Chapter 169 Reward.



"Wow! That was exciting!"

"Get off me already."

"Eeh!? You know I don't like it down there!"

"Not my problem."

As the light faded, Perseus descended from the portal platform. Contrasting the excitement of the tiny man on his shoulder, he looked deflated and lacking energy.

"Welcome back, lord Perseus, Lord Daedalus."

Greeting them was a large man covered in muscles. The resemblance he had with the large woman didn't end in the eyepatch he wore; they practically looked the same if not for his thick and bushy beard.

"Just in time!" The tiny man said before leaping onto the large man's shoulder.

"Um… lord Daedalus… my sister…"

"Ah! The enemy got her. Sorry for your loss."

The large man looked shocked for a moment but then hung his head saying nothing.

"I don't see Antia either." Came a voice from afar. "Aeneas and Minos aren't here as well."

"Lady Atropos!"

The three men went down to their knees, even Daedalus who was adamant on not touching the floor.

Walking toward them was a young woman of medium height, with long flowing onyx hair and dark red eyes. Perseus noticed that she wasn't wearing her usual battle attire and instead had her kimono on. Seeing the traditional garment informed him that she wasn't there to be their backup.

"Perseus." The moment she spoke, a strange pressure came down on the three. "Explain yourself."

"Lady Atropos. The gate on the other side opened so I decided the most logical choice would be to go and investigate."

"Didn't I tell you to inform me when it opens?"

"Indeed, milady. However there was no need to bother you with something so trivial. Scouting missions should be left to us, your lowly servants."

"Trivial, you say." Her eyes lowered into a sharp glare. "You lost three of your best soldiers, and a Cyclops as well. How can you say it's trivial?"

"My apologies. We were ambushed by an army waiting on the other side." Perseus said, keeping his head down. "We underestimated their combat abilities which resulted in our loss."

Silence filled the portal hall as Atropos continued to glare at the kneeling men. The pressure from her gaze vanished after a while as a tired sigh escaped her. A punishment will still await them later, however for the time being she decided to not let it bother her.

"Tell me, what did you see on the other side?"

Seeing that she started walking away, Perseus got up and followed after her listing the things he noticed about the other world.

"They're the same non-biological life form as the one we found here, though we still don't know which world they originated from. Their leader appears to be a male, something that's been missing from here."

"And?"

"I would say they're more capable fighters, though only a select few seem to have specialized halos. They mainly use the 23rd and 45th dimensions. A wise choice, I would say."

"They aren't trying to draw attention to themselves, huh?"

"Apparently." Pausing for a moment, Perseus decided to bring up something that has been bothering him ever since he stepped into the other world. "Milady, please know that I'm not 100% sure of this, but it wouldn't be right to not report it."

"Speak." Atropos ordered, glancing behind her with curious eyes.

"Other than their leader, no one stood out among the female soldier. Well, only one that is." Perseus said. "The appearance and voice match, but she didn't recognize Antia or me. It might just be a coincidence but… the spear she created and the way she wields it, it's an exact match."

"... Don't tell me…"

"I don't want to get your hopes up, milady, but it might be worthwhile checking for yourself."

Coming to a stop, Atropos covered her mouth with the hem of her garment as she went into deep thought. A couple of minutes later she seemed to reach a conclusion, turning to her subordinate with new orders.

"We have already searched this place, there is nothing left for us to do here."

"I see. Should we prepare the troops?"

"Yes. But we won't go to them this time. They were clearly waiting for someone from this side." Her lips curved into a small smile. "Something tells me they'll come over by themselves."

~◇~

Nino stepped out of Eir's glass container, the wound she sustained in the previous battle completely healed. Letting out a sigh she walked over to the shower room nearby to clean herself.

Everyone expected the conference day to be exhausting, but not to this extent.

First are the unknown individuals who invaded from the gate, then there is Nine who lost herself in anger and ended up blowing half of the base. Thankfully there were no casualties on their side, however if humans were still around most of them would've fallen victim to the radiation disaster.

The Doctor was furious by the end of it all. Most of the damage they sustained was caused by one of their own, and with the enemy invading from the Bifrost they had to assume the Nephilim were in trouble as well. Sadly it'll be a while before they can investigate. Building a new portal will take a few days, in the meantime they need to be on high alert in case of another invasion.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked.

"Would it bother you to check before asking?" Nino replied.

She was just coming out of the shower and had nothing but a towel wrapped around her. Just in case she had checked there was no one beside him in the lab and decided to fool around a little before going back and getting some rest.

"Sit." Still not looking, Sam tapped the desk with the pen he held before pointing at a nearby chair.

Angered by his complete disinterest, Nino thought of another way to catch his attention. She decided that if he doesn't want to turn in her direction then she should get in his line of sight.

Walking over with hushed steps, she climbed onto the desk and sat at the exact spot he tapped. She was expecting some kind of reaction as she crossed her legs, however when Sam finally took his eyes off the screen and looked at her his expression didn't change at all.

