Ch.11. Sione Sianella (1)

A Hunter’s job is simple.

To clear and eliminate dungeons, which are remnants of ruined worlds from other dimensions.

The supplies one can take into dungeons are limited.

Clearing conditions vary depending on the dungeon type.

The higher the dungeon’s rank, the more difficult and dangerous it becomes.

Nevertheless, I worked as a Hunter and conquered various dungeons.

And the dungeon I most recently attempted but failed to clear is this place.

This world destined for eventual destruction.

Honestly, since I’m going to perish eventually anyway, and I’ve reincarnated as a powerless man, suicide would be the easiest choice.

Monsters roam freely outside.

I’m a man who can’t properly use Mana, and on top of that, I’m a slave—truly miserable.

But no matter how difficult it gets, I want to live as long as possible.

The death I briefly experienced in the dungeon was more horrifying than anything else. I never want to go through that again.

And as if a path for my survival had been prepared, the Status Window that had been nowhere to be seen until now has returned.

I’d like to shout and dance with joy.

But if I acted like that here, I might get beaten for being a crazy slave, so I held back.

Instead, I stared intently at Sione Sianella.

She truly looks like a celestial maiden upon second glance.

However, I swallowed my true thoughts and quietly followed behind her.

“Huff……”

After walking for some time, the exhausted Sione paused to catch her breath.

Her weight was the issue.

She seemed to carry a lot of weight and didn’t appear to exercise regularly.

With such physical condition, moving her feet as quickly as if being chased by a crazed Lizardman would naturally leave her breathless.

Anyone watching would think she’d left cookies in her room and was rushing back.

She turned around briefly to look at me.

Why is she suddenly looking at me again?

The face of this body, which I saw in the mirror, is handsome but has quite a cold impression.

It certainly doesn’t possess the kind of charm that would make someone look multiple times.

…Is she glaring at me to pick a fight?

Wanting to avoid unnecessary scolding, I immediately bowed my head once and asked.

“Is something the matter?”

Sione slightly wrinkled her eyes.

I maintained the facade of a composed servant, creating an atmosphere that questioned what was wrong.

It felt like being stared at by an annoying gold goblin, but I couldn’t afford to mismanage my expression and make a bad impression already.

I’ll be seeing her every day from now on.

“…It’s nothing.”

With those words, she truly resumed her path.

What is she really about?

After that brief incident, I was finally able to follow her into her room.

“…Excuse me.”

I briefly surveyed Sione’s room.

The state of her room was, in a word, a disaster.

Frankly speaking, it was so disorganized that one might question if a human being actually lived here.

To put it bluntly, the cave homes of Kobolds I’d seen while conquering dungeons were cleaner.

Is this really a room fit for a human?

The air inside was stuffy, as if the room hadn’t been ventilated.

“Finally arrived…”

Regardless, Sione Sianella let out a sigh of relief as soon as she entered her room.

She naturally headed toward the table.

Curious about why she was going there, I quietly observed as Sione put one of the cookies left on a plate on the table into her mouth.

One wasn’t enough, so she grabbed all the remaining cookies on the plate, went to her bed, settled in, and lay down.

She hid herself under the blanket and eagerly ate the snacks, regardless of cookie crumbs falling onto the bed.

So she really did have food hidden in her room.

…And I’ll have to clean all that up.

I barely managed to suppress the urge to slap her to bring her to her senses.

No matter how absurd it was, if I hit Sione, my hand would be cut off.

“Tsk….”

After letting out a bitter breath, I asked.

“May I start cleaning the room?”

Peek.

Her face popped out from under the blanket.

I wondered what kind of behavior that was.

It looked exactly like a goblin hiding in its burrow, sticking only its head out to survey the surroundings.

No, I’m not even a natural predator.

Why is a noble like her being so wary of me?

“Isn’t that your basic duty? Hurry up and clean.”

“…Yes, excuse me for a moment.”

“I dislike having commotion around me, so make sure to finish as quickly as possible.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“As long as you understand.”

Can such unpleasant words really come from the mouth of a person, especially a noble?

Aren’t nobles supposed to value courtesy above all else?

I should try to avoid conversing with Sione as much as possible.

Otherwise, I might die from either a charge of disrespect toward nobility or from frustration.

I opened the tightly locked window and began cleaning the room diligently.

It was so severe that I wondered how previous servants had cleaned the room before I arrived.

