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

But... thinking about it carefully, he felt that he shouldn't have had any acquaintances five hundred years ago, right? Although it would be the same five hundred years later.

The newcomer had long orange hair that covered half of her face. She looked to be a woman in her early thirties. After a brief moment of doubt, he immediately remembered that he had read a lot about her in the information he had researched, because... she was the woman who would become the progenitor of human magic in the future—Volame.

And now.....

“You…” Vlame stared at him, seemingly sensing something amiss: “Why are you staring at me?”

"Ah... cough... You're Volame, right? I've heard of you."

"Have you heard of me?" Vlame, who had always kept a low profile, frowned upon hearing this and became more vigilant, even secretly preparing some magic.

After all, this chaotic world is full of all sorts of dangers. Even the most powerful mage could be killed by a dagger from behind if they are not careful.

"Don't get me wrong, I heard Celia mention your existence?"

"...Master?"

"To be honest, I am your junior brother."

"Junior brother? Master has taken on a new disciple?"

Is that strange?

"That's strange." Vlame nodded without thinking, casting a scrutinizing glance at him: "Given Master's personality... she shouldn't accept disciples so easily. What exactly does she see in you?"

"Perhaps it's sincerity and diligence?"

"...Although it's not really my place to say it, my master isn't the type to accept someone as a disciple just because they're sincere and hardworking."

"And she has a rather rude personality. She even knocked me out of the house when we went out. I really hope she can understand the importance of respecting the elderly and caring for the young."

"......"

Vlame remained silent, simply observing him in silence.

Judging from his appearance, Ash was not suspicious at all, but there was something strange about his aura.

What bothered her most was Ash's aura; it clearly gave her the feeling that he had killed many people.

Could it be because it was the first time she had seen someone who had killed so many people, so their aura was a little off? To be honest, she couldn't be sure right now.

Out of caution, she didn't say anything more, but silently walked away from Ash, intending to verify with Celia later.

Ash watched Vlamé depart until he disappeared from sight, his smile gradually fading, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"...The concealment techniques that Celie taught me are really useful. If I had met this person from the beginning, I would definitely have been exposed, right?"

Although the two did not fight, he could sense from their auras that Vlame was definitely the strongest human he had ever seen... even though the other party seemed to be hiding his aura.

However, since the other party had already avoided him, he naturally didn't intend to think too much about it and happily headed towards the village according to the map that Seria had given him.

He hadn't been away from the ruins for long when he gradually realized that Seria giving him the map... and telling him the address of the elven village, might be a way to get him out of there? To prevent him from living off his parents there?

Chapter Sixteen: The Gap Between Reality and Ideal - First Encounter with Frilian

After a long and arduous journey, Ash finally found the legendary elven village using a map, but...

"Isn't the difference between this and what I imagined a bit too great?"

Deep in a remote primeval forest, a hidden elven village seems to have been forgotten by time.

It lies quietly in a vast and secluded area, surrounded by dense and boundless ancient trees. Sunlight filters through the dense canopy, casting dappled shadows and shimmering light, draping this land in a mysterious and slightly desolate veil.

The elves' stone houses are scattered haphazardly across this open space. Their exteriors are not ornate, but the interiors... are just like their exteriors, lacking any rustic beauty and simply plain.

The roof of the stone house is covered with moss and vines, and the years have etched mottled marks on them, as if telling a story of wild growth in the past.

The doors and windows were small and somewhat dilapidated, but no one bothered to repair them.

The scattered elves were dressed very simply, even somewhat like refugees... If it weren't for their relatively clean clothes, these villagers, dressed too plainly, would have been no different from refugees; they looked like ordinary medieval villagers.

They all looked listless, busy with their own things, and there were no children or elderly people present... although he couldn't tell if there were any.

Celia, the loli elf, already had a quirky personality that was enough to shatter Ash's perception of elves.

After all, elves in stories are usually very beautiful, and typically possess attributes like elegance, but in reality...

"...Why is there such a big difference between reality and the story? The village is dilapidated and lacks any aesthetic appeal. These guys are simply dream crushers!"

As he complained about his shattered dream, he glanced around and noticed a small elf in the crowd, who seemed to be the strongest among them.

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

The elf had a graceful figure, with a head of smooth silver hair that cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall, shimmering with a soft and mysterious luster like moonlight.

