Do Heroes Need Welfare Too? - Chapter 167

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Part 2, Chapter 34

 

I don’t know what kind of existence Adam is to the servants. However, one thing was certain: they worried about and cared for their master.

 

I felt a small sense of relief at that fact.

 

“Still, this time we can rest assured since the mistress is with him.”

 

Mistress!

 

I blushed at the butler’s consistent way of addressing me.

 

Somehow, it felt like I had gained a reliable ally. Before closing the door and departing in the carriage, I opened the window and asked.

 

“Is Adam a good master?”

 

It couldn’t be easy for servants to look after their master’s birthday. No matter what, there was still a class difference between master and servant. Adam probably wasn’t particularly friendly with the servants either.

 

The butler seemed to understand my question and stroked his beard as he spoke.

 

“Hmm, rather than that… I think it stems from everyone’s wish to see him smile.”

 

“Adam?”

 

“Yes, he never smiled and didn’t express his emotions. There must have been those who were curious.”

 

Kyrillos had mentioned it in passing sometimes, so I had roughly caught on, but Adam really had been living like a ghost all this time.

 

To the extent that even the servants worried about him.

 

I thought I should treat Adam even better.

 

“However, it’s all thanks to the mistress that he’s become such a proper master.”

 

“…That’s too much praise.”

 

“That’s why everyone likes the mistress. It seems spring has finally come to our mansion.”

 

The weather outside was rushing toward winter, but the butler chuckled and called it spring.

 

I looked at him for a moment and smiled.

 

Perhaps Adam was able to endure for three years because the people around him were good people.

 

Adam didn’t seem to realize it himself, but he had a charm that drew people to him.

 

Maybe he knew it too. That’s why he didn’t bother to push away the people who interfered with him.

 

They were all good people, after all.

 

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

 

Now Adam’s mansion felt like my own home.

 

It was the same comfort I had once felt in the Demon King’s Castle.

 

A life where I was confident I would be welcomed back when I returned.

 

‘I wish the Quest wouldn’t end.’

 

If only there wasn’t a ‘death’ penalty for Quest failure.

 

I narrowed my eyes and checked the Quest.

 

Hmm, it seems it has no intention of changing today either.

 

I felt a little relieved and leaned back against the carriage seat.

 

After taking the carriage to the Capital City’s Bustling District, I had a major mission.

 

Of course, there’s also the Quest, but that’s not what I’m talking about!

 

Buying a gift that would satisfy Adam.

 

And I wanted to give him a gift more memorable than anyone else’s.

 

But after looking around various shops, I had no choice but to quickly become frustrated.

 

Clothes? The butler had already prepared them in every color.

 

Jewelry? I could fill an entire room with just the jewelry Adam had given me.

 

Adam already had everything that money could buy.

 

‘I want to choose something Adam needs and give it to him…’

 

What had Adam liked all this time?

 

Of course, I definitely had memories of living as Adam’s maid.

 

However, Adam never complained.

 

Since he said anything was fine, there was no way I could know his likes and dislikes.

 

‘A good gift for Adam…’

 

It might be too greedy, but I hoped he would remember me every time he looked at the gift.

 

I rested my chin on my hand and scanned the shop’s display with lifeless eyes.

 

Those kinds of things couldn’t satisfy Adam!

 

That’s when I made eye contact with someone.

 

I jerked my hand away from my chin and jumped up from my seat.

 

Then he also seemed to notice me and widened his eyes in surprise.

 

“…Ben?!”

 

But what was even more surprising was the person next to him.

 

An unforgettably gorgeous appearance.

 

However, now she was wearing a hat pulled down low to hide her face and brilliant red hair, probably because of someone’s nagging.

 

“Isel-”

 

“Shh. If you say it like that, there’s no point in disguising myself, right?”

 

Iselda reached out and placed her index finger on my lips. However, I kept my mouth shut and scanned the surroundings with my eyes.

 

‘I think everyone knows anyway?’

 

Iselda was significantly taller than others. Even with her brilliant hair and face covered, Iselda was still Iselda even if you looked at her upside down.

 

However, I didn’t bother to mention that fact. She would know it better than I did.

