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

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Would someone really scheme against a friend of so many years for a child they've only known for a short time? Was it really a case of making the wrong friends?

Moreover, no matter how you look at it, this can only be considered a short-term compromise at best. From a long-term perspective, it is not rational at all.

Reason compelled him to tell the truth, but emotion prevented him from causing further harm. Holding his child tightly in his arms, he remained silent in this agonizing situation...

"Ugh....."

"Forget it, let's just take it one step at a time. If it really doesn't work out, I'll just have to take care of her in her old age." He held Philon at a 45-degree angle, looked up at the sky, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of resignation.

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years Later: Chapter Seventy-Five Recording - Philon's Change - The Visiting Elf

After being outmaneuvered by Haita, Ash resigned himself to his fate.

After Philon managed a rare smile and happily fell asleep in bed, he drank heavily that night to vent his frustrations.

But to his surprise... Haita, who had been an alcoholic his whole life, only poured him drinks, showing no desire to drink himself.

"What do you mean? Are you just reluctant to drink it yourself? Are you trying to make amends by giving all of this away?" He slammed his glass on the table angrily, glaring at the smiling old man in front of him.

"How could that be? I really want to drink, but..." Haita did initially plan to have a big drinking session with his friends at the end, thinking that it would be a win-win situation.

But now he licked his lips, swallowed hard to resist the temptation, and shook his head vigorously in refusal, saying, "No matter what, drinking all this time at such an old age might shorten my lifespan."

"No... You're over 100 years old, and you still care about this? Besides, even if you died now, it wouldn't be considered a short life." Ash felt like he was lying to himself again when he heard this.

Haita couldn't help but smile wryly: "Actually, just now, I decided to quit drinking."

"...Really? You never even considered quitting drinking, no matter how much I advised you before? You even said that it would be better to kill you than to quit drinking? You even said that it wouldn't matter if you were killed by a monster in the dungeon while drunk, as long as you drank the day before, you wouldn't have any regrets?"

“That was before. Now… I guess I’m getting old?” Haita picked up his glass, took a deep breath, and sighed, “Indeed… I lied to you, and I have to apologize for that.”

"So? You're punishing yourself by quitting drinking? I don't think you'll quit drinking for that."

"of course not."

"...In the end, he's still just a drunkard." He couldn't help but complain, "This guy isn't even willing to pay this small price, yet he so readily denies it."

But Haita ignored him, only looking at the door of Philon's room not far away, and slowly said:

"...Maybe it's because I'm getting older, my heart is softer, and I really want to have a child, and I'm also afraid of being lonely after retirement? Although you've only been here for half a year, now... that sensible and pitiful Philon is almost like a granddaughter to me."

"...So you really want to be my son?"

"Don't interrupt when we're talking about serious matters," Haita snapped, then looked guilty and confessed:

“I know this decision isn’t very kind to you… so I will try to live as long as possible and help you take care of this child in the meantime.”

"But is quitting drinking at this point really effective?"

"Who knows? But if possible, I want to live until this child is capable of taking care of himself. That way, you'll have an easier time later, and even if we have to part ways then, it will be easier for Philon to accept it, right?"

"...You've really been a bishop for a while now, and your ability to lie through your teeth has improved again, huh?" Ash just clicked his tongue and shook his head, saying, "If we really had spent so much time together, how could you expect me to abandon this child completely?"

"Oh, right, I have another gift." Haita avoided answering his question, and instead smiled as she took a magical tool out of her pocket and handed it over.

"This is....?"

"A magical device that can record sound. I recorded that child's confession. What do you think? Isn't it something worth remembering?"

"This... um!"

He remained silent for a moment, but could not resist the temptation. He nodded and put the magical artifact, about the size of a pocket watch, into his pocket.

Although I felt like I was being schemed against, after all, if I heard this kind of thing too much, it would be hard to tell Philon that I wanted to break up again.

But if Phyllen were to listen to it when she's older... Ash simply can't imagine how interesting that would be!

Just imagining the scene made him wish time would pass faster, and he reluctantly acquiesced to the scheme.

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

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

After deciding to settle down, Ash would still occasionally travel north, but he often stayed here instead.

After they opened up to each other, the invisible barrier gradually disappeared, and Philon became even closer to him than before, but...

"Lord Ash, I think excessive drinking is bad. Lord Haita has already given up drinking. Please learn from Lord Haita!"

