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

Page 103

But this silent gaze left Ash speechless, and he even instinctively wanted to look away.

Frillie, however, clearly did not want to get involved, so she silently read her book without saying a word.

Zain simply flipped through the holy texts, even putting on the appearance of a devout monk. Yubel, on the other hand, watched Ash with great interest, resting his chin on his hand and glancing at Philon, before laughing:

"It feels like... a little animal trying to show ownership~"

"...What are you saying?"

"No~ I just find you all very interesting, and..." Facing the serious gaze from Philon, Yubel smiled and looked at Frilian, who was still reading a book beside her, and said, "Philon gives off a very unfathomable feeling, and Frilian also exudes the aura of a skilled old mage~"

"...Don't say old." Upon hearing this, Frillie immediately closed her book, hugged her knees, and showed an unhappy expression.

"Ah? Is this a compliment?"

“I hate old ways of saying things.” As she spoke, Frilian turned to look at Ash, who seemed to be lost in thought. “By the way, just thinking about it makes me angry. Hmm… Ash is a really annoying person.”

"Uh... why is this involving me at a time like this?"

"Because you talk the most."

"Is this the top of the hate rankings?"

The elven girl, so emotional in this regard, even seeming to be throwing a tantrum, inexplicably dragged him into the fray. He could only sigh and sit beside her, reaching out to stroke her silver hair: "Good girl, good girl~ You're still young, so try to forget about those things~"

"Don't touch my head... and don't treat me like a child!"

Frillie pushed him away, still glaring at him, but her displeasure seemed stronger than before? Or perhaps... weaker?

To be honest, he didn't quite understand either. He was just annoyed that Frilian was already quite old, so why was she still so troublesome?

Treating him like a child isn't acceptable, nor is treating him like a senior? So, he only wants to be in the middle? He looks like a child, but his age is that of an old man, yet he doesn't seem like a young adult at all. Why is he still so willful? Ash couldn't help but shake his head and sigh at his strange teammates.

Yubel, on the other hand, observed his every move throughout the process, and couldn't help but smile as his gaze swept over the remaining two mages.

It was only after she actually entered that she realized this was a treasure trove of a team, and apart from the monks... she had no confidence in defeating any of the team members.

Although she didn't actually fight, her intuition told her that each of these three mages was more powerful than any mage she had ever seen.

This also led her to believe that while observing Ash, she should also get to know Philon and Frilian well, and see if they could resonate with each other to create a unique magic.

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Continuing north, although there was more time for individual chats, the team atmosphere felt a little strange compared to usual.

But overall, there isn't much difference...

Zain, who kept asking around, actually learned from the villagers along the way that there was an old woman who called herself a stubborn old lady who had a good relationship with her close friend, the gorilla warrior, and should know information such as the other party's destination.

In order to obtain this information, the group was severely ordered around by the stubborn old woman, and to avoid making things worse... Ash was assigned the task of delivering the message.

When he returned from delivering the letter to the next village, he noticed that the four of them had already followed the old woman into the depths of the canyon.

This made him shake his head and sigh softly as he followed. He glanced at Yubel, who had unknowingly become familiar with Philon and the others, and couldn't help but chuckle, "...You've become free labor, haven't you?"

"Everything is meaningful, and you have obtained a lot of intelligence."

"Really? Then work hard!"

Seeing Yubel's smug expression, Ash just suppressed a laugh, casually patted her head, and quickly walked ahead of the group.

At the end of the canyon, surprisingly, there were two stone statues covered in moss, one of which was...

"...Kravolt??"

He looked at it a few more times and finally recognized the elf among the strangely familiar stone statues.

The old woman behind him was surprised when she heard his words. "What? You actually know them? They are said to be heroes who saved the world a long, long time ago."

"That long? No wonder they're elves, they actually survived."

The monk Kraft had once saved the world, something he truly hadn't expected. However, upon hearing their conversation, Kozan excitedly pointed to another statue:

"That elf is Kraft, so who is this one? Who is this person?"

"The other one is that humans are long dead, so how could they possibly know each other?"

"Uh, that's true..."

"However, that human does look quite like you. Could he be your idol? If we run into Kraft again, I'll ask him for you."

"No, it's just that there's actually a pair of similar stone statues in our village, so..."

Zain shook his head and went straight to the point about how he and his close friend had once viewed the statues in Haita's company.

His close friend, to avoid being forgotten like a stone statue of a hero, named himself "Gorilla Warrior," while he was jokingly called "Bearded Monk" by Haita.

