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

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"Anyway, apologizing first is definitely the right thing to do... That's what Solitaire said." Lina took a small bite of her apple with a blank expression, completely revealing the mastermind behind the scenes.

"I told you long ago not to associate with Solitaire, didn't I? You've been corrupted again... Sigh, I tried so hard to make you a good kid."

"Even so, isn't Lord Ash actually quite easygoing? He tells me to behave, but he himself is very mischievous, sometimes even more troublesome than Lord Aura."

Although Aura and Ash could both be considered her guardians, Krine's respect for them often remained merely verbal... or more accurately, merely polite words.

Now, she showed no mercy either. When he tried to shift the blame for the failure of education onto Solitaire, she directly exposed his intentions and even accurately identified the problem.

Are all kids these days so strange? Faced with these overly sharp words, Ash was speechless for a moment, even thinking of Philon, who, despite being an adopted daughter, somehow vaguely resembled himself and his mother, Frilian.

Although he really wanted to give a good lecture, the environment was clearly not suitable, so he could only lead his group to the local lord's mansion for the time being.

It's worth mentioning that although Linne wears a hood, Ash actually found an ancient cognitive impairment magic in Seria's library a long time ago, which can make people ignore the existence of her horns, and even if she takes them off, no one can tell.

She's wearing the hood now purely as a precaution, since a powerful mage might be able to detect that she's using some kind of magic.

Then, by using the magic to break the curse on her, we can see through the pair of small horns on her head. Therefore, in such a place, we still need the protection of the royal guard knights to ensure that nothing goes wrong.

After all, this is a kingdom, and no mage would dare to offend someone protected by the royal guards.

Although in reality the Royal Guard has not protected the royal family for almost a century, mainly used for doing shady things, their additional duties are protecting Linne and Aura, as well as guarding the safety of the royal city.

The organization is now many times stronger than before, but its composition is now purely composed of undead soldiers handpicked by Aura on the battlefield... just like the Magic Knights, except that all members are still alive and are controlled by an agreement to move towards the same ideal.

The additional magic of obedience serves as a second layer of insurance; ideals and commitments can prevent those with strong wills from occasionally rebelling.

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

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

The lord's mansion had been cleared of its original guards, and the Imperial Guard had long since taken over the defense of the surrounding area.

Ash didn't go to see the lord, but instead went to the guest room with Line, intending to give the child a good talking-to.

However... as he sat at his desk, resting his chin on his hand, still trying to gather his emotions, he saw this "big" child, whom he had raised from a baby, who looked more like a little girl than a teenager but was actually almost 100 years old, wiping her hands with her own clothes.

But now that things have come to this, he didn't want to say much more about it. He simply rebuked Linne for appearing there:

"You came all this way for no reason, but now you're making such a fuss? What if people find out who you are?"

"It's alright, Lord Ash. I've been very careful, and besides, I also have other important business to attend to this time."

"...Serious business?"

"Didn't they say there was going to be a war soon? I brought some of Lord Aura's magical beasts with me. My main role is to coordinate the operations."

Having spent a considerable amount of time with the Bloodstained War God, Linne's close-combat skills are well-assured, and with the protection of the Imperial Guard, there shouldn't be too much to worry about.

But the biggest problem is that this child can be disobedient at times... But with war imminent, Linne's appearance with her beast pack is a decent reserve force.

After all, Aura was only willing to hand over control of the Undead Army to Line and him; he couldn't communicate with anyone else.

This bothered him for a while, so he simply stopped dwelling on it and instead teased, "...You know it's almost my birthday, so what are you planning to give me this year?"

"A gift...?" Lina thought for a moment, then slightly bent her knees and, in front of him, removed her alluring black stockings, revealing her snow-white and delicate little feet, and then casually handed him the pink fabric:

"Lord Ash, here you go."

"....What??"

“Underwear.” Linne tilted her head, her purple eyes filled with a big question mark, as if she didn’t understand why he didn’t even know this.

He instinctively took it, and was immediately on the verge of exasperation: "—I know! I just don't understand why you gave me this? Do I look like some kind of freak??"

"...You were not happy that the previous humans showed you this? In that case, why don't you keep it so you can look at it every day?"

"Thank you!"

Holding the warm, cozy thing in his hand made his blood pressure keep rising, and he didn't even know what to do with it.

Linne seemed to think she had been praised, and with a slight upturn of her lips, she reached out her small hand to him: "Give me apples from the Central Kingdoms as a souvenir."

"—I'm not really thanking you!"

"...Lord Ash is a liar."

"I'm not lying!"

"Please explain clearly what happened."

"...Why are you still being stubborn?"

Looking at the girl who was already pouting, he felt that he should be the one who was being difficult.

After complaining about her for a while, Ash still casually put the underwear aside and habitually picked it up and put it on his lap, intending to give her a good talking to.

