"By the way, Shana, have you heard the strange rumors going around about you lately?"
"Hmm? What kind of rumors, Sensei?"
It had been a few days since the second Bullet of Bullets ended in that shocking display. Nyangoro—who had been cross-referencing surveillance footage from the Governor's Mansion with players who had acted suspiciously (even if it was likely a dead end)—suddenly broke the silence.
"The word is: 'One of the people in Shana's inner circle is only following him because he's holding some kind of blackmail over them.'" Nyangoro shrugged. "Well, given the company you keep, it's only natural for people to get jealous. I suppose such talk was inevitable."
"They didn't name a specific target? Keeping it vague makes it even more malicious," Shana remarked.
"Exactly. With that phrasing, even a scene like this—me working here with you—could be twisted into a 'victim' following orders, depending on the observer's perspective."
"I guess if someone starts with a suspicious mind, everything looks like a conspiracy," Shana sighed.
"Precisely. And that is exactly what the source is banking on."
"Hmph. Well, I don't really care. As long as I achieve my own goals, they can say what they want."
Shana didn't think much of it. Rumors were a dime a dozen back in ALO, usually cooked up by the Otokogiren—the 'Union of Manly Souls,' an alliance of male-only boss-raid guilds. That massive organization, consisting of over a hundred members, was formed by three guilds: The Bachelor Elite, The Sakura Boys, and River Rose.
(The last one, River Rose, supposedly wasn't about flowers at all. It was officially Re: Bar-Rose, a pun on a certain famous manga protagonist's catchphrase, implying they were 'Adults on the outside, children on the inside.' But that was a tangent for another time.)
As the rest of the group began to trickle into their base, they all voiced the same concern.
"I heard a rumor that someone among us is being blackmailed by Shana?"
"Shana, there's some weird talk going around..."
"Big brother, there's a strange rumor!"
"It seems someone is intentionally spreading misinformation."
"Shana-san, I overheard something earlier..."
Shizuka, Sinon, Benkei, Rosalia, and even Ikoma joined the chorus. Shana began to wonder if he should actually look into the source after all. Finally, Pitohui appeared, looking like she had something urgent to say.
"Shana, listen!"
"If it's about the rumor, I've heard it," Shana cut her off.
Pitohui blinked, looking genuinely puzzled. "Rumor? What rumor?"
"Oh, sorry. You looked like you were in a hurry to tell me something, so I assumed it was that."
"Ooh? Tell me, what's the gossip?"
"Apparently, one of you is being forced to obey me because I'm holding a 'weakness' over your head."
The moment she heard this, Pitohui's breathing hitched slightly. "Wait, what? That... that sounds incredibly enviable!"
"You haven't changed a bit, have you..." Shana muttered, staring at her.
"But wait," Pitohui continued, "isn't that technically true for me? I mean, Shana, you do have a copy of my driver's license. That's a huge weakness, right?"
"I mean, technically..." Shana started to consider it seriously, then shook his head. "No, that's different. No one else knows about that, so it couldn't be the source of the rumor."
"Fair point," Pitohui said breezily, having already lost interest in her own logic.
Suddenly, a hand clapped Shana on the shoulder. It was Nyangoro.
"Shana... I think you and I need to have a very long, very detailed chat about this 'driver's license' later."
"Eh? Ah... yes, ma'am..."
Nyangoro hadn't used her 'Sensei' persona; she spoke in her natural, chillingly calm voice. Shana could do nothing but nod, breaking into a cold sweat.
"Anyway, Pito," Nyangoro continued, "what was your actual business with Shana?"
"Oh, right! Shana, I brought M with me!"
"Oh? Good. Tell him to come in."
"You got it!"
A moment later, there was a hesitant knock on the door. A male player with a massive, sturdy build stepped timidly into the room.
"H-hello. I'm M. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Yeah, this is our first time meeting properly. I'm Shana. Glad to have you here."
"Welcome, M-san!" Shizuka added.
