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

Page 109

"Frilian, carry her on your back."

"...Are you kidding me? Even I couldn't fly for half a day, flying magic consumes a lot of energy." Frilian couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

"...Okay, I'll do it."

He had a feeling that the strange posture he had displayed in the blizzard was about to repeat itself, but...

Ash glanced at the petrified girl in his arms, whose imposing presence was overwhelming, then at the girl with dead fish eyes, whose curves, though well-defined, were relatively understated. He nodded unconsciously and said:

"It shouldn't be too strange."

"...While it's not too strange that I don't know what you're talking about, don't you think your gaze is a bit impolite?"

Despite her eccentric personality, Yubel, who could still be considered a young girl, was particularly sensitive to that kind of gaze. She covered her chest and glared fiercely at the gaze.

Ash, however, seemed unfazed, completely disregarding her girlish sentiments: "Don't worry about it, hurry up and come on up."

"...Are we really going to do it??"

"I don't care if I leave you behind."

"—Very good~ Let's go!"

After only a slight hesitation, seeing that he seemed rather unwilling, Yubel's rebellious streak kicked in, and he jumped onto his back and hugged his neck.

This unexpectedly intimate gesture surprised Frillie.

When did your relationship become so good?

"...I'm rather curious, why do you think we have a good relationship?" Ash wanted to retort, but Yubel happily urged, "Let's get going!"

This made him exchange a glance with Frillie, and they decided to give up saying anything more for the time being and silently took flight.

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

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

The touch behind her was different from that of Philon, which inexplicably caught her attention. Although it shouldn't be too much of a problem compared to Philon's imposing stature, it still had an undeniable quality, and it was from a young girl!

She wasn't even a beautiful girl like Philon, whom I'd watched grow up!

"Ah, no, she's called a beautiful girl, but her personality is actually quite strange... No wonder I can't get excited at all..."

He tried to cheer himself up a little, but then he quickly realized that since the person in question was Yubel, he would lose if he actually cheered.

Yubel chuckled in his ear, "You say that, but you're actually quite happy, aren't you? Getting to be so close to a beautiful girl like me~"

"Do you think that's possible?"

"Of course it's possible, after all, you lifted my skirt the first time we met, didn't you?"

"Can you please stop bringing this up? I've said it so many times, it's just... sigh, never mind."

Feeling that no amount of explanation would help, Ash simply gave up on words and wanted to free up one hand to slap her buttocks hard.

But Ash felt that this would cause him some unnecessary trouble during the flight, so he postponed it for the time being... However, the octopus-like holding posture that Yubel adopted to avoid falling down really made him feel a little strange.

Despite this, after resting with Frillie twice more, he still arrived at the magical city in the evening.

"...Speaking of which, since we're already petrified, why are we in such a hurry to arrive that day?"

After Yubel jumped off his back, he touched his chin with his fingertips and asked a question that made both of them pause in surprise.

Because they were all only thinking about getting better quickly, they inadvertently forgot that since they were already petrified, there was no need to care too much about the time.

So now...

"...We'd better find a hotel quickly. I wonder if the one we stayed at last time has closed down."

Feeling that his residence here was unusable after so long, Ash silently carried the stone statue ahead, pretending not to hear the girl's words behind him.

Frillie also took out a book and pretended not to hear anything, silently following along.

The two of them pretended to be clueless, which made Yubel smile involuntarily, as if he had met them again. He then skipped and hopped quickly to catch up with them.

Ash skillfully found an inn, bought the medicine, had it brewed, and finally placed the stone statue in his bed.

After adjusting the bed, he covered the stone statue with the blanket and then silently released the seal.

Although most of the day has passed since the sealing began, and after a busy search for medicine, it is already dusk.

But for Philon, who was feverish and delirious, it was just a brief moment when she was picked up and persuaded to close her eyes.

But it was just a matter of closing and opening one's eyes...

"...Huh?...The ceiling??"

As soon as she opened her eyes, the ceiling that greeted her made her wonder if she was hallucinating. She stared blankly upwards, unable to clear her mind for a long time.

But Ash composed himself and smiled, "Philan, you're finally awake."

"Lord Ash?" Philon looked away, turning his head to look at him, muttering in confusion, "What... what is going on...?"

“You’ve been asleep for three days. We’ve arrived in the magic city.” He quoted his old lines and then grabbed the girl’s small, feverish hand from under the covers.

