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

Page 117

Despite being physically weaker than his opponent, Connie was still unwilling to admit defeat and used all his strength to try to push back down.

The strange conflict between the two left Frillie watching with a peculiar expression, unsure of what to say.

But these two were like that at Ash's house too... so there's no need to try to stop them?

But just as she decided to let it be, Ash was already walking towards them.

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

Frillie gave up resisting, and Ash took the opportunity to squat down beside them. As the two girls, locked in a love-hate relationship, looked on, he suddenly smiled and said:

"I know you two like to argue, which should be considered proof that you have a good relationship, but... wouldn't it be better if you two made up for the time being? After all, you have exams coming up soon, don't you?"

“It’s three to one now… Shouldn’t you, the lone wolf, run away first?!” Rabine turned and glared, his blue eyes filled with barely concealed hostility.

"...Why are all the kids these days so unfriendly?"

"Because that person is you."

"Let bygones be bygones. We should look to the future. People who are stuck in the past will never make progress."

Ash, with an expression of someone who's been there all along, smiled and reached out to pat Rabine on the head.

"...What? This uncle is so familiar with everyone?" Rabine looked displeased. If he weren't currently dealing with Connecticut and not making a move, he would have given him a good thrashing first.

"We weren't exactly overly familiar with each other, were we? Didn't you guys stay at my place last night?"

"That's Philon's house!"

"It's also my home."

“Now that I’ve killed you, you’ll be Philon’s.” A dangerous smile appeared on Rabin’s face.

But Ash remained unmoved, shaking his head indifferently.

"Is this how you treat your friend's parents?"

"Are you the kind of friend who treats the children at home like this?"

"Because they are my children's friends, I want to try to build a good relationship with them. Otherwise, every time you come to visit, you only have a sour face when you see me, which makes me feel quite uncomfortable."

"I hate adults who don't respect children."

"Because you're a child, right? I've already explained that matter; I had my own difficulties... and in the end, I still fulfilled my responsibilities as a guardian, didn't I?"

“…What difficulties could you possibly have? Don’t think I’m like them, knowing nothing; I know your true identity!” Rabindranath narrowed his eyes: “I can’t imagine what difficulties someone like you could have.”

"That's just a child's perspective. To be honest, I'm very busy. Taking care of children is really... Sigh, never mind, I'll go now."

Although the special identity of "daughter's" friend made him a little excited, and he also wanted to tease them a bit, because... for some reason, teasing these kinds of girls had a strangely stimulating effect.

But saying that he was too busy to take care of the children now would probably only anger them, so although he was a little regretful, he still silently turned around and left.

That solitary figure, compared to the groups of people in the hall, appeared inexplicably desolate and lonely, making even Connie feel a little sorry for him.

"Is this really alright? Although that old man did have moments of wanting to shirk responsibility... in the end, he still raised Philon and even apologized... What if he gets attacked here..."

“Connie, this kind of adult needs to be taught a lesson, otherwise what if he tries to abandon Philon again next time? And have you forgotten that Philon said he wanted to find someone to adopt him back in the Holy Capital?”

“This…” Connie hesitated, and Rabine watched the departing figure before adding at the end:

"In the end, that guy won't be taken down so easily... Although he's a terrible old man, he's actually a terrifying one."

"That's really impressive, but there are plenty of those here too..."

"That guy is more powerful than you think. Instead of worrying about him, let's worry about ourselves first."

Before Connie could finish speaking, Rabinhae shook her head, interrupting her worries.

Meanwhile, Frillie watched the two with a strange expression that was hard to describe, because—even while discussing Ash, the two girls were still pushing and shoving each other.

"Is this team... really alright?" Frilian looked at the two of them, then at Ash who had disappeared, and the other teams that were gradually moving away, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

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

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

Not long after he left the starting point, a man was strolling leisurely through the forest.

As Ash was still pondering where to get a meteorite bird, a loud roar began to echo from the sky.

Looking up, they saw that the source of the roar was actually just a small orange bird.

Of course, this is not surprising, because those are small birds that inhabit this basin area. This time, the target is the meteorite bird, whose body is exceptionally hard and whose flight speed can exceed the speed of sound.

There was even a meteorite bird that flew right past him while it was fleeing.

Under normal circumstances, this would definitely not be a problem, since a normal mage cannot catch an object that is already moving at high speed, but... just as the meteorite bird was about to pass by him, he raised his hand and slapped it.

Bang——! ! !

With a deafening roar, Ash's palm collided with the meteorite bird, sending up a cloud of dust and scattering fallen leaves everywhere.

When the smoke cleared and the fallen leaves drifted back to earth, people who had been drawn by the commotion finally saw...

