I was accidentally injured by God and I just want to be an ordinary person

"Is that so... Then what about the time limit?"

"As for the time limit, the rule is that you must exit the maze within eight hours of entering."

Because the previous stabbing action into the ground had caused some loss of the sharp blade powder originally attached to the dagger, Lotte asked Nina to take out another bag for a second addition.

"Yes, I roughly understand. Thank you for your answer, Miss Kamisia."

"No, no, as the organizer of the event, this is what I should do. And there's no need to use honorifics, Lotte-chan. From the princess's perspective, we are all her subordinates and are equals, so it's okay not to use honorifics."

Seeing Menea struggling to disintegrate the lizard next to her, Camisia squatted down, transformed the Sword of Disorder into a dagger, and began to help Menea with the disintegration work.

"But then again, why did Lotte-chan want to participate in the maze event? I just mentioned the prize on the street earlier, and she immediately entered. Could it be that she really likes that magic book? That magic book is the only original copy in the entire continent, and it's already been released, so I can't just give it to Lotte-chan, right?"

"Well, I won't make a request that would embarrass Miss Camisia. I must obtain this gift with my own ability. This is the only way to show my sincerity."

As if she was talking about something very important, Lotte's hands, which had been working on the dismantling work, stopped for the first time when she said this, and a serious expression appeared on her face.

Camisia looked puzzled at Lotte's words.

"A gift? Is it for the princess? Although it's a bit inappropriate to say so from the perspective of a current subject, from the perspective of the former right-hand man of the Demon King, I have noticed that the princess seems to have no interest in learning magic recently. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to give her a magic book?"

"A magic book? It's not something in that sense, you know? Miss Ella loves reading stories, and aren't those heroic epics usually bound together with precious magic books? It wouldn't be appropriate to give Miss Ella a simple storybook as a gift, but a rare heroic epic should be fine, right?"

"Is that so? Indeed, for someone of the Princess's status, ordinary storybooks are somewhat inappropriate. Heroic epics are just right. But if it's you, Lotte-chan, I feel like the Princess would accept anything. Well, if that's what Lotte-chan wants, then I can't say anything. Storybooks... storybooks, indeed, from those incomprehensible words about myths that the Princess said earlier, it's clear that she likes storybooks. But then again, why did Lotte-chan think of giving the Princess a gift?"

After asking this question, the puzzled expression on Camisia's face turned into one of interest. During her observation during this period of time, although Lotte was always thinking about Ella, she was definitely not the kind of person who would give gifts casually. The act of giving gifts must have an opportunity, such as the day when the master-servant contract was completed.

Lotte put down the dagger in her hand very seriously, blinked her orange-red eyes, and said to Camisia, who was a head taller than her.

"It's because of Miss Ella's birthday—"

Chapter 43: Camisia's Taboos and the Surge of Demons

silence.

Ruthie's words almost instantly made everyone around stop what they were doing.

Camisia's crimson twintails trembled, and her purple pupils repeatedly expanded and shrank as if they had their own life. The Sword of Disorder in her hand also turned into an object of unknown shape.

It was not until about ten seconds later that Camisia recovered from her trance. Her voice became a little stuttering, and she pointed at Luty with one finger.

"Lu, Luti-chan, what did you just say?"

Was it because I spoke too softly just now that Miss Kamisia didn't hear clearly?

Luty blinked her orange-red eyes again, and her long eyelashes fluttered.

"I mean, since Miss Ella's birthday is coming up soon, I'm going to enter the competition and get the first-place prize—that magic book—as a gift to Miss Ella, ok?"

Just like that, Camisia froze there as if petrified, staring at Lotte motionlessly.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Camisia's pupils changed from purple to golden vertical pupils.

"What did you say!!!"

A loud sound that could almost pass through the maze gate and reach the ground came out of Camisia's mouth. The whole hall seemed to shake a few times because of the vibration caused by this sound, and countless dust fell from the ceiling.

