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

"Give it to Ash."

“…What?” Celia was stunned for a moment, then turned to Ash and said with displeasure, “You, did you threaten your own nephew?”

“The process of exploring magic is the most interesting part... so I said no from the beginning, but Ash offered to give it to him instead.”

“...You really have no shame.” Frillie’s explanation made Celie roll her eyes at Ash.

But he simply said, "Opportunity is for the brave."

"Never mind, I'll talk to you later." Celia was too lazy to pay attention to him, and glanced at Vlame: "Your disciple is no good. He lacks ambition and doesn't have that inexhaustible ambition."

I think..."

"You're even worse. Your ambitions are too big. I hate them too."

Ash had barely opened his mouth when Celia shut him down with a single, simple sentence.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Frilian: I bet that treasure chest has something in it!

The obvious differential treatment made Ash too lazy to even complain anymore, but his humiliated appearance made Frilian, who was kneeling beside him, unable to help but laugh.

However, because the occasion was rather formal, she forced herself not to laugh.

But Ash wasn't one to suffer a loss alone. He simply grabbed a few more books from the side and walked out, saying, "I'm leaving now. You guys can chat on your own. I'll be back when it's time for dinner."

"Don't come back! I won't be preparing dinner for you!" Celia waved her hands like she was chasing away a kitten or puppy, clearly not welcoming him back for a free meal.

Seeing this, Vlame couldn't help but laugh: "...Master seems to really like this new disciple."

"How is that similar? You shouldn't even be forty yet, right? Have you gone blind so quickly?"

"No, it's just that...it feels like something is similar."

"Isn't this just blindness?" Celia rolled her eyes at her, almost too lazy to pay attention to this disciple who had inexplicably started to misbehave, and unconsciously looked towards the gate, muttering, "Is it really that guy's fault?"

Although that's what she said, it might be too late to catch him now, so she could only give up for the time being and decided to teach him a lesson when he came back. He's always causing trouble... just like her, he doesn't follow any rules at all.

Of course, I don't care, since I'm an elder and can understand and not care, but the younger generation certainly can't, right?

However... although that's what she thought, Ash had no intention of going back at all.

Because if his obedient disciple returned, he would surely be compared to others for his misbehavior, and he would have to listen to his elders criticize him for the good qualities of other children. Under such speculation, Ash, who had already obtained the new grimoire, had no intention of returning for the time being.

...Although it's a bit of a shame that he couldn't rely on his parents, it also inadvertently saved him from a troublesome situation.

He hadn't paid attention to what was happening inside, but when the master and apprentice returned, he noticed a strange smile on Frillie's face.

No matter how much he pressed her for an explanation, Frillie wouldn't give him one.

This made him simply ignore her. The girl, who seemed to be expecting something, was flipping through a book beside him, muttering to herself, "People these days... never mind."

"Speaking of which, Ash, has this ruin been fully explored?"

"...No, after all, Celie isn't interested, and I'm too lazy."

"So, maybe there's some treasure waiting for us?"

Ash didn't want to talk to her anymore, but after getting an answer from her, Frillie became interested in exploring the dungeon again.

"Us? Did you add me without my permission?"

"Aren't you going? Maybe there's a grimoire that even Celia hasn't discovered?"

"...Go!"

In just a moment, Ash, who had initially intended to firmly refuse, was tempted.

He closed the magic book in his hand, stood up, and led the way.

This made Frillie smile: "You really do like magic."

"I can't help it, I'm very curious about the unknown, and it's also a necessity for survival."

"And your sister's expectations, right? But speaking of which, I've never heard of your sister before?"

"That's a troublesome guy, let's not talk about him."

"Really? Then let's go."

An ordinary person might have asked again, but Frilian didn't. She quickly caught up with him and began to walk deeper into the ruins.

Their performance seemed to be even more anticipated than he was.

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

Working together, the two easily swept away the underground ruins.

Of course, there's nothing dangerous about it; the powerful ones that run around would have been eliminated by Celie long ago.

So soon, an ancient-looking treasure chest appeared before them, but...

"...What are you doing squatting there? I already checked with magic, it's just a mimic." Ash couldn't help but want to grab her by the back of her collar and drag her away, looking at Frillie who was squatting in front of the treasure chest and unwilling to leave.

But Freylan turned around and said in a serious tone, "You yourself said that there's a one percent chance that that kind of magic might be misjudged, right?"

"...It's almost certainly true."

