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

"...A villa?" Upon hearing this term, Philon couldn't help but show some curiosity. He even put aside his doubts about what he didn't intend to discuss in detail for the time being and asked with barely concealed anticipation, "Isn't that for entertaining VIPs? Can we go there too?"

“Of course.” Ash nodded with a smile, then waved to two maids: “Take them to the annex and treat them as foreign envoys.”

"Yes, Lord Ash."

Without any questions, the two maids quickly stepped forward and led the two away.

While Frilian was still deep in thought, Philon kept turning back to look at him, wanting to invite him to come over, but he just made excuses that he had something to take care of first and told her to have fun at the villa.

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

Inside the royal palace.

Not tall, but with an impressive bust and surprisingly good looks, the pink-haired girl, Aura, who has a queenly air yet gives off a rebellious vibe, lay listlessly on the rocking chair, staring at the ceiling and occasionally rocking back and forth.

Although she was in Ash's study, her posture made her look... basically no different from a cripple.

Ash glanced at the room and immediately wanted to leave, to avoid getting entangled with this guy who practically had the word "bored" written all over his face.

Thinking about the problems he would face next, he rubbed his throbbing temples, pondering why his sister was such a person, before putting on a smile and stepping forward:

"Awula, aren't you going to get up and see who's here!"

"That voice... Ash?"

"Yes, it's your dear brother who has come back to see you!"

"Stop bragging, you jerk." Aura finally sat up, her eyes filled with displeasure as she looked at him: "You still remember to come back?"

"There's a war going on, isn't there?"

"Ha, there's a war? So what? It's just a war. Even if it drags on for a few days or a few months, it'll be fine, right? That girl Linne actually ran off with you too. She's really siding with outsiders. I was the one who picked her up back then, and now she's running off to your side...!"

Although she wasn't usually happy about it, Ash had gotten her into the habit of celebrating birthdays together and arguing a bit, which made Aura less bored. After spending her birthdays together, which felt like going back to the boring days when Ash wasn't around, she immediately started throwing a tantrum.

The fact that the child she raised sided with others more than she did fueled her growing resentment. She stood there with her arms crossed, looking up at him as if to say that this matter would never end without a reasonable explanation.

This scene also made Ash realize that when Linne went to the magic city, Aura must have already been throwing a tantrum... otherwise Linne wouldn't have said that Aura would become "more" troublesome if she didn't show up for her birthday.

Why are you so emotionally volatile even though you're a demon? I certainly contributed, but... why can't you develop in a positive direction and learn from my strengths? —Looking at the girl in front of him, who was staring up at him with a face full of resentment, Ash was also filled with trouble and couldn't help but reach out and pat Aura's head:

"Good girl~ Good girl~ Actually, I did bring you a gift."

"A gift? What is it?" Although Aura slapped his hand away in displeasure, she was still somewhat interested in the gift he mentioned.

"Look, what do you think of this thing?"

He didn't try to be mysterious; he simply took out the battle golem that he had obtained from Lylene after visiting Seria before leaving the magic city.

Although he himself couldn't use it, Aura could play with it. The small bottle contained a miniature battle golem, which could be considered the culmination of Lyleen's life's work as a top human mage.

Given that Lylene is practically on her deathbed... it's unlikely she'll improve any further, so it's fair to say that this is the greatest masterpiece of contemporary human magicians. It's also quite useful for magicians.

After all, throwing this thing out will instantly create a giant warrior with decent combat power. If you have money, you can get several at once and throw them out all at once, but...

Aura casually took the bottle, shook it in front of him, and immediately showed a look of disgust:

"Have you forgotten what my magic is? I have as many warriors as you want, what would you do with something like this?"

"But in a critical moment, if no one is there to protect you, can't you just throw them out to buy some time?"

"Well...that makes sense?" She thought for a moment and then casually accepted it; Ash smiled at her and extended his hand to her: "So, what are you planning to give me?"

