Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Please Take Care of Lady Elara.
What time was it now?
It felt like I had slept far longer than expected. Quietly getting up from my seat, I checked the time.
“ ……It’s already past eleven. ”
Normally, I tried to wake up around seven or eight, but today I had overslept badly.
Well, staying up late waiting to properly discipline that crazy bitch Lillian probably contributed to it too.
Anyway, I got up, stared at myself in the mirror for a moment, then headed outside.
“ …… ”
The hallway was quiet.
‘Huh?’
Normally, around this time, there should’ve been maids cleaning or servants busily moving around, but strangely enough, the place was silent as a grave.
Just as I headed toward the stairs to go downstairs—
— Flinch!
“ ……? ”
A maid carrying a basket full of linens happened to be walking down the corridor.
The instant our eyes met—
Her entire body stiffened as if she’d seen some enormous monster.
“ Excuse me, are you oka……? ”
Before I could even finish speaking, the maid shouted in a voice almost like a scream.
“ T-T-Teacher! D-Did you sleep well?! ”
She bowed so deeply her waist looked ready to snap in half, then even threw aside the basket she’d been carrying before yelling, “E-Excuse me!” and running away like her life depended on it.
“ ……What was that? ”
Up until yesterday, weren’t these people treating me like I was invisible, or looking at me with pity?
Most of them just ignored me outright, so why the sudden change?
Though confused, I continued downstairs into the first-floor lobby.
There, the strange reactions became even more obvious.
“ ……! ”
“ ……! ”
Two servants cleaning the lobby looked up at the sound of my footsteps, and the moment they recognized me—
They dropped their feather dusters onto the floor and immediately plastered themselves against the wall with their heads bowed.
It didn’t feel like they were avoiding “me” personally.
Rather……
It felt like they believed getting involved with “me” would bring trouble, their reactions mixed equally with fear and awe.
That was the feeling I got.
Then—
“ ……Teacher. ”
A voice behind me called out in a noticeably different tone than yesterday.
It was the old butler.
He still wore the same immaculate suit, but the usual machine-like expression was gone.
His face was stiff. Even his mustache trembled faintly.
The old butler bowed far deeper toward me than usual.
When just yesterday he’d looked at me like he wanted to kill me……
“ ……You’re late. ”
“ Ah, yes. Slept in a little…… haha, maybe I didn’t sleep well. ”
“ That is understandable. Given the circumstances, I mean. ”
“ ……? ”
What exactly did he mean by “understandable”?
I felt confused, but the old butler simply continued speaking.
“ My mistress has already finished breakfast and is currently having tea in the reception room. Your meal shall also be prepared there…… Ah. ”
The butler suddenly stopped speaking and looked toward the reception room entrance.
“ ……She’s coming. ”
The reception room doors opened, and Elara stepped out holding a teacup, apparently enjoying the peaceful morning.
“ Ah, Butler. The tea has become a little col…… ”
Still humming softly, Elara suddenly met eyes with me standing in the lobby.
“ ……! ”
Her footsteps stopped instantly.
One second. Two seconds.
As she stared blankly at me, the corners of her mouth twitched strangely.
Then—
“ ……Pfft. ”
She hurriedly covered her mouth with the teacup as though trying to suppress laughter.
Ding.
[ Elara’s affection has increased by +10! ]
[ Elara feels both ‘amusement’ and ‘trust’ toward you. ]
[ Total Affection: 30 / 100 ]
“ …… ”
I immediately understood the situation perfectly.
Looks like she saw Lillian’s condition from last night.
And she clearly knew exactly who had done it too.
So that’s why the servants and butler were acting differently.
Because I had improved Elara’s mood.
Now the whole situation made sense.
“ ……Quite the late morning, Teacher. ”
Still hiding her mouth behind the teacup, Elara mumbled softly.
But she couldn’t hide the smile curving through her eyes.
“ Ah, yes, well. I had an ‘urgent patient’ last night. ”
At my words, Elara’s shoulders began trembling violently.
“ Puh…… khk…… So I assume the ‘treatment’ went well? ”
“ It did. Though the patient kept whining about tailbone pain, and there was…… no, actually quite a lot of ink all over her face. I suggested she wash up before leaving, but she just ran away instead. ”
“ ……Hehe. ”
Finally, a bright laugh escaped Elara’s lips.
Setting down her teacup, she coughed lightly with a flushed face.
“ Ahem…… Anyway, that’s enough. ”
She didn’t run upstairs or start screaming this time.
Instead, pretending she had fully regained her composure……
No, rather, with an openly happy expression, she looked straight at me and said:
“ And…… thank you. ”
Blushing faintly, Elara muttered something quietly.
Not catching it properly, I asked again.
“ Sorry? ”
“ Breakfast was delicious. ”
[ Additional affection +3 gained. ]
She gave me a slight smile before proudly heading back upstairs with a quiet, “Well then.”
Somehow, thanks to Lillian, my affection points had increased quite a lot.
Maybe from now on I should focus even more on bullying Lillian.
“ …… ”
Shrugging my shoulders, I looked toward the old butler.
