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

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She accidentally filled the wooden bucket too much, and the handles were sore on her fingers. But instead of turning back as usual, she gritted her teeth and trudged forward, intending to prepare the water for Ash in the morning, just like always.

...In fact, it wasn't just Philon who was feeling heavy-hearted; Ash, who had already woken up when she got up, felt the same way.

Ash was already getting a stomachache just thinking about it and having to talk to him again.

Before this, he had never thought that he would be in such a dilemma when he was just temporarily helping to take care of a child.

But when he noticed through the crack in the window that the small body of the girl swaying from side to side with the water in the bucket, her feet and skirt getting wet, he couldn't help but sigh softly, straighten his clothes, and then follow her out of the room.

The Buried Fleurine: A Thousand Years Later: Chapter Seventy-Four - Little Philon's "Confession" - The Old Man Schemed Against Me?! (3K)

Unsteady on her feet, gritting her teeth and enduring the discomfort in her fingertips, Philon walked toward the house. Hearing footsteps, she subconsciously looked up and noticed him, but seemed unusually distant. She subconsciously lowered her head again to avoid eye contact.

Even so, the polite child, his voice hoarse from crying the night before, softly greeted, "Good morning, Ash-sama..."

"Good morning... but I'll take this one."

Ash sighed softly and took the bucket from him.

But before they could take two steps, Philon's voice came from behind again: "Th-that—Lord Ash!"

"....What's wrong?"

"Yesterday... I'm so sorry!" Philon bowed his head deeply, his body almost at a ninety-degree angle.

This was rather overly respectful, which troubled him quite a bit: "It's okay, it's normal, after all, you're still a child."

"Thank you... um..."

"Anything else?" He turned to look; Philon, however, looked up cautiously with obvious nervousness and asked:

"As expected... what did I do wrong?"

No, it's my fault.

"What...does this mean?"

"You're unusually inquisitive today." He put down the bucket, turned around, and sat down on the wooden steps. Looking at the child standing there, bewildered and staring at him, he lowered his eyes and sighed softly.

"Just like I said at the beginning, you have no problem and no reason to apologize. It's purely my fault."

"No, that's not true! I think Lord Ash is... a very good person!"

"Really? Tell me the truth."

"...There are some...some strange things, but...I only want Ash-sama! I don't want anyone else! Absolutely not!"

The girl, clutching her skirt with both hands and shouting the words with all her might, unconsciously closed her eyes in tension, as if afraid of seeing a scene that would bring her despair.

But in reality, Ash was simply on the steps, propping his chin on his elbow and sighing with amusement:

"...What kind of statement is that? If you were seven years older...no, you're only seven and a half now, right? If you were eight or nine years older, you might actually be quite moved by what I said."

"I will definitely say it! Even if it's eight or nine years from now, I will still say it!"

Why does it take an eight or nine-year age gap to be touching? — Philon was a little confused, but still placed her hand on her chest and made a very serious promise to him.

But such a serious yet naive promise only made him shake his head with a laugh: "You're too young to understand, but this is practically a confession."

"Confession?"

"It means expressing one's feelings, such as love or affection."

"...Is this how I express my feelings for Lord Ash?" Philon tilted his head in confusion, thought for a moment, and then asked nervously:

"I...I understand...Does Lord Ash actually dislike children? Is it because children are too annoying? Or because I'm too disobedient?"

"No, no, no, that's not it... Uh, it's my fault. Let's not talk about this anymore. If people hear us, they'll think I'm some kind of outrageous pervert."

What should have been a proper science explanation received such a strange interpretation, and the other person was an innocent child, making him so embarrassed that he could hardly look straight ahead and put one hand to his forehead.

This explanation left Philon completely bewildered. Although he had already said it, he couldn't help but ask:

"Lord Ash, if you don't like anything about me, I will really try my best to change!"

"No, you are really great, there's nothing about you that I don't like, and I like you a lot too. But, precisely because of that, I can't be with you like this."

"Why!"

"...Sigh, how should I put this?"

Looking at the girl who seemed a little aggressive towards him for the first time, he rubbed his throbbing temples and sighed, "Think about it, I'm very busy, aren't I?"

"So?" The girl's eyes were firm, showing no sign of backing down.

"That's why we haven't been able to take good care of you. If we could find someone better..."

"—I'm fine!" Philen interrupted him without thinking, bringing his words to an abrupt halt: "I don't want anyone other than Lord Ash!"

