Valkyrie Smash
Chapter 41 - 41: Idol.

As expected, seeing the young Valkyrie walking around the base drew a lot of eyes. Sam tried to not let it bother him, but it was only a matter of time before the crowd got on his nerves.

Zero Three didn't seem to mind the stares, or, to be more precise, she was too distracted to notice any of the onlookers. Shizuru handled most of the talking, which spared Sam some of the hostility directed at them by the other soldiers.

The three stood in line to get their food, something Zero Three found quite exciting for some reason. When she saw that the cafeteria operated in a buffet system where each person served themselves, she became quite nervous, overwhelmed by the number of choices even though the menu for breakfasts was quite short.

"If things are different here then how are things done in your quarters?" Shizuru asked the moment they took their seats.

Zero Three sat near the wall with Shizuru beside her while Sam took the seat facing them. They had decided on this arrangement beforehand to avoid any misunderstandings.

"Well, we have a dining hall with many tables, but not as many as this." Zero Three said. "Our food is always brought to us by a drone so we don't get to choose."

"Is that so…" Shizuru replied, glancing over at Sam.

"Is the food any different?" He asked before biting into his toast.

"Hm… doesn't seem so." The young Valkyrie looked down at her tray. It had a croissant, some toast and jam, a small fruit salad, and a cup of hot milk. Though she had a lot of options to choose from, she decided to go with what she was familiar with.

"That's unexpected." Sam looked at her with a start. "I always thought they give you special treatment over there."

On any base that belongs to the resistance, Valkyries are something akin to a VIP. It never crossed his mind that they might be eating the same food as the average soldier.

"Well, it's not like we need to eat." Zero Three said, spreading some jam on her toast and biting into it.

"Now that you said it…" Shizuru's eyes slowly widened. "If you can live without food then why do you eat?"

"Cause it's tasty." The Valkyrie replied while chewing.

"Swallow before you speak," Sam said with a sigh.

Obviously, since they're basically robots, the Valkyries didn't have any need for food. The energy they require is generated through their Hearts, the mysterious component responsible for creating the Force Field. Even with the blueprints in his hands, Sam was having a difficult time understanding how it worked.

It was a miracle device capable of providing enough energy to power the humanoid weapons indefinitely, all while requiring no fuel.

The widely believed theory was that Oden created a miniature nuclear reactor specifically for his most powerful creation, but from what little he was able to understand, Sam no longer subscribed to that line of thought.

That said, their ability to ingest food wasn't added just for a cosmetic purpose. The Valkyries are also meant to be artificial wombs. The nutrients contained within the food are converted into different solutions, one is used to nurture the child before it's born, while the other is stored in the Valkyrie's chest so she would be able to breastfeed afterward.

If there is no child to take care of, everything gets disintegrated and disposed of the same way humans dispose of waste. Sam was stunned by the revelation that Valkyries use the toilet as well, and it surely wasn't something he wanted to think about while eating.

"Hmm… but this does taste somewhat different…" Zero Three said, looking down at the toast in her hand.

"Is it worse?" Sam asked.

"What? No! That's not what I meant!"

For some reason, the young Valkyrie began blushing. She quickly chomped on the toast finishing it before reaching for her cup, but with the milk still steaming hot, it ended up burning her tongue a little. It was an amusing scene to watch putting a smile on both Sam and Shizuru's faces.

"W-what I meant to say is!" Coughing a little in an attempt to hide her embarrassment, the young Valkyrie told them what she thought. "There are a lot of people here. The atmosphere feels... it feels more joyous. I guess I enjoy food a lot more if I'm eating with someone."

'Is she trying to say the more the merrier?' Sam thought.

"Nine would be really jealous when she hears about this." Zero Three said, causing Sam to choke on his drink.

"Come to think of it…" he said, quickly wiping the coffee he had spilled with a paper napkin. "Do the three of you usually eat together?"

"Yes." Zero Three said, a hint of sadness in her smile. "Last night's dinner was a bit gloomy though. Five wasn't much of a talker but... without her around it was tough to say anything."

"I see…"

"Excuse me!"

