"You say you hate men," Pitohui noted, "but what about Shana?"
"Shana-san is fine."
"I don't follow your logic."
"I don't really get it either," Clarence sighed, waving a hand as she walked away. "Maybe he's just so far above the rest of us that my normal dislikes don't apply."
Pitohui and Musketeer X watched her go.
"She was more interesting than she looked," Pitohui said.
"If your hunch is right, though, she isn't ready to be by Shana-sama's side yet," Musketeer X added.
"Who knows if she ever will be? But then again," Pitohui smirked, "she's a lot like the old me. There's a non-zero chance."
"True. The old Pitohui was truly awful."
"Don't remind me!"
"Ah. Another female player is approaching Shana-sama."
Pitohui whipped around, ready to strike, but she relaxed almost immediately.
"Oh, she's fine."
"You know her?"
"That's the lucky girl Shana lent the M82 to."
"Ah, her."
"She's not a threat. She's already caught his interest in a good way."
"Will she join us?"
"My gut says no. Shizuka said the girl can't bring herself to shoot people. She's a pure hunter."
"And if she learns how to shoot players?"
"If that happens," Pitohui said, her eyes narrowing slightly, "I'll consult my gut again."
"Um, Shana-san? Here… thank you very much for this."
Shirley held out the M82. Shana took it with a warm smile.
"Ah, Shirley-san. How was it?"
"I… I'm still shaking," she admitted, her face flushed with excitement. "I've never felt anything like that. It was incredible."
"Glad to hear it. You took down a lot of enemies for us. I should be the one thanking you for putting it to good use."
Unlike the tense encounter with Clarence, this conversation was peaceful and genuine.
"Um, if you have the time… I'd love to talk more about sniping. Maybe with Sinon-san too?"
"That sounds great. Hey, Sinon! Come over here for a second."
Sinon walked over, curious. "What's up? Oh, it's Shirley-san, right?"
"Yeah. Shirley wants to have a little sniper shop-talk. You in?"
"Absolutely," Sinon said without hesitation. "I have a few things I want to ask her, too."
To avoid being interrupted by the crowd, the three of them moved to Shana's private room. Once they were settled, Shana noticed the way Shirley was cradling her own rifle—it was a gesture of deep familiarity.
"Shirley-san, that rifle…"
"Oh! Sorry, is it in the way? I'll put it in my inventory."
"No, no, that's not it. I was just thinking it looks like something a real hunter would use. And hey, you can drop the formalities. We're just talking shop."
"Oh… okay. Well, this is the same type of rifle I use for my actual work."
"The Blaser R93, right? It's a beautiful piece of engineering."
Shirley's eyes widened. "You know it? Wow, I'm impressed! It's so easy to handle. Even though it's bolt-action, the straight-pull system makes the follow-up shots so fast…"
And just like that, the three of them fell into a passionate deep-dive into ballistics and bolt-actions.
While Shana was preoccupied, others found the perfect opportunity to move.
"Hey, Spiegel. Now's the time. Do it. Handle XeXeeD."
"Right," Spiegel muttered, his face twisting in disgust. "I hate even talking to him, but… I'm going."
Spiegel adjusted his expression and approached the top-ranked player.
"XeXeeD-san," he said, his voice dripping with feigned admiration. "You really were amazing out there today."
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