Chapter 25: A Maid’s Duties
The Storm Witch’s domain!
Jie Luo’s soul fragment.
As expected, Shub-Niggurath could not be deceived.
It made sense – she was the one who informed Qin Chu about this in the first place. Upon seeing Shield Guardian Benson’s route, she would naturally be more sensitive to it.
Qin Chu’s attitude only further confirmed Shub-Niggurath’s suspicions. Her slender form no longer perched on his shoulder, instead lightly floating before him, crimson eyes fixated intensely.
Her voice was low, raspy, barely containing suppressed fury:
“So it’s true – your real target isn’t that Shield Guardian Benson, but Jie Luo’s soul fragment…”
Since Shub-Niggurath had seen through him, Qin Chu did not bother hiding further. “I have a dream!”
“Huh?” Shub-Niggurath was bewildered, unsure if this hero had gone insane.
They were discussing a critical life-and-death matter, yet here he was rambling about dreams? Was he sick?
“Just what are you trying to do?”
Feeling a tinge of loneliness that Shub-Niggurath didn’t understand his gag, Qin Chu spread his hands with a righteous expression. “I hope that one day, while grasping Jie Luo’s soul fragments, I can tell Loseweisse…”
“Ekaterina…”
“Anastasia…”
“Eileen, Airi…”
“Sylph…”
“You don’t want to see me crush Jie Luo’s soul, do you?”
Saying such terrible things with a completely serious face, Shub-Niggurath’s mind was filled with black lines. Though she still didn’t comprehend Qin Chu’s gag, she could at least tell it was nothing good.
Moreover, the six names Qin Chu listed were all the female members of the Hero Squad.
This guy’s vile, defiled intentions were self-evident.
“Don’t tell me you intend to use Jie Luo’s soul fragments to threaten those women into doing…unsavory things?” Shub-Niggurath arched a brow, her face dripping with disdain.
This woman really didn’t mince words – couldn’t she use a more elegant phrasing than “unsavory things”?
Though what Shub-Niggurath said was true.
Compared to the male members, Qin Chu’s resentment towards these few women of the Hero Squad burned far more intensely.
After years of living together, occasional flirtations and intimacies, for someone like Qin Chu who had never dated before, the impact was staggering. Even while nursing his unrequited love for Loseweisse, his heart still fluttered, deluding himself into thinking he was quite popular.
Back then, Qin Chu even felt this Heavenly Continent might suit him better than Earth.
He could never forget Anastasia draping her slender, voluptuous figure over his shoulders, soft cherry lips brushing his ear as she whispered: “Say, do you like the mature older sister type?”
He could never forget carrying the drunken Ekaterina back from the tavern, her murmuring into his chest: “Just because of my tall, wild physique, no boys ever liked me. I really want to get married, you know. Why don’t you marry me instead?”
He could never forget the solo date with the ghostly archer Sylph: “I like men stronger than me. In the Hero Squad, only the hero surpasses my strength!”
He could never forget Eileen and Airi, the twin sisters hugging his arms with blissful smiles: “We love hero-brother the most…”
Back then, Qin Chu truly felt his springtime had arrived.
Though his heart still pined for Loseweisse, during that seven-year war in the previous loop, Qin Chu still did his utmost to protect them, never allowing them the slightest harm.
Looking back now, in their eyes, was he just a clown?
All of it was merely deception – his one-sided fantasies.
Benson could be directly ruined.
But these women, Qin Chu would absolutely deal with personally. Simply killing them would be letting them off too easily, utterly insufficient to vent the blazing rage in his chest.
Jie Luo’s soul fragments were the perfect tool. Qin Chu would use them to threaten these women. Watching them utterly loathe yet be forced to submit, their expressions filled with hatred and humiliation as he tormented their minds and bodies to shreds. Only then would he mercilessly crush Jie Luo’s soul remnants.
Their beautiful faces twisted in despair would surely be the most wondrous sight in this world.
Twisted? Probably very twisted.
Cruel? Undoubtedly cruel.
This was the current Qin Chu – the once pure, kind-hearted man, warped into his present distorted state by the people of this world. The consequences could only be borne by them.
“Truly a twisted fellow. I’m increasingly doubting if your innate nature isn’t just that of a depraved demon beast…” Shub-Niggurath deliberately taunted.
She understood Qin Chu’s thoughts, letting out a sigh. “I won’t stop you from taking revenge on the Hero Squad members. But I must warn you – all witches are not to be trifled with.”
“The Storm Witch’s power is lower-tier among existing witches, but still absolutely beyond what you can currently handle. Her strength undoubtedly surpasses the Hero Squad members, likely no weaker than Wadsworth, Augustus or Saint Monique. Do you really think you can wrest Jie Luo’s soul fragment from the Storm Witch’s grasp?”
That level of power was currently unattainable for Qin Chu.
Rashly appearing before the Storm Witch, not just Qin Chu – even Shub-Niggurath could be torn asunder by her raging storms.
“Human effort can overcome all. After Candice relays the message to the Seven Princes, they investigate and confirm it’s safe, then we take action. This will require quite some time, during which I’ll do my utmost to bolster my own strength.”
Qin Chu had his own plans. With the experience of the previous loop, the talents of the Devourer, and some prudence, it may not be impossible.
“Of course, I won’t stake my life recklessly. If it truly proves undoable, I won’t actively seek death either. You can rest assured on that point – I still need to witness this world’s demise with my own eyes.” A wry smile curved Qin Chu’s lips, assuaging Shub-Niggurath.
On the streetlamp, Qin Chu stretched lazily.
“It’s getting late, time for us to return as well.”
Transforming into a bat, he flitted through the night sky, re-entering the room through the previously opened window.
The illusory scene on the bed gradually dispersed. Casually rubbing his eyes and hair into a sleepy-eyed look, Qin Chu pushed open the door.
Nikles faithfully stood guard outside. Hearing the sound, he immediately spun around. “Your orders, Lord Hero?”
“What’s with all the noise outside?” Qin Chu grumbled with feigned displeasure between yawns – his acting skills improving.
“Reporting to you, Lord Hero. Many nobles have gathered at the entrance seeking an audience. Miss Angelica is currently receiving them,” Nikles’s brow furrowed minutely.
In this world, a maid’s status was very low. Their existence was solely to serve their master – an all-encompassing service where they could not refuse any demands.
Nikles was a true knight. Just because Angelica was the hero’s maid, he had to use an honorific for her, making Nikles quite displeased at this insult to a knight’s honor.
“Angelica’s here?” Qin Chu’s eyes brightened. “Ahem, call Angelica over then.”
A knowing smile appeared on Nikles’s face, the kind all men understood. So the Lord Hero was quite the lusty one, eh?
Angelica had barely arrived and he already couldn’t hold back? Heard the Lord Hero was an extreme maid-lover who chose Angelica over even holy maidens or princesses.
Truly incomprehensible what appeal these lowly maids held.
As Nikles muttered inwardly, he went to summon her.
Before long, Angelica arrived at the bedchamber entrance under Nikles’s escort.
A rosy blush still tinted her lovely cheeks, her golden eyes seeming to mist over with a hazy layer. Angelica felt flushed and feverish, her heart pounding rapidly.
Being summoned to the bedchamber by the master to “serve” at this hour – even an idiot knew what that meant.
Bedwarming was one of a maid’s duties!
Angelica followed behind Qin Chu into the bedchamber, mentally prepared to offer up her pure body.
