Chapter 43 Fanclub.

Right around dinner time Sam was feeling rather exhausted. He was looking forward to going back to his room and getting some rest, but first he had to meet with Shizuru so they could have dinner.

Same as with lunch, the cafeteria was crowded more than usual. A lot of people started gathering there after hearing about what happened at breakfast. Sam hated how people he never talked to before were approaching him and asking questions. The worst of it was those asking when will be the next time he brings the Valkyries with him?

Sam had to keep a good grip on his nerves as he risked snapping every time someone came to him with a variation of that. He told them that it's not something he plans on doing often, and that it all depends on if the Valkyries feel like it.

While what happened improved his image among the soldiers a little, the opposite was showing as well. Some claimed that he was trying to keep the Valkyries all for himself, which looked like a childish tantrum thrown by those jealous of his position. Little did they know that what they accused him of was actually happening.

At any rate, with the hatred directed at him being magnified as time passes someone decided to step in and help him with the situation.

"This is sergeant Melissa Ranford." Shizuru spoke with a smile, introducing a female soldier who sat on the opposite side of the table facing Sam.

She was a slender and tall woman in the later half of her twenties with long natural red hair. Her face wasn't much to speak of when compared to Shizuru or the Valkyries, however Sam could say she was attractive enough. Her sharp green eyes glared daggers at him as she crossed her arms and leaned on the back of her chair. It appeared like she was there to pick a fight with him.

"And? May I ask what she wants?" Sam said, keeping his cool as he sipped his coffee.

"Sergeant Ranford is the president of the forty sixth base's Valkyrie fanclub." Shizuru said. "She was hoping to discuss a few things with you."

"Valkyrie fanclub?" Sam raised an eyebrow. "It's actually real?"

"Of course it is." Melissa spoke, her glare growing sharper. "There is one in each military base. Ours isn't an exception."

"This is the first time I hear about this." Sam replied, unfazed by the way she looked at him. "Well, I expected it to exist in one form or another."

The Valkyries were all beautiful females, it's to be expected that they would amass some kind of following among the public. Sam knew from the get go that a lot of soldiers were their fans, what he didn't expect was that they would be organized enough to form a club.

You're supposed to be humanity's last hope! The soldiers fighting to end the reign of Calamities! Thinking that to himself, Sam let out a sigh.

"So? How may qI help you?" Sam asked. "You don't plan on asking me to set up a way for you to meet the weapons, right?"

"You sure are perceptive." Melissa said. "But sadly, that's not what I am here. If we wanted to organize such events we would've gone to the commander. Well, we tried and got rejected."

"Then why are you bothering with me?"

For a moment Sam thought it was strange that their request was denied. There is nothing harmful about letting the soldiers meet their idols, and the Valkyries are on standby most of the time so it wasn't like it would interfere with their job.

Don't tell me they submitted the request while Alice was going through a breakup… Sam thought. She might've redirected some of her anger onto them.

"I'm sure you have heard about it already." Melissa said. "The news about J?rmungandr being defeated."

"Did they make the announcement already?" Sam asked, glancing over at Shizuru. Seeing that his girlfriend's eyes were wide in shock, he understood that most people have yet to hear the news.

"I have my own sources." Melissa said with a shrug. "Anyways, like pretty much every place with living humans our base plans to hold a big celebration. we were wondering if you could invite the gode-... I mean the Valkyries. It wouldn't make much sense to keep them out of this."

Having predicted that it would come to this, Sam leaned on the back of his chair, took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Shouldn't you be taking this to the commander?" He spoke, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"Oh! But this isn't that kind of event." The red head replied. "We are just celebrating humanity's first big victory. Our Valkyries aren't the center of this event, we will still hold it even if they don't show up."

Looking at the red head for a couple of seconds, Sam stopped to think things through. He had no reason to go along with her request, however he also had no excuse to refuse her. Actually rejecting her would most likely lead to him becoming the arch nemesis of their club, if he isn't already.

Even if he doesn't care what others thought of him, Sam realized that he could use this opportunity to lessen the headache they're causing him. It wouldn't hurt to get in their good side and all he has to do is invite the Valkyries who would definitely be overjoyed by the idea, though that in itself might cause the most trouble.

Having made his decision he looked up at Melissa and spoke.

"First of all, you need a new source. If you don't even know what happens on this base then your club is meaningless."

"... what?" Melissa lowered her gaze, sensing that he knew something even she has yet to find out.

"When do you plan on making your little celebration?" Sam asked.

"A couple of days after the announcement."

"Alright then." Sam said, sipping from his cup and noticing that the coffee was getting cold.

His eyes wondered around the cafeteria. It was almost empty with everyone having left after seeing that none of the weapons were there. With no one around to eavesdrop on them, he spoke in low voice that only the two women sitting at his table could hear.

"I'm sure this club of yours has at least one person who tracks the weapon's movements, right?"

"Yes…" Melissa replied, having no clue where this was going.

"Then you must know that one of them was damaged yesterday." Sam leaned forward, picking his cup and pretending to sip from it.

By now the red haired woman had already guessed that the Doctor was about to reveal some information even her sources have yet to obtain.

"I heard that they had an encounter with a strong Calamity yesterday, and that they returned later than usual." Melissa said. "I also heard that only two were seen leaving the base today."

"Yes. The three had discovered a calamity hiding in the city they found the day before. The battle resulted in Zero Five receiving some really bad injuries that took almost an entire day to repair."

"... I see…" Melissa was fighting the urge to get up and slam her hands on the table. That alone was some really big news. Most of the soldiers wouldn't know about what the Valkyries go through until an official announcement is made, and those usually don't include if the weapons were damaged or not.

"The Calamity they fought. According to the data they collected there is a big chance that it might be registered as an S class."

The red head shot up from her seat and slammed her hands on the table.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!!?" She shouted in his face, but he kept staring at her with an unchanging expression. A hint of embarrassment showed on the woman's face as she sat back down but it disappeared the moment she turned to ask Sam for details.

"Are you saying we defeated an S class?"

"Well, from what I've heard they managed to catch it by surprise and finish it off before it could use all of its powers."

If the giant eye had used the resources that went into recreating the city then the likelyhood of it coming out on top was quite high. Thankfully it underestimated the three Valkyries and ended up getting destroyed by the proton canon.

Only five S class Calamities have been registered so far. It was still unclear whether the giant eye will be given the S rank, seeing that it was destroyed before causing any major losses, however the reality is that it had the potential to be on the same level as the Ragnarok Heralds.

Even if it isn't given the S class title, it would still go down history as one of the strongest and most terrifying Calamities.

"I see…" Melissa muttered, her eyes wide with shock. A minute later she looked up at Sam with a knowing smile "I think I get what you're trying to say."

If they're going to celebrate something then it should be their own victory. The forty sixth base had just defeated a powerful Calamity on their own. That was as good of a reason for celebration as the defeat of one of the Ragnarok Heralds.