"—It's so cold...!" Philon pulled his hand back from the cold, looked up at him with a wronged expression, and for a moment forgot to care why he had suddenly appeared here.

"I'm so sorry, I made the same mistake twice..."

"Twice...? What are you talking about?"

"Ah...no, it's nothing, don't worry about it."

Having learned the lesson that too much talk leads to mistakes, he tried his best to refrain from speaking and silently tried to help her up.

Meanwhile, watching this scene unfold, Frillie's thoughts unconsciously drifted back to the time when she was ill...

But looking at Ash's cold hands, Frillie finally understood—he hadn't been taking advantage of her illness to bully her when she was down; he was simply too busy to care.

I just wanted to put my mind at ease, but I forgot about my physical condition. I even carried the stone statue all the way here without having a proper rest.

Even though he was so considerate of me, I kept judging him with old eyes, suspecting him of having ill intentions, and even got angry with him.

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

As if struck by some sudden realization, Frillie was momentarily speechless, and a blush, whether from shame or emotion, crept onto her cheeks.

She gently bit her lower lip, quietly lowered her head, letting her long hair fall softly, covering half her face and concealing the complex and subtle expression that unconsciously surfaced. Her fingertips unconsciously fiddled with her ponytail.

Although she felt he was being a bit too rude and casual with her, even Frilline understood that the way he carried things was beyond words.

But that was indeed his way of caring for me, even though his actions weren't very gentle. But it wouldn't be right to completely deny that behavior, would it?

Just as she was figuring all this out, even though she had originally wanted to have a serious talk with him, now... Frillian put aside her dissatisfaction, and with a hint of barely concealed shame, turned her face away to look at the wall beside her, uttering a barely audible whisper: "Um... Ash."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

".....Thanks."

"What are you suddenly saying?" Ash, who was still holding the medicine in his hands, was also a little confused.

After all, 80 years have passed since that last incident, so it would be difficult for him to connect the two events.

Ultimately, in his mind, Frilian wasn't a particularly thoughtful person... although he wasn't entirely sure if his impression of Frilian was accurate.

However, even though almost a century had passed, it hadn't been that long for Frillie. Although she knew Ash didn't understand what she was saying, she didn't intend to spell it out. Instead, while he was lost in thought, she whispered to herself:

"Don't worry about it, and... I'm sorry."

"Wait, why are you suddenly apologizing and thanking me all of a sudden... I'm starting to panic! Did you eat some poisonous mushrooms during your lunch break?"

"......Hey!"

His bewildered speculation prompted Frilian to imitate Philon, who would occasionally kick people when angry, and she simply raised her leg and kicked him in the shin.

"Why the sudden personal attacks? Let me tell you, I advocate for gender equality..."

"Gender equality, right? I know! Can you kick me later?"

"Ha...haa...?"

He was interrupted before he could finish speaking, leaving him completely bewildered. Frilian, however, didn't intend to explain. She simply snatched the medicine from his hand and, without turning her head, fed it to Philon, who was equally confused, saying:

“I’ll give you the medicine…and you can do what you used to do. It’s a little embarrassing, but…it works pretty well.”

"...What happened before?"

Frillie's strangely over-the-top attitude puzzled Ash for a while before he realized what she was talking about.

Even though there were still many things she didn't understand, she temporarily put aside her concerns about Frilian, warmed her hands with hot water, and then held Philon's hand with one hand and stroked Philon's head with the other.

"Lord Ash... I'm not a child anymore..."

Although Philon was extremely shy and her cheeks were flushed, she still obediently swallowed the bitter medicine, but she still couldn't help but cast a resistant look at him.

"I know, but you'll still feel uneasy at times like this, won't you?"

“That’s how it is… but…” Philen hesitated, about to express her desire for independence again, but Ash took the initiative and gently stroked her soft little hand in his palm: “If possible, someday in the future I will definitely need this kind of comfort. At that time, please hold my hand tightly in the same way, okay? After all, even adults have times when they feel insecure.”

"It seems...so that's true...? Then, it's a date?"

Upon hearing this, Philon felt a surge of warmth in his heart, and all his resistance vanished instantly. His tense body unconsciously relaxed, and even his expression gradually softened, as he nodded slightly and gave a weak smile.

Finally, Ash nodded in agreement, and as Frilian carefully brought the potion to her lips, Philon unconsciously closed her eyes quietly, enjoying the gentle caress.