Toward the Eclair Battle

"All right, time for a strategy meeting!"

At my home, I called out to the companions who'd gathered.

"It feels like you're naturally including me in 'companions'…"

Snug against Ursula, Shaina murmured.

"Eh, am I wrong?"

"… Well, you're not wrong."

Shaina laughed at that.

"The matters we have right ahead of us are as follows."

(1) Magic-ash sweep of the Caleris territory

(2) Shaina's Zeiros match

(3) Shaina's Fergus match

(4) Naoto's Julian match

(5) Naoto's Eclair match

"We have to think about all five of those. Aside from these, daily Magical-Beast subjugation and the S-Class duties haven't vanished either, so we have to mind that."

"Sure, sure. (2) and (3) I'll handle, so you can rely on me!"

So she said, puffing out her chest.

"Of course I'm relying on you. Thank you so much for offering to help.

"… But, we can't lean entirely on Shaina."

"Hm? Well, the Fergus match might honestly be a little… dangerous, but…

"For Zeiros, no problem at all. I've already beaten him…

"Even if he's gotten a bit stronger since, I can't believe he's caught up to me.

"Beat Zeiros, then wear Fergus down as much as we can.

"And for Fergus too, given his upcoming match against you, Naoto, he'd need to put out his second party against me.

"In which case, I won't lose."

That seemed to be Shaina's read.

"Right, normally, things go like Shaina thinks.

"But I'm a bit more wary.

"If Zeiros just fights Shaina normally as he is now, he knows he can't win, right?

"… This is a great chance: win, and he gets Shaina. A match he absolutely cannot afford to lose.

"If he goes in fighting with no holds barred, determined not to lose…

"… If I were Zeiros, I'd hire a strong mercenary.

"In this world, there are the Four Heavenly Kings of mercenaries: C-Class Masters stronger than any sloppy S-Class Master."

"Eh, eh…? That's a bit… how do I say?

"Sure, I get that there are mercenaries stronger than lower-tier S-Class Masters. Like Commander-tier C-Class NPCs are S-Class or above sometimes.

"But as S-Class Masters, we have pride and dignity, you know. Borrowing hands beyond your own Garumon… usually that's a shame.

"Especially Zeiros… pride's about all he's got going for him…

"I don't think he'd take a no-holds-barred move like that.

"If he could go that far, frankly, he'd be a bit stronger already, no?"

Shaina didn't seem that wary.

… Was I overthinking it?

"Nay, who knoweth. His attachment to me and Shaina is considerable… But as we belonged to no one, he could endure it.

"Now, however, I have become Naoto's possession.

"If so, his desire to claim Shaina for himself, to defeat Naoto and claim me… that impulse must burn within him maddeningly.

"Small men, when push comes to shove, lose all restraint. I think Naoto's concern is well placed."

Ursula agreed with my view.

"Mm… if Ursula-sama says so… let me consider it from that angle."

Shaina got on board with the "Zeiros uses a mercenary" theory.

… It stung a bit that Ursula carried more credibility, but the feeling was understandable.

Me saying it versus Ursula saying it, well…

"If we're up against top-class mercenaries… I might not be sure I can win either.

"… Uggh… if I lose, I have to be made to do it with that guy… I can't… I'd lose all desire…"

Shaina drooped.

… Right, the one being done to can just endure, but the one doing it has to get it up.

… Eh, with an order, can you really pull that off? Isn't that pretty rough?

"Also, the Fergus match… If Fergus thinks he can claim Shaina, won't he bring out his first-string members? Can you win? Two years ago you lost."

"U… t-that's, well… I-I don't plan to lose…"

She didn't seem confident.

Shaina was incredibly strong. But still, with just three, it was forcing it.

"… W-well, even if I lose and become his property — it's a 1-day tournament, so… just a short while until Naoto wins me back, right? … At most maybe 2 or 3 rounds. Fine, fine."

So Shaina said easily, but…

"That's not okay with me! I don't want anyone to touch Shaina, Carla, or Shita!"

I asserted strongly.

