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

Ash casually rubbed Solitaire's head, then kicked the barrier beside him before continuing, "Ultimately, while magic is said to be a world of imagination, it still has to be built on certain foundations. I think I'm omnipotent... Do you think magic can do that?"

"They can't even construct basic spells. It's just wild and unfounded. If this could be successful, there would be no need for magic research and practice. They could just keep hypnotizing themselves. A mentally ill magician would really believe that his imagination is real and become invincible."

Solitaire smiled and spread her hands, and Ash followed suit, kicking the barrier in front of him once more.

"The same logic applies. If I had Aura bring over a magician, use illusion magic to disrupt his mind and hypnotize him, making him 100% convinced that his magic could break through this barrier, would it really break through?"

"That definitely won't work."

"The reverse is also true. Just because they think they can definitely lock up Mahathir, does that mean they really can?"

“…You make a lot of sense.” Solitaire was silent for a moment before asking in confusion, “But if that’s the case, why doesn’t Mahat come out?”

"Based on my previous interactions with him, he seems quite happy living inside. After all, he's a moderate figure in the Demon King's army, and being able to live in peace and quiet without being disturbed is probably good for him. Didn't you notice that he didn't keep attacking the barrier, not even to deplete its energy?"

"So... he never even considered coming out?"

After hearing his words, Solitaire's face lit up with a smile, and she unconsciously stared at him and nodded repeatedly:

"Following you was definitely the right decision. Your magical knowledge and theories are completely different from an old fogey like me. No wonder the all-knowing Shurahart values ​​you so much. Now I finally understand."

"....Then?"

"You want to be the Demon King, don't you?" Solitaire stared at him, then gave him a smile that was so cute it sent chills down your spine.

"I will support you. I will find a way to eliminate all obstacles between demons and humans. In exchange, become my partner! Give me everything, and I will give you everything I have."

"...It suddenly feels so heavy." Ash shook his head dumbfounded, then smiled with a sudden inspiration: "How about this? Let's compromise. I agree to the beginning and the last part, but we can skip the middle part."

"Oh? What a novel compromise! But I think I'm pretty good-looking, aren't I?"

"I like big ones."

Body type? Chest size?

"It's mainly the latter, but I quite like mature women."

"This is a bit of a problem, but it's okay, familiarity breeds affection, I know that saying too~?"

"...Anyway, let's go back first."

......

As a respectable adult, Ash knew all too well that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Therefore, he refused the ghostly loli who had fallen from the sky without hesitation, and flew towards the carriage without looking back.

"What an interesting person. Anyway... let's observe him a little longer." Solitaire narrowed her eyes and pondered for a moment before following after him with a smile again.

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

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

Originally, there was only a three-person carriage, but after Ash went out for a while, a large demon resembling a ghost loli appeared in it.

To be honest, he always felt that the female figures in the carriage made it easy for people to misunderstand his sexual orientation.

Why are they all so small, like little girls? I remember that besides the demons who look like monsters, there are also many mature women among the demon race. How come all the ones I see are little girls? It's unbelievable. Ash crossed his arms and closed his eyes in deep thought.

Aura, who was sitting opposite him, remained silent for a long time, but finally couldn't help kicking him in the shin:

"What's wrong with this guy? Why are you pretending to be asleep if you're not going to explain yourself?!"

“Don’t blame him too much. He came here on his own initiative.” A smile appeared on Solitaire’s lips. “Besides, it’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? Aura, it seems like the last time we met was three hundred years ago, right? You’ve become even more adorable.”

"Forget about human politeness, I haven't changed at all in the past three hundred years."

"Hmm~ You seem quite hostile, Ash. My sister-in-law is a bit difficult to handle, what should I do?" Solitaire stared at him with a smile.

This statement drew Aura's gaze, which then fell upon him: "—Sister-in-law....?"

"Please don't look at me at this time, okay?" He sighed, putting one hand to his forehead to avoid their gaze as much as possible. "I'm not familiar with Solitaire. She just said it on her own. Don't mind it."

"Oh dear, I got rejected again. I'm so sad."

"So that's how it is. There are even women who keep bothering you? You've grown up, haven't you? You actually have women coming to bother you now."

Solitaire and Aura, unsurprisingly, gave completely different reactions.

Solitaire, who was sitting right next to him, even tugged at his sleeve and looked at him with a sad expression: "Is this... what heartbreak is?"

"...Don't pretend to be sad, just think it's like you've broken up."

Faced with these strange demons, Ash was truly exhausted, even feeling a bit like he was seeing Philon from his childhood.

Chapter 87 Solitaire's "Love" - ​​The Unrepentant Linne

Although Solitaire's expression was spot-on, and she looked genuinely sad, even without a long history of dealing with demons, Ash wouldn't be so naive as to believe that the other person had suddenly fallen in love with him.

Solitaire showed no embarrassment at being exposed; instead, she pressed her fingertips to her lips, displaying a troubled expression.

"It's indeed very profound, but isn't this just how the scene is?"

