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Twiitch...

Twwiitchh...

"Hey, Nee-sama, is it just me or are you trying to be a strict girl who ignores my actions like this?" asked Ciel who suddenly touched my cheek with her index finger.

After my respectful gesture that sent off the stealth slime on a noble mission to infiltrate and conduct spy activities, I immediately made a scheme for an attack operation to take the cave that had been occupied by the stealth slime enemies.

The lack of unknown information was a blind spot, so I had to fill that blind spot with new supporting information.

For that, I called Earl Timoti to study a suitable attack strategy.

Pattt... Paattt...

"Ciel, please don’t disturb the concentration of my sweet little sister who is currently focusing on making an attack plan for the stealth slime monster. The slightest mistake will destroy my cool little sister’s self-esteem instantly," Sia now touched my hair which was previously covered by a military cap. Because of Sia’s actions, my military cap tilted and almost fell off.

Ciel and Sia, whom I had ignored, began to attack me with their touch on my body.

Besides that, Earl Timoti, who had finished arranging the wooden blocks for the attack simulation, stood there silently without saying a word and waited for me to respond to the wooden blocks that were the center of the stealth slime attack operation.

The wooden blocks that stood and lined up on the topographic map showed the contour of the land indicating a battlefield filled with plants and rocks.

My gaze was directed toward the entrance of the cave that was the nests of the Golden King Bear had caught my great attention.

The battlefield that was close to the water source and rocks was worthy of being a battle that would determine the ruler of the forest.

Stealth slime or Golden King Bear?

I wanted to see the unbalanced final result.

As one of the monsters that were categorized as weak and had no advantage against the bears led by the Golden King Bear, I needed to get strategic advice from someone who was experienced in war tactics like Earl Timoti and my father.

For some unclear reason, I wanted to ask my father for advice on controlling the direction of the stealth slime attack in capturing the cave where they lived. It’s just that he was busy with my mother who was holding Alice and Alyssa in my mother’s restraining magic chant.

I wanted to ask more about what happened but my father gave a small code to bring Earl Timoti to the open tactical gazebo. That’s what brought me to the current situation which was busy looking at the topographic map and wooden blocks that were strategic symbols in the attack simulation.

"Earl Timoti, actually I’m very amateur in doing this. Can you teach me some things that might help me before the stealth slime monster comes back?" Ignoring Ciel and Sia’s touch that was groping my body, I asked Earl Timoti without moving my facial expression which ignored Ciel and Sia’s actions.

"Uhh... O-Of course. It’s an honor for me," replied Earl Timoti in an awkward tone.

Ciel and Sia’s presence might have made him awkward for a while because of their status as Saintesses.

Unlike Princess Anastasia and Hana who preferred to stay away from the crowd of stealth slimes, they only observed me from a distance along with the movement of their teeth biting their gloves in annoyance.

"I have been eavesdropping on your conversation with those monsters, Lily-sama."

"I understand that the information given by those monsters still leaves a hole in the question about important information, namely the state of the battlefield and control of the battlefield."

"The state of the battlefield and control of the battlefield?" I imitated Earl Timoti’s words and stared at the wooden blocks standing on the topographic map.

An unknown symbol had stood firmly and my curiosity grew along with the movements of the two Saintesses who began to explore my body like sticky glue.

"Ahhaannn... Nee-sama..." Ciel began to rub her cheek on my left arm as if leaving a trail of scent that only fellow fox girls could smell.

"My little sister is cool when she’s serious like this," Sia began to tidy up my hair by forming a side hair tie.

"Then what do these wooden blocks mean?" I asked Earl Timoti further, ignoring the two Saintesses who were busy touching my body with their hands.

"These are wooden blocks that will be markers of important areas between friends and foes. In the military world, these wooden blocks will indicate the movement patterns of enemies and friends to be studied by military strategists. What is in front of Lily-sama is a small scale to design an attack," Earl Timoti explained about the use of wooden blocks standing on the topographic map.

One of the map lines that became a cave has been marked by a red wooden block.

"Does the red wooden block indicate the target of the attack?" I asked Earl Timoti while trying to understand the meaning of the placement of wooden blocks on the topographic map.