The butler stood blankly staring at the staircase where his mistress had disappeared, a faint smile resting on his face.
‘……That guy knows how to smile?’
Honestly, his smile was creepy enough to give me chills, but strangely it didn’t feel unpleasant.
“ It has been a long time since I last saw my mistress smile like that. ”
“ Ah, really? ”
“ ……However, Teacher. ”
The old butler’s smile disappeared as he once again fixed me with a serious gaze.
“ Lillian…… is not someone you should casually make an enemy of. ”
“ ……I figured as much. ”
“ She is the Hero Party’s mage, and one of the continent’s greatest masters of magic. Last night’s ‘prank’…… may invite even greater disaster. ”
So even if I’d successfully screwed her over, the aftermath was the real issue.
Instead of sighing, I simply grinned.
“ A prank? Butler, I merely performed ‘treatment.’ ”
“ ……Excuse me? ”
“ That so-called ‘master’ appeared seriously unwell if she was sneaking into another person’s room in the middle of the night. Next time, perhaps instead of attempting ‘assassination,’ she’ll come to make an actual ‘appointment.’ ”
“ …… ”
“ It can’t be helped. I’ll deal with it when the time comes. ”
“ ……You truly are a hopeless person. ”
The old butler clicked his tongue slightly, but I simply chuckled in response.
“ Haha, I hear that often. Lady Elara’s counseling is still far from over, so I’ll just have to survive until then somehow. ”
Even after witnessing this entire situation unfold, the old butler merely sighed with a stiff face before speaking.
“ ……Teacher. I shall have your meal brought to your room. And…… ”
He paused briefly.
“ About yesterday…… I apologize. Please continue taking care of…… my mistress. ”
“ Well, I’ll do what I can. Haha. ”
……Though if I hit a bad ending, I’d die. I absolutely had to achieve the happy ending.
“ Then I shall prepare your meal. ”
“ Yes. ”
After finishing the conversation with the butler, I headed back upstairs toward my room.
“ Now then…… I think the situation is more or less organized……. ”
Before eating, it was time to announce my “victory report” to those gallery scrubs.
♥♥♥
[Discussion] LOL sharing the story of branding [Idiot] onto Lillian’s forehead (Screenshots included)
Author:
LOL I survived and came back.
Destroyed scrub-tier Lillian using [Mischievous Ink Pot] + [Golden Banana] for just 1400 points.
[Attached: Image of Lillian crying on the floor after falling, with [Idiot] stamped across her forehead.jpg]
[Attached: Image of Lillian waddling awkwardly in the morning while covering her [Idiot] forehead.jpg]
Morning public execution in front of Elara was perfect too lololol
Picked up 13 affection points for free lololol
Is this what you idiots called “hard mode”? lololol
[Comments]
WhiteMage: LOLLLLLLLLL what the fuck are these screenshots? LOL
AnywayTheLegalWifeIsOne: Holy shit this bastard’s insane. You seriously did THAT to Lillian? LOL holy fuck LOL
BlondBigBoobsDaisuki: Madman... absolute madman... top-tier bastard... wow.....
KangkangRobot2nd: Holy fuck you actually did that to Lillian?;;;;; You’re seriously not a newbie, are you? Are you some experienced newbie? How the hell did you pull this off?
1400pt setup. Didn’t use Anti Potion because the efficiency was garbage.
KangkangRobot2nd: This bastard’s insane..... damn, none of us could’ve done that...
WhiteMage: Told you this bastard’s incredible.
I snorted quietly while muttering, “This is easy, easy.”
“ At this rate…… I might actually escape this place? ”
Even Elara, supposedly the difficult “villainess,” seemed fairly easy to
And Lillian, the so-called Hero Party mage…… turned out to be softer than pudding.
Ding.
Gogumador: Still, don’t underestimate her. The event isn’t over yet, and especially Lillian...
WhiteMage: Yeah..... Lillian’s still ranked among the top mages. Even if she looks ridiculous now, don’t underestimate her.
Maybe they were right.
Sure, I’d screwed her over, but fortunately the first attack had only been low-level magic. If she’d seriously used mid-tier or high-tier spells, I might not even still be alive.
Gogumador: That’s why you need to either suppress Lillian completely or make her kneel beneath you.
KangkangRobot2nd: Make her kneel? Damn; how? In bed?
AnywayTheLegalWifeIsOne: If Elara joins in, wouldn’t it become 2 vs 1?
That’s exactly why you idiots died first
KangkangRobot2nd: Urgh... that truth bomb hurts...
AnywayTheLegalWifeIsOne: .......
WhiteMage: Kangkang gaygeiya......
Gogumador: Rookie, if you maintain that mindset, you can definitely clear this. The only advice I can give you is this: you must make her submit. That’s all. You already understand the situation yourself, don’t you?
Of course I understood that I needed to make Lillian submit.
But how exactly was I supposed to handle a combat monster like her?
Even relying on points had serious limitations. Which meant my remaining 8,600PT……
I needed to make the right decisions within those 8,600 points.
“ For now, I’ll think about it while counseling Elara…… about how exactly I should deal with her. ”