"...So, that's how you'd answer, huh? But why? What's your reason for being so persistent with me?"

"Because if it weren't for Lord Ash, I might have died on the roadside long ago! It was Lord Ash who gave me hot food and a clean bed! He gave me a home! When I was anxious, you held me tightly! In the terrifying nights, you gently held my hand! Even when you were covered in wounds, the first thing you thought of was that I was hungry—so...so! I, I love Lord Ash the most...the most!!"

At the end of this almost desperate "confession," Philon was already out of breath, her chest heaving with excitement. She was simply too exhausted to breathe properly and was forced to try and regulate her erratic breathing at the very end.

These words made Ash stare blankly at Philon, a complex emotion welling up in his heart.

He hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something, but not knowing how to begin.

To be honest, Ash was somewhat surprised that her emotions had wavered to this extent, but it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.

So, is this my fault? Hmm, it's obviously my fault, isn't it? But I have my reasons too. Separation is clearly the real win-win situation. Why can't children understand the troubles of adults? No, I shouldn't shirk responsibility at this time, because Philon really doesn't know anything—in a child's world, parents are the whole world, and they have taken on the role of their parents. Being abandoned is basically no different from the sky falling down. He can at least understand this point.

Therefore, in the end, he couldn't say anything, but simply patted the steps beside him, signaling for Philon to come over.

As she cautiously approached and obediently sat beside him, Ash stroked Philon's hair, then sighed softly, as if forced to compromise:

"Anyway... let's put this matter on hold for now."

"Why...not give up?"

“This…” He glanced at Haita, who was spying on them from not far away, and suddenly had an idea: “By the way, why do you think I know Haita?”

"why?"

"Because I am actually about the same age as Haita."

"...You must be kidding me."

“Even larger.”

Faced with the disbelieving children, he simply brought up the reasons he had given Frillie and the others before.

Of course, compared to any other reason, this would also mitigate the damage to Philon to a greater extent...

Although he wasn't quite sure whether the excuse of dying of old age or his direct disappearance for various reasons would cause more harm.

But just when I thought we might be able to reach an agreement this time, allowing Philon to choose a more suitable family, Haita suddenly appeared.

The old man, who seemed to be plotting something, smiled and held an ancient book in his hand: "If it's a matter of lifespan, then there's no need to worry."

"What do you mean?"

"This is the grimoire of Evis, a sage from the mythical era. It contains records of lost magic for the resurrection of the dead and immortality."

While uttering these absurd remarks, Haita's face was filled with seriousness.

"No, that kind of magic doesn't exist, does it? You know who my master is..."

"Even the great magicians of the mythological era wouldn't truly know all of magic, and this is an undeciphered grimoire."

"...I feel like you're lying to me."

"Trust me this once, and if possible, I'd like to live a little longer too. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"

Ignoring the doubts, Haita smiled and handed the grimoire to the skeptical Ash.

Philon, who had only felt her hands and feet were cold, her eyes were about to lose their color, and tears were about to well up, had a renewed glimmer of hope in her eyes during this conversation.

Even for a fleeting moment, a radiant smile appeared on her face, and she grabbed Ash's waist from the side, as if she were immortal, and exclaimed excitedly:

"—That's wonderful! Lord Ash! You'll live for so long~ so long~! That way... that way we can be together forever~!"

"yes....."

Faced with that innocent and sweet smile, and feeling the small body tightly hugging him, trembling slightly from the comfort of her embrace, Ash simply couldn't bring himself to deny it any longer, to let that tiny hope be extinguished once more.

After all, even he couldn't bear to let the child, who had just regained hope, fall into an even deeper hell once again... to be tormented repeatedly.

"That old guy, he figured it out, didn't he?! I... I actually messed up here?!" He forced a smile, but in his heart, he just wanted to punch that old guy.

So, while stroking the girl's head in his arms, he glared at Haita, gritting his teeth and squeezing out a sound that sounded like he was happy: "—As a celebration, shall we drink your treasured wines today? You certainly won't refuse, right?!"

"Ah~ Of course, let's drink until we drop to our hearts' content today!"

Contrary to expectations, Haita smiled broadly, his face crinkling with wrinkles, and went back to his room to find his treasures.

This made him feel like he had punched a cotton ball.

I was so angry at him... I just couldn't understand what he was thinking.