Chapter 15
****
Meanwhile—
“Ugh, old hag! Are you ever going to stop? It’s bad enough you’re putting makeup on me, but what’s with this long dress?”
After forcibly applying foundation and some simple touches to Lisbeth’s face, Hilda produced an incredibly long, somewhat revealing princess dress adorned with numerous bows. She held it before Lisbeth.
Hearing Lisbeth’s outburst, Hilda advanced on her step by step. “Lisbeth, to put it bluntly, the person you are meeting today is someone even the Demon Lord must bow to.
“Under no circumstances can there be any mistakes. We must adhere to the strictest etiquette. So, put this dress on at once, and for goodness sake, drop that brazen, masculine way of speaking.”
“I told you to stop joking around! You’re not making me meet someone; you’re trying to set me up on a blind date, aren’t you!?”
Truthfully, even if the visitor were one of the three Great Demon Lords, Lisbeth saw no reason to dress like that. With a swift stride, she moved past Hilda and pulled her maid uniform from her wardrobe.
“Old hag, I don’t care who I’m meeting today. I am currently the Demon Lord’s maid!” Lisbeth declared. “Therefore, my maid uniform is my proper attire! I absolutely refuse to wear your ridiculous dress!”
“Lisbeth, you simply don’t understand!”
Hilda shook her head frantically, then took a deep breath. “The person coming is your mortal enemy from the battlefield. In other words, if they decide to cut you down, there isn’t a single person here who could stop them.
“For the sake of your life, you need to at least look pitiful enough to deter them.”
“No, no, wait a minute. My mortal enemy? Who are you even talking about?”
In Lisbeth’s memory, since she had replaced this era’s Hero and participated in various battles, she had been here for no more than three years. She couldn’t recall ever being particularly hated.
After all, death on the battlefield was commonplace, and she had never committed atrocities like razing cities or villages. She truly didn’t believe anyone would bear such a grudge against her.
As Lisbeth finished speaking, Hilda slapped her forehead. “Oh, my poor memory! In my haste, I forgot to tell you who it is. I’ll be direct, then.
“The person arriving is our Demon Grand Marshal, Meyfield—the one who commands millions of troops and stands at the pinnacle of all demon generals!”
“What?! You mean the Demon Grand Marshal is here!?”
Lisbeth’s eyes widened at Hilda’s words, and she pinched her cheek in disbelief. The next second, however, a puzzled expression crossed her face.
“But that’s not right,” she questioned Hilda. “I don’t recall ever fighting him. So, I shouldn’t have done anything to offend him.”
Before Lisbeth arrived in this era, the human race had been on the verge of defeat, constantly suppressed by the demon race. However, after she became the Hero of this age, Lisbeth gradually turned the tide.
She leveraged her extensive combat experience from a later era and her profound understanding of terrain. This was precisely why she was hailed as the strongest Hero in history.
Even so, Lisbeth had never once fought Meyfield, the Demon Grand Marshal. In the past, she had only reclaimed lost human territories, never venturing to conquer demon lands.
Therefore, Meyfield, as the Demon Grand Marshal, would have had no reason to specifically engage her in battle.
As Lisbeth finished, Hilda shook her head. “Lisbeth, you don’t understand. To the Demon Grand Marshal, you are his greatest enemy. Meyfield has always wanted to meet you, the one hailed as the strongest Hero in history.
“So, if he takes a disliking to you, or if you’ve somehow provoked him, then at the very least, your adorable appearance might just save your life.”
‘Ha… so that’s what this is about.’
After hearing Hilda’s explanation, Lisbeth finally grasped the situation. In essence, while Meyfield hadn’t met her, he likely held no favorable impression of her.
Therefore, if she dressed beautifully now, her charming appearance might prevent him from making things difficult for her.
At this thought, Lisbeth sighed, shaking her head helplessly as she turned to Hilda. “Old hag, even if that Demon Grand Marshal is so volatile, do you really think I’m the type to abandon my dignity as a man just to save my life by wearing a pink princess dress?”
“Yes… you are.”
As Lisbeth finished her sentence, Hilda watched her snatch the long dress from her hands with lightning speed and swiftly put it on. Hilda’s lips twitched slightly.
She then patted Lisbeth’s shoulder. “I trust you understand the situation now. In short, if you don’t want to die, don’t say anything unnecessary.”
“I understand. But honestly, I am quite curious about the Demon Grand Marshal myself.”
****
Meanwhile—
As Lisbeth finished her preparations, Airenst led Meyfield towards the Demon Lord’s Castle’s VIP lounge. Angelina Cadolanka, Meyfield’s daughter, walked with her head bowed the entire way.
It seemed she was still brooding over Meyfield’s remark about not coming specifically to see her.
Witnessing this, the noble-looking man who had been accompanying Meyfield subtly bowed to him. He then spoke softly.
“Lord Meyfield, I believe you should say something here. After all, the Young Lady is your daughter, isn’t she?”
“Sid, you are as meddlesome as ever. I merely spoke the truth. If she cannot bear it, she is free to leave my side now.”
“Father…”
Though Sid had spoken in the softest possible voice, Meyfield’s words still reached Angelina’s ears. Despite this, Angelina did not leave.
Instead, she spoke with a hint of vulnerability, “Father, even if you may not have wished to see me, I have always missed you.”
“That’s not entirely it. I only said I wasn’t here *specifically* to see you. I never said I didn’t *want* to see you, so don’t misunderstand.”
“Oh? So you *are* here to see me after all?”
“Of course not. I told you, I’m here to meet someone else.”
‘Goodness, these two…’
Sid, who had been observing the strange conversation between father and daughter, smiled faintly and gently shook his head.
“We have arrived, Lord Meyfield. This is the Demon Lord’s Castle’s conference room.”
As time passed, Airenst swiftly guided Meyfield and his entourage to the VIP room of the Demon Lord’s Castle. Upon seeing this, Meyfield’s face suddenly broke into an excited smile.
He turned to Airenst and asked, “Is that so? Then where is that man? Is he already inside?”
As Meyfield’s words trailed off, Airenst instinctively glanced at the VIP room door, noticing it wasn’t ajar. Here, Airenst realized Lisbeth and her companions were apparently not yet ready.
Normally, Airenst might not have considered this an issue. However, the man before her held a status comparable to one of the three Great Demon Lords.
Making such a figure wait specifically for someone would be a grave disrespect to his position. Thus, Airenst hesitated, unsure whether to reveal the truth.
“What’s wrong?”
Observing Airenst’s hesitation, Sid stepped forward, asking with concern. At the same time, Airenst knew that delaying would be futile.
Taking a deep breath, she said, “Lord Meyfield, that person is still preparing to meet you. Please wait a moment.”
Though Meyfield’s excited demeanor was unexpected by everyone, Airenst calmly nodded and spoke the truth. Upon hearing her words, Meyfield showed no sign of displeasure.
Instead, he chuckled. “Very well, I shall wait for him a little while.”
“Thank you for your magnanimity. Please follow me.”
Seeing that Meyfield was not angered, Airenst exhaled heavily. She quickly opened the VIP room door and pulled out a chair custom-made for Meyfield’s stature.
“Lord Meyfield, please wait a moment. I will arrange for some refreshments and food.”
“Go on, then. While I can wait, don’t keep me waiting too long.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Finally, Airenst cast a meaningful glance at Angelina before swiftly exiting the VIP room. Receiving the signal, Angelina took Meyfield’s hand.
She then asked, appearing quite cheerful, “So, Father, since we’re just waiting, why don’t you tell me about things on the battlefield!”