Adjustment

I never really understood what it meant to like someone.

In my past life, I'd deliberately avoided people to suppress my tendencies.

A solitary existence with no romantic partners — not even friends of the same sex.

A pitiful creature who had never once experienced romance.

And now, two subjective months into being Leila.

I still had no particular interest in or enthusiasm for love.

Naturally, the same applied to the Commander.

He was simply a toy for satisfying my peculiar appetites.

No matter how fond you are of a toy, you don't fall in love with it.

*Though, if the opportunity to become lovers ever came along, I wouldn't dream of letting it pass.*

Of course, if the Commander were to fall for me and confess.

Or if he tried to use his authority to press me into something.

I had no particular intention of refusing.

After all, it wouldn't be me becoming his lover — it would be the Leila I was performing.

Dying right before his eyes while in that state would make it all the more agonizing for him.

I was perfectly willing to extend my hand for that delightful little theater.

And yet — I never imagined it would come to this so soon.

I smiled awkwardly at the commotion unfolding before me.

"Huh—?! Sh-sh-shameless! Commander, you're being absolutely shameless!"

"This is… criminal…."

"No, wait — it's a misunderstanding. It's not like that at all…!"

Yubina and Anje, both flushed and damp with sweat.

The two of them were cornering the Commander from either side.

Whatever had become of his usual stoicism, I couldn't say.

He was flustered and stumbling over himself, insisting it was all a misunderstanding.

Then Yubina spun around and came charging at me.

She wrapped both arms tightly around mine and let out a low growl in the Commander's direction.

"I'll protect Leila sis!"

"Ahaha…."

"Leila, I genuinely didn't mean it that way."

"Commander… pervert…?"

"Ugh…."

How on earth had things come to this?

To understand that, I'd have to rewind time a little.

Yes — it had all started roughly an hour ago.

*

Day three of the 4th loop.

My proper life as Adjutant, begun with the cameras already in place.

I'd spent the day much the same as the one before.

Handling my duties as Adjutant as they came.

And quietly tormenting the Commander in ways that left no visible trace.

He seemed to be growing accustomed to it — the dramatic reactions had faded — but the gloom that settled over his face was quite worth collecting.

When the work was done and the sky had bled red, I headed straight for the training facility during my free time.

In game terms, the level-zero training ground.

A ramshackle building that looked like a row of shipping containers bolted together.

But Yubina and Anje were waiting for me inside.

"Leila!"

"Yubina, Anje. Hello."

"Hey."

"Hello!"

Yubina seemed especially full of energy today.

And Anje was clinging to her like a cicada, as always.

Those two really do get along well, whenever I see them.

I laughed my best Leila laugh — *ufufu* — and offered Yubina a small apology.

"Sorry for calling you out so suddenly without any warning."

"Don't worry about it. We had free time anyway."

She swept her roll buns back over her shoulder.

The carefully curled strands sprang up like coils.

Those roll buns really do have remarkable elasticity, every time I see them.

I watched them with mild fascination as I set down the bag I'd brought.

"What did you bring?"

"Training drinks and towels."

The bag contained exactly that — training drinks and towels.

We'd both be soaked in sweat and grime before long.

I'd brought the fluffiest ones I could find, ready to use at a moment's notice.

Anje drifted over to my side, rummaged through the bag, pulled out a bottle without asking, and started gulping it down.

Remarkably free-spirited. Just like a cat.

I ran my hand lightly over Anje's head.

Yubina watched with what looked like envy, then cleared her throat with a pointed *ahem* and spoke with a face full of enthusiasm.

"I can't believe I get to spar with Leila! It's a complete honor!"

"I wouldn't go that far. Headquarters is packed with people stronger than me."

"Even so — you're the coolest person I know, Leila!"

The reason I'd arranged this time with Yubina was simple.

I needed to confirm how much combat strength I currently had.

Part of my unique ability was now being channeled into the Memory Corridor.

Which meant my total power had likely dropped by that much.

If I was being optimistic… ten percent?

But numbers alone couldn't give me a feel for how much weaker I'd become.

So I'd decided to verify it through actual combat with a suitable opponent.

*Well, even in my current state, I can beat Yubina easily enough.*

A ten-percent reduction in total capacity was still a serious loss.

It meant firing four lightning bolts where I used to fire five.