"There is a chair." He said.

"Is that all you have to say?" She asked. "Don't you feel anything seeing me like this?"

Unlike Nine and the others Nino didn't have any special feelings for the Doctor. That said, the thought of him fawning over her filled her chest with excitement.

Her mistake was not making sure to hide the smugness in her smile. Seeing it Sam was able to read her true intentions and so he decided to counterattack, getting up from his seat and taking his lab coat off.

"Eh?"

Seeing him unbutton his shirt confused her even further, and when he removed his glasses as he slowly came closer a weird sense of discomfort took over her.

"W-w-wait!" Closing her eyes to avoid his, the Japanese doll pushed him away with both hands. "W-what are you doing!!?"

"That's… my question…" Sam said.

He was on the other side of the room for some reason, sprawled on a broken desk and smashed equipment. The

young Valkyrie didn't hold back at all when pushing him. One look at her flushed face told him everything about how she felt.

"I-I thought you only do those things to your personal Valkyries!" Nino said, her embarrassment clear in her voice.

"Indeed." Standing up, Sam fixed his clothes before walking back to his seat. "I can make you one as well. Open positions are always available."

"I… I can't believe you!" She yelled, holding the bath towel closely as she backed away from him. "You already have four! You have four Valkyries to yourself and you want more!?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Yes there is!" She pointed an accusatory finger at him and spoke with a glare. "I know that humans are supposed to have only one partner! The books said being with multiple women at the same time is unfaithful!"

"Hmmm…" Sam stared at her for a while causing Nino to take an unconscious step backwards. He slowly approached her once more, this time careful not to get blown away. "You say all of that, but weren't you trying to seduce me just now?"

"... What?"

"You should be careful about what signs you give a man. Well, not that it matters. You're a Valkyrie after all."

Thanks to their absurd strength Sam didn't have to worry about the Valkyries getting assaulted. Still, he didn't want them going around flirting with random men without even knowing they were doing it.

"Hah! That just shows how weak you are, Doctor." Nino shrugged, not wanting to give up. Her back was against the wall and her escape route was cut as Sam pinned her with his arm. "Y-you let your lowly desires control your actions. That's not something a real man should allow to happen!"

Nino only had a vague understanding of sex and relationships. She has yet to experience any of those desires herself so she was just repeating what she read in a book. That said, being pinned against the wall like that filled her chest with a mix of different feelings. She was afraid for some reason, but at the same time she was excited to be in that position.

"Well, it's very difficult to control myself when presented with a cute girl like you." Sam replied with a smile.

"C-cute!!?"

"Yes. Beautiful, I would say." Seeing how flustered she was getting, Sam decided to deal the final blow. "You did very well in the last battle. I think you deserve a reward. " He leaned in to whisper in her eat. "How about we go to my room? I can teach you a few things…"

He was expecting to get blown away once more, however Nino's shaking hands didn't have much strength as she pushed him away. She was completely red, so much that steam was coming out of her ears. She was getting moist down there as well, but in the end fear won over all the other emotions and she decided to admit her defeat.

"I… I think it's a bit early for me…" she said, her voice quivering.

"I see…" Heaving another sigh, Sam backed away and patted her on the head. "Put on some clothes. We still have a few things to discuss."

With her shoulders hanging, Nino walked back to the shower room. She felt ashamed of herself, only now realizing how embarrassing her actions were. The Doctor was a man who could have women all over him whenever he wants. A young-looking Valkyrie like her had no chance of taming him with her body and looks.

Another defeated sigh escaped her as she reached for the door. Just then she seemed to realize something and turned to face the Doctor once more.

"A reward?" She asked.

Sam was confused for a second before catching on to what she meant.

"Yes. I decided to give out rewards based on your performance yesterday."

The MVP was Nana, of course. Not only did she evacuate Elina right away, she also took down one of the enemies on her own. Three, B3 and Five did a great job defending him. CS and Nino kept the dark-skinned woman busy until he found a way to beat her, then there is Ichigo whose ability led to their Victory. All of them were getting rewards for their contributions.

On the other hand, Nine would be punished for her reckless actions, and though she technically participated in the battle, Miku would receive the same punishment for failing to inform them of Nine's rampage right away despite being the closest to her position.

"Can I decide what it is?" Nino asked.

"As long as it's within my ability." As he said those words, Sam felt a bit of nervousness leaving the decision to her.

He was sure she wouldn't ask for anything absurd, seeing how embarrassed she was a moment ago, however there was no way to tell what she might have in mind.

"Then I will save it for another time." She said, looking down at her toes. "That's okay, right?"

"Sure."

Sam felt a bit relieved, even though he knew the trouble was only pushed onto the future. Still, he wasn't surprised by her decision. The other Valkyries asked for some time to think as well. Having trouble deciding was natural considering they had no free will until recently. This would be a good way for them to learn about the world and their place in it, something that's necessary for when the war eventually ends.