In the distance, Ella stood up, seemingly preparing to head towards Camisia.

"Camisia——what's wrong——"

Noticing Ella's actions, Camisia quickly stood up and responded to Ella.

"My Lady Princess, these are just some minor matters. Nothing to worry about."

“Is that so—that’s good—”

With a long tail tone, Ella sat down on the stone again. Seeing this, Camisia felt relieved, and then stood there and spoke to Lotte in the queen's tone that only appeared when the golden cat eyes appeared.

"Sorry, Lotte, I have to leave for a moment."

Then, Camisia turned the Sword of Disorder into a sharp cone and thrust it into the ground. With a loud bang that flashed with destructive purple magic, she destroyed the ground on the first floor of the maze and traveled underground to an unknown location on the maze's floor.

Soon after, Lotte heard the sound of countless monsters wailing from the hole in the ground, and then, irregular vibrations like an earthquake came from the ground.

Not knowing what expression to show, Lotte and Menea, who had a complicated look on her face, looked at each other.

"Um... Lotte-chan, I think we should just pretend we didn't see it."

"Hmm, um... I think so too, don't you agree?"

“Well, we didn’t see anything.”

The two demon adventurers not far away nodded continuously like chicks pecking at rice. Although they were obviously two men, under such earthquake-like violence, no one would laugh at them for this - to be more precise, no one would have the room to laugh at them.

It was not until about a quarter of an hour later that Camisia came out of the previous hole. Except for the twin ponytails on her back that looked a little messy, she looked no different from before. Even the pure white wedding dress she was wearing was not stained. Her eyes had returned from the previous golden vertical pupils to the normal purple. Without the pressure of the queen's temperament, Camisia coughed twice.

"Ahem, sorry, I left for a moment. It's nothing. Let's continue."

However, everyone was not really relieved by Camisia's words. Ruthie and Menia were fine, they just looked at Camisia with a perfunctory smile, while the two demons on the other side, as if they had seen something terrifying, kept squatting and moving backwards.

Ignoring the retreating demons, Camisia crouched down and continued to disintegrate the lizards. However, her hand holding the Sword of Disorder was trembling, and she kept muttering to herself,

"Indeed, it's my fault for forgetting that even demons have birthdays, but since I haven't celebrated a birthday in over six thousand years, it's inevitable I'd forget, right? Do I have to fill my birthday cake with countless candles? A candle cake? I could certainly blow out all of them in one breath, but for a woman, that's a bit too much, isn't it? On my last birthday, that old guy from the east mocked me, saying things like, 'You're celebrating your birthday with hundreds of candles!' Was he looking for a fight? I haven't celebrated a birthday since then, so it's only natural I'd forget, right? Uh, no, no, it's more like a deliberate forgetfulness than a natural one. I think I declined all the birthday parties the nobles invited me to before? I can't quite remember, um, it probably didn't happen. I'll go back and say hello with the Sword of Disorder."

"Um...Camisia-san?"

Feeling sympathy for the dark aura emanating from Camisia, Lotte couldn't help but speak out to pull Camisia out of that state.

I have a feeling... if Miss Camisia continues like this, many people in this world will suffer. What Lotte doesn't know now is that the nobles who hear about this will bring countless gifts and beg Lotte to accept them in tears.

"Ah, Lotte-chan, when exactly is the princess' birthday? Also, I've never heard the princess mention anything like her birthday before."

After a moment's silence, and after confirming that Camisia had recovered from her previous mumbling state of loss, Lotte answered Camisia.

"Miss Ella didn't tell me her birthday herself, but I overheard her say something like, 'I think I came into this world on August 14th,' so that must be her birthday, right?"

"Even if the One God wipes out your memory, will you still remember things like your birthday? It seems the One God's magic isn't omnipotent. In that case, the original plan is—oh, birthday, well, then we have to make the labyrinth event a little grander. We need to use this event to spread the news of the princess's return from the seal throughout the continent, and show those guys in the east that it's time for the demons to unite."

