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

"Thinking about it carefully, it seems like that lousy guy Ash only gave this away."

"Isn't this gold? What's wrong with it?" To be honest, Philon really wanted to trade with her, although she might be reluctant to do so, but...

“You don’t understand…” Frillie fiddled with the ring, a speechless expression on her face, and let out a very short sigh:

"He found this in a treasure chest in the dungeon a long time ago and forgot to sell it. I heard that he didn't have anything else on him during the holiday, so he just tossed this to me... By the way, when he gave it to me, the ring was still covered in monster blood that he hadn't wiped off."

"...This...this..."

What to do? I can't think of anything to say to smooth things over for Ash-sama! Just thinking about it makes me feel so bad! -- Forget about speaking up for Ash, Philon even wants to reprimand Frillie.

Ash, who had been hiding behind the wall and had no chance to go out, suddenly found himself even more unable to leave because of the atmosphere and the change in their conversation.

For a moment, he could only hide behind the wall, squatting on the ground, covering his face, and repenting for his past actions: "If only I had wiped the blood clean before giving that ring..."

"Seriously? Are you really reflecting on your actions? You should have bought a new gift from the start!"

He muttered to himself, when he heard Philon's angry voice behind him. Philon grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him out of the corner before he could react.

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

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

Still seated with the menu in her hand, Frilian looked curiously at Philon, who had suddenly left the table for some unknown reason, and was about to ask him a question.

But before she could even make a sound, she saw her struggling to bend over, pulling a familiar figure out from the corner of the wall by grabbing something with both hands.

This stunned Frillie, and for the umpteenth time before, she doubted her own eyes: "...Ash? Why were you hiding in the back?"

"Oh, oh~ Frillie, it's been a while!"

"....What are you doing?"

"What are you doing... contemplating life?" He patted his butt with an ambiguous smile after being dragged along and accidentally falling to the ground, then stood up on his own.

It was only at this moment that Philon, with an expression of utter helplessness, bowed his head and apologized to Frillie:

"Lady Frillien, this person overheard the conversation just now and thought about wiping the blood clean beforehand... I'm so sorry."

Chapter 3: Mutual Harm with Frilian - An Unforgettable Birthday on Multiple Levels (4K)

Philon immediately bowed his head and apologized on Ash's behalf, but Ash, as the person involved, was really not happy.

Faced with the girl's unfounded accusations, and knowing he had a valid reason for them, he felt aggrieved and directly argued his case.

"...I have been seriously reflecting on my actions, and I already apologized when Vlame criticized me before. To be honest, it's not that I didn't want to do better, it's just that where could I find good things in the middle of nowhere back then?"

"Were you in the middle of nowhere back then?" Although the name Vlame sounded somewhat familiar, Philon didn't think much of it and just looked at him coldly: "--Even if you were in the middle of nowhere, shouldn't you have prepared the gifts in advance?"

"Something is better than nothing! And if we're really going to discuss this, you should start with Frilian; she didn't give me anything!"

"This isn't right, isn't it? Didn't I give you the stockings?"

Frillie's expressionless rebuttal shocked Philon, who stared wide-eyed: "Stockings??"

"Look," Ash sighed, rubbing his forehead, "...Compared to me, this guy is definitely stranger, isn't he? I think those stockings were worn. Do you know how I felt when I traded a gold ring for stockings that still smelled and were warm?"

"—That's exactly right! Lady Frillian, why would you send such a strange thing?! It's so indecent!!"

"Is it strange? But Master said that men really like those kinds of things. Ash is only pretending to be unhappy, but he's probably actually very happy. He might even treasure it... like he might still be treasuring it now? Heh heh~"

Finally, Frillie gave a strange, smug laugh, her eyes narrowed.

This made Philon realize that Frilian had never thought about those strange things, or even had any awareness of them. She simply believed her master's slander and that's why she did those strange things.

Although she couldn't understand why Frillie's master would say such strange things,

But she couldn't help herself, turning to look at Ash again, her eyes narrowing suspiciously: "Lord Ash...you wouldn't really...?"

"What kind of person do you take me for?? Don't look at me like that! I threw that thing away the moment I received it! And what's this about stockings that won't wear out for a thousand years??"

Although it was strange that stockings existed 1000 years ago, he glanced at the black stockings that Frilian was still wearing and decided not to delve any deeper into the matter of stockings existing in the Middle Ages.

But to protect his reputation, after glancing at the ring on Frillie's hand, he argued forcefully, emphasizing:

"Compared to me, I guess I have more common sense! Back then, I only said that when I was short of money, I could sell this thing! Who knew this guy would keep it and use it to criticize me? But even if I gave it away casually, it's still much better than a secondhand stocking that I can't sell!"

"Second-hand stockings... isn't that a bit much?" Frillie looked completely innocent, still holding the ring in her hand expressionlessly, and shook her head.

"You all say I'm cold, but even if it's a gift from a friend, I wouldn't sell it for money. Yet you turned around and threw it away. No matter how you look at it, you're the one who's worse."

"—Seriously think about it, okay?" This unexpected turn of events made Ash unable to resist stepping forward and repeatedly poking Frillie's forehead with his index finger.

"If a decent person like me were to collect your stockings, what would people think of me? Can't you at least consider my feelings for me?"

"He's clearly a VPN thug, why are you still concerned about that now?"

"I already said it was an accident, stop dwelling on the past! Even someone as kind and gentle as me would get angry after all these years!"

"Isn't she already angry?"

.......

Caught between the generally calm yet somewhat dissatisfied elf, who seemed aggrieved and complaining, and the indignant human criticizing and blaming the other, Philon listened to their argument and, for a moment... couldn't even tell who was worse.

