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

"If only it could be a little more docile and cute."

"What are you muttering to yourself over there?" Aura, who was cooking, turned around when she heard his voice, grinning mischievously. "Aren't you thinking about some weird things again?"

"I'm thinking about whether I should find a chance to leave this forest."

"Go to human cities and start eating people?"

"No, no, no, I have no interest in doxxing. Just look at me." He pointed to his head.

"A naked alien, if we hadn't grown up together, I would have thought you were a stupid human who couldn't even disguise yourself as a demon. Your demonic aura is very weak. If I didn't carefully identify you outside, I might accidentally mistake you for a human and kill you."

Even though it wasn't something happy to talk about, Aura tilted her head, closed one eye, and smiled happily.

"...Think about it carefully, what would it feel like to eat someone who looks exactly like you? How would it feel to eat someone like me?"

"That's true. Someone like you is best killed directly."

"Hey."

"Just kidding. After all, we've been working together for so long. Once my magic is fully mastered, I'll make you my servant, taking care of my daily needs, cooking, hunting... Oh, and I hate the cold foot bath water at night, so you can warm my toes in your mouth and then lick my feet clean?"

Aura, seemingly already imagining that time, couldn't help but chuckle excitedly as she looked up at him.

But Ash didn't pay attention to these arrogant words. He just put one hand to his forehead and lowered his head, thinking to himself why the child he grew up with had grown into such a strange person.

This action, however, led to another misunderstanding from Aura: "What? Ash, are you so happy that you're embarrassed to look at me?"

"...Your appearance is infuriating. I'm worried that if I accidentally kill you, there will be no one to cook for me afterwards."

"Huh?" Aura blinked blankly, then pressed his head and shook it, laughing happily, "You're so easily embarrassed! Ash, you're clearly happy, aren't you?"

Good grief, he's completely deaf to what anyone says now. Is this a twisted mind caused by a tragic childhood, or is it just the nature of demons? Or is it influenced by me? Hmm, it probably has nothing to do with me, it must be the first two—enduring the unpleasant feeling of being shaken, Ash couldn't understand how this guy could possibly think he was being shy.

They were even seriously considering whether giving her a severe head transplant could fix the brat's head.

Chapter Two: A Loving Family

The two, who were "loving each other," spent another night together, and before they knew it, another year had passed since they became homeless.

At midday in the primeval forest, sunlight cascades down like a waterfall, penetrating the dense canopy and scattering golden patches on the ground.

The air in the forest seemed to be slightly warmed by the sun, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, the damp smell of earth, and—a strong smell of blood.

More than a dozen wolf carcasses were scattered throughout the jungle, their bodies pierced by wooden spears that seemed to have been fired from siege crossbows.

After clearing away a large number of wolves from the treetops by combining gravity magic with his spear, which were immobilized by Aura's mind control, Ash still managed to suppress the last wolf with gravity at Aura's request.

The sole survivor, whose movement was restricted, had exceptionally fierce eyes, and its fur shimmered with a silvery sheen in the sunlight. It was clearly afraid of the two monsters, and even though its movement was restricted, it kept making low growls from its throat.

But before it could pose a threat for long, Aura, whose exclusive magic had been roughly formed, created an exquisite little balance scale with magic.

"Now let me see who's the strongest, you or me!" Aura confidently tipped the scales toward the wolf, but then immediately turned to the boy beside her and added, "Ash! If the scales tip toward me, kill that wolf right now!"

Before Ash could even respond, the scales tipped rapidly in favor of the wolf, and the wolves that had been howling on the ground gradually stopped struggling and lay obediently on the ground, motionless.

"This is..." Before Ash could finish speaking, Aura squatted down beside him, staring at the wolf's head without looking up, and said, "Let it go, Ash, it's already my pet."

"...I see. Did you succeed in your research on mind control magic? What is that scale for?"

