Windridge was also known as the Garden City. Thanks to the many admirals and shipgirls who lived here, the social order was remarkably stable and peaceful. After all, even day-to-day administration and public security were maintained by shipgirls themselves. You could hardly find anything like smuggling, unlicensed trade in contraband, or violent crime in this city.
This was a city governed by shipgirls.
At the end of the pier, a young girl on patrol seemed to notice something and walked over with a stern expression to conduct an inspection.
Her target: Hikaru.
"What are you carrying on your back?"
The girl had an East Asian face and wore a military police armband. Clutching a notebook, she questioned him seriously. She was petite and delicate in stature, wearing a long cyan robe-like uniform despite the heat. Even Glowworm had changed into a light and breathable dress at Hikaru's insistence.
Hikaru patted the sheathed sword on his back. "A sword."
The girl glanced at his identification tag and noted down his name and number. "You're clear. Just a reminder—if you want to get stronger, flashy gimmicks like that are useless. And salvaging ships? Major demerit."
The three-foot alloy sword had been bought during Hikaru's journey. Crafted by a renowned artisan, it had cost him a hundred thousand credits. It was indeed lethal, but likely wouldn't see much use.
As an admiral, not only was he allowed to carry regulated blades, but even firearms were permitted with the proper documentation. Rocket launchers and other heavy weapons could also be authorized. When Masaki had been stationed on the front lines, he'd even been able to requisition thermobaric bombs and tactical nukes. In contrast, a "useless" sword on Hikaru's back just made him look like some middle schooler with delusions of grandeur to this shipgirl.
Still, in Hikaru's hands, this sword was likely more effective than any machine gun or rocket launcher. But it wasn't worth the effort to explain that to her.
When Hikaru caught up with the others, Masaki nudged him and grinned. "Pop quiz—can you guess what class that shipgirl was?"
Hikaru shook his head. "She didn't even activate her rigging. How could I tell?"
Identifying shipgirls was a basic skill, but without their rigging deployed, they looked no different from ordinary girls.
"I'll tell you, and remember this well: be extra careful around her," Masaki said in a serious tone. He leaned in and whispered, "That's YingRui. Famous yandere. Whatever you do, don't piss her off. And definitely don't let her think you're into her."
A yandere—a girl whose twisted affections often end in tragedy, usually with a hatchet and a dead boyfriend.
Aside from unlucky guys like Masaki who only had one shipgirl, were there even any admirals who weren't womanizers?
That's why Takao, who was already dreaming of becoming a harem king with a flagship and thirteen concubines, visibly flinched and quickly pulled his shipgirl away.
Hikaru glanced back at YingRui's petite figure. YingRui... one of the old fisheries patrol ships ordered by the Qing government in the pre-Republic era. After the regime collapsed, it was handed over to the new government. In the game, she was a blue, three-star rarity—but with an actual salvage rate of 11 stars. Hikaru had never gotten her.
The way reality overlapped with the game still made Hikaru feel a bit dazed. He took one more look at Yingrui's back before letting Glowworm tug him away.
First stop: the academy. Masaki was eager to finish his escort mission.
Admittance to a naval academy worked just like university: entrance in September. But Hikaru's special circumstances allowed him to fast-track the paperwork.
Nationwide, with over a billion people, only about four to five thousand new admirals emerged each year. Even a major school like Windridge only enrolled five or six hundred per class.
Admirals had plenty of options. Besides those run by the shipgirl headquarters, there were also academies controlled by the government, military, and major corporations. These usually offered better resources and support for new admirals—but naturally demanded greater returns.
By comparison, the headquarters' academies ran on love and passion.
As arguably the most prestigious institution in East Asia, Windridge Academy had its own impressive reputation.
The campus stretched across ten thousand acres along the coastline. Still, the number of enrolled students never exceeded three thousand. Many were holdovers—admirals who hadn't secured a naval base assignment due to poor shipgirl compatibility but were unwilling to give up and take a normal job.
In the car, Masaki sighed wistfully. "I was one of those holdovers once. Trying to make it with just a destroyer? Brutal."
"More like, you're just ridiculously unlucky…"
Takao muttered with a malicious grin, nestling smugly closer to his heavy cruiser. While not quite on par with those Europeans who started the game with capital ships, he was practically guaranteed a base assignment upon graduation.
Even as shipgirls, destroyers were still at the bottom of the food chain. Their roles were often limited to patrols and anti-air duties. Some people specialized them for night raids with torpedo builds—but night battles were perilous for both sides.
Masaki didn't even bother responding to his nephew's smug face. "Anyway, I'm finally going to see my dream girl again."
"Oh?" Hikaru perked up. "Who is she?"
Before Masaki could answer, Wilhelmina elbowed him hard in the stomach, making him wheeze.
"Seriously…" Masaki wiped his mouth dramatically. "Wilhelmina, if you hadn't interrupted me that night, I might've actually salvaged her!"
"Keep dreaming," Wilhelmina scoffed with her arms crossed.
Naturally curious, Takao pressed for details, but Masaki only said he'd see her soon and changed the subject—bragging about his student days instead.
Hikaru listened with amusement, and before they knew it, the car stopped outside the campus gate. Even a Grand Admiral had to disembark and walk in from here.
After paying the fare and signing in at the gate, the group headed into the academy.
To be honest, Windridge Academy's architecture was elegant and reserved. Aside from the prominent harbor and coastal defenses in the distance, it didn't look that different from any other school.
What stood out were the beautiful girls everywhere. No doubt many of them were shipgirls.
In inland cities, you might go a whole year without seeing a single shipgirl. Here, you could see several just by turning a corner—and since no shipgirl was ever unattractive, it was no wonder Takao's eyes were bulging, trying to take it all in.
Hikaru glanced at Myoukou's scowling face and quietly chuckled, deciding not to warn the poor guy.
Glowworm, meanwhile, was staring wide-eyed, slack-jawed like a country girl seeing the big city for the first time.
Hikaru took her tiny hand. After these past few days, he and Glowworm had grown quite close. He just treated her like a long-lost little sister.