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

Page 138

"What did you say?" Philon turned around curiously.

"Hmm... I remember, at that time, Simmel said a long speech. At first, Frilian was unmoved, but the last sentence—'There might be a precious magic book in the side path'—directly changed Frilian's unexpected simple exploration of the dungeon."

Just thinking about how Frillie's eyes widened and she ran back immediately when Simmel said those words, urging them on, makes him shake his head.

Philon's expression also became somewhat subtle: "It does seem like something Lady Frilian would do."

"Indeed, for a thousand years after her master's death, except for the occasional time when she was alone in the deep mountains and forests, she spent most of her time wandering around looking for magic books... If you told her that there were magic books buried underground, she would probably go and dig up all the graves within a few kilometers of that area."

“Although grave robbing is a bit excessive, isn’t it amazing?” Zanze couldn’t help but interject, “And if you’re working this hard, you must have discovered some incredibly powerful magic, right?”

“...You’re still too naive, Zanze.” Ash reached out and placed his hand on her head, feeling the touch of her beautiful long hair as he shook his head. “In reality, most of them are very useless magic books.”

"Searching for thousands of years, and diligently scouring every dungeon? And it's all been for nothing?"

"It sounds a bit unbelievable, but it's really true. I've never even heard of her having any good results."

His sighing voice immediately annoyed Philon, who retorted seriously, "How could that be! There are still some very useful spells!"

"for example?"

"The magic to clean rust from bronze statues, the magic to conjure hot tea, remove stubborn grease, eliminate mold, and make flipping pancakes go smoothly...aren't these all incredibly useful?!"

Philon listed off many lost and legendary spells on his fingers, speaking with great confidence and admiration.

But Zanze and Ash looked very strange after hearing this, because... they couldn't understand at all what the point of collecting this kind of magic was.

Zanze was stunned and didn't know how to comment, while Ash simply covered his face and sighed, "...Aren't these all Grandma's little tricks?"

"Please don't defile those legendary spells!" Philon angrily retorted. "What do you plan to do if your clothes get moldy? Wouldn't a spell that can eliminate mold be very convenient in that situation?"

"...I'll just buy a new outfit."

"Isn't that a waste of money? What about the magic for removing stubborn grease stains? It would be too much trouble to do it yourself, wouldn't it? Or are you so wasteful that you throw away pots and pans after using them only once?"

"I don't cook, so if all else fails, I can hire a maid."

“…Hmm…” His nonchalant attitude immediately made Philon so angry that he puffed out his cheeks.

This made his expression stiffen slightly, and then, as if he had just thought of something, he lightly pounded his palm and changed his words: "--No, however! Thinking about it, sometimes it is indeed much better than nothing!"

"That's right! Lord Ash really lacks common sense."

"Yes, yes...it's all my fault..."

Why is it that Philon, who is only a teenager and still in the prime of her life, is so biased towards her mother's or even grandmother's generation in this regard? Is it Frilian's fault? — Looking at the girl whose mood had improved, he verbally agreed, but his heart was filled with unspeakable helplessness.

His manner, clearly one of coaxing a child, made Zanze shake his head repeatedly.

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Although the goal should be to reach the deepest part, there is still plenty of time.

This made Frilian look around like she was on a treasure hunt. After all, this was an unexplored labyrinth, so no one knew what was inside. But the existence of a large number of treasures was certain, so Ash was actually quite interested.

So the four of them soon followed the excited Frilian to a secluded fork in the road.

At the end of the fork in the road, there was nothing else but an ancient treasure chest.

As Ash expected, Frillie just squatted on the ground, stroking her chin, with a thoughtful expression.

This prolonged silence finally made even Philon, who always doted on her, unable to hold back any longer, and he softly reminded her:

"Lady Frillien, how long are you going to keep watching? It's already been identified, hasn't it? That's a mimic."

"Although the identification result is indeed a mimic, Philon... the accuracy of that magic is 99%, which means there is still a 1% chance of missing it."

Ash smiled and placed his hand on Philon's shoulder, uttering before Frilian could speak, Frilian's famous quote that he remembered so well: "It is because of those 1% of great magicians that historic discoveries are made, and this is the ultimate motivation for us as magicians to pursue miracles and create history."

"It sounds like that... but it's still a bit far-fetched, isn't it?" Philon's expression was subtle, and his eyes clearly showed that he was not convinced.

But Frillie, who was receiving praise from her companion for the first time, was so happy that her eyes lit up, and she suddenly stood up and grabbed his hand:

"—Ash, don't you understand? You truly are my best friend! Hmm... From now on, we're best friends for life again!"

"Although I don't know what it was before, I don't care... anyway, you'll definitely change your mind again soon."

"Huh? You mean you're thinking of... again?" Frillie opened her eyes wide in confusion and blinked a few times.