So much dust flew around during cleaning that it could be mistaken for an abandoned warehouse rather than a noble’s room.

And one more maddening thing.

No matter how much I swept, cookie crumbs kept appearing—evidence of how many snacks Sione Sianella had consumed.

After cleaning until I was exhausted, only one place remained.

Now it was time to clean the bed.

But who is my master? The trash-tier noble Sione Sianella.

She showed remarkable persistence in remaining on the bed, completely ignoring all my hints.

This is truly infuriating.

I couldn’t just pick her up and throw her out the window.

Given the poor first impression, I couldn’t view Sione favorably.

“Lady Sione Sianella, could you please vacate the bed for a moment so I can clean it?”

Peek.

That hobgoblin is doing it again.

It’s even more absurd that she just stares silently without saying anything.

“I’ll finish as quickly as possible. Please.”

“Haaa—”

Sione sighed heavily as if the ground would cave in.

She got up and trudged along.

Burying herself in the luxurious chair next to the table, she glanced at me as if perplexed.

“Why are you just standing there blankly?”

“Pardon?”

“Clean it. The bed.”

“…I’ll clean it as quickly as possible.”

“Don’t just talk, show it with action.”

I can’t keep listening attentively or I might go crazy.

I should just let most of it go in one ear and out the other.

I hurriedly approached her bed.

As expected, the bed showed an unspeakable level of uncleanliness.

Scattered cookie pieces, her greasy hair strands scattered here and there.

And even stains visible from where food had been dropped.

At this point, I need to change the sheets entirely.

The problem, however, is Sione Sianella.

That look in her eyes, as if asking why I’m not finished yet when she’s barely been sitting there.

She didn’t seem like she would wait until I changed the sheets.

“Would it be alright if I changed the bed sheets?”

“I’m sure I told you to finish quickly.”

“But changing the sheets—”

“Who told you not to change the sheets?”

“…Pardon?”

“Hurry up and change them. The sheets.”

Saying that, Sione even gestured with her chin.

I barely suppressed the urge to run over and punch her in the jaw.

Even when an Orc spat at me and provoked me, I wasn’t this angry.

I can’t fathom how deeply this person can irritate others.

When I momentarily showed a blank expression due to disbelief, she took issue with that too and picked another fight.

“Do you have time to space out?”

“I’ll go get them right away.”

I hurriedly left Sione’s room.

While going to get new bed sheets, I quietly whispered in Korean rather than the common language of the continent for the first time in a while.

“Shit……”

Of all people, I got stuck with a truly crazy woman.

I have no idea how to rehabilitate that person.

“Sigh… What’s a slave like you overthinking for? Just do what you’re told.”

There was no one in the corridor, no presence felt, so this level of muttering should be fine.

It’s just a shame there’s not a single person to listen to my lament about my miserable situation.

It would be nice to have a companion at times like this.

I returned to Sione’s room with the bed sheets as quickly as possible.

As expected, she glared at me as soon as I entered the room, as if displeased.

“You’re much later than I expected. Considering it’s your first day, I’ll let it slide just this once.”

“…I am grateful for Lady Sione Sianella’s generous tolerance.”

No matter how annoyed I was, I didn’t forget to respond properly.

Fortunately, my response seemed correct, as Sione didn’t say anything further and waited until I completely finished making the bed.

“I’ve finished. Thank you for your patience.”

“Good work.”

Sione immediately got up and rushed to the bed.

I say “rushed,” but due to her weight, heavier sounds came from the floor, though the appearance was as described.

Sione hid under the blanket again like a reclusive loner.

I began the final cleanup, ignoring her.

Since the room was sufficiently ventilated, I closed the window and was about to leave with the cleaning tools when—

Peek.

That person popped her head out from under the blanket again and stared at the back of my head.

I couldn’t ignore the gaze I felt.

I turned around again to face Sione.

“Is there something else you need?”

“You’ll be coming back anyway. On your way back, bring some refreshments.”

“I will do so.”

Sione nodded with satisfaction.

When I was really about to leave and had my hand on her door handle,

Sione peeked her head out from under the blanket again.

“You know you need to bring a full plate, right?”

“…I will do so.”

She really is something else…

Walking down the corridor, I whispered quietly in Korean rather than the common language of the continent again.

“Shibal……”

How on earth am I supposed to rehabilitate that Sione Sianella…

I have absolutely no idea.