Applause, Please!

Even though I presented my tremendous status as a maid affiliated with humanity, I still couldn't enter the supply base. The soldiers, looking tense and glancing at me cautiously, said politely,

"We're not doubting you, Miss Yuyeon, but right now, only those whose identities have been fully verified can enter..."

"Why is that?"

"Because vampires sometimes disguise themselves as humans to infiltrate this place."

"I see."

To enter the supply base on the 2nd floor, you need Ravina's guarantee. In other words, if a climber didn't rescue Ravina on the 1st floor, they'd have to proceed alone without entering the base. Since I had rescued her, I just needed to wait a bit, and she'd come vouch for me.

While waiting, to prove my innocence, I opened my mouth wide and showed them the inside.

"See? My fangs aren't sharp."

"...Vampires can hide their fangs too."

"Oh."

Vampires had worked hard to keep up with the times, hiding their fangs and such. Living in the world ain't easy. I gave them a mental round of applause for their efforts.

To emphasize I wasn't suspicious, I struck a Maid Grace double V pose.

"My skin isn't pale."

"Vampires can change their skin color too."

"I'm not cold; I'm warm."

"What the— gasp!"

To prove my body temperature, I grabbed the soldier's hand. Suddenly, his temperature shot up, and an alert popped up.

Why are they mad? Scary. The soldier yanked his hand away, his face beet red.

"I believe you! I do! But our role is to prepare for any possibility! We can't let unverified Yuyeon into the base!"

"You're doing great."

"...You understand?"

"You're fulfilling your duty as soldiers. Of course I do."

"...Thank you."

So when would Ravina show up? Standing around waiting felt awkward, so I decided to make a resting spot. As I reached into my Maid's Subspace Pocket to pull out my Maid-Mansion_Temporary_TempFrame_CompleteSkeleton, the soldiers blushed and turned away.

"A-hem..."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"??"

Constellations' advice is always worth heeding. I adjusted my posture and reached into the pocket more carefully.

"???"

What's the issue? Advice not to pull out the house now? Maybe. My painstakingly built Maid-Mansion_AmazingAnd_Tremendous_AndSoOn could get damaged.

Staying still with the pocket open, points kept rolling in.

What? The points status is...? Tower, you must be super busy to leave such a serious bug unfixed.

With all these points, time to check the shop the Tower so diligently prepared.

Tower, the items seem too cheap. Will you make any profit selling like this? Maids forever. Best class ever.

Even as I browsed, Maid Points kept climbing nonstop. Breathing alone farms points. That's the power of a maid.

"VV."

I struck a joyful Maid Grace double V pose, and that's when a familiar face appeared.

"C-could you be... my benefactor...?"

It was the priestess Ravina, still with the sword stuck in her stomach.

Back when I studied the Tower from Earth, watching Hell difficulty scenarios, I had a question about Ravina. Why the sword in her gut? It wasn't just decoration—that longsword was over 100cm long. Walking around with it stabbed in looked grotesque. Even flexible me got ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chills.

I trembled as I looked at her, and she scanned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me up and down, blushing.

"I didn't recognize you... You look so different from when we first met..."

"Planning to grow to 7m like this."

"That might be tough..."

"Nothing's impossible for a maid."

"No, that's impossible."

"Suddenly so firm."

"Impossible means impossible."

Keeping all possibilities open is key to survival, but closing off mine like that? She won't last long.

"Ravina, how long do you plan to keep that longsword in your stomach?"

"Ah... This... Ngh..."

"??"

"Hah... Until this war ends... I can't pull it out..."

"Why?"

"Hehe... Hngh... There's a reason..."

Her mind must be unwell. Understanding a madman's thinking is dangerous. I decided to flexibly gloss over Ravina's situation.

"So, benefactor... Why are you here...?"

"Bored."

"Pardon...?"

"My goal right now is to take down a vampire."

"Vampire...?!"

Ravina's face paled. Probably because of the sword in her gut.

"...But why call it 'vampire-sama'?"

"Politeness matters."

"......???"