 

“But why are you with Ben…”

 

“Why are you asking about our exclusive chef for the mercenaries?”

 

“What? Ben?”

 

I asked back in bewilderment.

 

“I recruited him with special treatment.”

 

“Please don’t put it that way, Iselda.”

 

Ben removed Iselda’s arm that was casually pulling his neck and spoke.

 

I trembled with a sense of betrayal.

 

“What about our Hero!”

 

“I lured him with money.”

 

Iselda proudly made a small circle with her thumb and index finger as she spoke.

 

What a mercenary who lives and dies by money!

 

Was Ben’s initial amazement when he first presented his cooking to Adam now a thing of the past?

 

Ben had already been corrupted by Iselda.

 

“Hmm, but Eve. Come here.”

 

Ben gestured and called me over.

 

I approached him closely and listened carefully.

 

“…!!!”

 

“You understand, right?”

 

I nodded solemnly.

 

For a moment, it was an amount that made me doubt my ears.

 

‘You succeeded, Ben…!’

 

It was too much money to scold her for luring him with money.

 

Iselda didn’t look like Iselda but like light.

 

Luscious golden light… No, that’s not it.

 

‘Be happy…’

 

I decided to let him go.

 

Bye bye, Ben!

 

“But what brings you here? I heard you also stopped by Dainil Village last time.”

 

“Ah, you heard from Violet.”

 

Three years ago, Adam wasn’t the only one who was shocked to learn that I had died.

 

The people of Dainil Village, and especially Violet and Ben among them, would have felt the same.

 

“Yeah. I had heard hints from Iselda before that though.”

 

Ben let out a deep sigh.

 

Ben had been holding back three years’ worth of nagging, and his mouth didn’t stop scolding me.

 

‘Originally, I was the one who used to do this to Ben…’

 

The three years have made Ben grow up too.

 

Before I could feel proud, it felt like my ears were going to bleed.

 

Fortunately, Ben didn’t seem intent on ending with a lecture, finishing with a small lament.

 

“…So what’s all this about when the Demon King is already dead? Things have been really ominous lately, so Lady Iselda volunteered to be my escort.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

I too could feel the strange atmosphere after coming out to the capital.

 

Only a very few knew that the Demon King was alive. Since the Demon King hadn’t moved yet either, there was no way to know. However, word was going around that the movements of the demonic beasts had become unusual.

 

I smiled ambiguously at Ben’s lament-filled words.

 

I couldn’t tell him the truth.

 

And he would certainly panic even more if I told him the truth.

 

It would be better for him to remain happy in ignorance.

 

However, there was someone else here who knew the truth.

 

Iselda gestured slightly.

 

“About that, the Demon King might still be alive, right?”

 

What Iselda whispered in my ear was by no means light words.

 

It was the information I had previously told Adam.

 

That Aphene was the Demon King.

 

Iselda had also encountered Aphene before.

 

“Did you sense something back then?”

 

“Hmm, sorry but not at all. That’s why it was hard to believe even knowing his identity. He looked like someone without power, let alone magical energy.”

 

Iselda said while shaking her head.

 

However, she looked somewhere with murderous eyes.

 

“But when I had mercenaries investigate, the mercenaries went missing.”

 

Iselda said while grinding her teeth.

 

She was certainly smiling with her teeth showing, but it didn’t look like she was smiling at all.

 

“This has become very interesting. How dare they take my mercenaries…”

 

Iselda swallowed her remaining words, but the mercenaries probably wouldn’t return.

 

Whatever had happened during the three years, Aphene was showing signs of regaining his power.

 

“And the Hero discovered something strange in the Imperial Palace too…”

 

“The Imperial Palace?”

 

“Ah, he didn’t tell you about it.”

 

Iselda looked at me thoughtfully, going “Hmm.”

 

“It seems he doesn’t want to burden his long-awaited lover with worries.”

 

“Even so!”

 

If there was something I didn’t know, I wanted to know it.

 

I was tired of being dragged around by quests or whatever else without knowing anything.

 

Iselda pondered while stroking her chin, then whispered in my ear, perhaps being mindful of Ben.

 

“I’ll just tell you that traces of the Demon King’s revival ritual remain there.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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