"What are you talking about? Are you even a man?"

"Uh... what do you mean?"

"I've heard that not reciprocating a gift is a woman's privilege!" Aura smirked smugly, revealing a blatantly arrogant smile.

"Especially if it's my younger sister, the situation is completely different. You should pamper me, cherish me, love me, and listen to me unconditionally!"

"...You're talking about slaves, aren't you?"

"That's right! Brothers are born to be dominated by their sisters! Don't try to defy your fate, just kneel down and lick my feet!"

"..."

Has this girl been itching for a beating for too long? What should I do? If I beat her now, will she keep throwing a tantrum? Will she cause trouble for me later? — Ash turned his back, squatted on the ground, covered his head, and tried hard to think of a peaceful solution to this girl who's always causing trouble if I don't discipline her for three days.

But as soon as he squatted down, Aura sat on his shoulder, smiling as she reached out and patted his head: "What's wrong? Are you ready?"

"...Anyway, let's tell you first, who told you this strange thing?"

“I used to see people paying for women in the square in the capital, and they were determined not to let the women pay. There were also brothers who would do anything for their sisters. Then I interpreted it in my own way.”

"So it's just arbitrary misinterpretation, an abnormal statement to begin with, right?"

He silently stood up, causing Awula, who was unwilling to come down, to feel his gaze rise from the ground.

Not only was Aula unwilling to get down, but she also nodded excitedly on his shoulder, saying, "This is great! This is really fun! Shall we go out for a walk?"

"...Are you my daughter?"

“Daughter? Speaking of which…” Aura 2 patted his head, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I saw a lot of daughters and sons sitting on their fathers’ shoulders in the square before. Does that mean that in human family relationships, children are in a superior position?”

"I know, you're trying to say you're in a superior position, right?"

"That's right! Can I change my position and sit more upright on your shoulders? Sure! I want to try!"

"Haa..."

What should I do if I really want to punch her? Should I hold back a little longer, or should I do it now? — Feeling the softness and weight on his shoulder, Ash covered his face and sighed, once again caught in the dilemma of whether to punch her or not.

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

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

Ash had already sighed countless times since returning to the capital.

But he held back for the time being, deciding not to discipline the brat until Frilian and Philen left.

Upon his return, Aura became unusually active, completely unlike his previous listless and useless self.

Of course... Aura's lazy state won't last long. Once Ash returns, she'll revert to her useless self.

Now that Aura has heard that Ash's child, whom he has been raising for a while, has also appeared here, she is quite excited and wants to see him.

Although he wouldn't allow them to meet, Aura was still cheerful and ran straight to the outer wall of the palace. Through the barrier of one-way observation and the magical telescope, she observed the purple-haired girl who was arranging various ornaments in the guest room with an amazed expression.

"She's not short...big butt, big breasts, but she seems a bit dull. Is this the legendary physique that's good for childbearing? But if you use her yourself, you'll probably break her in no time, right?"

"...When did you learn such vulgar language?" Ash stared in disbelief at the pink-haired girl leaning against the fence and slapped her on the head.

"Among the spies we sent to the neighboring country last time, there was a baron... the guy who knelt down and begged you to spare him the moment we met last time. It seems he's now a count with our help, and he wants to send you a well-trained human woman."

Aura, as if discussing something amusing, brushed his hand away and remarked to herself, "That woman kept crying, saying that being a demon warrior's lover would definitely ruin her. I specifically asked her about it, and while crying, she said that her body couldn't handle that kind of power? Because human bodies aren't as strong as those of magic-wielding demons, right? And even without mobilizing their magic, a demon's power in a completely relaxed state is much greater than that of a human male, isn't it?"

"...Compared to these strange things, why haven't I seen that woman before?"

"Because she absolutely refused to come, she was killed by that count, whose name was something like that."

"is it?"

After all, to maintain secrecy, disagreement would certainly result in death, and the lives of nobles and commoners were not much of a threat.

