Within Yeoro, numbers are assigned to executives, while regular members receive letters of the alphabet.
These designations, however, carry no inherent meaning; they serve merely as codenames for mutual address.
Yet, some members are inclined to imbue their assigned characters with special significance, treating them with a particular reverence.
Consider Dante, Yeoro’s Number Seven.
‘Seven is a lucky number, isn’t it?’ he’d muse.
‘That means I’ve made luck—or rather, destiny—my ally.’
With such preposterous reasoning, he assigned the meaning of ‘fate’ to his number.
Ironically, despite this, he still harbors envy for Number Four, claiming it embodies death.
Regardless, certain eccentrics occasionally held their assigned characters in high regard, and Meris Herus, Yeoro’s ‘U’, was precisely one such member.
However, she possessed an additional eccentricity: a peculiar fixation on the letter ‘M’, despite ‘U’ being her own designation.
The genesis of Meris’s obsession with ‘M’ traces back a remarkable thirteen years.
It began in her childhood, when Meris was a mere nine years old.
Having grown up in the secluded noble household of Herus, she was, by all accounts, an ordinary girl who delighted in dolls and blossoms.
Then, one fateful day,
while strolling through the mansion grounds, she chanced upon a sight of soldiers training, their torsos bare.
Each muscle appeared to ripple with a life of its own.
Every minute sinew seemed to proclaim its inherent strength and magnificence.
And how utterly mesmerizing were the forms these muscles assumed, shifting with every change in posture!
From that pivotal day forward, Meris purged every doll from her room.
The void left by their disappearance was swiftly filled with an array of exercise equipment.
‘To survive in this arduous world,’ she determined, ‘one needs not such trivialities as dolls.
Only ‘strength’—specifically, ‘muscle’—can truly be the entirety and truth of existence.’
And so, Meris found herself utterly captivated by and aspiring to muscularity.
Yet, as is often the case, there exists a ‘way’—a path to excess.
Overzealous muscle training transformed Meris, once the delicate daughter of a noble house, into a hulking behemoth capable of effortlessly lifting a combined 1000 pounds in the three main powerlifting exercises.
Unable to tolerate this transformation, Madam Herus issued an ultimatum, declaring that if Meris refused to cease her muscle regimen, she would be cast out of their home.
Upon hearing this, Meris simply proclaimed, ‘It is finally time to reveal my muscles to the world!’ and promptly departed the estate.
Madam Herus dispatched her knight order to apprehend Meris, but such highly honed muscles proved akin to magic.
Before the sheer, overwhelming might Meris’s physique unleashed, the entire knight order of the Herus Estate was utterly and mercilessly trampled.
Undeterred, Madam Herus, still refusing to yield, issued a nationwide warrant for Meris’s apprehension.
Consequently, Meris roamed the world, spending her days locked in countless skirmishes with knights and mercenaries alike.
Eventually, tales of her formidable musculature reached the ears of Yeoro.
Lured by the promise of an exceptional muscle training environment, she promptly joined their ranks.
Following her integration into Yeoro, Meris found herself enjoying a reasonably satisfying daily routine.
Both the facilities within the training grounds and the missions she was frequently assigned offered a superb environment for cultivating her muscles.
However, a single aspect of her new life remained unsatisfactory: her assigned letter was ‘U’.
Meris, utterly devoted to muscles, had naturally assumed her designation would be ‘M’, for ‘Muscle’.
Yet, the ‘M’ position was already occupied by another, leaving ‘U’ as the letter ultimately allocated to Meris.
Once a character designation is assigned, it typically remains with the individual until the very end, barring exceptional circumstances.
Thus, Meris continued her life within Yeoro, harboring discontent over her ‘U’ designation, until, by sheer coincidence, the member who previously held ‘M’ met their demise.
What an incredible stroke of luck!
She beamed with delight, eager to immediately request Won to change her designation to ‘M’.
Yet, the news she subsequently received struck her like a bolt from the blue.
‘The child who received the ‘M’ designation is already en route to the ancient castle.’
Upon hearing this, Meris was consumed by a fury so intense it felt as though her teeth would grind to dust.
‘How long have I persevered to claim that letter!’ she fumed internally.
‘Fine, I’ll at least see your face, whoever you are.’
The system within Yeoro dictated that when a designation became vacant, another individual would claim it.
Meris herself understood that the new recruit’s acquisition of the ‘M’ designation was nothing more than a simple coincidence.
‘But, if—if ‘M’—is claimed by someone utterly devoid of beautiful muscles! By someone utterly unqualified! That, I can never, ever forgive!’
Subsequently, Meris incessantly awaited the arrival of this new ‘M’, and today, she finally laid eyes upon them in the ancient castle’s training ground.
****
I found myself utterly bewildered.
There was a time when I, too, frequently heard remarks about my gender being indistinguishable.
But the person standing before me now—was it a woman… no, a man…?
Regardless, this individual’s gender was ambiguous in a way entirely different from my own.
It wasn’t that I held a conservative view, believing women shouldn’t possess ample musculature or men shouldn’t have beautiful voices.
But surely, this was pushing the boundaries?
Observing this individual, whose physique dwarfed even the protagonists of ‘Ora Ora’-shouting manga, yet whose voice was remarkably delicate, left me momentarily disoriented.
