Chapter 348: What Do You Want as a Reward? (5K First Chapter)

"Then, Young Lady Lucalilia, we'll meet again later."

"Mm, I hope you'll keep your promise."

"Rest assured, I always keep my word."

After the figure in the mirror departed, Herbert picked up a black cloth beside him and covered the mirror.

To block the prying of a certain Mirror Spirit Young Lady, this simple physical obstruction was the most effective method.

It was just like how to prevent your own camera from being hacked,

there were two best methods.

Either physically block the camera directly,

or simply don't install the camera at all.

Choose to solve the problem at its root.

First, the option of "smashing the mirror" was naturally out of the question.

This mirror was originally a gift he gave to Valentina; he no longer had any control over it.

Besides, destroying the mirror would undoubtedly be provoking the Mirror Spirit Young Lady to war… and that was unnecessary.

One prior tap and repair had been enough; any more would become malicious provocation.

"... Huh."

After finishing all this, Herbert finally let out a soft sigh.

Herbert was actually quite satisfied with this "friendly" exchange with Lucalilia.

In terms of outcome, Herbert had made his stance clear, demonstrated a firm attitude, and secured the Mirror Spirit's promise… it could be called a fairly perfect result.

But looking at the entire conversation process, he was still somewhat dissatisfied—with his own performance alone.

His mind had been extremely tense, bearing considerable hidden pressure, unlike the casual ease he showed on the surface.

That was why Herbert didn't enter the Mirror Realm in person, but chose to converse through the mirror's surface—to reduce some of the invisible pressure from direct confrontation.

Although Lucalilia was currently under Herbert's control, his imprisoned subject, and separated by a mirror, the pressure remained high.

After all, this Mirror Spirit wasn't the first Epic Monster Girl he'd encountered, but she was the first Epic powerhouse he'd directly confronted.

Luciel, though an Epic fallen from Sainthood, was even stronger in power, yet she never revealed much of it, nor exerted much pressure on him.

The Fallen Angel Young Lady had always been extremely reserved, constantly restraining herself.

But this Mirror Spirit was different; though she harbored no true malice, she never hesitated to display her power.

She could effortlessly trap Valentina, an Epic-level dragon, within the mirror; she could manifest power across floors through a medium; she could easily mimic others' appearances…

If their meeting had occurred elsewhere, Herbert would have raised his vigilance a hundredfold and fled at once.

Fortunately, the Third Oath provided him with the confidence to find a way out.

And unlike Valentina, an innocent, isolated Monster Girl, Lucalilia was an observer who had witnessed countless lives.

She wasn't easy to deceive.

So Herbert didn't try to bluff his way through; instead, he used another method, calling it "honest deception."

Though there was some pretense, it was minimal—he honestly told her: I'm using my position to overpower you.

You know I'm bullying you, but what can you do about it?

What, are you不服气?

This attitude was arrogant, even tyrannical—but it was the best solution for the current situation.

When the opponent's strength and experience vastly exceed your own, equal dialogue is hard to achieve.

If you still want to dominate under such circumstances, you must rely on other means.

Special status, or powerful will and aura.

The former, of course, needed no explanation; Herbert had put careful thought into the latter.

He seized the initiative from the start, took control of the conversation, and intermittently reinforced his image afterward.

And finally, after achieving overwhelming victory, he deliberately ended the topic, steering the next subject toward one that would force the Mirror Spirit into an awkward explanation.

Without exaggeration, Herbert completely dominated this conversation—he was leading Lucalilia by the nose.

"Also, while her intellect was certainly high, it wasn't as aged as I imagined… her mental state is remarkably healthy!"

She had none of the senile, ancient-dragon vibe; instead, she felt like a mischievous, carefree child full of tricks.

"Is this the childlike purity after seeing through the world? Or does she possess some trait I don't yet understand…?"

"Could she be a Special Body?"

Although all the Monster Girls he'd met so far in the Third Oath were Special Bodies, each with unique abilities,

Herbert couldn't assume all prisoners here were Special Bodies—what if the old man had other ideas?

No one but him could say for sure.

All he could say was that the probability of her being a Special Body was high, but not absolute.

The main issue was that Herbert had no experience with ordinary Mirror Spirits and didn't know how they differed from Lucalilia.

"My understanding of Mirror Spirits is still too limited—I can't determine their specific personalities, traits, qualities… hmm, I'll look for materials at the Ash Bishop's place later."

After reviewing and summarizing his own performance, Herbert nodded slightly and sighed with relief: "Thank goodness she was easy to talk to and had no malice."

