Vol. 6 Ch. 1: The Elegant Solo Pastime of a Bored, Good-for-Nothing Maid (1)

It had been a week since Monica began recuperating in Isabelle's room. Now that she was more or less back to health, she decided to return to her own attic room as before.

Isabelle had said she wouldn't mind sharing a room indefinitely, but as someone entrusted with a top-secret mission, Monica couldn't very well do that.

"Let's go, Monica. I'll lead the way, so follow me when I give the signal."

"Okay..."

Nero went on ahead, checking that no one was around. Once he gave the signal, Monica followed down the hallway on tiptoe.

At the girls' dormitory, several dorm supervisors took turns standing watch deep into the night. Officially, this was to prepare for emergencies and intruders—but in reality, they were watching for students planning to sneak out at night.

To avoid being spotted, Monica carefully made her way toward the attic room with Nero scouting ahead.

There were a few close calls along the way, but thanks to Nero, Monica reached the attic room without being seen. She climbed the old ladder at the back of the top floor and pushed up the hatch.

Just then, there was a clatter.

The hatch Monica lifted had struck something... It was a small, thin rectangular piece of wood. The foremost of a series of wooden pieces arranged at regular intervals had been positioned exactly where the hatch would hit when opened...