I finally understood why he was acting so dazed. This maid was just too damn cute. Her shoulder-length hair matched her beige cat ears, which twitched and occasionally swiveled.
Real, living ears felt completely different from fake ones! If cosplayers dressed as catgirls back in my original world were cute, this cat-eared maid was stunningly adorable. With her perfectly proportioned figure, crisp blue-and-white maid uniform, and innocently cute face, I just wanted to hug her.
Such a cutie working as a maid was such a waste~
She’d be better off marrying the Hero~
Ah? No, she should marry me!
Who says the Dark Lord can’t have lilies? Look, every wedding carriage has them—they go perfectly with marriage!
That made sense. I’d even convinced myself.
Hey, why was the Hero acting dumb? Could he... really be a cat-ear fetishist? If so, might he one day go wild, force cat ears on me, and pin me down...
No, that’s terrifying! Senior catgirl, you must shield me from this disaster!
As for the cat-eared maid, after initial fluster, she quickly calmed with a faint smile. She pushed the cart to the room’s center, then pulled the pin to detonate...
Oops, wrong script... She simply opened a hidden compartment on the cart. The small trolley transformed into a tiny table, laden with a dazzling array of dishes. Though portions were small, from cold appetizers to a borscht-like soup, to steak-like mains—over twenty courses—all looked and smelled delicious, beautifully plated. Even from afar, I caught their faint aroma.
These dishes resembled Earth’s cuisine. That appetizer soup, bright red and clear, looked just like borscht. And that fish—it seemed like squirrel-shaped fish.
I sniffed the fragrant air.
“Hero-sama, your lunch is served here. Is there anything else you need?” She stepped back, bowed slightly—simple etiquette done by habit. A faint blush colored the cat-eared maid’s face as she lowered her head, avoiding Lott’s gaze. It wasn’t fear; though I couldn’t see her face from behind, it was clearly a complex mix of reverence and budding affection.
Hey now, was the Hero really that popular? I felt like his only talent was asking for trouble.
But Hero, why were you just standing there dumbly?
“Oh... uh, thanks.”
What an awkward reply! Hero-sama, were you grinding affection points like some otaku? Give her a warm smile and sweet care!
I almost wanted to kick the Hero aside and charm her myself. Wasting such good looks!
“Um, is there anything else you need?” she repeated softly.
“Oh, no, that’s all. Thank you for your hard work.”
Such a bland response...
“Then this servant will take her leave. If you need anything, I’ll be waiting outside the door.”
A trace of disappointment tinged the cat-eared maid’s voice.
Wait... disappointment?
Chilling thought—disappointment? Were her last two lines hints?
Looking at the Hero, unmoved. Was he carved from wood? A rare random event! No need to grind affection points to win her over!
Wasted QAQ.
“Hey, wait.” I called out softly.
The cat-eared maid froze instantly, trembling slightly.
Am I that scary? I muttered inwardly.
“I won’t eat you...” I rolled my eyes.
Whoa! I heard a sob... I’m sorry, okay?
“Forget it, just go out for now. I’ll talk to you later.”
The maid fled like she’d been pardoned, almost sprinting out of the room.
“Phew! Let me out! I need to eat, I’m starving!” I glared at the Hero, who was still lost in fantasy, drool dripping down his chin!
“Cat-eared maid~ maid uniform~ life is perfect~”
“What a gross otaku…”
“Wow~ so happy, real cat ears~”
“Let me out! If you want to see cat ears, I’ll wear them for you later—I’m starving!” I shook the cage door.
“Huh? Deal!” His eyes instantly brightened.
“Eh? What did I just say?” Cold sweat dripped from my temple. I seemed to have said something terrible.
“You said you’d wear cat ears for me!” he enunciated slowly. “So, you must keep your promise.”
He seemed serious. What to do? I really slipped up. No, I must weasel out. “No! That was just... just... anyway, no!”
“Hmph! Then don’t eat.”
“Ugh~ so hungry…”
“Ahem.” He turned his head away. “Well, for safety, you stay in the cage and I’ll feed you.”
“Just say you want feeding play! Release me at once, Your Majesty.”
“You don’t object?” He looked surprised.
I silently waited for him to open the cage, then kicked him: “In your dreams.”
Meanwhile, at the other end of the palace, in a chamber like a secret room, Wu Fangzheng pushed open a heavy stone door.
The walls were lined with bookshelves, crammed with thick tomes, new and old mixed together. Many looked ancient, preserved only by a faint magical glow enveloping them.
A thin layer of dust hung in the air. Books were thick with it, though some had been carefully wiped clean. The magical lights couldn’t pierce the dusty haze, making vision blurry.
Inside the bookshelves, countless colorful crystal pillars stood like a quartz cave. Whether from the light or not, silvery snake-like flashes occasionally darted across them.
Wu Fangzheng walked through these crystals. His robes brushed against a pillar, triggering a cascade of tiny curved lights from the point of contact.
These were incredibly expensive text-recording crystals, their crafting method nearly lost. Even the Church possessed only a few.
“Pope…” Wu Fangzheng looked up to see a giant open book floating mid-air. Its cover was engraved with runes, but the pages were blank. Shattered metal strips lay scattered nearby.
He gasped: “Pope, you unsealed the Imperial Tome?”
“Mm.” A middle-aged man in white-gold robes sat cross-legged beside the book, his calm face expressionless. “So what if it costs ten years per day? I’m the Pope, a mage—I can endure it.”
“Was it worth it?”
“Absolutely worth it,” the Pope said slowly.
“Then, what did you see?” Wu Fangzheng frowned. Whatever made the Pope go to such lengths—sacrificing decades of life to unseal the Imperial Tome—couldn’t be simple.
“Nothingness.”
“???”
“I saw nothing…”