"I think... Miss Ella wouldn't like to see this kind of thing."

Lotte gave a wry smile, but since this matter did not harm Ella, Lotte did not show any intention of refusing.

Throwing aside the minced lizard corpse in her hand, Camisia continued.

"Leave these matters to me. Princess-sama only needs to show up to prove her existence. As for the birthday present, it should be listed as the most important item now. Everything else can be put aside. Hmm—can only something you prepare yourself represent your feelings? Lotte-chan chose to prepare it herself, so I can't just take another book from the library and call it a day. Only by striving for it can it be truly meaningful. Yeah, I understand."

After letting out a long breath, Camisia stood up and looked at the maze lizard that was almost completely disintegrated.

"Well then, let's get started, Menea. Don't forget the princess' birthday present, okay?"

"Ah~ah! I'll prepare it for her, that's enough."

The lizard meat was cut into pieces and drained, then packed in a bag. The bag was then placed in the dimensional backpack. Finally, the pool used for bleeding was filled with soil. Camisia led Luty and the others away from here and headed towards Ella. Only two demon adventurers were left standing there motionless.

After thinking for a while, the thin demon patted the burly demon's shoulder.

"Hey, Caesar, did you hear that? Princess-sama, the future Demon King likes that magic book with a story."

"Of course I heard you, I'm not deaf. To put it simply, the princess wants the first prize in the maze event, a magic book that only exists in the entire continent, as a birthday present, right?"

"Although there are some differences, it's not easy for Caesar to summarize it to this extent."

The thin demon lowered his hand from the shoulder of the burly demon and continued to add.

"We certainly can't claim the prize with our abilities, but for the princess's wish, this magic book must pass through the hands of our demons themselves and be presented to her personally as a gift. So, as soon as you leave, inform everyone about this. It would be a disgrace if this magic book fell into the hands of adventurers from other nations. Also, since this is a birthday gift for the princess, it must be presented as a surprise. When notifying the other demons, keep it a secret from her, and preferably, don't tell adventurers from other races. Got it?"

"Hey, hey, I see. We only have half a day left, right? Go out and tell them now. We can't just accept the princess's rescue for nothing and not even thank her."

The sturdy demon stood up, picked up the lizard corpse that had not yet disintegrated, and walked towards the elven woman Leafa.

Seeing the look of the rough demon, the thin demon smiled, stood up as well, packed up the tools for dismantling, dusted himself off, and caught up with the rough demon in front.

"Well, it's good that you know."

Chapter 44: The Maze Activity Begins

* August 8, 6186, at 8:9.30 AM, Demon King's Capital Mistydin

Entering the amphitheater built on the abandoned labyrinth from the nobles' only passage in the venue, Ella followed Camisia down the many steps.

As if she couldn't bear it anymore, Ella complained as she walked.

"There are so many people and I'm not an animal in a zoo."

"Um... this proves that everyone in the demon tribe loves the master, right?"

Although I didn't quite understand what Ella was talking about, I could tell from the first half of her sentence that she hated being watched. Nina, who was wearing a maid uniform, followed Ella and answered.

The only people walking on the stairs now were Camisia, Ella, and Nina. Menia had gone back yesterday because Kepa City still needed her purification magic, and Lotte was not here because she was going to participate in the competition today.

Lifting the hem of her skirt that was dragging on the high-end carpet, Ella continued to complain.

"You could have just worn normal clothes, but you had to change into something this cumbersome. Isn't this way too formal?"

Just as Ella said, the clothes she was wearing were specially prepared by Camisia for today's appearance. It was a luxurious pure white dress with gold lines on the border. In addition, the sapphire crown she originally wore was replaced with a small silver crown.

Nina walked forward and lifted up the hem of Ella's skirt that was trailing behind her.

"It'll be ready in a little while, right? You can change in your room later."

"Yeah, that's true. But speaking of which, that magic element from yesterday was really pretty. What a shame..."

