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

"Although I also think this country is amazing, but... is your standard for amazing people Ash?" The strange praise made Zain chuckle.

But Philen completely ignored him, leaving him helpless as he looked at the villagers beside him and asked curiously:

"Is that old man Fru a villager? Why is he always there?"

"Lord Fru has a house in the village, but he usually lives alone. He is too old and can't even speak properly anymore. It seems that he has been protecting the village from demons, monsters, soldiers, and bandits for a long time, but no one knows why he does it."

Aren't you curious?

“He doesn’t tell anyone, and after it was actually incorporated into the Kingdom of Esther, those things basically didn’t happen here anymore, but Lord Fru still sits there... like a guardian deity. He’s been there since I was a child, sitting alone at the village entrance.”

"Guardian angel... I always feel a little lonely."

Zain murmured to himself, unable to help but sigh as he gazed at the aged figure. Even Philon, who didn't get along with him very well, nodded silently as he looked at the old man's back.

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

at night.

While everyone was asleep, Ash was practicing his magic as usual, but something was different... He sat at the village entrance, and Fru sat opposite him.

Perhaps Fru was asleep, for even though the two sat facing each other, they remained silent for a long time.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar boy opposite him:

"Ash, why do you work so hard?"

"...You are the one." Ash asked casually without even looking up, "Why are you in this village where almost no one knows about your past?"

"...I've said this before, haven't I? I'm just protecting my wife's beloved village, while you're already strong enough, aren't you? Why are you still cultivating and doing strange things?"

Is that strange?

"It doesn't seem like it's been that long since we last met, does it?"

"In just over ten years, you even killed my monster."

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

At that time, Ash just wanted to visit an old friend, so he came over briefly and also brought the monster army that was supporting the pass to the vicinity.

The attack on the village wasn't on his orders; it was simply because dealing with the frontal lobe hadn't been effective, and the out-of-control monster had broken free of Aura's control.

And he was killed by the old but still strong dwarf warrior as soon as he entered the village territory.

“Back then, I thought I’d have a fight with you… no.” Halfway through his sentence, Master Fru shook his head to himself: “Rather, I’d probably be killed by you.”

"...That's really going too far. I would never kill my friend for a monster."

"But you are doing something very dangerous."

"probably."

"Can you be sure you won't harm the village?"

"Nothing in this world is certain." Just like the old man before him, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, Ash simply replied calmly:

"If this village is in my way, I have no choice but to eliminate it."

"But if you destroy this village, I will definitely find a way... to send you to your death."

"Can it be done?"

"...No matter how hard I try, this old bone of mine is no match for a young man like you." Grandpa Fru didn't try to be tough, but he still refused to back down. He simply continued calmly, "But right now, I'm just fulfilling a promise I made a long time ago. Anyway, I won't live for many more years, so I have to keep my promise."

"Keeping promises...?" Ash nodded slightly, a hollow feeling washing over him.

"I remember your wife was human, and she's been dead for over three hundred years... After all, you've been guarding this village for nearly 400 years, haven't you? Haven't you ever thought about giving up?"

"And what about you? Why do you do such dangerous things?"

"There are many reasons."

"How about just name one?" Tonight, Mr. Fru surprisingly responded sharply.

“I had a tough childhood, so I was thinking—instead of just surviving like this, why not use blood to show my claws to the world… or something like that.”

"Was it successful?"

"...part of it."

The conversation continued, and he simply gave one of the answers casually before giving up on saying anything more and silently closing his eyes to hone his magic.

After a long while, Ash suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "Speaking of which, after all these years, do you still remember what your wife looks like?"

"...To be honest, I can't remember her face, her voice, or her eyes anymore—but even so, I remember protecting this village for something important, so even if it means facing an old friend on the battlefield, I won't regret it."

"is it?"

The dwarf gave his answer after a long silence, but it made him feel like the other person was joking, at least that's how it should be if he forgot about his wife.

After all, if you've completely forgotten, why keep the promise?

He couldn't help but think this way, but then Mr. Fru suddenly asked:

"Ash, you're with Frilian again this time. What are you doing? Are you dragging Frilian to do something weird? Or are you finally going to fight the Demon King?"

