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

But just as his face stiffened and he was trying to come up with a reasonable explanation, Ilya suddenly asked, puzzled, "...Ash and Jeanne, what are they doing?"

As soon as she said this, Joan of Arc realized that someone was behind her. She immediately shoved Ash away like a startled fawn and fled dozens of meters away at lightning speed.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished without a trace, leaving Ash alone, facing the two children, one black and one white.

"Speaking of which, I also have..." Ash pretended to be nonchalant, trying to temporarily escape from here.

But Ilya reacted quickly and suddenly reached out and grabbed his hand.

Seeing this, Miyu, who was standing nearby, followed suit and reached out her little hand to gently grab the little finger of his other hand.

"Why did you run away?" Ilya's gaze was clear and pure, her words as melodious as silver bells, simply expressing her confusion: "Did my brother do something he felt guilty about?"

Chapter Fourteen: Humans Can Be Moral; Special Confession; Ten Years; The Expulsion of Outer Gods

The silver-haired loli, with an innocent yet bewildered expression, stared directly at Ash with clear eyes, posing a soul-searching question. Ash felt an inexplicable embarrassment, as if he had truly become the heartless man who was secretly seeing other women behind his child's back.

That feeling was very strange, and it was hard to describe in many ways...

"No, that's not true... It's perfectly normal, just a way of expressing feelings when you have a good relationship!"

Ash forced himself to remain calm, but under Ilya's innocent and unadulterated gaze, he felt a dull ache in his stomach.

At this moment, he had to force himself to normalize his behavior and try to make his tone sound as natural as possible.

However, his words still betrayed a subtle, barely perceptible hint of guilt.

Ilya, seemingly oblivious to anything amiss, tilted her head and asked with a look of utter disbelief, "Really?"

"Of course!"

"Then...Ilya also wants to connect with Ash!"

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Ilya instantly broke into a lovely smile, and like a joyful little bird, she pounced into Ash's arms, tilting her small head back, her large, wine-red eyes filled with anticipation.

"Huh?" He looked completely bewildered, instinctively letting out a surprised exclamation. But Ilya said matter-of-factly, "That's normal, isn't it? Ash said so!"

"...Uh...yes, I said it." That one sentence left him speechless, only able to nod vaguely: "It's quite normal...right?"

"That's all right now~" Ilya smiled contentedly.

"It's alright... um, it's alright...?"

"Okay~ Hurry up~!"

"Ah, okay...okay."

What's going on here? — Urged on by Ilya, he sat down again, feeling somewhat bewildered.

He followed her not so willingly, just as he had done to Joan of Arc before, gently pulling the petite girl into his arms and subconsciously holding her small hand.

Although Ilya is already 13 years old, as a child born of an android and a human, her development is significantly slower than that of her peers.

Even now, standing next to Sakura, who is two years younger than her, she looks even more petite and delicate.

"This sense of guilt is unusually strong..." Ash sighed inwardly.

But when Ilya nestled quietly beside him, the warm feeling made him feel at ease.

But when his hand touched Ilya's overly delicate little hand, coupled with Miyu's curious gaze beside him, his deep-seated sense of morality was pierced as if by a sharp needle, causing him a dull ache.

But compared to him, Ilya, one of the parties involved, narrowed her eyes slightly. Although her hand felt a little itchy, she didn't seem to mind at all. She just shook her head slightly and asked with a puzzled look, "Isn't this a very ordinary thing? Why does Ash feel guilty?"

"Because... my moral standards are just too high."

There was no other way for Ash to enjoy himself while simultaneously condemning himself; he could only use this excuse to save face to some extent.

Playing with a little girl's hand in front of a young girl... it feels quite strange.

But when Ilya nestled against his chest like a docile kitten, the warmth emanating from her small body and the sweet voice in his ear stirred an indescribable feeling within Ash, making him feel...

In fact, morality is not something that humans absolutely need. Sometimes, like the Bible, it can be temporarily set aside.

After all, a person who lacks morality may not necessarily die; they might even live a better life, right?

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

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

After a period of self-reproach, Ash's moral defenses were temporarily lowered when faced with Ilya, who was happily cuddling with him, and were even completely set aside.

Just like that Bible that was carelessly thrown on the ground and is now being trampled underfoot by a little black-haired girl.

"Ah, speaking of which, that's my Bible... the crystallization of my faith..."

Just as he remembered the existence of the Bible, he subconsciously looked over and found that Miyu had stepped on it. Ash's expression became subtle for a moment.

He slowly raised his head, just in time to meet Miyu's bewildered yet curious gaze as she held the ball and looked at him.

At that moment, Ash clearly sensed from Miyu's eyes that his behavior seemed somewhat inappropriate, as if he wasn't a proper adult at all.

"Um... Miyu, don't misunderstand, this is perfectly normal, okay?" He forced himself to try and use a common explanation to justify his behavior.

Miyu tilted her head slightly and fell silent, looking incredibly cute.

After a long while, for some unknown reason, she silently hid the ball behind her back with one hand, while reaching out to Ash with the other, and timidly whispered, "...If you don't bully me...I...can too?"

"...Don't do this. If you do this, I'll start to wonder if I'm going to be shot." Ash silently pressed the little girl's hand down, speaking righteously:

"A girl's hands should not be played with by just anyone. Even though you are still a child, it is still not normal."

