For whatever reason, Saki had excitedly asked the three of us to go back to Hajime Manor this evening. Though, given the circumstances, I was pretty sure I knew why.
“Let me guess: Hana’s ready to give that speech?”
“Too right you are, Shin. She sent me the script yesterday and I think it’s gonna blow these girls away. It’s exactly what I was hoping for.”
It was rare to see Saki so excited over someone else. She gushed over Nao all the time, but outside of that this seemed to be unique. I wondered if Hana’s adoration of her had gone to her head a little.
After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at the usual spot to find Kyouma leaning against a wall, her hat obscuring part of her face making her look as shady as humanly possible. Honestly, this chuuni girl.
“Thou hath come at the call of my master, I presume?”
“If that means ‘Hana invited us,’ then yes.” Saki replied to the crazy wizard
“Tis quite the occasion. The three hundred have been summoned to gather at 4pm sharp, so we must be moving if we wish to arrive on time.”
Without any further ado, Kyouma raised her staff above her head and enveloped us all in white light. A moment later, we were standing in the same room Kyouma always teleported us to, slightly disoriented but all staying on our feet.
“Saki-senpai!”
Not half a second after we landed, Hana dived at Saki and wrapped her in a hug, like a child returning to their parent after a long time apart.
I stifled a snicker at Nao, who looked peeved to the point of almost blowing a blood vessel.
“How’re you feeling, Hana?” Saki asked, still wrapped in the girls arms.
“Nervous, but that’s to be expected, I suppose. After all, I’m about to ask 300 people to fight a war with me.”
“I’d be more concerned if you weren’t nervous. But after reading the script you sent me yesterday, I have every confidence that this’ll go smoothly. Your words will resonate with them, I know it.”
“I hope you’re right. And I want the four of you up on the stand with me, if that’s okay. You won’t have to say anything, just stand there with me.”
“I’ll be at your side the whole way.” Said Saki
“Front row seats? Sweet.” Said Mai
“S-so long as I don’t have to talk…” Said Nao
“Depend on it.” Said I.
“Thank you guys. So much. This means the world to me.”
While we spoke, we became very conscious of the steadily ticking clock. Given the size of the manor, we figured it would be a good idea to leave a little early, arriving at the designated meeting spot two minutes before the speech was scheduled to start.
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The meeting place was a two-tiered hall decorated just as lavishly as everywhere else. Laminate wood flooring and expensive-looking wallpaper made it feel less like a meeting hall in a secret hideout and more like a small ballroom for the old nobility.
The eight of us stood along the balcony overlooking the lower floor of the room, with the three hundred magical girls all bustling around below us. Hana stood in the dead centre of the balcony, with Saki to her left had Kyouma to her right, the rest of us standing alongside our own team leader.
Despite the speech not having started, and Hana not even announcing her presence, the three hundred quickly all fell to silence and stood at attention, watching us intently.
With a deep breath to calm herself down, Hana stepped forward and began her speech.
“My soldiers! My comrades! My sisters of blood and steel! Each and every one of you is here with me today because your life was stolen away from you, all because of the ambitions of one terrible man.” Despite having seemed nervous not ten seconds before, Hana projected her voice with confidence and power. It was as if she was born to be a public speaker. “I stand here in front of you today with the four heroes who put a stop to that man’s nefarious actions and set in motion the events that would free each and every one of us!”
She held her left arm out to indicate that she was talking about us, to which she was met with a sea of quiet murmuring. Though I couldn’t make out a single word, it was fairly obvious that they were talking about the four of us. Hana had apparently talked us up to them all several times before.
“But I also speak terrible news to you today. Perhaps the worst you may ever hear. You see, those who wished to harm you in the past have returned, and they’re increasing the scale of their crimes a millionfold. It is no longer the girls of Tokyo or Japan that are at risk. I speak of an otherworldly enemy, one that threatens the very world we live upon.”
The murmurs changed tone from excited to confused very quickly. That was no surprise: who wouldn’t react that way to the words ‘otherworldly enemy?’
“I understand that many of you likely feel that this world is not one worth protecting. So many of you have been chewed up, spit out, beaten down and dragged back up by the misfortune you’ve been shackled with. But despite all of that, despite the suffering and pain you’ve all experienced, despite the unfairness of this world, I still come today to ask for all of your help in protecting it.”
The noise level in the room continued to grow, but Hana projected her voice so clearly and loudly that everything else was drowned out when she spoke.
“Each and every one of you, look at the people around you and consider what they mean to you. Perhaps they’re your teammates, with whom you’ve fought and bled in combat. Perhaps they’re your friends, ones you treasure with all your heart. Perhaps one is even your soulmate, a person you share the deepest bond of love with. I ask this of you: do not fight to protect the injustices of the world. Fight to protect the people that matter to you, that they may live out their lives in peace. Fight to protect those bonds of friendship and love that are your salvation in the darkest of times. Fight because you deserve to take your life back from the hands of the bastards who took it from you. Fight because you deserve to win!”
Hana raised her arm above her head, and was met with a chorus of three hundred magical girls beating their fists into the air.
“Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!”
The three hundred chanted in perfect unison, something I could only assume to be a sign of respect and loyalty to their courageous leader.
“Then listen up! Come the night of the winter solstice, our world will be attacked by creatures who seek to shatter those bonds that make life worth living. None but us can slow their assault. Dedicate yourselves to your work and training. Become the best versions of yourselves you can possibly become. And join us on our mission to show those demon bastards that humanity is not a foe to be messed with!”
“Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!” With each chant, the crowd pumped their fists into the air, moving like a well-oiled machine.
“Fight with me! Into the fires of hell!”
“Into the fires of hell! Into the fires of hell!”
The crowd switched to chanting Hana’s ending line, a blatant show of support and solidarity. Her speech was a resounding success: every person in the room seemed prepared to storm hell that day if asked.
As the eight of us looked out over that crowd of people, our army formed and ready for war, I once again felt the same feeling I had felt when I was first shown the forge:
Hope.