The six girls left behind hung their heads, murmuring amongst themselves.
"We... got scolded, didn't we?"
"Yeah..."
"What should we do now? Give up?"
"I suppose..."
"..."
After a brief silence, Anna, the most timid of the group, spoke with resolve.
"I'm going to do as Shana-san said. I'm going to follow my own will. I'm going to chase after Shana-san right now and apologize."
"Anna..."
"I-I want to apologize too!"
"Me too!"
Voices of agreement rose one after another. Eva then spoke to her teammates in her natural, unforced tone.
"I know part of this is my fault as the club president, and it's true that we don't get along in real life. Our teacher couldn't stand watching us and recommended this game to build teamwork, but honestly, I don't care about that anymore. More than that... I can't stand the thought that the Shana-san might despise us."
"That video we saw when we were looking up GGO... it was amazing."
"We thought we wanted to become strong like that too, didn't we..."
"Yeah, yeah, we really admired that..."
"So, if you all agree, why don't we chase after Shana-san's group, apologize properly, and then start over from scratch? Let's use our individual strengths to cover for each other's weaknesses and aim to build a strong team that can fight as one."
The other five immediately agreed to Eva's proposal.
Then, the six of them broke into a run, chasing after Shana's group.
Meanwhile, Shana and the others were also discussing Eva's group.
"Shana-san, do you think those girls will come after us?"
"Who knows? Well, if left as they were, nothing good would have come of it. It was a bit heavy-handed, but I did what I could. The rest is up to them."
"I hope your feelings reached them properly."
"My feelings? I'm just feeling refreshed to be released from babysitting beginners."
"Hmm~"
Spiegel watched the two of them with a sense of conflict.
He certainly hated Shana, but he also understood—painfully so—why Sinon was attracted to him. He could absolutely never do something like that. Even if he hypothetically thought of it, he had neither the courage nor the ability to execute it.
But this person carried it out without hesitation.
Presumably, even at school, he had shown no hesitation in saving Sinon.
Shown such a hopeless difference in caliber, Spiegel was crushed by a sense of defeat, yet he realized there was a part of him that felt happy that Shana had entrusted him with a significant role.
(Dammit, dammit, why am I feeling happy? Shana is the enemy. That's right, the enemy. To bridge this gap even a little, I absolutely have to show my good side to Sinon...)
On the other hand, Shana noticed that the dark emotions radiating from Spiegel were the same as those felt at the Governor's Office the other day.
(I see, so this guy was there at that time too...)
Shana couldn't tell the happily chatting Sinon to stop, but he also didn't want to flaunt their closeness in front of Spiegel, leaving him in a mental bind.
(Damn, I messed up. I shouldn't have told them to do whatever they wanted...)
"Shana-sa~an!"
At that moment, a familiar voice called out from behind.
Mentally cheering Nice timing!, Shana stopped and decided to wait for the owners of those voices. Soon after, Eva and the others appeared.
The six of them lined up in front of Shana with solemn expressions and bowed their heads in unison.
"""Shana-san, we're sorry!"""
"Sorry for leaving you guys back there. I was just reflecting on the fact that I might have said a bit too much myself. Your arm seems fully regenerated, and if you've discussed things and improved the group's relationship, then there are no more problems. Good, good. Now then, let's all go take down some enemies with enthusiasm."
Simultaneously accepting their apology, Shana spoke rapidly and began walking forward, as if pushing the six of them along.
"Eh, u-um, Shana-san?"
"I've got my own circumstances to deal with. Normally, as a senior, I should probably say something pompous, but right now I just want to escape this situation as fast as possible. So, let's move, you lot."
"""This situation?"""
Hearing Shana's whispered words, the six spoke in unison and glanced toward Sinon and Spiegel.
Spiegel was desperately trying to talk to Sinon, not wanting to miss this chance, and Sinon was responding normally without a change in expression.
"Ahhh~!"
Sophie was the first to raise her voice.
"Sophie, did you figure it out?"
"To be blunt, it's a love triangle, isn't it, Shana-san!"
"Is this... really another love triangle?"
"Eh?"
Upon hearing that, Sophie took another look at the two walking behind them. Then, she clapped her hands as if realizing something.
