Chapter Thirty-Three
As they boarded the carriage, Lisbeth and the others embarked on their mission to gather herbs. Their destination was just outside the city, so it would take about thirty minutes to reach the area where they would collect the herbs.
“Ah, I’m so tired. Getting up early like this is tough, even for a maid these days.”
“Yeah, yeah. I had a bit too much to drink last night and I’m still feeling it.”
After traveling for a while, Lisbeth and Staros leaned against the carriage, yawning repeatedly, both looking exhausted. Hilda, watching this, shook her head with a sigh and said, “Lisbeth, didn’t you go to bed early last night? So why are you so tired? And Staros, I’ve told you this many times, if you have to work the next day, try not to drink.”
“What? You drink? No wonder I smelled alcohol on you.”
Lisbeth gave Staros a disgusted look and moved away. Staros just rolled her eyes and waved her hand, “Come on, what’s the big deal with a man having a drink? You should try it sometime.”
Looking at Staros, a ten-year-old girl with a carefree attitude, Lisbeth covered her face and muttered, “I guess no matter how pretty you look on the outside, you’re still a man at heart.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Like you’re any different. And don’t forget, we both love big breasts, right?”
“Ah, now that you mention it, you’re right.”
For Lisbeth, Staros was probably the easiest to get along with among the personal maids. Their situations were similar, and their interests were alike. Thinking about this, Lisbeth tilted her head and asked, “By the way, I never asked you, but why were you put into this body?”
“Ah, that’s something I’m curious about too. It seems only the Demon Lord and Hilda know about Staros’s past.”
When Lisbeth asked this, Airenst, sitting nearby, leaned in with interest. Meanwhile, Hilda moved away from the group, clearly not wanting to participate in the discussion.
“Well, why was I put into this body? It’s simple, it’s my due punishment. I committed an unforgivable sin. If it weren’t for the Demon Lord’s protection, I might be dead by now.”
“An unforgivable sin? What did you do?”
In Lisbeth’s memory, the demon race had indeed produced a few who had attempted to overthrow the entire race, but according to the historical records, there were no such incidents in her current era. Besides, Staros seemed to have been put into her current body recently, so it couldn’t have been something from the distant past.
“Anyway, don’t ask too many questions. I might have been dangerous in the past, but I’m harmless now, so you don’t need to be afraid of me.”
“Ha…”
Lisbeth thought that people who claimed to be harmless were usually the most dangerous. But despite this, she didn’t feel the need to distance herself from Staros. Instead, she smiled and said, “I guess so. Just like how I used to be a human hero, now I’m just the Demon Lord’s maid. As long as you love big breasts, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“Oh? You’re quite the quick learner! Lisbeth, come to my room tonight, and I’ll treat you to some good wine.”
“Uh, about that, I really hate alcohol.”
“Why?”
After repeatedly stating her dislike for alcohol, even Hilda and Airenst showed interest and asked, “Lisbeth, can we ask why you hate alcohol so much?”
“Well, it’s not the alcohol itself that I hate, but the consequences of drinking it. I actually like the taste of alcohol, but ever since that day when I drank and did something stupid, I’ve never wanted to drink again.”
“Oh? That’s intriguing! Tell us, what did you do?”
As soon as Lisbeth finished speaking, everyone gathered around, showing great interest. Staros, sitting next to her, even gave a lewd smile and asked, “I get it, did you get drunk and… hehehe…”
“Ow!”
“That hurts!”
“Can’t you think of something less perverse? I just did something stupid that I regret to this day. So, don’t ask, it’s nothing worth talking about.”
Seeing that Lisbeth didn’t want to discuss it further, Airenst pouted and said, “Fine, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay. But we’re almost at the herb-gathering site, so when we get there, please focus on finding these herbs.”
Indeed, Lisbeth and the others had already traveled a considerable distance, and they were about to leave the city. After speaking, Airenst took out a few drawings of herbs from her bag and handed them over.
“These herbs are roughly what they look like. I’ve marked the uses, collection methods, and probable locations on the side. So, when we get there, let’s split up and search.”
“What? Split up?”
Hearing Airenst’s words, Lisbeth was taken aback. After all, she was currently under first-level surveillance, and now they were not only allowing her to come out to gather herbs but also letting her act independently. This left Lisbeth confused about their intentions.
Hilda, sitting next to Lisbeth, saw her expression and shook her head, “Lisbeth, I understand your surprise. But let me tell you, today’s decision to let you gather herbs is actually the Demon Lord’s idea.”
“You know, ever since you came to the Demon Lord’s Castle, you’ve been under constant surveillance. But we also realize that such obvious surveillance won’t make you slip up. And since our city is on the frontline of war, it’s not reasonable to allocate so many resources to monitor you, a sealed hero. So, the Demon Lord decided to just let you go.”
“I see…”
Lisbeth understood that Chris had always been decisive. In her memory, Chris was the type to abandon something if she didn’t see results, unwilling to waste resources.
Moreover, in this era, whether it was the eavesdropping stones or constantly having people follow Lisbeth, these were all significant expenses. Therefore, if no results were seen, Lisbeth understood that continuing the surveillance would only waste resources.
Thinking of this, Lisbeth smiled and said, “I understand. But don’t worry, old lady. No matter what, I’ll never betray the Demon Lord. You just need to know that I’m just a lovely maid.”
“In the moment you called me ‘old lady,’ you lost all your charm. But whatever, since I’ve conveyed the message, let’s move on to the task assignment.”
Though Lisbeth kept calling her ‘old lady,’ Hilda was tempted to pull her fox ears. But knowing the carriage was about to reach the herb-gathering site, she handed one of the drawings to Lisbeth and said, “The herbs you need to collect are surrounded by magical beasts, so be careful. The sword I gave you is imbued with magic, so if something happens, you can use the magic on the sword as an emergency measure. We’ll come to your rescue if we hear your call for help.”
“Hey, if it’s that dangerous, why send me in the first place? You’re making me nervous.”
“I don’t think a former hero would be afraid of a few magical beasts. And I’m sure you’re smart enough to realize we’re testing your current abilities, so we intentionally let you fight the beasts.”
Though Lisbeth had already figured out they were testing her abilities, hearing it directly from Hilda made her cover her face again, “This is ridiculous. I’m just a ordinary, lovely maid, why do I have to fight?”
Looking at Lisbeth, who seemed ready to cry, Staros patted her shoulder with a smile, “That’s what you get for being a man~”
“Get lost!”