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

"...But you've all changed. You clearly didn't intend to get close to each other, but now you've taken on an apprentice and raised a child."

Aize, who had come out of the cave to see the three off, looked at Ash and Frillien and unconsciously revealed a rather sentimental expression.

"Really?" Frillie herself wasn't particularly interested in the change, and just tilted her head in confusion.

"The one percent trip you mentioned didn't change you in the end. You still stubbornly refuse to interact with people or take on disciples... So why are you taking on disciples now?"

"...It was just that Ash and Haita, those two despicable guys, schemed against us."

"Lord Frilian..."

"Even if it was a scheme, the target was Philon, so I have no complaints."

While Philon looked dejected, Frilian smiled and reached out to touch her hair.

This made Philon smile, and he glanced cautiously in Ash's direction, clearly caring about his answer.

Even Aize couldn't help but ask curiously, "Your reason... is it just because she's a friend's descendant?"

"No... to be honest, I'm not quite sure what I felt when I accepted the situation of having to take care of a child." Ash seemed a little distressed, and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "There should be more important things to do, and I shouldn't be wasting my time on this, but... I guess I can't leave Philon. Yeah, that's probably it."

"...You want to plant apples again?" Philon was now quite displeased, and even a little hurt.

"How could that be? How could Apple be more important than you, Philon..."

"what is that?"

"...You'll find out later."

"Why won't you tell me? You were lying all along..."

“It’s not deception, it’s just… well, if, Philon…” Just as the girl was about to get angry, he smiled and said, “I’m just saying if I become a bad person, if we become enemies or something, you don’t have to worry about it, just follow your own heart.”

"What? This?"

"Hmm~ Men, sometimes they have that feeling of wanting to be a great demon king... or conquer the world? In some way, standing on the opposite side of humanity or something?"

He was vague and unable to explain things clearly, which prompted a helpless yet gentle smile to appear on Philon's lips as she sighed softly:

"Lord Ash, you're such a grown man, how can you still have such wildly imaginative ideas?"

"So, if that day really comes, will you stand on my side? Or will you choose to fight back...?"

"Is that even a question?" Philon replied without hesitation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "In any case, I will certainly stand on Lord Ash's side."

"This... should I say it's a bit unexpected, or what's the better way to put it...?"

"Why should we be surprised? Even if Lord Ash sometimes acts recklessly, he's definitely not a bad person. If there's a special reason, there must be a compelling reason behind it. In any case, we should definitely try to help you first, right? ... That's what I think."

This trust, pure and unwavering, stemmed not only from an understanding of Ash's character but also from an indescribable emotional bond deep within their hearts.

Moreover, Philon couldn't even imagine the scenario of her being at odds with Ash. On the contrary, she seemed somewhat unhappy about his not fully trusting her.

The girl's unconditional trust made Ash unable to resist hugging her tightly, and he kept stroking her hair, deeply moved.

"—Although you can be strict at times, Philon, you really are a good child! I've finally raised a good child!"

"W-what? All of a sudden..." The unexpected hug caught Philon off guard. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked a little embarrassed.

However, she did not struggle; she merely twisted her body slightly, appearing somewhat uncomfortable.

"...The strange topic suddenly came up, and it turns out you just wanted an excuse to hug Philon? You've only been ignored for half a day and you've already turned into a lonely, spoiled baby?"

Frillie observed the two of them for a long time and unexpectedly came to a strange and inexplicably sarcastic answer.

Upon hearing this, Aize opened his mouth as if to speak, but after a long while, he closed his eyes as he closed his mouth.

Although he could somewhat sense Ash's seriousness, he chose to trust his former comrade and refrained from saying more to the oblivious Frilian.

Of course, while Frillie's emotional intelligence was terrible, she wasn't stupid... She simply trusted Ash, this friend she'd known since the village, and didn't believe he would do anything truly heinous.

Rather, Ash has made quite a few strange jokes all along, and there's no need to pay them any mind—at least that's what Frillian thinks.

After this brief interlude, the three happily resumed their journey... It's worth mentioning that Philon was in an unexpectedly good mood, walking ahead with his hands and palms raised parallel to the ground, looking as amusing as a penguin.

The Burial of Frilian: The Officially Beginning Journey: Chapter Ten - Not Wanting to Be Treated Like a Child - Frilian Feels Betrayed - Philon's Threat 8K

After a brief farewell, the group left the place temporarily, watched by Aize.

Ash and Frillie looked at Philon, who was swaying happily like a penguin in front of them, and couldn't help but smile at each other.

"If only Philon could stay this way."

"Ash, you absolutely mustn't upset her on the way. I definitely still prefer the cheerful Philon."

"That's what I wanted to say too... To be honest, I never intended to make Philen angry." Ash looked speechlessly at the elf who was giving him serious advice, but then couldn't help but smile again when he looked at Philen's back.

