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

"...I was careful, so I didn't catch it. Besides, aren't you a monk? Why are you afraid of poisonous creatures?"

"—Just because I can detoxify doesn't mean I'm not afraid of pain! Ultimately, I'm telling you not to get bitten by poisonous creatures, not for you to bite them!"

"I won't bite if it's not cooked...that's normal."

"—Is there anything else wrong?! You're a bit scary!" Zain shouted as he dodged him.

Philon pressed his hand down, pursed his lips, and stared intently at him, his expression suggesting he was suppressing something: "I'm begging you, hurry up... throw it away!"

"Ah... okay..."

Although he was somewhat tempted to try cooking the snake, under Philon's intense gaze, he was forced to simply toss it back into the forest.

"Why did it get lost?! What if..."

"Whoa—?!"

Before Philon could finish speaking, a scream echoed through the forest.

The voice happened to be Zain's, causing everyone to instinctively follow the sound and push aside the bushes, only to discover...

Fearing being bitten by the venomous snake, Zain, who had just fled the scene, was below, on the winding path leading to the village, with the venomous snake still under his feet, which had just been jolted awake by the fall.

Moreover, the unfortunate snake that had been stepped on was biting Zain's calf relentlessly, as if Zain were the culprit.

"...Are you...doing this on purpose?! What grudge do we have against each other?!"

Zain looked at the wound on the snake's head where Ash had flicked it, and immediately recognized whose snake it was. He glared upwards in grief and anger.

"It was just an unfortunate accident. How was I supposed to know you'd step on it? It was simply your bad luck..."

"——Master Ash!"

"...Anyway, I'm still very sorry, really."

Philon's stern gaze made him silently look away and speak sincerely.

It sounded like they were talking to him, but their gaze was actually fixed on the distance. Zain couldn't sense any sincerity in it; he just felt...

"...It's a miracle that this child wasn't turned into a villain by you, isn't it?"

He looked at Philon and then at Ash, using holy magic to detoxify himself while expressing heartfelt emotions with a devotion he could hardly imagine.

And this was the first time he had ever truly believed in the existence of a goddess... Otherwise, he would find it hard to explain how the child this guy raised could be so upright and normal.

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

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

Down the mountain path, in a village not far away, stands a rather ordinary village church.

Despite being bitten by a venomous snake, Zain still planned to treat them to a meal at the church to repay their life-saving kindness.

Ash, eager to get a free meal, and Frilian, wanting to avoid being lectured, readily agreed.

Zain originally wanted to complain about Ash, who almost killed him again, and didn't plan to hire him, but...

The moment Ash stepped into the church, a very subtle ripple appeared in the air—the goddess's blessing inherent in the church was instantly burst like a soap bubble.

Normal people wouldn't be able to sense anything, and even the priests in the church didn't notice anything unusual... because they couldn't even feel the faint blessing from the goddess, but...

"....Um??"

Before Zain, who was favored by the goddess and had her protection, could speak, he noticed that something was wrong.

It was as if something that had always been there had suddenly disappeared without warning, causing him to subconsciously look around.

He didn't know exactly what had happened, but he felt... Ash, who had seemed fine before, suddenly felt strangely out of place in the church.

But this feeling was actually very subtle, and it was impossible to detect without careful attention, which left him quite puzzled.

The person in question was completely nonchalant, just like Zain himself used to do when he came home. He sat down right next to the altar, giving off a feeling that... truly resembled coming home.

"...You're being way too casual, aren't you? Looking at you like this, I'm starting to wonder if I accidentally wandered into your house."

"Huh? Why think so much? Don't worry about these things, just sit anywhere."

Ash looked completely casual, even patting the spot next to him, prompting Zain to exclaim, "So! This is my house!"

"I'm sorry, Lord Ash has always been... too casual." Philon casually grabbed him and pulled him down, apologizing on his behalf before sighing:

"...That's why the goddess dislikes you."

"No, no, no, that won't happen." Zain shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this. "Although I really want to say something about this guy, I don't think the Goddess would mind, right? After all... I've ridden in it many times before, haven't I?"

"Huh?"

These words, coming from a monk, left both Frilian and Philon completely bewildered.

Meanwhile, the priest standing to the side, wearing glasses and a formal priest's robe, couldn't help but straighten his glasses and sigh deeply:

“Zane…at least show some respect for your faith in public, and Lord Ash…you really are as fearless as the rumors say.”

"...You know me?"

"I've heard Lord Haita mention your relationship with Lady Frilian." The priest gently touched the goddess pendant on his chest, which was different in design from ordinary goddess pendants, and slowly said, "This holy seal was also bestowed upon me by Lord Haita."

"Hmm~ I remember this, it seems to be only given to the most outstanding local clergy?"

“Yes, that’s the only thing I can be proud of.” The priest gently stroked the holy seal, a regretful expression on his face. “Zain’s talent far surpasses mine.”

