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

Page 19

Still wanting to argue, he finally decided to hoist Frillie onto his shoulder and quickly leave, wanting to avoid making it impossible for him to stay here any longer because of her.

There was nothing I could do; besides myself, there were only three other people in these ruins.

One person was made to cry by himself, and the other two are still blaming him. If he doesn't deal with this guy who's crying so badly for no reason, he probably won't be able to come back.

But... I had only just left the ruins and gone outside when I saw the sky.

The girl he was carrying on his shoulder stopped crying as soon as he put her down on the grass. She crossed her arms, raised her head, and revealed a smug smile that was completely different from her usual expressionless demeanor.

"Hmph~ How about that? Now you know how powerful I am, right?"

"..."

What's wrong with this girl? Can I hit her? Sure? Surely I can! — Watching her stop crying instantly and turn from sorrow to joy so quickly, Ash was dumbfounded, his eyes twitching slightly, and his fists hardening involuntarily.

.......

.....

...

(PS: Since Frilian is usually emotionless, I should mention this... This is not a secondary setting. I don't remember if the anime had this memory, but it was mentioned in the manga. If you say Frilian is old three times, she will cry for three days and three nights, which scared the hero team half to death.)

Perhaps for her, being called old by humans is like a baby who has just learned to speak suddenly being called "Old Man"...that kind of feeling?

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years From Now On: Chapter Twenty-Eight: Differences in Perspectives

Ash was already itching to punch someone, but Frilian noticed his clenched fist.

But she wasn't afraid at all. She even stopped smiling and solemnly warned, "What's wrong? You want to hit me? Ash."

"What? You still think I'm not good enough..."

"If you do it now, I'll cry for three more days."

There was no sense of oppressive threat whatsoever; Frillie merely stretched her head slightly, giving a strange warning with a blank, expressionless face.

But just thinking about being tormented by this crying for another three days made Ash's hand, which was raised high, freeze in mid-air for a while before slowly lowering it.

He pressed his hand against Frillie's head, rubbed it vigorously, and even revealed a slightly twisted smile:

"I'm not trying to be mean... but you're acting a little more like an old person, okay? What kind of threat is this? Or are you just a mentally immature child?"

“...It’s happened again.” Frilian stared at him expressionlessly.

"Hey, why are you counting again?"

"what happened?"

"...Is this a threat?"

"No, this is a warning. There's no third time. If it happens twice more, you know what will happen."

"........You win."

"Then hurry up and take your hand away."

Seeing his retreat, Frilian became smug and slapped his hand away.

He was resentful of being defeated in this way, but... there was really nothing he could do about it.

After all, this guy is probably much older, yet he was able to swallow his pride and cry for three days and three nights, which made him a bit mentally exhausted.

"Ha... whatever, I can't be bothered with you, I'm going to study..."

Forced to lower his raised hand, he turned back in frustration, while Frilian, unfazed by his provocation, followed him without keeping her distance.

After that, the four of them stayed in the ruins for about a month before Ash packed his bags again and left temporarily with Frilian and Vlame.

Of course, he also carried a new magic book, and as for why he didn't leave it behind...

There was nothing he could do; Celia preferred to be alone and daydreaming, and even if he pestered her relentlessly, she might not be willing to teach him. On the contrary, Vlamé was very willing to teach him, so he naturally chose to follow her.

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

Three years later, when the group returned to visit Celia, who seemed like a lonely old woman, living alone at home, it was already past that time.

Despite not having changed his appearance over the years, which should normally make people suspicious of Ash, Celia has been helping him cover up his identity.

Although it was just a random excuse, saying that an experimental magic to preserve youth was cast on him; because it was an experiment and only succeeded once, and it just so happened to succeed on him, it allowed him to always look like a teenager.

Although it was never used again, supposedly because the success rate was too low, no one doubted him since it was Celia who said it.

As Celia watched Ash browsing through his collection of books, "updating" them once again, she couldn't help but smile, and from her throne, she questioned him:

"Ash, you... are you the kind of guy who'll side with whoever feeds him?"

"I just like knowledge."

