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

While this "old elf girl" was alone in her room, lost in thought and sorrow, on the other side...

The two old men outside silently raised their hands and gave each other a high five.

"Want a drink?" Ash raised the bottle, while Haita hesitated for a moment before raising his glass as well: "Hmm... just a little bit, please."

They didn't just high-five in celebration; they even decided to have a drink to celebrate how smoothly things were going.

Of course... we can't say they were immoral for deceiving their old friend.

If it were just a normal situation where Frilian were to teach her disciples, she would definitely not agree, as past cases have proven.

Although the two of them had schemed against Frilian to achieve their goals, leaving her here to teach Philon might seem a bit excessive, but it wasn't actually that bad.

Five or six years is a long time for humans, but for Frilian...

Just like she said in the past, teaching a student can be a disaster if you're not careful, and she can get through this period of time by being a little lazy.

As an apology, Haita made dinner more lavish than ever before, though... it could also be because he was happy to have an old friend visiting.

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

Frilian unexpectedly kept her promise and devoted herself to teaching Philon, who, in turn, studied diligently thanks to this teacher who far surpassed any academy teacher.

Ash, on the other hand, was completely liberated. He would occasionally disappear to the north for a month or two, and then return as if nothing had happened.

He would occasionally disappear without telling anyone in detail, but they all tacitly refrained from asking him anything.

Another winter is fast approaching, and Frilian, who is afraid of the cold, has no intention of going out in this weather and just stays huddled by the fire.

Ash had just returned from outside and instinctively wanted to hold Philon on his lap as a warmer, but Philon, who had just been handed hot tea, resisted and shrank away.

Chapter 78 Childhood Recordings: The Pufferfish Transformation of Philon Haita Will Reach Its End (3K)

After Frilian joined the family of the cabin in the woods, significantly increasing its average age, peaceful years passed slowly.

As spring turned to autumn, Philon's hair gradually grew from shoulder-length to waist-length.

But in this yet another winter, as snowflakes blanketed the ground outside the window, accumulating into a thick layer, and the wind howled incessantly, rapid and low... Ash's heart felt as cold as the wind outside.

"...How could such a sensible and well-behaved child suddenly go through a rebellious phase?" Ashton, sitting in the rocking chair, felt lonely and sad that his child, whom he had watched grow up, was avoiding him.

With both hands pressed close to the fire, trying to absorb as much warmth as possible, Frillie glanced at it and immediately confirmed:

"You've been gone for half a year this time... Philon must have become estranged from you. You're not even an elf, how come you understand children better than me?"

"Is that right?"

Despite the fireplace burning brightly and making muffled crackling sounds of burning wood breaking, Ash's heart suddenly sank even further as the child he had watched grow up became even more aloof and distant than when he entered adolescence.

The old man sipping tea nearby couldn't help but roll his eyes at the two of them when he heard their conversation, but he was too lazy to correct them.

Meanwhile, Philon, who was standing to the side, stared at Ash, who puffed out his cheeks in silence. But when Ash looked over, Philon turned his head away without saying a word, as if refusing to communicate.

Children's feelings are truly beyond the comprehension of adults; this is probably what the generation gap is all about. — Despite feeling quite regretful, Ash still habitually reached out and gently stroked Philon's head.

Even though she had many grievances against him, this was the one action that Philon did not resist, and the expression on her face softened considerably without her noticing.

Although she had long ago decided not to pry into Ash's affairs to avoid causing him unnecessary burden, his sudden disappearance for so long still made Philon unable to suppress her worries. Under this gentle caress, she couldn't help but ask:

"—Lord Ash, why do you always have to leave?"

"Well... I have all sorts of things to do too."

"What? Are you going on a date or something?"

"Dating?" Hearing this from Philon's mouth, he was slightly taken aback, and a look of pride, like that of a child growing up, appeared on his face: "You actually know how to date now."

"Lady Frilian said that Lord Ash has very vulgar desires and always wants to watch shooting stars with women... Is that true?"

"No, no, no, this isn't vulgar at all, is it?" He shook his head repeatedly, dumbfounded, and couldn't help but glare at Frillie, scolding her in dissatisfaction:

"What are you doing, teaching this kid all this nonsense?"

“No, I didn’t say it was vulgar,” Frillie said, waving her hands repeatedly.

"Haita!"

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Haita shook his head speechlessly. "I don't think it's vulgar at all. On the contrary, isn't this a man's romance?"

“That’s right! It’s not vulgar at all!” With the support of his ally, he instantly became righteous and said, “Philan, you can’t do that. How can you use such filthy thoughts to judge my noble soul, and even teach yourself strange things?”

“…” Philen ignored him and instead turned to glare at Haita with displeasure: “…Lord Haita…!”

That was all it took for Haita to instantly change his tune, turning his attention to Ash: "I was just joking. Actually, it's really vulgar. As a man, you shouldn't do that."

"Lord Ash! Did you hear that? Even Bishop Highta has said this! Please reflect on your actions and correct them!"

In an instant, Philonise, who had turned from enemy to friend, puffed out her cheeks like a pufferfish and righteously demanded that he change, leaving him dumbfounded: "Is this really my fault?"

