Grand background music begins to play.
A bleak night air sweeps past my entire body.
「Tower of Trials, 4th Floor — Crimson Wave」
「Following the failed raid on the forward base, the vampires have resolved to wage a proper siege.」
「Main Objective: Defend the forward base until dawn.」
The 4th-floor trial shares the same main objective as the 3rd floor's.
Meaning it's a problem solvable via Maid Musou.
The only difference is that the enemies have brought siege weapons.
First, I offered a deep bow to any viewers who might be watching.
The so-called deep bow of Maid Grace.
"Hello. I'm Han Yuyeon."
- Good thing I stayed up
- Chat's so clean now that the fakes were weeded out
- God Yuyeon starting the 4th-floor raid after only 4 hours of rest, damn
Next, I demonstrated the Maid Grace Tactical Reload.
Chak. Chak.
I'd deliberately emptied the entire magazine just to show this off.
- Uh...?
- Shot... gun...?
- Damn, that reload looks so fucking cool
After reloading, I struck various Maid Tactical shooting stances.
- What the hell is that even supposed to mean
- Yuyeon-nim, I love you!!!
"Everyone. You've probably caught on by now."
- Caught on to what
- Huh?
"I don't think there's anyone here who doesn't understand what this shotgun means."
- Ah, it's a sleek shotgun
- Don't tell me you climbed to the 4th floor just to show off your shotgun?
- Lol, as if
Ah. It's so cool.
Mr. Shotgun said, "Hug me."
So the maid acted and hugged him tight and precious.
"I hugged him..."
- ???
- Jealousjealousjealousjealousjealous
- F~uck, I'm getting reborn as a shotgun in my next life
「You have acquired Maid Points.」
「Maid's Shotgun (S)
- Ignores 80% defense.」
What a beautifully simple description.
A true rising star doesn't explain their specs in tedious detail.
Just thinking about how hard it was to craft another S-rank gave me a headache.
You must reach EX-rank later, Mr. Shotgun.
I believe Mr. Shotgun won't betray me.
- Why is she making that psycho face?
"Everyone. Before I proceed to the 4th floor, I have an important broadcast announcement."
- What is it?
"When I'm holding a shotgun, it'll be hard to moderate the content level. If any children are watching, please watch under a guardian's supervision... hm, no, just please refrain from watching altogether."
- We just feel good watching monsters get torn apart, though
Swish. I briefly pulled additional ammo from my subspace pocket.
「You have acquired Maid Points.」
- Whoa;
- Ah, she's absolutely telling us to watch!
- I like high-rated content, lol
"For now, the 4th floor's objective is the same as the 3rd floor's: protecting the Serbain Forward Base. But I've heard the enemies have mobilized siege weapons as well."
I ran toward the army of ghouls approaching from afar.
Mobilizing acceleration via wind magic and enhanced muscular strength from my Aura Core.
- Why is she so excited?
- She got excited the moment the rating went up
- Don't talk shit to Yuyeon-nim, you son of a bitch
The shotgun is truly the perfect weapon.
If there's a weapon in this world that suits a maid best, it's the shotgun.
The reason is simple.
"Hello. I'm Han Yuyeon."
"Kihik!"
Because it's perfect for exchanging greetings at point-blank range before immediately engaging in combat.
BANG-!!!
With a savage sonic boom, the shotgun spat fire, and the ghouls before me were torn apart.
- ?
- ?
- ???
- ???
Leaving precisely only their lower halves behind.
Each time the muzzle flashed, the army was ground away in a conical shape.
If S-rank has this much power, just how strong is EX-rank?
I believe I'll find out someday.
"Kihiiik...!"
The ghouls who chose retreat in the face of the shotgun's overwhelming might.
I scurried after them and pulled the trigger on the fleeing ghouls.
- (Vampiiires! Aaaack! Vampire con!)
- I'm scared, fuck
- ThankGodI'mhumanThankGodI'mhumanThankGodI'mhuman
Fire. Fire. Fire.
Even as I ran out of ammo, the ghouls were too busy rejecting communication and retreating.
I leisurely pulled more ammo from my subspace pocket and reloaded.
- Chk...
「You have acquired Maid Points.」
After loading 7 rounds, ting-!
The last round bounced in the air; I caught it and loaded it tactically.
Oops. While I was reloading, the ghouls had fled far away.
I scurried after them again.
"Let's communicate..."
- Who communicates like this?
- MommyI'mscaredMommyI'mscaredMommyI'mscared
Fire. Fire. Fire.
Each time I pulled the trigger, an overwhelming sense of happiness flooded through me.
Mr. Shotgun is happy too, right? I'm happy too.
「Would you like to enhance Maid's Shotgun (S)? (Success Rate: 0.1%)」
Right now? Got it.
"......"
- Why did she suddenly stop?
- What, is it a frozen screen?
This won't do. I hesitated for one second.
Every sense in my body is screaming warnings that I'll fail if I press it now.
If I fail, I'll have to endure that hellish enhancement process again.
No. I can't let my bond with Mr. Shotgun end like this.
I need to build a bit more rapport and enhance when I'm absolutely sure.
If I kept holding Mr. Shotgun like this, I felt like I'd press the enhance button, so I reluctantly stored him in subspace.
As my hands felt empty, so did my heart.
[Maid's Shotgun (S) has been stored in subspace.]
"Hnnngh."
