While waiting for Achiman to return, Shana scouted for a suitable spot to regroup with Kirito.
"That building over there looks like our best bet..." "Agreed. Minimal risk of getting sniped from anywhere else." "Let's head up and take a look." "Right."
The building towered over every other structure in the small town, making it an ideal meeting point.
"Alright. We keep an eye on the streets below and hold position here." "Understood."
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. Kirito and Sinon soon showed up, met by Musketeer X, who guided them up.
At long last, Shana and Kirito were face-to-face once more.
"Hey." "O-Oh. Hey." "Don't 'oh, hey' me! Enough with the secret agent routine already!" "My bad." "Fine. Let me catch you up on what we know." "Yeah, hit me."
Watching their exchange, Sinon couldn't help but cut in.
"Wait—that's it? That's all the grilling and apologizing you two get?" "Hmm? Something wrong with that?" "Seems normal enough to me." "Right... sure..."
Sinon sighed in disbelief, accepting that this was simply how things were between the two of them, and dropped the matter.
"Garrett was killed right in front of us," Shana began. "Pale Rider got taken out on our end," Kirito replied. "The killer used succinylcholine—a muscle relaxant. On top of that, this Sterben guy has a camouflage cloak that lets him turn invisible. Got completely outmaneuvered." "An optical camouflage cloak? Wait... does that mean the way Death Gun learned players' home addresses was..."
Shana nodded at Sinon's realization.
"A ninety-nine percent chance he just peeked over their shoulders when they were filling out the BoB entry form. Simple, but undeniably effective." "Could... could my address have been seen during the previous BoB registration too?" "No, not a chance. I was guarding you the whole time back then." "I see..."
Sinon's expression remained troubled. Shana found her reaction odd and was about to ask her about it when Kirito spoke up first.
"By the way, you called him Sterben earlier. Isn't it pronounced 'Steven'?" "Spelled the same way, but it's also a German word meaning 'death.' Figured that was what he was going for, so I decided to call him Sterben." "Sounds just like something those guys would come up with. Works for me—I'll call him that from now on." "Yeah." "So, what's the plan?" Kirito asked, looking at Shana, whose expression turned grave.
"Achiman is off hunting the remaining three right now," Shana explained. "If that goes smoothly, none of the four of us here can be targeted by Death Gun, securing our immediate safety." "Achiman? You mean that other Hachiman?" "Yeah. Just think of her along those lines for now." "Got it."
Isn't he accepting this way too easily? Sinon thought, though she kept the sentiment to herself.
"Can't be targeted, huh..." Kirito muttered.
"Something on your mind?" "Shana, Death Gun aimed a Black Star at me earlier," Sinon explained on Kirito's behalf.
"What?! Is that why you've been looking so pale?" Shana blurted, caught entirely off guard. "Kirito, you're logged in from a secure location, right?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "Same here. Godfrey's guarding my physical body." "Godfrey? Then you're set. You've gotta introduce me to him sometime." "Sure thing." "Max here says her home security is pretty tight too. Same for you, right, Sinon? Plus, you've got him staying at your place." "Y-Yeah, that should be the case, but..."
Sinon answered with a hesitant frown. Logically, she was safe, yet a lingering sense of unease refused to leave her.
"Let's put a pin in that for now," Shana said. "Agreed..." "Y-Yeah." "Shana, I'm done," a voice chimed in.
It was Achiman, appearing right on cue. Naturally—or rather, impressively—she had deduced that this was the only logical place for a discussion and made her way up on her own.
"Did you actually beat those three?" "I'd like to say yes, but it was more like ambushing the remaining two right after Yamikaze took out the first, then cleaning them up." "Still, nice work. That means those three are safe now." "Yes."
Achiman hesitated on whether to bring up Pitohui, but ultimately decided to press the issue by force after everything was wrapped up. Sensing that Shana and Achiman were done talking, Kirito turned to Shana.
"Hey, Shana. That's the converted Hachiman over there, right? Who's inside? Someone I know?" "That's a secret," Achiman replied. "But you and I are bound to fight eventually. Look forward to it until then." "Oh? ...Wait, you're a girl?!" Kirito gasped in surprise, before breaking into a smirk. "Well, I'll definitely look forward to that day, then, Miss Unknown Warrior X." "Yes. By then, I will make sure I'm strong enough to face you." "Yeah, do your best."
During their exchange, Shana seemed to have reached a decision and addressed the group.
"Alright... I've made up my mind." "What's the plan?" "First off: Sinon, Max—strip." "...Huh?!" "Understood." "W-Wait a second, X!" Sinon yelled, stopping Musketeer X, who had already begun shedding her gear without hesitation.