"Speaking of which, what is your best friend's name?" Ash had heard Zain mention his best friend many times and had seen the photos taken by Magic, but he had never heard his name before, so he couldn't help but be curious.

This question caught Zain off guard: "...Your name?"

He stroked his beard, pondering for a long time but still couldn't come up with an answer.

Even Yubel couldn't help but retort with a blank expression, "Is he really your best friend?"

"No... this isn't my problem. He's always let others call him that, and he's always called himself that. So many years have passed, and the name 'Gorilla Warrior' is so deeply ingrained that I really can't remember what his real name is."

Zain looked embarrassed and tried to explain himself.

But honestly, if others hadn't witnessed his persistent search, they would probably have doubted whether their relationship was truly good enough to be called best friends.

Ash didn't continue teasing; he simply observed the statue and nodded unconsciously, saying, "This statue is quite well preserved."

“It’s a stone statue after all~” Yubel smiled and put his forearm on his shoulder, staring at his face from the side: “What, do you also want to become such a person? To become a hero who saves the world? Let’s talk about it.”

"Actually, I also had stone statues in the south a long time ago."

"Hey~ Really?"

"Let's put that aside for now, but..." Ash didn't mind the girl who always wanted to pry into his affairs. He turned to Zain and asked:

"Even if people know the nickname, what's the point if the real name has already been forgotten? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse from the beginning? In the end, instead of using a strange name to make others remember you and avoid being forgotten... since the statue can be preserved intact, why not just carve the name directly on the base of the statue? Wouldn't that leave a mark on history? You can also carve the glory you created along with it."

"...You actually had that skill?" Zain's mouth gaped open, stunned. He looked at Ash, then at the almost perfectly preserved statue, and after a long while, he couldn't help but cast an incredulous look at Ash: "You...are you a genius?"

"No... Actually, I'm more puzzled by why you and your friend didn't think of that? You even used that upside-down method to try and make people remember you, but you directly called him your best friend, forgetting your own names."

"I told you when we first met, that guy is a simple-minded, muscle-bound gorilla, right?"

"how about you?"

"...Speaking of which, this is the last thing my stubborn mother-in-law will do; if I do this well, she can tell me where that guy went—I'd better get to work!"

Zain deliberately pretended not to hear, bent down to wet the rag, and then silently began to work on the stone statue.

Seeing this, the others simply shook their heads and didn't say much. They quietly stepped forward to help deal with the stone statue... because for a moment, they didn't even know how to criticize the two of them.

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Just like before, Ash did not participate in this delicate chores, but chose to watch from the sidelines with the stubborn old woman.

Seeing this, Yubel sat down beside him, watching him with the same unchanging smile, and asked curiously:

"You're not going to join?"

"If I were to clean those stone carvings... I might accidentally damage them if I used too much force during the wiping process."

"Oh dear, that's scary." Yubel pressed his index finger to his lips, nodding as if recalling something. "Speaking of which, you're clearly a mage, yet your strength is terrifying? It seems you've even trained as a warrior?"

"You have one too, right?"

"It's just some basics, and it's within the scope of a mage~" Yubel elegantly crossed her left leg over her right, and asked with a smile, "But, by the way, your companion is probably leaving soon, what are your thoughts?"

"Why should I answer your question?" Ash replied calmly.

"What if I let you see my underwear too?"

"I've seen it twice already, what's there to see?"

“Today’s style is different from the previous ones~” Yubel’s cheeks flushed slightly as she lifted the hem of her skirt.

Her coy and alluring demeanor was quite tempting, but in reality—she had already secretly prepared to call for help the moment he dared to make a move.

However, Ash did not intend to take direct action as he had done before.

Instead, he showed a hint of surprise, staring at Yubel and saying, "Yubel, you...."

"What~?" Yubel asked, feigning composure.

"Could she be a perverted woman?"

"—Huh?...No!" Ash's inexplicably serious gaze almost made Yubel's mouth twist in anger. Despite it being his own probing, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and reveal his true purpose: "This is just a test! If you really want to see, I'll call for help!"

"But if I really lift it up, won't I see it again? Are you really okay? Don't you care?"

"...Not good."

"Hmm...you really didn't expect that." He observed the girl's expression gradually stiffening and her head slowly turning away for a while, then chuckled and grabbed her ponytail, manipulating it to make her look at him again.

"You have such a good talent for magic, so don't always let your impulses dictate your actions... Although I understand that you are an overly emotional and irrational person, after all, even your use of magic is almost like that."

"You already understand, so why are you still saying these things now?"