Masaki led them along for about ten minutes. They had just passed a covered bridge across a lake when a Western girl in a pale yellow long dress appeared from the side.
She had long legs clad in white stockings, giving off the air of a proper lady—but the way she was licking an ice cream in her hand instantly shattered that image and made her look like a glutton instead.
The girl glanced at Hikaru before turning to Masaki. "No trouble on the road, I hope?"
Masaki patted his chest. "With me there? What trouble could there possibly be!"
The gray-haired girl gave Hikaru a polite nod. "Follow me. Let me introduce myself. I'm the shipgirl awakened from the HMS Queen Elizabeth-class dreadnought. You can just call me Elizabeth. I've already been briefed on your situation. If anything comes up, feel free to talk to me."
It was only now that Hikaru noticed her eyes—they were amber.
After saying this, Elizabeth gestured for the group to follow her and strode off in her thick brown platform heels, tap tap tap, echoing across the wooden boards.
Her figure was athletic, but her face was unexpectedly youthful. Long legs and white stockings—both were huge points in Hikaru's book. All he could think now was: White stockings are justice.
If he'd known Elizabeth was this pretty, Hikaru would've definitely leveled her up in the game. Sadly, due to her underwhelming combat stats, he'd never kept her—or her sister ship, Warspite.
Historically speaking, the HMS Queen Elizabeth-class dreadnoughts were World War I-era ships, back when the concept of battleships wasn't even well-defined. Still, Queen Elizabeth herself was clearly a full-fledged battleship.
Hikaru and Takao exchanged glances. In each other's eyes, they saw the same unspoken thought:
Man, if only I had Elizabeth…
Elizabeth led them to a small courtyard by the lakeside, knocked on the door, and ushered them into an office steeped in traditional C-country (China-inspired) aesthetics.
Behind a large redwood desk sat a girl who lifted her head just as they entered, her entire presence tinged with melancholy.
Her black hair flowed like clouds, a tear mole sat by the corner of her eye, and she wore a light blue gauzy robe that barely concealed her delicate figure. "Stunning" wasn't even close to describing her beauty. If one had to put it in words, it would be: Divine maiden.
Now, it wasn't that Elizabeth wasn't beautiful, but the woman before them—this dean—embodied the pinnacle of Eastern aesthetics. Even Hikaru, who had been emotionally numb for a while now, felt his heart skip a beat.
Takao was even worse—he gasped so hard it sounded like he was about to pass out.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Dean, I've brought the new arrivals."
…
After the formalities were complete and the necessary paperwork processed, they left the dean's courtyard. Even then, Takao was still dazed, like he hadn't fully returned to his senses.
Masaki clapped him on the shoulder with a wistful look. "Dean Yat Sen… she's the dream girl of half the Admiralty. You're lucky you got off that easy. Years ago, one night I was crying by the lakeside about how unfair life was when she happened to pass by carrying a lantern. I'm not exaggerating—I was so stunned I fell straight into the lake."
Takao rubbed his face and nodded solemnly. "If I could rescue Dean Yat Sen, I'd gladly give up ten years of my life!"
Masaki scoffed. "Even thirty years wouldn't put you in the running. Keep dreaming."
The light cruiser Yat Sen was, in terms of combat, pretty weak—on par with some of the unclassified supply ships.
Still, in the game, her rarity was four stars, and thanks to her famously beautiful legs, she was known as the "Leg Fairy." Just those long, jade-like legs alone were worth six stars—and that's not even counting her emotional appeal as a former maritime patrol ship.
Hikaru listened silently with a faint smile. He wasn't about to ruin the delusions of these two hopeless cases, but deep down he shared their admiration. He might not have had Elizabeth in the game, but he had trained Yat Sen thoroughly.
There were no identical shipgirls in this world. Even so, if the dean—who had no Admiral of her own—looked this beautiful, then Hikaru's own Yat Sen, molded by his ideals, would surely suit his tastes even more.
"Hey," Takao suddenly said, his imagination running wild, "Yat Sen isn't that rare, right? Is she buildable?"
Masaki snorted. "Sure, but take a look in the mirror first, would you? You think you're worthy?"
Takao wasn't offended. "She's really buildable? What's the formula? I've decided—my next construction project is Yat Sen!"
Masaki sneered, then broke into a mischievous grin. "Oh there's a formula, alright. Statistically, she appears most often from high-cost battleship and carrier recipes. Guess where the extra resources go?"
Takao blinked. "Where?"
Masaki dropped the joke and burst out laughing. Takao, meanwhile, looked utterly lost, prompting Masaki to shake his head in disappointment.
Elizabeth, watching them, suddenly stifled a giggle.
As the group began to part ways, Hikaru quickly brought up something they'd discussed days earlier.
"Masaki-senpai, you promised to help me get a sortie."
This was tied to his personal quest, and he'd asked several times—but Masaki had always dodged it with the excuse that it was too dangerous.
Masaki looked a little exasperated. A shipgirl wasn't combat-ready the moment she was constructed. Part of the Academy's job was training them in real combat tactics. To Masaki, letting Hikaru sortie right after construction was irresponsible—borderline suicidal. A single mistake could mean losing a ship.
If not for the "LV143" glowing on Hikaru's identification tag, constantly reminding Masaki that this kid wasn't ordinary, and Hikaru's own repeated assurances, Masaki would've scolded him into submission.
This wasn't play-pretend—it was war.
Now that they were parting ways, and Hikaru was asking again, Masaki couldn't really refuse… but luckily, there was someone else to toss the problem to.
He turned to Elizabeth. "You heard that, didn't you? Normally, rookie Admirals only sortie after enough drills and tests—and always under teacher supervision. What's your take?"
Elizabeth's answer surprised Masaki. She looked Hikaru up and down for a moment, then shoved the last bit of ice cream into her mouth and mumbled, "He must have his reasons. Let him do some drills first."
Masaki's eyes lit up. "That works too—let him see what real combat is like."
The Academy had a dedicated outdoor training range: a stretch of ocean cordoned off near the shore.
Elizabeth brought them to register at the range. It was well-equipped—Hikaru spotted fixed targets, moving targets, destruction-testing gear, and several shipgirls standing by like lifeguards. After all, even drills carried some risk.
After exchanging a few words with the shipgirl on duty, Elizabeth waved Hikaru over.
"Normally, a realistic combat simulation would take place out on the open sea—from scouting to contact, preemptive bombardment, torpedoes, gunfire, and full-on engagement. But all that takes half a day at least. This range isn't that big, so we can only do short-range training. I'll teach your shipgirl how to use blanks for the drill."