For Now, a V Pose – Han Yuyeon
Even when he heard the stories—that Han Yuyeon was the first human to survive seven years in Hell difficulty, humanity's hope clearing it with unprecedented power—this man hadn't paid her much attention. Not because he hated the letdown of dashed expectations, but because he believed humanity was overhyping her strength. Showing S-rank hunter-level power on just the 5th floor? That didn't make sense...
Until he caught that broadcast by chance, watching her wipe a city wall off the map with a cleaning broom in an instant.
"That's...!"
Like the other viewers, the man was stunned. But the emotion in his shock differed from theirs. As the sole Sword Saint who had cleared all 100 floors of Hard difficulty and returned, he alone recognized the essence of martial arts in her movements.
"How...?"
It didn't matter why she'd erased the wall. What mattered was how. The moment he witnessed the supreme realm of martial essence that annihilated existence itself, shock overwhelmed him. Could I have done that? Gripping his cherished sword, he synced with her motions and ran a simulation.
"......"
Impossible. He could manage it at full power, sword and all—but not with a casual swing of a cleaning broom yielding those results. No need to suspect the broom was special; it was just a standard one, made purely for cleaning, handleable by the Maid class.
"Just what... what kind of time did you spend during those seven years...?"
The man recalled his own grueling efforts to gain power in the Tower—teetering on the edge of life and death, honing his sword amid sanity-eroding hells. Knowing the Tower rewarded effort proportionally, he could feel the agony of her trials.
"Ah..."
I see. You truly endured that for humanity, sincerely aiming to clear Hell difficulty. Feeling the weight of time a young, fragile girl must have weathered with such resolve, the man could only offer genuine respect to Han Yuyeon. That was the moment humanity's strongest hunter, Johan Conrad, became her fan.
"......"
In the severed channel, sound effects rang out. Suspense... suspense... A wide-open view contrasting the stifling tension. To end this suffocating moment, I squeezed my eyes shut and spoke.
"I did some cleaning."
"...The wall's gone...?"
"It's clean now."
"......"
"VV."
I'm innocent. Even if it's EX-grade, I never expected it to clean that aggressively. So this is all the Tower's fault, not mine. If it'd just posted a warning label, this wouldn't have happened. It was so unfair—my maid prestige tarnished by the Tower's mistake.
But I, Han Yuyeon, authority on flexible responses. If I make a situation where no wall is fine, problem solved. No big deal. Probably. Whatever.
"Soldiers. I've thought this since arriving here."
"Wh-what...?"
"Ah, so much dust. So many places needing cleaning... If you'd just left it to me, I'd make it spotless..."
"Hiiik..."
"So I did some cleaning... A bit rough, but it's neat now, right? You soldiers like it...?"
Why no reply? Why the averted eyes? Why the silence? I approached the soldiers slowly.
"Communicate..."
"Y-you're... too good!! Wow, the view's wide open—feels like my gut's cleared, air's fresher with no dust!!"
"Right?"
"Kya! I wanted to bulldoze it myself, but you saved me the trouble, Yuyeon!"
"Right?"
"Yuyeon's a cleaning master! Never seen a method like this!!"
"VV."
Fortunately, the wall vanished without harming any soldiers. If they'd been injured... I'd lose maid qualifications, unable to open a maid café. Horrifying. Sadly, I sealed the EX-grade broom. How could I use something that cleans everything daily? Stored in subspace; someday it'll come in handy. For now, I bought another broom and settled for E-grade.
I gripped the E-grade broom, sweeping evilly—saaak, saaaak. Thanks to Maid's Grace, mere sweeping erased all filth; cleaning was easy.
Deep into cleaning, I basked in pride at the spotless Forward Base, dust-free.
Declaration: Humanity wins the war against dust. Flexible maid's exploits pivotal.
!!
Sudden cosmic comms. About maid essence.
"Maid... maid... Maids should..."
"...handle supplies well, right...?"
Yes. A great maid doesn't just cheer soldiers verbally—she supports logistics. I'll master supplies.
Checked soldiers' gear levels for resupply needs.
"Yuyeon...?"
