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

“I understand that growing up means losing your dreams, but he must be incredibly bored by now, so... I hope that at least in the end, he can pursue his dreams.”

"You mean?" Ash was a little confused. Why was he telling him all this?

"Could you please take him out of this village? You don't have any monks, so this will definitely cause some trouble."

The priest looked at the three of them again and bowed his head respectfully in request.

As Ash listened, he only felt a headache coming on: "Judging from Zain's reaction just now, you must have said similar things to more than one group of adventurers, but he has never left, has he?"

"Indeed... but I believe he is waiting for someone to give him a push from behind."

"Even 10 years ago, his friends couldn't get him out of there?"

"this....."

The priest was speechless when asked the question, and could only lower his head again with a bitter expression.

Afterwards, they ate a completely vegetarian meal in the church... After all, it was a church, so they couldn't really ask for too much.

Haita, who drank alcohol and ate meat, was an exception, which is why he was always called a "wine and meat monk"... That was Ash's initial opinion.

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

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

After temporarily settling in the only inn in the village.

Ash and Frilian were reading books together on the bedside, while Philon stood beside them with his hands on his hips, watching them.

"Lady Frilian, Lord Ash! Do you have any explanation for your failure to save someone in distress?"

“There was nothing I could do, his hands were really dirty back then…” Frilian awkwardly turned her face away, while Ash said matter-of-factly, “I just wanted to see what else he could say, and saving people should have been Frilian’s responsibility since she arrived first, I shouldn’t bear the consequences.”

"—This is terrible! You guys are really awful!"

The two did not hide their thoughts, which made Philon so angry that he puffed up his cheeks and pointed at them, scolding them incessantly.

After talking them until they were both too ashamed to lift their heads, and after they had reflected on their actions and responded positively, she sat down next to Ash, looked up at him, and said earnestly:

"...If Lord Zain joins, it might not be bad. After all, the priest is right; having monks is always safer. Moreover, having a monk who believes in the goddess as a companion might have a positive influence on you."

“But I don’t think Frilian (Ash) is salvageable.”

As soon as she spoke, Ash and Frilian objected in unison.

The fact that these two were willing to give up treatment for each other made Philon cast a cold glance at them, and he suppressed his displeasure and said in a deep voice:

"Why are you two only so in sync at this time?"

"It's not so much a tacit understanding, it's just... Frillian, what do you think about adding a monk?"

"Me?...Hmm..." The sudden topic made Frilian, who was sitting on the bed, squat down with her legs tucked in, and she even pinched her ponytail, looking sulky: "Your own kind hates you, right?"

"Frilian, what are you talking about? He's human!"

"...Lady Frillian sometimes likes to say strange things." Philon looked at Ash helplessly: "Anyway, Lady Ash, please do your best."

"Me? Well... since you put it that way, shall I give it a little try?"

The problem suddenly thrown at him made him a little distressed... but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that having a monk was indeed a convenient place, and he had no reason to object, so he simply went out.

As for where Zain was... he hardly needed to look for him; he simply came downstairs and saw him there.

Because—there's a tavern located below this inn.

In that smoky tavern, Zain, who initially seemed somewhat serious, was now wearing a monk's uniform, but with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, a wine glass in his hand, and playing cards right in front of him.

Including Zain and the three others at the same table, each of them had copper coins in front of them.

This scene looks exactly like... gambling.

This made Ash inadvertently recall that he had only wanted to eat meat, and Zain had said something like, "What are you saying to the monks?" He couldn't help but subconsciously think to himself as he stepped inside:

"...Among the monks I know, you are definitely the most gluttonous and dissolute."

"This is called fostering friendship! By the way, are you coming too?" Zain wasn't ashamed at all; on the contrary, he laughed heartily.

"I heard from my older brother that he wants me to join your team. What did you say?"

"Having a monk would certainly make things more convenient."

“Give up~ I’m a monk in this village, if I were to join you… no, wait.” Zain started to say, but then a wicked smile appeared on his face.

"Think about it carefully, playing cards with three people isn't very interesting. Why don't you join us? If you win, I'll go with you."

"...Surprisingly simple."

"Easy, huh? If you lose later, don't let yourself get... stripped down to your underwear!"

"Anyway, please teach me the rules here first."

Unexpectedly, there were such simple conditions, so Ash simply sat down at the table and ordered a drink from the waiter. He then gave Zain and the village chief next to him a pitiful smile, as if looking at their pathetic existence.