"Of course!"

"Ha... As expected, kids grow up and become less affectionate and rebellious."

Ash didn't argue with her, but silently took out his treasured magical artifact from his pocket.

With a nostalgic expression, he infused the magic into it, and instantly, Philon's innocent childhood voice rang out:

"—If it weren't for Lord Ash, I might have died on the roadside long ago! It was Lord Ash who gave me hot food and a clean bed! He gave me a home! When I was feeling insecure, it was you...!"

"—Wait, wait a minute! What, what is this?!"

Philon, who had been puffing out her cheeks, soon recognized her own voice and rushed forward, her face turning bright red, to stop her.

But he immediately stood up and moved away, listening while feigning regret and sighing, "The old Philon was so cute, and would say she liked me the most, but the current Philon... sigh! I still prefer the Philon from when she was little."

"—When did you record this?! Please hand over that weird thing quickly!"

"No way~"

"I...I'm really angry!!"

"I won't give it to you even if you're angry! It's my pillar of support! Losing it is like losing my soul!"

........

Even when Philon pounced on him and kept standing on tiptoe to try and grab it, Ash didn't give in at all and persisted until the recording was finished.

This left Philon with no other choice but to clench her fists, puffing out her tender face until it was round and chubby. Even though her face was already flushed with embarrassment, she kept glaring at him.

If we're talking about cuteness, then it is indeed quite cute, and not scary at all. Therefore, Ash didn't intend to compromise so easily and happily showed off his treasure to Frilian.

Frilian couldn't help but nod in admiration: "You really have some good stuff. I never expected that someone as cold as Philon could have such a cute phase."

"I think that's it~"

......

The two of them got together and chatted enthusiastically, but the price was... Philon just turned his back on them with a puffed-up face and ignored them all night.

The same thing happened the next day; Haita didn't say a kind word for them and forced the two of them to apologize to her one after the other.

Even so, she forgave Frillie but not Ash, because Ash was still unwilling to hand over the recording and inform the other party.

This led to Philon giving him the cold shoulder for several days, forcing him to decide that he shouldn't easily use this decisive tool unless it was absolutely necessary.

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

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

In fact, it wasn't that Ash didn't want to talk about what he had been doing; it was just that he often failed to explain the situation clearly.

Aside from the magical city, he mostly went to the royal capital and the demon king's castle.

Because of the two great demons in the Demon King's castle, the corrupt sage Guval and the bloodstained war god Livale, one can teach him innovative magic and the other can teach him martial arts.

Moreover, the two of them are quite strong, and they might accidentally cause a lot of trouble outside. If he doesn't go there regularly, he won't be able to keep things under control. Of course, he also plans to improve himself, which is why he often goes to the Demon King's Castle.

If he went there unnecessarily, countless towns and villages around the world would probably suffer. Guval is at least focused on his research and doesn't usually go out unnecessarily.

However, Klivale was a berserker who always wanted to fight a worthy warrior. He even wanted to go to the Warrior's Village to see if there was anyone who could withstand his blows, but he chose to give up when a more worthy opponent came along.

Fortunately, he only occupied the Demon King's castle and did not declare that he wanted to become the Demon King, thus avoiding a lot of trouble to some extent.

However, compared to the Demon King's Castle, which remained unchanged, the cabin in the woods gradually changed from a warm and harmonious atmosphere to a heavy and tense one as time went by.

As time went by, Haita's body grew weaker and weaker, and he could even be heard coughing incessantly at night.

Magic can heal external injuries, but it cannot cure diseases at all, and it does nothing to help with aging. Not to mention Frilian and Ash, even Philon could clearly sense that Haita's life was about to come to an end.

This also made her anxiously question Frillie when she saw Haita fall and become bedridden:

"...Lady Frillian, is there still no progress on that magic book? Can't we speed things up a little?"

"I feel that the magic book... no, don't worry, I'll speed things up." Frillian said, but then seemed to remember something and silently shook her head, temporarily giving up on saying more.

In Haita's room, Ash sat on a chair by the bed, arms crossed, saying nothing.

Haita, who had fallen on the bed and needed to recuperate for a while, smiled as he looked at Haita, who remained unchanged.

"From now on, that child will depend on you."

"It's too early to say your last words now."

"...However, it should be soon."

"That's true."

"I'm sorry."

What topic?

“All sorts of things.” Haita slowly closed his eyes, his face showing little fear of death, only reluctance and longing.

In the days that followed, Philon practiced magic tirelessly, hoping to fulfill the promise he and Haita had made while he was away.

Using attack magic, he pierced through the rocks on the other side of the cliff on the back mountain, making himself a capable mage, so that Haita, who had practically become his grandfather during this time, could leave in peace.

Feeling that he wouldn't live much longer, Hyta was already thinking about whether he should tell Frilian the truth about how he and Ash had conspired to deceive her.

Chapter 79 Even until the end of your life, I will protect you (3K)

Because of Ash's special circumstances, Haita couldn't be sure how long he would take care of Philon.

Therefore, before Frilian left, he hoped that Philen would at least have the ability to keep up with one of the two, or that when he passed away, he would see that Philen was capable of supporting herself, so that he could leave in peace.