"If this had been Valentina at the very beginning of our meeting, heh, who knows how things would've turned out?"

After thinking everything through, Herbert slowly rose and stretched his body vigorously.

He glanced sideways at Valentina, still sound asleep beside him; seeing her brows relaxed and her face peaceful in sweet slumber, he smiled gently.

"It seems she's passed the hardest stage."

Herbert raised his hand, lightly brushed her nose, pinched her tip, leaned down, and kissed her cheek softly.

"Rest well here—I'll be back soon. I hope you're awake when I return."

After friendly exchanges (a warning threat) with Young Lady Mirror Demon, Herbert chose to head to the next location—still not going to Zhaodazhu Sect to report.

The old man's right there anyway, stuck in the monastery all year with nothing else to do, and he won't run off—why rush?

Compared to my lovely monster girls, Zhaodazhu Sect can wait.

"Mm-hmm, it must be that!"

After thinking this, Herbert pushed open the door and stepped into the teleportation gate leading to the Lava Hell.

"Flora, rejoice! Your emperor has returned—eh?"

When Herbert entered the Lava Hell, he was about to catch up with his subordinate Young Lady Succubus, when he suddenly noticed something odd in his peripheral vision.

He sharply turned his head—first level gaze, then looked up.

"Huh?"

At that moment, Herbert realized the Bronze Fortress was far taller than he remembered—by at least ten meters.

Wait, how could the Bronze Fortress grow taller and bigger?

Puberty?

When did Young Lady Devil get so bold? How dare she build illegally?

Doesn't she fear I, an outstanding Market Supervision Bureau employee, will order her to rectify it?

"She's… oh!"

Before his abstract thought could be spoken, his gaze dropped to the fortress's base—where traces of lava immersion remained, hardened into dark red rock.

At that moment, Herbert finally understood the truth.

The Bronze Fortress hadn't grown taller—the lava pool's water level had dropped.

But that didn't make sense either!

Why had the lava pool's water level dropped so drastically?

Had a hole opened beneath the Lava Hell?

Gloop.

As Herbert stood bewildered, a faint sound came from behind—Young Lady Succubus slowly surfaced from the lava pool.

Flora first carefully scanned her surroundings, eyes darting everywhere, searching for the hidden dragon thief.

After finding nothing, her gaze finally settled on Herbert, meeting his confused eyes.

"Ah! Master, it's you."

Herbert: "Huh?"

What do you mean "it's you"?

Who else would come here?

"Phew, you're finally back… good."

After recognizing Herbert, Flora exhaled deeply, fully emerging from the lava pool, and sighed: "You've finally returned—if you hadn't come back, this lava pool would've been drunk dry."

Drunk dry?

Herbert grew even more confused, not understanding what Flora was talking about.

Who would drink this… oh!

A shining figure suddenly flashed into Herbert's mind.

Who would do such a thing?

Hard to guess!

"... Was it Valentina?" Herbert licked his lips, his tone awkward.

Seeing Herbert had guessed the culprit, Flora relaxed slightly and nodded helplessly: "Since you've figured it out, I don't need to explain further."

"You're right… it was her."

"It was Valentina."

Upon hearing this unsurprising answer, Herbert exhaled, pressed his forehead, and couldn't help laughing.

"... Heh."

Family, when you're utterly speechless, you really do laugh.

In this prison, only Young Lady Dragon behaves like a glutton reborn, even drinking the lava pool.

"Young Lady Valentina drank all of this… and that, and over there too, uh, everything."

Behind her, Young Lady Succubus's tiny bat wings fluttered gently as she rose, floating around with Herbert, pointing to the surrounding pits—now empty, sunken lava pools.

This side, this side, and that side too.

All her doing!

"Mm-hmm, okay okay, stop talking—I get it."

At that moment, Herbert felt like a poor parent cleaning up after his misbehaving child, dragged to the crime scene to watch the child's masterpiece being pointed out.

It's not a big problem, really—usually, just paying compensation and sincerely apologizing to the victim solves it perfectly.

But still… this is awkward.

So embarrassing!

"Flora, you've suffered."

With faint regret and helplessness, Herbert raised his hand and pressed it onto Young Lady Succubus's head, rubbing awkwardly to mask his embarrassment.

"Ah!"

Young Lady Succubus, suddenly touched by Herbert, instinctively tried to flinch—but forcibly suppressed her reflex.

Held firmly by Herbert's two hands, she couldn't move an inch—and didn't want to.

Why run?

This isn't punishment—it's clearly rewarding myself!

Herbert's powerful vitality, even without active absorption, automatically seeped into every acupoint of her body.