Her delicate, long ears exude extraordinary spirituality and elegance, while her deep, bright emerald eyes are unforgettable.

Despite being only about 1.5 meters tall, she possesses an indescribable petite and delicate beauty, and her every move exudes agility and cuteness, making people feel affection for her involuntarily.

...Well, actually that was just his imagination, a beautified version of the elf images he had seen in stories.

In reality, although the elf had waist-length silver hair, long ears, and emerald eyes, she was extremely small and flat-chested.

His only redeeming quality is that he's actually quite cute... but the other person is a little girl, and he's not into little girls, so it's definitely not what he expected.

Just as he was feeling frustrated, the elf seemed to notice his gaze, walked over, and frowned.

"...Who are you? Why are you sighing at me?"

"Just a passerby." As he spoke, he couldn't help but sigh again: "I was just thinking about something sad, please don't mind me, after all, I'm a good person."

"....Yeah?"

"Ah."

"Are you really a good person? Your aura is a bit strange, and... the murderous intent is quite obvious." The girl pointed at his face and asked bluntly, "Aren't you actually a fugitive?"

Do I look like that kind of person?

"I don't know, maybe?"

"Actually, I am a general of the kingdom."

"Then why come here?"

"Actually, I defected."

"Defected...?" The elven girl's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "So he really is a fugitive? But why?"

"Because I want to learn magic."

"Want to learn magic?... You seem to be quite strong among humans, although I haven't seen many humans."

"You look very strong too. Can you teach me magic?"

Although the opponent was clearly not as strong as the two they had encountered before, it was still a long-lived elf and should possess unique magic. As Ash spoke, he took out two gold coins from his person: "Is this considered payment? Is that alright?"

"..." The girl glanced at the money in his hand and slowly shook her head: "You don't need money here."

"That's troublesome."

"However, in exchange, you can trade prey."

“Ah, I’m good at hunting.” He smiled and then extended his hand to the girl in front of him: “My name is Ash, and yours is Ash.”

"Frilian".

"Then please take care of me from now on, Miss Frillian."

"Ah."

Frillie nodded indifferently and walked towards a stone house on her own, not intending to say anything more to him.

Although he felt a little regretful, he wasn't too bothered by it; he was just a bit worried about what he should do next.

But Frillie stopped and turned around: "What are you doing standing over there?"

"Um... I'm thinking about what I should do at this time..."

"come over."

"???"

“Edna’s house has been empty for a while, and she probably won’t be back before you die, so you can borrow it for now.” Frilian pointed to a building covered in vines.

"...You're exaggerating. But how long is 'a while'?"

"More than thirty years, I think?"

"...That's been quite a while."

The claim that they had been gone for ten days or half a month made Ash click his tongue in astonishment, but he still looked around and couldn't help but ask, "Speaking of which, you must have a lot of free time, so why don't you repair these residences?"

"It will break after a while, which is too troublesome. As long as it doesn't leak, it will be fine."

"...How long is 'a while'? Ah... never mind, I can probably guess."

He rested his hand on his forehead, trying to gather his thoughts.

Although he was already an immortal being, he was still not quite used to the elves' unique perspective on time... But in any case, he temporarily settled down in this elven village, which was neither particularly hospitable nor unwelcoming.

Chapter Seventeen: Who exactly is the strange one?

Since elves are considered human in a broad sense in this world, and sometimes they refer to themselves as human, they don't have any xenophobic thoughts towards humans.

His long lifespan and research into magic made this village quite different from the human villages he first encountered; it seemed unexpectedly prosperous... or perhaps not, just simply a place where people could eat their fill.

But being stuck in these deep mountains, there's no way we can get anything good to eat.

"...But I never expected that the elves would be such good at grilling."

"After all, I'm free." Frillie, who looked completely unmotivated, gave her answer without even thinking. It made perfect sense, yet it also made him want to complain.

Her hesitant expression made Frilian instinctively raise an eyebrow: "What is it?"

"...It's nothing, I was just thinking that I hope I can get used to it here as soon as possible."

"There's no point in getting used to it, you'll leave soon anyway."

Is that so?

"Everyone who comes here is like this; I've heard that no one lives longer than a hundred years."

"...That's because he's dead."