would be much lower in turn. There was no way such an inferior poison would be enough to take down those massive rodents. Hmm. Hina closed her eyes and thought. One option was to simply head back upstairs. From there, she could get in contact with the Butcher and order fresh chemicals. However, that would mean leaving Kaito and Elisabeth to coexist with the rats while she waited for the chemicals to arrive. In Hina's mind, that was a complete nonstarter. Why, she was Kaito's eternal lover, his faithful companion, his soldier, his weapon, his love outlet, his sex doll, and his maid. She refused to expose her lover to so much as the faintest possibility of harm. And she refused to allow rats a place by her masters' sides as well. She had her pride, after all. "That's right. I can't give up now; it's simply not an option." She clenched her fists in determination. Running away with her tail between her legs would be a disgrace on her name as a servant. As a good wife, and as a proper maid, she didn't have the option of giving up. "It's all right, though. I have a plan. The only thing I need to do is follow my master's example." Hina placed her hands, overlapping one over the other, atop her sizable chest. She closed her eyes as though in prayer. Then she spoke in a voice brimming with faith and affection. "That's rightâ€”it's time to emulate Lady Elisabeth, poison-cooking extraordinaire!" Hina was completely serious, by the way. Her words were intended as a sincere compliment. If Elisabeth herself had heard her, though, she would have let out a shriek like an avian cryptid and sent Kaito flying with a ferocious kick. Why MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?! he'd have cried as he spun through the air. Fortunately, however, no such victim emerged here. Hina nodded vigorously and reached for a new bottle. "Luckily for me, I'm an automaton, and poison has no effect on me! Thanks to that, I can make my concoction with the Lady Elisabeth Method: 'Throw random things in the dish as the mood strikes me'!" Then she grabbed the large copper tub from the bottommost crumbling shelf. Just as originally planned, she dumped the two chemicals into it. After taking the now-empty bottles and tossing them on the ground helter-skelter, she immediately reached out and grabbed more bottles. She steeled her resolve. "All right, let's do this! Time to make an even stronger rat poisonâ€”the Hina's special Murder Supreme Version!" And with that, she announced the start of her horrific experiment. A centipede tried to flee from a crack in the wall, but it died before it could travel far. Several spiders plopped down from the ceiling. Not one of them was still alive. Hina let out a cry of delight at the successful completion of her slightly deranged experiment. "I-it's finished! I knew the Lady Elisabeth Method would do the trick! Now I've successfully defended my honor as Master Kaito's maid! Pant, pant, oh, Master Kaito, how I wish I could lick you and smooch you and nibble your adorable face!" Her cheeks flushed scarlet. Before her, the surface of the completed brew burbled and gleamed in a most unnatural way. At first, it was purple, then red. For a moment, it faded into a dull gray, before then shifting into an array of rainbow hues. For whatever reason, it ultimately settled on a deep, dark green. The whole process defied explanation. At least the color it ended up as was a fairly reasonable one for a chemical to be. Automatons didn't sweat, but Hina wiped her brow and let out a long breath all the same. It felt like the appropriate gesture to make, given the circumstances. She took another look at her finished concoction. 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 forâ€”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? â€”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 ingredientâ€”the herbâ€”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 goalâ€”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