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

"It seems like there is such a thing?"

"...How long do you think I've been here?" Ash slowly turned around and looked at the strong woman beside him whose face was inexplicably stiff.

"Actually... cough, I accidentally made a mistake before, and I only realized it last year. I think I'm already thirty-one, and I've completely missed my birthday." Kyrie Irregular stroked his chin thoughtfully, but his tail stood up awkwardly.

He glanced at the tail and couldn't help but sigh, "...It's really not easy for you to have lived this long, just like that."

"Uh, I... right, right! We've known each other for so long, it's been more than five years, right? And what about your 20th birthday?"

"Who remembers?"

"Then what's the difference between you and me?"

"It's different. After a certain age, people just get too lazy to calculate."

......

As the two chatted, Gilead couldn't help but feel puzzled. How could Ash be so lazy that he couldn't even be bothered to calculate such a small number, while Gilead, who was already in his early thirties, still remembered it?

Although she used to often make mistakes with simple numbers... she has only recently figured some things out.

But just as the two were chatting idly, strange struggles and grotesque laughter came from below, such as intriguing exchanges like "Master! No!" and "What does it matter? Hurry up and stick your butt out!"

The strange noises made it obvious who was making them or what they were doing.

Out of curiosity, Ash leaned down and met the gaze of the rabbit-woman maid with long ears.

The other person, in their feigned reluctance, seemed even more excited by being seen.

This made him silently pull his head back, pondering in silence... This common practice in noble families would indeed have a negative impact on the children; he had to prevent Ariel and Alice from becoming traditional nobles.

Of course, there's no need to worry about the two of them in their current situation, but when he and Gilead encountered each other doing things that were inappropriate for children, it made him feel incredibly embarrassed.

Kyrie Irvine, however, wagged its tail freely, seemingly unmoved, clearly much more composed than him, and suddenly said, "As for you, I could do that?"

"—Ha, ha?? I treat you like a brother, what do you take me for??" Ash, who was still deep in thought, heard this and the fear of being dominated by that steel buttocks resurfaced in his mind, causing him to take two steps back abruptly.

"I just said it casually, but I feel like you're suited to have children."

"...At this point, please don't let your feelings cloud your judgment. Please be serious. I don't know how to have children either."

"What? Infertility?"

"No! I meant... sigh, never mind, I'm not going to complain anymore."

Feeling that continuing the conversation would be awkward, he was forced to end it with a look of utter dismay.

But he, who originally wanted to find an excuse to leave, couldn't quite leave for the time being... He inexplicably had a feeling that caring meant he had lost.

However, the rabbit-man's voice disappeared not long afterward.

The rabbit-man left with hurried footsteps, but then came more casual, rude footsteps... coming up from above.

As Ash looked back, the old man, who was still pulling up his trousers, happened to meet his gaze.

But Shaloth clearly overheard their conversation, yet he showed no surprise or intention of avoiding any appearance of impropriety. He calmly glanced at Ash and Kyrielight, then slowly nodded.

"So you two were in that kind of relationship? I thought you two weren't interested in that kind of thing anymore."

"How could that be? I simply consider Girenaus a brother... By the way, could you please pull up your pants while you're talking?"

"I've already mentioned it, but this outfit is really hard to put on!" Shoros complained loudly, as usual, while struggling with his pants. Meanwhile, Ash...

"...I don't want to know about that kind of thing." He had a dark expression on his face and didn't want to look at the old man at all.

But Sholos wasn't embarrassed at all. He silently walked up and stood beside the two of them, looking at the faint points of light emanating from the dark clouds in the distance: "Speaking of which, Lord Ash, you seem to be quite a remarkable mage as well?"

"good."

"Could you tell me exactly what it should be like?"

"God-level, right?"

"You must be kidding, right? You're so young..."

"perhaps."

"Probably..."

Shaolus wasn't sure how much of what Ash said was true, and just assumed Ash was exaggerating... After all, young people always have some vanity.

But he didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he just stared quietly at the distant orb of light and suddenly said, "That thing seems a bit unstable."

"Didn't you say before that it was a good thing, definitely not a bad thing? It's okay if it's unstable."

"That's because it's better to think about it this way."

"...And now?"

“I’ve had a bad feeling lately,” Shoros said slowly, stroking his beard. “What do you think of Alice?”

"That's so sudden! What a talented child!"

"I mean, how does he look?"

What kind of evaluation do you expect me to give to a twelve-year-old?

"If possible, how about you marry Alice? Don't let the fact that this child is still young fool you, her mother... you know what I mean, right?"

"...Indeed! I have a feeling I'll be just as great as that lady someday!"

Ash unconsciously thought of a person with the same red hair and magnificent breasts as Alice, and nodded subconsciously.

“I understand! We’re all men! It’s only natural to like bigger things!!” Sauros patted his back hard with a wicked grin: “And now... if you marry her when she’s young, you can get everything Alice has had from childhood to adulthood.”

"Let me ask you this: which one are you referring to from childhood to adulthood?"

"Of course, all of them!" Shaoluos affirmed without hesitation.

Although he wanted to feign innocence, Ash actually understood everything. Continuing the conversation would clearly go against his character; his morals wouldn't allow him to harm a child. And today, he sighed for the second time:

"While I did show interest just now, is it appropriate for you, as a grandfather, to say that?"

