When it came to institutions most capable of withstanding pressure—and least likely to allow corruption—none surpassed the Shipgirl Headquarters, formed by wandering shipgirls uniting across nations.
It was an international organization. Three thousand years ago, before modern human civilization had even emerged, the more farsighted shipgirls realized that humans and shipgirls should never be too closely bound. Thus was born the permanently neutral Shipgirl Headquarters—now a colossal entity that no nation dares offend.
Shipgirls were essentially the embodiment of truth, beauty, and goodness. Under the shelter of the Headquarters, where shipgirls themselves worked, the storms and undercurrents of the outside world could hardly touch that young man.
The old man tapped the table. "He must remain in the country."
"I'll submit a formal request."
The old man had nothing more to say. He only felt that his shipgirl now seemed like a complete stranger. Heh... people change so easily. They say others change—but perhaps it's me who's changed.
He unpinned the badge from his chest. His age-spotted hand trembled as it brushed the lustrous gold emblem.
It was a truly beautiful badge. A large five-pointed gold star formed the base, adorned with a blue-and-white ribbon. At its center was a mithril disc embossed with golden wheat and a massive anchor dominating the design.
A faint glow shimmered across the surface—indicating that, like some extremely rare military decorations, this badge was in fact a powerful piece of equipment.
This was the Marshal's badge.
The old man smiled—a sharp, almost sinister smile.
"A level 143 rookie... now this is going to be fun."
…
Hikaru never imagined that a simple identity tag could bring him so much trouble.
Caught in the crossfire of numerous factions, he was subjected to exhaustive overnight interrogations and tests. Frankly, Hikaru suspected that, if not for Glowworm being with him, they might have resorted to force.
Of course, all of it was done under the banner of "reasonable investigation."
It wasn't until the evening of the third day that the Military Police finally came to fetch him.
"Problem's resolved. Matters involving a fleet commander are for us to handle. Next time something like this happens, we won't be so nice."
The one speaking was a shipgirl with long white hair, violet eyes, and an impressive bust. She blew out a smoke ring while casually scolding the military personnel. Her long hair billowed behind her—she was cool and striking.
The military and local authorities rushed to apologize. Hikaru, gracious as ever, expressed his understanding for their diligence. On the surface, it was as if nothing had happened.
But the seed of distrust had already been planted.
He followed the tall, busty shipgirl out of the heavily guarded building. Golden sunlight poured down, and only now did Hikaru feel how precious freedom truly was.
He instinctively drifted a little farther from the towering woman to bask in the light.
Honestly, standing next to her was intense. Hikaru was already tall—around 180 cm—but this white-haired shipgirl was even taller. Without her heels, she had to be over two meters.
How did she get this tall? No—more importantly, how tall must her commander have been? A shipgirl's height was tied to her admiral's. The same shipgirl would appear shorter or taller depending on the height of her fleet commander.
That thought made Hikaru blurt out the question.
"You're pretty chill... the only thing you ask is my height?"
The shipgirl glanced at him with surprise, took a long drag on her cigarette, then flicked it under the marble steps. She tossed her hair, exhaled slowly, and replied, "I don't have a commander. I awakened on my own. I'm one of the East Sector heads of the Shipgirl Headquarters. Feel honored, kid."
Hikaru was genuinely stunned. This woman outranked national leaders!
To hold a leadership post in the Eastern Sector, her experience and strength had to be immense. She had likely existed longer than many countries themselves.
Shipgirls without a fleet commander were nearly immortal. The only ones known to vanish were those who had lived long enough to lose all attachments to the world—and even then, they simply disappeared over the sea. No shipgirl had ever died of old age.
Only when they gave their hearts to a fleet commander—when they fell in love—did they begin to age alongside their partner. But even then, their aging stopped in their forties. It was a life ruled by emotion, not biology.
Hikaru patted Glowworm's head. "Forgive my boldness, but... what level are you?"
"Trying to pull me, are you? Keep dreaming! But—if you let me borrow your cute little shipgirl for a few days, maybe I'll consider it."
Glowworm clung to Hikaru's leg, trembling. "Nooo! Commander, please no! She's scary!"
Hikaru raised a hand. "Absolutely not!"
The woman laughed with a wild gleam in her eye. She crouched and pinched Glowworm's cheeks, rubbing her face until it was bright red before letting go.
"Mm, great shipgirl you've got there. Thanks for the treat."
Throughout the whole encounter, Hikaru had been frozen in place, paralyzed by sheer presence—like a fly caught in amber. Only when she withdrew her hand and stood up did the pressure finally lift, and he gasped for air.
That was clearly a warning. A show of overwhelming power for someone harboring secrets.
Strong—unbelievably so. Probably the strongest person Hikaru had ever met in this life. Stronger than Wilhelmina and her admiral by orders of magnitude. And Wilhelmina was level 100!
But now wasn't the time to think about that.
"Don't touch my shipgirl," Hikaru growled, cradling Glowworm in his arms. "If you weren't a shipgirl, I'd challenge you to a duel right now."
"This is just how I am. What're you gonna do about it?" she taunted.
Glowworm covered her face, furious. "Hmph! If the other girls were here, we'd totally cook her into soup again!"
Hikaru blinked. "Wait, you know her?"
Glowworm pointed furiously at the smirking woman. "I don't know her, but I recognize her power. Yamato! All Yamatos are like this! Acting all tough until they get sunk—then it's all boo-hoo and tears!"
So she was a Yamato.
"Yamato," or "The Anchor," was a nickname for the ultimate warship in-game. She was based on the lead ship of the Yamato-class battleships, the largest of their kind in the Old World, known as the "greatest battleship in the world."
No one had ever heard of anyone building or salvaging Yamato. Historically, she was a symbol of the old nation of Yashima and was kept out of combat for a long time. When she finally joined the war in its final days, she was sunk by American planes near the homeland—signaling the end of the era of battleships.
As a result, any awakened "Abyssal Yamato" usually emerged as a deep-sea flagship—every admiral's and shipgirl's worst nightmare.
Hikaru never expected to meet a Yamato who had awakened on her own—and joined the side of humanity.
The woman named Yamato grinned wickedly. "Your shipgirl's not bad either. Over level 90, developed well... and she's seen an Abyssal Yamato before, huh? I'm getting more and more curious about you."