As the others introduced themselves, M's face flushed with a hint of red. "I... I've never done this before. I'm very happy."
"Never done what?" Shana asked.
"Well... being welcomed into a gathering like this."
"Hmm." Shana looked back and forth between Pitohui and M, and a realization struck him. "Ah... because you were always with Pito, everyone treated you like a nuisance wherever you went, didn't they?"
"Hey! Shana, that's mean!" Pitohui protested. "...Accurate, but mean!"
"So it is true," Shana sighed.
"Hehe."
With the ice broken, M's expression turned serious. "Actually, Shana-san, I have a report. I actually returned to Japan from America the day after BoB and logged straight into GGO. The reason I haven't shown my face until today was because I was investigating something—those rumors you mentioned."
"The one about me blackmailing my teammates?"
"Yes. I heard it the moment I logged in. I wanted to find the source as a sort of 'thank you' gift for inviting me here. So I started digging."
"The rumors were spreading that early? And? What did you find?"
M's expression darkened. "That's the thing... there is no one."
"...What?"
"No matter how far back I trace the information, I can't find a single player who started it. When I try to follow the trail, I hit loops."
"Loops?"
"Right. You trace the rumor from Person A, follow the breadcrumbs, and eventually, the source leads right back to Person A. It's a closed circuit."
Nyangoro narrowed her eyes. "Shana, this reeks of a conspiracy. Or perhaps the remnants of Laughing Coffin are engaging in information warfare?"
"Even if they are," Shana countered, "what do they gain from this?"
Nyangoro barked a laugh and scolded him. "That's your bad habit, you scrawny brat! People don't just move for profit. Humans are creatures of emotion!"
"Meaning...?"
"Meaning they might just hate your guts and want to make your life miserable."
Shana stared at her. "Are they middle schoolers?"
"They might be children. But remember the people you described to me? They were children. And more importantly, never forget: a nuisance like this might just be a distraction to keep your eyes off their real objective."
"I see. Spoken like a true strategist, Sensei."
"Hmph! If you really think so, hurry up and offer me some high-end booze!"
"Let's move on from that bit..."
Shana turned to M and patted his shoulder. "You did good work, M. Thank you."
"N-no! It's my duty as a teammate!!" M stood straighter, looking relieved.
"I'm glad for you, M," Shizuka smiled.
Shana addressed the group. "There's no real counter-strategy for this kind of rumor mill. For now, we just observe, but keep your ears to the ground. Let's not let our guard down."
That was the insidious nature of rumors. Once they spread, a certain percentage of people would believe them no matter how much you denied them. But Shana wasn't overly worried—people who already disliked him would have found a reason to talk anyway.
"The rumor itself isn't the problem. The problem is what's moving in the shadows. To make sure we can handle whatever comes, let's finalize our roles."
"In that case, I, the Great Me, shall be the Chief Strategist!" Nyangoro declared.
"Yes, yes, Chief Strategist Sensei. Next?"
"I'll handle Intelligence," Rosalia offered.
"I guess I'm the Vanguard Captain?" Shizuka asked.
"Sounds about right for you, Shiz," Shana agreed.
"Am I... a cruise missile?" Sinon asked dryly.
"Maybe not the best choice of words, but yeah, that fits."
"I'm the Recon Plane!" Benkei (Kei) added.
"Kei, seriously, stop thinking in military terms for five minutes."
"Am I the Mad Scientist?" Ikoma asked hopefully.
"Ikoma, please don't go down that path!"
"Am I in charge of the party?" Pitohui grinned.
"You're in charge of being a degenerate."
Finally, all eyes turned to M. He thought for a moment before looking at Shana. "Then I suppose I'm Logistics and Rear Support. Leave it to me; I'm quite good at that."
"I'm counting on you, M."
With that, Shana's faction in GGO was officially formed. (The 'fan club' led by Eva had recently decided on their own team name: SHINC.)
"Hey, why did you start that rumor?"
