(Phew. That should stop her from doing anything crazy. Now...)
Hachiman reached over and pulled Rosalia into a rough headlock.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" she squealed, though she was clearly enjoying the sudden closeness.
Hachiman gave her head a light rap. "Koneko, this girl takes my words as absolute gospel. If you
feed her nonsense, she'll break her own body trying to follow it. Stop messing with her."
"Ugh... fine, you're probably right. I'll be careful."
"Good. If you see her doing something weird, find the cause and fix it."
"Got it."
With the "inter-office" hierarchy established, the trio arrived at the Old Capital. They were greeted
by a welcoming party Rosalia had coordinated: Yamikaze, Usu-shio Tarako, and Ginrou. They
rushed toward Max, their faces etched with relief.
"Musketeer X! I'm so sorry," Yamikaze blurted out. "I should have been the one to jump in. It's my
fault you got taken out."
"No problem," Max replied, her voice returning to its usual clipped, robotic tone. "Result: Optimal."
"If you say so..."
"I heard you were Shana's shield," Tarako said, grinning. "Tomorrow, we're fighting for you too.
We've got the best seat in the fort reserved for you to watch the show."
"Observation: Accepted. Tarako, do your best."
"You bet!"
"Musketeer X," Ginrou said, his voice solemn.
"Ginrou. Request: Protect Master Shana."
"On my life!"
Hachiman watched the exchange with an amused smirk. "You really do speak differently when I'm
not the only one around, don't you?"
Max blushed and gave a small, shy nod.
Shizuka stepped up and whispered into Hachiman's ear. "I see the reunion went well."
"Yeah. I even secured a new secretary for the firm. High-spec talent acquired."
"Good boy," she teased.
As they stood there, Pitohui approached, her eyes narrowed with predatory curiosity. "Hey, Shizu...
who's the guy with the spine-tingling aura? I can't quite put my finger on it, but he feels... familiar.
Almost like Shana."
(Crap. I forgot how sharp her instincts are.)
Hachiman decided it was time for an exit. "I-I'm just an acquaintance of Rosalia-san's! She
needed a driver for camouflage to get out of the city, so I helped her out. But I've got things to do,
so I'm logging off now! Good luck tomorrow! I've set the car to auto-return, so don't worry about
it!"
He leaned in and whispered to Max. "Get your story straight with Shizuka. I'm coming to your
school tomorrow."
"Eh... Yes!"
Hachiman vanished into the log-out menu. Yamikaze, who had been clued in by Shizuka earlier,
followed him to a quiet corner before he disappeared.
"Shana... or is it Hachiman now?"
"Yamikaze. Shizuka told you, I take it?"
"Yeah, right after you logged out. Look... I'm really sorry I froze up back there."
"Forget it. That was my mistake, not yours. If anything, I'm sorry for the scare."
"But still..."
"No 'buts.' If you had jumped in, we would have just lost you instead of Max. So tomorrow, fight
hard enough for the both of you."
"Yeah... leave it to me!"
Yamikaze looked at Hachiman's avatar with admiration. "Still, to convert your main character over
just for her... Musketeer X is one lucky girl."
"I just wanted to be the one to pick her up."
"Man... you really are something else. Even if I were in your shoes, I don't think I could pull that off."
"You say that now, but I bet you'd do the same if it came down to it."
Hachiman finally logged out to return to ALO and prepare for his return as Shana. "Tell Shizuka to
start the farewell party for Comike and the others."
The Genji Army held a massive feast that night. It was partly a farewell for Comike, Tommy, and
Kemona—who had reached the end of their scheduled participation—and partly a rally for the final
day. Huge quantities of food and supplies had been brought into the fort for the occasion.
"I feel bad that you're doing all this for us," Comike said, raising a glass. "We were only here for a bit."
"Nonsense," Shana (back in his usual form) replied. "It was a blast. Let's play together again
sometime."
"Count on it!"
The mercenaries logged out one by one, leaving the fort in the hands of the Genji night-watch.
Meanwhile, in the city, a strange phenomenon was occurring.
"Hey, look at the Genji Army's roster! Their squad count just dropped by two!"
"What happened? Did they get ambushed?
"I heard Zexceed took someone out earlier..."
"No way! Did Zexceed seriously wipe out two whole squads by himself?"
The spectators had no way of knowing the "lost" squads were simply players whose time had run
out. The rumor mill churned, and by midnight, the story had evolved: Zexceed had single-handedly
decimated the Genji elite.
"We can win this!"
"If Zexceed can do that, so can we! Let's crush them tomorrow!"
The Heike Army, which had been demoralized and broken, suddenly found its spirit renewed. Their
morale soared to an all-time high.
"Zexceed-san... the Heike Army is getting really fired up," Yukko noted.
"So it seems..." Zexceed said, watching the rowdy players. "Look, I didn't technically lie to them.
They're just jumping to their own conclusions. If it raises their morale, let's just roll with it."
"I guess..."
"If you say so."
Yukko and Haruka thought back to the terrifying power of the man they had seen in the city—
Hachiman. They felt a lingering sense of unease, but there was no turning back now.
The stage was set. Shana would face a Heike Army more dangerous and desperate than ever
before.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"