第二十四章
“By the way, Lisbeth, what exactly did you go to do when you asked me to cover for you? I’m quite curious.”
Staros asked Natalie, who walked beside her, her voice filled with confusion.
They were on their way to Hilda’s office, and Lisbeth had indeed not given a specific reason for her departure, leaving Staros genuinely intrigued.
Natalie, having anticipated Staros’s question, chuckled softly.
“It was nothing special. I just wanted to take care of some personal matters,” she replied.
“More importantly, today has been incredibly busy. It seems every maid in the Demon Lord’s Castle has been working nonstop.”
“Exactly!” Staros exclaimed.
“I don’t know what Hilda was thinking, saying she wanted to avoid being impolite, so she decided to completely renovate the entire Demon Lord’s Castle. I genuinely don’t see the point in all of this.”
“Indeed, it was quite dreadful,” Natalie agreed.
“As personal maids, we must have been utterly swamped, too?”
“You’re telling me! This morning, I was so busy I nearly went mad,” Staros confirmed.
“But shouldn’t you have been just as busy? Why do you sound as if you didn’t experience any of it?”
“Hm? Oh, it’s nothing, just casual talk,” Natalie said dismissively.
“And Hilda must be incredibly busy too, right? After all, she is the Head Maid.”
“That’s right, Hilda is busier than anyone,” Staros affirmed.
“But the most terrifying thing is that despite her immense workload, there’s not a hint of fatigue on her face. She truly lives up to her title as Head Maid.”
As they walked, Natalie subtly probed Staros with questions, extracting information.
By the time they reached Hilda’s office, Natalie had already pieced together a clear understanding of the situation.
Upon entering, Staros immediately announced, “Hilda, we’re back. I’ve checked the banquet hall, and it’s almost fully decorated.”
“Mm, good work,” Hilda replied.
“And Lisbeth, how are things on your end?”
“Everything’s fine here, no issues at all,” Natalie responded, maintaining her disguise.
“The decorations went very smoothly.”
“Is that so? That’s good,” Hilda said.
“You two can go rest for now. Although time is still a bit tight, exhausting yourselves would be counterproductive.”
“Yes, yes! Finally, we can rest!”
Upon hearing Hilda’s words, Staros nearly danced with joy.
Natalie, witnessing this, smiled happily and let out a relieved sigh.
“Phew… That’s wonderful… Honestly, I thought I was going to die from exhaustion this time.”
“Honestly, you can’t be like this after doing so little,” Hilda chided gently.
“And don’t forget, tomorrow you’ll be training magic with the Demon Lord. So go get some good rest today.”
“Eh?”
The moment Hilda’s words ended, Natalie felt a sudden chill down her spine.
She had never imagined that the petite Lisbeth possessed the ability to train magic with the Demon Lord.
Her mouth twitched, and she slowly asked, “Um, did I mishear just now? Am I really going to train magic with the Demon Lord?”
“Hm? Lisbeth, didn’t you already know about this?” Hilda questioned.
“You two volunteered to replace Olivia in assisting the Demon Lord with her training. And when the Demon Lord confirmed it with you beforehand, you even nodded.”
“I-is that so…” Natalie stammered, caught off guard.
“It is!” Staros interjected.
“But Lisbeth, you’re not thinking of backing out, are you? Otherwise, we won’t get our reward.”
Assuming Natalie was trying to escape, Staros quickly grabbed her hand and whispered into her ear.
Although Natalie desperately wanted to refuse, she was compelled to nod, fearing exposure.
“Alright, I understand,” she conceded.
“Good, then you two can go,” Hilda said, waving them off.
“I’m about to get busy again.”
After Natalie nodded, Hilda waved them out of the office.
Natalie, having received this news, let out a heavy sigh, her face clouded with worry.
She then walked out of the office with Staros.
****
Meanwhile—
“Hahahahahahaha!! Hahahahahahaha!!!”
“Alex, you’re laughing a bit too much…”
Naturally, every word of Natalie and Hilda’s conversation in the office reached Lisbeth, who was confined in the warehouse.
The thought of not having to accompany Christy for magic training filled her with schadenfreude, and she burst into gleeful laughter.
Observing Lisbeth’s reaction, Clotilde sighed once more.
“Aren’t you worried about Natalie’s safety?” she asked.
