It had plenty of mana, its effect was similar to the original rodenticide recipe, and its toxicity had received a major power-up. Thoroughly satisfied with her work, Hina surveyed the room. The floor was so covered in empty bottles, the scene looked like the morning after a night of revelry. She went silent for a few seconds, then eventually puffed up her chest with pride. “I thought I might be taking things a little too far!” That was a fact that she couldn’t deny. However, it was also a fact that she completed her concoction. She eagerly grabbed the tub but, a moment later, quickly came to her senses. She was an automaton, so the poison wouldn’t affect her, but if she carelessly spilled any… …th-then the maid uniform Lady Elisabeth so graciously gave me will get ruined! She frantically glanced over her clothes. Fortunately, her mixing technique had been impeccable. In spite of all the countless bottles she’d thrown into that tub, not a single drop ended up getting spilled. It turned out that her status as a first-rate maid wasn’t just for show. She breathed a sigh of relief. However, not even she would be able to protect her outfit while she carried the tub. After all, she was about to embark on the grand task of trying to break through the swarm of rats. “Um, well, I suppose I’ll need one of those, but is there even one here…? Ah, there is! How lucky!” After searching the room, she was able to locate the item she sought sitting on the left-hand shelf. It was a large box. She rushed over to it and opened it up. Inside, she found exactly what she was looking for—the protective clothing that came bundled with large purchases of caustic chemicals. Just as she hoped, the two had been stored together. “All I have to do is put this on, and it’ll be smooth sailing from here! Ha-ha!” Hina cheerfully donned the gleaming silver outfit, completely covering her lovely maid uniform. It looked rather bizarre, to the point where if Kaito saw it, he’d undoubtedly cry, It’s an alien! However, Hina paid its appearance little heed, putting on the headpiece to cover the last bit of her body. Then she took the tub in her heavily bundled hands and held it tight. “Just you wait, my beloved Master Kaito and dearest Lady Elisabeth! This time, I’m going to go finish what I failed to settle last time!” Through the outfit, her resolute declaration got muffled and ended up sounding more like “Mm-mm, mm-mm, mm-mmph!” Incidentally, this was around the time that Kaito and Elisabeth were lying sprawled in the hallway at the end of their unsuccessful grand search. However, Hina still had no way of knowing that. Fully fired up, she began lumbering off with big, clumsy strides. She headed out into the hallway. However, she immediately turned around and lumbered back into the room. This time, she remembered to grab the herbs. Then she majestically strode out into the hallway. And with that, the story wrapped back around to its beginning. “Now then, have at you!” And with that, Hina charged alone toward the massive swarm of rats. The rats responded by rushing at her in kind. A cacophony of squeaking and chittering surrounded her on all sides. In fact, even the ivy began winding its way toward her. Apparently, obtaining such a large quantity of mana had bestowed it with something akin to intellect, and it had struck up a symbiotic relationship with the rats. Both it and the rats wanted to kill Hina and use her corpse for sustenance. However, Hina didn’t slow her charge. Gah! They’re a lively bunch, aren’t they? —Not that I would expect anything less! The tub’s contents lapped against its sides as she lugged it along. If the ivy wound its way around her ankles or if she tripped on a rat, all her efforts up until then would have been for naught. However, her prospects of success still looked good. Even though she hadn’t added the rodenticide’s final ingredient—the herb—yet, it was already releasing a powerful odor. That alone was enough to make some of the more cowardly rats among her enemies’ ranks hesitant about approaching her. The rest were still leaping at her, but she managed to successfully dodge their attacks one after another. However, the biggest reason behind her confidence was her protective clothing. The material it was made of was unbelievably thick and durable, leaving her foes at a complete loss as to what to do. Incidentally, there was a good reason behind its ludicrously sturdy design. The kind of person who would go all the way to Mage’s Row just to pick up some pesticide was invariably wealthy and powerful. If one of their servants ended up dying when using the shop’s chemicals, they would likely come