Shizuka and the other two returned to Shana's group just after they had seen Ginrou off.
"Oh, it's gotten lively."
"Ooh, a banquet? Shana, bring the booze!"
"Hey, Sensei. Restrain your desire to turn everything into a gag."
"Silence, you scrawny weakling!"
"Yeah, yeah. Since you're all talk anyway, do whatever you want."
Then, Shizuka whispered to Eva.
"Saki-chan? I didn't mention it the other day, but I'm Asuna."
"Eh? You are...? Ah! I see, now that I think about it, that makes perfect sense! Nice to meet you, Shizuka-san!"
"I'm Shana's little sister, Benkei. I've heard all about you!"
"And I am Shana's friend, Nyangoro. I trust we shall get along!"
With the introductions finished, Ginrou's match began right on cue.
"Oh, it's Ginrou... His opponent is... Ah, this is no good. It's XeXeed."
"Is there that much of a gap between Ginrou-san and XeXeed-san? I only have the image of XeXeed-san getting beaten up by Shana-san."
"That guy is strong. Strong enough to be in the top ten of GGO, anyway."
"Is that so..."
As the match progressed, Ginrou clearly began to be pushed back. Shana offered commentary.
"See that? XeXeed's weakness used to be his low accuracy, but thanks to that weapon he got during the Christmas event, it's been significantly improved. His maneuvering was already top-tier, so the current Ginrou can't win no matter how much he struggles."
"But isn't XeXeed-san an AGI (Agility) type? How can he equip a weapon like that?"
"Hm? XeXeed is a STR (Strength) type, you know?"
"Ehhhh?"
"But I'm sure XeXeed-san went around telling everyone that AGI builds are the strongest..."
"That was obviously a lie... Probably a tactic to stop his opponents from using good weapons, even a little bit."
"""Ehhhhhh!"""
The six girls seemed quite shocked by those words.
"XeXeed-san... that is dirty..."
"I bet there are quite a few people who were deceived."
"Well, ultimately it comes down to personal responsibility."
"True, but I'm sure there are people who can't accept that."
"Well, it's a fact that he's doing things that deserve criticism, but he's used to being bashed, so he probably doesn't care at all..."
While they were having this conversation, the matches proceeded rapidly, and the main tournament qualifiers for each block began to emerge.
"Tarako and Yamikaze are safe. Musketeer X from earlier made it to the finals too. Oh, looks like Dyne made it. Not bad."
"Lion King Richie... that sounds like a strong name."
"He's decent. Basically the type to ambush with a heavy machine gun, but he won't be able to achieve results beyond a certain level."
"Why?"
"Ammo depletion. No matter how much you raise your STR, the equipment itself is too heavy to carry enough ammo."
"Aaaah!"
Shizuka recalled the heavy machine gun she had seen in the shop. Meanwhile, the finalists continued to be decided.
"Oh, Spiegel is still in it? His opponent is... Shishigane. That guy pumped everything into VIT (Vitality); he's incredibly tough."
"Is he an acquaintance?"
"Spiegel is more of an acquaintance of Sinon. Shishigane is someone I've just seen around a few times."
"I see. Can Sinonon's acquaintance win?"
"No. Impossible."
Shana said it bluntly.
"Shishigane will charge in without caring about taking a few hits. Look, Spiegel has stopped moving to intercept him, right? Once he does that, he can't utilize his strengths at all. He might be able to dodge a few attacks, but that will be the end of it."
"Ah."
Just then, they saw Spiegel take a hit, and his speed visibly decreased.
"If he could watch someone like Yamikaze fight and revolutionize his mindset, he might become stronger. This time, he was simply unprepared. It looked like he wasn't used to AGI-type combat."
"maybe he was deceived by XeXeed-san and hurriedly switched to an AGI type?"
"No, no, surely not. If he's been playing as long as Sinon, surely he decides his own style for himself."
"Well, I guess so."
Spiegel went on to lose the match, failing to secure one of the two tickets to the main tournament given to the top players of the group.
"Now, all that's left is Sinon and Pitohui, but..."
"Those two were in the same block, huh..."
"Well, both of them have already decided their entry into the main tournament."
Just as Shana said, both had already secured their spots. Next was finally the battle to decide first place in the group between Sinon and Pitohui. However, since being first didn't hold any particular meaning, this battle was largely symbolic. In fact, many players openly went easy in group finals.
The battle began. The two faced each other and started talking. Seeing this, Shana and Nyangoro suddenly stood up.
"Is something wrong, you two?"
In response to Eva's question, Shana spoke simply.
"This battle is a draw. Right, Sensei?"
"I-Is that so?"
"Yeah. According to my lip-reading, that seems to be the case. Alright, let's go down to praise the two of them."
"It was worth learning lip-reading from Sensei. Anyway, you guys, we're done here for today. See you tomorrow."
"Ah, yes! Thank you very much!"