"I don't discriminate by race."

"That's not the issue... Ngh..."

Is Ravina a racist...?

"...Did you find it nearby?"

"Probably."

"Benefactor, you're... But it's too dangerous. If a vampire appeared, we have to abandon the base and retreat."

"Why?"

"To fight vampires, we need priestly miracles... And I'm the only priest left... So I have to conserve holy rituals as much as possible..."

Ah, I remembered from the book. Vampires use curses to weaken prey before devouring. Hence the need for curse countermeasures.

But do we really need a priest? If curses weaken the target, it shouldn't affect me. Maid's Grace isn't that frail.

"No problem, don't worry. Standing and talking is tiring, so let's go inside."

"Ah, I'll vouch for your identity... ???"

I'd planned to enter with her guarantee, but changed my mind. The soldiers might feel uncomfortable with me inside. So I pulled out my Maid-Mansion from the subspace pocket.

"G-gasp!"

"A house came out from between her boobs...?!"

Living point here: Items from subspace have no weight until set down. So I could swing this heavy wooden mansion freely. Of course, no intent to damage it, so I placed it down gently.

"B-benefactor. This is...?"

"Humble abode, but please come in."

"Y-yes... E-excuse me...?"

"Soldiers, care to join?"

"N-no, we're fine..."

"We have guard duty, so we'll pass."

"Oh dear. Stay strong."

Can't disturb their work. Creak—I opened the door to welcome my historic first guest.

"Ravina, as my first guest, let me treat you. Any favorite dishes?"

"Uh... I'm fine, but..."

"Then I'll serve my specialty."

"No, that's not—" I reached into the pocket to check ingredients.

What’s my best dish? After 7 long years, becoming a cooking master, my choice was—

"Ugh... Benefactor... I can't eat..."

"......???"

Why? My first-guest hospitality plan ruined.

From her words, I realized something crucial. You never know who'll visit or when—can't serve the same thing every time. To perfectly tailor hospitality to guests' traits and preferences, I need more training.

Han Yuyeon, authority on flexible responses. For now, hospitality without food.

"Then, a magic trick."

"Magic trick...?"

"Ta-da." V. I lit fire on my middle and index fingers.

"This is Maid Flame V."

"Wooow...?"

Ends there, not a trick. I shaped and released the mana at my fingertips. Reinforced with aura to avoid burns.

The V-shaped flame floated in the air. I poured endless mana into it, expanding it—

"Benefactor!! The house is on fire!!"

"Gah." I hurriedly touched the mansion and stored it in subspace.

"Eek?! The house vanished!!"

"All part of the act."

A fine maid never shows panic. Even mistakes must be flexibly recovered—that's what makes a fine maid.

I'm gonna be a magic master. I infused more mana into the Maid Flame V, expanded it to the limit until unstable, then shot it skyward.

Fwoooosh—!!

The Maid Flame V lit up the dark night sky. Feeling the soldiers' dazed gazes as they neglected guard duty for this, immense satisfaction washed over me.

"Applause, please."

"Uh... Yes!"

"...Woooaaahhh!!"

I basked in the applause from Ravina and the soldiers, soaking up the heat. It was summer. Probably. Or not. One of the four seasons.

While humanity enjoyed this fun festival, there was a gloomy, dying gallery called the Constellation Gallery.

"???"

LikesFarming thought he'd entered the wrong gallery and checked the posters. FindGems. PainOfCreation. Halakaib. Unicorn. SpearResearchLab. Familiar names.

So what's wrong? Today was the monumental day Yuyeon climbed the Tower.

Sensing the off vibe, LikesFarming checked the posts one by one.

"......"

Blood rushed to his head as he realized what he must do.

Yuyeon. I might not be able to watch over you anymore. But I had no choice. I couldn't just watch you, who deserves love, get hated.

"Sniff... Hic... Sniff..."

As sword aura, meteors, and lightning rained down, LikesFarming gazed at a childhood photo of Han Yuyeon in his album.

"My wife..."

This was reason enough to bear the Constellations' wrath in their stead.