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

Just as he sensed something was wrong, Abby quickly pointed to the ancient stone statue covered in vines not far away, feigning surprise:

"That, that... stone statue! It looks like Mr. Ash! And there's a girl next to him who looks... very impressive?"

"Huh?" Frillie, who was initially pleased with herself for turning the tables, subconsciously looked over and was surprised, her mouth slightly agape: "...Ash actually erected a statue of himself?"

"...What kind of person am I in your heart?"

Ash, who had intended to take the opportunity to escape, stumbled and almost fell to the ground, turning back to glare at the enemy with resentment.

"That's just the kind of person he is."

"...I'll deal with you properly when I have time."

"Philan, Ash is bullying me again." Frilian calmly hid behind Philen and pointed at Ash, complaining righteously.

This guy really has no shame when it comes to his elders! — Ash was speechless, but for the time being, he didn't want to deal with Frilian anymore.

At this moment, everyone's attention was drawn to two statues not far away.

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

On that ruin eroded by time, two statues stand side by side. One is Ash, and the other... no one recognizes except for Philon and Frilian. The one that Abby described as seemingly impressive is actually just a statue of a haughty young girl.

Before anyone could ask any questions, Ash had already opened the portal, letting two pink-haired girls walk in one after the other.

There was no other meaning to it; he just wanted Awula to be able to revisit the place.

"Huh? This is... a stone statue? Could it be... Ash's first love?!" Abby exclaimed in surprise, comparing Aura with the statue.

Except for the lack of horns on the statue, it is exactly the same... after all, it really is Aura.

Upon hearing this, Melusin slightly pursed her lips, grabbed Ash's hand, and looked up at him:

Who is this person?

"...My younger sister, whom I raised with great care, lived with me here for a period of time before."

"younger sister?"

"It's better not to pay too much attention to this guy with a terrible personality," Ash said, ruffling Melusin's hair as he offered basic advice.

"Huh? Ash, you have no sense at all."

As Aura surveyed his homeland, a wicked, villainous smile crept across his lips.

The smile was so obviously wicked that Abby was so frightened that she hid behind Ash, and even Ilya instinctively shrank back.

"Lord Ash, you've abducted so many girls again, even though Linne is here..." Linne, who was still casually biting into an apple, walked up quickly with a low murmur and reached out to wipe herself on him.

This familiar way of venting her frustrations made Ash just helplessly and affectionately pat her little head, letting her vent her frustrations.

However, this behavior only made the surrounding gazes more intense once again, and everyone was clearly waiting for his explanation.

He had no choice but to stroke Linne's apple-scented head while explaining:

"...Line is Aura's adopted child, and by the way, I also raised her."

“Mr. Ash raised you, could it be…” Miyu’s words were cut short by Ash, who turned to Aura, trying to change the subject: “Aura, I brought you here to relive some happy memories, why are you scaring people like this?”

"What good old days? Didn't you bully me when we were kids?" Aura retorted with a sullen face, "I've been magnanimous by not holding you accountable."

"...You really have no gratitude at all. I worked so hard to raise you, yet you completely treat our slightly bumpy childhood as a dark history of me bullying you..."

Although he was trying to change the subject, his tone revealed a hint of seriousness, clearly indicating that he was somewhat bothered by the matter and even a little hurt.

Frillie patted his shoulder again silently and teased, "Didn't this guy learn all of this from you? What do you have to complain about?"

"Shut up... I already want to go home."

"Speaking of which, why do the humans here build stone statues for you?" Frilian completely ignored his frustration and curiously examined the two stone statues.

He didn't hide anything from her. While relieved that the topic had finally been diverted, he frankly recounted what had happened, leaving the girls with mixed feelings.

Humans massacred the village, demons protected it, but in the end, they perished at the hands of another group of demons. This complicated past is truly heartbreaking.

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

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

The setting sun, like blood, slowly poured down upon this devastated ruin, gilding the crumbling walls with a deep and tragic hue.

The group sat around the collapsed stone wall, the surroundings quiet, with only Ash's slightly deep voice slowly recounting the past that had been buried by time.

“So…” Miyu gently stroked the faded and indistinct carvings on the base of the stone statue, her eyes filled with a hint of inquiry and contemplation: “The villagers erected statues for you because you protected them?”

"They've just stayed too long and are starting to see us as sheepdogs." Aura scoffed, a ball of dark purple magic silently gathering at her fingertips. The magic danced on her fingertips, as if it could explode at any moment.

"In the end, it wasn't 'us,' it was just this guy playing the hero and dragging me up."

As she spoke, it seemed she was about to raise her hand and destroy the stone statue.

However, just as he raised his hand, Ash did not stop him... Aura glanced at him, hesitated for a long time, and finally withdrew his hand, turning to leave.

At the same time, as he passed by Ash, Aura deliberately bumped into him, as if venting his dissatisfaction in this way.

When Linne silently handed her an apple, Aura took it directly and stared at Ash, taking a big bite as if she were biting him.

Ash instinctively wanted to grab an apple, but Linne, who was still a bit grumpy, turned her head away to avoid it.

