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

Without a word, Frilian turned and headed towards the forest: "I'll go back and talk to Philon."

"Wait a minute! Don't tattle on me for no reason! I was just joking! I'm not that kind of weird person!"

Fearing for his reputation, he quickly grabbed Frillie's shoulder and pleaded with her for a while before finally bribing her with three extra desserts and drinks to keep her secret.

This scene, witnessed by Connie, couldn't help but burst out laughing:

"Uncle...you're surprisingly interesting~"

"...Where?!"

"A strange place... isn't it?"

Connie fiddled with the end of his hair by his ear, a knowing smile on his face, and quickly overtook them, crossing the forest and returning to their camp.

But Frillie had a strange expression on her face at that moment: "I said..."

"What's wrong now?"

"Could it be that she dislikes you but is too embarrassed to admit it and is just putting on a brave face?"

"??? Although what Connie said is quite strange, but..." Ash rubbed his throbbing temples, revealing an expression of suppressed headache, and said incredulously, "...How did you come to this conclusion?"

"No one normally likes having an older man touch their belly. That child must have been feeling quite aggrieved. You'll have to apologize to her properly later..."

She had just given her answer and a word of advice when she looked puzzled and pondered, "However, I feel like although she wasn't very willing, she didn't seem to be in that much pain either? That doesn't make sense logically."

"Um...may I ask you, what is your common sense?"

"It's just common sense, what else could it be?"

Frillie gave him a look of annoyance at his slowness, and continued talking to him as they temporarily returned to their camp together...

It was obvious that because they had spent so much time together and, like Ash, lacked a sense of urgency about the on-site exam, she subconsciously still regarded Ash as one of her own.

Ash really didn't want to complain about this guy's grasp of human nature, because... even if he understood, it was probably just simple embarrassment.

...If he really is an older man, the situation would probably be as Frilian described, but in appearance he would at least look like a teenager.

Humans subconsciously believe what they see in front of them and unconsciously ignore the actual situation—just like his fondness for Luzanze.

Although he is not human, he once was, so this should be a commonality.

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

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

Back at her campsite, Connie couldn't help but think about Ash's relationship with her friend Philon, and all sorts of strange emotions kept her awake all night.

After all, her friend's guardian looked to be only two years younger than her, but their relationship... normally they shouldn't be doing that kind of thing, and she shouldn't have made that kind of suggestion either, but...

"...I still did it! I even suggested it myself...! What did I do?! How am I ever going to face Philon after this?!"

In his chaotic thoughts, Connie couldn't resist giving his sleeping best friend Rabindranath a headbutt, which rudely woke him up.

"Connie...! What on earth is he doing?!"

While sound asleep, he was unjustly struck hard, waking Rabindranath from his sleep. He sat up in shock and anger.

So when Ash and Frilian returned, the two of them were wrestling on the ground.

"..." Frillie had a strange, numb expression on her face, but as usual, she didn't say anything. She silently lay down to the side, turned her back, and fell asleep on her own.

Ash shook his head and smiled as he flipped through a book under the moonlight... He also ignored the two girls who had been fighting since childhood, yet whose friendship inexplicably grew stronger with each fight.

And so, the slightly noisy night gradually passed amidst the hustle and bustle.

The next morning.

After taking out toiletries from their personal storage space and quickly tidying themselves up, the girls ate the grilled fish they had caught in the river. Then they began discussing strategies for capturing the meteorite bird, but...

Rabine, whose brow had been furrowed ever since she woke up, finally couldn't hold back any longer. She pointed her finger at his nose and shouted excitedly:

"—I felt something was very strange when I woke up this morning! Why are you here too? And why did you all blend in with us so casually? And why didn't you react at all? It's like you all accepted that this guy from another team was eavesdropping on our plans?!"

"Well, well... Rabine, calm down. The old man isn't actually that bad. He just listened for a bit, so it's probably not that bad... I guess? Is that right?" Connie explained halfway through, gesturing with his hands, but then looked at Ash with some uncertainty, confirming the situation with him.

"...Why are you asking about him personally?" Frillian sighed with a hint of helplessness. "But this guy really didn't need to do that kind of thing."

“Really? Then let’s put this aside for now…” The two men’s words of support made Rabinhee hesitate for a moment, then she stared at her best friend suspiciously: “…Connie, what happened between you and this old man yesterday? Why did your attitude towards him change so much?”

"W-what happened? Nothing!" Connie jumped up from his seat as if his hair had stood on end, his face flushed and his hands waving nervously. "Really...really! Nothing happened!"

"...So something really happened?" The overly obvious action made Rabine turn her head suspiciously to stare at Ash: "Tell me yourself, what exactly did you do?"

"...Speaking of which, I should probably go find the Meteorite Bird soon. You guys talk first, I'll go ahead."

Ash silently stood up and, without making a sound, quickly left the scene under the girl's gaze.

After all, even the person who accepted the invitation would find it difficult to tell others that he... groped Connie's stomach, and Connie couldn't say the same thing either.

Even though Rabindranath's gaze was making her uncomfortable, she could only pretend that she hadn't noticed anything and lower her head to look thoughtful.

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

After temporarily leaving the scene, Ash didn't regret stroking Connecticut's belly for a moment, but... as he strolled through the woods, he absentmindedly read a book, muttering to himself in annoyance:

"Should we try to catch one, or steal one? But not having a birdcage is definitely going to be a problem, as expected..."