back demanding serious compensation. Now, though, the sellers’ callous, calculating business savvy was helping Hina out in a major way. Hee-hee-hee. If you think you can stop me, you’re welcome to try! Her clothing made it difficult to walk, sure, but even when the rats bit her, she didn’t feel a thing. Plus, her legs were too thick for the ivy to be able to get a good grip on them. The only thing she had left to worry about was tripping, but the outfit’s weight helped out on that front, too. After breaking through the opposing defensive line, Hina steadily made her way forward. If Kaito had been there to see her, he’d probably have shouted, When’d you become a rugby player?! Sadly, not a single game of rugby had ever been played in this world, but that didn’t stop Hina from continuing her unstoppable advance. However, the forces guarding the nest were the best of the best, and Hina knew better than to try brute-forcing her way through them. “Oh dear…” Then out of the blue, the rats and ivy changed tacks. Hmm? It feels like…they’ve fallen back? Hina tilted her head to the side in confusion. It was almost as though they’d sensed some sort of new enemy behind her. Many of the rats broke off their attack on her, and some of the vines began making their way behind her as well. As it turned out, her hunch was on the mark. But although there was a great commotion taking place behind her, her thick protective gear kept her from noticing it. A few drops of molten lead even splashed on her back, but somehow, that wasn’t enough to catch her attention. Instead, she just took advantage of the fortuitous opening and made a mad dash straight ahead. At long last, she reached her goal—the dead end at the far side of the corridor. Behind her glass visor, her emerald eyes gleamed. There it is, just as I thought! The rats had built their nest in a hole at the bottom of the wall. Because of their oversized bodies, their nest was similarly large, and it looked like the hole continued on for quite a way. However, rodenticide as powerful as Hina’s could reach that far with ease. The rats gnawed Hina all over as she stooped down. She shoved the tub into the burrow’s entrance. A chorus of indignant squeaks and chitters rose up around her. Hina replied in an apologetic murmur. “I’m sure you all just wanted to live out your days peacefully. I really am sorry about this.” However, she didn’t stop. Instead, she raised one of her hands, which was carrying the herbs, above the tub. When she spoke next, her voice rang with determination. “But I’m the one who’s been tasked with keeping this castle clean. And sadly, that means that dust, bugs, cobwebs, weeds, and rats have no place here! When I find you, dead or alive, it’s my job to purge you from this castle’s halls! However, I do ask that you kindly stop biting me before I die.” It was true. If not for her protective suit, the way they were biting her would have proved fatal, even for an automaton like her. She raised her arm up high and spoke without a moment’s hesitation. “Now then—it’s time to settle this!” And with that, she hurled the herbs into the tub. The herbs bobbed as they floated on the liquid’s surface. A heavy silence filled the air. Hina tilted her head to the side. Hmm? Then a tremendous quantity of smoke gushed out with a deafening FSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Hina tensed up so badly, she practically joined the rats in their scream. The smoke, still making a FSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH sound, billowed past her at an alarming clip. It was so dense that she couldn’t see a thing. Hina couldn’t help being thankful that she was an automaton. It was dangerous to take a direct hit point-blank like that, even with the protective suit. “Oh, goodness… That gave me quite a fright.” At that point, she realized that the rats around her had all toppled, and the ones that had been clinging to her had fallen off. Her concoction had worked. In fact, it might well have been overkill. She quietly clasped her hands together as though in prayer, then rose to her feet and clomped back the way she came. The smoke had dirtied up her glass visor, and it soon became evident that it wasn’t going to clear up on its own. Hina deftly swapped the tub to one hand, then popped off her protective headpiece. She shook her head to clear the hair out of her face. Then, her eyes gleaming, she breathed a sigh of relief. “Phew, that should finally be all of them… Oh? Why, if it isn’t my beloved Master Kaito and my dearest Lady Elisabeth! Whatever brings you down here?” When she removed the protective gear, though, she discovered