HNCSHG 35

Chapter 35

I knew it. Whenever the monsters show up, they always lock the doors…
I pressed my back against the wall. The fear closing in from both sides made my heart tighten like always.

“If only I had a weapon…”
I would have torn through those monsters and run straight away.

Cletta, seeing that Moran and I were too scared, drew her sword.
Lucky her. No matter how much she used it, the durability wouldn’t run out.

Finally, the monsters’ forms became fully visible.
In other words, they had come close enough for us to see them clearly.

The sheer number of monsters left us speechless.
Every one of them wore a neat suit and a pointless maid headband.
What kind of fashion sense is that?

Their hair was matted into clumps, gray skin stretched tight, and bluish veins spread across their bodies like spider webs—it looked painful.
They walked with an odd gait, twisting their ankles while wearing high heels, leaving us dumbfounded.

“—Ma… Master…”
“—I will… guide… you to your room…”

Keep that murderous service to yourself.

“—I will guide you to your room, Master.”
“—I will guide you to your room, Master.”

“It’s fine.”
Just answer politely and they’ll leave.

“—I will guide you to your room, Master.”
“No need.”

At that moment, Holloway hugged me tightly around the waist and buried his face in my stomach.

“What’s wrong, Holloway? Are you scared?”
He must be scared… yeah, right.

“Y-yes…”
Really scared? His voice trembled… Are they actually scary?

Before I could wonder, a pop-up appeared:

[Holloway is laughing to death.]

Turns out he was trembling from trying not to laugh.
I was lucky he didn’t burst out laughing.

“Evelyn, every time you answer, the monsters stop.”
“What?”

Indeed, they weren’t coming any closer than a certain distance.

“—Master.”
“—I will guide you to your room.”

They kept repeating the same lines over and over…

Cletta called me.
“Evelyn.”
“You do it. Why do you keep making me do it?”
This one’s just trying to pass it off to me.

“Hmm, it’s fine.”

The normally gentle Cletta must have disgusted the weird maids enough, because suddenly they started spewing something strange from their mouths.

“—Guweeeek!”
“You must have really pissed them off.”
“……”

“E-Evelyn… now’s not the time to chat! We need to run!”
“But… where?”

These monsters blocked all escape routes whenever we tried anything, so all we could do was wait for them to come closer, excited.

“Cletta, you take the monsters on that side since you have a sword.”
“You want me to take the monsters on the opposite side?”
“What do you mean? When you fight, you should run in that direction.”

How am I supposed to “take them” when I have nothing? Common sense says I can’t.

“Ah…”

Cletta scratched her head awkwardly.
“Then… one…”

“—Master, Master, Master, Master, Master…”
“—Will guide, will guide, will guide…”

The echo was maddeningly repetitive.

Despite their words, the terrifying atmosphere nearly made Moran cry.
Humans are powerless in the face of unknown fear.

Something squirmed from the maid monsters’ mouths and slowly rose. A new monster, identical to the maids, was formed.
The corridor filled with the voices of maid monsters as they spoke simultaneously.

“…Let’s go, Cletta.”
We should have left when there were fewer of them. Regret was useless now.

We decided to run together, the three of us.
“One, two…”

“—I will guide you!”

Clack, clack, thud, clack, clack, clack, thuuud, crash, clack!
The maid monsters ran quickly, twisting their ankles, mouths wide open.
Their tightly packed teeth looked like they could easily tear through our fragile flesh.

[Shout immediately!]
W-what?!

[Please guide us!]

“—To the room…!”

The mouth came right at us, and Cletta tried to slash with her sword, but it was so hard it didn’t even scratch.
I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed:

“Eek! Please guide us! Quickly!”
I’ll see what kind of “nice room” you’re dying to show me!

[Access unlocked: Room 03 on 3rd floor infirmary, “Do Not Come When Sick” room!]

The maid monsters suddenly stopped moving.

[Holloway unconsciously protects you.]
[10 seconds left until Holloway realizes the truth and relaxes.]

I grabbed Holloway and Moran’s hands and tried to quickly escape the surrounding maids.
Then something shiny caught my eye.
Two keys hung at a maid’s waist.
I quickly reached out and grabbed them.

[Obtained ‘Silver Key’!]
[Feature: Drawer key for ?? floor infirmary.]