"... Hmm, it's actually not bad." Flora, feeling the warmth emanating from her palm, quietly inhaled the essence radiating from her master and relaxed contentedly.

Although Flora's knowledge told her that taking further action would yield even better results, she forcibly suppressed the thought.

For all these years, she had struggled to resist this corrupting instinct—and still did, even now.

After rubbing for a while, Herbert suddenly remembered something and stopped his hand.

"Wait, Flora, didn't you tell Valentina that these lava pools are basically your bathwater?"

After all, Flora had spent years soaking her body in these lava pools, absorbing energy from each magma basin to sustain herself...

Calling it bathwater isn't an exaggeration at all.

"..."

Flora slowly opened her eyes. At first, she didn't answer directly, but instead lifted her hand and placed it atop Herbert's, gently moving it.

"Mm."

She signaled him to continue—don't stop.

She pouted and gave Herbert a side-eye.

Is that even a sincere apology?

Why'd you stop halfway?

"Oh oh, I'll keep going." Herbert realized his mistake and quickly resumed with a smile.

This time, to make amends, he changed his technique—no longer just pressing hard, but focusing intently on his fingertips.

He let his fingertips glide lightly across her scalp, tapping gently on each acupoint like a massage.

Once Herbert became serious, the massage produced remarkable effects.

!!!

"Mmm~"

Sensing this tenderness, Flora reacted strongly, instinctively tensing her entire body, toes curling tightly, barely holding back a sound from her nose that would've been improper.

"Mmm... cough cough!"

She coughed loudly, trying to mask her embarrassment, then said firmly: "I did tell Valentina, but... she didn't listen."

Speaking of this, Flora was deeply exasperated.

"At first, I didn't tell her at all. I even prepared a lava pool untouched by me."

"I thought she wouldn't drink much, so I didn't say anything—but then... after she finished off those few pools, she still wasn't satisfied."

"So I had no choice but to tell her the truth: all the remaining pools had been soaked in by me over the years."

"But Valentina hesitated for half a minute, then cheerfully accepted it."

"Besides, she, she even said..."

The Succubus Young Lady hesitated, frowning in confusion, her expression still carrying the same bewilderment and faint dread she'd shown when facing the dragon.

"She said it didn't matter—even... better?"

At this moment, not only Flora was baffled—Herbert was equally lost.

Herbert:???

Wait, Valentina, what do you even mean by that?

Speak!

Where the hell are you from?

"And then what? Never mind—I can guess..." Herbert paused, shook his head, unwilling to ask further.

He wouldn't pry into the details; the broad strokes wouldn't differ much anyway. Better to spare the child some dignity.

Herbert looked at Flora and said solemnly: "I'm sorry. You've really suffered."

"... Ah, it's not that bad." Flora, seeing how serious he was, blinked and smiled.

"You don't need to apologize for her, and I don't need anyone to apologize to me."

"After all, this isn't my territory—it's just a prison holding me. Even if Valentina drank every drop of lava here, it wouldn't affect me."

"Besides, the lava regenerates... it'd only take a few more decades, nothing too long."

Flora had merely complained to Herbert about this absurd little incident—she never truly expected him to bow and beg forgiveness.

As she said, this was a prison, not some private domain.

Herbert, as her master, lowering himself in apology made her, as his follower, feel awkward.

"Hm? Oh..."

Herbert thought it over and realized she was right.

Since when had he started unconsciously treating the prisons holding these demon girls as their own territories...?

Was it because the environments matched their natural habits too perfectly?

Now that he thought about it, it seemed true.

The Third Law Prison had never, from the start, possessed the cruel tormenting traits Herbert had imagined.

At first, there was a hint of it—but once he gained the initial few levels of access, the environment changed completely.

If not for the restriction of freedom, they could all be considered living in remarkably comfortable conditions.

The mermaid's cell had water, the demon's cell had lava, the vampire's cell had darkness...

Water prison for mermaids! Fire prison for demons! Dark prison for vampires... it was almost performance art.

Valentina's theft of the lava, though it disrupted Flora's living space, was in truth no real offense.

"If you feel that way... then shall we consider this matter closed?" Herbert asked tentatively.

"Of course, if you'd like to reward me—or perhaps make a small compensation—I have no objections," the succubus replied with a smile.

Hm?

Herbert looked into the succubus's eyes, his expression turning playful as he chuckled, "Oh? Then tell me—what reward do you want?"

"Well, I want..."

Just as Flora, blushing, was about to voice her request...

Boom!

A thunderous crash came from the Bronze Fortress.

"Hahahaha! I did it!"

Flora:???

(End of Chapter)