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

And that very night, although Philon said he didn't need a gift, Ash still dragged Frilian, who looked reluctant and didn't really want to help him, to buy her a bracelet as a gift.

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

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

The next day, Ash, who did not intend to leave immediately, embarked on his journey with Frilian and Philon.

Along the way, Frilian would spar with Philon from time to time, helping her gain as much combat experience as possible.

However, unlike their usual aimless travels, this time Frillian led them very specifically to a village that Ash found quite familiar.

"This is..." Philen couldn't help but ask beforehand, even as she reached the village entrance, "Are you planning to collect strange magic again, Lady Frilian?"

“No, this time is different.” Frilian shook her head slightly, her expression more solemn than ever before. Ash, with a slightly strange expression, added, “This is for the corrupt sage Guval.”

"The corrupt sage Guval?" Philon asked, puzzled; the voice made Frilian turn to stare at her: "...Didn't you read the book on the history of magic I gave you?"

"this....."

"Combat experience isn't the only important thing in magic. I guess I'll read to you before bed."

"No, I can read it myself, I'm not a little kid anymore... Besides, why not just say it now?"

Frillie's treatment of her, which resembled that of a child, made Philon feel quite resistant. She even looked at Ash at the end and asked curiously, "Lord Ash, do you know who that person is?"

"The strongest mage in the Demon King's army, it is said that 4% of adventurers and 7% of mages have died from his murderous magic. Not only that, as a demon who is extremely sensitive to magic, he also has talents that are beyond human reach. He can see through most spells at a glance and find their flaws or even replicate them."

"So powerful? Then just how..." Ash's description moved Philon deeply.

Frillie, however, calmly said, "Yes, he was a complete monster. Back then, even the four of us working together couldn't gain the upper hand against him."

"In that case, wouldn't we be in a completely different situation now...!"

"Don't worry, that guy has been sealed for eighty years. His magic has been basically deciphered. We just need to deal with him immediately and everything will be fine. Although it would be a problem if he escaped... but don't worry, we will definitely not let him escape."

As Philon grew increasingly uneasy, the advantage of time allowed Frilian to reveal a confident smile and reach out to pat her head.

Chapter 4 Frillian's Procrastination: A Terrifying Cloud (4K)

The usually aloof Frilian's uncharacteristically confident statement greatly eased Philon's unease.

Ash, who would normally be the first to comfort Philon, was surprisingly quiet at this moment, as if he were lost in thought.

But there's nothing he can do... He can't say anything right now.

After all, the person they were worried about had been released more than seventy years ago. The defensive magic that specifically countered the corrupt sage Guval was also thoroughly understood by Guval on the very first day it was discovered, and it took him a while to deduce the evolved form of the killing magic.

When Ash dealt with Aura's murderous magic, his Gravity Lightning could break it in one strike. This was a newly created magic that incorporated Guval's magic, specifically designed to counter murderous magic. Of course, the same-frequency defensive magic, which was created to defend against murderous magic, could also be shattered in almost a single strike.

In terms of the speed of magic updates and improvements, Guval completely surpasses humans. To Ash, Guval is essentially the cornerstone of a future peaceful world, and there's no way he'd just hand it over. Therefore, at this moment, silence is the only option.

But it was precisely his act of secretly hijacking Guval more than 70 years ago that prevented Frilian's confidence from lasting long.

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

Upon arriving in the village, the old man, who had been chatting, was puzzled for a long time when he saw Frillien, the striking silver-haired twin-tailed elf, before finally revealing a surprised expression:

"You...you wouldn't happen to be Lady Frillian, would you?"

"...You know me?"

Returning to a place after eighty years, and finding a human who could recognize her was a rather rare experience for Frillie, and she couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

But when the other party admitted it, the old man looked a little embarrassed and explained:

"Because Lord Simmel was worried about the seal of the corrupt sage Guval, he came here once thirty years ago."

"...What a kind old man." Frillie remarked softly. Seeing her lack of tension, Philon, after feeling relieved, couldn't help but offer a word of guidance:

"Lady Simmel arrived thirty years ago. Why has Lady Frilian been dragging this out for so long? If you're so confident, why don't you resolve this quickly? Wouldn't that relieve everyone's anxiety? Or perhaps the analytical and countermeasure methods weren't prepared fifty years ago?"

