Chapter 54 The Valkyrie Residence. (Part One)

Sam barely made it in time for lunch. The moment he met with Shizuru and basked in te radiance of her smile he felt his Soul burn like an evil spirit getting exorcised.

The guild from having cheated on her pained him, however he somehow managed to see it in a positive light. It meant that he cared about her enough to feel that way and that Alice didn't push her out of his heart.

Still, he could already see how devastating it will be once they eventually part ways and that made him scared of telling her even more.

"You dont look any better." Shizuru said. "You didn't get much rest, did you?"

Sam did his best to act normally, but his exhaustion was brought up eventually and he had to provide a reasonable excuse. He couldn't tell his girlfriend that he was having the night of his life with his first love, obviously, so he decided to play it as insomnia keeping him up most of the night and bad posture ruining his sleep.

The only thing he could do about it is to try and rest well the next night.

Sam's lunch date passed without a problem. Or so he hoped, at least. It might be that Shizuru noticed that something was off about him but choose to not mention it, however being paranoid wouldn't do him any good so he decided to go on with his day instead of worrying about it so he tried his best to not think about it too much.

He headed for his lab after that and waited for the Valkyries to return.

After a while he began to have a bad feeling realizing that it was already past the time they would usually return in. Thankfully he didn't have to wait like the last time and the three weapons arrived around 17:00.

Apparently the reason they were late is that they ran into three D class Calamities which, while not that strong, were quite difficult to deal with. In the end they managed to finish them off then returned after making sure there are no more Calamities in the vicinity.

The Valkyries didn't have a scratch on them, however the appearance of Calamities was worrying. With this last encounter, the Valkyries had fought eight Calamities in a single month. That isn't much when compared to other Resistance bases, however for the forty sixth which sometimes goes for months without finding a single enemy it was something to worry about.

The three went into Eir and the examination started then ended soon after. Sam didn't conduct any experiments in the meantime allowing the process to proceed as it's supposed to. When it was done and the Valkyries came out he informed them of something important he had planed for the day.

"You're visiting our quarters?" Nine asked, tilting her head looking confused.

"That's new." Zero Three said. "No human ever visits out side of the base. Only the commander comes over every once in a while."

"My security clearance has been increased recently so I decided to see what it's like over there." Sam said, hiding the fact that he has been ordered to keep an eye on them. "Since I have a lot of free time I might even start visiting quite often."

? The three had their eyes wide open but each for different reasons. Zero Three was afraid of the headache his nagging would definitely cause to her, Zero Five was happy that she could spend more time with him and Nine realized that the chances to perform experiments will increase significantly.

Saying his first visit will be right afterwards he urged the three to quickly go and shower. In the meantime he edited the examination results and wrote his report before sending it.

"Doctor, we are done." Nine said having returned after washing up.

The three were wearing their black sailor uniform, with Nine's being the only one that's a bit different. Her skirt reached all the way to her ankles, most likely because a short one wouldn't suit a mature woman like her if she were a human. In fact the only one who looked normal in the uniform was Zero Three whose appearance resembles that of a school girl, the other two looked like they're doing some cosplay.

"Alright, let's go." Sam said, standing up from his seat.

The lab was the closest area to the Valkyries' quarters. It didn't seem like there are any other entrances so if one wanted to go there they would have to pass by the lab first.

At the end of the corridor there were two big metallic doors. It was Sam's first time seeing them despite spending a lot of time only a short distance away.

"This door leads to the living quarters." Zero Three said, pointing at the left door first then the right. "This one leads to the waiting room where we change into battle gear before going out. There are other doors that lead to it from the living quarters so this one is mostly used when we return for the examination."

"I see…"

Going through the door to the left the four walked through another long corridor. Zero Three was leading the way, positively beaming with excitement. Zero Five was right behind her with Sam at the very back and Nine walking beside him.

"Doctor, how about you stop by my room before you head back." The blond Valkyrie said. "There is something I would like to show you~?"

The tone of her voice made it clear what her intentions were. Hearing her the other two glanced behind them, although they didn't say anything.

"Maybe another time." Sam said. "I intend to keep today's visit short."

Sam was in no hurry to enjoy playing with the Valkyries. Last night had left him so satisfied he didn't feel the need to attempt any experiments today, not to mention that he didn't really have much time since he would have to go back for his dinner date with Shizuru.

The group reached another metallic door that opened automatically when they approached it. Beyond it was a wide room with a high ceiling. The lights were brighter, giving the area a different atmosphere from the dimly lit corridors they had passed just now.

"We are here!" Zero Three jumped ahead then turned to face them before adding. "Welcome to our home!"

Compared to the dorms the soldiers stayed in, the room they entered resembled the waiting area of a hotel with a number of sofas placed around coffee tables, chairs near the walls, decorative plants here and there. There were TVs installed here and there as well. Even the illumination was different, giving off a cozy vibe that made Sam forget that they were in a military base.

"This here is the living room." Said Zero Three, walking over to one of the sofa's before throwing herself on it. "We spend most of our time here while on standby."

"Is that so?"

"Well, we don't really have to be here all the time." The young Valkyrie added, averting her gaze to avoid meeting his.

"Fufufu. Three spends most of her time in the rooftop pool." Nine said with a giggle. "Well, I can't really reprimand her when I rarely ever stay here."

"What about you, Zero Five?" Sam asked.

"I try to stay here as often as possible, however with how infrequent the attacks are I feel it would be a waste of time to always do so."

"I see…"

This was another flaw when it came to the Valkyries being weapons. Since they were programmed to act like normal humans the idea of staying put in the same room was unbearable leading them to spend their time somewhere else. If they were normal weapons mindless that wouldn't have been a problem. In fact they wouldn't have had to bother building such a place for them. It was clear that the military was trying to make them as comfortable as possible, wasting a lot of resources just because a certain someone wanted to make his fictional lovers real.

"Those two doors lead to the waiting room I mentioned before." Three said after a cough, clearly trying to move on from the topic.

After that they went around checking what's behind each door one by one.

"This is the dining hall."

As the young Valkyrie had described it, it resembled the cafeteria the soldiers eat in, only with fewer tables. There were several vending machines lined up on one of the wall, most of which had drinks in them while two were where one could order food. Everything seemed consumable by humans so if Sam wanted to he could eat his meals there sometimes.

"This is the bathing area."

Next they went to the baths. It was somewhat different from what Sam had expected with everything being in one room instead of separated stalls. There is a section along the wall where one could wash themselves, however most of the room was occupied by a large pool like bath tub which, according to nine, is regularly filled with hot water during bathing hours.

"I think I should be the one doing the next part." Nine said, taking Sam's hand and pulling him toward another door.