The day's battle had finally drawn to a close. One by one, the soldiers of the Genji Army began to log out.
Even though it had been a landslide victory, the exhaustion was palpable. Facing an enemy that vastly outnumbered them took a toll that was less physical and more spiritual; the mental strain of staying sharp against a sea of foes was a heavy burden to bear.
"Well then, Shizuka. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, tomorrow."
"Ah, wait a second," Shana called out, stopping her. He leaned in and whispered into her ear. "Actually, it turns out 'The Mother's' daughter was Sasha—the person from the Town of Beginnings in SAO. Apparently, she's a colleague of yours at my old high school now. I was thinking of inviting Agil to go see her after school tomorrow. Want to come along?"
Shizuka's eyes widened. "Oh, really? That brings back memories... I'm sure Agil would be thrilled."
"Well, it depends on him, but I'll reach out and let you know the plan tomorrow."
"Got it. Thanks!"
Sinon had apparently logged out already; she was nowhere to be seen. Shana followed suit. When he finally opened his eyes again, he was back in a private room at May Queen Nyan-Nyan.
"Phew..."
"Good work today, me," Hachiman muttered to himself.
"Man, that was a nail-biter-nyan!" Feyris chirped.
"I've truly witnessed something incredible, dude..." Daru added, his voice full of awe.
"Glad you enjoyed the show," Hachiman replied, sinking into the sofa with a weary groan.
He glanced over to see that Shino was equally spent. She was slumped in a similar position, receiving a coordinated massage from Eiko, Mii, and Shiina.
"How is it, Shino-chi? Feeling good?" Eiko asked.
"Mmm... much better. Thanks."
"When you caught that guy Ginrou, my heart nearly stopped," Mii admitted.
"And that follow-up snipe? Perfection."
"Yeah... I'm just glad it worked out," Shino murmured, her eyes fluttering shut as she drifted toward sleep under the rhythm of the massage.
With Shino settled, the three girls turned their attention toward Hachiman, cracking their knuckles with predatory grins.
"Now then! For the main event! Come here, Hachiman-san... let us work those muscles for you, hehehe."
"Hey, Shiina... you sound like a creepy old man. You know that, right?"
"Eh? Don't be silly, you're just imagining things! Right, Eiko? Mii?"
"Exactly! Just your imagination... slurp."
"Precisely. Now, just relax your body... slurp."
"Hey... something is definitely wrong here," Hachiman stammered, backing away. "Are your eyes bloodshot? They look bloodshot!"
Before he could retreat further, someone stepped into his line of sight, blocking his escape. It was Feyris. She sat down in front of him with a radiant smile and began kneading his legs.
"First come, first served-nyan! A maid must be skilled in the arts of healing-nyan!"
"F-Feyris-tan? I have absolutely no memory of you ever doing this for me..." Daru lamented from the sidelines.
"Daru-nyan, the only thing you suffer from is stiff shoulders from playing too many games, right?"
"Well... I mean, you're not wrong, but..."
Feyris's move prompted Eiko and the others to exchange a look. They locked their targets onto the rest of Hachiman's tired frame.
"The back and both arms are still open! Rock-paper-scissors for the back!"
"No grudges! Ready—go!"
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
"Shoot!"
The victor was Shiina.
"Yes! I've seized the greatest chance of my life!"
"Chance...?" Hachiman repeated, bewildered.
Ignoring his confusion, Shiina scurried behind him and began to expertly massage his shoulders.
"Oh... you're actually really good at this, Shiina."
Seeing her success, Eiko and Mii scrambled to grab his hands, massaging them with frantic energy.
"Sorry about this, guys," Hachiman sighed, the tension finally leaving his body. "I've been carrying a lot of stress lately. This helps."
His voice sounded genuinely exhausted. Hearing the weariness in his tone, Daru's envy turned into slight concern.
"Kuh... I'm jealous, but man, are you really that wiped out, Hachiman?"
"Yeah. The sheer numbers this time were insane. We had to set up base far from the city just to keep from being crushed by the weight of their army. At worst, I was ready to just hit-and-run and bail."
Daru nodded, recalling the footage. "Still, I can't believe you were actually that Shana. It blew my mind, dude."
"I think the people who know have already figured it out. There are plenty of posts about it online."
"Is it okay if you're exposed?"
"At this point, the enemies already know who I am. As long as it doesn't leak into my real-life identity, I don't really care."
"Enemies?"
"Yeah. There are people I need to keep an eye on."
"I see..." Daru didn't pry further. He figured a guy like Hachiman would have just as many enemies as he did allies. It was probably safer for everyone if he didn't know the details.
"That reminds me, Daru. Can I ask for another favor? A job?"
"A job?"
"Lately, I've had more secrets that need protecting. I want you to help boost the security at Soleil. I was thinking if you, Argo, and Eve split into 'attack' and 'defense' teams, we could find the holes in our security much faster."
"Eve? You don't mean... The Electronic Eve?" Daru's eyes went wide at the name.
"Yeah. She joined the company the other day."
"The legendary Eve... With Argostar and Electronic Eve on the same team, you're basically invincible!"
"I'm just glad we're finally shoring up that department. It was a priority."
"With those members, we can build a fortress, dude. But Hachiman... to be calling the shots like that at your age... are you someone really high up at Soleil?"
"You could say that. So, are you in?"
"Since it's a request from the man himself, you bet I am! A job like that is zero risk and all fun. I'm in!"
