Han Yuyeon.
The first human to survive Hell difficulty for seven years, and humanity’s hope, said to be clearing Hell difficulty with unprecedented martial might.
Even when this man heard such stories, he had not taken much interest in Han Yuyeon.
It was not because he hated getting his hopes up only to be disappointed, but because he thought the strength humanity attributed to Han Yuyeon was being overestimated.
She was only on the 5th floor, yet she was displaying power comparable to S-rank Hunters. How did that make any sense...? That was what he had thought.
Until he happened to see a broadcast where Han Yuyeon erased a fortress wall in an instant with a cleaning broom.
“That’s...!”
Like the other viewers, the man was plunged into shock.
However, the emotions contained in his shock were of a different nature from the other viewers’.
Because the man was the Sword Saint, the only one who had cleared Hard difficulty up to the 100th floor and returned, he was able to recognize the “essence of martiality” contained in Han Yuyeon’s action.
“How...?”
“Why” she had eliminated the fortress wall was not important.
What mattered was “how” she had eliminated it.
The moment he saw the essence of martiality, one that had reached a supreme realm capable of annihilating existence itself, he was overwhelmed by shock.
If it were me, if I had been the one to do it, could I have done that?
The man adjusted his grip on his beloved sword and ran a simulation as if synchronized with Han Yuyeon.
“......”
The answer was impossible.
If he brought everything to bear, including his movements and his beloved sword, it would be possible, but he could not produce such a result by weakly swinging a cleaning broom like Han Yuyeon had.
There was no need to suspect that the broom was special.
The broom Han Yuyeon held was one that could be handled by the Maid class, a broom made truly only for “cleaning.”
“Just what kind of time... did you spend during those seven years...?”
The man recalled the time he had spent striving to gain power in the Tower.
He looked down at the sword he had tempered in a hellscape where he crossed the boundary between life and death every moment, his reason wearing away.
Because he knew that the Tower granted strength in proportion to one’s effort, he could vividly feel how painful the time of perseverance Han Yuyeon must have endured had been.
“Ah...”
I see. You truly endured such time for the sake of humanity, in earnest, to clear Hell difficulty.
When he felt the time that a young and delicate girl must have endured after making such a resolve, the man had no choice but to sincerely pay his respects to Han Yuyeon.
It was the moment humanity’s strongest Hunter, Johann Konrad, became a fan of Han Yuyeon.
***
“......”
- ......
[Many Constellations fall silent.]
In a place where communication had been cut off, sound effects rang out.
Reading... the room...
An oppressive atmosphere, in contrast with a wide-open view.
To end this suffocating time, I squeezed my eyes shut and said,
“I did some cleaning.”
“... The fortress wall is gone, though...?”
“It’s clean now.”
“......”
“VV.”
I feel wronged.
No matter how EX-rank it was, I truly didn’t know it would clean this excessively.
So all of this is not my fault, but the Tower’s fault.
If Lord Tower had written even a warning label, this wouldn’t have happened.
It was so unfair that the dignity of maids was being diminished because of Lord Tower’s mistake.
But I am Han Yuyeon. An authority on flexible responses.
If I make it a situation where it’s fine even without a fortress wall, won’t that solve it?
This much is trivial. Probably. If not, oh well.
“Soldiers. From the moment I first arrived here, I thought this.”
“W-what...?”
“Ah, there’s so much dust. There are so many places that need cleaning... If only they left it to me, I’d make sure to clean it all up nicely...”
“Hiiieek...”
“So I did a little cleaning... It was a bit intense, but it got neat and tidy, so you soldiers are happy too, right...?”
- Toweeeeeerrrrr kyaaaaaaaak
Why aren’t they answering?
Why are they avoiding my eyes?
Why won’t they communicate with me?
I slowly approached the soldiers.
“Let’s communicate...”
“I-it’s wonderful!! Wow, with the view opened up like this, it feels so refreshing, and with the dust gone, the air feels much cleaner too!!”
“Right?”
“Kyaa! I wanted to just knock it all down anyway, but thanks to you, Yuyeon, you saved us the trouble!”
“Right?”
“Yuyeon, you are truly a master of cleaning! I’ve never seen cleaning done this way in my life!!”
“VV.”
- Survival movement GOAT;;
Lord Tower. I covered for your mistake. No need to thank me. Thank you.
***
Fortunately, although the fortress wall had been annihilated, none of the soldiers were injured.
If even the soldiers had been hurt... I would have been stripped of my qualifications as a maid and would no longer be able to open a maid café.
How horrifying. It was sad, but I decided to seal away the EX-rank broom.
How could I use this vicious broom, which literally cleaned away everything, in everyday life?
If I keep it in my subspace and live my life, the day to use it will come eventually.
