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

Ash glared at Millie, then decided to ignore her and quietly led the girls who were curious about her away.

Although they were very interested in the elves they had never seen before and had only heard of in legends, the girls left with regret because of the language barrier.

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

Ash was actually quite happy to be away from the strange elves, but Ilya couldn't help but keep looking back.

Looking at Millie, who was drinking and waving at her with a silly grin, she asked with some annoyance:

"How strange... Aren't the elves in storybooks all noble, elegant, and nature-loving vegetarians? Why does that elf look like a drunkard? Shouldn't that be a dwarf's custom? Or is it Cosplay?"

"Perhaps... the other elves are different?" Abby looked at Ash with hope.

But after recalling the elves he knew, he silently shook his head: "...I have never seen a noble and elegant elf, but if we're talking about bad personalities, they are all terrible."

"You're kidding! Have the elves and dwarves in this world been reversed? -- Right! Are there dwarves here? I want to see!" Ilya excitedly grabbed his hand, and even Miyu muttered under her breath, casting an expectant look at him: "I'm... a little interested too. I bet you'd prefer drinking, right?"

"...No, the dwarves I know best don't drink alcohol."

"Eh—how could this be?!" Illya exclaimed in exaggerated disappointment, while Abi and Miyu couldn't help but show confused expressions.

"Reality and ideals will always differ; you'll get used to it."

He shook his head with amusement, somewhat empathizing with their surprise.

But thinking about it seriously, taking them to see Aize might be a good idea? At least... it would help us avoid Philon and the others.

That's right. Based on the magical exploration he conducted upon his return in order to find their specific direction, he had already discovered the existence of Frilian and Philon.

It's obvious that the two of them came back first because they weren't here... and are now waiting here for their prey to come to them.

Under normal circumstances, they shouldn't be here.

But this imperial city is still a city, larger than most medieval cities. Under normal circumstances, there's no need to worry about encountering it. The imperial court itself is also quite large, so unless you're extremely unlucky, you'll be fine.

Although he should normally go and see Philon and the others... but! Under these circumstances, he is quite worried about them and their encounter.

Thinking this, Ash planned to leave with the four of them, but before he could even leave the garden, he suddenly noticed a familiar gaze.

Looking up, he saw Philon staring at him expressionlessly from above.

And this gaze was almost taken for granted, causing the girls below to refrain from looking up.

"Who is that person?... doesn't look like a staff member? Could it be a magician?" Ilya subconsciously pointed to the girl standing behind the building's window.

"...To be precise, a mage." Ash, unwilling to look up, murmured with a look of utter despair, "Of course, the definition in this world is a little different from yours."

"That person looks really serious...just like Miyu~" Illya teased, nudging Miyu beside her with her elbow.

"Ha, haha...Indeed, there are similarities." Ash covered his face, unable to face the cruel reality. He was already prepared for the stern lecture from Philon after being taken away by Shirai and leaving without saying goodbye for a long time.

Just as he had said, Philon jumped over the windowsill and landed slowly in front of everyone.

The moment the purple-haired girl landed, she kicked up a cloud of dust, making it hard for people to open their eyes. Yet, they stared intently at Ash, and after a long while, she finally parted her lips slightly: "Lord Ash, are you going to explain why you suddenly disappeared for a while again?"

"...I've gone to deal with the goddess." He hesitated for a long time before giving this answer, but couldn't help nodding to himself, "Yes! I've gone to deal with the goddess!"

"Really?" Philon glanced suspiciously at the pretty girls and lolis around him. "Then why are there so many more people here?"

"Uh... I've been thinking about that too."

"And most of them are children?"

"I can explain that too!"

"Please speak."

"...Actually, apart from Miyu, who looks the oldest, everyone else is basically older than you!"

He pointed to Miyu in the crowd, who had grown into a beautiful young woman over the years, but still looked a bit younger than Philon.

Philon's gaze swept over the remaining three, but he didn't notice that they had pointed ears or horns on their heads. He couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "You... do you think I'm stupid?"

"No, I'm serious! Didn't you notice that their clothes are a bit unusual?" Ash tried to draw Philon's attention to their unusual appearance.

"That is indeed quite rare... Your interest?" Philon remained skeptical.

"...What do you take me for?" Ash finally managed to utter this question after a long pause, but it only made Philon reply coldly without thinking, "Who you are, do you think others don't know but I do? Do I need to emphasize it?"

"That's true! But..."

"What? Continue?" Philon urged coldly, his face expressionless.

"...No, it's alright. It's just that they're not from this world, and they're older than you..."

"So, while you were fighting the goddess, you also managed to hook up with a lot of girls in other worlds? And... you specifically chose the younger ones?"

"Uh... Anyway! How about I introduce myself first?"

Faced with Philon's increasingly stern expression, he found it difficult to object and could only quickly change the subject, looking at the four people who were still curiously observing them.

"Who is this person?" Melusin narrowed her golden eyes, somewhat displeased with Philon's obvious questioning tendencies.

"...It's a bit hard to say. A child I raised from a young age?" Ash tried to describe Philon using vague language.