"what....!"

Before he could finish speaking, a somewhat familiar exclamation came from the side.

Subconsciously turning his head, he saw the girl with the side ponytail, Yubel, standing at the entrance of a cave, holding a birdcage containing a meteorite bird.

This made him mutter to himself, "...It's like meat being offered to him."

"Ha, haha..." Yubel chuckled awkwardly, inwardly lamenting his perpetual bad luck, and tentatively suggested, "Could you... just pretend you didn't see me?"

"I think it's a bit difficult, or could you give me a reason not to take it?"

"...Don't you have a Meteorite Bird? Was it stolen? Just take it back, won't you?"

"No, you might not believe it, but I forgot to close the door when I was playing with it, and it ran away."

"Huh?" Yubel looked completely bewildered: "...Play?"

She really couldn't understand what was so fun about that thing, and why it could be taken out of the cage and played with.

"Wrong, it was during the transaction." He corrected himself, slightly annoyed, but then looked at the birdcage in Yubel's hand and said with a puzzled expression:

"In short, I don't have any birds right now. Could you please give them to me honestly, or give me a reason not to take them? After all, it would hurt me to take them."

"Will Philon be angry?"

"It's just a normal exam."

"...We're companions?"

"You were the ones who threatened to attack me first, and now you're saying you're allies? Isn't that a bit too late?"

Thinking of what his teammates had said earlier, he smiled and walked closer step by step.

As Yubel retreated, he racked his brains and said, "Right, right... how about this! What are your conditions... how about it?"

"Hmm... Even if you suddenly say this, I can't think of anything that needs your help."

His words made Yubel feel insulted: "—Are you kidding me? She looks like a beautiful girl to me? She can meet any criteria? And you don't have any plans yet?? Hurry up and think of something!"

"...Your personality is terrible." The strange insistence, seemingly stemming from a blow to his pride, made him shake his head and say, "Although I like teasing cute kids, another unexpected type I like is the more normal type, preferably a mature woman with a good figure! Hmm... something like that."

"My figure isn't good enough? Do you think someone like Frillie has a good figure?"

"How could that be!" Ash denied without even thinking. "Then he's too old, too short, and his personality isn't very good either."

"I've always thought so, you guys... are really good friends." Yubel's smile was somewhat difficult to maintain.

"It's alright, but I'll still accept your proposal!"

"You mean...?"

"Anything is fine, right? There's something I'd like you to do later."

After saying that, he left with a meaningful smile.

"Oh... I hope he won't make any strange requests?" Yubel was a little worried, but then hurried footsteps came from the depths of the cave, followed by Philon's voice: "What's wrong? I think I just heard Lord Ash's voice?"

"Hmm... what should I do?"

Yubel poked his cheek with his fingertip, looking troubled for a moment but still smiling. He walked back into the cave without saying a word, deciding to wait and see what Yubel was up to before seeking help.

After all, listening to his conditions first might help him find common ground.

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

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

The exam lasted only two days and ended at sunset today. As a result, all the teams became impatient after noon and tried to capture the meteorite bird even if they were not confident of catching it.

This behavior resulted in meteorite birds flying across the sky from time to time.

The meteor bird's incredibly imposing flight path indirectly led Ash to unexpectedly and easily spot the target, and after sneaking in, he successfully captured an unfortunate meteor bird.

But... perhaps because the bird's call was so loud, it attracted more than just him.

He hadn't walked far after turning around, still annoyed by the bird struggling in his palm and wondering how to quiet it down, when he looked up and saw Duncan's figure in the bushes, with two companions behind him.

The three men's gazes towards him seemed even less friendly than at the beginning of the previous night, and they even appeared prepared for a fight. Duncan, however, kept his eyes fixed on the bird in his hand and slowly spoke:

"...Could you give us that bird as compensation for last night? Of course, I can also give you enough money."

"Money? Do you think people who take this kind of exam care about money? Of course they might, but no one would give up the exam because of money, right?"

After all, the allure of being a first-level mage is enough to make people hand over their family heirloom or self-developed top-tier magic. Money is simply not worth mentioning under the "privilege" of a first-level mage.

"...I think so too. Although I absolutely do not want this to happen, there is no other way now."

As time ticked away, Duncan now had no choice but to fight with his back against the wall. He raised his wand and aimed it at Ash, looking as if he might attack at any moment: "I know you are very powerful, but I am also quite capable."

"Indeed, even without the special privileges you've received, your strength is comparable to that of an ordinary first-level mage, plus you have two interesting companions..."

"Even if it's the mage Frillian who's tasked with defeating the Demon King, I'm confident I can win in a one-on-one fight! And you have to hold onto the meteor bird in one hand, which must take a lot of physical and mental effort, right?"

As Duncan spoke, he was not in a hurry to attack. Instead, he retreated to create distance, clearly wanting to use the meteorite bird, whose body was the size of a sparrow but whose strength and physical power were comparable to a dragon, to wear down Ash's stamina.

His two companions also silently dispersed to the sides... even though they understood that Ash was very strong physically.

But as a mage, even against top warriors, as long as he keeps his distance, he must have a way to win. I just don't know how good his magic is.