"It's okay, hurry up and start driving. Don't waste time here, I'm waiting too."

Without a word, he withdrew his hand from Frillie's, and as if to instill courage, placed his hands on her shoulders, offering words of trust:

"Your experience as a mage must tell you that it contains a grimoire, right? So believe in yourself, Frilian! I believe in you too!"

"Ash..."

Even when no one else believed in her, he still placed such trust in her, which filled Frillie with joy and almost brought her to tears.

At this moment, their tacit understanding and friendship quietly sublimated in the dim light of the maze.

Frillie actually wiped her eyes, unconsciously covering her face and whispering with emotion, "...So many years, ten centuries... After all these years, finally someone believes my judgment again... Today... finally! Finally, someone understands that I am right~"

"...Lady Frillian, although I don't want to discourage you at this time, since no one has believed you for so many years, haven't you ever considered that perhaps you are wrong?"

Although the two looked very affectionate at the moment, Philon was making sarcastic remarks with a look of disgust.

Even after being criticized by Philon, Frillie, who had finally gained someone's understanding, was not discouraged at all. Instead, she straightened her back and retorted confidently:

"How could it be my fault? In the end, if I don't even believe in myself, how can I welcome this happy moment?"

"...If this is what happiness is, why don't you quickly change your path? You'd definitely gain more recognition and more happiness that way, wouldn't you?"

"Because I believe in my choice!"

"Is there never a time when you trust the expert's assessment?"

"—Absolutely not!"

She had always seemed confident before, and now that she had gained companions, she naturally exuded an aura of absolute certainty. Her gaze was so unwavering that even Philon couldn't help but wonder if she was truly wrong? Was Frilian the one who was right?

But she still didn't quite understand... If she didn't trust the test results, why did Frilian still get them tested every time—the results would have to be issued anyway, right?

...While the two were locked in a stalemate, Zanze quietly glanced at Ash and asked in a low voice with curiosity:

"Lord Ash, did this person really succeed? Or is there a problem with modern appraisal magic?"

“Well…” He hesitated for a moment, then quietly pulled Zanze aside before explaining, “…In reality, identifying magic is almost never wrong, with a probability of less than one percent, but there’s always one chance of it happening every few hundred times.”

"..." The strange answer left Zanze silent for a long while. He couldn't help but ask, "Are you trying to believe in that less than one percent chance? But I don't think you would..."

"Your judgment of me is correct."

"Huh?...The probability is so low, why are you still encouraging her?"

"Because if she doesn't do this, she'll be bothered by the mimic for a long time."

"Ah... but... but maybe Frillie will give up later?" Ash's answer finally made her understand. It turned out Ash was simply annoyed by the trouble. So, after a moment of stunned silence, she subconsciously spoke up for Frillie. However...

Seeing her frowning, Ash shook his head with a helpless smile: "A normal person would do that, but... I've never seen her give up."

"Huh? Really?"

Why would I lie to you?

"What is the meaning of that silence...?"

"I don't know either, so I hope she can hurry up and not waste time here. After all, there are a lot of treasure chests in this dungeon. If it keeps dragging on like this, who knows how long it will take? It's better to be swallowed sooner to avoid trouble."

He spread his hands helplessly, and his answer once again left Zanze bewildered in that dark corner.

After a long while, unable to speak up for Frillie any longer, she looked at the girl who was once again squatting in front of the treasure chest and murmured:

"What a strange person."

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Everyone else was speechless at her behavior, but Frilian herself was completely oblivious to their feelings.

Encouraged by Ash, she was practically pumped up, completely ignoring Philon's advice. She returned to the treasure chest, glanced back at Ash with a confident smile, and uttered a calm, confident whisper:

"Ash...believe me, the one you trust will never let you down."

"Hmm... I trust you, so hurry up and start driving."

"Alright! Now it's time to witness a miracle...!?"

Urged on by him, Frillie smiled and, in one go, suddenly opened the treasure chest. Then—the moment she opened it, she was instantly swallowed up by the mimic with its mouth wide open.

His impressive speech came to an abrupt end at that moment.

In the entire dark dead end, only the sound of the mimic chewing its upper body could be heard.

The two others besides Ash were completely dumbfounded. Frillie, whose upper body had been swallowed, remained silent for a moment before violently wriggling her buttocks:

"—It's so dark! It's so scary~! Ah~! Waaaaaah~~! It's so dark! It's so scary~! Ash~! Philon~! Let me out! It's so dark! It's so scary~~~! Waaaaah!! Ash~! Philon~!"

Frillie shouted for help while violently twisting her hips and kicking her legs.

As Philon, after his initial shock, rushed forward to drag him away, Ash glanced at the dumbfounded Zanze beside him, and expressionlessly slapped his wriggling buttocks hard:

"See, Zanze, the result is still the same, isn't it?"

“Ah…” Zanze was completely speechless.