Chapter 98 Mystery.

After his meeting with the commander Sam headed back to his room where he took a shower and changed onto a new set of clothes.

In the meantime Alice gathered the soldiers in the auditorium to make an official statement about the incident. She urged everyone to be careful and to move in groups of at least two to lower the chances of anyone else becoming a victim.

Afterwards Sam met with Shizuru for breakfast as usual.

"Things sure have gotten much worse…" the Asian girl commented, noticing the suspicion filled eyes staring in their direction.

"It's only natural." Sam commented.

He didn't let the crowd bother him at all and ate his food peacefully. That said, he couldn't help getting a little worried about where things are going right now.

"I'll be quite busy going forward." He said. "Will you be fine on your own?"

"I'm more worried about you." She said with a giggle. "I still have a few acquaintances I can stay with. You on the other hand…"

"I'll be spending most of my time in the lab anyways." Sam said. "That place is as secure as it could possibly get."

Of course he kept out the part of the Valkyries being there to guard him. He didn't want his girlfriend to have anything else to worry about for the time being.

"But honestly, I can't believe we are going through this again." Shizuru said, sounding a little upset.

"True." Sam replied before taking a sip from his coffee.

"This criminal knows exactly when to strike. First it was in the panic during the last big battle and now it's right after the announcement from two days ago. It seems he likes to use big events as a cover for his actions."

While Sam was busy dealing with Zero Three's problem Alice had announced that the base would be relocated in the upcoming month. Though the general reception was mixed the majority was relieved to hear that they're going to move to the headquarters which is much safer than anywhere else on the frontline.

"We still don't know if it's the same guy." Sam said.

"Of course it is." Shizuru replied. "I've read enough books to know where this is going."

Sam let out a short laugh which drew a pouty look from his girlfriend.

"And? May I ask what you think will happen next?"

p "Both Jordan and John were part of the same reconnaissance team, right? The murderer will most likely continue hunting their comrades in an attempt to hide his tracks."

"I see…"

What she said made some sense. With only two victims it should be much easier to connect the dots and learn the criminal's motives, which is why he needs more victims to throw off the investigation.

"Jordan and John might not even be the real targets." Shizuru said. "It could be that they're the ones being used as a cover."

"Maybe…"

Asking a mystery novels lover like Shizuru for her input might have been a bad idea as now things had gotten more complicated than they should. That said he couldn't deny that she has a point. Until they learn the true motive behind the murders all theories are still viable.

A couple of hours later Sam was summoned to the disciplinary office where the interrogation was taking place.

Alice along with a number of security guards were present and the one being interrogated had arrived just before him.

Sergeant Brandon Crawford was a close friend of Jordan and John. His shock at the death of his friend was visible and making him talk didn't prove to be a problem.

Soon after the interrogation started he admitted to assisting John in assaulting Sam that time. Turns out the handsome blond guy was the one who orchestrated the attack. Apparently he was angry at the Doctor for being so close to Zero Three, which is something they had already concluded.

What surprised them though was that Jordan was apparently the one who stopped him from killing Sam. It seems he was somewhat of a good guy despite being persistent to an annoying degree.

After that incident the three stared to drift apart. When Jordan was found dead the other two were sure that the perpetrator was Sam but they kept their mouths shut in fear of their own crime getting discovered. With John being dead only Brandon was left so he was desperately asking for the guards to protect him from Sam.

Sadly no matter how many times they asked he never seemed to recall anything else that might've been the reason his friends were targeted.

Feeling that there was no point in him being there Sam decided to leave everything to Alice and head back to his lab.

~◇~

"Welcome back, Doctor."

Sam was startled by Zero Five who was there to greet him the moment he arrived.

Unlike her expressionless demeanor from before she now has a warm smile on her face with slightly red cheeks. Seeing her like that made him desire her lips, but sadly the incident from earlier had put out the fire that was in him and he no longer felt like doing anything to her.

Five didn't seem to mind it at all, saying that all she wanted was to stay by his side. Well, at least that's what she thought at first.

"Good morning, Doctor~?"

As soon as he sat down with the intention of doing some work the door opened and a certain blond Valkyrie came in.

"O~h! Five is here as well!?"

Five's mood took a swing for the worse in contrast to Nine's cheerfulness. She clearly didn't want anyone to interrupt her alone time with the Doctor, but Nine didn't seem to care.

"Do you need anything, Nine?" Sam asked, having noticed the sparks flying between the two.

"Nothing. I just thought that I should go see Doctor." She said, placing a hand on her cheek as she let out a sorrowful sigh. "Waking up all alone. I felt really sad, you know."

The aura around Zero Five changed which made Sam believe that Nine was purposefully pulling her leg. She must've been awake the entire time meaning she probably heard the conversation they had in the hallway which is why she's acting like that.

As if to confirm his suspicions, Nine walked over, leaning toward him before whispering in his ear

"Yesterday was really fun~?. Doctor, when are we going to do it again?"

Five suddenly shot up from her seat drawing their attention to her. She quickly made her way to Sam's side and wrapped her arms around his left before pulling him away from Nine forcing him to get up from his seat.

The blond Valkyrie watched in wide eyed surprise as Five glared at her.

"You've already had Doctor for an entire day. It's my turn now!" Five said, burying his arm between her soft melons.

Though the way she said it was quite adorable, Sam couldn't help but feel like he's a toy the two girls were forced to share.

Nine seemed baffled at first, but then her smile soon returned and she quickly went and hugged Sam's other arm.

"Five, Doctor isn't a toy for you to keep him to yourself." Nine said in a teasing tone. "Besides, I'm his personal Valkyrie now. Isn't it obvious that I should be by his side most of the time?"

"If that's the case then it's the same for me!" Five shot back. "I've decided to be Doctor's Valkyrie as well! If that means I have to always be with him then I'd be happy to do so!"

"Oh~h…" looking up at Sam, Nine flashed him a dangerous smile. "So you weren't satisfied with just me? Doctor sure is a greedy man~?"

As she tightened her hold on his arm, Sam began to seriously feel scared for his life.

"But I guess that's only natural." Letting out a sigh, the blond Valkyrie leaned her head on Sam's shoulder and spoke in a much warmer tone. "Doctor deserves to get everything he wants. I believe that all Valkyries should offer themselves to him."

"All!!?" Five was shocked for a moment, but before she could say anything else Nine looked up with a start.

"By the way, Doctor. Since you've already obtained Five does that mean you plan on going after Three next? Or could it be that she's already yours?"

"Three, huh…" even if she didn't ask him that question, Sam was aware that he would have to do something about the young Valkyrie.

Sadly now that she has gained sentience making her fall for him will probably be much more difficult than it already is, and even if he's successful his relationship with her won't be that of a master and AI making it different from what he has with the other two.

"Were you talking about me?"

Not a moment after he said her name the young Valkyrie suddenly showed up. She stared at the three for a few seconds before she lowered her eyes looking a bit confused.

"Umm… no, I don't think I want to know."

Seeing her reaction, Sam let out a very long sigh.