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Solatis Shrine

Tytti: You came a long way just to pick us up.

Yang Long: It must have been quite an inconvenience. Please accept our apologies.

Masaki: Yang Long, Tytti!

Mio: Thank goodness…you both look so much better.

Yang Long: I’m sorry to have worried you, but the danger is past now.

Tytti: I’m ready to head back into battle at any time. I feel perfectly fine.

Masaki: Whoa, you sure about that? You literally just woke up from a coma.

Yang Long: A side effect of using Possession. However, we’ve gained something because of that.

Tytti: Yes, I feel like I understand Gadd’s mind a bit more.

Yang Long: Talking of which, Masaki, I heard that you’ve mastered Possession.

Masaki: Oh, yeah. But it consumes a lot of Prana, so I can only use it on an as-needed basis.

Tytti: We haven’t reached that point yet, but we have managed to raise our own Prana levels.

Yang Long: Possession…it was quite an intense experience.

Tytti: Yes, it felt like I had become one with the world…

Yang Long: It’s a rare experience to glimpse of a spirit’s mind.

Yang Long: If only we, too, were able to use it at will…

Ibun: Don’t be hasty, you two. We now have the ability to communicate with the spirits.

Ibun: Eventually, you will be able to master Possession as well.

Tytti: Lady Ibun, thank you for all your help.

Ibun: No need to thank me. I was merely carrying out the will of the spirits.

Yang Long: We are grateful nonetheless. By the way, Masaki.

Masaki: Yeah?

Yang Long: Has anything else of note happened while we were comatose?

Masaki: I guess so…though it’s only that Zash and Fang have returned.

Tytti: Then there’s been no developments with Shutedonias?

Xenia: Nothing public, at least. Though I’m sure that Ongaredd is up to something.

Tytti: Ongaredd is working with Shutedonias?

Xenia: Oh, right. You weren’t aware of that.

Guido: I’ll bring you two up to speed on that. Can you meet me in the Hringhorni’s archive room?

Tytti: Yes, of course.

Yang Long: Let’s go there at once.

Masaki: Looks like we’re ready to head back. Thanks for all the help, Langran-Gran. I mean it.

Ibun: Take care of yourself.

Hringhorni – Rec Area

Precia: Hmm…which one’s the joker? This one?

Masaki: …..

Precia: Or this one?

Masaki: …..

Precia: Maybe the first one?

Masaki: …..

Precia: Or…

Masaki: …..

Precia: Yeah, this one!

Masaki: What!?

Precia: Yay, the last pair!

Masaki: Augh!! I lost again!! Why can’t I win a single game!?

Lune: …I don’t think that Old Maid is really your game, Masaki.

Precia: Yeah. Your face gives your hand away, Bro.

Masaki: Are you kidding me? I’ve been putting on a poker face this whole time.

Mio: What’cha doin’? Playing Old Maid?

Precia: Yep, that’s it.

Lune: Only Masaki stinks at it.

Mio: Ah, I getcha. You can read his face like a book, right?

Masaki: Shut up. I won’t lose in the next game!

Lune: Huh? You want to play again?

Masaki: You bet I am! I’m not gonna stop until I win!

Lune: You intend on playing Old Maid for the rest of your life? Why don’t you just back out now and save yourself the trouble?

Masaki: Grr…

Mio: Oh, yeah. Did you guys hear about the Antiras Shop?

Masaki: Antiras Shop?

Lune: Ah, you mean our PR store?

Mio: That’s the one. I hear it’s doing very well.

Masaki: Wait a sec. What the heck are you talking about?

Precia: Bro, don’t tell me that you slept through the budget meeting…

Masaki: Uh…j-just tell me what it is you’re talking about.

Mio: A goods store that’s managed by the Antiras Squad.

Masaki: …Goods? What kind of goods? Like posters and T-shirts?

Mio: Also holo-cards, mugs, figures, tapestries, and more. There’s a wide variety of products.