[Obtained ‘Gold Key’!]
[Feature: Key to 3rd floor infirmary.]

The infirmary’s drawer? Anyway, we still had to go there…

I called out to Cletta:
“Come quickly, Cletta!”

Something called “Do Not Come When Sick” was in play. I was currently injured, and who knew what would happen if we went in?
So first, I had to treat my butt before checking that room.

[Suriel watches you slip through flexibly.]
Where?

[Targeting you.]
W-wait.

I lifted Holloway into my arms.
I didn’t know what Suriel was targeting, but hey—look! It’s the Lion King… no, your boss and friend, Holloway!
I made Holloway my hostage.

“You’re the perfect hostage, Holloway.”
“Sis, what are you doing…?”

[Holloway feels embarrassed.]
[Holloway’s pride is cracked.]
[All stats decreased by 5%.]

The gains were tiny, but the losses huge… How is lifting him such a crime? Pride, really…

[Suriel lowers his bow.]
[Suriel curses: “Damn, you have an incredible sense of caution.”]

“Put me down.”
“You’re enjoying this, right?”
“…Put me down.”

I wanted to put him down too, but we weren’t out of sight yet.

Then I paused.
To calm Suriel’s murderous intent, we had to confront him.
So maybe persuading him was better than running?
This danger wouldn’t end here.

[Suriel appears!]

The popup gave unhelpful instructions:

[To calm Suriel’s mind:

1. Give him a thumbs up (cut off thumb, package it, and gift it)

2. Give him your hair (shave and give it)

3. Hear Holloway say “Stop it.”]**

No way I’m giving him my hair…
Option 3 seemed easiest.

[Warning:]
1 → Lose a thumb
2 → Be abandoned by Holloway (all stats drop 15%+)
3 → Hear Holloway say “Stop it” and Suriel stops trying to kill you

Obviously, option 3 is easiest.
…But Holloway, why does he care about my hair?
Is my identity in my hair? My hairstyle that important?
No! I look fine!

The answer was obvious. I pressed 3 and immediately shook Holloway around.

“Sis, what are you doing! I’m dizzy!”
“Now, tell me! What should I do?”
“Stop it!”

Success, right?

[It’s not ‘Stop it.’ No horns appeared.]
Fine, then I’ll shake him more!

[All stats decreased by 5%.]
[Affection: 19.5% | Attachment: 19.01% | Possessiveness: 16.2%]

The more I shook him, the more stats dropped…
30% was within reach, but still… at least the drop was under 15%, so I took some consolation.
Affection can go up later anyway.

[Holloway gets increasingly annoyed at you not stopping.]
[Holloway disapproves of you.]
[Due to Holloway’s negative feelings, no stats can reach 20% from now on!]

No! I thought this only happened near 30%!
Holloway shut down emotionally because he didn’t like me hearing it.

I couldn’t put him down, so I sulked, and his gaze lowered.
His eyes looked icy as he glared down at me.

“I… I’m sorry…”
He didn’t respond.
His gaze shifted briefly to me, then toward Suriel, giving a low warning:

“Stop it.”

[Holloway senses Suriel’s murderous intent toward you.]
[Unconsciously protects you.]

Still, at least he unconsciously protects me.
Good? Or bad?

[Suriel flinches and steps back.]
[Congratulations!☆ The hotel difficulty lowers to ‘Calm for now.’]

We survived, though Holloway’s affection dropped…
Balance, what?

Ding.

[Side Quest <Patient in the 3rd Floor Infirmary>]
Give me some time to mourn!

[Objective: Enter the 3rd floor infirmary and check on the patient.
Reward: Morning Star!]

Morning Star?
A spiked ball on a chain? Found it—my beloved weapon!
Motivation surged. Holloway’s affection can be recovered steadily.

[Fail and you’ll receive the curse of the lingering spirit.]

I hesitated. This wasn’t a death scenario for the first time.
But even with the curse, I’d still get hurt.
Either way, I had to heal first.

“My butt feels torn apart, so let’s find a potion first.”

Moran glanced at my butt with some pity.
“Shouldn’t I be put down first, Sis?”

“Ah… sorry. Really sorry.”
“Don’t play pranks like this again. It’s no fun.”
He held my hand tightly, smiling kindly but warning sharply.

“Got it?”
“Mm…”
“Good.”

I’m scared.