Elisabeth and Kaito standing before her. It made no sense for them to be here, and Hina herself had no idea what was going on. However, one thing was clear—the two of them were definitely standing there. And what’s more, their replies came in the form of a shout. ““THAT’S WHAT WE WANT TO AAAAAAASK!”” She blinked her emerald eyes in puzzlement. Still dressed like an extraterrestrial, she cocked her head to the side. At that point, Kaito elaborated: “You went missing, so Elisabeth and I have been looking everywhere for you.” “For me? Oh goodness, I’m ever so sorry. It was all part of my work for the day, and I figured I would be done in no time, so I didn’t think I needed to tell you, but…could it be that it’s much later than I think it is? Eek, oh no! I got so wrapped up in mixing that I lost track of the time! However can I possibly apologize?” Hina gave a hurried bow. She had no idea that anywhere near that much time had passed. Then a thought crossed her mind that caused her to panic so hard, she felt steam might come bursting out of her ears. Oh, oh my, thank goodness they weren’t there when I released the chemicals! Why, I very nearly engulfed my two most important people in poison gas! In truth, she had actually engulfed them, but she of course had no way of knowing that. “A-as long as you’re safe, then there’s no harm done. Come now, raise your head,” Elisabeth encouraged her. Hina very nearly replied that she couldn’t because she hadn’t finished expressing her penitence, but before she could get the words out, she spotted Kaito trying to peer inside the copper tub. She quickly shook her head and hid the tub behind her back. “There isn’t much left, but it’s still emitting vapor! It’s dangerous to stick your head in!” “Hina…what exactly is that?” “A secret mixture for exterminating rats, passed down since time immemorial, that I had stored in my Self-Recording Device! Or to be more precise, a special Murder Supreme Version of it that I came up with!” “‘Murder Supreme Version,’ huh…?” “You see, I ran into one of their survivors when I was making my evening rounds…” And with that, Hina began honestly recounting everything that had happened in her long campaign against the rats. At the end, she passionately clenched her fist. “If the unthinkable happened and a rat that large were to bite one of you, why, I wouldn’t have been able to rest until I killed every last rat in the world!” The other two nodded in understanding. It looked like they found her explanation satisfactory. That was a load off Hina’s back. As her heart filled with relief, she felt a tingling of joy in it, too. Ah… How truly, truly blessed I am! In this world, nobody paid a second thought to the feelings of automatons. Yet these two had not just been worried about her, but they’d also even come looking for her themselves. It made her feel fortunate beyond belief. She gave them a big, bright smile like a flower coming into full bloom. “I really am sorry about the inconvenience, but thank you both so much. Knowing that my beloved Master Kaito and my dearest Lady Elisabeth were worried for my sake, why…it makes me feel more blessed than I could possibly dream of!” Tears began slowly but surely welling up in her eyes. Before long, she was crying in earnest. Unsure what to do, Kaito and Elisabeth scratched their cheeks. Then they cheerily went on. “C’mon, of course we were. It was our precious Hina we were talking about.” “You work so hard for our sakes, and for all we knew, you might well have been in peril somewhere. ’Twas but a matter of course we’d come searching for you.” Their words just made her happier and happier, and the tears kept coming. Kaito and Elisabeth affectionately came over and stood beside her. The moment they did, they both let out cries of surprised realization. “Whoa, Hina, your outfit’s crazy stiff.” “It really is. ‘Crazy stiff’ is just the way I’d put it.” “Hee-hee… It is built to be sturdy, you see.” Hina smiled again and wiped away her tears. Now that the rematch with the rats was over, the three of them headed back the way they came. The battle had left a pretty disastrous mess, and Hina knew she’d have to come back later and clean it all up. For now, though, she was going to take a little break. Her day had been full of joy, and there were so many things she wanted to write about in her diary. With any luck, the next day would be similar, as would the day after it. A small wish welled up inside Hina. Deep down, she knew it couldn’t possibly come true. Yet even so, she wished that the happy days the three of them were spending together could go on forever and ever.
Chapter 122
13 min read