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

Page 129

This seems to be causing the previous dissatisfaction to increase once again.

But at that moment, Frillie, who was peeking over to look at the menu, suddenly said, "A birthday? Come to think of it...it's almost Ash's birthday, isn't it?"

"Huh? It's this... Ah, indeed!" After a brief moment of stunned silence, Philon, who had been diligently preparing for her exams recently, suddenly came to her senses.

Yubel was surprised by his sudden realization and exclaimed, "Hey~ Philen actually forgot this person's birthday? I thought you were counting down the days until now?"

"...Because Ash-sama disappears without a trace every single birthday..." Thinking of this, Philon gazed at Ash with a resentful look: "I've never...never even once celebrated Ash-sama's birthday..."

"It seems so? But my master and I did celebrate Ash's birthday together?" Frilian looked surprised and casually mentioned her own situation.

As soon as she said this, she was met with an indignant look from Philen: "Lady Frilian, are you showing off to me?"

"Why would I show off something like this...?"

"Is this the composure of the strong?"

"I really don't understand what you're saying at all... Don't look at me like that..."

The strange dissatisfaction, as if he still considered her a competitor, left Frillie feeling utterly bewildered, and she even turned to Ash for help.

But... almost as a matter of course, their friendship often proves useless in this regard.

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

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

Once all four of them had their meals served, the slightly tense atmosphere finally eased.

A giant sundae and two small cakes instantly made Philon forget her previous troubles. Her usually expressionless face showed a very girlish smile at this moment.

"Hmph~" Frilian looked at the excessive amount of steak in front of her, forgetting her troubles and unconsciously curling up the corners of her mouth. Yubel, on the other hand, had three desserts in front of him, just like Philon.

"...You really like imitating others, don't you?" Ash said, somewhat annoyed. Yubel, on the other hand, shook his little spoon and said smugly, "I've found that the more I know, the harder it is for people to find my presence."

"...Then you could try imitating Frilian, right?" He pointed to the mountain of flesh in front of Frilian.

But Yubel only glanced at the mountain of flesh that must have weighed at least twenty pounds, and then showed a rather strange expression: "With so much, wouldn't someone die if they ate it?"

"...What? You're so rude. This is barely enough to kill someone." Frillian glanced at her, complained, and then silently picked up her knife and fork to cut the food, even praising its taste as she put it in her mouth.

This scene made Ash sigh softly, resting his chin on his hand: "Sigh... what is this?"

"What, Ash? You have a problem with that too?"

"It's not that... I've just been wondering for a long time why dwarves don't drink alcohol and elves eat a lot of meat. What's going on here?"

"So, how long are you going to cling to the prejudice that dwarves drink alcohol and elves eat vegetables?"

Frillie glanced at him as he mumbled his incoherent complaints, but then ignored him as soon as he finished speaking, this guy who held a strange prejudice against her.

Ash didn't intend to say much, but he was somewhat frustrated by the fact that this world was completely different from what he had imagined, and at the same time...

"Why aren't there any decent pretty girls? They're all weirdos." He glanced at the three of them, his sigh growing even heavier.

“Lord Ash, this is a public place, and I don’t want to say anything more about you.” Philon paused his enjoyment of the dessert, elegantly wiping his mouth, but as if he were enduring something, he stared at the dessert in front of him and casually said, “But… you have already spoken your rude thoughts, so please explain properly when you go back.”

"No... what I mean by abnormal definitely doesn't include Philon."

"Does that include me?" The person opposite her, Frilian, looked up and glared at him expressionlessly. Philon then nudged him a few times with his elbow as he silently took turns eating meat and soup. "Lady Frilian is going to throw a tantrum. This is your problem, please resolve it quickly."

"......"

Why do I have to take care of so many people just because I made a slight remark? In the end, isn't that the truth? —As Ash savored the delicious taste of beef spreading in his mouth, he felt inexplicably troubled.

At that moment, a diner nearby suddenly spoke about some recent national events, causing the mages present to stop talking and listen intently.

The general situation is that recently, three new legions have been added to the border fortress not far from the magic city. All of them are highly trained elite troops equipped with standardized protective magical gear, and their main components are heavy infantry and light/heavy cavalry.

The relationship between the Empire and the Kingdom of Esther is not harmonious, and small-scale conflicts even occur from time to time along the border. However, both sides are still exercising restraint. This sudden reinforcement of troops will surely cause tension in the situation.

"...Is it going to be war?" Philon, who had been in a good mood, looked melancholy when she heard the news.

Yubel, completely detached and with a nonchalant smile, said, "War happens every day, but... it would be interesting if these two largest countries were to fight each other!"

