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

"...You ran away during the fight, and now you're here freeloading?"

"I'm getting old, and my health isn't very good. There's really no other way." He made up an excuse on the spot, but it immediately made Frilline's momentum falter, and her expression became somewhat embarrassed: "Is...that so?"

"Huh? You... never mind." Not wanting to bring up the sensitive issue of age, he simply changed the subject with a smile:

"Speaking of which, I should congratulate you. You actually managed to defeat the Demon King and become heroes! Everyone is cheering for you. I heard they're even going to make a statue of you?"

"...Humans are too opportunistic. They were reluctant to accept even 10 copper coins when we set off, but now they're being generous."

"Well, it's not bad to be able to drink for free!" Haita, who had clearly drunk quite a bit and whose face was flushed, sat down opposite him with her beer in hand.

“Yeah! Anyway, the result is good, isn’t that good enough?” Simmel, who also had a beer in her hand, sat down next to her.

However, Ash keenly noticed that Azer, a dwarf, was eating bread and not drinking at all, prompting Ash to ask, "I've wanted to ask this before, why don't you drink when you're a dwarf?"

"...Just how much prejudice do you have against us dwarves?" Aize, who hadn't spoken until now, looked up, biting into his bread and glancing at his companion who looked like he was about to get drunk: "It's stranger that Haita, a monk, likes to drink, isn't it?"

"That's true... indeed, the longer a person lives, the more likely they are to encounter strange things."

"Is this an old man's lament?" Haita laughed and put his arm around his shoulder.

“Yeah, let’s think about something happy.” Ash nodded indifferently, but at that moment, Frillian poked the back of his head and pointed to the sky as he looked at her: “Ash, look, there’s a half-century shooting star today.”

"Ok?"

Following the elven girl's gaze, in the boundless night sky, countless points of light gradually changed from deep blue to distant purple, piercing the deep sky that gradually quieted down as the banquet ended.

"Oh my, it's so beautiful! But... I feel like I've seen this somewhere before?" He widened his eyes in surprise, but quickly stroked his chin as if remembering something, and a nostalgic smile appeared on his face:

"Ah... I remember now, I watched it when I was a kid."

To this day, he still clearly remembers that night when he and Awula sat together at the cave entrance, admiring the breathtakingly beautiful meteor shower.

I remember he made a wish back then—when I grow up, I will never watch shooting stars with Awula again!

It seems to have been achieved, yet it also seems to have failed? After all...

The people accompanying him to watch the shooting stars were rather strange at that moment; the drunken monk uncle even had his hand on his shoulder... It was like standing side by side with his best buddy at a romantic fireworks party, gazing at the fireworks; the night sky was beautiful, but his heart was cold.

"I've stopped expecting pretty girls... Please, next time at least let me watch shooting stars with a proper girl."

Gazing at the increasingly dense shooting stars, he brushed aside Haita's hand from his shoulder, and suddenly remembered the legend that wishes made upon shooting stars were very effective. After five hundred years, he couldn't resist... and made a wish upon a shooting star once again.

Chapter Fifty-Nine: Farewell and... After a Thousand Years, Reunion with Selene

As the celebration drew to a close, the group quietly gazed at the sky filled with shooting stars.

It was in this quiet environment that Ash's murmured wish was clearly heard by Frilian and Haita beside him, and they both unconsciously turned to look at him.

The two of them were inexplicably heartwarming and reached out to place their hands on his left and right shoulders.

"Let's watch the shooting stars first, instead of that." Haita reeked of alcohol; Frillian's voice, however, was inexplicably gentle: "Yes, don't always think about strange things. At least you still have me as your older sister, right?"

"You two are weirdos... Sigh, never mind, I can't be bothered to talk to you." Being pitied by these two guys made him feel terrible, but precisely because these two were both outstanding oddballs, arguing with them felt like a waste of time.

That's why he turned back, but hesitated to speak, and finally sighed as if giving up.

"What's wrong? If you have any troubles, you can tell me. I am a monk, after all, right?" As he spoke, Haita took another sip of wine.

"...Even if I were to seek confession, I would go to a proper priest, not an old man like you."

"You're being incredibly rude!" Haita's smile froze a little, but Frilian added calmly, "But it's true that you're an older man."

"So you guys are being really rude, aren't you? Speaking of which... I'm actually quite envious of Ash's magic. It hasn't changed at all in so long, it's practically cheating."

The members of the Hero Squad now basically understand the reason why Ash doesn't age, which makes Haita, while complaining about Frilian, also somewhat envious of Ash.

Freylan, however, remained quite indifferent: "It's only been ten years. Humans are aging too fast."

"Only ten years...?" Simmel's face fell slightly upon hearing this, but she quickly put it aside, looked up at the sky, and smiled again.

"A meteor shower that occurs only once every 50 years is so fitting as the start of an era of peace."

"...To be honest, it's a bit hard to see in the city." Frilian complained mercilessly, while Ash shook his head and said, "Just make do with it, don't be too picky. After all, if it's too beautiful for you guys, it will only make me feel more depressed."

"You two really don't seem to care about the atmosphere at all." Even Simmel was speechless at this point: "What kind of tacit understanding is this?"

"...I didn't want to either, but this makes me look like I'm the strange one."

"I was just about to say this, you have no right to call us weird, do you?" His complaining voice made Frilian narrow her eyes in displeasure.

The people around them really wanted to say something like, "You two are both pretty weird!" But... this was the end of the journey, and it might be better not to say anything hurtful.

Ash sensed the tension and reached out to press his hand down on Frillie's head, forcibly lowering her head.

"This is probably our last gathering. I'm just a passerby, so let's not talk about that. But you're a formal member, so please be mindful of the atmosphere... Although this is indeed not a very good show as a farewell meteor shower."