But at this moment, Linne turned her face away, like a cat that had just been picked up and looked unwilling.

This stumped him too: "...So, why are you still unwilling?"

"Lord Ash was clearly very happy when he looked at other people's underwear."

"Don't talk nonsense, or I'll be seen as a pervert."

"You didn't bring the apple you promised."

"...Believe me, the apples in the Central Kingdoms are no different from those in the North. In other words, you should stop obsessing over the apples."

........

Why is it that when you should be lecturing, you end up comforting this sulking child? To be honest, Ash doesn't understand it either, and it even gives him a headache.

But after getting a general understanding of the situation in Aura and the capital from Linne, he stopped worrying about the other side.

The only thing to be careful about is that I didn't go back for my birthday this year, and Awula is a little upset about it... but normally I should just pretend not to hear for a while and it will be fine.

Since they were born around the same time... roughly, the date was arbitrarily set on the same day. However, demons don't normally have the concept of birthdays, so it was entirely his teaching to Aura.

This led Linne to understand now, but what he received from Linne... still left him speechless.

The rare opportunity to see Linne again led him to stay at the lord's mansion that night. Of course, he still insisted that she put her underwear back on, because if she actually accepted it, his reputation would be ruined.

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

The next day, it was supposed to be almost time to go to the front lines to check on the situation.

However, since the war hasn't really started yet, it can be delayed for a couple of days. Moreover, when he woke up, he found that Linne, who was supposed to be next door, had somehow crawled into his bed and was half-pressed on top of him.

The door, which was originally tightly closed, was violently dismantled and thrown aside, leaving him dumbfounded.

"...What does your child do all day long?" Ash was speechless and couldn't help but slap her on the butt.

"Ugh~!" Unable to sleep well, Linne reflexively bit his neck with a cute whimper, leaving him staring blankly at the ceiling with an expression of existential doubt.

During this time, he could even feel warm saliva flowing down his neck, which was inexplicably...strange.

He was finally freed from that strange situation only after Linne woke up.

Linne, who was acting alone for the first time, was scolded by him after waking up, but she was still very excited and wanted to explore the city more.

"Having an affair with Lord Ash..." The girl walking briskly ahead swayed her body and two cute ponytails, but after only a few steps, she turned around in confusion and asked, "What should I do at this time, Lord Ash?"

"...Now that things have come to this, I don't really want to correct your wording anymore, but at least you said it was a date or something, even though it was really just an adult taking a child shopping."

"What's that compared to this?" Lina pointed directly to the white tower in the distance.

"...Should we change the subject?" He shook his head helplessly and looked in the direction of the slender fingertips. "That's the Magic Association. There are some troublesome old people inside. It's better not to get close, or it will cause a lot of trouble."

"Is Lord Aura such a troublesome person?"

"...If you say that in front of her, she will be angry."

“I understand, but you’re talking about it behind my back now.”

"...Sometimes I wonder, did you say I was troublesome, Awula?"

“Don’t I usually say things to your face?” Linne retorted casually with a straight face, making him unable to help but cover his face and sigh: “...Where did you learn this terrible personality from?”

"From Lord Aura and Lord Ash..."

"I absolutely did not do that. Apologize to me immediately."

"....sorry."

Reprimanded harshly, Linne lowered her head in frustration.

But her frustration never lasted long. She would immediately take out the apple she had put in his pocket when they left, wipe it inside his shirt with practiced ease, and then eat it with a blank expression.

There's no particular reason why she eats apples. Not only do she eat them as a meal, but she also eats them like a heavy smoker, whether she's in a good mood, a bad mood, troubled, or depressed.

If Ash isn't around, he wipes his face with his own sleeve; if Ash is around, he wipes it with his clothes. In any case, he has to eat it; he's basically a serious apple addict.

However, he started eating again right after apologizing, which made Ash feel that he was not sincere at all... although even if he didn't eat, he wouldn't be sincere either.

"Sigh... Why is there not a single normal person around me?" He had only just sighed when he felt something was wrong. At least... Connie, Rabine, and Zanze seemed quite normal.

Hearing the voice, Lina became unusually obedient and handed him the apple: "...Does Lord Ash want some too?"

"...I don't understand at all why you would give me an apple at this time. But even if you're giving something to someone, you shouldn't give them something that they've already eaten, right? Hmm...I think I've said this many times before."

"This tastes good." As she spoke, the expressionless girl handed the apple over without asking.

Unable to refuse such hospitality, he could only accept it, take a bite, and savor the sweet and sour taste spreading in his mouth. While still pondering where to go, Linne casually wiped her hand on the hem of his clothes.

Then she lifted his clothes, leaned closer, and skillfully shook her head, wiping her mouth clean with the fabric inside. Before he could speak, she quickly walked ahead.

This left him feeling utterly frustrated, but he didn't want to say anything more, so he could only shake his head and follow.