"What is it?" "Why are you stripping so casually?! At least complain a little!" "Master Shana is not a pervert. If he gives an order like this, he must have a good reason." "I mean, sure, but..."
Sinon cast an anxious glance toward Shana. Shana nodded, turning his attention to Musketeer X.
"You trust me a little too much. Also, hear me out to the end before taking action. Max and Sinon are swapping gear. Then, Max will move to the adjacent building to act as bait to lure Sterben out. That eliminates any chance of Sinon getting shot by him." "Draw out an invisible opponent, huh?" "What about me?" Sinon asked. "You stay right here. If you get a shot at Death Gun, take it. I'll assign a guard to watch your back." "That would be my role," Achiman cut in sharply.
"Kirito and I will patrol the perimeter of this building," Shana continued. "Though he'll probably avoid us and head straight for Sinon while invisible. When he does, he walks right into our trap. We'll surround Death Gun—Sterben—and eliminate him for good. You can't log out of this tournament unless you pull the plug. Johnny Black is likely operating separately in the real world, meaning Sterben won't be able to log out either. We'll pin him down here. Buy enough time, and Kikuoka-san will handle the rest."
The four of them nodded in agreement.
"Sorry, Max. I'm dumping the most dangerous job on you," Shana said.
Musketeer X shook her head. "Not at all, Master Shana. If you change the condition of our previous promise to completing this mission, I have no complaints. That way, I suffer no loss." "Our promise? Ah, that... Got it. Works for me." "Hooray! Total victory for Max once again!"
Seeing Musketeer X completely drop her stoic facade, something clicked in Sinon's mind. Looking up at Shana with pleading eyes, she chimed in.
"I-I want the same deal..." "Hell no. You aren't taking any risk to begin with. Whoever's left after we take down Death Gun can just fight it out for the championship."
Shana shut her down instantly, but Sinon refused to back off.
"I-I know, but... Then how about this? If I win the tournament, grant me the same right you gave X."
Realizing Sinon wasn't going to let this go, Shana let out a resigned sigh and nodded.
"...Hah, fine. Deal." "Yes!" Sinon whispered, pumping a small fist in triumph.
"Everyone on the same page? Let me know when you're ready," Kirito said nonchalantly. He was clearly accustomed to these kinds of shenanigans whenever Hachiman was involved.
Sinon and Musketeer X began swapping gear, while Shana and Kirito dutifully turned their backs.
"...Hey, X." "What?" "Isn't this skirt a bit too short?" "What's there to complain about when it increases the odds of Master Shana catching a glimpse of our panties?"
Sinon felt a wave of defeat, remembering exactly what kind of person Musketeer X was.
"...Whatever." "You're always showing off your bare legs anyway. Adding underwear to the view hardly changes anything." "...Fair enough."
Having spent enough time around Musketeer X, Sinon had learned that arguing was an exercise in futility. She turned to Shana.
"We're good to go." "Alright, last thing—here's how we handle the upcoming satellite scan. First, Sinon will wait on the ground floor of the adjacent building. Since the scan doesn't show elevation, this lets her move quickly after it finishes. The rest of us will spread out as far from the building as possible to make it look like Sinon is isolated. Once the scan ends, everyone hurry to their designated positions." "Got it." Kirito immediately headed downstairs, intending to put as much distance between himself and the building as possible before the next scan hit.
"Oh, and Max." "Yes?" "Keep the M82 with you. Peek out from the rooftop and flash it every now and then. With that brief exposure, the M82 will look enough like the Hécate II to make the decoy believable." "Understood. I shall borrow it, then." "Put a hat on too. Your hair color gives you away." "Understood."
As everyone prepared to move out, Shana offhandedly brought up a question to Sinon.
"By the way, Spiegel isn't participating this time around, right? Did he mention anything to you?" "Yeah, he said he had something to take care of. Why the sudden interest in Spiegel, Shana?" "Well, XeXeeD was asking about him. Said something like, 'We promised to do our best together, so where is he?'" "Huh? XeXeeD said that?" "Yeah. Apparently, after talking a few times, they went to register for BoB together. Guess XeXeeD took a liking to him. An odd pairing, if you ask me." "Wait... what?" Sinon's face contorted in confusion.
"Something wrong?" Shana asked. "That's weird... Spiegel told me he couldn't enter the tournament at all because he had business to attend to from the start..." "Is that so? Hmm... We'll sort that out later. The scan is coming up, so let me get into position." "Right. Stay safe, Shana." "Don't mess up either, Sinon."
And with the next satellite scan as their signal, the final operation began.
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