"Hey everyone, what do you think of those two in the back?"
"What do we think..."
The other five looked back again and spoke one by one.
"They look like they're getting along normally?"
"Spiegel-san is clearly interested in Sinon-san, right?"
"But Sinon-san is, if anything..."
"She keeps glancing over here every now and then."
"In my opinion, that is the attitude of a woman who has absolutely no interest in the male partner."
"Right, so in other words, it's this."
Sophie grinned and said to Shana:
"You're in trouble because someone is making a pass at your lover, aren't you, Shana-san!"
"Sinon isn't my lover, though..."
"""Ehhh!?"""
Having seen the past videos of Shana and Shizuka's group, the six exclaimed in surprise.
"But didn't Sinon-san say back then, 'I am also one who shares his fate'?"
"So we thought, Shana-san is a terrible five-timing jerk, but that's just how strong people are..."
The moment Tanya said that, Shana dropped a fist onto her head.
"O-Ouch! I'm sorry, I won't say it again!"
"For the record, one of those is a little sister, and two are servants."
"Geh, servants...!?"
"Whoa, the world of adults..."
"B-But no matter how you look at it, of those five, surely three of them love you, right Shana-san?"
"....It might be four."
"Isn't that everyone except the sister?! Can you not decide on just one?"
"No, I've decided on one from the very beginning... but most of them just won't give up. I intend to tell them to give up, but somehow..."
Even Yukino and the others, who seemed to have taken a step back on the surface, were undoubtedly still hoping for a chance deep down. Not to mention the newcomers, Shino and Elsa.
The current situation was that Asuna, while trusting Hachiman, was maintaining her advantage by using a carrot-and-stick approach to let off steam appropriately while being surrounded by numerous rivals.
Hachiman himself intended to tell them to give up, but as long as he couldn't decisively push away the women who held affection for him and allowed them to stay by his side as comrades, this problem would never be resolved.
In short, this problem would likely never be resolved in his lifetime.
"Won't give up? Usually, if you reject someone, doesn't that cut the ties?"
"Most of them stay by my side as comrades, so it's unavoidable..."
"Whoa... Does your official girlfriend not say anything about that?"
"We get along normally. If anything, she even tries to bring me into contact with them sometimes."
"That is..."
The six of them began to whisper amongst themselves.
"Is that a harem?"
"It's a harem."
"A harem king was right here..."
"It sounds like the girlfriend is managing the harem properly."
"She probably judged it would work out better that way..."
"And that Sinon-san is one of the members..."
Then Anna muttered quietly.
"But, is this only inside GGO...?"
"Eh? Of course it is, right?"
"Don't tell me... a real-life harem!?"
"Is there any way to confirm?"
"If we ask casually, he might accidentally let it slip?"
"Then let's smooth it over skillfully..."
As expected of active high school girls; they seemed to love this kind of gossip. It was much like when Shino talked with Eiko and the others.
Eva, representing the group, asked Shana:
"That sounds tough... Do you have almost no private time then?"
"Hmm? Ah, well, I get a decent amount of time. They seem to be considerate about it, so it's not like someone is there every single day on rotation. Though, it is true that I've been going out with Sinon a lot recently, but they've never done anything to make me feel unpleasant."
"Is that so? That's good to hear. But I wonder if those people aren't dissatisfied? By the way, how many such women are there?"
"I'd like to think there's no dissatisfaction, but I can't just let them spoil me forever, so I might have to think of something eventually. But if I do that, assuming one person a day, I wonder how many days it would take..."
Saying that, Shana began counting on his fingers.
As the number increased, the six girls' mouths opened wider and wider.
"About ten people, maybe... It really is tough, but I guess it can't be helped..."
Shana, relieved to have escaped the awkward situation thanks to the six girls, had temporarily let his mental guard down. Because of this, he was blithely talking about things he would normally never mention.
To Shana, these six were likely high school girls, and since they didn't direct any explicit romantic affection toward him but treated him as a fan would, they were the perfect existence to discuss these matters with—the first people he felt he could talk to freely.
The six began whispering again.
"This is crazy... It's beyond my imagination."
"A real-life harem king is standing right here..."