Perhaps gender wasn’t even the primary issue; it felt more as if they had simply abandoned humanity altogether…
“So, you’re the new M?”
“Yes, I am M.”
Was there some dissatisfaction with my reply? They stood me up and began to scrutinize my body from head to toe.
First Won yesterday, and now this—why did everyone feel the need to examine me so closely?
Surely, Yeoro wasn’t some kind of Lolicon voyeuristic organization…
“Damn it! Such a scrawny kid is ‘M’!”
‘BANG!’
Gazing at me, they roared in a furious voice, then delivered a powerful punch to the nearby wall.
I doubted whether such a sound could genuinely emanate from a human fist, yet simultaneously, I found myself relieved by their display of fury.
‘Oh, they’re more normal than I initially presumed,’ I thought.
‘I had assumed I was the only one who questioned a mere child like myself joining an organization such as this.’
Yet, witnessing this person’s indignation at a small fry like me gaining entry into Yeoro, it seemed this world was not as peculiar as I had feared.
‘Phew, I thought I was the only sane one left.’
“A mere brat like this, ‘M’…! ‘M’, of all designations…! I absolutely refuse to accept it!”
‘Or perhaps not?’ I mused.
‘Is this bastard crazy too?’
“Hey, runt. Do you even comprehend the meaning embedded within that ‘M’?”
“Meaning?” I echoed.
‘The meaning of ‘M’, out of the blue?’ I wondered.
‘Why would they pose such a question?
The deeper significance of ‘M’ is, after all, fundamental common knowledge, so why would they suddenly ask me a trivia question?’
‘Why, naturally, it stands for ‘Maid’.’
Thus, upon learning that Unnamed’s designation had been ‘M’ during her time as a regular member, I had felt a profound sense of destiny.
To have the world’s most beautiful and enchanting ‘M’ as my own designation—what a privilege!
It was, indeed, the most satisfying revelation, second only to the prospect of transforming Unnamed into a maid.
“The meaning of ‘M’? Why would you question such common knowledge?”
“Hoo, common knowledge, you say? My apologies then. To regard the meaning of ‘M’ as common knowledge, it appears you are not as ignorant a fellow as I had presumed.”
“Hmm? Could it be that there are actually people who don’t know the meaning of ‘M’?”
“Ah, yes. Regrettably, this world is teeming with such ignorant fools.”
‘Unbelievable…!’
‘Could it be that I’ve stumbled into a world overflowing with imbeciles who are oblivious to the meaning of ‘M’…!’
A sudden, overwhelming wave of dizziness washed over me, causing my body to falter.
I managed to brace myself against the wall, barely maintaining my balance.
“Indeed, it seems to have been quite a shock. I comprehend that sentiment entirely.”
“How… how could anyone be ignorant of the meaning of ‘M’? Are people truly in their right minds if they don’t know that sacred, beautiful, and utterly perfect meaning?”
“Nevertheless, it is reassuring to encounter a discerning individual who shares my understanding. Let us, at least, cherish the meaning of ‘M’ between ourselves.”
“Yes, you are absolutely correct. We, at the very least, must live with that meaning held deep within our hearts.”
“Yes, that very—”
“—perfect word…”
“—’Muscle’…”
“—’Maid’…”
“Hmm?”
“Huh?”
‘Wait, what did that person just say?’
‘The meaning of ‘M’ is… what?’
‘Muscle…?’
“You… you’re joking right now, aren’t you…?”
“No… you’re the one making a joke, aren’t you…?”
“No, wait a moment. Logically speaking, isn’t ‘Maid’ the very first word that comes to mind for ‘M’? Their noble and beautiful demeanor, their selfless devotion to others—that, precisely, is the word most befitting of ‘M’!”
“No, on the contrary, ‘Muscle’ would be the most common and logical association for ‘M’. A beautiful physique symbolizing raw power, the mesmerizing undulations of muscle—these possess a beauty far surpassing any artwork in this world.”
‘Ah, I see.’
‘Is that how it is…?’
‘Was this individual one of such ‘convictions’…?’
I believe that denying and trampling upon the convictions of others is wrong.
Every individual’s convictions possess inherent worth.
But this—this I cannot tolerate.
The Maid-Soul (TL Note: A coined term, ‘메이드혼’, referring to an individual’s deep-seated passion or spirit for all things related to maids.) raging within me simply will not permit it.
This conviction… it is a conviction that can never intertwine with the truth of my Maid-Soul…!
“Your conviction. Words alone will never break it.”
“Yes, and your conviction, I presume, is much the same.”
Both I and this individual possessed convictions from which we could never retreat.
And now, two convictions that should never have met stood face to face.
“In that case, there’s no other choice.”
“Indeed, there is no other choice.”
Strength and weakness—in this moment, in this space, these words held no utility.
For the conviction that triumphs here, the one that remains, will be the one believed in more steadfastly.
“Come, let us duel.”
“Indeed, let us duel.”
Now, a contest from which neither could back down was about to begin.
A duel where only the firmest conviction would emerge victorious.
And the one to survive this duel would undoubtedly be my Maid-Soul.
A Maid-Soul standing proudly even in a battle of convictions…
Ah, this is truly… truly… magnificent…❤