“That’s a good question.” Aura suddenly stood up, tilting the scales in his favor with a charming smile. “Ash, why don’t you try it yourself? It’s much easier than any explanation, isn’t it?”

"No, you just want to use me for experiments, don't you?" Ash subconsciously took a few steps back, staring warily at the man and the wolf.

"Didn't you always say you were my older brother? Since that's the case, you're definitely willing to use your body to fully experience the essence of my life, right? It's okay~ I'll definitely take good care of you~ no... it should be that it's your turn to take care of me! Cook for me!!"

Recalling how he had repeatedly broken the agreed-upon rules, always expecting her to take care of his feelings, and then thinking about this rare opportunity, Aura became increasingly excited, feeling like a serf finally gaining power. However...

"What you say makes a lot of sense, but—I refuse!!"

As the pink-haired loli approached step by step, Ash's expression changed to a smile, and he took the initiative by suddenly raising his hand and pressing down.

An abnormal gravity instantly pierced through Aura's entire body, distorting her expression and causing the scales in her hands to droop, almost causing her to kneel on the ground.

But she forced a smile, and the injured wolf beside her seemed to receive an invisible signal, and pounced on her to knock her to the ground.

But at that very moment... he suddenly looked up.

boom!!

A shockwave suddenly spread out from around him.

Fallen leaves scattered everywhere, and the wolf that pounced was sent flying back less than half a meter away. The pink-haired girl three meters away was also thrown to the ground by the shockwave, looking up at him in disbelief.

"—What?! This shouldn't be happening! Isn't your magic only supposed to target a single enemy?!"

"Do you think I'm foolish enough to completely expose my secrets to my dearest sister... you?"

Ash, his breathing slightly rapid, grabbed her by the corner of her head and lifted her up. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, a mocking smile creeping onto his face. "Tell me," he said, "how should I punish your betrayal, Aura?"

"W-What are you saying, Ash... Aren't we a loving family?"

“Yes, we’re a loving family.” Ash nodded gently, then his face turned cold. “That’s why we can’t forgive so easily, don’t you think?”

"...I just felt that you were being a bit too much to me in the past, and I wanted to get a little revenge. It's just my cute little sister's adorable whims, you know?"

"How adorably willful!"

He shrugged dismissively, but didn't express any further dissatisfaction. He simply grabbed Aura's horn as usual and headed towards their cave, telling her not to turn back and ask the wolf to take its kind back.

Aura, who was already used to this treatment, was surprisingly obedient, but couldn't help complaining: "...At least change the gravity, otherwise my pants will be worn through before we get back?"

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to get you a new one, but when we get back to the cave, I'll also give your butt a friendly greeting."

"You just wanted to see me walking around naked in front of you, didn't you? You're such a pervert, Ash, even though you call yourself my older brother."

"It's alright. I've pretty much figured it out too. Demons only give birth to one child at a time. I'm just the elder brother." Ash said expressionlessly, dragging Aura along, completely unmoved by the strange statement.

Aura, however, lightly tapped her chin with her slender, fair fingertips and tilted her head in confusion, saying, "Judging from common sense, isn't this statement rather strange?"

"Judging from the common sense of the demon race, there's nothing strange about it."

"No, judging from the common sense of the demon race, you should just kill me, right?"

"So you should really praise my magnanimity."

........

While casually responding to Aura, Ash couldn't help but glance a few more times at the wolf dragging its companion toward the den, rather than at his cheap little sister in his arms.

Ash was already used to Aura's "cute" and willful behavior, but the wolf's occasional docileness and its baring of its teeth at him always made him feel a little strange.

But before he could even glance at Awula and ask a question, the wolf pounced on him from behind, knocking him to the ground and biting his neck.

Blood splattered out instantly, and Ash's expression twisted in an instant.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Stop right now!!" Aura was startled and instinctively shouted at him.

Her initial intention was simply to reverse her relationship with Ash and have him take care of her; she never had any intention of killing him.