The two who had been observing coldly sighed as the two who had been revealing each other's secrets finally stopped hurting each other. They then swept their gazes over them with cold disdain and gave their final assessment:

"...You two are equally incompetent, so don't embarrass yourselves in public. Even if you're shameless, please consider my feelings, okay? — Lord Ash, Lady Frillian?"

"...So you're angry." Frillie's expression stiffened slightly, and she looked at the person who was complaining quietly, "It's all your fault."

"You have no right to say that to me..."

"—Quiet down! Don't say another word!" Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Philon's voice was almost clenched through her teeth.

“Ah... I'm sorry.”

Realizing they were in the wrong, the two finally quieted down. After saying the same thing in unison, they obediently shut up, lowered their heads, and stopped hurting each other.

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

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

The clouds in the sky were painted with brilliant colors by the setting sun.

On the sea, a gentle breeze brings the unique freshness of the ocean, and the waves lap against the shore with their own rhythm, each touch stirring up a shower of fine white foam and producing a relaxing splashing sound.

Everything seemed so peaceful and beautiful, except...

At the seaside table, the three remained silent. Frillie, with a pained expression, scooped up spoonfuls of pudding and put them into her mouth, while Philon, expressionless, put the cake into his mouth.

Feeling extremely awkward, Ash silently ordered a smoothie, only to be met with a cold look from Frillian: "You'll have to pay for your own share."

"How stingy."

"..." Frilian ignored him, only looking at Philen with hesitation, then suddenly lowered her head again: "...Philen, I'm sorry."

"What just happened?"

"No... it's just that I don't know you at all, so I don't know what you like... but this is for you, happy birthday." With a hint of guilt, Frilian took a small box out of her pocket and handed it over.

"Ah... speaking of which, today is my birthday, isn't it?" It was only then that Philen finally remembered her birthday, which she had inadvertently forgotten. However, because of the gift, a smile gradually appeared on her face: "May I open it?"

"Of course, after all, this is a gift for you."

As she said this, she kicked Ash from below, signaling him to hurry up and take out the gift.

But... Ash was like a wooden statue, not moving an inch.

This made her frown slightly: "What are you daydreaming about at a time like this?!"

"No...this..."

"You didn't come up with anything, did you?"

"...I came in a bit of a hurry, but it wouldn't be accurate to say that I didn't bring anything with me."

"What does that mean?"

“I have this.”

Under Frillie's astonished gaze, he smiled awkwardly yet politely, quietly took a dried apple from his pocket, and placed it on the table.

...There's nothing we can do. He was indeed in too much of a hurry. He didn't even properly educate Linne. He encountered Philen as soon as he arrived at his destination and even forgot that he should have prepared a gift.

"You're supposed to be this child's father, right? Yet you're in a worse state than me...?" Frilian was speechless. She didn't even want to talk to him anymore. She just carefully observed him before taking out the headdress from the box.

Ash glanced cautiously at Philon, bracing himself for a scolding, and whispered in defense, "Believe me, Philon, I was planning to buy something... If possible, could I go buy something now?"

"No need, the dessert that Lord Ash just gave me is enough, and... I have this, and this too."

Whether it was unexpected or not, Philon was not angry at all; instead, she smiled and stroked the silver bookmark and headdress.

“Of course, the most important thing is that Lord Ash remembered to come back on this day, so I am already happy enough. I am also very happy that Lady Frilian wants to understand me.... Well, since Lady Frilian is hopelessly oblivious, I will be frank about this—thank you for wanting to understand me.”

"You didn't do it?" Frilian asked, looking surprised.

"It's alright. After all, Lady Frilian doesn't seem to understand human emotions. She only gets emotionally intense when she's with Lord Ash."

“…Because this is the guy I’ve known the longest, and the one who infuriates me the most.” Frillie smiled helplessly, glancing at Ash, who just wanted to be invisible, and teased him:

"Also, Philon, don't be too polite to this guy. If you're angry, you should be angry. Otherwise, this shameless person will just pretend nothing happened."

"It's alright, I know that... But even though Ash-sama is human, he sometimes seems a bit slow-witted. Did he catch that from Frilian-sama?"

"Don't talk about people like they have a contagious disease, okay?" The strange remark made Frillie shake her head slightly, her elven face showing a hint of annoyance. However, she unconsciously fixed her gaze on Ash, revealing a trace of confusion: "But then again, I feel like Ash is a little different from when I first met him... or maybe not? Is it just my imagination?"

"Of course it's your imagination. After all, you think we've known each other for so many years, it would be strange if nothing had changed."

"That's true."

Frillie stared at him for a while, but in the end she just shook her head and didn't pursue the matter any further.

But at this moment, Philon observed the two of them and became somewhat curious about how long they had known each other that Frilian said they were the longest-standing friends.

But... in the end, after finishing the dessert, she still couldn't bring herself to ask.

Because Frilian suddenly remembered what she had mentioned about desserts earlier, she stared suspiciously at the two who were eating alone behind her back, and turned around to blame them.

And so, as the soft, darkening sky gradually descended, the seagulls circled in the twilight sky with their smooth, long trails, uttering clear, melodious cries.

As the sun completely sank below the horizon, amidst the breathtaking sunset over the sea, she ultimately failed to ask the question she had been curious about.

Even so... at this overly lively birthday dessert party, enjoying cake twice in one day, surrounded by her favorite people, her smile never stopped that evening.

On her sixteenth birthday, the two of them created unforgettable memories for her... in every way imaginable.