Nine minutes of sustained output where I used to have ten.

I'd probably dropped from the very top of B-rank to somewhere in the upper range.

Of course, I still had Trance — which functioned like a doping effect.

Accounting for that, I could likely compensate for the drop.

But maintaining Trance also consumed power.

In the end, I wouldn't know the results until I actually fought.

"Should I… go all out?"

"Yes. Give me everything you've got."

We faced each other at roughly ten paces apart.

Both of us wore Combat Suits — the kind that amplified a Valkyrie's power.

Yubina held her signature weapon, a parasol. I held a wooden training sword.

My actual weapon, the Nail Gun, could punch through the skin of an A-rank Tanker.

There was no way I could use it against Yubina.

So I'd improvised with a wooden sword. I wasn't particularly confident in it.

"What are the rules?"

"Nothing life-threatening. Unique abilities are fair game. Loser grants the winner one wish. How does that sound?"

"That's… a very appealing reward."

Yubina's eyes lit up at the mention of granting a wish to the winner.

I had no idea what she planned to ask of me if she won.

Her blazing motivation drew an involuntary snort out of me.

"My attacks hurt quite a bit when they land, so… please do dodge them."

"I will."

"Anje. If you would."

"Mm."

The signal to begin would be given by Anje, our spectator.

We stood facing each other, weapons in hand, the moment balanced on a knife's edge.

As Yubina sank into the fight, the emotion gradually drained from her face.

She'd been practically vibrating with excitement just moments before.

Now she wore the cold expression of a soldier on the battlefield.

Then Anje made a limp, deflating sound — barely a signal at all.

But we both knew it was the cue.

Yubina and I launched forward at almost the same instant.

*First — let's try Trance.*

Trance: a skill that mimicked the effect of injecting stimulants through electrical stimulation.

Its effects were extraordinary — enough to pull results far beyond one's actual ability.

No pain, no fatigue, and the world slowing to a crawl.

It would be stranger not to fight well under those conditions.

Naturally, with such exceptional performance came a fatal drawback.

Rather than actual drugs binding to receptors through the bloodstream —

it was electricity forcibly wringing those receptors dry.

So the duration was short, and the rebound afterward was severe.

When I'd activated all three Trance effects simultaneously in the past, blood had poured from every opening in my face.

In practice, it was a skill that traded one's life for a single victory.

But one can't always afford to fight just once.

I'd thought long and hard about how to sustain Trance for longer.

And the answer turned out to be surprisingly simple.

"Hyaaah! Weight Over!"

Yubina's unique ability was multiplying her own mass.

Her signature weapon fell within the range of that ability as well.

The parasol had already weighed several kilograms to begin with.

With its momentum tripled, it came swinging toward me, shattering the floor with a thunderous crack.

*What kind of Tanker is this.*

Tankers were supposed to be durable in exchange for lacking firepower.

Arishia charging in wreathed in flames was one thing.

But for some reason, every Tanker I encountered was as threatening as a Dealer.

Even with the rank difference, taking that hit head-on would be foolish.

I danced along the outermost edge of her swing, threading the needle.

"Tch—!"

"Your swings aren't particularly fast, are they?"

Fortunately, the actual speed of the swing wasn't high.

The added weight made it harder to control, it seemed.

I sidestepped her attacks with light, teasing footwork, making her look clumsy.

But staying in this pattern was pointless.

I'd come here to test a new technique, after all.

I pressed forward, one hand resting lightly against my throat.

*Trance — One Drop.*

The image I held in my mind: a single drop of water falling from a faucet.

At the same moment, the world around me felt subtly unfamiliar.

The effect of One Drop was simple.

The three abilities channeled through Trance — reduced to their absolute minimum.

Maintained at the shallowest possible depth, just enough to place no burden on the body.

No dramatic transformation occurred.

But it felt like waking up refreshed from a perfect night's sleep —

a body that had been accumulating fatigue suddenly felt light enough to float.

"You're open."

"Wha—?!"

*Clack! Clack-clack-clack!*

In an instant, I caught the gap Yubina had left.

I angled my wooden sword diagonally and deflected her attack along its edge.

No matter how much her weight had tripled —

she hadn't escaped the laws of physics.

Yubina's redirected strike carved through empty air.

"Hyah!"

One gentle push of the wooden sword and victory was mine —

but Yubina had no intention of going down quietly.

