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

Unable to muster any words of praise, Kezan simply gazed at the sky at a 45-degree angle, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and slowly uttered a voice filled with despair:

"...Indeed, this world should be destroyed."

Why is this guy so strange? So it's not because she's an elf, but because Ash corrupted her? But why is Philon still quite normal, while this oldest elf has been corrupted first? —Zane's thoughts were completely chaotic, and he was even genuinely worried about what would become of this team in the future.

Apart from the youngest, Philon, none of the other three were normal, which made it impossible for him to know what to say or who to say it to, even if he wanted to say something or give some advice.

On the eve of their parting, Zain wanted to tell Frilian some things, but in the end he couldn't say anything... He was even a little worried that if Frilian stayed in the squad, Ash would teach her even more strange things.

Although he wasn't entirely sure whether Ash was the root of all evil, he was probably right—it was almost certainly true.

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

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

The heavy snow had stopped by the next day.

After a brief farewell to everyone, a worried Zain embarked on a different path.

But Ash's strange expression before leaving made Philon a little worried. She unconsciously watched his departing figure and tugged at his sleeve.

"Lord Zain's expression is so strange, yet he says he's perfectly fine... Is he really alright?"

“He himself is a monk, and he is most skilled at healing and saving lives. It would be strange if you were worried about his health. I think he must have something on his mind... But I remember he was fine when he left the tavern last night.”

"Ah~ I saw that uncle go to the bookstore. He probably chatted with Frilian for a while, and his expression was very strange when he came back." Yubel turned to look at Frilian with a reminiscing smile.

Suddenly drawn to everyone's attention, Frillie crossed her arms and stroked her chin, pondering, "Yesterday... he felt sorry for Philon without pockets, so he kept hinting that he wanted me to buy Philon a dress with pockets."

"What? Is that uncle really that thoughtful?" Yubel was surprised and even looked at Zain, who was obsessed with older women, with new respect.

Frillie became even more distressed: "I didn't expect him to care about this kind of thing to this extent. I should have been more certain last night and assured him."

"...Is it pitiful not to have pockets?" Philon looked down blankly, examining her skirt, but shook her head vigorously in refusal: "I don't care...no, it's better this way."

"This is... an aesthetic sense and a stubbornness in some strange directions, isn't it?" Frilian pondered for a long time before suddenly realizing:

"Thinking about it, it makes sense. Zain's pursuit of older women is so strange that he doesn't even approve of me, an older woman. So now he probably stubbornly believes that girls must have a skirt with pockets?"

"That old man is meddling in so much things?" Yubel looked displeased upon hearing this speculation.

The three girls continued their discussion, leaving Ash somewhat unable to get a word in edgewise.

Zain, who hadn't gone far, heard their undisguised discussion clearly... and almost stumbled and fell into the snow.

After all, he never imagined that last night's conversation would lead to such a conclusion. He really felt that his reputation had been ruined by Frilian, making it worse than Yash's.

But looking back now felt strange. He could only turn back with tears in his eyes, glare at Ash, whom he believed was the culprit who had caused Frilian to become strange, before quickening his pace to escape this place of trouble.

He has now made up his mind to wait until Frilian is more knowledgeable and mature before explaining things to them properly, which will definitely be easier to do then.

Ash, who was standing there and was inexplicably glared at, felt very innocent because he really hadn't said anything... so why was he being resented?

"It's already hard to guess what a young girl is thinking, so why is it that even an old man's thoughts have become hard to guess? Or is it... that Zain has the delicate mind of a young girl?"

Ash was bewildered by the stare and couldn't quite understand it.

But actually, he was alright. The one who felt most confused in the team was Yubel.

After a winter, although she tried her best to understand the three of them, she didn't know why... even though the three of them were all very strong, they just couldn't resonate with any powerful magic.

Ash didn't say anything, while Frillie frankly told her that she knew too many spells, with no particular one or any special one. Philon also said that she didn't have any special spells, and that her best spell was... ordinary attack magic.

She couldn't figure out if the two of them were lying to her, but it didn't feel like deception. They were clearly very strong, weren't they?

Of course, it wouldn't be accurate to say that there were absolutely no results during this period, because after trying to resonate during this time, Yubel gradually discovered... that while he hadn't made any progress in other areas, his magic control was getting better and better?

In this squad, Ash often teases me, but in return, I gain... a powerful and effective magic control. Is it really worth it?

"...Although it seems like there's no magical energy fluctuation at all, why would I need to suppress my magic energy like that for no reason?"

As everyone embarked on their journey again, Yubel, who was at the back, muttered to himself, already starting to doubt his own talent.

But having already spent so much time, she couldn't bear to give up now, so she could only sigh and catch up with the others again.

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

The cold wave has receded, and the blizzard is over.

After Zain, the four of them also embarked on their journey again.

However, the northern land was unexpectedly cold, and snow was constantly falling.

In the dead of night amidst the blanket of white snow... Philon, who had just taken a hot bath deep in a cave, surprisingly slept in late the next day, just like Frilian.

