Chapter 11

* * *

“Hero! Good afternoon.”

I opened the door to Adam’s office with a bang as I went to deliver today’s report.

“!”

I froze, forgetting to breathe, as the sight before me unfolded.

Standing there with my mouth agape, Adam hurriedly finished changing his clothes.

It was Adam’s voice that brought me back to reality from my frozen state.

“…Eve, please knock before you come in.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were changing. Should I help you?”

It wasn’t out of any ulterior motive, but simply my duty as Adam’s only maid.

However, Adam was faster in avoiding my touch.

“No, thank you.”

Though his refusal was polite, it felt like a sharp line drawn firmly in place. Adam was deliberately making that boundary clear.

Pretending it was a mistake, not to cross it.

‘Why does he keep himself so tightly wrapped up?’

As I gazed at him, Adam pressed his eyes as if he was tired.

Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Adam sleep.

Whenever I couldn’t sleep and woke up in the middle of the night, Adam was always sitting on a rock, lost in thought, or reading a book.

‘Is he not sleeping properly? The dark circles under his eyes…’

It was a reasonable suspicion. After all, the work he did in the Demon King’s castle was mostly confined to the library or managing the beasts. He was always on edge, worried that the unruly beasts might wander into the village.

“Hero, aren’t you very tired?”

At my concerned question, Adam smiled and replied.

“I’m fine.”

There it is again, another lie.

Adam must really dislike my worrying if he’s willing to tell such obvious lies. However, I couldn’t back down this time.

For someone who always tried to appear perfect, showing such vulnerability meant he was more exhausted than he let on.

“I’ve never seen you sleep.”

“I’ll sleep later.”

That’s his answer?

At this rate, he might as well say he’ll sleep when he’s dead.

“Not sleeping slows your thinking and impairs your judgment.”

“That seems to be the case.”

Adam admitted it readily.

‘But why is he looking at me like that?’

Could he be implying that letting me into the Demon King’s castle was a poor judgment call?

As I looked at him with that thought, he averted his gaze.

“I’m looking for something. Once I find it, I’ll sleep on time.”

“Whatever it is, it won’t run away if you take a nap.”

“There’s that, but…”

Adam wouldn’t listen to anything I said. This time, it seemed better to take a step back.

 

Stress – 57%

‘Sigh, he’s struggling so much.’

If he had been sleeping properly, his stress levels would have gradually decreased. However, his stress levels remained stubbornly high.

This meant Adam wasn’t resting at all, not since I arrived, and probably not even before that.

“Alright. Then tomorrow, you must sleep on time, okay?”

“Understood.”

Adam replied with a faint smile.

Yet that night, the light in his office remained on.

* * *

“Why doesn’t the hero sleep?”

I murmured, resting my chin on my hand.

Just in case, I checked Adam’s room in the early morning, but a soft light spilled through the gap in the door. It seemed he was still doing something by the lamplight.

‘He’s not sleeping.’

So before I arrived, was he rebuilding the Demon King’s castle while searching for something?

The Demon King was dead. The beasts that threatened people were under Adam’s control with the obedience stones he possessed.

So all problems should be resolved!

A grand path of flowers should be laid out before him…

‘But in reality, the hero is pulling all-nighters.’

Thinking of Adam, I let out a deep sigh.

Then Abraxas, who had been busily scrubbing the floor, gritted his teeth and spoke.

“I’m curious too. Why the maid who came here isn’t working.”

“Hey, there’s dust in that corner.”

“Ugh!”

Abraxas, who initially started off on bad terms with me, eventually listened to what I said.

It wasn’t so much submission but rather because he had to report to Adam every day about what he did. If a demon like him harmed me and Adam found out, he knew he wouldn’t survive.

“What on earth is he searching for all day?”

I muttered to myself.

“What is the hero looking for?”

Abraxas’s eyes narrowed slyly. He tossed aside his rag and sauntered over to me.

“I’m not telling you.”

But I wasn’t going to fall for it.

“You said it’s a worry! If you tell me, maybe I can come up with a solution. So, human, spill it.”

“Don’t touch my shoulder with your rag-hand.”

I coldly brushed off Abraxas’s hand. After sitting and thinking for a while, I started feeling sleepy.

I had stayed up all night to check on Adam’s office.

“Well then, I’ll take a short nap. Take care in the meantime.”

“….”

Abraxas mumbled something behind me, but I didn’t catch it.

“I’m resting, so who’s going to work?”

‘Abraxas, of course!’

This was the essence of poetic justice.

Behind me, Abraxas muttered, “I can’t tell who’s the villain and who’s the demon,” but I ignored him.

* * *

Our routine, where Abraxas worked and I supervised, went smoothly.

Since coming to the Demon King’s castle under the pretense of taking care of the hero’s well-being, I hadn’t done much, which pricked my conscience.

After a short nap, I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and stood up. The blanket, warmed by the sun, felt pleasant.

Before I fell asleep, I could hear Abraxas grumbling nearby, but now he was long gone without a trace.

“Now that I think about it, there’s no way he could do well without me.”

Even when I kept an eye on him, he’d try to slack off at every opportunity.

Indeed, demons couldn’t be trusted.

I sprang to my feet and wandered over to a pillar.

That thing bothering me since earlier.

Those shoes definitely belonged to Abraxas.

Pretending not to notice, I walked at a steady pace until I reached the pillar, then swiftly darted behind it.

Crash!

“I knew it! Slacking off when I’m not looking—oh?”

As I flung the blanket towards the figure behind the pillar, I found Adam instead, who seemed to have tripped and fallen.

His unexpected appearance deflated my accusatory tone.

“Why are you here, Hero?”

“…”

“Oh! Just so you know, I didn’t see anything. No one will know you tripped and fell here. My lips are sealed.”

Adam covered his face with both hands. Despite my claim, he clearly didn’t believe me.

Though he hastily covered his face, his ears, flushed red, were clearly visible.

I tried to look away, but my eyes kept drifting back to Adam’s disheveled state.

‘No, if he gets embarrassed, his stress will go up!’

As Adam’s loyal maid, I had to pretend I didn’t notice anything.

I deliberately focused on a distant point, ignoring Adam’s predicament.

It was a desperate act of avoidance.

Then, a thought crossed my mind, and I looked at Adam’s expression.

“Hero, are you feeling unwell?”

It was unlikely he was hiding behind the pillar for no reason and got startled by my sudden appearance.

If his legs gave out suddenly, it might be due to a lack of protein.

‘He’s probably experiencing muscle loss.’

I decided that I needed to get the hero, who neglected his muscles after the Demon King’s death, back into a proper workout routine.

A healthy mind comes from healthy muscles.

Adam, wearing a troubled expression, quickly regained his composure.

Before I could say anything more, he said, “I’m fine.”

His expression back to normal, Adam smiled as if nothing had happened.

‘He’s definitely not fine.’

But his effort was completely unconvincing to me.