“After all, she’s about to undergo magic training with Christy. If anything happens to her, or if her disguise magic is dispelled, it won’t be a laughing matter.”
“Oh, don’t worry, little sword,” Lisbeth said with a wave of her hand.
“First, I’m certain her life isn’t in danger; Olivia guaranteed that much. Second, advanced disguise magic cannot be dispelled by any external force, only by the caster themselves. So, unless she exposes her own identity, no one will discover her.”
“That would certainly be for the best,” Clotilde conceded.
“But what if she really does expose her identity?”
“Then I’ll just have to go rescue her myself, won’t I?” Lisbeth stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Lisbeth uttered these words with an utterly calm tone, as if discussing a trivial matter.
However, Clotilde, upon hearing her reply, was far from composed.
“Rescue her? How would you do that?” she pressed urgently.
“If you use your job-change ability, you’ll instantly expose yourself. You’d then be in the awkward position of revealing your Hero identity to Natalie and completely losing the trust of everyone in the Demon Lord’s Castle, wouldn’t you?”
“Not at all,” Lisbeth refuted with a sly grin.
“When Natalie cast her advanced disguise magic on me, I activated a skill of my own at that very moment. You should know which one I mean, right?”
“Hm? That skill? Ah! Could it be?!” Clotilde gasped, a sudden realization dawning on her.
As if understanding everything, Clotilde let out an astonished cry.
“You didn’t use the Steal skill at that moment, did you!?” she blurted out.
“Precisely,” Lisbeth confirmed.
The Steal skill was originally intended only for pilfering items from an opponent.
However, over two centuries, the definition of ‘Steal’ had expanded infinitely.
In the world two hundred years later, as the skill level increased, so did the range of objects that could be stolen.
Once the Steal skill reached a certain level, it could even pilfer magic or skills learned by others, and even various innate talents.
Consequently, this once-minor skill had been added to the list of forbidden abilities to learn and use two hundred years later.
Lisbeth’s extensive repertoire of miscellaneous magic and skills was entirely due to her mastery of the Steal skill.
Therefore, when Natalie cast advanced disguise magic on her, Lisbeth had simultaneously used her Steal skill, acquiring the very disguise magic Natalie possessed.
Lisbeth smiled, then continued, “Disguise magic is, after all, an advanced spell. Even two hundred years later, I never had the chance to learn it. But now that Natalie has personally ‘taught’ it to me, why wouldn’t I learn it?”
“So now that I’ve learned disguise magic, I can conceal all my information, including my magic fluctuations,” Lisbeth explained.
“If I simply create a full suit of armor, like the Black Swordsman, I’m confident no one will recognize me. That’s why I felt so secure in letting Natalie go about her business; I only sent her out after making all the necessary preparations.”
After hearing Lisbeth’s explanation, Clotilde chuckled.
“Alex, you truly are something else,” she remarked.
“To stealthily use the Steal skill and so precisely acquire the magic you desired! If that’s the case, why didn’t you just learn skills like ‘Thunder Concealment’ while you were at it?”
“That’s because my skill level isn’t high enough, of course,” Lisbeth clarified.
“Generally, a skill’s level cap is ten, but it becomes incredibly difficult to advance past level five. My current skill level is only five, which means I can only steal one spell from an opponent at most, and the failure rate is as high as fifty percent. So, don’t overestimate this skill too much.”
“Alright, so it’s not quite omnipotent after all?” Clotilde mused.
After Lisbeth explained the Steal skill, Clotilde sighed again.
“Well, I suppose that makes sense. A skill that powerful couldn’t possibly be without limitations,” she said.
“Still, it’s hard to imagine just how strong a level 10 Steal skill would be.”
“Indeed, it’s said to be a skill that can steal anything you desire, which is likely why it’s forbidden to learn and use,” Lisbeth confirmed.
“But enough about skills. Now, can you tell me where Natalie is? I really need to use the restroom… I haven’t been all morning.”
“Ah, don’t rush, let me check,” Clotilde replied.
“Natalie and Staros are almost at your room’s door right now. You can sneak out.”
“Oh? Perfect timing then.”
Hearing that Natalie was still some distance away, Lisbeth immediately stood up.
She then changed her job to Rogue and slipped past Natalie’s seal.
“Phew… I’d better hurry to the restroom, or I’ll…”
“Hm? Lisbeth, why are you here?”
“Eh!? Gorilla!?”