"Master, if you wanted to, couldn't you have kept it?"

"After hearing that 'magic essence will die after three to four days if it leaves its natural habitat', how could you bear to do that?"

After dismantling the lizard in the maze yesterday, Ella and her group immediately went to catch the house elf that sounded so great. Although they did catch the little creature emitting a faint fluorescent light with the help of "Terrain Search", they had to let it go because Camisia accidentally said, "House elves can usually only survive three to four days after leaving their living environment."

Although cute things are indeed great, it would be a bit too much to destroy them just because of your own preferences. It is indeed a pity.

Ella sighed softly.

Today, she was supposed to show up at the maze event to prove her existence. Then, she would just sit in the VIP seats and watch Lotte compete. However, she didn't expect that as soon as she showed up at the arena, she was greeted by shouts that were almost riotous. Ella even felt that this noise might have spread to every corner of the city of Misttin.

“What a hassle…”

After hearing what Ella said, Camisia, who had been silent until then, turned around and said to Ella with a serious expression.

"Princess, you should be happy to be welcomed by so many people."

"Ah~ah, I said before that Camisia was just a little serious, but I didn't expect that she's really just like what the Eastern Deputy Demon King said, a rigid person."

Walking out of the dim corridor, Ella, led by Camisia, walked to the VIP room above the auditorium, lifted the curtain that served as a door, and walked into the room.

This room, roughly the same size as Ella's bedroom, was completely walled off except for the side facing the amphitheater. That side, also separated by a transparent glass panel, was also separated. The interior was decorated in sober tones. Was it true that Camisia had prepared a room for Ella? Both the furniture and the snacks appeared luxurious.

The room's soundproofing barrier must have been effective; the arena's previously chaotic din instantly quieted down after entering. Ella collapsed onto the soft sofa and stretched, while Camisia followed suit and took a seat in the nearby chair. Nina, seemingly fascinated by the glass, observed it intently.

After taking a look at the people in the audience, Ella sat back up straight.

"Um, Camisia, I've been meaning to say this before. Is it really okay that the arena is designed to be so small? Look at those people, they're almost falling off the railings."

Pointing at the people squeezed against the railings on the other side of the glass, Ella's eyes were filled with worry. Although the arena looked large enough from the outside, it still seemed smaller under the violence of such a large number of people.

"Yes, indeed. It was my fault for not considering this situation. However, in the past, there weren't so many people watching. The reason they came this time was because the adventurers heard that you, Princess-sama, would appear and wanted to see what the Demon King looked like. That's why so many people came."

"yes……"

Perhaps in this world, the concept of a demon king is the same as that of a celebrity on Earth, except that these fans are more desperate.

With a wry smile, Ella called out to Nina, who was leaning against the glass.

"Nina, be careful not to fall if you lean all over the glass. By the way, Camisia, can we see through this glass from the outside?"

"No, this is specifically for situations like this. It's a product of alchemy. You can only see one side from the other. People outside can't see us."

"Then there's no problem."

Falling back on the sofa, Ella looked up at the ceiling. Since there was still some time before the game started, she felt a little bored.

"Speaking of which, wouldn't it be better to hold the labyrinth event directly in the underground labyrinth? After all, if we encounter danger, we can still use teleportation magic to rescue, right?"

After hearing Ella's question, Camisia looked a little happy, as if her favorite spot was touched, and her already upright body sat even straighter.

"Regarding the rescue and competition screens, we originally planned to hold the event in a natural underground labyrinth. However, as we went deeper into the labyrinth, both teleportation and surveillance magic became ineffective due to the reduced efficiency of magic transmission. Even though adventurers were prohibited from entering the labyrinth beyond the fifteenth floor, accidents could still occur due to the labyrinth's random occurrences, making rescue operations difficult. That's why we came up with the idea of ​​renovating an artificial labyrinth from an abandoned labyrinth."

After a pause, Camisia continued.