"But it is precisely because of the great magician who saw through that one percent that such a historic discovery was made."

"Are you trying to say you're that great magician?"

“I can feel it.” She didn’t reply, but instead reached out and gently stroked the dilapidated treasure chest, saying confidently, “There are valuable magic books inside.”

What is the basis for this?

"My experience as a mage."

"...But you just left the village, right? I was with you all the way here. You've never been to the ruins before. Where did you get this experience?"

"That's why I'm talking about experience as a mage, believe me, Ash, here's a grimoire!"

As she said this, she suddenly lifted the treasure chest.

The next moment...

A huge mouth replaced the magic book she had imagined, and swallowed her whole in a flash, leaving only half of her body outside.

Ash, who had been standing a little further away from the beginning, looked completely bewildered: "...I already said no, but you're still pretending with me, and you're so sure of it that I almost believed your nonsense."

He even considered turning around and leaving, pretending not to know this shameless fellow, but...

Freya, who had been lying there like a corpse, suddenly began to violently twist her exposed buttocks, letting out urgent cries:

"—Waaaaah!! It's so dark! It's so scary~! Let me out~! Ash! Ash, are you still there?! Let me out! It's so dark here! It's so scary~~!"

"...Are you a child? You're all old, are you still afraid of the dark?"

Looking at the buttocks in front of him, which were relatively small but surprisingly plump and constantly swaying, he couldn't help but slap them.

"Ouch—it hurts so much!? Who, who hit me? It's terrifying!! I can't see anything! Ash, right?! It must be you, isn't it?"

"There was a monster just now, and when I was killing it, its tail lashed out at you."

"Really?! I have a feeling..."

"If you don't believe me, that's fine with me. I'll be going now."

"—I believe you! Let me out of here right now! This place is terrifying!!"

Frillie, trapped in the treasure chest, was forced to cry out and give in to him.

.....

...

..

(PS: For those who only watched the anime, in the original prequel novel, Frillien goes to the labyrinth and Vlamé is very shocked by her obsession with the treasure chest...)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Matter of Frillian

Despite her reluctance, Frillie had no choice but to compromise with him temporarily if she didn't want to use magic to attack the mimic.

The reason she didn't use magic was because she was worried that using magic in this confined space would likely cause her harm, so she didn't want to use that method unless absolutely necessary.

Frillie's fear of the dark and her wiggling hips were incredibly amusing, making Ash want to give her another few more slaps.

However, fearing that dealing with the situation later would be troublesome, he temporarily put aside his impulse, as he dislikes trouble.

They stretched out their hands and pulled on the girl's legs from behind, pulling her out like pulling up a radish, trying to forcibly take Frillie back from the mimic's mouth.

But after just one forceful pull, Frillie cried out in pain, "Wait, wait a minute! It hurts! It really hurts! It'll break! It'll break in two!"

"...That's your own problem. Even if you're going to gamble, shouldn't you at least try cutting it with a knife first and see what happens?"

"Many precious ancient grimoires can be damaged by the slightest vibration. What if you break them by cutting them with a knife?!"

"...You actually dare to talk back to me now? Do you even know your own situation?"

"Just get me out of here quickly, it's really scary in there!"

At this moment, Frillie, who originally had a somewhat innocent and naive demeanor, became unusually easy to bully, just like a child.

He felt it was a bit of a waste to just let him go... but keeping him there wasn't a good idea either, and the other party's attitude was very good, so there was no need to keep teasing him.

So he simply transformed into warrior form, walked to the front, grabbed the mimic's mouth with both hands, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then pulled hard.

With a tearing sound, like cloth being ripped, the mimic's mouth was forcibly ripped open.

With her legs still on the mimic, Freyland, who was pulling herself out with all her might, "flew" out.

After a brief moment of airborne movement, she landed hard on her bottom, in so much pain that she couldn't speak for a moment.

The disgusting sight of its head covered in monster saliva made Ash keep a safe distance from it.

"It's disgusting...it hurts...it's so uncomfortable..." Frillie lay on the ground, head drooping, complaining with a mournful face, while tidying up her messy hair.

During this process, she stared at Ash with teary eyes, making him feel a little uncomfortable: "What? You have a problem with your benefactor?"

"...Just now, you were the one who hit me, weren't you?"

"That's not true."

Faced with this girl who was suddenly different from usual and full of resentment, he silently looked away and pretended not to see her, having no intention of admitting anything.

Seeing this, Frillie narrowed her eyes: "No! It's you!"