For now, I decided to buy another broom and be satisfied with an E-rank broom.
I held the E-rank broom in my hand and swept the floor, swish swish.
Thanks to the great power of a maid, all contaminants vanished with just a broomstroke, so cleaning was not difficult.
- Is this an ASMR broadcast?
- This is not that kind of broadcast
After focusing on cleaning for quite a while.
I gazed at the forward base, now clean without a speck of dust, and felt proud.
Declaration. The battle between humanity and dust has ended in humanity’s victory.
It is reported that the flexible maid’s contribution was immense.
- She looks so damn proud
- Why is watching someone clean this fun?
- If she messes up controlling her strength, everything around her will vanish again, so it’s tense as hell
- Just how strong do you have to be to erase a fortress wall with a broom?
- Fr;;
-!!
Suddenly, a transmission came in from space.
It was about the essence of maids.
“Maid... Maid... A maid...”
- Why are you suddenly doing this again?
“Shouldn’t... shouldn’t a maid be good at supplying provisions...?”
- You really hit the core of it
That’s right. If one is an excellent maid, she shouldn’t merely cheer on the soldiers’ battles with words, but support their supplies as well.
I’m going to become a master of supplies. For the sake of supplies, I checked the soldiers’ armament levels.
“Yuyeon...?”
“I’ll just check for a moment.”
“Uh... y-yes!”
「You have acquired Maid Points.」
- Jealousjealousjealousjealousjealous
- Military service looks so daaaamn doable, fuuuuuck
[Many Constellations tell you to be careful with your conduct.]
“??”
Aha. They’re telling me to control my strength.
After relaxing as much as possible, I delicately checked the supply status.
Armor condition: good. Blade condition: good. Firearm condition: good.
Very excellent. To think he had maintained everything this thoroughly.
I raised my thumb in admiration of the soldier’s diligence.
“b.”
“......?”
“Excellent.”
“Thank you!!”
“bb.”
- Thanks for the thumbs-up, Yuyeon!
「You have acquired Maid Points.」
I continued inspecting the soldiers’ armament levels, but I saw no one whose supply status was lacking.
When I checked the ammunition depot, silver bullets were also packed in densely.
I clearly realized the kind of supply support I could provide at this forward base.
“Viewers. This broadcast will become a cooking broadcast.”
- Huh?
- Looks like the Blood General will be too easy too, so she’s just going to cook instead, ㄷㄷ;
- ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ
I’m going to become a master of cooking.
In the empty lot created by the aftereffects of the EX-rank broomstroke, I took out the Maid-Mansion.
“A house really did come out from between her breasts...?!”
“I heard about it, but I never thought it was actually true...!”
- How the hell is she holding that with one hand?
- And she’s even holding it so damn lightly
I set the mansion down lightly, entered it, and took out a fish from my subspace pouch.
The fish I would be using this time was a Moonheart Fish. It was about 1.5 meters long.
Its length, which would make it a worthy match for my height if stood upright, always stirred my competitive spirit.
Of course, the winner is me. There’s no way I, who will become a 7-meter maid in the future, could lose to a mere 1.5 meters.
- A fish came out from between her breasts too...?!
- Wow, that subspace pouch is huge
- What a bizarre sight, for real
But this Moonheart Fish. Its gaze was no ordinary thing.
It should definitely have stopped breathing, yet I could feel an immense will from it.
Its eyes were like those of someone who must have been a great general of the sea when it was alive.
Which meant its flesh was that substantial.
To pay my respects, I held it in my arms for a moment.
“I hugged it...”
- Hug me too
- Fuuuuuck, I’m jealous, now even a fish gets to be with Yuyeon
- Uh-oh, he’s turning menhera;
You let your guard down. This is the price of carelessness.
Slice—! Shkshkshk—!
With wind magic, I sliced it into sashimi without wasting a single bit.
“I sliced it...”
- Hieeek
- Heeeek
Then, after neatly placing the sashimi into a wooden lunchbox I had made before, I fell into thought.
The Moonheart Fish was a fish Father had gifted to me.
Was it all right for me to freely gift it to someone else like this?
Let me think for a moment.
Before my eyes flickers the back of Father, who is working hard at fishing in order to give me Moonheart Fish.
The sight of my first father, the Watcher of the Sword Realm.
The Watcher gazes blankly at a fishing rod that has no bites today, wearing a worried expression... wearing...
Does the Watcher fish with a fishing rod? Wouldn’t he do it with a sword?
But if he did it with a sword, could the fish have arrived in such perfectly intact, original forms?
I took out the next Moonheart Fish from my subspace pouch and checked its mouth, and I saw traces of a fishing line.
