Chapter 136

『Lilith has reached Level 11!』

It’s the morning after Ethan and I encountered thieves while standing night watch during our camping, and cooperated to dispose of them.

Fortunately, the sudden attack at midnight ended with just that one incident, and I didn’t have to wake up again to kill more thieves and bury some bodies.

…Even for someone like me, it’s not possible to be completely unaffected by killing people, so my sleep was a bit restless. But fatigue outweighed that, so I did manage to get some sleep in the end. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

If I’d just killed monsters, I wouldn’t have minded much. However, this was the first time I had directly killed living humans. Even though these guys were no different from monsters wearing human skin, they were still people, after all.

Fortunately, there wasn’t only bad news, but good news as well. The fight with these thieves filled up the tiny bit of XP I was missing, resulting in my leveling up.

I was too tired to check last night, but when I woke up in the morning and checked my status window, I saw that I had reached level 11, and I could easily confirm that various other stats had grown a bit as well.

『Name: Lilith Rosewood

Title: Ethan Richard Blackwood’s Exclusive Maid

Current Level: 10 → 11

Attack: 28 → 31

Defense: 41 → 45

Intelligence: 31 → 34

Charm: 89 → 98

Luck: 9 → 10

Current HP: 113 / 113 → 124 / 124

Current Mana: 2033 / 2033 → 2236 / 2236』

I had already gained about 1,000 XP from the evaluation match with Luke, so I was already very close to the next level up.

The fight with the group of thieves last night was enough to push me to the next level.

Thanks to those thieves, I could finally say goodbye to single-digit luck forever. Of course, it still couldn’t be called a high number.

Also, for some reason I’m not sure of, my title had changed from ‘Brave Exclusive Maid’ to ‘Ethan Richard Blackwood’s Exclusive Maid’.

…Well, this is probably just a temporary thing.@@novelbin@@

It didn’t particularly bother me since it’s true that I’m currently Ethan’s exclusive maid. Once I graduate from the academy and become independent, that title with ‘exclusive maid’ attached will probably change to something else.

Meanwhile, as for the current state of Ethan, who had fought the thieves with me last night and took charge of disposing of the bodies…

“Young master, aren’t you tired? It seems you haven’t slept at all since you took over from me.”

“…I’m fine. I slept well before the shift change, so I’m not that tired.”

“I seeeee~… If you say so…”

He was sitting around the campfire with slightly darker circles under his eyes and a tired look.

It’s understandable that he’d be tired. Even for Ethan, this wasn’t an incident he could just brush off easily.

This was probably Ethan’s first time killing too, and judging by his appearance, it seemed he had continued to keep watch even during Isabel’s shift without sleeping.

Given what had happened, he probably felt a bit uneasy about leaving Isabel alone on watch, even though it was morning.

It was a rational decision when you think about it. I probably would have had similar thoughts if I had been on watch during Ethan’s shift.

We needed to return to the mansion as soon as possible to let Ethan rest.

“Let’s just satisfy our hunger quickly and depart, Young Master Ethan. I think it would be better to have a proper meal and rest at the Blackwood Mansion.”

“…Yes, let’s do that.”

After finishing a simple but warm meal of a sandwich made with toasted bread and a slice of salt-cured ham, along with a cup of warm milk, we felt somewhat energized.

The final leg of our journey home, which felt much longer than usual, was completed with me driving the carriage. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

…Camping on the roadside really isn’t easy.

“Welcome back, Young Master Ethan. And Lilith and Isabel as well.”

Thanks to Dittmeyer, who came out to greet Ethan as soon as we returned to the mansion, we were able to start unpacking without much trouble.

The amount of luggage was a bit too much for just Isabel and me to move, but the head butler had prepared manpower in advance to move it, so Isabel and I were able to reduce our workload by more than half just by handing over the luggage from the carriage to the servants one by one.

Most of the mansion’s servants were similar to before we left, so it felt like coming home after a long time, but seeing a few new faces among them made me realize that four months had indeed passed.

While Isabel and I continued unpacking with the other servants, Dittmeyer greeted Ethan.

“How have you been, Young Master Ethan?”