"… Anyone, you say… Carla and I just do it normally all the time, you know…"

"Sex with love is fine. Sex with someone you don't love, I absolutely won't allow it.

"So you don't have to be in that position, I want to protect you."

I looked Shaina straight in the eyes.

"… Protect, you say… how?"

A little flushed, Shaina asked.

Good, she was listening.

"In that case, what if we entrusted the first round to a mercenary as well?"

"Eh, eh…?"

Shaina couldn't hide her confusion at my suggestion.

"Among my companions there are skilled mercenaries. Griera, Melvis."

I called the two over.

"Griera isn't a Four Heavenly King of mercenaries, but I can guarantee her skill is in no way inferior to them.

"Melvis is one of those Four Heavenly Kings. I can guarantee she's tremendously strong."

"Eh, um… I feel like I've heard both names…"

"Shaina, both of them are famous mercenaries. Griera is the 'One Targeted by the Demon God.'"

Shita whispered in Shaina's ear.

"Eh, that…?"

"Melvis is the 'King of the Dead.'"

"Eh, the King of the Dead — isn't she supposed to be a skull figure? She's super cute!"

Shaina had apparently heard of them at the level of "I've heard the name," and was surprised.

"… Eh, so, Naoto, you have two such famous mercenaries as companions…?"

"Yeah."

"Hoheh… amazing…"

Shaina seemed impressed.

"… Incidentally, regarding Naoto's earlier prediction… I can guarantee it's correct.

"Just a moment ago, a job request arrived from Zeiros's secretary.

"I declined politely."

So Melvis told us.

"Eh, is it okay to leak that? Mercenaries have a duty of confidentiality, don't they?"

"I've retired from mercenary work, so I have no duty of confidentiality.

"In any case, if he'd applied through the proper formal channels, my retirement would have been clear.

"Trying to apply through some odd back channel is why he overlooks even publicly available information.

"This blunder is squarely Zeiros's own responsibility. There's no problem leaking it."

So that was how it worked. Melvis was strict.

"In any case, the possibility of Zeiros relying on the Four Heavenly Kings of mercenaries is essentially certain now."

"I-I see… so he'll go that far…

"I was too soft. Thanks, Naoto."

Shaina was impressed with me, it seemed.

"Pleased to be working with you, Shaina-san… Naoto's knight, Griera.

"… The reason I'm not counted among the Four Heavenly Kings is that I lost to Melvis here.

"There were of course skill differences between Melvis and me, but there was also a matchup gap.

"Our Demon attribute is weak against Melvis's Spirit attribute.

"… I know the other Four Heavenly Kings.

"I'm grateful to be called on, but… on that point, my matchup might be a bit iffy."

So Griera explained.

"Oh, is that so? If it's Griera, you're strong, so I figured outside of a Magical-Beast-territory fight, you'd be fine."

"… I'm happy you trust me, though."

She really did seem pleased.

"… Right. The Four Heavenly Kings of mercenaries are:

"'Death God' Melvis

"'Silver-Winged Fallen Angel' Jakes

"'Beast Demon' Gaian

"'The Wanderer' Servi

"Those four. Since I retired… what's gonna happen for the last spot, I wonder. With Griera around the choice would be easy, but with Griera retired too… the Mercenary Association's got a hard road."

So Melvis said as if it weren't her concern.

Oh, the first revelation of the Four Heavenly Kings' names.

… What was up with the second one's chuunibyou-fantasy whiff.

No, in this world, "silver-winged fallen angel" might actually be the real thing.

Angels existed, so fallen angels probably did too.

Wings could be silver rather than white.

To an actual silver-winged fallen angel, saying "lol cringe-tier chuuni-byou" was out of the question.

If someone said that to me, I'd

"Listen, you bastard, are you mocking my Archangel of Holy Flame?" and snap.

Don't say to others what you don't want said to you.

I'd be careful.

"Jakes is a male Master. For some reason he always walks around with silver-made fake wings on his back, a real eccentric.

"He receives transmissions from heaven, and sometimes takes on bizarre jobs out of nowhere, so there's a chance he'll show up."

… Just a sad guy!

