Chapter 57 Announcement.

When Sam returned to his room he was surprised to find out that Alice was still there. After getting some rest she was finally able to move a little so she took a bath and changed the sheets then decided to stay over for the second night, although she had one condition.

"No sex tonight!" She said, holding her arms up in a cross while glaring with a slight blush.

"Yeah, I understand." Sam said before pushing her down and kissing her.

No sex doesn't mean they can't do other things, and Sam was in the mood for some cuddling and making out. Alice was wearing one of his shirts over her underwear and nothing else which gave her a certain sexiness that's difficult to resist, however for Sam who was able to abstain from any sexual acts for months despite his strong libido something like that couldn't possibly make him lose control.

"By the way, Sam." While snuggling close to him, Alice suddenly asked a question. "Are you by any chance doing… stuff to the Valkyries?"

Sam's heart stopped for a good two seconds, his entire body going cold.

"W-what are you talking about, Alice?"

"Well…"

Reaching beneath one of the pillows she pulled a familiar small paperback. Seeing it Sam understood where her question was coming for.

"Really?" He asked, looking st her through half lid eyes.

"I should be the one saying that." Alice replied, giving him the same look. "I thought I warned you about what would happen if you touch any of them?"

It was the strange book he found in the library the other day, the one titled Valkyrie Smash. Even though the secret code can't be found easily he felt that he should've done a better job hiding it, however since Alice stopping by wasn't a part of his plans he and with how exhausted he was he failed to hide it beforehand.

"Alice, you think I'm that much of an idiot?" Sam asked. "And did you forget already? The HQ would definitely find out if anything happens to weapons. That's why we do that daily examination."

While he had overlooked the chance that someone might find the Valkyrie Smash book, Sam made sure to burn the notebook and papers he used while cracking the code. If the book was discovered the worst that could happen was his tastes being questioned, however he couldn't resist anyone finding out about the code.

Maybe I should've burned the book as well… Sam thought to himself.

"Well, you might not have done it before, but you're thinking about it, right?" Alice asked.

"I would be lying if I said I don't." Sam exhaled, preparing himself for the headaches. "Making us feel like it is the whole point behind their designs."

"I'm pretty sure you don't need me to remind you, but…" Alice sighed as well. "Just make sure you dont slip up. Even I can't help you if you make such a big mistake."

"Who do you think I am?" Sam replied.

Alice was right, even if it's in a different context from what she meant. In order to safely have his fun with the three Valkyries without getting into trouble Sam has to make sure to not slip up and always erase the evidence before sending out his report. The HQ didn't say anything so far so it was safe to say they have yet to find out, and as long as he continues to be careful there is nothing for him to worry about.

"But seriously, to think you would be into stuff like this." Opening the book, Alice began flipping through the pages. "I can't believe anyone would actually read this."

"I just happened upon it while looking through the library." As he spoke, Sam began to get nervous fearing that the white haired woman would notice the secret of the book. "It's as bad as it sounds."

"Then why did you pick it up?"

"Curiosity, and because it made me laugh." Sam replied.

The absurdity of the story was indeed amusing.

"I see… guess not every book has to be a literature masterpiece." Alice commented, looking back at the pages in front of her. "Come to think of it… I remember seeing something like this before."

"... what?"

"I think it was in my father's room. Guess you two have somethings in common."

Sam went still, staring at the white haired beauty in silence. What she thought was just a casual remark had a much bigger impact than she would've thought and sent Sam's mind into a frenzy.

Something similar? Other copies of the book? Or could they be different ones with other codes?

"To think Mr. Schneider would be interested in stuff like this." Sam said, doing his best to hide his surprise. "That said, I'm kinda curious."

"Hmm…" glancing up at him, Alice smiled mischievously. "And why would you feel that way?"

Having expected this reaction Sam moved in to kiss her before she could react.

"Well, the Valkyries might be out of reach, but.." Sam said, having pushed Alice down once more. "I still want to try the stuff they did in those books. Thankfully I have the most beautiful woman in the world here with me."

Alice was lost for words, her face beaming red as her heart thundered in her chest.

"How about it, Alice…" leaning in, Sam whispered in her ear causing her whole body to shudder. "Want to try it with me?"

Despite her previous complaints, they ended up having two rounds before giving it a rest. Sam made sure to not be as rough as the previous night, but that didn't guarantee the state Alice will be in once the morning arrives.

~◇~

The next morning Sam woke up by accident as Alice was preparing to leave. Her legs had yet to completely recover, however at the very least she was able to walk around normally, although with a bit of pain.

She intended to go before he notices, however he wasn't about to let her without getting a good morning kiss first.

Having had a good night's sleep for the first time in a few day Sam felt rather refreshed. As usual he showered, wore his clothes then met with Shizuru for breakfast.

Today was a little different from the usual though. When the clock hit 08:00 every soldier on the base received a message saying an important announcement will be made an hour later, asking everyone except those with critical positions to gather in the auditorium.

By now rumors about what happened to the second resistance base had already spread so most had a guess what it was all about. However very few knew about what Zero Three, Zero Five and Nine had achieved so Sam expected it to be a bigger surprise than the news about one of the Ragnarok Heralds being defeated.

The base had around 250 soldiers stationed there, which isn't a lot by any means, but when you consider that most of the fighting is done by the Valkyries it makes sense for the rest of the army to be so small. Most of them gathered in the auditorium to hear the announcement while others decided to watch the broadcast from their phones.

When 09:00 arrived the crowd went silent as a white haired beauty elegantly stepped onto the stage. She surveyed the crowd with her crimson eyes, her cool expression stealing the hearts of many both male and female.

Alice started by greeting the soldiers under her command along with some of the formalities usually placed at the beginning of a speech. She then went on to make the big announcement, telling everyone about humanity's victory over J?rmungandr.

As expected everyone met the news with celebratory cheers and applause, however a few seconds later the mood took a dive after the news of what happened to the second base was delivered.

No one expected a flawless victory, of course, however when people hear about seven Valkyries being destroyed and hundreds of soldiers losing their lives it's only natural that they would be horrified.

Thankfully Alice had made the decision to save the most important piece of news for last. She went on to tell everyone about Evil Eye, the Calamity that had appeared in the territory of the forty sixth base. She described its abilities and what it's capable of then went on to say that the Resistance headquarters had decided to classify it as a high end A class calamity.

Sam was surprised, having heard from the Valkyries that the monstrosity was definitely an S class. Apparently the reason it wasn't given that rank has to do with how easily it was defeated. It was disheartening to hear that the base wouldn't get the achievement of being the first to defeat an S class without a single loss, however it made sense when one thinks about it. The evil eye barely caused any damage so placing it in the same category as the Ragnarok Heralds would be too much.

That said, as the commander of the base Alice made sure that the efforts of the Valkyries were recognized, summoning them onto the stage and awarding each one with a medal.

Some might say that none of it was neccessary, after all the three weren't that different from unmanned drones, however no one dared to complain. After all Sam wasn't the first one to see the Valkyries as more than mere weapons.