Chapter 44
"Whew, I guess that’s about it."
By midday the next day, Lisbeth had quickly finished her mandatory cleaning duties. As one of the Personal Maids, her workload was much lighter than regular Maids—even for odd jobs. After a final check, she stepped out of the freshly cleaned room to wait for Stalos.
"Oh? Lisbeth, you’re so fast! I didn’t expect you’d be done already."
After waiting about ten minutes, Stalos arrived at the room Lisbeth had cleaned. Seeing this, Lisbeth shook her head. "You’re just too slow. You knew our plans for today, yet you’re late. That’s not good."
"Oh, it’s fine. Ovelia’s away all day anyway. As long as Hilda and the others don’t catch us, we’ll be fine."
Sensing Lisbeth’s reproach, Stalos waved awkwardly. But seeing Stalos had arrived, Lisbeth nodded. "Hmm, true. As long as you’re here, it’s fine."
Though Lisbeth kept a smile on her face, inside she was already sneering coldly. She knew Christia’s plan well—Hilda wouldn’t appear, all to make things convenient for them.
Unaware the plan had already been exposed, Stalos stretched lazily and turned to Lisbeth. "Alright, let’s go! The breast-enlarging potion and the anti-sagging one are waiting for us!"
"Okay, okay. I know you’re excited, but can you keep your voice down?"
With that decided, Lisbeth and Stalos headed toward Ovelia’s lab. Unbeknownst to them, a bat flew high above, watching their every move.
---
Meanwhile—
"Lord Demon King, it seems Stalos has successfully tricked Lisbeth and is leading her to Ovelia’s lab. For now, our plan is working."
"Mm, correct. Next, we’ll see what Lisbeth does."
In a side room of the Demon King’s Fortress, Hilda, Christia, and Ovelia monitored Lisbeth and Stalos’s every move. Christia sat on a chair, her beautiful eyes curiously fixed on a transparent glass pane displaying the scene. The image showed none other than Lisbeth and Stalos on their way to Ovelia’s lab.
"Truly impressive, Ovelia. To create such a convenient surveillance familiar."
"Thank you for your praise, Lord Demon King. But this thing has many flaws—it’s far from perfect."
Hearing Christia’s words, Ovelia quickly bowed slightly in gratitude. Meanwhile, Christia turned back, puzzled. "Huh? I don’t see any issues. With something this handy, I could monitor Lisbeth’s every move all the time, right?"
"No, this isn’t that versatile. Let me explain."
"Hmm?"
As she spoke, Ovelia walked to Christia and pointed at the glass pane showing the surveillance feed. "First, this glass isn’t ordinary—it’s a high-purity magical artifact tempered with magic. It displays images well, but it’s extremely expensive and fragile. It shatters after about ten hours of use."
"Second, the surveillance familiar requires immense magic to create. The magic crystal chip used for the image feed is just as costly and fragile as this glass. So, unless monitoring top-priority targets, this familiar isn’t cost-effective."
"I see. So it can’t be used for long-term surveillance."
After Ovelia’s explanation, Christia nodded disappointedly. "Still, creating this is impressive. I look forward to your improvements, Ovelia. But about the cost—you kept mentioning it’s expensive. How much does one surveillance familiar cost?"
"Hmm, let me calculate. The transmission glass alone costs 30,000 gold coins. Then hiring a grand mage to infuse magic, plus the crystal chip—total around 100,000 gold coins?"
"100,000!? That expensive!?"
The moment Ovelia said the number, both Christia and Hilda were stunned. But it was understandable—in the Demon Clan, an average household earned only about ten gold coins a year. Spending 100,000 just for this was outrageous.
"Ovelia, this is way too expensive. With the Demon King’s Fortress at war for years, funds are tight. When budgeting for magical artifacts, don’t bankrupt us."
"Don’t worry, Lord Demon King. I know my limits."
Seeing Ovelia nod, Christia sighed and asked, "Ovelia, does that breast-enlarging potion really exist? Don’t get me wrong—I’m just curious. I don’t want it! In ten years—no, five—my chest will naturally be as big as Mother’s!"
"Ah... Lord Demon King, you..."
Watching Christia blurt out unintentionally, Hilda and Ovelia silently covered their faces. Seeing their reaction, Christia blushed and pointed angrily. "What’s with your reactions!? I said I’m not interested! I was just asking if it exists!"
"Ah, calm down, Lord Demon King. Yes, it exists—in the lab Stalos is heading to. But I won’t make it easy for her."
"Huh?"
---
While Christia was talking, Lisbeth and Stalos had already reached Ovelia’s lab. Facing the half-open, pure silver door, both instinctively took a deep breath.
"This must be it. Ready, Lisbeth?"
"Mm, of course. But... no traps inside, right?"
"No idea. Ovelia seems normal daily, but when she snaps, she’s terrifying. That damn bespectacled mage might’ve set something extra in her lab."
Hearing Stalos, Lisbeth swallowed hard. She knew Ovelia from two centuries later was formidable—if traps were set, it wasn’t a joke. Thinking this, Lisbeth closed her eyes gently and spoke to Clothilde attached to her hand. "Little Sword, if anything happens, you must save me."
"Huh? Should be fine. Ovelia told you about today’s test—setting traps would be pointless."
"No, no. Stalos has a mouth that offends people. Ovelia might set traps just for her."
Just as Lisbeth called Hilda "old hag," Stalos’s nickname for Ovelia meant she’d likely face trouble. While Lisbeth and Clothilde talked, Stalos turned back. "Lisbeth, if it’s fine, I’ll open the door?"
"Mm, go ahead."
Though uneasy, Lisbeth wasn’t one to back down. Seeing her nod, Stalos pushed the lab door open hard. Inside, no magic lights were lit—the lab was pitch black.
Seeing this, Stalos snapped her fingers. A light orb appeared in her hand. She turned to Lisbeth behind her. "Alright, I’ll go first. Follow me."
"Mm, got it."
"Whoosh!!"
"Huh!?"
After saying that, Stalos carefully stepped into the lab. But the moment her foot crossed the threshold, lights flickered on. In the next second, the pitch-black lab was brightly lit.
