"Welcome home, Master! Would you like some delicious cake today? Nya~!"

  Suzume's cheeks hurt. Her feet hurt. Everything hurt, but especially her dignity.

  The lunch rush had finally died down, leaving her with a moment to breathe. She wiped down tables, careful not to bend too far in the criminally short skirt.

  A hand grabbed her ass.

  She froze.

  The businessman behind her chuckled.

  "Nice service, kitty~"

  Suzume glanced around. Manager in the back room. Other maids busy. No witnesses.

  She turned slowly, smile still plastered on her face.

  "Oi, oi, oji-san..."

  [Skill Activated: Rescue Line]

  [MP: 60 → 55]

  The glowing rope materialized between them, hidden by the table. She wrapped it around his wrist in one smooth motion.

  "Touch me again and I'll show you a magic trick." Her eye twitched. "The disappearing fingers trick. Nya~"

  His face went white. The rope tightened.

  "I-I'm sorry! I didn't—"

  "Good Master!" She released him, rope vanishing. "Please enjoy your cake! ?"

  He threw money on the table and fled.

  [Should've used the concussion grenade.]

  "Suzu-chan!" Her manager emerged. "Turn up the TV! Something's happening!"

  [Huh?]

  The news showed shaky phone footage.

  An office building in Minato Ward, workers streaming out in panic. Behind them, a portal had opened in the lobby.

  "—E-rank dungeon manifestation inside Yamamoto Industries headquarters. Several employees fled into the portal to escape the initial monster outbreak—"

  Suzume's heart sank.

  Unawakened people. In a dungeon.

  "—authorities advise all civilians to maintain distance. Player guilds are responding to contain the outbreak—"

  [They're not going in after them.]

  Of course not. Outbreak response meant killing monsters in the streets, not rescuing civilians who'd made the "mistake" of seeking shelter in a portal.

  "How awful!" Another maid clutched her tray. "Those poor people!"

  "They're already dead," a customer said. "Normal humans can't survive dungeons."

  Suzume checked the clock. 2:17 PM.

  Her shift ended at 6:00 PM.

  [Four hours. They might not have four hours.]

  But if she left now, she'd lose her job. No job meant no money for equipment. No equipment meant no rescues.

  [Unless...]

  "Manager!" She clutched her stomach. "I think the curry from lunch was bad! I need to—"

  "Go, go!" Her manager waved frantically. "Not on the floor!"

  Suzume rushed to the back, grabbing her bag.

  ---

  She changed in record time, stuffing the maid outfit away and pulling on her tactical gear.

  [E-rank dungeon. Lowest tier. But even E-rank monsters can kill normal humans easily.]

  She slipped out the employee exit.

  [Three hours. Back before anyone notices. Just another bathroom emergency.]

  The train to Minato took twenty minutes. Every second felt like an eternity.

  The scene outside Yamamoto Industries was chaos. Police barriers, news vans, and two Player teams "containing" the outbreak by killing the occasional goblin that wandered out.

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  No one was watching the portal itself.

  Suzume circled the building, finding an emergency exit. Her lockpicks made quick work of it.

  [Thank you, MeTube tutorials.]

  The lobby was a war zone. Overturned furniture, claw marks on marble pillars, and blood. Not much blood though. Most people had clearly escaped.

  The portal swirled in the center, that telltale purple of an E-rank dungeon, interrupted by various other colors flashing due to the instability. .

  [System Check]

  [Current Status:]

  [HP: 60/60]

  [MP: 60/60]

  Suzume stepped through.

  The dungeon was textbook E-rank. Stone corridors, basic torches, the smell of mold and rat droppings. She'd studied hundreds of these layouts.

  [Toolkit time.]

  [Skill Activated: Toolkit]

  The backpack materialized. She grabbed glow sticks and the concussion grenade, pocketing both.

  "Hello?" Her voice echoed. "Yamamoto Industries employees? I'm here to help!"

  Shuffling sounds ahead. Not human shuffling.

  Three goblins rounded the corner. Level 3, 4, and 4. Child-sized green humanoids with rusty daggers and murderous grins.

  [Can't fight them directly. Not at my level 2 with no System-made weapons. Need to be smart.]

  The System-made part was important, by the way. Just like a Player with 5 Strength could compete with a professional boxer, a "real world" iron knife was not the same as a System-made iron knife.

  She backed up, pulling a glow stick. The crack of activation made them pause.

  Then she threw it past them, down the corridor.

  Goblins were stupid. They chased the pretty light.

  Suzume ran the opposite direction.

  [Okay. First rule of rescue: avoid ANY unnecessary combat.]

  The corridor branched. Left smelled like blood. Right smelled like fear, sweat, and perfume.

  Right it was.

  "Anyone here? I'm a rescuer!"

  "H-help!"

  Multiple voices.

  She followed them to a dead-end chamber where six office workers huddled behind an overturned table. Five men, one woman, all in various states of business attire and panic.

  "Oh thank god!" The woman had a sprained ankle, suit jacket torn. "Are you a Player?"