"No... something seems a little off?"

Watching the girl, her face flushed abnormally and her breathing strangely labored, wrapped in a sheet, he quickly realized something was wrong as soon as he returned from fetching some new firewood.

Without thinking much about it, he reached out and tested it on Philon's face.

"~~!!"

As if electrocuted, Philon's body shuddered instantly, and her consciousness was forcibly awakened. She opened her sleepy eyes and looked at him resentfully, uttering a weak reproachful voice: "Lord Ash... what are you doing?"

"I'd like to check your temperature..."

"...Use such cold hands?"

"This was my mistake... I'm sorry."

As he apologized, he reached out and placed his hands on Yubel and Frilian's faces.

"—?!" Yubel, jolted awake by the cold, opened his eyes with a jolt of resentment: "What are you doing?"

"No...don't do this...uh..."

Compared to Yubel, Frilian was surprisingly docile, only complaining softly as she shook her head like a caterpillar and shrank into the blankets.

Ash's starkly different reactions led him to look at Yubel, who had already regained consciousness.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see who I could wake up first..."

"Is this really an apology??" Yubel had never heard such an insincere apology.

"Um... I'm sorry."

"...And then? What do you want to do?"

Although he still felt that there was a lack of sincerity, Yubel didn't have high expectations for this guy. He just sat up, rested his chin on his hand, and looked at him with an impatient urging expression.

"Philan must be sick. Take a look. My hands are too cold to test properly."

"Honestly... isn't this discrimination a bit too extreme?"

"Now that we've arrived in the magical city as an apology, we can have a proper chat... how about it?"

"This is good~ Let's keep it this way."

Even though the reward was just chatting, Yubel immediately went from angry to happy—after all, she had joined this team just to chat.

And what she needed to do was very simple: she just extended her not-cold hand and tested it on Philon's head, and that was it. She pondered for a moment and said:

"Hmm~ You have a fever, don't you?"

"...I knew it! But is it just a simple case of catching a cold or something else?"

"How would I know?" Yubel helplessly spread his hands; leaving him with no other option but to reach out...

"Wait—! I'm awake!"

His hand would touch Frilian's face, and Frilian would suddenly open her eyes and grab his wicked, icy hand.

Although she was a little annoyed to be woken up so early in the morning, ... in her drowsy state, she heard the two talking and was actually a little worried about Philon, so she couldn't fall back asleep.

With a sigh, she was forced to get out of the not-so-warm bed, and picked up the holy book she had used to line the pot last night. Using simple goddess magic, she diagnosed Philen's condition.

"...It's really just a common cold, but I need to move to a warmer place, otherwise the symptoms will worsen, and I'll need to take some medicine..."

The goddess's magic could not cure diseases, only diagnose them, but as Frilian spoke, she seemed to remember something, turned to look at Ash with a nostalgic expression: "Speaking of which, I think I was sick here before, and you took care of me back then."

"Hmm...it seems so."

"I remember back then, I accidentally caught a cold around here, and then... I woke up in a daze and found myself in the magical city."

"......"

"But how exactly did I get to the magical city?"

When he fell silent for some reason, Frilian couldn't help but ask the question that had been troubling her for so long.

This also unconsciously reminded Ash of those long-forgotten memories.

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

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

About 80 years ago.

Faced with Freyren's sudden cold and fever, the hero team was completely at a loss.

After all, no matter how much the goddess favored Haita, healing magic could not cure diseases.

Since none of them were familiar with the area, they started discussing whether it would be better to find a place to warm up first and then slowly look for medicine, or to carry her on their backs for a while and then find medicine in the magic city.

Although it's not appropriate to march with a feverish patient, what if there are no medicines or residents nearby? Wouldn't that be disastrous?

Just as everyone was racking their brains and hadn't reached a suitable conclusion, Ash silently reached out and picked up Frilian, who was curled up in the portable blankets.

"Ash...you...what is this...?" Frillie weakly opened her eyes, wanting to say something, but he gently comforted her: "It's okay, close your eyes and rest for a bit, you'll be fine soon."

"....??"

Frillie wasn't quite sure what he was trying to do, but trusting him, she obediently closed her eyes, and then...

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, the unsuspecting girl in his arms was instantly petrified, turning into a stone statue in the blink of an eye.

Simmel seemed to be petrified, almost speechless for a moment; even the taciturn Azer was so shocked that his head was buzzing.

"You, what is this...?" Haita stared in disbelief.

Their strange reaction prompted Ash to complain:

"What kind of reaction is this? Since the situation is uncertain, why not just take the safest approach? This way, Frilian won't feel unwell, and we can find medicine directly in town later. Isn't that the most convenient and effective way?"

"It's convenient, but there must be some problems with doing it this way...?" Simmel rubbed her forehead with one hand, trying to hide her headache.

"To be honest, even though we're almost there, it'll still take us several days to get to the magic city, right? Carrying a stone statue will probably make it even slower." Haita's expression looked very strange.