"Am I your master?"

"What does it matter? Since Vlame and Frilian both have magic I don't know and are willing to teach me, and I'm willing to learn, isn't that a win-win situation?"

"What win-win situation? You're the only one who wins! In the end—the generations are all messed up, you bastard!" Celia raised her hand and threw a book at him without thinking.

But he caught it red-handed, and casually put it into his bag, then helplessly spread his hands and said, "If you don't teach me, what can I do?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't teach you, it's just that I taught you last time, can't you wait a little while?"

"A period? Fifty years?"

"Thirty years, I think. Before that, I want to be alone for a while."

"...Then I might as well go to Volamey."

"It's only thirty years, and you can't even wait that long?"

"A mere thirty years..."

Seria knew he was a demon and didn't care about thirty years, but he didn't know how to correct her strange perception of time; at least he couldn't just wait thirty years.

But Ash now understands that it will probably take some time to correct this, so he's too lazy to argue with her about it anymore.

Meanwhile, Frillie stood to the side, speaking in a serious tone:

"Ash, you should learn to take it slow. Don't always act like your master, rushing around like something is rushing you even when there's nothing important. That's why humans don't live long."

"...I've already said, these are two different things..." He really didn't want to dwell on this topic anymore, but he still couldn't help glaring at Frilian.

At this moment, Vlame also smiled bitterly and said, "Frilian and Master, you are elves, so your actions are different from ours; but it's not that moving too fast causes a shorter lifespan, but rather that human lifespan is limited, and we are closer to death than you, so we simply can't afford to delay and have to act faster."

"I understand that, isn't it just Frillie who doesn't?"

Having traveled far and wide, having lived since the age of mythology, Celia shook her head and turned her gaze to Frilian, who had lived in the secluded elven village since childhood.

"..."

Frillie didn't speak, not because she agreed, but simply because she was too lazy to object.

Just like the elves' concept of time, no matter what outsiders say, it's hard to change their attitude towards humans. When they say "wait a moment," it can still make people wait for decades.

Even if the elves know that the other party is human, it is difficult to change this perception. Humans also find it hard to understand why they are so slow to act, whether towards themselves or humans, and why things won't change no matter what they say.

And after this fruitless discussion... despite being accused of messing up the generational order, Ash remained tireless, learning from Vlame and Frilian, and even left the ruins with them on his own, despite Celie's speechless gaze.

But at the very end, Celia offered a distant reminder:

"Ash, I don't care what you do, but don't be like those two guys. They put the cart before the horse by spending time on useless skills like controlling your aura in order to hide your strength and deceive the demons."

"Is it impractical...?"

"If the same amount of time were used to practice other skills, Vlame wouldn't need to sneak around anymore. Wasting time on this kind of thing is extremely inefficient... Don't disappoint me too."

"I understand, don't worry."

Ash waved his hand without turning his head, which was taken as an agreement.

At other times, he might just be dealing with Celie, but on this point, he differed from his master and apprentice, leaning more towards Celie's viewpoint. He only intended to control his breath slightly under normal circumstances, and there was no need to waste time training this control.

Because... he prefers to spend time strengthening himself and then crushing the enemy head-on rather than launching a surprise attack.

......

...

...

(PS: According to Celie a thousand years later, if Frilian hadn't spent so much time training to conceal her aura, she would be several times stronger than she is now... But she also relied on concealing her aura to defeat many powerful enemies. However, even someone as powerful as the Demon King could see through her true strength at a glance, and there are also some humans who can see through it.)

I feel...it's hard to give a proper evaluation.

Finally, by the way, I'd like to ask for some monthly votes to support this new author and their new book! (Please, no need for harsh words, since I haven't been a regular reader...)

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years From Now On: Chapter Twenty-Nine - The Goddess's Time Travel

Compared to Ash's pursuit of the unknown, Vlame had no interest in exploring ruins and showed no enthusiasm for treasure chests.

In her view, the knowledge she gained from Celia could never compare to exploring ruins in her lifetime. Rather than wasting time exploring ruins, she should pursue her dream—to teach magic to all of humanity.