"...Defeat the Demon King?"

"what happened?"

"...No, it's okay."

Ash hesitated for a moment, but quickly gave up on saying that the Demon King had already been defeated.

Even if the village was completely isolated from news, he couldn't possibly have been unaware of the fact that the Demon King had been defeated long ago after all these years. So... had he really forgotten?

The Demon King's affairs, and—the wife's affairs.

"...Ash."

"What is it now?"

"Although you don't seem like a good person, it's so good to meet you all again at the end of my life."

"You said the same thing to Frilian eighty years ago, didn't you?"

"I will tell Frilian again when you leave."

"......"

No? Why not? — He looked at the old man who had closed his eyes again, and really couldn't understand what the other person was thinking.

But after much hesitation, he chose to remain silent and temporarily stopped exercising, sighing softly as he looked up at the sky.

Gazing at the night sky that had remained unchanged for thousands of years, he himself was not quite sure... if more than three hundred years had passed, would he still be able to remember Philon?

To be honest, even he wasn't very confident.

He no longer wants to regret his decision to take in Philon.

Even after so many years, he had long since forgotten what his original friend looked like.

Moreover, this idea is not because Philon is a descendant of a friend.

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

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

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

Frillie and Froe seemed to have a very pleasant conversation these past few days. When Froe left, he even seemed to have a long-lost dream about his wife because they were talking about the past.

...Whether he could recall everything about his wife through that dream is unknown.

Even so, this still made Frillie feel exceptionally good when she left.

But as they drove away from the village, she suddenly looked at Ash and said dejectedly:

"Ash... Lord Fru, it seems his days are truly numbered."

"Is that right?"

"He has forgotten everything about his wife."

"The average lifespan of a dwarf is only 300 years, so he has lived a very long life. There's no need to be sad."

"...Won't Ash be sad?"

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are just the unchanging natural order of things. It's something we'll have to face sooner or later, and there's no point in being sad about it. But you... do you still remember what Vlamé looked like?"

"...To be honest, it's a bit blurry." Frillian, who was walking and reading a book, unconsciously twirled the pages, a sad expression on her face. "Perhaps in the future, I will also forget what you and Philon look like."

"Then you can make new friends later." Ash smiled and shook his head, patting her head as he did so. "It's good to forget the past sometimes so you can live a better life."

"...It's easy to say."

His casual answer made Frilian unusually angry. She forcefully slapped his hand away and quickly walked ahead.

This surprised him a bit, and he unconsciously looked at Philonise: "What's wrong with her? This isn't a very ordinary explanation?"

"...This is Ash's fault, please apologize properly later."

"Huh? My fault?" Ash pointed to his face in surprise, then instinctively looked at Zain: "You're a monk, you often comfort others, you should understand, this is absolutely the most appropriate way to put it..."

"...Sometimes I just don't understand what's wrong with you. Aren't you normally very smart? Why are you saying things like this now?"

“I understand this may be unpleasant, but instead of avoiding the issue, we should offer solutions.”

"...Is there really a good solution to that kind of thing?"

Zain didn't intend to refute this overly rational answer; he simply scratched his head and smiled wryly.

This topic was also brought to a halt at this point because it could not be sustained.

On the way forward, Frilian continued to sulk, while Zain kept going to the village to inquire about the whereabouts of his best friend, the gorilla warrior, who had passed away ten years ago.

His real name is unknown, but he refers to himself as such. Because of this highly personalized self-designation, some villagers actually know where he is.

However, during their journey north, they unexpectedly found a pile of dismembered corpses and some scattered weapons on the main road.

"Is this... a bandit? How tragic." Frilian examined the corpse and quickly made a judgment: "It looks like the work of a mage, and a rather sophisticated one at that."

"Isn't this country supposed to be safe? Why are there still bandits?" Zain muttered to himself as he gathered the corpses, frowning. He felt a sense of returning to his hometown.

"...What are you saying? No matter what era it is, or how good the public security is in a country, it is impossible to completely eliminate criminals. Besides, this is a business route, it is normal for there to be robberies."

Upon hearing his words, Ash couldn't help but defend himself, and—when he discovered the body, he instinctively covered Philon's eyes.