft his response:

"Actually... it's not that exaggerated. It's just a little secret at most. You can't strip me naked and study me thoroughly, can you?"

"...I washed all of Ash's underwear, and I even bought them!"

"Uh, how should I put this..."

Faced with a child who was originally being cared for by him but is now being cared for in his daily life, and the fact that the underwear incident was brought up, he really didn't know how to react.

After rubbing his face in annoyance for a long time, he finally looked at the sulking girl and tentatively asked, "Right now... let's put this aside for now, okay?"

"why?"

"Look behind you..."

"Behind me??"

He had originally decided that if he wanted to change the subject, he would have to bring Frilian along and have a good talk with him about his half-believing, half-doubting turnaround.

She was shocked when she looked back and realized that most of the villagers were watching them with curiosity.

There was no way around it; in this village that highly revered martial prowess, the villagers couldn't help but be curious about who this boy was who could defeat the village chief with his bare hands without even soiling the chief's cloak.

However, before they could see anything important, they first heard the girl talking about washing his underwear, while the boy was patting her head to comfort her.

The conversation, their actions, and their stances gave the impression that they were more like a couple having a tiff than lovers. Although Ash had previously said he was over ninety, they found it hard to accept such an outlandish statement.

But the moment Philon turned around, they realized that their behavior of watching was not good, so they all turned around in unison and pretended to have just passed by.

Realizing that she had seemingly made an inappropriate remark in front of everyone without even noticing, Philon froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, her cheeks flushing red at a visible speed.

After the crowd dispersed, Frillie, who was too small to be seen, was revealed.

But compared to the villagers who could at least read the atmosphere, Frillie was full of question marks.

"What's wrong? Is it something to be ashamed of?" She looked around, observed Philon covering her face for a while, and finally couldn't help but look at Ash, puzzled, "What is Philon shy about? It's a very ordinary thing."