He was drinking and reading in the early morning when Philon suddenly became a little angry. She snatched the drink from him and puffed out her pink cheeks at him.

"...Don't do this. This is a rare hobby for the elderly. What will you do if you take it away from me? Besides, someone said that wine is the best of all medicines. It's not a bad thing to have a little bit, is it?" At the end of his sentence, Ash looked meaningfully at Haita, forcing Haita, who had said those words, to nod.

This immediately caused Philon to show a surprised expression: "Is that so? Then... shall we have a little? Lord Haita, I hope you can always stay healthy."

The young girl frankly expressed her feelings, which moved Haita and made him feel somewhat awkward, while Ash was able to get his wine back.

When Philon saw that Haita didn't move, he obediently poured him a glass of wine and handed it to him, which made Haita feel touched but also had the illusion that he had shot himself in the foot.

But now he could only resist the temptation, stand up and walk towards the kitchen:

"—It's about time to cook, Philon, shall I teach you?"

"Cooking...? Sure! Please teach me! But let's drink this drink first, shall we?"

"No, this..."

"what happened?"

"Uh... I..."

...........

Heita stammered, unsure how to refuse, and kept casting pleading glances at Ash, but...

Just like his previous actions, Ash completely ignored his gaze and continued flipping through a book with his legs crossed.

Such peaceful and tranquil days passed in the blink of an eye, and a year and a half had gone by.

Philon is already nine years old, and he's grown quite a bit taller than before... although he's still really a little kid.

But one day when she was nine years old, Philon returned home early, after going out to pick mushrooms.

Before he knew it, a silver-haired, long-eared elven girl appeared beside him, staring blankly at him.

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years Later: Chapter Seventy-Six - The Shock of Frilian x3 (3K)

While wandering through the Central Kingdoms, she happened to pass by the Holy Capital, which made Frilian decide after a little thought to visit her old friend.

Although she wasn't actually sure whether those more than one hundred friends were still alive.

However... before finding her target, she unfortunately got lost in the suburban forest.

Lu, before he could even think of using his flying magic, encountered a child carrying a basket.

And when she said she was looking for Haita's house, the seemingly cold child unexpectedly said that she was a guest of her family, and even led her to the cabin in the woods.

But... before seeing Haita, she first saw a figure on a deck chair in the courtyard that, despite the separation of more than twenty years, still inexplicably evoked her deep longing.

The unexpected figure left her stunned, staring blankly at him for a long time before she could react, even wondering once again if she had been subjected to a mental attack.

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

Ash, who was sitting in his newly bought rocking chair, basking in the sun and reading a book, heard footsteps approaching and assumed that Philon had returned.

This made him subconsciously and quietly hide the wine behind his back, but when he looked up, he couldn't help but be a little surprised:

"What? Frillie... That's rare."

"Is this gentleman a friend of Lord Ash?"

Upon hearing this, Philon, who was leading the way, couldn't help but show some curiosity, but then noticed his unusual behavior and frowned slightly as he quickly stepped forward.

She snatched the wine from behind him, and the usually expressionless young girl turned serious with a stern face:

"Lord Haita said that even the best things should not be consumed in excess, and one cup a day is the maximum. You also made a promise with me that you would try your best to live long enough to decipher that magic book, and also until I come of age, right?"

"Uh, this..."

"And then? What is the relationship between this person and Lord Ash?"

"Well, the situation is a bit complicated and not easy to explain, but it's probably the friend you mentioned?"

Although he felt embarrassed by being lectured by a child in front of his friends, he tried his best to put this frustration behind him.

Ash gazed at the long-absent elven "girl," then sat up from the recliner, smiled, and raised his hand in greeting:

"It's been a long time, Frilian. You seem quite surprised to see me."

"Huh...uh...?"

With an extremely strange expression, Frillie nodded blankly in response, but because her mind was somewhat blank, she couldn't speak properly, and her small mouth remained wide open for a long time.

And during this process, she unconsciously tilted her head to the side, and even the suitcase she was carrying slipped to the ground, but she seemed completely unaware of it.

This comical appearance is truly irresistible.

Ash walked up to her without making a sound, reached out and touched her soft chin, then lifted it up to close her mouth. He placed his other hand on her head, stroking her familiar silver hair and straightening her head.

He was clearly offering kind assistance to a long-lost friend, but Philon stared at him expressionlessly, his words carrying a hint of reproach:

"Lord Ash, what are you doing?"