… But because of that, you couldn't really tease him either. A bit scary.

"Gaian is also a male Master. He'll take any job as long as you pay. A perfectly proper mercenary.

"Correspondingly, he's expensive…

"But however expensive, an S-Class Master can probably pay any asking price.

"He's the most likely to come out."

"I see… 'Beast Demon' as his epithet would refer to the Garumon he leads, I guess. If so… going Spirit-attribute, strong against Demon, might be the play."

In which case it'd be Melvis.

"And for Jakes — if he calls himself an angel, then God-attribute? Again, Spirit-attribute Melvis is well-suited?"

"Yes, exactly. Either way, I'd likely fight advantageously.

"I don't think Griera's skill is inferior to Gaian's or Jakes's, but with near-equal opponents, the matchup gap against Jakes would be a worry."

… I see.

"And the last one?"

"… In the unlikely event Servi took on a job like this… we might just have to give up.

"They say Four Heavenly Kings, but the title exists because Servi wanders here and there and almost never gets caught.

"Servi isn't here, but there are Masters equivalent to Servi; the title functions as that kind of posture.

"Servi is currently the world's strongest mercenary.

"Because she rarely appears in public, it's even been said her true identity is Silvana; that's how overwhelmingly strong she is.

"I know her true identity, and it's not Silvana, but a different Master.

"I don't think she's as strong as the legendary Silvana, of course, but her skill is… probably S-Class upper tier. She's without a doubt above myself and the other three."

"Hou… Since they're saying 'is it Silvana,' she's a futanari Master?"

"Yes, exactly. In appearance she's a considerable beauty."

"… Hou."

That was interesting. The world's strongest mercenary. And a beauty…

"That's the part you latch on to, huh…

"If Servi comes, then of course me, Shaina, and Fergus can't match her.

"The semifinal opponent would be Zeiros.

"But Servi too should have a party of 8 or fewer, so over consecutive battles she'd have used up a lot of skill counts.

"For Naoto, you might well have a chance."

Hoho… It'd be a tough fight. But it'd be fun.

"… So then, the first round should be left to Melvis-san?

"Eh… i-is that okay…? I do have a bit of pride as an S-Class Master too, you know…"

"I think it's fine. They use a mercenary, we use a mercenary. Even, right?"

Shaina pondered, but…

"Mmm… all right. Fine.

"… Honestly, I don't even want to lay eyes on Zeiros.

"Melvis-san, please!"

Shaina decided.

"… Melvis-san is super beautiful and cute, so I bet that guy'll absolutely come on to you, but you don't have to entertain him at all, okay."

I advised.

"Yes, understood."

Melvis smiled wryly.

"… I see, Zeiros has a… taste for futanari, hm.

"If that's the case, then Servi, being an attractive futanari Master, would avoid getting close to him, wouldn't she.

"The likelihood it's Gaian or Jakes coming out is higher.

"… In that case, I won't lose. Rest easy and watch."

Melvis showed her confidence.

So (2) was decided as Melvis.

"As for (3)… if we lend Shaina three of my companions, even if Shaina can't take down all six, she'd be covered and could win comfortably. What do you think?"

"Th-that… might be true, but…"

"… Reluctant? Don't want it unless you have a fated encounter?"

"That's…"

Shaina thought it over.

"In that case, let me introduce you to my pride-and-joy attractive knights and Sub-Masters. First, Haru."

"Mm, Haru Midoriya. Pleased to meet you, Shaina-san."

"… Oouu."

Shaina's eyes went wide.

… As if she'd fallen in love.

"… Cute! Lovely!"

"Ahaha… thanks."

"… Came on strong, I might've."

… Easy pickings.

"Um… then Haru should be okay. Next, Yuria."

"Fufu, pleased to meet you, Shaina."

"… Ooh…"

Again. Wide-eyed, dumbstruck reaction.

"… Beautiful! Lovely!"

"… Fufu, thank you."

"… Came on strong…"

"Oi oi. Total OK, isn't it… Aren't you being a bit easy…?"