Masaki: And you can run a store with all that?

Xenia: You’d better believe it!

Masaki: Yow!? Don’t startle me like that! Xenia, when did…

Xenia: It was Mio’s idea, and it’s proven to be quite popular!

Masaki: Well, it sounds like something that Mio would think of…but is it really that popular?

Xenia: Yeah, it’s amazing. We also do mail order, and our most popular products sell out on the same day we get them.

Xenia: And that’s at a premium in some parts of the country.

Mio: It’s good publicity, it improves our image, and it’s profitable. Three birds with one stone!

Masaki: Are we really making that much money?

Lune: It’s actually quite impressive. Our finances have becomes significantly easier to manage.

Masaki: …I guess we must be if Lune’s saying that.

Masaki: But still, selling Antiras Squad merchandise…I can’t help but feel that we’re going about things the wrong way…

Mio: What’re you saying? You don’t like my idea?

Masaki: Uh…well…

Mio: Alright, let’s go see the store in person. I’m sure you’ll change your tune once you see how popular it is, Masaki.

Precia: I’d like to see it too.

Mio: If Precia’s coming, why don’t we bring everyone along?

Xenia: Well, there isn’t anything going on at the moment, so why not?

Masaki: By “everyone”…do you mean the entire Antrias Squad?

Mio: That’s right.

Masaki: What if something happens while we’re all out?

Xenia: No worries. I’ll have the Hringhorni waiting close by.

Masaki: I don’t know…well, I guess I’ve got nothing better to do right now.

Shopping District

Xenia: We’re almost there.

Masaki: …What’s with all the foot traffic? Some kind of festival?

Precia: Look at that line…

Becky: …They’re all carrying something.

Mio: Ah, those are Antiras Squad goods! This…this is turning out better than I imagined!

Zash: Wow…that’s kind of amazing.

Gaen: …We’re starting to garner attention. Aren’t our faces well known around here?

Xenia: Ack! That’s right! We’d better hide!

Demeksa: Oh, I have some Invisibility Enchantments that we can use.

Yang Long: You certainly came prepared, Demeksa.

Demeksa: It’s only natural for someone who has an interest in magic.

Masaki: Okay, let’s use them and head for the back door of the shop.

Antiras Shop – Storage

Yang Long: Amazing…the store is completely full of customers.

Tsurein: I thought it would be mostly male customers, but there’s a good amount of female customers too.

Fang: …I hate to say it, Masaki, but your products are by far the most popular.

Masaki: My…wait, what?

Masaki: Back up a second, Fang. Have you been hanging out in the store while you were away from the ship?

Fang: It was a request from Xenia. I’ve been lending a hand with organizing our stock.

Masaki: …You’re too helpful for your own good.

Xenia: Thanks for all your hard work, Fang.

Fang: No, it’s nothing.

Masaki: …My point is made for me.

Lune: Are sales going well?

Fang: Yes. Whenever I’m working in the store, customers are always asking for autographs.

Lune: Autographs…that might be good for business.

Masaki: We’re not movie stars here.

Tytti: I checked the entrance of the store, and the line appears to be considerably shorter.

Fang: I’d say that’s due to us running out of our most popular holo-poster.

Xenia: Did you put in an order for more?

Fang: I have. They’ll be arriving shortly. Although, I think we ordered a bit too much.

Xenia: What’re you talking about? By the looks of things, demand for that product isn’t going away any time soon.

Fang: No, but, I think one hundred cases is going overboard…

Xenia: One hundred!? Wait, I swear that order was only for ten cases…

Fang: …Xenia, please take a look at this purchase order.

Xenia: Oh…there’s an extra zero.

Fang: You were the one who submitted it.

Xenia: A-Ahaha…looks like I made a mistake.

Masaki: Hey, are you going to be alright?

Xenia: Well…I don’t see us selling through all one hundred cases any time soon.

Fang: We have room in our warehouse, but it would put a squeeze on our other products.

Xenia: That’s no good…guess we’ll have to store some of it on the Hringhorni…

Mio: Hold up. We just have to sell one hundred cases, right? I might have an idea.

Xenia: An idea?

Mio: Come here for a sec. You see…(whisper)

Xenia: Uh-huh…eh? That might work, but…how can we get it ready in time?

Mio: Heh heh heh…give me a minute.
　
Mio: Ah, hello. Mio here. Let me speak to Sharian.

Mio: Hey, Sharian. Send over what we talked about, per capita. Yeah, to the merchandise store.

Mio: Oh, don’t worry, I’ll keep my mouth shut about your involvement. Just make it snappy. You know the coordinates of the package gate, right?

Masaki: What’s up? Are you calling the Hringhorni?

Mio: Well, please then. Yeah, yeah, I know. Okay, bye.

Xenia: You’re serious about this, Mio.

Mio: ‘Course I am. I had enough prepared for everyone here.

Xenia: When you say “everyone”…you don’t mean for Demeksa and Gennady too!?

Mio: Pretty much. You never know just how much fan demand there’ll be.

Masaki: What are you talking about?

Mio: You’ll find out soon enough. Okay, everyone, get ready to change your outfits.

Yang Long: By “everyone”…do you mean all of us?

Mio: Yep. All the men.

Masaki: What do you mean “change our outfits”?

Mio: Don’t worry about it. Alright, you ladies wait out front.

Masaki: Hey, don’t try and dodge my question!

Mio: I have to help with the fitting, so I’ll be staying. Okay, let’s get started.

Masaki: Quit brushing me aside!

Handing out fliers in historical outfits

Masaki: …What the heck are we doing?

Mio: Promotional cosplay.

Masaki: Is it that, or a historical drama!?

Mio: I’ve heard this look is quite the rage in Langran.

Masaki: That makes no sense…why would people want to dress up as a Sengoku-era warlord?

Mio: I think it caught on after the Japanese boom. Very popular among a decent number of the populous.

Mio: …Especially women.

Masaki: Huh? What’re you muttering about?

Mio: Nothing, nothing. Just keep handing out flyers.

Wendy: Masaki…it really suits you.

Masaki: R-Really?

Lune: Yeah, it looks good.

Mio: Hey over there! Less stoic, more friendly!

Fang: …Why are you doing this to me…

Gaen: Here. A flyer.

Masaki: …Gaen, is it me or are you enjoying this?

Yang Long: …I’d prefer to be a military commander from Romance of the Three Kingdoms or The Water Margin.

Zash: Um…isn’t my costume a little feminine?

Mio: Yup. It’s based on Oichi, the sister of a famous warlord.

Zash: What! Why am I…

Mio: Because it’s the only one that would fit you.

Zash: *groan* That doesn’t make me feel any better.

Antiras Shop – Storage

Xenia: Good, good, our inventory is flying off the shelves. We should sell out by the end of the day…

*Ring Ring*

Xenia: Oh, yes. Xenia here…

Xenia: Huh!? An attack!? By terrorists!?

Masaki: What!? Of all the times for this to happen! Where is it!?

Xenia: Yeah, yeah…good, that’s pretty close. Okay, we’ll be right there.

Masaki: All right, gather everyone together! We’ve got to…

Xenia: NO!!

Masaki: Ack!? Wh-What? What do you mean, “no”?

Xenia: You guys stay here and keep handing out flyers.

Masaki: Huh? What the heck are you talking…

Xenia: Our sales are important, too! We can handle the terrorists on our own.

Masaki: Don’t be stupid! At least let me…

Gino: My apologies, but I cannot permit you to leave.

Masaki: Whoa! G-Gino!? I thought you were in Bagonia! When did you…

Mio: …The attire of a vice-chief of an oni tribe really suits you.

Gino: I couldn’t refuse a request from Precia.

Mio: …And to think I wanted you to portray a construction worker.

Xenia: Anyway, leave this to the ladies! Let’s go, girls!

---

Chapter 26: The Men’s Suffering

---

Vaas Plateau

*Enemy and ally units scramble*

Erik: Wooo! Finally, the Antiras Squad!

Zunelo: ? Hey Boss, aren’t their numbers smaller than normal?

Erik: Really? Must be your imagination.

Zunelo: …No, there’s definitely fewer of them.

Thug #1: Hey…aren’t all of those piloted by the female members!?

Thug #2: Seriously!?

Thug #1: Yahoo! I can finally hear Lady Tytti’s pre-battle lines!

Thug #3: You for real? I can’t stand her voice!

Thug #4: Hold up, if it’s pre-battle lines we’re talking, Miss Lune’s are way better!

Thug #5: You just don’t get it. Princess Xenia’s lines when she launches an attack are the best!

Thug #6: You guys are all crazy. I want to hear Miss Precia’s lines when she takes damage!

Thug #5: …YOU’RE the crazy one.

Thug #3: Y’all are wet behind the ears. Out of all of them, Becky’s the best. She’s so brawny, she beautiful!

Thug #2: I-I like Mefil best. That outfit of hers is just too cute.

Thug #7: Perverts, the whole lot of you. I’m going with Simone!

Lune: Y…Y’know, I don’t feel that comfortable dealing with these guys…

Precia: Yeah…something’s off with them.

Tytti: Agreed…let’s finish this quickly and head back.

*Conditions shown, Battle Starts*

{Each ally unit has special dialogue a specific enemy unit}

{Simone}

Thug #7: Lady Simone…ah, Lady Simone, Lady Simone…

Simone: Shut up, will you!

{Xenia}

Thug #5: Ohh!! Princess Xenia! Born a noble, yet now a commoner! Our star of hope!

Xenia: W-Well, that’s nice of you…

Thug #5: Please attack me!

Xenia: But then you go and say things weird like that!

{Tytti}

Thug #1: Lady Tytti! Please lecture me on my poor life choices!

Tytti: Huh!? Th-That’s enough!

{Precia}

Thug #6: Miss P-Precia…she’s so cute…

Precia: Ugh! What’s with these people!?

{Becky}

Thug #3: Lady Becky! When it comes to brawn, there’s no one better than you!

Becky: …If you think I’ll take that as a compliment, you’re dead wrong!

{Mio VS any enemy}

Random Thug: Aw…I got a dud.

Mio: I can take a joke with the best of them…but I will NOT tolerate being called a dud!

{Mefil}

Thug #2 Miss Mefil, would you mind giving your fans a little fanservice? Heh heh.

Mefil: O~kay…I’ll ‘serve’ you up the strongest attack I can muster.

{Lune}

Thug #4: Miss Lune! I’ve always wanted to be defeated by Miss Lune!

Lune: What!?
　
Lune: W-Weirdo! If that’s what you want, I’ll beat you into next week!

{Tytti VS Zunelo}

Tytti: You seem to have very little decency in this group. You should be more careful when you recruit your underlings.

Zunelo: Well, that’s the thing. When we announced that we would be fighting you guys, we got a flood of people wanting to join our gang.

Tytti: …There certainly are a lot of depraved people out there

Zunelo: Tell me about it.

Tytti: And that includes YOU!

*Defeat Zunelo*

Zunelo: Drat, saw that coming…I’ll have to rethink how we go about recruiting our forces.

{Tytti VS Erik}

Tytti: Hey! Your subordinates are completely undisciplined!

Erik: I know that. But we’re all deadbeats anyway!

{Mio VS Erik}

Mio: Who’s the guy in charge of your human resources? All your members seem to have low intelligence.

Erik: Heh! You don’t need brains in this world! In the end, physical strength is all that matters!

Mio: No, I think that a basic level of intelligence is still needed.

*Defeat Erik*

Erik: Gah, we got beat by a bunch of girls! I won’t forget this!

*Defeat all enemies, Stage ends*

Antiras Shop – Store

Xenia: How were the sales?

Fang: We cleared out the entire inventory.

Xenia: Hooray!

Masaki: Ahem…

Yang Long: So, I assume that you took care of the terrorists.

Tytti: Of course.

Precia: But…something was very wrong.

Gino: What? Precia, are you feeling unwell?

Precia: Uh, no, it’s not that, it’s just…the enemies that we fought were a bunch of creeps…

Gino: What…? If I remember correctly, your opponents were the Dawn Brigade.
　
Gino: To have frightened Precia is a completely unchivalrous and unforgivable act!! I shall have their heads for this!

Masaki: …Remind me not to get on Gino’s bad side.

Xenia: Let me see the ledger.
　
Xenia: HUWHAAA!? It’s not just a huge profit! It’s a record-breaking one!

Lune: Wow, maybe we should keep this up for a while longer.

Masaki: Not gonna happen!

Gaen: We are born in darkness, and are destined to vanish into darkness. We cannot carry out our duties if we are always under the eye of the public.

Masaki: …You got that from Mio, didn’t you? It’s too grandiose for something you’d normally say.

Lune: Still, it seems a waste not to capitalize on this.

Masaki: I’m telling you, I’m never doing this again! If you want another performance, do one yourself!

Mio: Hey, that’s a good idea. We’ll have our female members cosplay to attract male customers.
　
Mio: I wonder what I should dress in~? Maybe aim for the niche market of a school swimsuit with knee-high socks.

Masaki: I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I DO know that it’s a bad idea!

Xenia: Hey, Mio. Any new product ideas?

Mio: Hmm, well…how about trading cards?

Xenia: Trading cards? What do you trade them for?

Mio: Ah, so that’s not a thing around here. In that case, it could be a serious business opportunity.
　
Mio: A trading card is a card about this big with the picture of a person on it.

Mio: And then you have information about that person, sort of like a profile, on the back of the card.

Xenia: Is it any different from a bromide?

Mio: The biggest difference is that we can put several cards in a pack so that you can’t see which ones you’re getting.

Xenia: What? Then you won’t know if you’re getting the card of the person you want.

Mio: That’s the idea. In addition, you can make the more popular cards harder to get by putting them in fewer packs. Then…

Xenia: Oh…people will keep buying packs until they get the cards that they want…right?

Mio: Bingo. And since they’re essentially pieces of paper, the printing cost won’t be that high.
　
Mio: That’s why some people say that printing trading cards is like printing money.

Xenia: Wow…I don’t know if that’s crafty or just avaricious…

Mio: There’s also the idea to make a game based on those cards, so that no matter how many duplicates you get, it’s not a waste.
　
Mio: So, to get a high number of cards, they’ll keep buying more and more…and more.

Xenia: …I’m stunned. I have a newfound respect for the surface’s commercial spirit.

Masaki: Hey, Mio! Don’t go giving her any weird ideas!

Mio: What? I think it’s a great idea.

Xenia: Anyway, I’ll take it under consideration. No point in letting a good idea go to waste.

Masaki: Don’t let stuff from the surface feed your taste for money.

Shopping District

Gino: Well, I must be getting back to Bagonia.

Masaki: Why’d you come all the way over here anyway? Did you really want to try out cosplaying?

Gino: Didn’t I mention? I came here because Precia asked me to.

Masaki: …That’s always your first priority, isn’t it? By the way, how are things over in Bagonia? Taking longer than expected?

Gino: No, it’s almost finished. Just a few details left to attend to.

Masaki: …And is that why Rosalie stayed behind?

Gino: I didn’t “leave her behind”. I entrusted her with an important job.

Masaki: …That’s just a nicer way of saying the same thing.

Precia: Oh, Gino. Are you leaving?

Gino: Ah, Precia. I was just looking for you.
　
Gino: Don’t worry. I’ll be back come tomorrow.

Precia: Okay. Good luck with your work.

Gino: Yes, of course. Well, regretfully, I must bid you farewell.

Precia: Yeah, see you later.

Masaki: …He’s eloquent, if nothing else.

{If Xenia used her Angel Wing attack at least 5 times before this stage ended}

Hringhorni – Hangar

Masaki: Yo, Xenia. Still hard at work I see.

Xenia: *Hiccup!?*

Masaki: Hm? What’s up?

Xenia: Y-You moron! *Hic!* You came up out of nowhere, scared me half to death, and now–*Hic!*
　
Xenia: Now I’ve got the hiccups.

Masaki: Aren’t hiccups usually cured by being scared?

Xenia: Hiccups can also be started by being scared! *Hic!*

Masaki: I-I see.

Xenia: *Hic!* Did you really think that getting scared was what got rid of hiccups?

Masaki: That’s what they say…at least, it’s what they say where I’m from. Is it different in Langran?

Xenia: *Hic!* You have to stop the diaphragm from spasming–*Hic!* In order to get rid of them.

Masaki: Oh, so there’s a pill you can take to solve the problem? That sounds easy.

Xenia: No, no, no! *Hic!* There’s no such thing! *Hic!*

Masaki: Then how do you get it to stop?

Xenia: Just stay calm and–*Hic!* They’ll stop sooner or later. *Hic!*

Masaki: They don’t seem to be stopping, though.

Xenia: Hiccups are–*Hic!* Something that you just need to wait out.

Xenia: *Hic!* Oh, come on! I can’t get any work done!

Masaki: They’ll go away if you get scared, right?

Xenia: *Hic!* Sure, the stimulus of that would do the tri–*Hic!* But what are the odds of that happening–*Hic!*

Masaki: Well then, you want me to scare you again?

Xenia: Well, now that I know that you’re planning to–*Hic!* How do you expect to scare me?

Masaki: How? Well, what if I told you that your pants are ripped…in the back?

Xenia: WHAT!? Is that a joke!?

Masaki: Yeah, it is a joke.

Xenia: Oh god. Don’t scare me like…
　
Xenia: Oh hey, you really did scare me. And the hiccups are gone.

Masaki: See how easy that was?

Xenia: …That’s all well and good, but it’s not right to use that kind of trick on a girl.

Masaki: Don’t get all worked up. The hiccups have stopped.

Xenia: Hmph. You can make it up to me by lending me a hand with my work.

Masaki: Oh, come on. I stopped your hiccups.

Xenia: You were the one who caused them in the first place.

Masaki: Ugh…right.

Xenia: You wasted my time dealing with hiccups and startled me with a perverted joke.

Masaki: Okay, I get it. I’ll help you. What are we working on?

Xenia: Adjusting the Nors Rei’s repair mechanism.

Masaki: Oh yeah, that always comes in handy. I don’t know how it works, though.

Xenia: It uses organic nanomachines.

Masaki: Huh, I don’t know what that is, but it sounds pretty cool.

Xenia: It’s not worth trying to explain it to you…

Masaki: If we could spread that organic stuff over a wide area, we could fix a bunch of machines at once.

Xenia: That’s a completely absurd…

Xenia: Eh? Actually, it might be possible to do that.

Masaki: How?

Xenia: By diffusing the organic nanomachines. They disappear once the repair process is complete anyway, so it should be possible to spread them over a large area.

Masaki: And you can do that?

Xenia: You bet I can! I don’t know why anyone hasn’t thought of something this simple until now.

Masaki: That’s what’s called designer blinders.

Xenia: All right then, let’s get to the experimentation! It shouldn’t take too much modifying, so lend a hand already, Masaki.

Masaki: Hey hey. Remember that I’m the one who thought of it.

The Men’s Suffering End

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