"I was the one being bullied by Aura, so why is Lina being treated differently... Ahh~ They're all children I raised, how come their personalities are so different? I wish everyone could be like Philon and Miyu~"

He sighed dramatically, glancing occasionally at the two girls who had formed a united front and had serious expressions.

"Really... you always use these methods. Can't you try a different approach, or grow and change a little?"

Although Philon was sighing, she silently took out a pastry wrapped in a handkerchief from her pocket, pursed her lips, and said with dissatisfaction, "Only this... my dessert, I definitely won't give it to you next time."

“Miss Philon, your pampering is definitely one of the biggest reasons why Mr. Ash isn’t growing up.”

"Miyu-sama is the one, so why are you also giving Ash-sama strange things?"

Philon noticed that Miyu was secretly slipping something into Ash's hand, and immediately narrowed his eyes to question her.

“But…” Miyu’s fingertips stiffened slightly, and the chocolate wrapper hidden in her sleeve made a soft rustling sound. Her fair cheeks flushed, and her voice grew softer and softer: “It’s just ordinary chocolate… When I was little, Mr. Ash would always give it to me, so I’m used to carrying it with me… And you have no right to judge me on this, do you? What are you doing?”

“This…” Philon was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to say it.

The two girls seemed to have a strange conflict in this strange place.

Lina, who was standing to the side, finally couldn't stand it anymore and forcefully stuffed a half-eaten apple into Ash's mouth: "Eat this, it's much healthier than those weird things."

"Mmm??" Ash was suddenly covered in an apple and hurriedly caught it.

Aura added with a cold laugh, "Serves you right. You should really think about how you raise your child."

"...Putting everything else aside, this should be considered a victory for education! At least they are all very filial!"

Although he had virtually no connection to the actual educators of the two girls—he was merely the one being taken care of—he still tried to glorify himself, and while speaking incoherently, he reached out and ruffled the heads of the two girls, nodding to himself:

"Yes, my children are definitely the cutest!"

"...I feel like Ash's words sound really weird." Ilya looked at him speechlessly and couldn't help but complain.

"What is it?"

"Because the other night, when you and Miyu were sleeping together, didn't you say you were only going to hug? And then..."

"—Men are all like that!"

“But you…” Ilya’s face was full of displeasure. Before he could finish speaking, he quickly reached out and pulled her into his arms: “—Of course! Ilya was raised by me too! She’s very cute!”

"Ash... what have you done now?" Aura looked at him, seemingly already having her own answer.

There's nothing there!

"Master, you've turned against the child you raised? Is this what they call the 'internal economic cycle' in TV dramas?"

"No! Melishin! That's definitely not what I meant!"

“So…” Melissa tilted her head back, staring at him expressionlessly: “What exactly did you do? You raised so many children, were they all…?”

"Let's put this aside for now! Just like putting this apple aside, let's put it aside!"

He silently placed the apple in his hand on Awula's horn, and tried his best to put on a pantomime for everyone, hoping to make them understand that this occasion and this time was not the time to worry about such things.

However... the results don't seem to be very good.

The girls all looked rather grim, and Aura, feeling the juice seeping into her hair, trembled with anger: "Ash... Ash....!!"

The moment Aura looked up, her eyes seemed to radiate a terrifying, fierce light, and the surging magic almost made the air in the room truly freeze.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, I just didn't mean to... Shall I wipe it clean for you?"

Ash apologized repeatedly, silently pulled the apple out again, and gave an awkward yet polite smile, but in the next moment...

A beam of black magic shot out from Aura's palm, blasting him away and temporarily escaping danger.

At the moment he transformed into "stars," he couldn't help but give a thumbs up to his "convenient and easy-to-use" sister.

And so, after a long time... Ash finally returned unharmed.

Although the atmosphere remained tense, it had eased slightly, and the topic was temporarily set aside.

Because the sun had completely sunk below the horizon by this moment, only scattered doubts echoed across the ruins.

As Ash opened the portal and led them away, the night wind swirled a few withered leaves, gently brushing past the two weathered stone statues.

The stone statues, which had once stood there, were unexpectedly cleaned up by the girls and largely restored to their original state, standing tall in the ruins as they had always been, continuing to witness the passage of time.

The stone statue girl's smile remained arrogant, just like Aurana, who was still gloating at this moment; hundreds of years had not brought about any change.

But perhaps her act of not destroying the statue itself was also a form of change.

Just like a village that has been reduced to ruins, the ruins remain the same, but in reality, everything is quietly changing over time.

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

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

During the girls' visit to this other world, within the imperial capital city, their settlement...

In the library that houses the empire's vast collection of books from the past millennium, the familiar old elf Celia sits unceremoniously atop a pile of books, idly playing with the magic left behind by her disciple after he left her a thousand years ago.

"...So what exactly did you protect? It's utterly boring."

Seria grew increasingly annoyed and tossed the book away with a flick of her wrist.

The thick ancient book drew an arc in mid-air, and before it could land, it instantly turned into fragments, scattering like snowflakes.