Therefore, Ash didn't say anything, only shook his head slightly, somewhat annoyed, unsure whether he should complain about that guy... But with a feeling of stomach pain, he looked at Aura beside him again and solemnly said:

“I didn’t have any strange intentions in keeping Philon.”

"You don't eat people, so why keep her? You can't expect her to take care of you in your old age like in human tradition, can you? She'll die in the blink of an eye, or you can keep her as a toy? But such a fragile toy will break if you handle it too easily, right? And even as a pet, her lifespan is too short. It's better to keep a monster."

"...I'm a little unsure how to communicate with you when you're spewing such foul language. Can you let me have some peace and quiet for a bit?"

He covered his face, racking his brains to figure out how to deal with this guy.

"What is it? Tell me what's bothering you, Ash~ I've been reading a lot of books about humans lately, and I can solve most of humanity's problems!"

"...But this is the result of what you learned?" Aura spoke with inexplicable pride, making him glare at her sideways: "You might as well not have learned anything at all. You were already useless to begin with, and now you're completely finished."

"What are you talking about? You've always been strange. Can't we only judge from a human perspective?" Aura looked completely matter-of-fact, even seeming to find him a bit of a nuisance.

"Humans don't just think with their lower bodies, okay? Ultimately..."

After becoming a demon, he felt that his emotions were somewhat suppressed in various ways. Although he wasn't completely uninterested, since demons also have the need to reproduce, and he also liked beautiful women, it's just that... the people around him weren't really suitable to make a move on.

Even Linne, who had once kissed him, was Aura's adopted daughter, whom he had raised since childhood, which made him feel complicated.

Furthermore, no one knows exactly how long demons live, which is why... while they are better than elves in terms of desire, they are still not strong. Otherwise, if there were a large enough demon population, they would probably have already conquered the world.

Although the low birth rate is another problem, besides low libido, that prevents their numbers from skyrocketing.

"No, no... this topic is getting a bit strange..." He couldn't help but shake his head repeatedly after only half the conversation.

After all, he couldn't understand why, after this not-so-long reunion, he was discussing childbirth with Awula. It was rather strange, wasn't it?

"What's wrong now?"

"Speaking of which, Awula... I'm suddenly curious, what are the titles of the books you read?"

"The Untold Secrets of the Pope and the Monks," "The Possible Mating of Dragons and Humans," "Decoding: The Pure Love Classic of Grand Duke Lorenzo and His Children," "On the Limits of Humanity," "The Thirty-Nine Love Affairs of Count Louis," "The Unified Emperor's Favorite Princess's Wife," and more...

Aura counted examples on her fingers, but before she could finish, he suddenly grabbed her horn and shook her violently, trying to shake the knowledge out of her head, even scolding her with a livid face:

"Where did all those books you read come from?!"

"Is this the former king's private library? And don't grab my horns!" Aura, who was dizzy from being shaken, complained innocently, "You say it every day, and you grab my horns every day! You really have no manners at all!"

"What's with all the politeness? What garbage have you been watching, you idiot?"

"Trash? That was a treasured possession of the former king, never shown to anyone else!"

"Are you referring to the first king who came with us?"

"Is there a problem? Isn't he a standard nobleman?" Aura felt that his behavior was a bit inexplicable.

But he almost couldn't resist slapping her unconscious:

"Yeah! So all he thinks about every day is sleeping with women, men, and even children. He's a complete pervert who only thinks with his genitals. What can you learn from his books?"

"Humans are truly amazing. It was only after reading those books that I finally realized...the variety of things they do is truly astounding."

Aura paid no attention to his sermon, but instead nodded seriously, as if he had seen something new.

"I'm going to burn those books in a bit, and then... you forget about the contents. They're definitely not something a normal person should read!"

“But I’m not a normal person, am I?” Aura spread her arms innocently, causing him to subconsciously assert with a slight twitch at the corner of his eye: “Indeed… you’re just a stupid demon.”