"Just checking."
"Uh... Y-yes, ma'am!"
"??"
Ah, tone it down. I eased off, delicately inspecting gear. Armor: good. Blade: good. Rifle: good. Impressive maintenance. Thumbs-up to the soldier's diligence.
"b."
"......?"
"Excellent."
"Thank you!!"
"bb."
Checked more—no shortages. Ammo depot stocked with silver bullets too. Realized my resupply role here.
"Viewers. This broadcast's cooking time."
I'll master cooking. In the empty lot from EX-broom aftermath, pulled out Maid Manor.
"A house from her cleavage...?!"
"Heard rumors but didn't think it was real...!"
Set it down lightly, entered, fetched Moonheart Fish from Maid's Subspace Pocket. 1.5m long—rivaling my height, always sparking rivalry. Winner: me. Future 7m maid won't lose to 1.5m.
But this Moonheart Fish—eyes fierce. Dead, yet brimming with will. Sea general in life, meaty. Paid respects, hugged it briefly.
"Hugged it..."
Got cocky. Penalty for carelessness. Slaaaash—! Splaaatter—! Wind magic sashimi, zero waste.
"Sliced it..."
Packed neatly in pre-made wooden lunchbox, pondered. Moonheart from Dad—can I regift? Imagined him fishing hard for me: my first dad, Guardian of the Sword Realm, staring blankly at unresponsive rod, worried...
Does he use a rod? Or sword? Sword wouldn't deliver intact fish. Checked next Moonheart's mouth: fishing line marks. Wow. Guardian fishes with a rod.
"......!"
I uncovered a world secret. Some truths best unknown. Even flexible me fears this. Anyway, why the worry? Transcendent Constellation, Sword Realm Guardian—fretting over no bites? Only one reason: ensuring daughter doesn't starve...
How heavy this love. "!!!" Dad. I get it now. How could you... I took fish without even a shoulder massage, just words. Remorse drains me. (Not really—Maid's Grace perfect.) But tears flowed. First taste of such paternal warmth.
"Hing hing hing."
Whoops. Crying indoors noisy—no crying inside. Stuffed tears back, went out, flopped down, cried again.
"Hing hing hing."
"Yu... Yuyeon...?"
Gasp. Crying near others noisy—no crying near others. Stuffed tears, stood.
"Be right back."
"Uh... Y-yes...!"
Stored manor, dashed outside Forward Base, farther for quiet sobs unheard.
"Keeheek!!"
"Kyaaak!!"
"Gasp."
No quiet cry spot in this world. Hard to mind manners. Shadow fell; looked up—massive general in blood armor glared down. Main target: Blood General.
"You... the rat disturbing my master."
"Hello. I'm Han Yuyeon."
"Don't care about your name."
"I do—may I ask yours?"
Shiiiing—General regripped massive greatsword.
"A wench dying soon needs no name!!"
"Huh. I'm living long."
Swinging weapons here dangerous. Flexibly dodged approaching blade, touched it. Can't let ghouls die unfairly.
"Wha...? What trick...!"
"Know a quiet cry spot?"
"Hahaha! Slaying master's limbs proves your mettle! Try this!!"
Charged with massive frame. Flexibly judo-flipped him, stored armor. Bare ground hurts in armor. Can't start fight with his stamina drained—rude to Serbein soldiers. Careful.
"Euk?!?!"
"V. Ah. Sorry. Habit. I'll be careful."
"What did you do...! My master's gift— Kraaagh—!!"
"Returning it... Huh."
Tried retrieving armor—blood boiled, vanished.
"???"
What happened? Ghouls writhed in pain, dropped dead too.
"You okay? Need help?"
"Keehiiik..."
What to do? Don't know ghoul language. Powerless before foreign tongue.
You have cleared Tower of Trials Floor 5.
— Forward Base safety secured.
— Blood General's immortality broken.
— Victory without a single sacrifice.
— Ravina preserved divinity in consecutive defenses.
Teleporting to Rest Layer in 10 minutes.
Rest Layer provides nothing. Bring your own supplies.
"?????"
Dunno details, but V for now.