Chapter 3
“Alright then, let’s start our shopping!”
Having received her money from Hilda, Lisbeth skipped ahead, visibly delighted. Seeing her exuberance, Angelina merely shook her head with a smile, then followed behind her, saying, “Lisbeth, slow down a bit. It’s still early; there’s no need to rush.”
“I know, but last time, when I passed through the inner city to gather herbs, I didn’t get a good look at any of the nearby shops. So I’m a little excited now.”
Indeed, since Lisbeth’s arrival at the Demon Lord’s Castle, she hadn’t left it except for that one herb-gathering trip. Although the Demon Lord’s Castle felt like a familiar home to her, staying cooped up indoors for an entire month was excessive.
With this thought, Lisbeth turned her gaze to Angelina behind her.
“Angelina, now that I think about it, I haven’t seen you since our last introduction. Have you really been cooped up in the Demon Lord’s Castle all this time?”
“How rude! Don’t make it sound like I enjoy staying indoors. Unlike you all, I have to protect the Demon Lord’s safety at all times, every single day, and train whenever I have a moment. So it’s perfectly normal that you haven’t seen me around.”
Watching Angelina speak so earnestly, Lisbeth unconsciously let her eyes drift to Angelina’s arms and then to her abdomen. As if sensing Lisbeth’s gaze, Angelina’s face instantly flushed.
She covered her abdomen, declaring, “Where are you looking?! Just so you know, I haven’t trained to the point of having abs!”
“No, no, I didn’t say anything yet!”
It seemed Angelina was quite sensitive about her physique. She had already begun to protest before Lisbeth even uttered a word. Yet, leaving aside the matter of abs, Lisbeth couldn’t discern any obvious muscles just by looking at her arms.
‘How strange,’ Lisbeth thought. ‘She can casually punch down my room door, yet there’s no visible muscle. How does she do that? Right, Little Swordy?’
‘Hmm, it’s alright,’ Clotilde resonated in her mind. ‘She’s still a girl, after all. She must have a way to build muscle without it being obvious. But more importantly, don’t say anything unnecessary. She’s not like Hilda. It wouldn’t be funny if she got excited and accidentally killed you.’
‘I know, I know,’ Lisbeth conceded.
After a brief exchange with Clotilde, Lisbeth took a fresh breath. She then turned to Angelina, who had unknowingly come to walk beside her, and asked, “Anyway, let’s put your muscle situation aside for now. What are we buying today? I was so focused on getting my salary that I didn’t even look closely at the list.”
“Ah, wait a moment, let me take a look.”
With that, Angelina pulled out her small pouch, retrieved the list Hilda had given them, and began, “Okay, first, there are quite a few small decorative items for the banquet. We don’t need to take these today; we just have to pay the deposit and have them delivered to the Demon Lord’s Castle.”
She continued, “Then there are various miscellaneous goods. While there’s a wide variety, the quantities aren’t large. I expect we can each carry half. But since it’s inconvenient to shop with items in hand, let’s look for our personal things first, then buy the necessary items.”
“Mm-hmm. That sounds good. However, Angelina, even though I look like a girl, I’m not really interested in buying clothes or jewelry.”
Lisbeth was right; despite her female body, her soul was undeniably male. Therefore, asking her to specifically shop for clothes was out of the question. To Lisbeth’s surprise, Angelina actually nodded in agreement.
“Hmm, I actually feel the same way,” Angelina admitted. “To be honest, I don’t really care much about clothes. I’d rather check out a weapon shop.”
‘Ah, truly a female gorilla,’ Lisbeth thought. ‘Her way of thinking is indeed different from ordinary women.’ Lisbeth, of course, wouldn’t voice this aloud, so she merely thought it to herself, casually mentioning it to Clotilde, who rested on her hand.
Upon hearing her, Clotilde also voiced her agreement. ‘Exactly! If you just looked at her appearance, she even gives off a delicate, pitiable vibe, but inside, she’s like this…’
Though Lisbeth and Clotilde were exchanging incredibly rude remarks, Angelina couldn’t possibly hear their conversation. Instead, she looked at Lisbeth with a smile.