True to his words, the match ended in a draw. Eva and the others seriously considered learning lip-reading themselves.
"Pito, I've secured my spot in the finals. How about you?"
"Yup! I'm going to go win mine in a flash right now, so wait for me!"
"Okay. Good luck."
"Yeah!"
Shortly before they faced each other in the final, the two exchanged words in the waiting room. Pitohui headed out for what was effectively her last match, and swapping places with her, Spiegel returned.
"How was it? Did you make it?"
"...It was no good."
"I see. Well, there's always next time. Cheer up."
"Yeah... How did you do, Sinon?"
"I just secured my spot in the main tournament a moment ago."
"I see... You're amazing, Sinon."
"My enthusiasm is different this time. I'm going to fight like my life depends on it in the main tournament, too."
Seeing Sinon like that, Spiegel unintentionally let something slip.
"...Because Shana-san is watching?"
"Eh? Ah, aha... well, there's that too. But actually, I made a bet with a friend who was here just a moment ago. We're competing for a date with Shana."
"I-Is that so..."
"The winner gets to go on a date with Shana, so I have to rank at least one spot higher than her... Well, settling it in a direct confrontation might be the fastest way, though."
"Y-Yeah, I guess so..."
"Well, if I win the championship, there's no problem anyway. Anyway, I'll do my best, so cheer for me."
"Y-Yeah, of course."
Spiegel managed to say that, hiding the complex emotions in his chest, then bid farewell to Sinon and trudged away.
A little while later, Pitohui returned and flashed a V-sign at Sinon.
"I won~!"
"Congratulations, Pito. Now both of us are confirmed for the main tournament."
"Yup, thanks! Now then, next is the final. Let's get it over with quickly."
"Right."
The two then faced off in the final arena.
"So, what should we do?"
"Hmm, honestly, there's no meaning in doing this seriously, right?"
"That is true..."
"Shall we decide by Rock-Paper-Scissors?"
"That works, but how about we shoot each other through the head to include a declaration of war?"
"Oh, good vibes, Sinonon! Let's go with that!"
This was the exact moment Shana and Nyangoro stood up. As Eva and the others watched, the two pointed their muzzles at each other's heads and began a countdown in unison.
""Three, two, one, zero!""
At that instant, they both fired. Laughing loudly, they collapsed simultaneously.
Meanwhile, as Spiegel walked down the passageway feeling miserable, a conversation drifted into his ears.
"That bastard XeXeed, he really has some good weapons and armor."
"It's because of that Christmas event the other day. Shana-san monopolized the materials, so the good weapons and funds flowed to him instead. He probably bought his armor with that money."
"Ah, come to think of it, they were second place."
The player said this as if remembering.
"Even so, that weapon of his... doesn't it have a really high STR requirement? Every chance he gets, he goes around preaching the 'AGI Type Strongest' theory. That means he must be one too, right? How did he have enough STR?"
"Huh? You didn't know? That guy is a STR type."
"STR?"
"AGI types aren't weak, but their tactics are mostly limited to Run and Gun, plus they have the flaw of not being able to use strong weapons or armor."
"Eh, seriously...? Then why did he say all that?"
"Well, apparently, that bastard pretends to be an AGI type usually to give himself an advantage in the BoB. He purposely promotes it in places where mid-tier players gather to try and make others switch to AGI builds as much as possible."
"So that's it... He's as underhanded as ever."
"Well, he actually has the skills to back it up, though."
Hearing this conversation, Spiegel felt his vision turn bright red.
"No way... Then, my character is..."
As Spiegel muttered this, the player's voice was heard again.
"But the guys who got tricked are really pitiful. In this game, you can't reset your stats, right?"
"Exactly. It's sad, sure, but it just means you shouldn't easily believe rumors."
(Right. I can't rebuild it anymore... I have to keep going like this... Damn it. XeXeed... I want to kill him...)
Red-faced with rage, Spiegel logged out.
"But hey, how did you know that story?"
"Ah, I heard a pair of players talking about it the other day. One of them had a creepy vibe, wearing a mask and a cloak. At first, I thought it was fake news, but when I calculated the necessary STR for that weapon and armor, it turned out to be a fact."
"You shouldn't believe rumors easily, but this story has evidence backing it up."
"Yeah, and some guys say they've actually heard XeXeed say things that hinted at it."
That night, Shouichi noticed Kyouji making noise in his room. He opened the door slightly and peeked inside.
"Damn it! XeXeed! I will absolutely never forgive you... Damn it! Daaaaamn iiiit!"
Hearing that voice, Shouichi closed the door and muttered with satisfaction.
"Good. It seems to have reached Kyouji's ears safely. That should be enough of spreading rumors. Well, Noir actually overheard XeXeed talking about it, so it is the truth, after all."
Kyouji had not yet realized that he was stepping, one foot after another, into a deep swamp.
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