Chapter 23: First Step of the Strategy! Trade Obedience for Rewards, Meow!

Ironblack Mountains, Underground Forge.

The scorching air was so intense it was hard to open one’s eyes, and the massive magitek machinery rumbled loudly.

Dwarf King Gren circled the three-story-tall war colossus over and over, spittle flying in excitement.

“Your Majesty! Look at this ‘Doomfire’!”

“Three Magitek Cores! One blast could flatten a mountain!”

He slapped the metallic shell of the colossus, wishing he could take the thing home and raise it as a son.

Lucia stood in the shadow of the machine.

Her black dress was spotless, utterly out of place amidst the sweltering, rugged environment.

She listened to the Dwarf King’s report, her face as calm as stone.

Three hundred years.

She’d heard this kind of “epoch-making”, “unprecedented” introduction too many times.

Each one more uninteresting than the last.

The air trembled slightly.

A Message Crystal silently appeared before her.

Sent by Lilith.

Lucia reached out and tapped it, and a light screen unfolded.

In the image, Lilia was sprawled on the carpet, surrounded by parchment covered in indecipherable scrawls.

Several black charcoal marks stained her face.

She held a pen between her teeth, brows furrowed tightly, muttering to herself.

” ….The redundancy at this node is too high… Need to prune…”

·According to the Eularian Path Theorem, the optimal solution should start here·

“…”

Lucia stared at the light screen.

She stared for over ten seconds.

“Your Majesty?”

Dwarf King Gren noticed her distraction and called out cautiously.

Lucia ignored him.

She simply gazed at the little one on the screen, obsessed to the point of madness, silent for a long while.

Then, the corner of her mouth moved.

“Interesting.”

She spoke softly.

Dwarf King Gren was stunned.

He had followed Her Majesty for over two hundred years and had never heard such a tone.

He followed Her Majesty’s gaze—

There was nothing there, just a bare wall.

What was Her Majesty looking at?

***

One day later, Evernight Palace.

Lilia yawned, rubbing her tired eyes.

The mountain of Yarn Ball on the floor had disappeared.

In its place were dozens of neatly wound Yarn Balls, all uniform in size.

Each one was so perfect that no flaw could be found.

Beside them was a stack of parchment over a foot high.

The top sheet read— “On the Application and Practice of Knot Topology in Yarn Ball Organization (First Edition)”.

“Finally… finished, nya.”

Lilia stretched, her bones cracking noisily.

After a day and night of effort, she wasn’t even tired.

Instead, she felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment, as if she had conquered a world-class problem.

Now, looking at those Yarn Balls, she felt like she was gazing at children she had raised with her own hands.

The more she looked, the more pleasing they became.

“Lucia, that pervert, would never have imagined I could pull this off, nya?”

“I wonder what her expression will be when she returns, nya.”

Lilia’s mouth stretched nearly to her ears.

She was already prepared.

The moment Lucia returned, she’d dash over, strike the cutest, most innocent pose, and “claim credit.”

Let that perverted Demon King see just how capable her “Pet” was!

And then, naturally, demand a “reward”!

This was called the “positive feedback incentive method”, as detailed in the Succubus Advancement Manual: How to Turn Innate Gifts into Weapons!

The door opened.

Lucia had returned.

She was still in her black dress, hair damp and draped over her shoulders—probably just out of the bath.

As soon as she entered, her gaze fell on the Yarn Balls.

Then, it shifted to Lilia.

Lilia immediately went into battle mode.

She rushed over in three quick steps, tilting her head up.

She fixed her gold-and-blue eyes on Lucia.

“Master! You’re back, nya!”

Her tail swayed excitedly behind her, and her cat ears twitched in sync.

She even reached out, gently tugging Lucia’s sleeve and giving it a little shake.

She’d practiced this combo in the mirror a hundred times.

Perfect!

Lucia looked down at her.

At the pleading expression on her face.

At the tail wagging like a propeller behind her.

A flicker of amusement crossed her eyes.

“Mm.”

She responded softly, then bypassed Lilia and walked to the pile of Yarn Balls.

She bent down, picked one up, weighed it in her hand, and carefully inspected the winding.

“Not bad.”

Lilia followed behind, her heart pounding with nervous anticipation.

Hurry!

Praise me!

Then give me a reward!

“Master, I—”

She was about to speak when Lucia turned to the stack of parchment beside them.

She casually picked up the top sheet.

It was covered in complex geometric diagrams and dense formulas.

Lucia stared at it for a long time.

“What’s this?”

“It’s… it’s my research notes, nya!”

Lilia puffed out her small chest, beaming with pride.

“I discovered that the knots in the Yarn Balls have a pattern, nya!”

“So I built a mathematical model and found the optimal untangling algorithm. Efficiency increased several times, nya!”

Lucia said nothing.

She flipped through a few more pages of parchment.

Her expression grew odd.

Lilia’s heart began to race.

What’s wrong?

Did she mess up the research?

“Master?”

“You…”

Lucia set down the parchment and looked at Lilia again.

Her eyes were unreadably complex.

“You spent the whole day on this?”

“Of course, nya!”

Lilia nodded vigorously.

“I didn’t sleep all day, nya!”

Lucia looked at the dark circles under her eyes and the proud, “please praise me” attitude on her face.

At last, she chuckled softly.

“What a fool.”

She raised her hand and gently rubbed Lilia’s head.

The touch was soft.

Lilia froze.

Fool?

All her hard-earned results, and all she got was “fool”?

And what was this head-patting supposed to mean?

Though… it did feel nice…

“Ugh…”

Lilia’s body softened uncontrollably, a purring sound rumbling from her throat.

“But…”

Lucia continued.

“You did such a good job. There should indeed be a reward.”

Reward!

Lilia’s eyes lit up instantly.

She knew it!

The strategy worked!

“Master, I want—”

“The reward is—”

Lucia withdrew her hand.

“From today on, you’re in charge of cleaning the Evernight Palace.”

Lilia’s smile froze.

“Wha… What, nya?”

“As a clean and capable little kitten, cleaning shouldn’t be difficult for you, right?”

Lucia’s tone was completely matter-of-fact.

Lilia’s mind went blank.

Cleaning?

The entire Evernight Palace?

This place was as big as a city—she was supposed to clean it alone?

How was this a reward!

It was clearly a punishment!

A double punishment!

“No… I don’t want to, nya!”

Lilia’s tail bristled again.

“This isn’t a reward at all, nya!”

“Mm?”

Lucia glanced at her.

Just one look.

In that instant, a line from the Succubus Advancement Manual echoed in Lilia’s mind—

“When the enemy makes an unacceptable demand, do not reject it directly.”

“Use a more submissive posture to guide them toward a more favorable alternative.”

Lilia took a deep breath, forcibly smoothing her bristling fur.

She put on a smile again, grabbed Lucia’s sleeve, and gently swayed it.

“Master, cleaning is too simple, nya.”

Her voice was so soft it seemed to drip with sweetness.

“Such a trivial task is unworthy of a capable Pet like me, nya.”

“You should give me a… more important mission, nya!”

“Only then can I truly demonstrate my value, nya!”

As she spoke, her big eyes radiated with desperate pleading.

Lucia watched her act, amusement deepening in her gaze.

“Oh?”

“That makes sense.”

She actually nodded.

Lilia’s heart leapt.

There’s hope!

Lucia was silent for a moment, then reached out and pinched Lilia’s chin, forcing her to look up.

“Since you want to prove your value so badly—”

She leaned down, bringing her lips close to Lilia’s ear, her voice low.

“I’ll give you a more important mission.”