"Exactly, Lily-sama. It is a sign of the main objective of this attack. The place where the Golden King Bear is located also marks the cave that was previously inhabited by a herd of stealth slimes."

I put my hand on my forehead as if thinking about something.

"I heard that the Golden King Bear has expensive body parts, can I take advantage of this situation to get some extra pocket money?" I asked which made Earl Timoti chuckle after hearing it.

"Haha… Lily-sama seems to want to earn some extra pocket money after returning home from the family vacation. Marquess Rommel would give Lily-sama some extra pocket money without doing that."

"If I did that, of course, my father would give it to me without hesitation. What I want is pocket money that can be used to buy something that is not recorded in my family’s inventory book," I replied in a small voice without attracting the attention of my family who were sitting not far from the gazebo located in the courtyard of Marquess Rommel’s residence.

Earl Timoti’s facial expression suddenly turned more serious.

"Could it be that Lily-sama is planning to use that pocket money to buy something forbidden?" whispered Earl Timoti who answered my question in a small tone as well.

I immediately shook my head.

"I’m being troubled by my twin step-sister who has a great magic talent and I need a new magic book other than the ones sold by Lisa at the Adventurer’s Guild. Do you have any acquaintances who sell old, worn-out magic books?"

"Old magic books? Speaking of my acquaintances. I don’t have any acquaintances who understand magic because our family deals more with sword techniques and military than magic."

"Ahh… what a shame… that makes me even more determined to earn some extra pocket money to find a magic book that my twin step-sister can learn. Oh! Please keep this a secret from them," I put my index finger to my lips as a sign to keep this conversation a secret.

"Then, I will help with all my might. Securing some extra pocket money and finding acquaintances who have old magic books," Earl Timoti accepted this little secret with a warm smile on his face.

"Oh! If possible, I want you to find a magic book that uses a strange language. For example, like this…" I said while handing him a small piece of paper that had a single sentence written on it that came from the old magic book of the Great Hero.

Finding a magic book that uses a strange language is not easy. Just in case someone sells magic books with an unknown style of language, I have prepared a small piece of paper containing a fragment of words from a magic book published by the Great Hero in the past timeline.

Earl Timoti accepted the piece of paper and read its contents.

His head showed a frown that indicated his confusion.

"I know you don’t understand the writing of that language, so don’t force yourself to look for a magic book that uses such a strange language, Earl Timoti," I said to warn Earl Timoti not to focus on looking for an old magic book that came from the handwriting of the Great Hero.

Earl Timoti closed his eyes as if trying to remember something.

"Oh! It seems like I’ve read a storybook that uses this kind of language, Lily-sama!"

"Would Lily-sama like to visit my residence to see a book that has this kind of writing style in my library?"

Earl Timoti seemed to be planning something after he thought hard.

My body could feel his hidden intention that seemed to want to do something to me in his residence. However, it wasn’t a dangerous intention like wanting to attack me or trap me with something.

To make sure, I immediately asked him a question by activating the curse given by Zoe.

"Why should I visit your residence if you can bring that old book to Marquess Rommel’s residence?" I said in a cold tone and an expressionless face.

Seeing my cold attitude towards him, Earl Timoti only gave a light smile that made me uncomfortable after pressuring him like that.

"Hahaha… does Lily-sama feel uncomfortable visiting my residence? I wanted to introduce Lily-sama to one of my youngest daughters who has a hard time making friends because of her quiet behavior."

"Is this too much for Lily-sama?"

Somehow, this made me look like a villain girl who rejected Earl Timoti’s kindness.

"Not really, but you should have given me an invitation letter first," I answered with a small excuse that didn’t seem like I was rejecting Earl Timoti’s invitation to visit his residence.

"I will make sure that the invitation letter is received by Lily-sama."

Receiving an answer that satisfied his heart, Earl Timoti suddenly became more excited than before.

Ciel and Sia who were playing with my body with their hands seemed unconcerned after being completely ignored by me.

In this important conversation, I gained a new skill to learn an attack strategy based on Earl Timoti’s experience in tactical war and capturing the flags.