She released the parasol, folded her arm, and reached for me.

She'd calculated that her durability could absorb one hit.

Fingers curled like claws, she lunged to grab me.

If she got hold of my clothes, my weaker frame would be at a disadvantage.

This was a spar — I couldn't knock her out in one shot.

Logically, I'd already made her lose her weapon.

It would have been profitable to back off satisfied with that much….

Instead, I stepped forward with complete confidence.

Just as her hand was about to close around the hem of my uniform —

a small spark crackled from my clothes and jabbed into Yubina's palm.

"Ow, that stings!"

A sharp enough jolt to make even the durable Yubina flinch.

I slipped around to her flank in that moment of hesitation.

Then I pressed the wooden sword against Yubina's throat and declared victory.

"Fufu. I win."

"Ugh…. W-what was that just now…?"

"I'm not great at close range, so. Think of it as a defensive measure to protect myself."

What had stung Yubina's palm was a new technique I'd devised.

Thunder Armor — automatically discharging lightning at anyone who came too close.

The power was nothing special; all it could do was make someone flinch.

But it seemed sufficient for catching an opponent off guard at an unexpected moment.

*It'll only work against Valkyries, though.*

At this level of output, it was meaningless against Erosion Species.

Even something like Midir would shrug it off without penetrating a single skin layer.

It only worked against opponents of equal or lesser strength.

In practice, it was a technique built for fighting other Valkyries.

"Regardless, that means I win. Shall we go again?"

"Y-yes! Please!"

But the match had ended too quickly.

So I sparred with Yubina and Anje until we were all exhausted.

Thanks to my newly refined Trance, I won every round.

Then, as we were about to begin the sixth consecutive bout, I hit my limit.

*Wow, this is… more noticeable than I expected….*

The presence or absence of the Memory Corridor made a real difference.

By my calculations, I should have had a little capacity left.

But it seemed my maximum had decreased by roughly twenty percent.

It wasn't just firing lightning —

maintaining Trance also consumed power.

This was, perhaps, a slightly more troublesome situation than I'd anticipated.

*I need to find a way to get stronger….*

No matter how much I squeezed, I was still just a B-rank.

I'd been crafting various utility techniques here and there.

But I could feel that my raw combat power was still treading water.

The sparring ended just as I was nearly drained dry.

All in all, it had been a productive session.

I was nodding to myself with quiet satisfaction when Yubina and Anje, both drenched in sweat, came over to me.

"Um… what wish are you going to ask for…?"

"Ah, well…."

Right. We'd made that bet.

I thought it over for a moment, then smiled at her.

"Would you call me 'sis'?"

"Wh-wha—?!"

"I'd like to call you something casual too… would that be alright?"

There wasn't much point in asking anything demanding of someone like Yubina.

Better to just nudge her affection up a little.

That was the light-hearted spirit behind the request.

But Yubina reacted with visible, undisguised joy.

"L-L-Leila sis…."

"Mm. Yubina. Let's get along well from here on."

"Ah…. I'm so jealous…."

"Should I call Anje something casual too?"

"Mm-mm."

Yubina like a puppy, Anje like a cat.

Earn their trust, let them grow fond of me — and then, at the crucial moment, give them a little push from behind.

If they died looking at me with faces full of betrayal, what expressions would they make?

Mmm, just imagining it made my mouth water.

I was savoring the thought of fattening up my new prey when, all of a sudden, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance to the training ground.

Naturally, it was the Commander.

"Oh — Commander? What brings you here?"

"I was… looking for Leila."

"For me?"

I tilted my head, dabbing at my sweat with a towel.

Work hours were already over. Why come looking for me now?

I genuinely couldn't guess the reason.

Today had been much the same as yesterday — a slightly awkward atmosphere between us.

Maybe he was thinking of using this as an opportunity to smooth things over.

Perhaps he had some scheme in mind to work on my affections.

Right. If that was it, I'd have to scratch at his chest until it bled.

Maybe I could carve a small trauma into him while I was at it. That would be fun.

I was entertaining those pleasant thoughts as I looked at him.

The Commander spoke with an expression of complete seriousness.

"Would you come to my room tonight?"

"Huh."

"Hm."

"…?"

It was a request startling enough to make me forget my performance entirely — my expression freezing for just a moment.