"However... growing up definitely has its advantages~ Hmm, my parenting style is really good!"

"...You're shameless! Wasn't it basically me and Haita who taught Philen?"

"But I met Philon first, and we even spent a few years together."

"You have the nerve to say that? That was basically Philen's nightmare back then, wasn't it?" Frilian glanced at her sideways, her eyes full of disdain and obvious displeasure. "And... you even wanted to just dump Philen on some random person."

"...Don't exaggerate, I'm actively looking for someone more suitable than myself."

"So, it's true that you want to abandon them?"

"...Although there may indeed be some shortcomings, please respect the precious memories that Philon and I shared. In the end, it wasn't about abandoning each other, but about finding something better."

He tried to explain, but Frilline remained cold and delivered another fatal blow: "Philan said that she hated being home alone when she was a child."

"Uh, well... I'm sorry... but... anyway! Overall, I did have some positive influence, right?"

"Is he scary when he's angry?"

"No, this is absolutely not my problem!"

......

At first, the two were having a good time, and even sincerely hoped that Philon could continue like this. But for some reason, as they talked, it turned into Frilian criticizing Ash.

In other matters, Ash usually had the one to criticize Frilian, since Frilian couldn't argue with him even when she was right. But in this case, he was truly speechless and felt guilty, even his attempts to defend himself were somewhat hesitant.

During this process, the three of them soon paid for a ride in a carriage that was going their way.

Before the two girls even realized it, they both fell asleep and unconsciously leaned against Ash.

Philon didn't slip by accident; she simply turned sideways and leaned against him in a half-lying position.

Despite the bumpy ride, she slept soundly, her breathing steady as she leaned against him, a slight smile playing on her lips, as if she were having a sweet dream.

Meanwhile... after being jostled and turned upside down, Frillie, too lazy to get up, wore a pained and distressed expression, and occasionally uttered strange, sleep-talking words:

"...It's freezing...The North...I hate it...I...I'm not...going..."

"...I'm still as afraid of the cold as ever."

Frillie's strange, sleep-talking, as if she were struggling in a nightmare, made Ash shake his head and chuckle.

In reality, both destinations are not only located in the north, but although the entire northern continent covers more than half of the world, it is also mostly situated on plateaus. Given the combination of "north" and "plateau," it's easy to imagine that the temperature would be significantly colder than in the south and central regions, and coincidentally, Frilian is very sensitive to the cold...

"How pitiful~" He casually stroked Philon's hair with his left hand and Frilian's hair with his right hand, but then quickly closed his eyes and began to train his magic.

As for the country's development, which should have been a headache... those nobles and ministers have found some capable people who are willing to be loyal to them wholeheartedly. As long as no major problems arise and the country is currently developing steadily without any war, there shouldn't be any issues.

Those troublesome people... He can only find time to make a trip to the north as quickly as possible after they have settled down temporarily, trying to resolve the issues within a month each time.

After all, with Frilian and Philon's team... it's not uncommon for them to be stuck in one place for a year or two if Frilian isn't around.

Of course, with him around, unless it's a long trip to the north, the only thing we can do is find a way to prevent it.

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

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

The carriage traveled leisurely, and two days later they arrived at the canyon called Rigel.

As they passed by the village beside the canyon, they unexpectedly noticed a stone statue that was clearly Azer.

Philon stared at the stone statue, unable to help but recall what the villagers had said when they were purchasing supplies, and seemed quite incredulous:

"...I heard that Lord Aize defeated a Red Mirror Dragon while passing by, but didn't Lord Aize say that he was already old?"

“Even if she’s old, she’s not that old,” Frilian casually corrected her, showing little interest in the statue or the story behind it.

At that moment, Philon instinctively turned to look at Ash and asked curiously, "Lord Aize said you are stronger now than he was when he was young, which means... Lord Ash can also defeat dragons with martial arts?"

"Well, there are many kinds of dragons, but the relatively weak Red Mirror Dragon is quite easy to handle."

"...So there are weak dragons after all?"

"Because there are many warriors who can defeat the Red Mirror Dragon. It just has decent magic resistance. All it has left is the ability to fly, melee, and breathe fire. The strong dragons are like the Royal Prison Dragon, which can not only breathe fire, but also has extremely powerful magic, the ability to detect in reverse, and extremely fast flight speed."

He casually mentioned the strongest and most dangerous dragon species in the north.

Upon hearing the name, Frilian couldn't help but sigh, "The Royal Prison Dragon? The Red Mirror Dragon has strong magic resistance, but it's slow and doesn't know magic. I can still try to take it down a few more times. But the Royal Prison Dragon... if you really encounter it, it's better to run away as soon as possible. Even Aize in his prime could only run away."

Is it that dangerous?

"Of course, so if you encounter Philon, the first thing you should do is run away, okay?"