However, the wolf, like a wild beast, ignored her commands and tore at Ash's neck with all its might.

In that instant when the scene became extremely tense, another repulsive force suddenly stirred the atmosphere.

With a smear of blood and flesh at its mouth, the wolf flew more than two meters high without any resistance. Then... Ash grabbed Aura, who was almost blown away by the repulsive force, and made him stand in front of him with his head facing upwards.

Immediately afterwards, with a "plop" sound, Aura's two sharp horns, which were being pulled, pierced straight into the wolf's belly, causing the wolf's blood and internal organs to burst out instantly, flowing onto the pink-haired loli's face, and even her entire body was constantly being soaked in blood.

Chapter Three: The Routine Mutual Torture

Aura's two horns pierced through the wolf's soft belly, causing the wolf to whimper pitifully in pain, kicking and struggling, causing blood to splatter continuously.

But not long after, the out-of-control wolf died completely.

Aura, unable to lift her head due to the wolf carcass on her head and forced to hang it down, stared at him with a frustrated expression and let out a long sigh after a long while.

Is this...polite? What do you take me for?

"I'd like to ask you what you're doing?" Ash, who could also feel the blood rushing down his neck and through his body, retorted irritably, "Do you really want to become a true orphan? If I were an ordinary human, I'd be dead by now, wouldn't I?"

"...You might not believe it, but I really didn't do it this time."

“I can see that, and from the beginning I felt that your control was not stable at all.”

"Hmm, it does need some improvement, so could you please control it for me?" Aura asked, her expression more serious than ever before. "Don't worry, I won't really control it! And once I've mastered magic, I'll definitely repay you!"

“Awula...”

"elder brother!"

The two gazed into each other's eyes, a subtle tension reminiscent of brotherly love and sisterly affection. Aura's lips were about to curl into an uncontrollable smile, however...

"—Keep dreaming." Ash casually slapped her across the face, just a light push.

The girl with the wolf carcass on her head lost her balance and fell backward.

"Tsk... So it still doesn't work? Ash, you're still pretty wary..." Aura clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, lying on her back, deep in thought as she stared at the treetops above. It was unclear whether she was thinking about how to improve the magic or how to trick Ash.

However, Ash also understood the drawbacks of not having a teacher, which was very obvious among demons. Not only would their progress in learning magic on their own be slow, but it was also normal for some loopholes to appear.

However, he didn't care about these things for the time being. Instead, he squatted down next to Aura, looking down expressionlessly at the little girl who showed no remorse whatsoever.

"Aura, don't you think there's something you need to tell me?"

"I almost forgot, Ash, hurry up and remove this corpse from my head, I feel like my neck is about to be broken."

"Not this sentence."

"...A little blood on the neck won't kill you, why care so much? Anyway, for us, we won't die even if there's no blood, we'll just become weaker." Aura covered her mouth and chuckled.

In Ash's eyes, it was an expression that deserved a beating, and his eyes twitched slightly as he almost couldn't resist turning against his own family once again.

Aura noticed that he was on the verge of exploding, so she shrugged and spread her hands, saying, "Okay, okay~ don't be so angry. I know I was wrong, and I'll do better next time. I'll also try to cook something delicious for you tonight, okay?"

"Is this all the sincerity you've shown in your apology? Isn't your attitude a bit strange?"

“Ash, think about it yourself. When I master magic, we won’t have to hunt anymore. You can stay home and wait for someone to cook for us.”

"Thinking about it that way, it doesn't seem so bad?"

"Can you help me get this thing off now? My horn seems to be stuck in the bone, and I can't get it off myself."

Aura, struggling on the ground, tried to pull the wolf off its head, but its two horns were stuck in its ribs. Forced to sit up with its hands supporting the wolf carcass, it looked up at him with an awkward yet polite smile.

He looked at the blood-covered figure in front of him, hesitated for a moment, then walked to the wolf carcass beside him: "...No, you should go back like this. It'll save me some energy."