“So you work as a servant?” I asked Lilith, after she came back.
“Yes, that’s correct. They are presently known as housemaids, though. Does my maid uniform suit me?” She smiled and spun around once, obviously proud of her clothes.
It was an apron dress so dark green it might as well have been black. Oops—it was a “maid uniform.” I needed to adopt the modern vernacular.
“Yeah, it looks good on you.”
She giggled. “I’m glad. I will begin dinner preparations, then.”
“Thanks. Oh, by the way...”
“Yes?”
“I finally understand why you wear Color Contacts.”
“Oh... I see.”
At first I’d thought it was simply because she was a demon, but it was actually due to something else entirely.
✦ ✦ ✦
After doing a little digging in the library, I confirmed without a doubt that Amber Eyes were mocked by the people of this age. And from what I could tell, that mockery was pretty intense. The two noble brats who’d come over earlier had displayed perfectly normal reactions for people of this time. Great. New reasons why life with Amber Eyes sucks.
“Demons have lost most of their strength these past two hundred years,” Lilith said as she cooked. I stayed silent and continued flipping through the book I’d brought out of the library. “After the hero party you led defeated the demon king, humans everywhere began waging war against the scattered forces of the demons...and won.”
“I see...”
“Thus, the demons fell to ruin, the world found peace, and the standard of mages decreased.”
“And since the main reason Amber Eyes were feared had disappeared, so did the knowledge that they could become the strongest, so long as they trained hard enough.”
“Precisely, Master Abel.”
Our conversation was strangely subdued, a mood which was only enhanced by the soft sounds of her rhythmic chopping, and the crackling of wood in the fireplace.
“Lilith, do you despise humans? No—do you hate me and the other heroes?”
Without a doubt, we were the ones who’d caused the fall of the demons. I was also the one who killed the demon king...that is to say, her father.
“I suppose there were certainly days when I felt hatred, and days where I cried my eyes out.”
The sound of the knife came to a halt. I still had my nose buried in the book, so I didn’t confirm this visually, but I was certain her eyes were on me.
“However, more than anything, I remember how you desperately tried to protect me. You even traveled with me in order to find a safe place for me to live. Do you recall?”
“Yeah.”
“We might only have spent half a month together... However, I learned magecraft and the laws of humans from you. There were also...other things as well...”
“Just say it. You used to tell me everything back then.”
Lilith giggled. “‘A good woman wears her secrets like she wears earrings.’ That’s what I learned from the matron of the tavern who took me in.”
In these past two hundred years, Lilith had become strangely bewitching. She used to be such a straightforward and adorable kid.
“So...” Lilith approached me, getting down on one knee and looking straight into my eyes. “I deeply adore you, Master Abel.”
Her face was a little too close to mine for comfort. This all made me feel kinda embarrassed, so I hid the bottom half of my face with my book.
“I see...”
Thinking about it, I realized Lilith had spent all this time waiting for my reincarnation. She’d even prepared a place where I could live in peace. If she’d simply felt like she needed to repay me for saving her life, I’m not sure she would’ve gone that far. Her feelings must have been strong.
“Thanks...” I mumbled. Saying my feelings out loud was seriously embarrassing.
After that, I found it difficult to remain in reality with my thoughts, so I escaped to the world of books, and didn’t make eye contact with Lilith again even once.
✦ ✦ ✦
An hour later, one thing led to another and I somehow found myself taking a bath with Lilith. Before you jump to any conclusions, I’d just like to defend myself by saying that I did not ask for this. She’d been the one to forcefully invite me. One could even say that she’d practically abducted me to the bath.
“My apologies, Master Abel. After our conversation, my affection for you began to swell out of control.”
I had no words, but I really understood now. At least, I understood that she was afflicted with an illness that would make her abduct someone to the bath when her affection grew out of control. I’m sorry, Lilith. My paltry healing magecraft can’t fix that.
“Good grief... A guy and a girl naked in the same bathtub... Do you even know what this situation signifies?” I asked.
Lilith giggled. “You say the most amusing things, Master Abel.”