The Hero’s True Nature

Chapter 3

“A Hero? What’s that? Lisbeth knows nothing of the sort~”

Upon hearing Hilda’s words, Lisbeth offered a charming smile. She then spun around gracefully before Hilda, adding, “Look, how could an adorable girl like me possibly be a human Hero? Besides, I am now the Demon Lord’s loyal maid~”

If an outsider had overheard this conversation, they would undoubtedly have believed Lisbeth, with her angelic smile. However, Hilda, who knew the full truth, scoffed coldly.

“Hmph, stop pretending. I was there myself, in the Demon Lord’s Castle throne room. You were an absolute monster through and through. Don’t try to act cute here.”

“Hmph, I think you’re just getting on in years, so you can’t appreciate my cuteness~”

“What did you say?”

“Wah, wah, wah! Don’t pull my ear!”

As Lisbeth’s words faded, Hilda gave her fluffy fox ears another sharp tug. This time, however, Hilda did not punish her for long. She immediately released her grip and addressed Lisbeth.

“In any case, I don’t care what you’re planning, but you’ve been stripped of that monstrous power. So, you will content yourself with being a maid. And remember this: if not for the Demon Lord’s magnanimity, you wouldn’t even be a maid here. You would have been executed days ago.”

“Magnanimity? Heh, you certainly say the most amusing things~”

“What?”

After hearing Hilda’s words, Lisbeth’s tone suddenly shifted, as if a different person spoke. Though her smile remained, it made Hilda instinctively cry out, an inexplicable sense of threat emanating from Lisbeth.

“Don’t speak as if you deliberately spared me. The truth is, you simply couldn’t kill me, could you? After all, every generation of Heroes receives the Goddess’s blessing; even if they die, they resurrect the very next day.

“So, the reason you went through all that trouble, specifically extracting my soul from my original body and placing it into this current one, wasn’t it precisely to limit my power and prevent my resurrection?”

“You… you wretch.”

If the earlier Lisbeth had maintained a sweet smile due to her constant pretense of cuteness, the Lisbeth now displayed an aggression in her eyes utterly at odds with her appearance, causing Hilda to break out in a cold sweat.

Though Hilda knew better than anyone that the Lisbeth before her was utterly powerless, for some reason, as Lisbeth spoke, Hilda still felt a chilling fear emanating from her.

“Oh, don’t look at me with such frightening eyes~ Just as I said before, no matter how my appearance has changed, I am the Demon Lord’s devoted servant. That’s all you need to know~ So, let’s get along well until then, Head Maid Hilda~”

“Thwack!”

“Ow!”

Hilda ultimately overcame the unsettling feeling emanating from Lisbeth. She gave her a sharp rap on the head, then gazed at her coldly, continuing, “Don’t speak to me in that tone. I, standing before you, am the Head Maid, in charge of all maids in this Demon Lord’s Castle.

“No matter what your past identity was, you are now merely my subordinate. However, you are correct; both you and I are loyal servants of the Demon Lord. So instead of wasting time with idle chatter, you’d do better to quickly familiarize yourself with your maid duties.”

“Understood, Head Maid~”

After saluting Hilda, Lisbeth skipped away cheerfully towards the Demon Lord’s Castle hall. Behind her, however, Hilda wore a perplexed expression, watching her retreating figure.