“You two, tidy up the room a bit. I have matters to attend to. Don’t go near this magic device—if you break it, I’ll punish you.”
Mimiluci briefly glanced at them, found nothing unusual, gave her orders, and left.
The accompanying succubus maid quickly bowed her head respectfully, replying. Anlis pretended to be dazed and bowed along.
The Demon King’s Castle was very idle now, just trivial matters. Mimiluci was most likely going to attend to some needs.
“Anlis, be careful. Since you’re dazed, don’t get near this area. If you break something, we’re both done for. Just focus on cleaning the periphery.”
Anlis obediently nodded. This succubus maid seemed to take good care of her, always chattering on and on.
Thanks to her talkativeness, Anlis was able to get a lot of information from her.
For example, this body she was in now had been created two years ago to join the Demon King’s Castle Maid Corps. Its personality was always rather dull and quiet, like a puppet—when given an order, it would carry it out mechanically.
Comparing it now, Anlis felt as if someone had specially created a body for her in the Abyss.
It was truly frightening to think about. Doesn’t that mean some unknown entity had started laying the groundwork two years ago? It could even accurately determine that she would become a Hero two years later.
She thought the only one who could do this was the God of the Holy Order.
After all, only the sacred God could decide who was the Hero.
But what could the purpose be? Couldn’t figure it out.
If it really was God’s doing, then there must be some deep meaning.
Anlis’s throat tightened slightly. She really wanted to tell someone about this, but now she had no one she could trust. Just like how she had to pretend nothing was wrong about Vylian being the Demon King, she had to bottle this up inside.
She felt like she was going to become a pressure cooker from holding these two things in.
Fortunately, the maid beside her had a pure, simple heart and was warm toward others. Although a bit talkative, she was truly a good person. This let Anlis’s tense heartstrings loosen a little.
“Hey, hey, are you listening? Anlis.”
“Y-yes, I heard.”
“Good. This cleaning opportunity is rare. For the two of us to get it is an enormous stroke of luck. If we perform well, we could even get promoted. Even if not, if we catch Lady Mimiluci’s eye and get to keep cleaning the Princess’s bedchamber, we’ll become succubi who serve the Princess directly.”
The maid spoke with words full of longing.
It was as if the path she described was a broad road full of future and hope.
From an inconspicuous little maid to climbing step by step to the high position of serving the Princess—that really was a promising future.
She really was a succubus girl with a pure heart and simple aspirations.
The ensuing cleaning process was uneventful—no unexpected incidents, no interruptions.
Anlis pretended to work diligently while occasionally glancing at the magic apparatus in the center of the room.
Inside the apparatus, an embryo was developing rapidly.
Occasionally, she couldn’t help but have strange thoughts: What would it feel like if this thing were still in her belly?
The thought came, and she quickly shook her head to suppress it, finding it bizarre and funny.
Work ended, and soon it was mealtime.
In front of each person floated a ball of milky white essence, warm in texture—the basic food that abyss-dwelling monsters relied on to cultivate and fill their stomachs.
But Anlis didn’t have any appetite when she looked at that essence.
She really wasn’t hungry. If she could see a satiety meter, Anlis thought this body’s satiety might be the same as her real-world body’s.
This was a good but not-so-good characteristic.
—State Sharing.
“This is for you.”
Anlis simply raised her hand and pushed her own ration to the maid beside her, Keqi. After checking the status panel, Anlis had learned her name.
“You’re not eating? It might be a bit unpleasant, but you mustn’t be picky. They only distribute food once in a while. If you don’t eat, it’ll be tough, and your leveling will be very, very slow.”
Seeing the essence Anlis pushed toward her, the little succubus didn’t accept.
“Keqi, eat. Thank you.”
“Uhh, y-you eat it yourself.”
Keqi still refused, even quickly moving further away, afraid Anlis might force the essence on her. Anlis was also helpless. If the other didn’t eat, she might just throw it away.
This resource was still too precious for low-level succubi like them. After thinking for a moment, Anlis simply moved closer and forced the thing into her hand.
Keqi was stunned on the spot, eyes full of surprise.
Anlis didn’t mind much. After the meal, it was time for free activities.
The Demon King’s Castle’s benefits were not generous, but the rest time was exceptionally abundant.
From 5 PM after eating until the next morning, there was no supervision—they could go out freely to relax or go to the exclusive training room for quiet cultivation.
This was what Anlis thought was the best part of Dreamwalking.
Here, there was no Vylian’s constant surveillance, no endless troubles from the real world, no one watching her every move.
She could sharpen her swordsmanship without restraint or worry.
That the place where a Hero could safely grow stronger was the Demon King’s lair.
It sounded strange no matter how you thought about it.
But being able to practice freely in Vylian the Demon King’s territory was just too cool!
There was even a faint, eerie sense of betrayal.
Anlis felt relieved, went straight to the training room, picked a suitable iron sword, and began to practice tirelessly according to the methods taught by her father and the sword techniques derived by Vylian.
……
……
“Why is she sleeping for so long? How strange.” Vylian sat by the bed, staring at the sleeping Anlis who wouldn’t wake up, frowning slightly, full of confusion.
After the surgery, she personally carried Anlis back to her room and settled her.
She waited from noon to dusk, from dusk to late night. She ate, washed up, finished all her chores, but Anlis still slept heavily with no sign of waking.
She had thought it might be some aftereffect, but after a careful check, she found she really was just sleeping.
But no matter what she did, she couldn’t wake her. This left even Vylian, a 999-level Demon King, at a loss.
Hesitating for a moment, a glint of cunning flashed in Vylian’s eyes.
She simply stood up, quietly fetched a small piece of cold ice, leaned close to the bed, and carefully placed it on the sole of Anlis’s foot.
The next second. For some reason, Anlis’s eyelids suddenly twitched, her body jolted, and her eyes snapped open.
Vylian jumped back as if caught red-handed, quickly stopped her little trick, and instantly put on an innocent, harmless smile.
“Oh my, you’re awake. The surgery was a success. You’re a girl now.”
“I was already a girl, okay? What are you holding?”
“Nothing.”
“Why is the sole of my foot so cold?”
Anlis raised her hand and touched it wet, a bit cold.
“You used ice to freeze my foot?!”
“Hehe, you don’t understand at all. This is my special method for waking up unconscious people. You woke up thanks to me.”
Vylian said this without batting an eye or feeling guilty. After all, the way Anlis had jumped from the cold was really cute, and the feel of her white stockings was nice too.
But Anlis had woken up because she had actively left the Abyss.
Anlis’s face reddened: “I’ll bite you to death!”