Daru thumped his chest confidently. Hachiman found the display strangely endearing—it reminded him of Zaimokuza. Feeling generous, he decided to throw in a bonus.
"By the way, Daru. You said you were a fan of mine. Does that mean you're a fan of me personally, or a fan of Valhalla?"
"Huh? Well, I mean, both, I guess..."
Hachiman pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to him.
"Then I'm granting you access rights to this. Just... make sure it doesn't leak, alright?"
"What is this?"
"An ID and password for Valhalla's private archives. You can watch the private videos. You can show them to people you trust, but keep the circle small."
"R-Really?! A literal treasure chest! Yessssss!"
Watching Daru celebrate, Feyris leaned in. "Can Feyris watch them too-nyan?"
"Sure. I trust you, Feyris. You're a professional."
"In this business, trust is everything! Leave it to me-nyan!" Feyris replied, her voice turning dreamy. "Ah... to see the Hero fight once more... Feyris is truly a blessed soul."
"Wait, have you seen me fight before?"
"Oh, yes-nyan. How many tens of thousands of years ago was it...? Back then, Feyris had reincarnated as a simple village girl. I couldn't leave the village, so I could never see the Hero's battle with my own eyes..."
"I see..." Hachiman played along, knowing the drill. (Right, I have to match her energy.) "And at that time—"
"At that time," Shiina suddenly interjected, "we three sisters were serving as Princess Shinortis's Valkyries, fighting right by the Hero's side."
"What—?" Hachiman blinked, stunned by Shiina's sudden improvisation.
"I'm so jealous-nyan!" Feyris cried.
"Fufu, but we can fight together in this life, so it's all okay. It must be destiny," Shiina added smoothly.
"You're right-nyan! Feyris is the luckiest girl in the world!"
Hachiman tried to turn around to look at Shiina, but the moment he moved, his face was buried in something incredibly soft.
"Whoa!"
"Ah...!" Shiina let out a small, startled cry.
Hachiman realized immediately what had happened and jerked his head back, his face heating up.
"S-S-Sorry!"
"N-No, it's fine..."
Daru let out a blood-curdling scream of envy. "The legendary 'Lucky Sukebe'! I want to experience it just once in my life, dude!"
Meanwhile, Feyris, Eiko, and Mii were whispering frantically among themselves.
"Wait, she was supposed to be rubbing his shoulders. How did her chest end up right where his head would turn? Was that calculated?"
"Maybe it was natural instinct... she positioned herself perfectly..."
"Shiina... what a terrifying child-nyan..."
Hachiman eventually turned back more cautiously and whispered to Shiina. "Hey, Shiina. That conversation earlier... what was that?"
"Ad-libbing, Hachiman-san."
"Seriously? You're good at that."
"Mhm. I'm quite proud of my improvisational skills."
From that day on, a specific impression was burned into Hachiman's mind: Shiina was great at massages and even better at keeping a conversation going. Consequently, she earned more opportunities to be near him than the other two girls. Whether this was a cold calculation or a series of happy accidents remained a mystery to all.
"Well, I should probably head out."
"Ah! Before you go, how about a commemorative photo-nyan?"
"Oh! I've always wanted to try on a maid outfit!" Eiko chimed in.
"Really? Then everyone, this way-nyan!"
"Shino, wake up! We're taking pictures!"
A groggy Shino was shaken awake, and the seven of them—including Daru—took a variety of photos in different groups. Daru looked as though he could die happy, while Feyris clutched her phone to her chest, looking at a photo of just her and Hachiman as if it were her most prized possession.
"I'll be back. See ya, Feyris, Daru."
"I'll be waiting for the work details, dude!"
"Come back soon-nyan!"
The group left May Queen Nyan-Nyan and were dropped off at their respective homes one by one. Finally arriving at Shino's house, Hachiman looked at the girl, who had fallen fast asleep in the car.
"...Guess I have to wake her up."
He couldn't exactly go rummaging through her things for her keys while she was unconscious.
"I'll get her inside, get her changed, toss her into bed, and set the alarm..."
"Leave the alarm and the locking up to me," Hachiman-kun (the AI) chimed in.
"Right, thanks."
"But please, handle the changing yourself. I can't exactly do that with this body."
"I'll... do my best."
After successfully navigating the awkward task of getting Shino into her pajamas and into bed, Hachiman left the rest to the house's systems and headed home. He called Agil to set up the meeting for the next day and finally collapsed onto his own bed.
"Feyris and Daru, huh...? I wonder what kind of relationship we'll have from here on out."
He drifted into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, the two in question were currently glued to their screens, watching the Valhalla battle footage in a state of high-octane excitement. Feyris, in particular, was moved to tears by the magic battles.
"This is it-nyan! This is the battle Feyris has been searching for!"
"These flashy fights are definitely something else, dude."
"I can't thank you enough for bringing this job to me, Daru-nyan!"
"Well, you're the only one I could really talk to about this stuff, Feyris-tan."
"Next! I want to see Shana's video! Daru-nyan, please!"
"Coming right up, dude. Just a sec."
The two stayed up late into the night, completely captivated by Hachiman and Shana. Moving forward, Daru would throw himself into the work Hachiman provided, dragging his friend Rintaro Okabe into the mix as well. The steady income significantly bolstered the finances of the Future Gadget Laboratory.
As for Feyris, she would eventually negotiate her way into a guest spot within Valhalla, becoming the group's exclusive "Maid Player" and deepening her bond with the members of the legendary team.
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