You really did it with bang.

Rin-chan pulled me closer to her, hugged me, and it made me laugh because I felt happy inside.

Ehehe.

Oh wellll I knew this would happen, though.

Its almost past noon. It will be time for us to join the second round of preliminary matches in less than an hour.

By the way, there was no particular blame placed on me for destroying [Bari Bari Health-kun No. 12].

The reason was simple: Rin-chan, who had anticipated this whole situation, had insurance in advance.

But to be honest, I do not know what Rin-chan actually did. It is possible that she did something with the help of the Takajou group influence, or perhaps she was able to turn the situation around with her own personal connections, or that she actually did nothing.

[Worry not, I had it under control] was what Rin-chan said. Okay, then, I will believe it.

And it seems that the repair of [Bari Bari Health-kun No. 12] will begin immediately, and it will be ready to be opened to the general audience by the time the next match starts.

It was originally designed to be very easy to repair. Im glad, really glad.

Nana.

n? Whats wrong, Suu-chan?

umm Id like you to bend this.

Oh, okay.

Suu-chan handed me a 500 yen coin.

I wasnt sure what her intention was, but I did as I was told and folded the coin in half with my fingertips.

Is this good enough?

Wow Just like in manga

e, okay?

I tilted at Suu-chan, who observed the folded 500-yen coin while shaking, and Touka-chan told me the reason with a wry smile.

I think Suupaa-chan wanted to make sure that the event we just saw was not a setup. Even for me, who knows Nana-sama to a certain extent, it was very surreal.

Oh so you believe me now?

Ye-yes! Id like to see you crush an apple next time!

Haha, Ill do it as much as you want if thats what you want.

I have a feeling that anyone could crush an apple, but Suus innocent gaze was too dazzling to refuse.

Besides, I understand that to crush an apple was like proof of power, so I cant help but acknowledge her wish.

When I see this side of Suu-chan, I realize that she is still a 14-year-old girl. Her body is much bigger than mine, though.

Now that I mention it, isnt the average height of the HEROES VR section is too tall?

Well, Nanas dedicated forum is on fire right now, but lets go through that later. We dont have much time before our match.

Um? Is that the kind of thing we can leave alone?

Ill let my staff handle it. Lets focus on our schedule.

We nodded to Rin-chan, who told us to cut off this merry atmosphere. There was not much time for us to relax and have dinner before the match, not to mention that it would soon start.

Our time is that tight, and that does not include the mess I caused.

As for the second round, well, if Suupaa takes it seriously, we should be able to win without any problems. Ive seen all the information on the teams well be competing against, and there were only a couple of amateurs who looked notably strong.

Hmmm.

BATTLER is basically a festival tournament, only on a much larger scale. There are a lot of people who participate just to make memories. Thats why the early rounds are not so crowded with strong players. Thats also why the notable teams are intentionally separated from the rest of the group.

Well, thats such an adult-like way of thinking.

If we consider it from the standpoint of the official management side, it is only natural that they want to increase the number of customers who buy tickets and come to the tournament and watch the live broadcasts.

The more attention they get, the more money they make.

It sounds dirty, but it is what it is.

Then, human resources that can attract a lot of attention need to be treated with utmost care.

It would be a shame to have a high-profile team like [Pro Gamer Rinne and Her Friends] or a full-fledged professional gaming team for [Zero Wars VR] crush each other in the early rounds. It would kill the tension for the later rounds.

Fans who come to watch this kind of tournament want to see their favorites and top players battle it out on the [best stage], and it would be disappointing if they were crushed in the early rounds.

For this reason, the teams with a certain amount of profile are spread out so that their games do not overlap.

This is an unspoken agreement in the preliminary rounds of all tournaments, and we, HEROES, are treated as one of the favored teams.

But sometimes, we also get to enjoy the appearance of the dark horses, which is one of the most enjoyable parts of a gaming tournament.

Well, thats all that Rin-chans said anyway.

The challenge will come after tomorrows main tournament when the strong pro- and amateur players start to gather. One is because we are inexperienced in Zero Wars VR, so we have to fight around Suupaa.

And there comes the second problem, any team with a little bit of judgement will know that, and they will target Suupaa for sure. Even the prodigy Suupaa will have a hard time when shes under concentrated fire, right?

yeah, even for me, it will be tough when there are 10 or more people pinned me on closed space with little or no natural shield.

Suu-chan scratched her cheeks and nodded.

I was surprised at Suu-chans casual remark that it was not impossible to defeat up to 10 people, or more than 10 if there was a lot of shielding.

Precisely. Anyway, can you take on that many people by yourself?

Ten people, maybe.

As you can see, Suupaa is dependable, but its tough to beat them all by yourself. Thats where you come in, Nana.

Me?

Surprised, Suu-chan quickly turned her gaze to me while I was still confused and tilted my head.

Why did she get surprised, though? From the flow of the conversation is going right now, arent we all trying to reduce Suu-chans burden?

Do you know that I had given Nana a slightly different mission during yesterdays practice, along with team alignment?

Oh, you mean the task to study the whole map for every detail?

Yes, that one.

Indeed, I had received such instructions from Rin-chan before, or more precisely, the instruction is in full effect ever since I watched many videos on the monitor.

In short, it was the instruction to learn about every inch of the field.

Cant anyone figure out the whole area of a field map by looking at a map?

If only to grasp the terrain, yeah. But I asked Nana to memorize not only the terrain but also the internal structure of the buildings, the materials used in their construction, and the detailed construction of the terrain.

wha? And what is it for?

Suu-chan curiously pressed on. She did not understand the purpose of my mission from Rin-chans explanation.

[The Witch of the Magic Bullet] Suupaa-chan must have heard of it, right?

[The Witch of the Magic Bullet]! Theres no way I didnt know that! Im a series fan legend!

What is magic bullet?

Or, to be exact [The Witch of the Magic Bullet]. Thats a pretty cool second name.

Does it mean [magic-like bullet], or maybe it means something else?

Hmmmbut since she is a witch, it seems to mean [bullets of out magic]?

But still, a legend, huh? Rin-chan, I dont know there was a time when you were working with such a great person.

She has a cool name, isnt she? What kind of legend did she leave behind?

She is such a monster player that they called her [the Origin Hero of Zero Wars]! She is famous for her accuracy with all types of weapons, the deviation from the target, her accuracy in spotting, and most of all, the famous ricochet headshot, or [Magic Bullet]. Even shields are rendered meaningless, an extreme technique that even cheats cannot reproduce. It stated in the video that she was Rinnes friend, but since she did not appear at all outside of that series, she has become a legend!

Suu-chan excitedly talks about the [The Witch of Magic Bullet] in response to Touka-chans question. Perhaps she is a fan of the witch.

I also was surprised at Suu-chans excitement, and a moment later, Touka-chan nodded her head as if she understood everything.

I see. Rin-nee-chan that was her, isnt she?

Yep, shes Nana.

Ha?

He?

Rin-chan nodded with satisfaction, Touka-chan boasted, and Suu-chan froze like a stone, and I didnt understand anything.

There was a bit of chaos in the air between the four of us.