The conversation was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a new party. Sam turned around to check, seeing a female soldier standing close to their table and looking his way. She held a white cardboard close to her chest and what looked like a marker in her right hand. Sam searched his memories but couldn't recall who she was, meaning they never interacted before.

He glanced at Shizuru and saw her confusion, informing him that the two weren't acquainted. Shifting back to the stranger he plastered a polite fake smile and asked.

"May I help you with something?"

The female soldier appeared somewhat surprised by Sam's response, taking a step back despite herself. A moment later she seemed to gather the courage to speak.

"I w-wanted to ask if I can get an autograph!"

By that point, Sam had already guessed her intentions. He was expecting something like this when he invited Zero Three, but now that it was happening he was suddenly struck with a sense of unease.

That said, he couldn't just shoo the woman away so he turned to the young Valkyrie. With all eyes on her, Zero Three blinked repeatedly then pointed at herself and asked.

"Me?"

"Y-yes! If possible…" the female soldier said, a huge smile spreading on her lips as if she just had a delightful experience.

Zero Three glanced at Sam, her brows furrowed in a clear show of nervousness. He considered what to do for a moment, but after thinking about it, he decided to leave the choice to the young Valkyrie.

"I guess it's fine…"

When Zero Three voiced her approval, she was stunned to see the female soldier positively beaming with sparkles in her eyes. After getting the cardboard from her, she asked for the soldier's name then wrote a dedication and signed it.

"Thank you very much!"

Happiness overflowed from the female soldier as she hugged the cardboard. The other soldiers, having watched the interaction from start to finish, went into a frenzy before storming out of the cafeteria, leaving only the three behind. Sam had an idea of what was about to happen but he didn't move from his place even though he wanted to do exactly that.

Just when they were about done with their food, the soldiers stormed into the cafeteria once more. They all gathered around the table where Sam and the others, each having brought something they wanted to sign. While some held notebooks and papers, others had shirts and hoodies with them, most of which were merchandise depicting the young Valkyrie.

Sam tried to calm them down reminding them that physical contact is absolutely prohibited. They all glared at him, hatred oozing from their eyes, but when he said that there is time for everyone they all calmed down and organized in a single file.

And just like that Zero Three spent the next two hours giving autographs while Sam and Shizuru kept watch.

The event was the cause of many problems as some of the soldiers abandoned their posts to attend. Still, whatever punishment they were bound to get, no one would regret their actions.

Shizuru had to leave as well so Sam and Zero Three headed back for the lab.

"That was… wild…" the Valkyrie said, her shoulders slumped over as she heaved a tired sigh. "I never expected to go through this..."

"Do you understand why you're told to not wander into the rest of the base?"

"Yeah… I think..." Looking up at him, Zero Three asked a question that had been on her mind for a while. "I thought humans only saw us as tools and weapons, that's why I never expected to be treated like that."

"Well, you could say you're something like an idol here," Sam said.

"Is that why they have all those things with my face on them?" Three tilted her head slightly as she asked.

"Yes. Though I don't know where they got them."

Sam was as surprised when he saw the merch. He had no idea where they got those things, but that might be another result of his introverted personality and lack of interactions with his fellow soldiers.

"Humans sure are strange... To think they would treat a weapon as an idol."

A slight smile touched her lips and a faint rosy color tainted her cheeks. It was clear just from looking that she enjoyed the whole experience, even though she complained about it a little.

"Well, if we weren't at war it wouldn't have been strange for you to be an idol," Sam said. "You're this cute, after all."

Odin had created the Valkyries to be as attractive as they could be. If the Calamities never appeared, he would probably have had an easier time getting the funds he needed just by selling the idea of the Valkyries to entertainment companies. Idols, pop stars, actresses, models; he would've been a billionaire just by capitalizing on their appearance alone.

"Hmph! I-I already know that much!"

Hearing Zero Three's flustered voice, Sam glanced beside him only to find her blushing to the tips of her ears. Wondering what caused her to react like that, he remembered what he said a moment ago. He didn't give it much thought at the time but apparently just calling her cute earned him quite a few points.

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