The meteor bird that flew past him was smashed to the ground like a tennis ball in the blink of an eye.

From the outside, it looked as if he had simply slapped the ground, creating a crater that looked like it had been hit by artillery fire, making one doubt their own eyes.

After all, a bird flying at supersonic speeds is basically no different from a cannonball.

The meteor bird unleashed its power; the exaggerated roar accompanying its supersonic flight far surpassed that of artillery shells and ordinary experimental electromagnetic guns. It could probably pierce through the armor of a tank with a single flight.

But Ash really did slap it to the ground, seemingly without using any magic at all.

This made some people who hadn't gone far from the starting point look as if they had seen a ghost when they noticed this scene.

"...Is this guy even human? Just how strong is his body?"

The second-level mage and court mage who led a small team, the seemingly short old man Duncan, wearing a monocle and sporting a large beard, had his eyes so wide that his monocle almost fell to the ground.

The level 3 mage girl next to him, wearing a dark blue slit skirt and a bun hairstyle, couldn't help but mutter, "...If he accidentally slapped me, I'd definitely be covered in bruises, right?"

"...It should be pieces of this and pieces of that, right? By the way, is this guy really a mage?" Duncan turned his head speechlessly, unable to help but correct her strange confidence in her own body.

Beside them stood a well-dressed, impeccably dressed, middle-aged man in a neat suit, who looked rather old-fashioned. The second-level mage, Lishita, couldn't help but ask:

"He's probably the first person to capture the Meteorite Bird. So, shall we make a move?"

"I never imagined you'd be so bad at choosing your opponents... Even if you're just being impatient for quick success, this is incredibly unwise." Duncan silently walked away, and Laofen quickly followed, waving her hand without turning back: "I'll pass too~"

"What... I was just joking, did you guys really take it seriously?" Lishita shook her head helplessly and quickly followed after them.

Just like this squad, the other squads also tacitly pretended not to have seen this scene... They didn't plan to try to find a solution from Ash unless absolutely necessary.

Lanto, the bespectacled man on the same team as Philon and Yubel, watched Ash, who was casually grabbing the stunned meteorite bird and tossing and playing with it in his palm, silently straightening his glasses without turning his head:

"...The person you two want to deal with is acting like he's just waiting for someone to come and provoke him. Go ahead and attack, but I will absolutely not attack with you."

“No matter how tough the flesh is, as long as it’s flesh, it can be cut. If all else fails… we can cut off his clothes too.” Yubel licked his lips lightly as Ash looked at him, and even waved at him with a smile, but… he really had no intention of being the first to stick his neck out.

After a brief moment of stunned silence with her mouth slightly agape, Philon instinctively looked at Yubel upon hearing the voice beside her and said sternly:

"No, if I ruin the clothes, wouldn't that be perverted?"

“He always was.” Recalling her first encounter with him, Yubel almost wholeheartedly believed this.

"Does Lord Yubel intend to become a strange person himself just to deal with strange people?"

"...Shouldn't we be trying to explain things to him at this point?"

Despite saying that, Yubel's lips curled into an enthusiastic smile, very pleased to have reached a consensus with Philon on this matter.

However, Philon's gaze unconsciously followed Ash's departing figure, a hint of worry on her face as she sighed, "Lord Ash really... even if he has the strength, he shouldn't have made himself the target of everyone's criticism at this time. He definitely needs to have a proper talk with him when he gets back, but now..."

"Lord Ash, how will you eat all by yourself? You must be worried about that, right?" Yubel suddenly voiced her thoughts.

"...Because when Lord Ash is eating alone, he becomes very casual."

"Honestly, if you keep going like this, you'll really become his mother." This strange worry made Yubel shake his head and chuckle.

Philon, used to such teasing, didn't care much. She just watched Ash's disappearing figure with worry and muttered to herself in annoyance, "If I had known it was going to be this kind of exam, I should have brought a lunchbox."

"So...do you really want to be his mother?" At this point, Yubel was completely dumbfounded.

Of course, she didn't plan to challenge Ash at this time, but rather to wait until the exam was almost over and make sure she could pass before going up against him together.

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On the other side, it was noon.

Frillie's team had already caught some fish in the forest, and they were grilling them while discussing their next move.

But at that moment, the sound of a large creature moving through the bushes suddenly came from the nearby forest.

In a state of alertness, everyone instinctively reached for their wands, but...

"Hey everyone, we meet again."

Ash emerged from the bushes and stood confidently in front of everyone.

He was holding a grilled fish in one hand and dragging a bear the size of a truck in the other. He was even shaking the grilled fish with a smile to greet them, while kicking the cage containing the meteorite bird.

The lack of tension in the scene left everyone dumbfounded.