"But, having touched upon Shana-san's kindness just now, don't you think a lot of people would fall for him easily?"
"I wonder what kind of person Shana-san really is? I'm getting super interested."
"The vibe is good right now, can't we steer the conversation so we can meet him somehow?"
"Eva, think of something like you did earlier!"
Eva crossed her arms and spoke as if she had an idea.
"Alright... I'll give it a shot. I'm going to talk to Shana-san alone for a second."
"Please, Leader!"
"As expected of Leader, so reliable!"
It seemed that by conversing with Shana, the relationship between the six girls was dramatically improving. This was an unexpected byproduct for them as well.
"Shana-san, I have a small consultation to keep secret from them..."
"Hm? Something wrong?"
"Well, you see, thanks to you, Shana-san, our relationship has improved considerably. So, as a finishing touch, I thought it would be nice if the six of us could go eat something sweet together."
"I see. That might indeed be an effective move. Experiencing happiness together helps solidify unity."
"So, if it's alright, I was wondering if you could chaperone us, Shana-san... If I propose it, there might be at least one person who makes excuses to decline. If that happens, our relationship might revert to how it was. But if you, Shana-san, suggest we go, I think everyone will definitely come."
"I get it. Being the organizer makes you worry about that kind of thing, inevitably."
Perhaps overlapping Eva's situation with his own, Shana spoke sympathetically.
"Well, alright. Although my car can't fit six people... now, what to do."
"T-Thank you very much! Wait, you'll even come to pick us up in a car?"
"That would probably be easier in various ways. Well, I'll figure something out regarding the car, so once you decide on a date, just send me a message."
"T-Thank you so much! I'll discuss it with them soon!"
"Yeah. We're almost at the battlefield, so tell your teammates to brace themselves. I'm going to reconfirm the combat plan with Sinon and the others."
"Right, understood!"
Eva returned to her teammates and reported the success of the operation.
"Rejoice, you guys. He said he'll take us somewhere to eat sweets in his car next time."
"Really? Leader, you rock!"
"Whoa, this is insane, I'm getting super excited!"
"Anyway, we'll be in combat soon. Let's switch gears so we don't show Shana-san an embarrassing performance. Let's get fired up as if we're entering a tournament."
"""Roger!"""
Having successfully steered the conversation, the six girls, perhaps due to their joy, maintained an excellent mental state as they approached the battle.
The group then merged with Dyne and the others, who had gone ahead, at the planned engagement zone.
"Yo, looks like it went well. Those girls are chatting happily like different people."
"Yeah, we managed somehow."
"It's about time the enemy comes into view. Let's move to the designated positions and set up the ambush."
"Roger that."
The two discussed a few things regarding the battle and split into two groups as planned.
"Here looks good."
Upon reaching the spot, Shana began to keep watch, while the others started checking their weapons.
"Oh, looks like the enemy has arrived."
When Shana announced that the enemy had finally appeared, tension ran through the group.
"Hmm...?"
"What's wrong?"
"No, just a sec... Hey Sinon, Spiegel, take a look at the enemy for a moment."
Told this, Sinon and Spiegel used their monoculars just as Shana did, observing the enemy party walking leisurely toward them.
"They look relaxed. It really gives off the vibe that they've just finished mob hunting."
"I don't see anything particularly unusual..."
"On the surface, yeah. But then why are they all carrying live-ammo guns? Sure, they're a PK team, but considering they haven't fought players yet and are moving through an area with a high probability of encountering mobs, isn't that unnaturally strange?"
"Ah."
"I-It's true..."
Upon Shana's pointing it out, the two confirmed the fact with their own eyes.
Shana then addressed everyone.
"As you know, since most players have resistance equipment against optical guns, it's common sense to use optical guns for mob hunting and live ammo for PK. It looks like Dyne was completely set up.
This means there is a high probability that the enemy's mob-hunting team will attack us from behind.
Spiegel, contact Dyne immediately. Once connected, explain the situation right away, then lend me the communicator."
"U-Understood!"
Thus, today's battle, which was supposed to be easy, headed in an unexpected direction.
Next time, the battle finally begins! Look forward to "The Price of Foolishness"!
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