“...No, actually it was ready about fifty years ago.” Ash added at the right moment, “If you’re wondering why it took so long, there’s no particular reason—it’s simply because this guy is lazy.”

"Well... I did want to do it, but thirty years have passed before I knew it. There's nothing I can do about it, right?"

The undeniable facts surprised Frillie, who surprisingly refuted them, but instead spoke ambiguously and vaguely.

After all, she felt somewhat guilty for causing these people so much fear over the decades.

But... she's just so lazy! Even if she feels guilty about dealing with such troublesome matters, she'll naturally put it off for as long as possible, only dealing with it when absolutely necessary.

Knowing full well about her procrastination, Philon stared at her ear and sighed helplessly:

"So it really is a racial issue? Like when I forgot to clean for a week, and the trash in your room from a week ago just sat there untouched?"

“No, Philon, this is a misunderstanding on your part.” Ash interrupted her rebuke with righteous indignation.

"Huh? That was just an accident?"

"No, actually, let alone a week, she could easily put off cleaning the room or washing the blankets for 5 or 10 years."

"...Are all elves so unclean? So lacking in a sense of time...No, this isn't just a matter of lacking a sense of time, is it?" The unexpected information greatly shocked Philon.

"Of course not. It doesn't matter if other elves' houses are damaged, but they will still deal with messy rooms. As for hygiene, it's just that Frilian is lazy, not a racial issue."

"...Lady Frillien? What do you say?"

The unbelievable information made Philon narrow his eyes and stare at Frilian, who had no room for rebuttal and could only lower her head silently, trying to get away with it as if nothing had happened.

This made Philon so angry that he puffed out his cheeks and was about to lecture her.

Fortunately, the old man who had been listening to their conversation, leaning on a cane and carrying a straw hat on his back, finally couldn't help but interrupt with the strange awkwardness he had shown from the beginning:

"Wait a minute... Lady Frilian, are you planning to break the seal on the corrupt sage Guval and destroy him?"

“That’s the plan.” Frilian quickly picked up the conversation, and even gestured to Philon as if to show goodwill: “—Now that I have an excellent disciple to assist me, there will definitely be no problem!”

"That's really...congratulations..." The old man nodded slightly with a troubled expression, but when Frilian finally realized something was wrong, he awkwardly said, "Um...didn't Lady Simmel mention that?"

"What is it?"

"Guwar had the demons break the seal and take him away more than seventy years ago... that is, before the Demon King was defeated."

"—They took them away?!"

The unexpected information caused Frillie's previously composed expression to freeze instantly, her mouth agape for a moment, unable to close, as she exclaimed in surprise for the first time in front of Philon.

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

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

Unable to control herself, she cried out in surprise, feeling the chill coursing through her body. Frillie took to the air and flew to the back of the village in a flash.

But the cliff edge, which should have been a sealed place, is now empty and devoid of anything, with only a few traces of ruin left from the battles that took place there.

Their hearts turned ice-cold in an instant.

"Really... there's nothing there..." Frillian muttered to herself, rubbing her eyes repeatedly, trying to find clues that she had been under an illusion, or that she had missed something or misremembered the place.

"Lady Frilian... what should we do now?" Philen tugged at Frilian's sleeve anxiously.

"...How strange, this shouldn't be! If he really really left, then news of that reckless guy, Guval, and that terrifying monster, would surely spread throughout the entire continent as soon as he reappeared in the human world."

For a moment, Frilian couldn't even comfort Philon; she was deep in thought, her brow furrowed, trying to figure out what was wrong.

Before she could find anything amiss, she realized yet another problem she had inadvertently overlooked:

“No, this is really strange! Not only the corrupt sage Guval, but also that bloodthirsty, bloodstained war god Livale, we haven’t heard of any city or village being breached in the past half-century.”

"Huh? But there used to be a great demon clan in the north who single-handedly conquered a large fortified city."