"It's him."
Atsushi shrugged at the short response. "I'm used to you being a man of few words, but try to give me a little more than that."
"...Our plan is proceeding smoothly."
"Yeah."
"If he notices, he will try to interfere."
"Most likely."
"To prevent that, we drag him into a different fight."
"Oho?"
"The rumor is only the first step."
"I see. Makes sense. So, what's next?"
"Next..."
A few days later, Rosalia spotted a large number of players entering a derelict building in the city ruins.
That's... unusual. I'd better check it out.
She moved stealthily, slipping into the building and carefully making her way to the upper floors. The players were gathered in a large room, deep in discussion. Rosalia peeked through a gap to gauge the situation.
(Is that... Zexceed? And Usushio Tarako, Shishioh Richie... even Garrett and Pale Rider? There are dozens of famous squadron leaders in there. Yamikaze doesn't seem to be here, but what kind of meeting is this?)
Suddenly, a name she held dear echoed through the room.
"The reason I called you all here today is regarding Shana..."
(Shana? They definitely just said his name...)
The mention of Shana made Rosalia focus so intensely on eavesdropping that her peripheral awareness faltered. Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth from behind.
(Damn it—!)
She struggled to break free while staying silent, but a voice whispered softly into her ear.
"You're one of Shana's, right? Relax. I'm not an enemy. It's me, Yamikaze."
Rosalia went limp with relief. Yamikaze released her.
"Sorry for the jump-scare," he whispered. "I was invited to this meeting too, but the whole thing smelled fishy. I told them I'd be late so I could hide and listen in before deciding where I stand. What about you?"
"Same here. I saw a crowd coming in and decided to scout."
"Well, let's see how this plays out together then."
"Right."
The two watched in silence. Suddenly, the angry voice of Usushio Tarako rang out from inside.
"Work together to take down Shana? Are you people insane? Don't call me out for this kind of garbage. I'll keep my mouth shut about what I heard here, but don't ever call me for something like this again!"
The other leaders looked panicked, but no one dared challenge the leader of GGO's largest squadron to his face. It was a bizarre contradiction—they wanted to fight Shana, yet they lacked the spine to confront Tarako. This, of course, was the result of the subtle discord sown by Sterben and Noir.
As Tarako stormed out of the room, he practically ran into Yamikaze and Rosalia.
"Wait—"
Yamikaze's hand was on Tarako's mouth in a flash. Recognizing Yamikaze, Tarako relaxed and tapped Yamikaze's arm, signaling him to let go.
"Yamikaze? And you're... Rosalia, from Shana's group."
"Yes."
"I thought you said you were running late, Yamikaze?"
"I had a bad feeling. Wanted to hear the truth before I walked through the door."
"Smart. Wish I'd done the same. Seriously, what's wrong with those guys? Picking a fight with Shana... have they lost their minds?"
"Or maybe someone's been whispering in their ears," Yamikaze suggested.
"Likely the same person spreading those nasty rumors," Rosalia added.
"Those rumors... yeah, that checks out."
The meeting inside seemed to be breaking up, so the three of them moved quickly to the building's exit.
"For now, I'm staying neutral," Yamikaze said firmly. "But tell Shana: if push comes to shove, I'm on his side."
Rosalia nodded.
Tarako sighed. "I need to talk to my guys first. We clashed with Shana recently, so some of them might want a rematch. I'll try to keep them neutral. But if I can't stop them from joining the fray, I won't let the guild act as a single unit. I'll leave it to individual choice—and personally, I'll be standing with Shana."
Rosalia bowed deeply to both of them before turning to head back to base. "Thank you, both of you."
"Don't mention it," Yamikaze grinned. "I've been looking for an excuse to fight alongside Shana for once."
"Heh, what a coincidence," Tarako added. "Me too."
The gears of Sterben's plot were turning exactly as intended. Shana and his comrades were being pulled, ready or not, into the center of a gathering storm.
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