Chapter 58 Celebration.

"HERE IS TO THE THREE GODDESSES PROTECTING OUR BASE! CHEERS!"

the whole base exploded with cheers and applause as everyone raised their cups in the air.

Following the announcement everyone went about their day as usual, however when night came everyone gathered in the open space at the small park inside the base.

The preparations had already been carried out by the twenty sixth base's Valkyrie fanclub, and with the commander giving her permission everyone came together to celebrate humanity's victory over one of the Ragnarok Heralds as well as the achievements of their own Valkyries.

As they watched from the seats of honor with cups in their hands, Three, Five and Nine were stunned by the liveliness of the scene surrounding them. Several grills were scattered around, smoke rising from them as the soldiers prepared their barbecue. Barrels of beer were lined up as well as several brands of soda cans and other soft drinks. Long tables stretched on the side filled with different kinds of food and snacks.

Some of the soldiers sat on the side with instruments in their hands showing their talents as they played one song after the other. Others danced along the songs their comrades sang.

"What are you doing?" Sam said, looking at the three Valkyries with a stern expression. "If you don't get moving the meat will run out."

It was a big banquet but the food wasn't limitless. If one let their guard down it was only natural that others would get away with the good stuff.

Sam was quick on the uptake, knowing that he wouldn't get a chance to eat if he waited too much. In one hand he held a plate with several skewers on it while munching from one he carried with the other.

"Um… Doctor, I don't think…" Nine began, but Sam only sighed and turned around.

"When things calm down a little they will turn to you with questions. Better fill your stomachs while you still can."

Remembering what happened in the cafeteria the other day, Zero Three was the first to get up. She nervously looked around until she spotted a familiar face among the crowd.

"Shizuru!" She called as she ran over to the Asian girl.

"Three! It's good to see you again!" Shizuru seemed a but startled seeing the young Valkyrie approaching her.

She was eating with some of her colleagues today so she didn't expect to get a chance to talk to her.

"Oh my God! It's really her!" A female soldier squeaked.

"The real one!" Another exclaimed.

"Hello!" Doing her best to hide her nervousness, the young Valkyrie greeted the three female soldiers. "Is it okay if I have some?"

"Of course!" The third one exclaimed. "Please help yourself."

"Thank you!"

With a cheerful smile Zero Three picked one of the skewers, stared at it for a few seconds then bit into the meat.

"Hot hot hot!!!" She cried, trying not to drop the bite as she fanned at her mouth.

"Amazing!" The first soldier was in awe, both her eyes and mouth wide open. "So the Valkyries really do eat the same food as us!"

"Of course." Shizuru answered with a smile as she handed Zero Three a cup of juice. "According to Sam it seems they lead a normal life outside of fighting."

"Eeeh!? I never expected that!"

"This meat… it tastes different…" Zero Three noted, looking down at the skewer in her hand.

"That's because it's natural." Shizuru said.

"Hm? What do you mean? Does unnatural meat exist?"

As the young Valkyrie had her conversation with Shizuru and her colleagues, another Valkyrie was being surrounded.

"Please have some of this, ma'am." A male soldier said, lowering a bottle and filling a glass with a crimson liquid.

"Hm… this one has a nice aroma." Nine spoke with a smile, bringing the glass closer to her face.

"Yes. It is a 1972 Rivesaltes. Not as fancy for someone of your standing, but I hope it is to your liking."

The blond Valkyrie closed her eyes and took a sip.

Whether it's a coincidence or not, everyone gathered at Nine's table were male soldiers. Some brought carefully decorated plates while others returned with bottles of wine in their hands.

From afar the scene looked like a beautiful rich lady being served by several butlers. It's obvious why they were all attracted to her, however that didn't matter much as all they're able to do is watch.

"Hmm… this is my first time tasting something like this." Nine said, looking at the contents of her glass. "I might need to try other types before I can say what's good for sure."

"Ma'am, is this your first time drinking alcohol?" Asked one of the soldiers.

,m "Indeed." Nine replied with warm smile, her cheeks a little rosy.

"Then that's another cause for celebration! Everyone, bring out your most prized possession!"

Soon enough Nine's side turned into a wine tasting party with the soldiers bringing some of the stuff they kept for themselves after scavenging the ruins around the base.

Obviously no amount of alcohol will ever have an effect on the Valkyries so those who were hoping to get her drunk so they could have a chance at doing something -not that they could- were stunned to see her down one glass after the other without as much as a change of expression.

In another corner Five was fighting to keep herself from breaking down after being left on her own. She was surrounded by unfamiliar faces and though they looked really friendly the ponytailed Valkyrie couldn't help but feel nervous.

"But, man that proton canon was so cool!" A male soldier said.

"To think something like that is real." Said another soldier, a female this time. "I thought it was just a scene from a movie."

Unlike Nine who only attracted those lusting after her feminine parts, those who approached Zero Five were much more interested in the Valkyries as weapons. They were discussing the records of the battle against the Evil eye which were released after the morning's announcement. Even though it's been less than a day they had dissected every piece of the footage, studying all the details and providing their thoughts on them. Since she was the MVP of the event it was only natural that she would be the center of the conversation.

"It must've been really hot near tha canon, isn't that right, Ms. Zero Five?" One of them asked.

"Hm? Yes, it was." Five answered, her voice sounding a little stiff.

"The asphalt beneath it melted in a matter of seconds." Another one said. "Normal humans can't hope to use something like that on their owns."

"Oh! I've been dreaming of the chance to ask this question!" Another one turned to Five with sparkling eyes. "I know that Valkyries have a protective force field, but how does it work? And where does it come from? Ah! If it's too much then you don't have to answer. There are some things normal people aren't allowed to know after all."

Five blinked repeatedly then looked down at her drink thinking a little before deciding to answer.

"I don't know the details but… it seems that we have a main component that is responsible for creating the force field." Holding her hand up, a faint blue light began enveloping it as she went on with the explanation. "We can control the output according to the situation. In a way it is possible to use it as a weapon as well, since it is capable of disintegrating anything that comes in contact with it."

"... awesome…" the soldiers whispered, all of them leaning in to get a closer look at the glowing hand.

"Could it be…" one of them spoke. "Is this the reason why we were warned to not make physical contact?"

"Hm?" The Valkyrie looked confused for a moment, but then she answered quickly. "Y-yes! Indeed. The force field is always active after all."

While it wasn't a lie, what Five left out was that while it's always active, most of the time it's set at its weakest and couldn't possibly do any damage to anyone.

"But, seriously, Odin is really incredible." A male soldier said. "To think he created something so powerful and somehow managed to make it small enough to fit inside a human."

"I know, right!?" Another added, a mellow smile on her face. "Did you see the device generating the base's barrier? That thing is huge! And it's not even half as strong as that of the Valkyries."

As she listened the the soldiers chatting, Zero Five glanced behind her and caught a glimpse of the doctor who smiled at her when their eyes met.

Returning the smile, she turned around and did her best to take part in the conversation.

Seeing that Sam felt relieved. He kept his distance from the crowd and carefully observed the three and how they interacted with the other soldiers. At first he felt incredibly nervous, however as time went on he allowed himself to relax a little. Of course he had to rely on the help of some strong whiskeyfro achieve that state.

"Not a fan of parties?"

Turning around Sam saw a familiar red head approaching him. It was the president of their base's Valkyrie fanclub, Melissa.