"That's... actually a lot."
"We lost three men in yesterday's battle. Currently, our male count stands at thirty-one: eleven with Dyne, nine with Usu-Shio Tarako, five with Yamikaze, three with Kuro-Ookami, and three with your group. That means the gender ratio is nearly one-to-one. By contrast, the enemy likely started with about two thousand players. That would mean they have roughly one woman for every thousand men."
"I am so glad I joined this side..." Comike said, the sentiment coming straight from his soul.
"By the way," Comike continued, "we caught a glimpse of that last female player you mentioned earlier."
"The one with the white hair?" Shana asked.
"Yeah, I think so. When we deployed, two enemy vehicles moved out at the same time. We were going to wipe them out before joining up with you, but then this girl on a strange vehicle launched a surprise attack. She took one out and engaged the other. We offered to help, but she signaled for us to head toward the Boss instead. From what I saw in the rearview mirror before she went out of sight, she'd finished off the second one too. You can rest easy."
"I see. I hope she joins up with us soon," Shana said, picturing Musketeer X.
(Is she fighting a guerrilla war near the city? I wonder when she'll show her face... I'm actually looking forward to it.)
Once the group reached the Yggdrasil Fortress, they let out a collective victory cry.
"A perfect win today! Thanks, everyone! Let's keep this momentum until the very end!"
"""""""""""""""YEAH!"""""""""""""""
After the cheers died down, Comike's team chatted excitedly.
"Man, this is great, Captain!"
"No kidding. I thought this would just be a way to kill time, but I'm actually having a blast!"
"I'm starting to get fired up too!"
"Good, good. We've only got three days, but let's give it everything we've got!"
Tommy looked around at the bustling crowd. "But man, there really are a lot of girls here. It's nothing like the briefings said."
"Oh, about that..." Comike began, explaining the lopsided gender distribution of the two armies to his men.
"Th-that's extreme..."
"Wait, wasn't this war supposed to start because of..."
"Well, there's that, but it's mostly the Boss's charisma, I bet."
"True..."
And so, the day's battle ended without a hitch. The number of squadrons in the Heike Army finally dipped below the hundred mark. Needless to say, the livestream of the event was a massive hit.
As they prepared to log out, Shana called Nyangoro over, whispering into her ear so the May Queen crew wouldn't hear.
"Yukino, I have a report. I'll call you later."
Because he used her real name, Yukino understood it was a private matter. She whispered back into Hachiman's ear.
"Understood. I want to hop in the shower as soon as I log out, so could you give me about thirty minutes?"
"Got it."
Hachiman and Shizuka logged out together, their consciousnesses returning to a room in the May Queen + Nyan2 cafe. Moments later, Faris and Daru entered, carrying cake and drinks.
"Perfect timing, nyan!"
"It was worth peeking in every few minutes, Lady Faris."
"This is a victory celebration on Faris's tab, nyan! Don't be shy—eat and drink to your heart's content!"
The two offered their thanks.
"Thanks, Faris. You too, Daru."
"Thank you. I was actually getting a bit hungry," Shizuka added, leaning back with a sigh of relief.
"Another intense battle today, nyan."
"Not quite as bad as yesterday, though."
"Keep doing your best, nyan!"
"Yeah, we're definitely taking the win."
"We'll try our hardest!" Asuna chimed in. Then, as if struck by an idea, she turned to Faris. "Oh, that's right, Faris. I was thinking... I'd like to try on a maid uniform too."
"That would look so good on you, nyan! Berserk Healer Princess, if you're okay with it, Faris wants a photo together, nyan!"
"I'd love to! But that name is a bit long... just call me Asuna."
"Then Asu-nyan it is, nyan!"
Hachiman looked at Faris and added jokingly, "Don't you dare start calling me Hachi-nyan, Faris."
"I wouldn't dream of it, nyan. For your information, Faris only omits honorifics for two people, and Hachiman is the only one she calls by his real name."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Watching Faris, Asuna thought to herself: (It feels less like a crush and more like... admiration? Like he's someone special to her? But Faris is hard to read, so I should probably stay on my toes. She is incredibly cute, and Hachiman seems to have taken a liking to her.)
"Now then, Asu-nyan! It's time for a wardrobe change!"
"Okay! Lead the way, Faris-san."
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