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

"Frilian, what are you talking about? He's human!"

"...Lady Frillian sometimes likes to say strange things." Philon looked at Ash helplessly: "Anyway, Lady Ash, please do your best."

"Me? Well... since you put it that way, shall I give it a little try?"

The problem suddenly thrown at him made him a little distressed... but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that having a monk was indeed a convenient place, and he had no reason to object, so he simply went out.

As for where Zain was... he hardly needed to look for him; he simply came downstairs and saw him there.

Because—there's a tavern located below this inn.

In that smoky tavern, Zain, who initially seemed somewhat serious, was now wearing a monk's uniform, but with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, a wine glass in his hand, and playing cards right in front of him.

Including Zain and the three others at the same table, each of them had copper coins in front of them.

This scene looks exactly like... gambling.

This made Ash inadvertently recall that he had only wanted to eat meat, and Zain had said something like, "What are you saying to the monks?" He couldn't help but subconsciously think to himself as he stepped inside:

"...Among the monks I know, you are definitely the most gluttonous and dissolute."

"This is called fostering friendship! By the way, are you coming too?" Zain wasn't ashamed at all; on the contrary, he laughed heartily.

"I heard from my older brother that he wants me to join your team. What did you say?"

"Having a monk would certainly make things more convenient."

“Give up~ I’m a monk in this village, if I were to join you… no, wait.” Zain started to say, but then a wicked smile appeared on his face.

"Think about it carefully, playing cards with three people isn't very interesting. Why don't you join us? If you win, I'll go with you."

"...Surprisingly simple."

"Easy, huh? If you lose later, don't let yourself get... stripped down to your underwear!"

"Anyway, please teach me the rules here first."

Unexpectedly, there were such simple conditions, so Ash simply sat down at the table and ordered a drink from the waiter. He then gave Zain and the village chief next to him a pitiful smile, as if looking at their pathetic existence.

He couldn't figure out why he would lose to his opponent... He might not be able to beat them in terms of luck, but when it came to hand speed—no one on the scene could see it clearly.

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

Ash surprisingly adapted to the game easily, even managing to join in after three rounds of drinks and three different tables...

Looking at the pile of copper coins on Ash's table, Zain couldn't help but start to question his existence: "--Why?! Ten consecutive wins! Is this really your first time playing cards?!"

"Just a little bit of luck for a newbie." Ash said nonchalantly, "Now that I've won, are you willing to admit defeat?"

"No... I was just saying, you wouldn't take it as..., would you?"

"Really? I thought so too." He didn't mind, and smiled as he looked at the village chief who was angrily slamming his fist on the table: "Mr. Village Chief, and Mr. Klaus, I can give you back what you won today, but in exchange... could you strip him down to his underwear and throw him out?"

"—Of course, no problem!!"

"Huh? No... wait, wait a minute! -- Don't let me go! At least inside...!!"

The strange conditions startled Zain, who then saw the village chief and his card-playing partner agree in unison, staring intently at him. Before he could beg for mercy, the two men pinned him to the ground and forcibly stripped him of his clothes.

A piercing scream instantly echoed throughout the entire tavern.

Ash had considered the potential consequences to some extent, and in the end, he had the two of them leave him with shorts so that it wouldn't become inappropriate for children, before simply throwing him out of the tavern.

He accepted Zain's money, then walked out looking refreshed, gazing down at the middle-aged man lying on his backside, and said leisurely:

"This is what happens when you cheat."

"...Don't think you can make me submit like this. I'm a dirty adult. Would I still be an adult if I compromised so easily?"

"I don't really care. It's just a try anyway. If it doesn't work, Frilian and the others will come and try to persuade me, and I can just watch the show."

"You... what do you take adventure for? Why are you always just watching the show?!" Zain turned around, looking at him with a disappointed expression, scolding him like a righteous, hot-blooded protagonist: "—To be honest, I don't see any passion or enthusiasm in you!

"Adventure? No, no, no, I'm just taking a casual walk outside, why would I need to get excited?"

"...Just a simple walk?" The unbelievable answer made Zain pause for a moment: "Weren't you heading north...?"

"Instead of all these nice things, don't you think you should adjust your attitude? Talking to me with your ass facing away like this makes me want to kick you."

"Heh, young man, you don't understand. Actually, this posture can help clear your head—ouch!!"

Zain, still prone with his buttocks sticking out, had just pulled out a cigarette from his shorts and was about to light it while stating some definite directions, when a sudden impact struck his buttocks. He winced in pain, clutching his backside and curling up on the ground, glaring angrily at the man behind him: "You actually kicked me!?"

"Didn't I say I wanted to kick?"

"But would a normal person kick that?"

"I think I'm pretty normal," he replied casually, then squatted down next to the middle-aged man curled up on the ground, tears welling up in his eyes as he clutched his buttocks. "...So, are you really not going to reconsider?"

"...Do you think a normal person would agree to the demands of a villain who would strip them down to their underwear?"

"I asked them to leave you some shorts."

"So what if I wear another pair of shorts?! You still kicked my butt." Zain touched his butt with a humiliated expression, shouting indignantly while already worrying about whether his butt was swollen.