  "Something like that." Suzume assessed injuries. Cuts, bruises, the ankle. Nothing critical. "Can everyone walk?"

  "Yamada can't!" A younger man pointed to the woman. "Her ankle—"

  "I can manage it," Yamada protested.

  "No heroics." Suzume opened her first aid kit. "Let me wrap that."

  Her hands worked quickly. Six months of training had taught her field medicine basics.

  "How did you even get here?" An older executive stared. "D-Did the players outside—"

  "The Players outside are busy playing hero for the cameras." She finished the wrap. "So I came to help. Now, follow me and stay quiet."

  "But the monsters—"

  "Are stupid and easily distracted. Trust me."

  She led them out, checking corners with a pocket mirror before advancing. The goblins were still investigating the glow stick.

  [Too easy. This is an unstable dungeon. Where's the catch?]

  The catch appeared at the main corridor. An Orc.

  Level 8, which placed it in D-Rank. Seven feet tall, muscles like steel cables, carrying a club that could pulp heads.

  It stood between them and the exit.

  On one hand, not good. On the other...

  [So, not a worst-case scenario. D-Rank monsters in an E-Rank dungeon. Good.]

  "Oh god, we're dead."

  "Shut up." Suzume's mind raced. "Stay here."

  She crept forward, pulling the concussion grenade. One shot. Had to count.

  The orc sniffed. It turned.

  [Now!]

  She pulled the pin and rolled it between the orc's legs.

  BANG.

  The orc stumbled, disoriented. Suzume sprinted back.

  "RUN!"

  They ran. Yamada limped but kept pace, adrenaline overriding pain. The orc roared behind them, recovering too quickly.

  [Guardian Light could block one hit. Maybe two. Not enough for seven people. No, we're just going to have to be as quick as possible.]

  The exit portal shimmered ahead.

  "GO GO GO!"

  She shoved them through one by one. The orc's footsteps thundered closer.

  "You first!" Yamada tried to push her.

  "I said GO!"

  [Skill Activated: Rescue Line]

  She wrapped Yamada and yanked her through the portal.

  The orc's club whistled past Suzume's head, cratering the wall.

  She dove through.

  ---

  Sunlight. Marble. Screaming.

  "MONSTERS! THE MONSTERS ARE—wait, what?"

  The office workers sprawled across the lobby floor. Suzume rolled to her feet, tactical gear dusty but intact.

  "Nobody move!" A Player pointed his sword at them. "How did you—"

  "E-rank dungeon. Six civilians extracted. One needs medical attention for a sprained ankle." Suzume stood, brushing off her pants. "You're welcome."

  "W-What? Who even are you!? What's your-"

  "Bye!"

  She walked past him, past the gaping police, past the news cameras that hadn't quite focused on her yet.

  [3:47 PM. Plenty of time.]

  ---

  The return train was peaceful. She changed back into her maid outfit in the station bathroom, stuffing tactical gear into her bag.

  At 4:15 PM, she emerged from the cafe's bathroom looking slightly pale but otherwise normal.

  "Feeling better, Suzu-chan?"

  "Much better, Manager! Sorry for the trouble!"

  "Good! Table six needs their order!"

  "Yes! Right away, nya~!"

  She served parfaits and coffee until closing, smile never wavering. The TV showed confused reporters trying to explain how six civilians had escaped an E-rank dungeon unassisted.

  "—witnesses say a young woman in military gear emerged with them, but no Player guilds have claimed responsibility—"

  "Strange world we live in," her manager mused.

  "Very strange, nya~"

  ---

  That night, Suzume soaked in her tiny bathtub, reviewing the day.

  [Rescue Line used: 2 times]

  [Guardian Light used: 0 times]

  [Civilians saved: 6]

  [Mission Complete!]

  [Civilians Extracted: 6/6]

  [Calculating Rewards...]

  [EXP Gained:]

  [Yamada Rescued (Injured): +8 EXP]

  [5 Office Workers Extracted: +25 EXP]

  [Perfect Extraction (No Casualties): +15 EXP]

  [Total: +48 EXP]

  [Level Progress: 58/150 EXP]

  "Oh!" Suzume sat up, water sloshing. "I do get experience for saving civilians, then!"

  [Good. A rescue is a rescue.]

  She smiled at the numbers. Almost halfway to Level 3 already. At this rate...

  She sighed.

  [Tomorrow, back to normal. Maid cafe, training, sleep. No more impromptu rescues during work hours.]

  She paused.

  [Unless someone really needs help. Then maybe one more.]

  Being a part-time hero was complicated. But seeing Yamada and the others stumble into sunlight, alive and whole?

  Worth every "nya~" she'd ever have to say.

  [Civilians Saved (Lifetime): 6]

  [Players Saved (Lifetime): 3]

  She smiled at the numbers.

  Tomorrow, she'd check the forums again. Watch for destabilized dungeons, trapped Players, anyone who needed help.

  But tonight, she had homework. "Advanced Knots for Vertical Rescue" awaited on MeTube.

  Her Dexterity wouldn't train itself.