He couldn't figure out why he would lose to his opponent... He might not be able to beat them in terms of luck, but when it came to hand speed—no one on the scene could see it clearly.

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

Ash surprisingly adapted to the game easily, even managing to join in after three rounds of drinks and three different tables...

Looking at the pile of copper coins on Ash's table, Zain couldn't help but start to question his existence: "--Why?! Ten consecutive wins! Is this really your first time playing cards?!"

"Just a little bit of luck for a newbie." Ash said nonchalantly, "Now that I've won, are you willing to admit defeat?"

"No... I was just saying, you wouldn't take it as..., would you?"

"Really? I thought so too." He didn't mind, and smiled as he looked at the village chief who was angrily slamming his fist on the table: "Mr. Village Chief, and Mr. Klaus, I can give you back what you won today, but in exchange... could you strip him down to his underwear and throw him out?"

"—Of course, no problem!!"

"Huh? No... wait, wait a minute! -- Don't let me go! At least inside...!!"

The strange conditions startled Zain, who then saw the village chief and his card-playing partner agree in unison, staring intently at him. Before he could beg for mercy, the two men pinned him to the ground and forcibly stripped him of his clothes.

A piercing scream instantly echoed throughout the entire tavern.

Ash had considered the potential consequences to some extent, and in the end, he had the two of them leave him with shorts so that it wouldn't become inappropriate for children, before simply throwing him out of the tavern.

He accepted Zain's money, then walked out looking refreshed, gazing down at the middle-aged man lying on his backside, and said leisurely:

"This is what happens when you cheat."

"...Don't think you can make me submit like this. I'm a dirty adult. Would I still be an adult if I compromised so easily?"

"I don't really care. It's just a try anyway. If it doesn't work, Frilian and the others will come and try to persuade me, and I can just watch the show."

"You... what do you take adventure for? Why are you always just watching the show?!" Zain turned around, looking at him with a disappointed expression, scolding him like a righteous, hot-blooded protagonist: "—To be honest, I don't see any passion or enthusiasm in you!

"Adventure? No, no, no, I'm just taking a casual walk outside, why would I need to get excited?"

"...Just a simple walk?" The unbelievable answer made Zain pause for a moment: "Weren't you heading north...?"

"Instead of all these nice things, don't you think you should adjust your attitude? Talking to me with your ass facing away like this makes me want to kick you."

"Heh, young man, you don't understand. Actually, this posture can help clear your head—ouch!!"

Zain, still prone with his buttocks sticking out, had just pulled out a cigarette from his shorts and was about to light it while stating some definite directions, when a sudden impact struck his buttocks. He winced in pain, clutching his backside and curling up on the ground, glaring angrily at the man behind him: "You actually kicked me!?"

"Didn't I say I wanted to kick?"

"But would a normal person kick that?"

"I think I'm pretty normal," he replied casually, then squatted down next to the middle-aged man curled up on the ground, tears welling up in his eyes as he clutched his buttocks. "...So, are you really not going to reconsider?"

"...Do you think a normal person would agree to the demands of a villain who would strip them down to their underwear?"

"I asked them to leave you some shorts."

"So what if I wear another pair of shorts?! You still kicked my butt." Zain touched his butt with a humiliated expression, shouting indignantly while already worrying about whether his butt was swollen.

"Who told you to stick your butt out like that, especially in front of me?"

"I mean... at this point, shouldn't you at least apologize?"

"You broke the contract first."

"Um... can we just pretend this never happened?"

.........

Faced with Ash's capricious and rude behavior, and losing to him in a card game, and losing quite badly at that, Zain had to swallow his grievances even after being kicked in the butt.

After all, he was just saying it casually and had no intention of taking any risks with them.

All I can do now is curl up on the ground, gazing at the clear night sky, and silently light a cigarette as a form of mourning.

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

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

Since the tavern was downstairs, Frilian and Philon easily heard the commotion and rushed downstairs to check the situation almost immediately.

But they were so shocked when they saw it that they were speechless.

Ash was squatting on the ground, but Zain in front of him seemed to have been subjected to an unreasonable act of violence, curling up on the ground.

His clothes had been stripped off by someone, leaving him only in shorts to preserve his last shred of dignity, yet he shivered in the cold spring night.

Before they could even ask what was going on, they saw Ash use a branch from the ground to poke Zain's arm, and with his back to them, offer a strange condition: