Though a lot has changed in one day the way Sam spends his time wasn't affected all that much. Shizuru still has to go to her post and the Valkyries were busy doing their own thing so he had free time all the way till the afternoon.
He decided to drop by the library as usual, picking a book and reading through it to pass time. Doing so reminded him that he has yet to give Shizuru the book he had brought for her. It had completely escaped his mind after he discovered that crime against literature called Valkyrie Smash.
To his disappointment unlike that time Nine didn't show up at the library. He hoped that he could lead her to the lab where he would start another experiment of his, but apparently today wasn't it.
On a separate note the male and female soldiers he and Nine peeped on that time still came to the library to have their fun. After thinking about it for a while Sam realized that they didn't have much of a choice as the rooms in the dorms were shared among the soldiers and only a select few had rooms of their own.
Sam was one of those lucky few. His position as the Valkyries' physislcian gave him a slightly higher status than the other soldiers so he enjoyed a few privileges the others didn't have.
The forty sixth base was too far from most human settlements which led to only the most neccessary resources being transported there. Being in a relatively safe part of the front line it wouldn't be strange for it to be abandoned at some point to conserve resources which means building bigger constructions would only be a waste.
Once the frontline is advanced and more land is reclaimed there might be some efforts to restore one of the nearby abandoned cities, but until then the soldiers stationed at the forty sixth base are forced to withstand the boring cramped lifestyle.
After a while Sam headed to his lab making sure to get a cup of coffee on his way. He still had a lot of free time so he decided to spend it reading more of the Valkyries' Blue prints.
Just when he turned on the terminal he noticed someone peeking into the room.
"Zero Three?"
Realizing she had been caught the young Valkyrie tried to hide a few seconds later she made her way inside looking rather embarrassed.
"Is something wrong?" Sam asked.
The girl stood in her place fidgeting a little. It was clear that she had something to say but was too embarrassed to do so.
"Um… there is something… I wanted to talk to you about…"
After much struggle she finally managed to squeeze out those words, however it seemed that she would need a lot more time to go on.
"Good timing." Sam said as he pulled a chair from the corner of the room. "I also have something to talk about."
He offered the seat to Zero Three who looked rather surprised then sat across from her.
Sam took a few moments to appreciate the Valkyries cuteness. She wore the same cosplay like uniform as Zero Five, however unlike the much more mature and well endowed Valkyrie Zero Three was smaller and less developed making her look a lot more like a schoolgirl.
When thinking about it that way Sam felt a little bad about wanting to have his way with her. He couldn't deny the fact that she was designed to be under eighteen.
Sam wasn't so keen on committing that kind of crime no matter how appealing he thinks she is, however in the end he convinced himself that she's nothing more than a well made robot, it would be pointless to try and apply social constructs to her.
Not to mention, no matter how much he waits she would never grow up into an adult. She will always look like a sixteen year old girl even a hundred years from now.
Weebs sure have no moral compass. Sam thought as he remembered what Odin took as a reference when creating the walking weapons. Well, maybe we should be glad he didn't go any lower than this.
"First of all, I want to apologize for what I said the other day." Sam said, watching as the girl's eyes slowly widened. "As an average human, I'm not very knowledgeable about fighting the Calamities. You, a Valkyrie who's been made for that purpose, must be aware of the best actions to be taken on the field. It was pretty presumptuous of me to speak on the matter when you're more of an expert than I am."
Not seen his apology coming panic started to show on Zero Three's face. He didn't know why she came but it was an opportunity he didn't want to waste. After all among the three Valkyries she would be the one most difficult to capture.
"Um, well, as long as you understand…" the young Valkyrie said, unable to look him in the eyes. "I… also came to apologize. I realized I have been too harsh that time so… sorry…"
In her Valkyrie file on top of being an energetic athletic girl Zero Three was described as a tsundere; someone with a harsh personality that has difficulty showing their true emotions. It stated that the process in which one wins her over is slow and takes a significant amount of time. She would eventually warm up to the one she chooses to become her master before starting to show affection toward him.
In order to achieve his goal of getting to play with all three Valkyries Sam realized that he would have to invest s lot of time into the short one.
There are no shortcuts to take as well since the file made it clear that any type of rash advances could damage the relationship one has with Zero Three.
Now that I think about it, Zero Five was way too easy.
Sam didn't really know how he managed to capture the Valkyrie with the ponytail. She had just fallen into his hands when he attempted his experiments. The same couldn't be done with Zero Three. She's clearly more complicated and won't just choose anyone.
Thankfully since he's pretty much the only one the Valkyries interact with Sam didn't have any competition to be afraid of. All he needed to do was to slowly work on his relationship with her until she eventually recognizes him as her master. And to do so the first thing he needs is to fix their relationship and show the Valkyrie that he cares about her.
"Three…" getting up from his chair, Sam knelt before the Valkyrie and looked up at her. "I might have worded it the wrong way before, but I really wish that you would be more careful out there."
The girl looked at him with wavering eyes. Seeing the seriousness in his expression she couldn't bring herself to argue back. She hung her head in silence waiting for him to finish his speech, however the words that followed were different from what she had in mind.
"That day, when I saw you being carried inside on a stretcher, it really pained my heart."
Despite his questionable intentions at the moment, Sam's words had some truth to them. One simply can't avoid feeling uncomfortable seeing the mutilated body of a young girl. The fact that they were sending what looked like a helpless girl to a merciless battlefield felt morally wrong even if she has the ability to rip an adult man apart with her bare hands.
"Three, I want you to return home safely each time." Sam said, reaching out and taking the Valkyries' hand into his. "If it was up to me I wouldn't send you out at all, however we have no choice but to rely on you. That's why I want you to promise me one thing."
Waiting until she looked him in the eyes, Sam told her his wish.
"Primise me that you won't do anything careless, and that you'll always make it back."
For a few seconds Zero Three didn't know how to respond. She looked rather conflicted, her eyes moving from one corner to the other as she bit her lower lip. Having reached her conclusion after a while, the Valkyrie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them Sam somehow felt her determination as she declared with a smile.
"I will do my best!"