Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Return to the Mansion (3)
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Harold's question to me carried more than enough weight to utterly screw me over in all sorts of ways.
Yeah, come to think of it, charging at a massive monster like a Hooktusker with Lilith's body was insane from the start.
A girl who probably never hunted a monster in her life hurling herself into a life-or-death fight against a beast over ten times her size—it was so absurd that no one would believe it on first hearing.
To me, it was an essential gamble I had to take to grow stronger, but to anyone unaware of the details, it would naturally look reckless and idiotic.
That said, if I bluntly replied 'for experience points,' I'd be fucked in every conceivable way.
'The people of this world couldn't possibly grasp the concept of experience points in the first place.'
As someone from the outside world, I naturally understood that experience points existed here and that killing monsters was necessary to earn them and get stronger.
But for the inhabitants of this world, the very notion of experience points would be utterly incomprehensible.
For example, imagine studying math in the real world when the friend next to you says something like this:
'Whoa, with your calculation speed, your math must be level 7 already! Looking at your remaining math EXP, if you clear discrete math this year and read a few special books, you'll hit level 8.'
'...Did exam prep finally break your mind? What kind of nonsense is that?'
The concept translated exactly the same here.
Kill monsters to get stronger.
Get stronger to unlock new skills.
Everyone instinctively knew this basic truth.
But no one had any idea how much EXP you needed to accumulate to level up, or how new skills were acquired.
Explaining it to Harold with a straight 'experience points' was damn near impossible.
'Even if Harold somehow knew about EXP, it'd still be a problem.'
How would he look at a mere first-year junior maid who killed monsters to get stronger?
Would he buy that she trained stamina for maid duties? Hell no—he'd assume she was scheming something insolent.
Especially for a debt maid like Lilith; building personal strength would scream 'preparing to escape Blackwood territory.'
Something like 'for experience points' or 'for training' was absolutely off-limits.
...Still, scraping together other excuses left a bad taste all the same.
For money?
The coins from slaying the Hooktusker ended up mine thanks to Ser's generosity, but originally, they'd have been abandoned the moment I collapsed mid-battle.
A lowly junior commoner girl trying to sell monster parts? Good luck finding someone to appraise them fairly.
No choice because escape was impossible?
The security captain's report made it clear escape was entirely feasible.
On top of that, I'd warned off Captain Ser and the soldiers from approaching, so that excuse would reek of suspicion.
Fighting spirit surging the instant I faced the monster?
Say that, and Harold would peg me as a lunatic or a figure to monitor closely for sure.
Anything to avoid drawing Harold's unfavorable attention. No attention at all was ideal, but...
"Was it such a tough question that you had to mull it over so deeply?"
"Ah, no... It just took a moment to recall the day's events."
"Then out with it. The reason you ignored Sir Ser's advice, refused to retreat from the monster, and fought to the bitter end."
...With no other usable options among the candidates, only one answer was feasible.
It was the only one I could think of that might arouse the least suspicion from Harold.
With my resolve steeled, I let nonsense spill from my mouth.
"S-Someone had to do it... t-that's what I thought."
"Hm?"
"The Hooktusker is a dangerous monster too tough for commoners... If I hadn't drawn its attention, others could have gotten hurt or killed. So I figured someone had to pull its focus."
"......"
Yeah, I know. Even I can tell this excuse is laughably implausible to Harold.
Judging by physical prowess alone, a junior maid weaker than an average man spouting this would just get labeled deranged.
But being seen as a bit off in the head was still better than dangerous or outright crazy.
"...Any particular reason it had to be you for that role?"
"N-Not really me specifically. But everyone else was fleeing the monster, so I thought... maybe I was the only one who could..."
"...Hmm."
...Is it landing?
Harold let out an inscrutable hum and sank into thoughtful silence, his expression pensive.
Not fully buying it, he followed up with another question.
"Fine, let's accept that as why you charged the monster first."
"Y-Yes..."
"Then why stick it out to the end against the Hooktusker, even after Sir Ser's advice? By your own words, he'd have been far better suited to draw its attention."
"T-That was..."
I'd fully anticipated this follow-up the moment I gave my previous answer.
This time, without hesitation, I lobbed back the prepared response.
"I-I didn't know."
"Didn't know?"
"I was so fixated on dodging its attacks that I never realized he was Blackwood territory's security captain."
"He was wearing armor clearly marked with the Blackwood guard's emblem."
"I-I was too panicked to even check his clothes. And with its attention already on me, I didn't want anyone else dragged in. So I fought without running till the end. I-It was really scary..."
"Uuum..."
...Kinda feels like he doesn't buy it one bit.
Yeah, if I were Harold, it'd sound like total bullshit too. A junior maid playing tank for others against a monster?
A seasoned middle-aged lord wouldn't swallow that easily.
Saying it was for the money might've been way more convincing.
As a whirlwind of thoughts churned in my head, Harold's gaze lingered on me, and his mouth slowly opened again.
I braced myself tensely, prepping my next deflection.
"Hm, got it."
"Y-You still can't believe...? Y-Yes?"
"I understand what you said. Indeed, without your courageous choice on site, there would've been significant casualties."
"Y-You're believing me...?"
"Nothing odd about it. We already saw at the prior disciplinary committee that you know how to sacrifice for others."
...Not entirely sure, but it seems to have gone down somehow.
His assessment of me as 'someone who sacrifices for others' did prick my conscience a little, but that was the extent of it.
Whatever maid image he had of me in his head—who gives a damn? In seven years, I'd be long gone from Blackwood territory without a backward glance.
Indifference, good or bad, was ideal, but a positive spin beat a negative one any day.
Right now, I was a Blackwood debt maid, and even without that, the status gap between a commoner and a duke was vast.
No downside to looking good to the guy holding my lifeline.
...Though I'd rather die than become that pig's exclusive maid.
"Then, one final question."
"Yes."
"Reports noted that two of the three iron skewers you jammed into the Hooktusker hit its weak points dead-on."
"Y-Yes..."
"Did you know? That its nape and the spot between its eyes are vulnerabilities."
I knew, obviously.
"N-No... Pure coincidence. But it looked like a wild boar, so I guessed the weak spots were similar to livestock."
"Any prior experience hunting that monster?"
Couldn't even count them if I tried.
"F-First time. Facing one, let alone killing it myself."
"Hmm, alright."
For some reason, a chilling unease crept over me with every question he fired back.
Something told me, given Harold's nature, this wasn't ending as idle curiosity.
As I desperately wished for this ordeal to end and to bolt from the stifling office...
Thankfully, Harold dismissed me without further probing.
"Good, I've heard enough. You're dismissed."
"...I'll take my leave, Master."
"Until next time, Miss Lilith Rosewood."
"......Yes."
Why the hell call my name so creepily out of nowhere?
I inwardly unleashed a torrent of curses at Harold while forcing a neutral expression as I fled his office.
The Hooktusker subjugation in Blackwood's commercial district three days prior was somehow wrapped up neatly.
...Or so I thought at the time.
As expected, the world doesn't bend to the whims of a luck-stat-1 Lilith like me.
I had yet to grasp the sinister implications of Harold committing a junior maid's name to memory.
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