Philon recalled the biggest event caused by the demon race after the Demon King was defeated, which even shocked the entire world and plunged humanity into unease once again.

"Yes, a fortified city with meticulous protective spells and ancient barriers, as well as a large number of mages and warriors protecting it, would normally only be able to be breached by a single demon. But... that wasn't done by that battle maniac, Livale. I went to the scene myself, and the other party was clearly a mage, and a very powerful one at that."

Frillie lowered her head in deep thought, still unable to figure out who the other person was.

Based on its characteristics, the great demon who was alone in the fortress city was not a known great demon.

Even nameless demons don't act rashly; they usually choose to live in seclusion and study magic. So, it seems very strange that they would suddenly attack an entire fortress city after the Demon King's death... It's as if someone is directing them from behind the scenes.

"...But the Demon King and the Omniscient Shurahat are both dead, so who can command these great demons?"

Frilian was utterly baffled, her head throbbing with frustration. Normally, she would have given up on these matters long ago, but now she inexplicably felt as if an invisible hand was manipulating the demons from behind—those terrifying demons who could easily destroy a city with a single person.

Even if given some time, ordinary kingdoms would not be able to stop these powerful demons at the top from destroying their countries.

Ash, who was standing silently to the side, knew very well that the one who had attacked the city fortress was definitely the weak woman who claimed to be powerless—Solitaire.

But as she herself said, timid... that might not be the case, but Solitaire certainly doesn't like trouble and has always lived in seclusion.

Solitaire's sudden attack on the fortified city must have been an instruction given by the omniscient Shurahat, otherwise this action would be very inconsistent with Solitaire's illogical behavior.

After all, Solitaire believed in Schulahart's premonitions about the future, and even if she didn't know the specifics, she would still do it.

But this led Frillie to have a bold idea. She looked at Ash solemnly and said:

"Although it's just a guess, I suspect... there might be a very powerful demon among the demons who is now moving step by step toward the throne, wanting to become the new Demon King. Some of those demons have probably already submitted to him and become part of the power he is accumulating."

"No, even if you're saying this out of the blue without any basis, it's really quite alarmist..."

"—This isn't alarmist, nor is it unfounded! Think about it yourself, normal demons wouldn't come to rescue anyone, would they? Otherwise, we wouldn't have left that dangerous guy, Guval, here so easily!" Frilian asserted emphatically.

“But now someone has come to rescue us, so there must be something wrong! Moreover, that nameless great demon and the bloodstained war god Livale have also mysteriously disappeared and never appeared in front of people again. They must have been restrained by someone, which is why they are not acting recklessly.”

"..." Should I say something at this moment? Perhaps silence is the best course of action? — Faced with Frillie's concern, Ash rubbed his throbbing temples, wondering how he should react.

Upon hearing her speculation, Philon couldn't help but feel worried: "...Lady Frilian, is another large-scale war about to break out? Just like it did more than eighty years ago?"

"No, things should be better no matter what. After all, the previous Demon King was very strong, and now humanity not only has the Empire, but also the newly rising second largest country, the Kingdom of Esther. The situation should be much better than before."

Despite her own worries, Frilian smiled and patted her head, offering ample hope to comfort her anxious disciple, a child she had watched grow up.

Although the actual number of human magicians has decreased significantly compared to the time of the great war, while the demons are recuperating, it seems that no one has noticed the problem, which is truly worrying to her.

However, the rise of the second largest power after the war, and its even strong momentum to challenge the empire, made her feel inexplicably at ease.

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

Faced with the worried Frilian and Philon, Ash really couldn't say: The culprit you're worried about, and the new force on which you've placed your hopes... I'm the mastermind behind it all!

"I feel like it might be unexpectedly interesting if I get caught in the end. Maybe I should just leave it at that for now?" — Looking at Frillie, who was both relieved and a little troubled, he, who was both the savior and the great demon king, ultimately decided to say nothing. His expectation for an interesting future made him smile and reach out to touch the silver hair in front of him.

"....What are you doing?"

Frillie, who was also patting Philon's head, looked up at this strange, unexpected head-patting cycle with a rather bizarre expression.