Good heavens. The Watcher of the Sword Realm fishes with a fishing rod.
“......!”
I have now learned one of the world’s secrets.
There are secrets one should never know, and yet I have learned such a thing.
Even flexible me became afraid.
Anyway, let’s continue imagining.
Father, gazing at a fishing rod with no bites, wearing a worried expression.
Why did Father wear a worried expression?
A Constellation is a transcendent being.
There is only one reason why the Watcher of the Sword Realm, who has ascended to a seat of transcendence, would make such an expression merely because the fish weren’t biting.
Just in case his daughter might be hungry, he was trying to procure food for her...
What heavy parental love this is.
“!!!”
Father. I finally understand. How could you live like that?
Even as I received fish from you, I never once massaged your shoulders, and only thanked you with words.
At my shameless behavior, I felt strength draining from my entire body.
Actually, my strength didn’t drain. Maidly dignity is the best.
Still, tears came out. Because in this parental love I was receiving for the first time in my life, I could feel Father’s warmth.
“Hing-ing-ing.”
- ??
- ???
Oops, mistake.
If you cry indoors, it’s noisy, so you mustn’t cry indoors.
I hurriedly put my tears away, went outside, then flopped down and cried again.
“Hing-ing-ing.”
“Y-Yuyeon...?”
- What’s she doing this time?
Gasp. If you cry in front of other people, it’s noisy, so you mustn’t cry in front of other people either.
I put my tears away again and stood up.
“I’ll step out for a bit.”
“Uh... yes...!”
After putting the Maid-Mansion back into subspace, I hurriedly ran out of the forward base, hoping my crying wouldn’t be heard, and went even farther away.
“Kihik!!”
“Kyaak!!”
“Gasp.”
- Gasp
This time, I ran into ghouls, which put me in a difficult spot.
So there isn’t even a place in this world where I can quietly cry alone.
What a difficult world to maintain etiquette in.
A shadow suddenly fell over me, so I looked up, and a gigantic general clad in blood-red armor was looking down at me.
It was the main objective, the Blood General.
- The gatekeeper appeared;
- His presence is seriously insane
- Hoeeng, do it, Yuyeonmon;;
“So it was you... the rat interfering with our master.”
“Hello. I’m Han Yuyeon.”
“I have no interest in your name.”
“I do have interest in yours, so may I ask what your name is?”
Shrrng—
The general adjusted his grip on his enormous greatsword.
“A bitch who’s about to die has no right to know my name!!”
“Ing. I’m going to live a long life, though.”
It’s dangerous to swing weapons around recklessly in a place like this.
After flexibly dodging the greatsword coming toward me, I touched it.
Because the ghouls shouldn’t get unfairly caught up in it and die.
[The Blood General’s Greatsword (A) has been stored in subspace.]
- ?
- Where’d the sword go?
“What...?! What trickery did you...!”
“I need a place where I can cry quietly. May I ask if you know one?”
“Hahaha! As expected of someone who cut down our master’s limbs, you do have some underlying strength! Then how about this!!”
The general charged at me, using his enormous body.
With flexible jujutsu, I threw the general and stored his armor in subspace.
Because being thrown onto bare ground while wearing armor would hurt a lot.
If the general’s stamina was consumed by me before the battle began, it would be discourteous to the Servain soldiers, so let’s be as careful as possible.
[The Blood General’s Armor (A) has been stored in subspace.]
“Guh?!?!”
“V. Ah. I’m sorry. It’s a habit. I’ll be careful.”
- I think I’m crying too hard to watch
- Was that bastard always this much of a pushover...?
“What did you do...! My armor, bestowed upon me by our master— Kuaaak—!!”
“I’ll return... ing.”
I tried to take the armor out of my subspace pouch and return it to him, but suddenly his blood began bubbling and he vanished.
“???”
- ??????
- (Snakekyaaaaaak! Vampire con)
- (Snakeblazeee... Vampire con)
What in the world just happened all of a sudden?
I looked at the ghouls because I wanted to know the whole story, but the ghouls also complained of pain and collapsed one after another.
“Are you all right? Would you like help?”
“Kihiiiik...”
What should I do? I still don’t know the ghouls’ language system.
Before an incomprehensible foreign language, I was powerless.
「You have cleared the 5th floor of the Tower of Trials.
- The safety of the forward base has been secured.
- You have broken the Blood General’s immortality.
- Ravina survived.
- You won without a single casualty.
- Ravina succeeded in preserving her divinity through the consecutive defense battles.」
「You will move to the ‘Rest Floor’ in 10 minutes.」
「Nothing will be provided on the Rest Floor. Please prepare any necessary supplies on your own.」
“?????”
I didn’t understand the situation, but for now, I did a V.