Chapter 134

To be honest, security measures for camping on the roadside aren’t much to speak of.

You just drive short stakes about ankle height around the campsite and hang thin, barely visible strings on them.

In the middle of the strings, you attach security bells or objects that resonate well at intervals, and that’s it.

Just doing this much is usually enough to catch careless groups of thieves, not to mention low-intelligence monsters. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Of course, if we were dealing with assassins who are determined to take our lives, these security measures wouldn’t mean much, but surely there’s no one bold enough to send assassins after Ethan.

“There are no forests or mountains around here, and there are no villages or territories nearby. Probably, no thieves or such will show up.”

“I think so too, but I still believe we should set up proper security measures.”

“Yeah. We should, of course. Just in case something happens.”

As Ethan said, there probably won’t be any thieves, and at most, some low-level monsters might pop up, but it’s always better to set these things up properly to avoid trouble later.

According to the ‘Security Measures Statistics’ someone posted on LuAGal, there’s a statistically significant difference in the probability of encountering danger when camping with and without security measures. Needless to say, statistically, it’s safer to have measures in place.

In other words, although it’s bothersome, setting up these security measures reduces the chance of unnecessary risks, so there’s no harm in doing it.

‘In the game, I often skipped this out of laziness.’

The act of driving stakes and tying strings and bells feels quite labor-intensive, and by the mid-game, you become strong enough that security measures become meaningless anyway.

Whether monsters or thieves appeared, it was usually quicker in terms of playtime to just fight a battle or two than to set up security stakes.

Also, defeating thieves was pretty good for farming, so I often intentionally camped without such measures. Above all, catching the named thief, ‘Elf Hunter,’ who appeared every time I camped with Selena, was efficient farming.

Of course, I had no intention of doing such life-threatening, crazy things now that this world had become a reality. Besides, Isabel, a non-combat personnel, was with us at today’s campsite.

If I didn’t set up proper security measures and Isabel was to lose her life to thieves or monsters, I probably wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.

The same goes for Ethan, of course. …Well, he’s so strong that I’m not really worried about him being attacked.

As I was driving stakes into the ground one by one, encircling the campsite like a long oval, and about to take out my dagger from my chest to cut the thin rope for tying the security devices…

Instead of the thin handle of the silver dagger I usually held, I felt a slightly thicker handle wrapped around my hand.

Wait, is this…

“Ah.”

“What’s wrong, Lilith?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

“…Isn’t that the dagger you picked up when facing Luke in the last duel?”

“…Regrettably, it is.”

It was the dagger that Luke received as a gift from Seraphine that I had kept to provoke the former during our evaluation duel.

It was the moment when a sigh inadvertently escaped my mouth as I belatedly realized I had forgotten to return that dagger.

No, I really meant to return it. I even visited the academy branch of the church twice.

…But what could I do when they said patients in the emergency room couldn’t be visited until they fully recovered, except for guardians? [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

I couldn’t just carelessly entrust Luke’s possession and Seraphine’s gift to someone else to pass on, so in the end, I ended up keeping it and bringing it all the way here on our journey home.

‘…This makes it look like I really stole Luke’s dagger.’

I surely won’t be called a thief by Seraphine as soon as we return to the academy, right?

No, given Seraphine’s personality, she probably wouldn’t say such things, but there was still a good chance she might be disappointed.

The only option is to keep it safe and return it as soon as school returns to avoid misunderstandings.

“You’re going to return it, right, Lilith?”

“Yes, of course…”

Swish.

“…I will…”

…But it cuts well. Is it because it’s made by the princess?

Compared to the one I received from the young lady of the August family, there’s definitely a significant difference in quality…

“…You will return it, right, Lilith?”

“…Of course, Young Master Ethan.”

“If you need a new dagger, I’ll buy you one. There’s no blacksmith in the Blackwood Estate, but there are many skilled craftsmen in the nearby territories.”

“…Yes, Young Master Ethan.”

I wonder if those craftsmen are skilled enough to make a dagger like the one that Seraphine personally commissioned for Luke.

I didn’t tell Ethan that such a thought had inadvertently entered my mind.

Late at night, when everyone was asleep…

As the time on the hourglass passed number 1, the only sources of light remaining were the campfire in the center of the campsite and the moonlight in the night sky.

Even though it was still late summer, it got a bit chilly at night, and I was warming myself by the quietly burning campfire.

‘I’m bored.’

Well, I had expected this to some extent, but standing night watch alone was quite a tedious task.

I was reading a book I bought from the Island of Knowledge by the campfire light, but reading a book in a dimly lit place with irregular light tends to break concentration.

After trying to focus on reading, I eventually gave up and quietly closed the book in my hand.

Now that I’ve learned Mana Chain and advanced from the first tier to the second for the Auxiliary Magic ability tree, it might not be bad to boldly learn a spell like Unquenchable Light.

…But I couldn’t afford to waste skill points just for reading when I still hadn’t even surpassed Level 10.

Although I gained about 1,000 XP from defeating Luke in the evaluation match, I still needed a bit more experience to reach Level 11.

It would be frustrating to waste points carelessly and then not be able to use them when I really need them.

As I was thinking about this and poking at the burning campfire with a stick a few times…

…Suddenly, I felt an unexpected presence behind me.

“…Young Master Ethan?”

“How did you know?”

“It’s not that I knew; it was just wishful thinking. I thought it would be better if it were you, young master, rather than a thief or monster.”