"You have to be rejected when you genuinely like someone to truly understand, right?"

Do you have experience with this?

"...Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"why?"

Are you a walking encyclopedia of questions?

........

Despite being a thousand-year-old loli, she kept asking questions like an innocent child, which really weighed heavily on Ash's mind.

During this process, not only Aura, but even Linne, who was sitting next to Aura, was staring at him, as if they were all very curious about this topic.

But he only felt a stomachache and didn't want to talk to them at all. He even wanted to pretend to be asleep to avoid this strange and boring topic.

But as expected, they used illusion magic to turn the group into human form. In this way, under the name of the Ester Kingdom's observation team, they made the countries that feared the Ester Kingdom dare not speak out. They openly observed the battlefield and secretly gathered the personnel they needed.

Solitaire was still like a curious child, constantly asking questions, which annoyed him so much that he wanted to find a place to throw her away.

Aura, however, was rather gloating, happily observing the battlefield before him and continuing his soldier-collecting plan... until the large-scale battle ended, at which point he led over a hundred newly recruited elite troops away, returning to the capital of the Kingdom of Esther.

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

In the autumn when leaves are falling.

Within the royal city, leaves dyed crimson fluttered gently and slowly. Solitaire, on the stone path, happily spread her arms and twirled around.

"This is really amazing, Ash! I think I might actually fall in love with you!"

"This is the first time I've ever heard of love so casually."

"The coexistence of humans and demons is perfectly harmonious in this royal city~"

As they were talking, Solitaire suddenly threw herself into his arms, tilted her head back, squinted her eyes, and smiled sincerely and happily: "Coming to you was definitely the right choice."

"...Then, as a reward for moving you, how about you teach me that magic that can conjure up a whole bunch of swords?"

"Oh, of course! It's not a problem as long as you can learn it, but there's a catch..."

"I will also teach you magic."

"Ah~ then it's settled~" Solitaire nodded to herself, her face beaming with happiness:

"This kind of partnership is fantastic! Why didn't I think of collaborating with you before? It's true that the longer you live, the higher the probability of encountering good things."

"...Your happiness is the most important thing."

The cooperation was temporarily confirmed, and Ash gave a perfunctory reply, but did not intend to say more.

Meanwhile, Aura, not far away, seemed completely oblivious to their conversation, still recording her findings in her notebook and muttering to herself:

"This was a very fruitful one too. Autumn really is the season of harvest."

"Don't treat people like wheat, you guys are really... Sigh, never mind, I'm too lazy to talk to you anymore."

Ash glanced at Aura and then at Solitaire, his mood naturally becoming heavy, and he couldn't help but sigh: "You guys, there really isn't a single one of you who's easy to deal with."

"Lord Ash, what about me?" Lina, who was obediently following beside him, couldn't help but tug at his clothes lightly with a blank expression when she heard this.

"...You just ate an apple again, didn't you?"

"Ah."

"You ate with this hand, and your hand wasn't washed, right?"

"....sorry."

Linne, who had been waiting for praise, suddenly lowered her head pitifully once again.

She always reacts this way when she's criticized, and she really looks quite pitiful, which really evokes a protective instinct in people. But... she always says the right things and apologizes to herself immediately, but she never changes.

This perfectly illustrates what it means to actively admit mistakes but never repent.

"...Why are these one, two, and even three of them troublesome? Is it true that being small means being shrewd and causing more trouble?"

"Who are you calling short!" Aura glared at him fiercely, her face contorted with a look of rage, but...

“...I’m talking about you.” Ash naturally grabbed her by the corner and dragged her forward. “It’s about time you rested. Don’t be too rowdy.”

"—I told you, don't grab my horns for no reason!"

"Sorry, it was just a slip of the tongue. I'll try to be more careful next time."

"How many years do you think I've heard this kind of talk?! Five hundred years! You said the same thing five hundred years ago!" This overly perfunctory attitude caused Aura, whose dictionary did not contain the word "tolerance," to raise her leg and stomp on his instep while angrily rebuking him.

He even deliberately picked at his fingers and stomped on them repeatedly. Ash didn't seem to feel much pain, but he still reluctantly let go and said hesitantly, "Is that so? I'm truly sorry..."

Before he could finish speaking, his gaze unconsciously drifted to the side, to Linne, who was staring at him.

Now he finally understood why Linne was so eager to admit her mistakes and so unrepentant... Did she learn all her feelings from him?

"What's wrong, Lord Ash? Why are you staring at me like that?" Lina looked back blankly, then quietly withdrew her hand from wiping his clothes, still with that innocent look on her face: "Is something hurting?"

"It's nothing, just a bit of a stomachache. But thinking about it, you really are a good kid!"

"Is that right?"

His sudden 180-degree turn in attitude left Linne tilting her head, seemingly unable to comprehend why she was being praised again. Could it be...?

Ash-sama said he didn't want his hands wiped, but was he actually happy to have his hands wiped for me? — This doubt involuntarily surfaced in her little mind.