"Who told you to stick your butt out like that, especially in front of me?"

"I mean... at this point, shouldn't you at least apologize?"

"You broke the contract first."

"Um... can we just pretend this never happened?"

.........

Faced with Ash's capricious and rude behavior, and losing to him in a card game, and losing quite badly at that, Zain had to swallow his grievances even after being kicked in the butt.

After all, he was just saying it casually and had no intention of taking any risks with them.

All I can do now is curl up on the ground, gazing at the clear night sky, and silently light a cigarette as a form of mourning.

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

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

Since the tavern was downstairs, Frilian and Philon easily heard the commotion and rushed downstairs to check the situation almost immediately.

But they were so shocked when they saw it that they were speechless.

Ash was squatting on the ground, but Zain in front of him seemed to have been subjected to an unreasonable act of violence, curling up on the ground.

His clothes had been stripped off by someone, leaving him only in shorts to preserve his last shred of dignity, yet he shivered in the cold spring night.

Before they could even ask what was going on, they saw Ash use a branch from the ground to poke Zain's arm, and with his back to them, offer a strange condition:

"If you agree to keep your promise now, I can return your clothes to you, or... are you planning to go back to church like this?"

"...Normally, at this point, shouldn't they at least return the money to me?"

"No way! That's money I earned through my own abilities. Why should I pay you back?" Ash argued vehemently, refusing to return the money.

This made Philon, who was still unaware of the situation, immediately have a bad feeling when she heard this. She couldn't help herself and walked up to him with a sinister smile, whispering in his ear:

"—Lord Ash... what are you doing?"

"Ugh, that's so unfair! I just asked you to recruit teammates, and you only had to put in a little effort, but you stripped them naked? That's just too much!"

Frillie squatted down beside her and began to stir things up with her own words.

Ash couldn't hold back any longer and slapped Frillie on the head, saying sternly, "This is nothing more than the deserved end of a reckless and weak loser who sought his own death."

"What loser?" Philon, who had already grabbed him by the back of his collar, pulled him up while asking in confusion, "...Did you use force?"

"How could I possibly bully someone? We were just having a good time playing cards together, and he was the one who lost miserably."

"Damn it... The village chief was already as strong as a demon, but this guy is even stronger, like a monster! I can't even win a single game...! I'm starting to doubt if I'll even have the courage to sit at the card table again tomorrow!"

Zain muttered resentfully, curling up on the ground once more, looking like a wronged big child.

"...So it was gambling? None of you monks are serious." Upon learning the truth, Frilian shook her head and said, "But never mind...Zane, didn't you say you regretted it before? Aren't you coming? Come with us for a trip up north."

"...I've said it before, that's all in the past. I should have caught up with him sooner, but now I'm just a down-on-his-luck... middle-aged man who only has his underwear and shorts left."

Frillie closed her eyes and pondered for a while before slowly uttering serious words: "...I'm talking to you about the present, not the past."

"Now? Now you're my teammates, and the village chief turned me into this!"

"Huh? Uh... is that so?"

Frillie's serious expression froze instantly, and she involuntarily looked at Ash beside her.

However, Ash also subtly shifted his gaze, staring at the distant night sky, a faint smile playing on his lips, and muttered to himself in a pretentious manner, "The moon is really big tonight."

"...What is this? What kind of vulgar and indecent language is this?"

Even Frilian couldn't help but want to roll her eyes now.

Philon was even more displeased, his brows furrowed, and he said sharply, "—Return the clothes back right now! And the money too!"

"Why? I earned it through my own skill..."

“Gamblers are the worst! I hate it when Lord Ash gambles!” Philon’s cheeks puffed up with anger, and he put his hands on his hips and said indignantly, “—Besides, bullying people is wrong! Isn’t that what you taught me before?”

Although she looked angry, the purple-haired girl's pufferfish-like appearance was surprisingly cute.

This made Ash sigh in surrender, and then he took out Zain's money bag and threw it next to the old man on the ground.

"...I've been talking to him for so long and it's no use, but this kid actually listened to me when he got angry?" Zain looked at the money bag that he had lost and found again and couldn't help but doubt his own eyes.

“Because Ash has always spoiled Philon.” Frillie chuckled and shook her head, but when she looked at Zain again, her expression became particularly serious:

"Zanin".

"what?"

"...I really hate you, so I've decided that I'll force you to join me."

"--No? Why? This is so strange. By the way... what's going on with your team?"

Startled by Frilian's strange words, Zain was completely bewildered. He looked at Ash and Philon, wanting to ask for confirmation, but only saw Ash patting Philon's head.

And Philon, who had initially seemed a bit sullen, now had a beaming smile on her face, and the atmosphere between the two seemed quite harmonious.

This left him completely bewildered. What exactly was the relationship between Philon, who had been taking care of these two, and them?

But after they left, he silently returned to the tavern... with a hint of resentment and tears, he put the clothes that the village chief had stripped off back on.

Alone in the cold night, he looked up at the night sky, exhaled a smoke ring, and returned to the church full of doubts.