"Hey~ You're that good?" He looked at Zain curiously, but the other person scratched his head, seemingly not wanting to listen to the conversation anymore, and walked straight to the back without turning his head.

"I'm going to prepare dinner. What would you like to eat?"

"I want to eat meat."

"...What are you saying to the monk? And don't say anything more. Frilian saved my life, you almost killed me. Even if we eat meat, you won't get any."

"Nothing's wrong, is it? You're clearly a monk, how can you be so petty?"

"—That's a matter of feelings!"

Leaving only this sentence behind, Zain didn't even listen to Frilian and Philon's ideas before entering the back of the church and closing the door behind him.

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

After Zain left, the church became quiet for a while.

The priest's face darkened, but the sadness became even more pronounced. He glanced at the three of them before bowing his head and saying, "Although it may be a bit presumptuous, if you may, could you please tell me about our situation?"

"That's possible... but you two are really brothers, both of you love telling stories so much?"

Before Frilian could even utter a casual remark, Philon gave her a stern look, forcing her to shut up and say no more.

Philon, who always used honorifics, looked apologetically at the priest and said, "Please speak, Father."

"Thank you... Actually, our parents passed away early, and I, a man, raised Zain, who was much younger than me, all by myself." The priest spoke with deep sorrow, clenching the holy seal in his hand.

"When he was a child, he always said he wanted to be an adventurer; the dreams and hopes in his eyes seemed to be saying: I don't want to become like me, living the same life every day, an ordinary monk. But now he is exactly like me when I was young, and has become an extremely boring old man."

“That’s what growing up is all about. When people grow up, they lose their dreams and hopes.” Ash nodded in deep agreement upon hearing this. “But there’s nothing we can do about it. That’s life.”

Upon hearing this, Frillie looked up in surprise: "What? Ash, you have dreams? I didn't see you when we were fighting the Demon King together."

Seeing that the two were about to start chatting again, Philon couldn't help but say sternly, despite her headache, "Lady Frilian, Lady Ash... I know you two are very close, but could you please not start talking when others are speaking?"

"Father, please continue." Ash said with an awkward yet polite smile, quickly ending his conversation with Frillie.

Chapter Fourteen: I Will Wait for the Day You Confess to Me - The Art of Seduction

Although Ash and Frillie started chatting without realizing it, the gloomy-faced priest wasn't angry. Instead, he sighed softly:

“I understand that growing up means losing your dreams, but he must be incredibly bored by now, so... I hope that at least in the end, he can pursue his dreams.”

"You mean?" Ash was a little confused. Why was he telling him all this?

"Could you please take him out of this village? You don't have any monks, so this will definitely cause some trouble."

The priest looked at the three of them again and bowed his head respectfully in request.

As Ash listened, he only felt a headache coming on: "Judging from Zain's reaction just now, you must have said similar things to more than one group of adventurers, but he has never left, has he?"

"Indeed... but I believe he is waiting for someone to give him a push from behind."

"Even 10 years ago, his friends couldn't get him out of there?"

"this....."

The priest was speechless when asked the question, and could only lower his head again with a bitter expression.

Afterwards, they ate a completely vegetarian meal in the church... After all, it was a church, so they couldn't really ask for too much.

Haita, who drank alcohol and ate meat, was an exception, which is why he was always called a "wine and meat monk"... That was Ash's initial opinion.

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

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

After temporarily settling in the only inn in the village.

Ash and Frilian were reading books together on the bedside, while Philon stood beside them with his hands on his hips, watching them.

"Lady Frilian, Lord Ash! Do you have any explanation for your failure to save someone in distress?"

“There was nothing I could do, his hands were really dirty back then…” Frilian awkwardly turned her face away, while Ash said matter-of-factly, “I just wanted to see what else he could say, and saving people should have been Frilian’s responsibility since she arrived first, I shouldn’t bear the consequences.”

"—This is terrible! You guys are really awful!"

The two did not hide their thoughts, which made Philon so angry that he puffed up his cheeks and pointed at them, scolding them incessantly.

After talking them until they were both too ashamed to lift their heads, and after they had reflected on their actions and responded positively, she sat down next to Ash, looked up at him, and said earnestly:

"...If Lord Zain joins, it might not be bad. After all, the priest is right; having monks is always safer. Moreover, having a monk who believes in the goddess as a companion might have a positive influence on you."

“But I don’t think Frilian (Ash) is salvageable.”

As soon as she spoke, Ash and Frilian objected in unison.

The fact that these two were willing to give up treatment for each other made Philon cast a cold glance at them, and he suppressed his displeasure and said in a deep voice:

"Why are you two only so in sync at this time?"

"It's not so much a tacit understanding, it's just... Frillian, what do you think about adding a monk?"

"Me?...Hmm..." The sudden topic made Frilian, who was sitting on the bed, squat down with her legs tucked in, and she even pinched her ponytail, looking sulky: "Your own kind hates you, right?"