"It is precisely because I am your grandfather that I can say such things! In case something goes wrong, and it turns out to be a bad thing, we must be prepared for the consequences! Not only for the sake of the family, but also for the future of that child!"

In case of any mishap, the situation for noblewomen would be worse than usual, a fact that Sauros had come to understand after so many years of experience.

Especially now, many nobles are targeting his family, and his family lacks a sufficiently powerful network of connections... Ash could see this to some extent from the incident two years ago when his granddaughter was kidnapped and he was powerless to deal with the criminals.

Although Ash also discovered through reading memories that the nobleman he had killed earlier was merely the most useful pawn of the mastermind.

The mastermind behind this is likely Darius Silva Ganius, the most powerful and eccentric minister in the Kingdom of Asura.

But he's always been in the capital, and he's never been there, so he'll have to deal with it later.

As one of the four highest-ranking noble families in this kingdom, to be unable to even handle a mere foot soldier is truly...

"Don't worry, I've already killed all 237 of Darius's spies in your territory. I'll go to the capital and kill him when I have time. There's nothing to worry about."

"Go to the capital and bring Darius... no, wait? Why?" Soros was stunned by his words. He had great faith in his abilities, but...

"Alice is quite interesting. Whether we get married or not, we've known each other for a while, and I won't stand idly by. Besides, Kyrie Irvine is here too, isn't he?"

"But...but, going to kill Darius is still..."

Before Shoros could finish speaking, the sound of heavy footsteps stomping on the ground came from behind.

"What?!" Perhaps drawn by the earlier loud voice of Sauros, Alice pursed her lips, her cheeks slightly flushed but clearly showing displeasure as she retorted, "Marrying this guy to protect myself... I don't need that!"

"Alice!!"

"Grandpa!!"

...

The grandfather and grandson once again engaged in a shouting match.

The old man and the young man both looked quite fierce, as if they were about to fight. Ash silently pressed his hands down, hoping the two would calm down.

The previous topic naturally came to nothing, and Ash himself quietly left the scene, under Alice's inexplicably resentful gaze.

After all, no matter what she said in this strange setting, Alice wouldn't give her a good look. If she agreed to Shoros's request, she would be a pervert; if she didn't, she would feel like she was being looked down upon.

It's always better to avoid trouble in any sense.

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

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

The area covered by dark clouds was quite extensive. Even after leaving the Boreas family and even after leaving the territory of Fetoia, the drizzle in the sky remained hazy.

He worried that the orb of light might actually be related to him... Although it probably wasn't that much, a sense of responsibility still made Ash clean it up from time to time, because magic was gathering in the monster hordes in the territory of Fituia.

He happened to witness the old man and the servant's illicit affair, and because of the old man's strange remarks, he was reluctant to go back for the time being.

However, he had recently wiped out most of the monsters in the Fetoa territory with ease, so he came to the neighboring Milpotz territory, since those monsters would also pass through there.

Using his magical abilities to probe and search high in the sky, he quickly located his target.

And so, the sweeping operation began in a rather simple and brutal manner... He spent most of the day sweeping through the areas near the territory of Fituia, and most of the restless monsters were basically quelled. However, when he returned to the territory of Milpotts for a second check, he discovered that there was another village under attack by monsters.

Under the gloomy sky, the lonely village looked like a small boat tossed about in a storm, appearing fragile and helpless.

Inside the village, the villagers were trying their best to resist, but with only a few hunters and retired adventurers, they were almost unable to put up any effective resistance against the monsters that kept pouring out of the forest.

The weapons in their hands seemed unusually flimsy, and each swing was like a final struggle.

Amidst the misty drizzle, the screams of the villagers echoed through the village, causing Ash to frown. Without a word, he swooped down like an arrow.

The closest people to him were a couple who had run away with their daughter.

The couple's faces were filled with terror. The husband dropped his longbow and drew his short sword. Although his hands were trembling slightly, he still tried his best to protect his wife and daughter behind him, shouting at the top of his lungs, "—Laurie!! Take Sarah away quickly!!"

"I...I!" His wife, Laurie, was already terrified. She hugged her young daughter, Sarah, tightly, her eyes filled with tears of fear, and her lips trembling uncontrollably.

But when she thought of her daughter's safety, she hardened her heart.

Despite being unable to utter a single word, she still used all her strength to forcefully pull her unwilling daughter away and run into the distance.

Tears of fear welled up in the eyes of both mother and daughter. Sarah was so frightened that her face turned deathly pale. She seemed to have lost her soul, numbly looking back repeatedly at her father who was about to be surrounded by monsters, while letting her mother drag her forward.

That small figure looked so helpless in this chaotic scene.

The two-headed wolf, running at the front, was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it caught up with them and bit off the father's arm at the rear. Sarah watched as her father's blood gushed out, staining the ground red.

The next moment, the mother was scratched on the back by a giant bat that flew in from the sky. The sharp claws almost pierced her heart, and she screamed in pain, nearly fainting.

But for her daughter's sake, she used her last bit of strength to push Sarah away, seemingly shouting something, but her voice was quickly drowned out by the surrounding noise.