"Really? That makes sense. No wonder she looks a bit like Miyu." Melishin's expression softened immediately.

Ilya, however, pointed at herself with a hint of dissatisfaction: "I was also raised by Ash! Don't forget me."

"...How could I forget? No...but..."

Oh no, thinking about the current situation seriously, if people find out, won't they think I'm collecting lolis all the time and carrying out the Genji Project? — Not to mention others, even he himself suspects that he has that kind of tendency.

But to be fair, he felt that he initially made the decision simply because he couldn't bear to see these children possibly all alone, and he didn't intend for things to develop like this... at least not at the beginning.

But given the current situation, who would believe it except himself?

Or rather, he himself is not sure whether he has those thoughts deep down.

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

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

Although Ash hoped that he could take advantage of the language barrier to avoid uncontrollable situations, prevent the scene from becoming too chaotic, and avoid his own predicament from becoming too difficult.

However, reality was far worse than he had imagined.

He had only finished half of his methodical introduction when Philon seemed to suddenly remember something, his gaze fixed on him, and he asked:

"Speaking of which, isn't Lord Ash already a god? Why not just solve the language problem directly instead of going through all this trouble to be a translator?"

"...This..." He was momentarily speechless, his eyes darting around.

"Is it because they're worried that we'll find out about something?"

"That's not true. Look at me, I'm just getting old, my memory is getting worse."

Ash awkwardly looked away, forcing a smile to hide his guilty conscience.

But Philon's sharp gaze never left him for a moment, as if she could see through his thoughts.

Under Philon's relentless pressure, Ash had no choice but to suppress his embarrassment and silently raise his hand to brush everyone's foreheads.

In an instant, knowledge flooded into everyone's minds like a tidal wave, enabling them to communicate verbally in an instant.

The newly arrived girls, sensing this magical change, sparkled with excitement and began chattering excitedly.

Ash, however, only wanted to get away from the trouble as quickly as possible. But... after only two tiptoeing steps, Ilya's hand was already on his shoulder, a sly smile on her face: "Ash? Where are you going? Are you... trying to escape?"

"...Can't I go to the toilet? Or do you want to help me pee?"

Ash was frustrated by the thwarted escape plan and blurted out something that sounded like he was giving up on himself.

These words unexpectedly caused Ilya's face to flush instantly. She fidgeted, pursed her lips in embarrassment, and glared at him: "This... this kind of thing, you should say when there's no one else around! Idiot... idiot!"

"Ah...no? Really?"

"Because..."

"Wait a minute! You should at least say that when no one's around."

In an instant, he felt the gazes around him, especially Philon's gaze, which was incredibly piercing. He quickly stepped forward and covered Ilya's mouth.

"Lord Ash, you actually let this child..." Philon's astonished voice was tinged with anger.

"—No, that's not true. Ilya was just joking. Don't take it so seriously!" Before Philen could finish speaking, Ash slapped her on the head, stopping her angry words from flowing out. He looked disappointed. "...Is this how I taught you? If you're going to get angry, at least get the facts straight!"

“…That’s true. I’m sorry, Lord Ash.” Philon lowered his head silently, then turned to Melsin, who seemed the calmest among the four: “What is your relationship with Lord Ash? Or rather…how did you meet?”

"I belong to Master. I've known Master since the moment I was born, so I must have known Master even before you, right?"

Merusin's serious expression and words gave Ash a headache, because he could basically sense that Merusin had developed a strange competitive spirit.

Philon didn't want to argue about what came next; he just stared at Ash in shock: "...The moment of birth?"

"No, no, Melusin's situation is a bit special..."

"I thought you only took care of young children, but I never imagined you started planning from infancy!?"

"Don't use such an unpleasant term as 'planning,' I didn't anticipate how things would develop either."

However, it was at this moment that Ash realized that it seemed that... Melosin was indeed the first person he knew, at least from the perspective of her individual life form.

I even feel like I could be misinterpreted in a truly outrageous way if I'm not careful.

Although he personally felt he had done nothing wrong, being criticized so harshly upon his return left him feeling extremely aggrieved. He was too lazy to say anything more, and simply kept rubbing his forehead and shaking his head.

"Melushen, you should tell me the specifics yourself... I'm going to have a drink too. Philon, remember to find out the truth and apologize to me properly."

Should I apologize?

"Of course! When I have time, I'll have a good talk with you too!"

As he said this, the rebellious Tian Gang walked up to Millie, snatched her wine, and began to drink it himself.

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

While Ash was temporarily away, the girls from both sides introduced themselves and, as they talked, they gradually came to understand each other.

Of course, we didn't go into too much depth at the beginning, considering that it seemed like we were all raised together, and the introductions were mostly about the process of getting to know each other and growing up together.

After they reached a mutual understanding, Philon walked over, sat down next to Ash, and gave him a strange look, staring at him without saying a word.

"...What? Why are you staring at me like that?" He held up the bottle in front of his face, warily asking, "What do you want to say? Just say it."

"I understand your actions now... I certainly appreciate your kindness, but I also..."

"—Stop with the pleasantries! I practically raised you, why stand on ceremony? Let's get straight to the point!"