"...Isn't that a bit much?" Frillie paused for a moment before hesitatingly saying:

"I know a place where you can see a beautiful night sky. If... if there's still a chance, fifty years from now, shall I take you there?"

"Fifty years from now..."

"what happened?"

"...Is there a chance?" Ash glanced at the crowd, but seemed somewhat lonely.

Aside from the dwarves and elves, it's uncertain whether the remaining two will live to see fifty years from now; nobody can say for sure.

But Frillie lowered her head sadly again, because... her worries were different from Ash's; she genuinely didn't think Ash would live that long.

The atmosphere gradually turned somber as people realized that Frilian's long-standing promise was now truly coming to an end.

The adventure is over, and everyone needs to go their separate ways.

Because they had no other reason to get together, and everyone had their own lives to live.

Unfortunately, this world is extremely stingy with heroes. Even if they save the world, the country won't grant them noble status or anything like that. Don't even think about huge bounties; giving them a statue is already considered a favor. Marrying a princess is just a pipe dream.

When Simmel returned, she was worried about what kind of job to find in the capital, while Haita's goal was clear... she wanted to find a job where she could drink. Only Aize didn't say anything.

But even in this slightly melancholic atmosphere, as everyone was about to go their separate ways, the celebratory banquet gradually came to an end.

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

The next day, in the forest outside the capital, by the stone arch bridge.

The forest in the early morning was gently covered by a thin veil of mist, and sunlight filtered through the treetops, casting dappled and soft light, where the group stood.

At the moment of parting, when they finally arrived, Frillie looked at Ash, the only one who hadn't revealed his destination, and asked curiously:

"I still plan to continue collecting magic as before, and I'll be traveling around the central kingdoms for the next hundred years... What about you?"

"Me? Well, how about I go and take a look at the southern countries?"

"Really? Then... I'll be going now?" Frilian nodded slightly and stepped onto the arched bridge.

She hadn't taken more than a few steps when she turned back: "I'll come back occasionally... Simmel, Haita, Aize, will you all be here from now on?"

No one spoke; they simply smiled, nodded, and waved to see her off.

But before she even crossed the stone bridge, she turned back to look at Ash again, her voice hesitant as she asked, "Fifty years from now... will you still be there?"

"Life is always full of surprises... Who can be sure about the future that we haven't even reached yet?" He smiled helplessly, then walked ahead of Frilline in another direction, waving goodbye without looking back.

"Anyway, I'll go first. I'll come to see you if I have the chance. Well—see you again if fate allows."

A faint sense of reluctance and anticipation filled the air, while the winding path in front of him was lined with blooming flowers and lush green grass, as if it were the most exquisite tapestry woven by nature.

A gentle breeze, carrying a slight, almost imperceptible coolness, made for perfect weather to embark on a new journey.

Frillie stood there watching him for a while, then nodded to her teammates before turning and leaving... This time, she never looked back.

"Really... I still don't understand these two people in the end." Simmel smiled and waved her hand, but there seemed to be some regret in her words.

Haita, however, wore a helpless smile and slowly withdrew his waving hand:

“Yes, I don’t know how long Frilian has lived, or where Ash is from, but if he doesn’t drink... we’ll probably see him again in about fifty years. Frilian and Ash have also said they’ll come back to see us occasionally.”

"...Ash is alright, but don't expect too much from Frilian's occasional luck. Even dwarves can't wait for occasional luck."

Even at the end, it was still difficult to discern Aize's true feelings in his rough voice.

A faint sense of sadness gradually melted into the air after the two disappeared, permeating the air around the three of them.

Perhaps they would never see each other again; all three of them inevitably had this thought.

But in this era, it's just a normal thing, and although there's regret... there's nothing we can do about it.

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

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

After bidding farewell to everyone, Ash flew into the clouds, facing the cool morning breeze... The actual direction he headed was completely opposite to what he had told everyone; it was entirely to the north.

He strives for the future, studying magic with corrupt sages in that manipulated kingdom and trying to gather more demons to prepare for what's to come.

After that, during that period of seclusion and spiritual practice, the years flew by in the blink of an eye.

About twenty years passed in the blink of an eye, and he suddenly noticed that a strange organization had appeared in this world—the Continental Magic Association.

The headquarters is located in the Holy Capital, while the branch is located in the second largest city of the kingdom—the magical city of Oisaster.

Because he needed a lot of land and recently wanted to expand further, the local lord, who was under his control, couldn't make up his mind and gave him the application, which is still on his desk.

"...I heard it's an elf? Or rather, Seria? It must be an imposter."

Looking at the application, having heard rumors that the founder was Celia, he couldn't help but wonder if it was Millie, a friend he met in the elven village, or some other elf impersonating her.

My impression is that Millie is proficient in plant magic... although mainly for brewing wine, her magic was already quite powerful a thousand years ago. But thinking about it carefully, Millie clearly has no interest in the world or humans, so it's probably unlikely.

As for Celia, that's even more impossible.

According to Frilian, the will that Vlamour asked her to pass on contained the wish that Celia would come out and teach humanity.

But at that time, the will was almost instantly shattered into pieces by Celie, who scoffed at it.... She rejected it outright a thousand years ago and even tore up her disciple's will, so how could it suddenly reappear now?

It's also impossible for Frilian. She and Celie don't get along, so she wouldn't use Celie's name, much less be the kind of person who would start a sect.

Driven by curiosity and a desire to expose imposters, he personally traveled to the magical city, eager to see for himself the legendary founder of the Continental Magic Association. However...

As a duke in name only, he entered the Magic Association's reception room as if it were his own territory and kicked the door open without any politeness.

Bang! The large double door, when opened, was already crooked and half-destroyed.

“Let me see—uh? Is it real… really Celia?” Before he could finish speaking, his expression froze.