Chapter 54: She’s So Easy to Cheer Up

Eir was pulled into the room by Will without hesitation.

When she thought about it, her Young Master had always been like this—acting immediately on his whims, never hesitating or overthinking. If he wanted to do something, he did it right away.

On Will’s desk were two letters—one in a Hysterm family envelope and the other the one Leah had just handed over.

There were also two books…

One was the red-covered notebook that Will had kept close for the past four years. The other was…

A book she didn’t recognize.

Eir had cleaned Will’s room countless times and was familiar with his treasured books, often taking them out to air and maintain them.

But…

She had never seen this book before.

It looked like the one Leah had been holding earlier—a thick tome that, from the cover alone, seemed like a monumental magical text, likely containing powerful spells.

No doubt about it. The two of them had sneaked upstairs…

They were definitely doing research behind her back!

After all, Leah was a professor at Entark First Academy, and her clever Young Master was at the perfect age to discuss numerous research topics with her.

Eir’s gaze drifted toward the book, her expression vacant.

Her mind suddenly recalled some of the questions and answers she had copied from “300 Questions on Blackening” last night—

[Question 263: If he breaks his promise and abandons you, what should you do?]

[Answer: Obviously, you cripple him so he has no choice but to stay by your side.]

“Y-Young Master…”

Eir clenched her fists tightly.

If he…

If he became the same fragile, delicate Young Master who needed her, surrounded by danger, swaying in the wind like he used to…

Then…

Things could go back to how they were, right?

From her perspective, Will stood with his back to her, casually tidying up his desk. He placed Leah’s letter in a drawer and flipped through a few pages of his Task System.

“Ah, right, I was just about to come find you.”

“Young Master was chatting with that… that teacher, so of course, you wouldn’t have time for me…”

“Not at all. I even prepared a gift for you.”

Will smiled brightly and picked up the book Eir had been staring at.

Then, he lightly tapped it on her head.

The weight of the book made Eir’s ears droop slightly.

And then, they perked back up.

As this happened, the vacant look in Eir’s eyes was replaced by a renewed sparkle.

“Young Master? A gift…?”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

The book was heavy, and she had to hold it with both hands.

“You don’t know many words, but you can try reading it. Sometimes, ancient magic can’t be fully understood without reading the original text and experiencing the intent behind its design.”

“This book… uh, Frozen Ice Array… it’s for me? This… this…”

She clutched the book tightly, as if it were a priceless treasure.

“Frozen Ice Array. Yes, it’s Leah’s competition prize. I had her copy—oh, there’s no such term in this world. Let’s just say she made a duplicate for you.”

Will snapped his fingers.

“Recently, I’ve noticed that your progress in the sauna room has stagnant. No matter how much you refine your Ice Armor, even if it can block Extreme Flame Meteor, it’s still just a basic spell. Mechanically, it’s fundamentally flawed and easy to counter. To truly surpass yourself and defeat a fire dragon with a breath temperature of 5,000 degrees Celsius, becoming top-tier, you’ll need to reinvent yourself and learn new skills!”

“Uh…?”

Eir realized that no matter how conflicted she felt inside, no matter how complicated and ever-changing the world around her Young Master seemed, he…

He was still the same eccentric Young Master who occasionally went off the rails!

“In summary, our next focus will gradually shift to the magic in this book. While I have some experience reading ancient magic, this is far more complex than anything before, so it’ll take some time to study.”

Will, oblivious to Eir’s earlier jealousy and murderous thoughts, was lost in his own world. In his eyes, this clingy maid, who became attached after just a few words, was still far from reaching true yandere levels.

He was still immersed in his plans.

“But ancient magic often can’t be learned through teaching alone. You’ll need to read the original text yourself and grasp its deeper meaning to truly master it… Hmm, starting tomorrow, your training will be slightly less intense, and we’ll dedicate more time to studying Frozen Ice Array.”

“It’s… it’s really for me? Sniff, sniff…”

“Why are you still doubting it?”

Will rested his chin on his hand.

“Do you remember Sanqi?”

“Yes. We buried it earlier…”

“Before that, it single-handedly took down a group of monsters nearby. I taught it more advanced ice-based pet skills, like Ice Fang, and often let it fight monsters on its own while I supervised.”

“Yes, but Young Master, Sanqi was just an ordinary dog, not a magic beast…”

“Exactly, Eir—”

Will snapped his fingers again.

His eyes sparkled with excitement.

“I’ve been seriously training you like a dog. You’ll definitely become as strong as it was!”

“Understood! Eir gets it.” Eir nodded earnestly. “So… Young Master still needs Eir, right?”

“Hmm… why ask that? Of course, I need you. This book… only you can learn from it.”

Will thought back to the original story, where Eir inexplicably mastered Frozen Ice Array in the later chapters. The book’s name only appeared in passing otherwise.

“That’s good. Eir will work hard.”

She felt like she had been overthinking. No matter what happened, her Young Master still needed her.

As long as that remained true…

As long as that remained true…

As long as her Young Master still needed her to be his dog…

She didn’t need to worry about anything else.

Eir hugged Frozen Ice Array to her chest like a precious treasure. Beneath her maid’s skirt, her tail wagged furiously against the wooden floor, sweeping a shiny arc in its wake.

Will watched Eir, feeling a strange sense of unease. She seemed a little different from usual… but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Alright. Eir, could you mail the letter to S for me?”

Will pointed to the corner of his desk, where the letter lay next to the Task System.

“Mm-hmm.”

Eir walked over and picked up the letter.

But…

She noticed the open pages of the Task System—a book Will usually kept hidden from her.

And…

It was turned to the last page.

The book’s heavy cover often caused it to flip to the middle or slide to the last page when left open, revealing its contents.

This book, which she had only glimpsed a few times, was filled with Will’s meticulous notes on every page. But the last page…

The last page was filled with the same repeated words. With her limited literacy, Eir could only make out one phrase repeated over and over—

Heroine.

Heroine?

Why would Young Master… write that in his book?

“What are you staring at?”

Will seemed to notice Eir looking and quickly closed the book.

“N-Nothing. I’ll… I’ll mail the letter right away.”