“Fine, I’ve been well. Has anything happened at the mansion?”

“Nothing particularly problematic. There are quite a few documents that need to be signed when the master returns, though.”

“Set aside any documents that I can sign on his behalf. I’ll take a look at it briefly before Father returns.”

“Understood, young master.”

It seemed that even in small details, like his way of speaking, he was gradually coming to resemble Harold. Dittmeyer then asked Ethan another question about the journey.

“Did you encounter any trouble on your way back?”

“Trouble… not particularly.”

There was trouble, actually.

The thieves attacking while we were camping overnight during our break certainly qualified as ‘trouble’ in Dittmeyer’s book.

Even though we had dealt with them smoothly without any harm and cleaned up without a trace, the fact remained that we had experienced some threat to our safety.

However, Ethan seemed to want to keep quiet about that part and didn’t mention it, and I also only explained to Dittmeyer about our overnight camping, excluding the part about the group of thieves.

“Due to my inexperienced carriage driving, I’m afraid I caused Young Master Ethan to spend an uncomfortable night.”

“That’s fine, Lilith.”

“As the young master says, that much is fine, Miss Lilith. It must have been your first proper carriage drive, and just driving the carriage from the Island of Knowledge to here is already an impressive feat.”

“It’s all thanks to what I learned from you, head butler.”

“Miss Lilith, you must be tired from driving too, so it would be good to rest soon today. Your arrival is also a call for celebration, so you can use the large bath with Miss Isabel later. Of course, that would be after the Young Master has relieved his fatigue first.”

“…Thank you, head butler.”

…Is this really Dittmeyer? Was he always this kind?

Until just before I entered the academy, he seemed like an annoying person who would subtly irritate me whenever we met, but meeting him after a long time and suddenly receiving warm greetings and words of understanding about my hardships made me feel strangely at ease.

Maybe because of all the annoying people I met at the academy, my brain has adjusted to think that someone like Dittmeyer is quite decent in comparison. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

A lot has happened, indeed. There were tiring things, but also a lot gained in return.

“When Master Harold was active on the battlefield, he once camped out for weeks in the cold Silverwood, so you, young master, should be old enough to endure a day or two of camping.”

“Hmm, that’s right.”

“…And unless you encountered a group of thieves or something, it can’t really be called trouble. Hahaha.”

“…Y-Yes, that’s right.”

“That’s… right…”

He seemed to be making what he thought was a joke, but for Ethan and me, who had actually encountered a group of thieves, it was awkwardly difficult to respond.

Meanwhile, Isabel, who didn’t even know that thieves had attacked us, was laughing along, and what broke this awkward atmosphere was the sudden appearance of a skinny maid with pink hair.

“Miss Lilith! Isabel!”

“Senior Catherine!”

Isabel and Catherine, who hugged each other tightly as soon as they met, presented a pleasant sight of two pretty and cute girls embracing, which would still be nice to see even if their genders were reversed.

…Though I felt a bit shy about joining in, so I moved my steps a little slower.

“It’s been a while, Senior Catherine.”

“Did you enjoy the academy, Miss Lilith?”

“Yes, it was enjoyable. Many things happened, too. Your expression seems to have improved quite a bit as well, Senior Catherine.”

“Yes. I can’t keep relying only on Miss Lilith and Isabel forever.”

Compared to when we had that tearful farewell just a few months ago, Catherine’s appearance had noticeably changed. It was hard to believe she was the same person who used to tremble in fear when I raised my voice a little in the preparation room in the kitchen at dawn.

In fact, I was quite worried about her before leaving, but I felt relieved to see that she seemed to have grown unexpectedly well.

“Shall we gather in your room later and chat together, Catherine? I have some snacks and tea I bought as gifts anyway.”

“I’m all for it, Miss Lilith!”

“I told you, you can just casually call me Lilith.”

…It seems the ‘Miss’ title is still valid even though her personality has changed.

But, well, she definitely seemed better than her past self, who was only timid. I’m not sure yet what exactly changed her mindset. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Although many things had changed in the Blackwood Mansion, there was one thing I could feel for certain as soon as we arrived.

At least, for me now, there was no place more comfortable than home sweet home.