Vol 4 Chapter 1 – The Price of the Right Arm(【Revolver Maid】 Arc)

A Maid’s Offering

Somewhere in Tokyo.

It’s 3:00 AM.

Even in the city, there are few people on the streets at this late hour.
Especially in residential neighborhoods.
Summer has passed, and even the cicadas have gone silent.

At 3:00 AM, the sky was cloaked in darkness.
Streetlights illuminated the residential area, though their glow was never very bright.

A quiet space.
In that silence, a soft voice emerged—a woman singing.

“La-la. La-la.”

The woman was clad in a maid outfit of pure white and jet black—a look that hardly suited the neighborhood.

“London Bridge is falling. Falling. Falling.”

As if to join her song, another voice echoed through the town.

“Hmph. Hmmm.”

It was the shout of a man.
His shout blended with the cheerful, delicate melody.

“London Bridge is falling. Falling. Falling.”

At the feet of the maid, countless corpses lay scattered.
Her pristine white upper body was entirely stained in crimson.
Not only her maid uniform, but even her headband and face—
It was as if she had been doused in a shower of scarlet liquid.
Then, she looked up at the sky.

“The moon is beautiful tonight.”

A full moon shone brilliantly overhead.
The maid’s eyes sparkled like jewels as she gazed at the moon.
Then she murmured,

“——————We must offer more sacrifices…”

In her left hand, she clutched a billhook.
Crimson liquid dripped from the blade.
Drip drip, drip drip.

“————————Kyaaaaaa!!”

Suddenly, from behind the scarlet maid, a woman’s scream rang out.
The maid instantly turned toward the sound.

“————————You saw it, didn’t you?”
“Eek… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to! Please help me!”

The woman collapsed onto the road as if her legs had given out, trembling at the sight of the maid.
She was frozen, unable to move even if she wished to escape.

“…Help you?”
“I promise I won’t tell the police! So please, help me!”

Seeing the woman’s ashen face, the maid——————

“—————Rest assured. I won’t kill you.”

“————————Ah! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“Congratulations. You shall live within your master’s soul.”

In an instant, the woman’s head was severed.
Her neck bore a clean, precise cut,
and crimson liquid poured out from the wound.

“——————London Bridge is falling. Falling. Falling.”

The scent of iron drifted around the maid’s nostrils.
She walked while caressing a right arm that should not have existed—
like a cursed marionette.

The next morning, news broke that 34 people had been killed.
Yet the culprit remains at large.

——————————————————

It had been about two weeks since Boss was attacked and returned to the country.
He still hasn’t awakened, remaining in a vegetative state.

“Is it really this late…?”

The place where I suddenly woke was the hospital room where Boss lay sleeping.
The clock’s hand pointed to 3:00 AM.

“He really dozed off, huh….”

As usual, Boss’s demeanor remained unchanged.
I wondered when he would finally wake up.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door of the hospital room.

“Hirata-chan, I’ve come to check on you.”
“Is that Satsuki-san…?”

Entering the room was Satsuki, who had come to see if Hirata was alright.
Hirata spoke with an expression that betrayed her surprise at seeing something unusual.

“You’re wearing a suit today, for once.”

Instead of her usual battle dress, Satsuki was wearing a jet-black suit.
Noticing the comment, Satsuki glanced down at the suit she was wearing and replied.

“Oh, this? Well, my usual clothes are fine, but sometimes it’s nice to change.”
“I see… It does look good on you.”
“Really? Thanks.”

Complimented by Hirata on her suit, Satsuki couldn’t help but show a hint of satisfaction.
Then she sat down next to the chair where Hirata had been sitting.

“Boss still hasn’t woken up, has he?”
“Yes… I wonder when he’ll finally come to.”
“I know… The doctor said he wasn’t sure he ever would.”
“Sigh…”

Hirata, dejected, buried her face in the bed.
Satsuki, watching her, extended her hand———————

“—————I’m sorry, Hirata-chan.”

She plunged an injection needle into Hirata’s neck.

“Wha—!? Stop that!!”

Though Hirata struggled desperately, a sensation of complete weakness overwhelmed her body.
Satsuki watched her with a full, serene smile on her face.

“What are you doing…!?”
“Nothing at all. I just need you to sleep for a bit.”
“…You’ll regret this once you wake up.”

Hirata glared at Satsuki.
Even as she tried to rise, she could only slump to the ground.

“Don’t worry. By the time you wake up, you’ll have forgotten everything.”
“W-what…”

And that was the end.
Hirata instantly fell into a deep sleep.

“Hehe. Isn’t it wonderful that you get to sleep with Boss?”

Satsuki caressed Hirata’s cheek with her finger, then helped her into the wheelchair placed beside Sakata’s bed.

“Now then, both of you, sleep a little longer.”

Muttering to herself, Satsuki left the hospital room.

“Hirata-chan won’t wake for about 10 hours…”

Just outside the hospital room door, she paused.
Her glance shifted to Sakata.
For a moment, she gazed at her beautiful Boss, sleeping peacefully.

“…Hehe.”

It was a rare glimpse of Boss’s true face.
The noble features hidden behind his usual mask were beyond imagination.
Drool naturally escaped from her mouth.
Then, she reached for her suit.

“A little stain won’t be noticed, right?”

Satsuki left the hospital room 20 minutes later.

——————————————————

“No…”

I awoke.
Once again, I was in the hospital room where Boss slept.

“Is it really this late…?”

The time was 2:00 PM.
Perhaps as part of today’s visit, fruits and flowers had been placed in the room.

“Huh, why am I sitting in a wheelchair…?”

Instead of a chair, I found myself in a patient’s wheelchair.
My last memory was of sitting in a normal chair, watching Sakata.

“Did I doze off and end up here…?”

I stood up from the wheelchair and then sat back down on the chair.
At that moment, an odd sensation struck me.

“It feels like my neck is prickling…”