[The Sentinel of the Sword Domain folds their hands.]
- ???
- ???
I collapsed on the floor and cried. I should have enhanced without hesitation when the feeling came.
I couldn't possibly describe this sense of loss in words.
If forced to explain, it's that the Tower is a scammer.
Hmm. So it was explainable after all? As expected, nothing is impossible in this world.
I gained enlightenment once again.
When I came to my senses, all the ghouls had already fled far away.
"Huh."
- Are you back to your senses now...?
- Yuyeon-nim, don't cry ㅠ
I have just the thing for times like this.
I hurriedly took out a sniper rifle from subspace.
Maid Grace Tactical Sniper Mode.
I set up a support stand with ice magic and aimed at the distant ghouls.
- Wow, that sniper stance is clean too
- Setting up angles with ice too, amazing sense;
"......"
Hesitation. I waggled my finger over the trigger and thought for a moment.
- Why aren't you shooting, Yuyeon-nim?
- Shouldn't we mess them up as much as possible before they regroup?
- Shut up and just watch. Yuyeon-nim must have a plan.
Hmm. As expected.
"This doesn't feel right."
- Huh?
"Attacking one-sidedly from so far away... isn't polite."
- Huh???
- Why the hell are you being polite to monsters?
I stored the sniper rifle back in subspace.
And while agonizing over how to be polite, I recalled the contents of a book I read in my past life.
"!"
Shop search.
I heard this was an excellent communication tool when dealing with ghouls. I wonder if the shop sells it.
「Maid's Chainsaw (E) has been stored in subspace.」
It says they sell it. Thank you.
I took the chainsaw out from my subspace pocket.
- ???????
Vreeeeeem-!!
The pleasant sound of the motor overwhelmed me; I couldn't suppress my artistic soul.
Music. Heavy metal.
Let's add some classical for dignity.
- Why is she playing air guitar?
- M?R
I scurried over, playing classical heavy metal in my mind as I swung the chainsaw.
Then, the ghouls instantly became g/houls.
"Let's communicate."
"Kiee/eeek!"
"Kueee/eeeek!"
- Hey Yuyeon, you don't seem to know this, but that's not how you communicate
- ?? I think that's exactly how you communicate with ghouls, though
- Is that so...?
No more?
- Why is her looking around so scary;
- Was this a horror stream?
- No, it's a scene of humanity's hero destroying the tower
Ah. Siege weapons.
I scattered mana in all directions and focused on detection.
I discovered a strangely distinct energy.
I activated Maid-style Maid Grace Sprint.
- Why is she so dignified running with a chainsaw?
- Is it because of her looks?
- Don't try to figure it out, just feel it
The siege engine I soon encountered was a Cursed Ghoul.
A monster classified in advance as a 'suicide bomber monster.'
"Hello, I'm Han Yuyeon."
- She looks happy, or is it just me?
- Yeah, Yuyeon... as long as you're happy...
- But we know you're strong, but are you sure you should fight Cursed Ghouls in close combat?
- That thing explodes no matter how you kill it
"Cursed Ghoul sirs. Are you going to self-destruct?"
"Urg... ugh... er..."
"I see. I'm sorry, but I cannot forgive those who threaten humanity."
Since they're suicide monsters, it must be polite to deal with them using explosions.
A head-on mutual suicide explosion is a bit much, though.
A maid's body belongs to her master, so I must treasure my body.
A way to be polite to the Cursed Ghouls while also ensuring my safety...
First, I stored the chainsaw in subspace, then bought something from the shop.
「Maid's High-Explosive Grenade (E) has been stored in subspace.」
I took the grenades from my subspace pocket and activated Maid Grace Throw.
To amplify the explosion and ensure safety, I controlled the space with wind magic.
Then, BOOM-!!
With a sonic boom, the blown-apart bodies of the Cursed Ghouls caused secondary explosions, followed by tertiary and quaternary explosions in succession, filling the world with thunderous roars.
Hmm. At this volume, those at the forward base might feel uneasy.
I utilized wind magic to its fullest to trap the sound here.
At this level, the sound shouldn't reach the forward base.
Since I'd controlled the sound as well, I kept throwing grenades.
- Shaking;;
- Shakingggggg
- Bombs! Aaaaack
- Aaaack, she's a crazy bomber
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
It felt like hearing the sound of my enhancement failures, making me dizzy.
Or maybe not. Was I dizzy because I was spinning round and round?
Still, I was happy. Protecting humanity's peace is such a rewarding endeavor.
"Please live your daily lives in peace."
- ......
I bid farewell to the Cursed Ghouls who had completely exploded without even a single scrap of flesh remaining.
And I gave a broadcast greeting to any viewers who might be watching my stream.
"I'm thinking of setting a stream title soon. Since I'm doing this anyway, I thought I might as well do it properly."
Even if I set a title, the chances of the Tower-nim reflecting it are low.
Still, I wanted to decide on one. I wanted to leave proof that I was communicating with humanity on Earth.
What would be good? I closed my eyes and thought briefly, and a suitable title came to mind.
"When you watch my stream, you won't need to worry about anything. I'll always be happy, and I'll always win. So..."
Hoping that those watching this stream could gain even a little joy and happiness.
"I think 'The Overpowered Maid's Subspace Pocket' would be a good title. See you again next time."
I smoothly cleared the 4th floor.
It was a perfectly dignified victory.