"...After the exam, I need to hurry and meet the king, otherwise things will definitely get complicated if chaos breaks out on the human side first."

Frillie was still worried that the demons might be recuperating, so she became unusually serious.

Ash, however, remained completely silent on the matter... after all, it was something he had arranged during his recent trip to the capital.

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

The next day, around noon.

In Ash's courtyard, he sat alone on a swing, holding a magic book he had collected during the exams, which was about high-speed movement magic.

If one cannot reach the pinnacle of skill, the trajectory of the magic will be quite obvious. However, if the opponent is strong and vigilant, spreading magic power like a spider web around them, it will be difficult to find an opportunity to strike.

Therefore, apart from the first time, it is difficult to see any effect after the second time. Moreover, the speed is extremely fast and the consumption is also extremely large. Even Raofen herself can't use it more than a few times.

This made him, who had tried using it, now only hope to completely master the magic, but... his clothes were being tugged at incessantly.

"Stop looking~ Come and help me!" Yesterday, Frilian was just watching from the sidelines, but today she looked distressed and kept tugging at his clothes, trying to drag him away.

"...You haven't forgotten what you told me yesterday, have you?" He turned his head to look at me with an expression of annoyance.

But Frillie had also learned to lie through her teeth, saying with a blank expression yet inexplicably serious, "Actually, I've already regretted it, so please help me today."

"...Do you even believe what you're saying?"

"give me a chance."

"Ask Philon, will she give it to you?"

"That's why I came to you, because she wouldn't give it to me."

.........

Frillie, who was quite happy watching the commotion yesterday, is now forced to make groveling requests of him with a bitter face.

If you ask why, it's because when I got back last night, I didn't shower or wash my feet before I just collapsed onto the bed and slept soundly.

"This is all your fault." Having learned the reason, Ash reached out and coldly pushed Frillie away, pressing her hand against her face. This guy only became easy to talk to when something happened.

"Who told you not to take care of the hygiene properly? You didn't even bother to fix it first thing in the morning, and you slept until now!"

"I know it's all my fault... But hey! I helped you change the subject yesterday, so please help me out today."

"...Tell me more about her current situation?"

"She kept pouting and ignoring me..."

"Really?... What a peaceful day."

His overly peaceful way of getting angry made him look up at the sky, sigh slightly, and then return to the book in his hands.

Frillie's attitude startled her for a moment. Then, grabbing his hand and complaining, she forcefully pulled him back inside, forcing him to participate in the mediation... until the entire refreshing morning was wasted.

This made Ash realize that it might be difficult to read properly at home, so he simply took his book and went out onto the street.

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

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

After Ash disappeared, the entire house became much quieter.

Only after confirming his departure did Philon, filled with unprecedented distress, turn to Frillie for help:

"Lady Frilian, what have you prepared for Lord Ash's birthday? Would you like to come with me to choose one?"

"A gift for Ash? Can't you just buy something in town?"

In contrast to Philon's distress, Frilian lay on the bed, swinging her legs freely, completely unconcerned.

Her overly casual attitude troubled Philon, who stared at her for a long while before finally letting out a long sigh:

"...I sometimes wonder if your relationship with Lord Ash is really not as good as it seems?"

Why do you think it's so good?

"Because you two haven't been friends for a long time, have you?"

“That’s true…” Frillian nodded thoughtfully, but then couldn’t help frowning and said, “But what exactly is the relationship between people, and how does that work?”

"Even if you ask me..." The question, which suddenly turned philosophical, left Philon feeling quite perplexed.

"But if it was Philon from him, he would be very happy, right?"

"You say that... what about yourself?" Feeling that she was being somewhat perfunctory with her questions that had troubled her all night, Philon retorted with dissatisfaction, "What exactly are you planning to give Lord Ash?"

"Hey! You're still too green~ You only start preparing at the last minute, while I've been prepared for a long time! In fact, I've been prepared for a long time!"

Frilian jumped out of bed triumphantly and rushed to her luggage. After rummaging through it for a while and making a mess of the room, she held out a purple glass bottle to Philon: "This is my most treasured possession—a magic potion that can dissolve clothes!"

"....!"

The appearance of the strange object perhaps shocked Philon so much that she stood frozen in place, her eyes wide open like saucers, utterly astonished.

The moment that strange potion was taken out, the air in the room seemed to freeze. A complete silence fell.

Philon's shocked expression quickly turned into disgust, and even gradually evolved into contempt. His gaze was so cold that it rivaled the blizzard of the North. He looked at Frilian as if she were an insect.