"Oi oi what! You've got this many ultra-super-cute futanari girls locked down besides Ursula-sama!?

"Cheating! In four years, four whole years of searching, I couldn't find even one! Naoto's gotten this many in just one year…!? Cheater, cheaterrr!"

… I got snapped at hard.

"S-sorry…"

W-why was I apologizing… But faced with such wonderful companions, the feeling of "I'm so lucky, I'm sorry" was something I felt I should apologize for to someone.

"Hah, hah…

"W-well, anyway… y-yeah, your prized companions, Naoto… w-well, no wonder you brag about them…

"Not a single one is lacking, an absolutely supreme, top-grade harem!

"Eeeh…? T-this much of a harem, even No. 1 Satoru probably doesn't have.

"He doesn't have a Sub-Master, so he should only have 8.

"A-amazing… what I sized you up for wasn't wrong… or rather, beyond expectations…"

Shaina was utterly dumbstruck.

"Ah, did you not know much about my members, Shaina?"

"Well, I watched something like the A-Class Tournament finals. You were overwhelming Dalido and I thought 'oh, there's a spirited rookie this year!' That's how I started paying attention.

"But the only match I properly watched was your fight with Ursula-sama.

"So I knew Kanan and Adelia and Luna, Colette, Suzanne, and Patty.

"Then there was 'oh, a cute girl' for Lyuka. Miria and Vivia too…

"Now that you mention it, every single one is super-mega-cute, isn't she.

"Eeeh… can you really be such a cute-girl-collector? How?"

"How? Shaina, you came over yourself.

"Why did you come? Think about that yourself."

"Mmm… right. Why I came… ummm…"

Shaina puzzled over it.

"… B-but, even if I make a fated encounter with a cute girl, she's already your companion, isn't she…?

"It's not like I can steal her, so… that's not really 'fate,' is it…?"

"You can become best friends with me and borrow her, you know.

"You wouldn't call that 'fated'?"

A bit of a stretch maybe.

"… Is that fate, I wonder…?"

Shaina wasn't entirely sold.

"But, Shaina-san. I was originally Naoto-kun's best friend in the original world.

"In this world, I became his longed-for lover… and now I've become Naoto-kun's knight too.

"You, Shaina-san, are Naoto-kun's best friend, right?

"Both of us best friends of Naoto-kun… isn't this a fated encounter?"

Haru sweet-talked Shaina that way.

… Oh, this was the first time I'd seen Haru sweet-talk a girl.

"O-ouu…"

Shaina was blushing too. Effect was sky-high.

"Naoto's best friend, and lover… and meeting me… mmm. Fate… I might be able to say."

It seemed something had clicked.

"All right, this works.

"This encounter… is fate! It just shot through me!"

Shaina seemed convinced.

"Then, um… I'll borrow Haru, Setsuna, and Patty, those three.

"For the Fergus match, I'll fight until I drop, no matter what. But if by chance I can't win and fall… after that, please!"

"Mm, I'll do my best. Let's definitely win."

"… Hauu… cute… Haru…"

Shaina was head-over-heels for Haru.

"… Carla, you okay? You three have always been together, and even though it's a loan, you're alright with bringing in other members?"

I asked Carla.

"It's not that we didn't bring them in because we disliked it. We just couldn't meet attractive Garumon Shaina was satisfied with.

"… If Shaina's satisfied, I have no complaints. If Shaina's happy, I'm happy."

So Carla smiled.

"You really love Shaina, huh."

"Of course."

Carla answered immediately, smiling.

"I love anyone who makes Shaina smile… That's why I love Naoto too."

She said as much.

"… Carla. Yeah, thanks. I love a smiling Shaina too.

"I want to work alongside you so we don't ever cloud that smile."

"… Mm."

Gyu, I shook hands with Carla.

"Ah, what're you doing?"

Shita came over too.

"Nothing, we were just saying we both love Shaina."

"Ah, I love Shaina toooo."

"Then, let's shake on it."

Gyu, the three of us shook hands.

"… Hey, what're you doing?"

Shaina, baffled at us linking hands for some reason, asked.

"Secret from Shaina."

