"I… see," Asuna managed, not knowing whether to laugh or be concerned.
"Finally, I had her practice projecting her voice from a mountaintop, and she got—literally—the 'Loud Voice' skill."
Asuna froze. "Wait… was that the 'Mystery Screaming Incident'? Our guild almost sent a scout team to investigate that, but you told us to stay away, and then it suddenly stopped…"
"Yeah. She got the skill, so I told her to stop yelling."
"You were such a public nuisance!"
Asuna sank onto the sofa, half-laughing, half-horrified. Hachiman, looking apologetic, scooped her up in a mock-bridal carry and sat down with her.
"The moment she collected all those sub-skills," Hachiman continued, his voice turning serious again, "she unlocked the ultimate one: 'Diva.' With that, Yuna was capable of manifesting the effects of every song in the game."
"That… that sounds like she was ready for the front lines."
"I thought so too, for a second. But the problem was her proficiency levels."
"Oh," Asuna realized.
"With so many skills unlocked at once, the grind was impossible. Based on my calculations, she wouldn't have been combat-ready for the high-level floors until the 90th floor at the earliest."
"So that's why…"
Hachiman's expression darkened with guilt. "That's why I ordered her to stay behind during the 75th-floor boss raid. She clearly didn't accept that. She must have convinced Nautilus to help her gather a party to follow us. That disaster… it's my responsibility."
"Hachiman… I don't know what to say."
"I think I just missed one crucial button in the sequence," he sighed. "If I ever find out where she is, I'm going to give her a lecture—and then I'm going to apologize."
"I hope you get that chance. I really do."
"Yeah. Me too."
Closing the topic for now, Asuna asked, "Do you want to call Agil and hear the details directly?"
"No," Hachiman said, thinking. "In this case, Klein might be better."
Hachiman called Ryotaro immediately.
"Klein, it's about Yuna."
"Oh, hey! I just finished double-checking with the rest of the guys," Ryotaro replied. He proceeded to dump all the fresh intel he'd gathered.
"I see. So there was a high-threat mob still roaming back there," Hachiman mused.
"Yeah. And look, I'm not trying to cover for my guys, but the standard play would have been to retreat to a choke point and let the tanks stabilize the line, right? They were about to fall back when Yuna and Nautilus suddenly made their move."
"I see. I messed up. I failed to teach them the nuances of tactical positioning…"
Hearing Hachiman's voice drop, Ryotaro tried to rally him. "Listen, man, maybe that's true, but don't go pinning the whole world on your shoulders. If my guys had given better orders, it might not have happened. If we start playing the 'what-if' game, we'll be here all night."
"I know, but—"
"Hang on—whoa! Shizuka-san!" Ryotaro's voice was suddenly cut off, replaced by the sharp, authoritative voice of Hachiman's former teacher.
"What are you whining about now?"
"Sensei…?" Hachiman stiffened.
"Honestly. Just because you've become a bit popular lately, do you think you've turned into a god? You are a human being, through and through. And humans fail. The point isn't to never fail; it's to never repeat the same failure. Hurry up and grow enough of a brain to figure that out for yourself."
"I have no excuse, Sensei."
"Good. Reflect on it. Here, Ryotaro, he's all yours."
The phone shuffled back to Klein. "S-sorry about that. Shizuka-san is a little… well, drunk."
"No," Hachiman said, feeling a weight lift. "She's still the same old Sensei. I feel a bit better now. Thanks, Klein. Tell her I said thanks once she's sober."
"Will do!"
After hanging up, Hachiman pulled Asuna close. "Hey, Asuna. I guess it really is impossible to eliminate every mistake, huh?"
"Where did that come from?"
"Hiratsuka-sensei just gave me a piece of her mind. 'Are you a god? The point is to not repeat the mistake.' Classic her."
Asuna giggled. "She really is amazing."
"Even when she's wasted. Oh—crap. I forgot to ask Klein what Agil meant about school tomorrow."
Asuna thought for a moment. "Well, Agil-san saw Klein and Shizuka-sensei drinking together at Dicey Cafe, right? If he's warning you, maybe it just means Shizuka-sensei is coming to our school as a guest lecturer or something."
"That sounds plausible," Hachiman agreed.
It was a perfectly logical conclusion. Unfortunately, unless Hachiman was indeed a god, he had no way of knowing that Fukaziroh had gone rogue, arrived a day early, planned a full-scale "raid" on his school, and secured the backing of both Haruno and the Board Chairperson.
The two spent the rest of the evening in peaceful conversation, reminiscing about Yuna and discussing how to handle Shizuka-sensei if she appeared at school.
They remained blissfully unaware of the storm brewing for the following morning.
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