novelraw Chapter 71
Chapter 71
Chapter 71
The next morning.
I had called Chacha-san and Nico-san to Ms. Eve's workshop, but—
"Huh?"
What appeared before Eve-san and me, who were waiting, was—four people. Nico-san and Chacha-san, and—
"Yo. Been a while—well, not really, huh. Shiki."
A red-haired lady in a black tank top and jeans,
"Sounds like things've gotten interesting, eh. Shiki."
A small girl in military uniform with brown hair—
"Ms. Kurenai and Ms. Ren!?"
Two members of the Crimson Wings.
"Why are you two here......"
Nico-san stepped forward,
"I invited them. Yesterday, right when your message arrived, I was with these two. We'll get two more portions of Growmetal, but that's fine, right?"
When he gave a look to Ms. Eve, she scratched her head and laughed,
"Yeah. The warehouse'll be empty, but it can't be helped! This time we're going all out with a clearance sale!"
Ms. Eve......I'm sorry about this.
But thanks to Nico-san our battle strength is rock-solid.
"By the way, what about Tsubasa-san......"
If she were here victory would be a lock, but—
"Sorry. She says she has plans."
Too bad. But if Tsubasa-san were here we'd have too much power and that would spoil the fun in its own way.
"Well, don't worry. From what I've heard, our strength should be more than enough."
"Hey hey, Eve-rin! Can I touch all the mecha-girls scattered around this factory? There're tons Chacha-san doesn't know!"
"Sure. Just don't break them."
"Oka~y!"
Chacha-san (mechanic), Nico-san (attacker), Ms. Kurenai (attacker), Ms. Ren (sniper), Ms. Eve (driver/mechanic), and me (sniper). Six in total.
The enemy may number more than a hundred, but with this lineup we can manage.
"So, is the plan already set?"
Ms. Kurenai asked.
"No, since we didn't know you and Ms. Ren were coming, we haven't worked you two into the plan yet."
"Don't give us anything slow. I wanna cut loose. Just let me charge in."
"Same here."
Ms. Shina says Ms. Kurenai and Ms. Ren work well together.
If we have Nico-san and Ms. Kurenai charging in and leave supporting fire to Ms. Ren, I can focus on sniping alone.
"Understood. Nico-san, Ms. Kurenai, Ms. Ren. You three will break the enemy fortress with a frontal assault."
"Yeah! Simple and perfect!"
"Roger that."
"Chacha-san and Ms. Eve, please build the weapons I ordered."
"Aye aye, sir!"
"All right."
"......"
What is it? Nico-san is staring at me hard.
"W-what is it? Nico-san."
"Nothing, you're talking pretty smoothly now."
"Eh!? R-really? I think I could only speak because everyone here is someone I know."
"You should just be happy about it, right?"
Ehe, ehehe......Nico-san never jokes around, so maybe my shyness is getting a little better? That makes me happy......
"By the way, have you seen a player named 'Rei' in this town?"
"Rei? No, I haven't. Ah, but—"
"But?"
"N-no, um......"
I almost blurted out that Rei is my real name.
Even with Nico-san, revealing real-life info in the game world is risky......unlike Tsubasa-san. I've never seen anyone else with the katakana name 'Rei', so saying it is dangerous.
"What?"
"N-nothing, really."
"Huh? If something comes to mind, just say it."
"N-nothing at all~. Ehehe......"
"......"
Nico-san grabs my cheek.
"You haven't changed at all......! All timid and jumpy......!"
"S-sorry, I'm shorry!?"
Nico-san's hand leaves my cheek. She turns her back to me, clearly in a bad mood.
"Honestly, where is he!?"
"Um, why are you looking for someone named Rei?"
I ask while rubbing my cheek.
"That's......"
Nico-san glances at me and, for some reason, her cheeks turn red.
"I-it's none of your business, okay!?"
"W-well, I guess that's true......"
Ugh......Nico-san's still impossible to pin down.
"Agh, come on! Where are you, 'Rei'~~~~~!?!?!"
She's really desperate.
Rei......once I find him I'll let her know right away.
"Hey. We attackers've got nothing to do till the operation starts, right?"
Ms. Kurenai hefted her greatsword,
"Let's do a four-way brawl. Me, Ren, Shiki, and Nico."
"Sounds good."
"Count me in."
"I-I'm fine too."
A four-way battle! One versus one versus one versus one! Sounds fun!
"It's decided then. Ivan-san, do you have the simulator?"
The simulator is a device that launches Space Gulls onto an original stage without death penalties and without consuming items or energy for mock battles. Ranked matches use an even larger version of it.
"It's in the basement~. Use it as you like."
Until the day of the operation, the mechanics built weapons for use against Nadra Laboratory, while the other four honed their combat skills in constant sparring.
August 11—the day the summons is sent—arrives.
————Afterword————
I'm currently writing the spin-off "Sister is Berserker." Please take a look when it's finished. I should be able to release it around August!