"Secret～"

"Eeeeh? Wh-whyyy?"

Ahaha…

Not just with Shaina, but with both her party members too… we'd be able to get very close, it seemed.

So, Shaina's side was prepared. Round 1 to Melvis. Round 2 was Haru, Setsuna, Patty supporting after Shaina fell.

"… The likelihood is low, but… in the unlikely event Servi comes, I think Shaina herself should fight, not me. My abilities are pretty well known to Servi, so Shaina would give her more trouble.

"You can reshuffle members at the last moment."

So Melvis said.

"All right, then there's the Eclair match, the Julian match, and the ash sweep."

These didn't involve Shaina, so we'd plan from among our own. Excluding the Melvis party and Haru and the others.

"I want to decide the Eclair-match and Julian-match members first."

The Eclair match should be decided first. Their lineup was clearly known.

That much was known from prior info.

A finals between fellow Reido Academy transitionees. I'd also considered a romantic, academy-members-only lineup.

Because Kanan, Maika, Setsuna, Sawako, Yumi, Haru, six members in all, could form a team from our Reido group.

But I gave up on it. Our Reido Academy members were heavy on defenders and supporters, clearly short on firepower.

With Attackers Hizaki-san, Himuro-san, and Eclair leaning to their side…

In the future, if Eclair's group joined us, the Reido Academy team would balance offense and defense well.

"That said, I want to field Yumi for the Eclair match. And at least Kanan, I don't want to leave out either…"

There was history with the slave battle, and these two I didn't want to leave out, romance or no.

"Yeah, Yumi and Kanan are no problem strength-wise either.

"For the Eclair match, Yumi was a given anyway. The attribute advantage is overwhelming."

"… Yes! I'll see you through to victory."

Yumi showed her confidence.

"But Eclair seems to have some Nullify-Nullify-like skill, I think.

"I don't know specifically what Aldis's so-called countermeasure was…

"If it's Thunder counter via Earth-attribute grant, then even with everyone wearing Yumi's Spirit Garb, Eclair won't stop."

"… Right. What Eclair-sama's skill is, I don't know."

Yumi had no idea either.

"In that case, just don't let her attack. How about a super-speed instant-kill leveraging Earth's Resonance?"

"Instant-kill!? You can aim for that against Eclair-sama!?"

"Specifically, partner Yumi with Yuria and Suzanne, everyone in Yumi's Spirit Garb.

"Yumi uses Earth's Resonance and Earth's Rage twice 300% 300% 300%

"Suzanne uses Divine Aura 10 times 300% 300% 600%

"Yuria uses Black Matrix on Suzanne 300% 300% 625%

"Dark Aura 600% 600% 1250%

"Yuria uses Concentrate on Suzanne 100% 100% 2250%

"Suzanne uses Michaela once 100% 100% 4500%

"Suzanne's Testament 46x (Archangel of Holy Flame)

"I think this is the strongest attack possible in one turn."

"…! … Strongest, but if there's defense or complete defense…"

"No, just from a glance, neither Presea nor Sario looked like complete-defenders.

"If it's just 1/10 or 1/20 damage, this blitz won't be answered, maybe."

… Provided we didn't mind if our year-long fated showdown with Eclair ended in a flat one-turn-kill.

"E-eh, um… is this okay…?"

Yumi seemed to be agonizing.

"Even if Eclair has some defense we can't punch through, with Yumi and Yuria, we could keep defending the 45x-Atk/Def-buffed Suzanne and outlast in a long game.

"Use Michaela again and we're at 90x. She'd be more than enough to fight Eclair and win."

"… Y-yeah, doable.

"I'm in! Snapping Eclair-sama's haughty nose with a one-turn-kill… I'd find that the most satisfying!"

So the second party for the Eclair match was decided.

The first party was…

"I want to use the Cellas, Miria, Vivia high-speed Awakening blitz party somewhere… but the Julian match might be better.

"Surprise attacks back-to-back, 1st and 2nd, feels like overkill.

"… No, even saying that, maybe not in the Julian match either.