“…Sorry, did I startle you?” [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

“I wasn’t startled, but please be careful next time. If I had mistaken you for a thief, young master, I might have attacked without thinking.”

“…I’ll be careful from now on.”

“No. Strictly speaking, my mistake was worse since I wasn’t paying attention.”

I had clearly checked that he was in the tent about 10 minutes ago, so when did he sneak up behind me?

It seems he came out of the tent while I was momentarily focused on trying to read somehow.

Seeing that I couldn’t even notice the tent right in front of me opening, reading during my shift was something I clearly shouldn’t be doing.

“Why are you up already? You still have an hour left before your shift, young master.”

“…Just… couldn’t sleep much, you know?”

“Come to think of it, Young Master Ethan, you couldn’t fall into a deep sleep for the first few days at the academy dormitory either. I guess you’re the type who can’t handle unfamiliar sleeping arrangements.”

“No, Lilith, that was because you… No, it’s nothing.”

What did I do? What does his insomnia have to do with me?

These days, there have been many cases where things I didn’t do turn into misunderstandings and strange rumors spread, and I didn’t want to hear unfounded accusations from Ethan, too.

Moreover, as someone who was literally giving my body to assist Ethan, I felt wronged in many ways.

“Are you accusing me knowing that I’m accepting your raging sexual desire about once every two weeks?”

“Ah, no… That, that’s really… um, pleasurable- ah, no, I mean, I’m grateful for it, but…”

“I even let you touch me without any conditions just four days ago. I went along with your excuse that you were worried about your duel with Miss Natalie in the evaluation match.”

“That, that was actually because you seemed a bit upset after your duel with Luke…?”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, it’s nothing! …Th-thank you for letting me touch you, Lilith…”

“As long as you understand, that’s fine.”

Well, I reluctantly allowed it because I didn’t want to see Ethan lose to Natalie either.

No matter how much Natalie was my favorite character in my past life, she and I were only Academy Freshman 1 and Academy Freshman 2, who had nothing to do with each other.

On the other hand, Ethan and I had grown up together since he was young, so we had a relationship with both good and bad feelings mixed in. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

It wasn’t particularly strange for me to support Ethan instead of Natalie now.

“…Um, Lilith.”

“Yes, Young Master Ethan.”

“Can I ask you one question?”

“Yes?”

“It might be a bit sensitive for you to answer right away, but…”

“……”

Why is Ethan suddenly creating a strange atmosphere again?

In an atmosphere that seemed like it would be a heroine’s confession event if this were a game, Ethan carefully asked me a question.

While I was momentarily flustered, not knowing how to respond to his reaction, only the crackling sound of the campfire tickled my ears.

“What is it you wanted to ask, Young Master Ethan?”

“…Lilith, do you perhaps still have negative feelings towards me?”

“Pardon?”

“Well, Lilith, I don’t remember leaving a good impression on you when I was young. I kept calling you when you were busy working, playing weird pranks, and doing things you hated most, like sexual harassment.”

“……”

“I was wondering if you might still be angry at me because of what I did back then.”

…And here I thought he was going to say something after setting up the mood.

I didn’t expect him to ask if I was still angry about something that happened years ago.

Needless to say, I had long forgotten about the things that happened back then. If anything, it was only when Ethan just mentioned it that I remembered, ‘Oh, that happened.’

In fact, what made me angry back then wasn’t particularly the sexual harassment. I just hated how he kept interfering with everything I did and being a nuisance.

I was already in an irritated state, and he did things like kancho *1, and then provoked me when I couldn’t even get up due to the pain, so everything I had been holding back just exploded.

It’s been several years since then, and even I could see that Ethan had reflected and grown since then, so if I still held a grudge from that time, it would be similar to me having a mental illness.

I just replied to his query by saying there was no need to worry about something from ages ago.

“No, I’m not particularly holding onto those past events in my heart anymore.”

“R-Really?!”

“It’s been several years already, hasn’t it? At the time, I certainly got angry at you often, Young Master Ethan, but not anymore.”

“I-I see… That’s a relief…”

Why is he so concerned about my feelings when he’s my master and I’m his exclusive maid?

What would he do if I was still bothered by what happened back then? Pouring out my personal grudges in front of the son of a ducal family was enough with that one time back then. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

With those thoughts, I turned my gaze back to the burning campfire and threw another piece of firewood in it when Ethan, sitting next to the campfire, called my name once again and carefully spoke.

“…Um, Lilith. I have something to say.”

“If you have something to say, please go ahead.”

“Well, I’d like you to listen a bit seriously, Lilith.”

“…Yes?”

…Wait, what? Is this really a confession?

No, that can’t be, right? Why would Ethan suddenly confess to me?

For some reason, the atmosphere seemed like it might be just that, so my heart started to race with a bit of confusion. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Not knowing whether he understood my feelings or not, Ethan took both my hands as if he was really going to confess and began to speak seriously.

“I don’t like beating around the bush, so I’ll say it directly.”

“…Young Master Ethan? Please calm down for a moment and organize your thoughts again…”

“Lilith. After we graduate from the academy, will you be my…”

Jingle jingle jingle.

“……”

“……”

Just as a serious conversation that seemed like it would be a turning point was about to take place, the sound of bells suddenly rang in our ears.

At this time of night, there could only be one or two reasons for the sound of bells.

In the silence filled with a strange tension, one emotion naturally arose in my mind.@@novelbin@@

‘Shit, there goes all my sleep for tonight.’

I knew something was off from the moment we’d been jinxed.