“So, Lisbeth, would you be interested in checking out a weapon shop? I know a few excellent ones nearby; the weapons forged by their craftsmen are top-notch.”
“No, I’m not really interested in weapons either. As you know, my weapon is the Holy Sword. After using a weapon of that caliber, I have no interest in any other.”
“Is that so?” Angelina mused. “To be honest, I’d really love to see what the Holy Sword, the human race’s legendary treasure, looks like. But I’ve heard that each generation of heroes uses a different Holy Sword, and they’re all personally bestowed by the Human Goddess. Is that true?”
Listening to Angelina’s question, Lisbeth nodded gently, instinctively glancing at Clotilde, now an engraving on her hand. “That’s right, the Holy Sword is indeed personally bestowed by the Goddess. But the Holy Sword isn’t just a weapon to me; she’s also my partner in battle. That’s why I always carried her with me.”
‘Hehehe, Alex, don’t say that; you’re making me blush a little,’ Clotilde giggled shyly.
Clotilde, seemingly embarrassed by Lisbeth’s words, let out a shy chuckle. Upon hearing Lisbeth’s explanation, Angelina nodded again. “Well, if not weapons, then how about armor? After all, I’ve only heard of the Holy Sword, but never a Holy Armor.”
“Ah, I’d actually like to look at armor,” Lisbeth replied. “My armor often got torn to shreds during battles. Even if I’m not fighting now, I still want to take a look.”
“In that case, it’s settled then!”
With that declaration, Angelina took Lisbeth’s hand and led her towards a nearby shop. Despite the early hour, the streets of the Demon Lord’s Castle were already bustling.
Amidst the constant cries of vendors and the cheerful chatter of shoppers, Lisbeth realized that even in this fiercely contested, outermost region of the demon realm, the Demon Lord’s Castle still ensured a normal life for ordinary demons.
“Here we are, right there,” Angelina announced.
Angelina quickly led Lisbeth to the front of a shop. Seeing the large shield hanging on the storefront, Lisbeth understood that this was Angelina’s so-called armor shop.
As they stepped inside, an elderly male demon with long black ears emerged from the shop, smiling. “Welcome! Miss Angelina, you’re here again. This young lady you’ve brought today looks unfamiliar.”
The shop owner, evidently seeing Angelina bring someone for the first time, showed a curious expression. Angelina nodded gently. “Her name is Lisbeth, and she’s one of the personal maids currently working with me. We’re out running errands today and just stopped by.”
“Is that so?” the owner mused. “I must say, it’s rare for two young ladies to come to my armor shop instead of a clothing store. But never mind that, I’ve got some new inventory in today. See if anything catches your eye.”
As the shop owner finished speaking, he turned without a backward glance. He then retrieved a pair of lightweight gauntlets from a shelf within the shop and offered them to Angelina.
“Here, Miss Angelina,” he said. “Would you like to try these gauntlets? Because you’re such a frequent customer, I always keep an eye out for things that suit you when I’m restocking. I think these gauntlets are very light and offer good protection; they’re perfect for women.”
“Ah, truly, these are really nice,” Angelina exclaimed. “Lisbeth, what do you think?”
“Hmm, I think they’re quite good too, you…”
“Mm-hmm, these gauntlets are so pretty, they suit you perfectly, Miss!”
“Eh?”
However, before Lisbeth could finish her sentence, a demoness in her twenties suddenly appeared behind them, speaking with a smile. Though the demoness showed no malice, perhaps merely expressing her opinion, Lisbeth’s gaze instantly turned cold.
‘Alex, if this demoness is disguised,’ Clotilde’s voice suddenly echoed in Lisbeth’s mind, having apparently noticed something amiss with the demoness, ‘the traces of her disguise magic are subtle, but still detectable.’
Lisbeth agreed. ‘Yes, I know. I don’t know if she’s overly confident she won’t be discovered, or if she’s intentionally approaching us. But this person is clearly trouble, so let’s try to distance ourselves from her.’