"A sudden surprise attack might be foreseen by Eclair, who'd brace herself.

"For the Julian match and the Eclair-match 1st, fairly orthodox setups would be best."

"… Nay, isn't using Miria and Vivia for the Eclair match doable?

"Have Kanan defend until those two Awaken, then attack in one go after Awakening.

"Miria's strong against Nami Himuro, Vivia's strong against Kanna Hizaki. Matchups work too.

"For the same combination, Miria/Vivia outclass in level and matchup."

Ursula's opinion.

"… That works. Let's go with that."

"Fufu, nice! We'll smash the Fire-Ice combo with our Fire-Water combo… Easy win!"

Miria showed her confidence.

"… So, for the Julian match…"

"One moment, please. As for the ash sweep, the only Master who can go is Ursula-san, isn't she?"

"… Ah."

Yuria, Haru, Melvis… all assigned.

Griera couldn't enter Magical-Beast territory.

"… Very well. I shall go for the ash sweep."

"Eeeh…!?

"My Demon Lord, my strongest Demon Lord, on something like ash sweeping…!?"

"Even so saying, someone must go.

"Don't underestimate ash sweep. Great Magical Beasts may attack.

"I should go with my best members.

"Ah, but for teleport purposes I'll need to swap out Mikoto or Mira and put Lyuka in."

"… Right, there's the chance of fighting a Great Magical Beast… can't take it lightly, huh."

"If it goes well, it may turn into a Great Magical Beast quickly and be over before the Eclair match.

"If so, including me, we could reorganize again."

… Thinking about that, I couldn't shake the feeling it was a flag for a Great Magical Beast attacking simultaneously with the tournament.

If that happened, I'd be absent.

… If I were absent and we had to fight a Great Magical Beast, the only one I could leave it to was Ursula.

"Yeah. Thinking of it that way, sending Ursula is best."

So Ursula, Mikoto, Lyuka, Cellas, Saria, Libera went to the ash sweep.

"All right, last is the Julian match. For orthodox, dependably strong members…"

When considering Defenders, there were Colette, Sawako, Mira, Irana, and only Kishilia's Bumir-chan.

"Well, Colette I guess. Then… Luna, Maika."

A pretty standard set of reliable members for me.

"But they're a stable lineup, so I want to put them in 2nd. In which case… for 1st I want explosive members.

"Let me ask Griera."

Griera, Irana, Klara.

"Is that all right? You don't have to force a turn for me, you know.

"It's because I can't enter Magical-Beast territory that I keep being a burden…"

Griera was a bit down.

"No, Griera's just the right pick.

"Julian's a coarse, wild guy… well-behaved honor students like Colette, Luna, and Maika might be intimidated to come out from the start.

"Griera won't lose. After snapping his nose, when it's time to finish, Colette and the others can come in without flinching."

"… I see. Well, if it's about throwing the first punch, yeah, I'm the right one.

"… Got it, leave it to me."

And so the members were decided.

(1) Magic-ash sweep of the Caleris territory

1st Cellas, Lyuka, Mikoto 2nd Ursula, Saria, Libera

(2) Shaina's Zeiros match

1st Yufi, Tytis, Necro-kun 2nd Melvis, Ia, Necron

(3) Shaina's Fergus match

1st Shaina, Carla, Shita 2nd Haru, Setsuna, Patty

(4) Naoto's Julian match

1st Griera, Irana, Klara 2nd Colette, Luna, Maika

(5) Naoto's Eclair match

1st Miria, Vivia, Kanan 2nd Yumi, Suzanne, Yuria

"Let's go with this.

"For the remaining members, I'll ask them to rotate through daily Magical-Beast subjugation.

"We'll need to back Shaina up too, so there's no timing when everyone can be idle.

"… Let's give it our all."

"Yes!"

… And so we began preparations for the decisive battles.

"Then, we shall depart. Travel will take about 3 days. Once we arrive on-site, I'll send word should anything come up, so stay by Yuria's side so we can teleport at once."

"Got it. Take care, Ursula."

Ursula departed.

… This week, let's drill ourselves to the limit. Not a moment to waste.