"Ilya... is it okay?" Miyu blinked her big, watery eyes and asked with a puzzled look.

“My relationship with her is rather special; I watched this child grow up.”

Although he initially intended to distance himself from the children like Ilya, now that things have come to this... there's nothing he can do.

Even so, he still didn't forget his original self as a virtuous gentleman, and he earnestly lectured Mei You.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the living room window behind him was slowly pushed open.

Irisviel looked hesitant, hesitated for a moment, and then said softly, "Mr. Ash, I really want to believe you, but could you please stop what you're doing while I'm saying this...?"

"Uh, sorry, it was unconscious... I'm used to it." Ash felt a little embarrassed when Ilya's mother pointed out the problem, and quickly let go of Ilya's hand.

Just then, Rin, who still had her twin tails after all these years, also came to the windowsill and curiously looked outside: "What is Aunt Irisviel looking at... Ah~ Illya and Ash have been so close for so many years."

Having only witnessed Ilya snuggling in Ash's arms, Rin could only offer a simple sigh of emotion.

"Well... because Ilya has always been so cute." Ash was secretly relieved that Irisviel's appearance had preserved his precious reputation. He even pretended... no, he tried to remain calm and reached out to pat Miyu's head, saying seriously:

“You’ve just arrived, so you might be a little unsettled. But don’t worry, Irisviel, Illya, and I will definitely take good care of you.”

“Yes! Ash is a very reliable person! If you leave him with him, everything will be fine!” Rin, standing by the window, vouched for Ash almost without thinking.

Hearing Rin's praise, Ash couldn't help but feel touched and unconsciously wanted to cherish the tsundere twin-tailed loli in front of him.

And without even taking it seriously, he stood up and, full of emotion, reached out and rubbed Rin's head.

This sudden action made Rin feel a little embarrassed, but also quite happy, as if she had received the approval of an elder she had always admired... It was just that Ilya was a little unhappy.

After seemingly considering it for a moment, Miyu quietly handed the ball over: "Want to play?"

"...No, this is...well, okay?"

Ash initially wanted to refuse, but after hesitating for a moment, he accepted the ball, which symbolized trust.

And so, Miyu has temporarily decided to live here... or more precisely, at Illya's house.

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

Although Miyu's family members have all passed away, for her, life seems to have not changed much, as if nothing has happened.

The only difference was that the person she slept with at night had changed from her mother to Ilya, who adored her.

She herself doesn't even quite understand emotions like sadness.

Ash felt some sympathy for this child who wasn't being raised like a human being. He also went to church the next day, intending to repent for his actions the previous day...

In the dimly lit confessional room of the church, Ash stared at the small, covered window in silence for a long time before finally speaking with distress:

"Honestly, Karen, sometimes I can't help but wonder if I'm an extremely immoral person."

"...Do you doubt it?" Kallen's calm voice came from the other end, tinged with a hint of surprise.

"what happened?"

"Why do you have this delusion that you have your own morality?" Karen's tone was flat, but the sarcasm in her words was palpable.

Ash couldn't help but rub his forehead and said helplessly, "Have you forgotten all about it? When you awakened those strange things, I was the one who baptized and sealed them for you. I'm your godfather... no, I'm your godfather."

"I'm so busy, yet I'm here listening to you say strange things. Isn't it because Grandpa asked you to be my ghost father?"

"It's the Godfather, and you're just bored out of your mind, aren't you? And parents, don't leave my contact information! Do you know how I felt when I was inexplicably scolded because of you first thing in the morning?!"

"I'm sorry, godfather."

“It’s a church… never mind, godfather is fine too, whatever you want, but!” Ash pressed his hands firmly against the table, suppressing his inner turmoil, and said, “—Even if you don’t repent, I won’t say anything to you now, but I hope you watch your words! This is a church, don’t force me to go to your side and change your impression of me.”

"You actually think there could be a worse impression?" Across from her, Karen, dressed as a nun, idly flipped through the scriptures in front of her, speaking casually with little interest:

"You were basically committing a crime the moment we first met, weren't you? You've bullied me countless times over the years. Shouldn't you be begging for my forgiveness now?"

"Indeed... Since you say so, you certainly don't mind me 'sinning' again, right? Then please, on behalf of the Lord, forgive all these things. After all, one thing is forgiven, and two things are forgiven, right?"

"If you—ah!"

Karen, who was habitually complaining about him, hadn't finished speaking when Ash had already squeezed into her narrow listening room, making the girl feel dizzy amidst her gasp.

Immediately afterwards, Ash, who had skillfully pinned her to his lap, slapped her buttocks with a "smack".

The cramped confessional pavilion was instantly filled with the nun's cries of pain, interspersed with words such as "pervert," "fool," and "sadist."

But as Ash walked out of the confessional, listening to the little nun's aggrieved and slightly sobbing curses behind him, he felt refreshed as he straightened his clothes.

"Confession...it's really great, the effect is outstanding!"

Ash sighed inwardly and looked back, meeting the tearful silver-haired nun. He couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.

Now he finally understood why believers were so keen on confession.

Although he couldn't understand why Karen still hadn't learned her lesson after all these years.

After he left with a refreshing smile, Karen, who had been forced to forgive him on behalf of God, was still clutching her backside and complaining incessantly about his various atrocities behind his back.

Outside the church.