At another corner of the plaza, Hikaru spotted Fletcher.
Compared to Vampire and Glowworm, Fletcher's situation was a bit better, but she was still surrounded by floating objects—oil drums, blue roses, white plush toys—you name it. All drifting eerily through the air.
On the ground were rows of clumsily drawn "calligraphy pieces," and the cat-eared maid was frantically rushing around.
It looked like Fletcher's little sisters were trying to play with her.
"Tsk," Hikaru clicked his tongue. Suddenly, something odd struck him.
The girls from the other-world version of the base were holding clothes and food, which appeared to float around from this side—but they were clearly wearing clothes themselves. So why weren't those clothes visible?
"Our clothes can be merged into our rigging—it becomes part of our equipment. Otherwise, wouldn't they fall apart every time we fired a shot?" California explained with a disdainful glance. "Pervert Commander!"
Relieved to have that question answered, Hikaru nodded thoughtfully—then waved his hand dismissively.
"Shoo. Get lost, Cali. You're the only one slacking off here—go help out!"
"You're slacking off too!" California shot back, pointing at the ongoing construction. "Not like I'm needed. That base's work efficiency is off the charts. I can't even wedge myself in."
Hikaru turned to look—and nearly had a heart attack.
The massive crater in the command center—caused by Missouri's shell—had been completely repaired. There wasn't a crack in sight.
Even the buildings around the plaza were almost fully restored, and they were continuing to rebuild at an eye-popping speed.
Even the giant pit left by Missouri's cannon was already half-filled!
"How is it this fast?" Hikaru was dumbfounded. Even if there were lots of shipgirls on the other side, reconstruction still took time.
Could it be… he'd been asleep that long?
"They probably have repair-type abilities over there. Shipgirl powers can be all sorts of weird," California said with a resentful glance. "You've got so many shipgirls—someone's bound to have that ability."
Too many shipgirls, huh… Hikaru muttered internally. Don't blame me. I'm troubled too, you know.
Then he had a revelation.
Shipgirl powers came in all types. Some were probably tailored to building repairs. Mages, for example, could just use a restoration spell to mend broken buildings. No wonder they were progressing so fast.
At that moment, Yat Sen's soft, slender fingers gently touched his head.
"Commander, how's this pressure?"
She began to massage his head gently. Her technique was decent—but the strength was barely there.
"A little harder."
"…Okay."
She increased the pressure by a fraction.
"Still not enough. I can't feel anything."
"…Okay," she replied in a gentle tone, adding just a bit more pressure.
Hikaru was speechless. "Yat Sen, your hands are too soft. My skull isn't made of glass, you know."
California, imagining a watermelon getting crushed, gave Hikaru a pat on the shoulder.
"You do know our strength is way above yours, right? Your little human head really could get squished like a melon if we're not careful."
"Don't be ridiculous," Hikaru snapped. "That would never happen."
Shipgirls generally had greater physical strength than their Commanders. Of course, it was rare to see someone like Hikaru, who was out-leveled by dozens or even a hundred levels, but thanks to the link with so many shipgirls, he'd gained significant shared power. There was no way his head would shatter that easily.
More importantly, unless they deliberately activated their rigging, shipgirls maintained normal human-level strength during daily life. It wasn't like they could crush someone just by touching them.
Yat Sen, for her part, was both hesitant and overly cautious—treating Hikaru's head like a treasure she couldn't bear to damage.
After several rounds of coaxing, she finally managed to apply a massage pressure that was just barely acceptable.
As Hikaru rested his head in Yat Sen's lap, preparing to finally relax, Tirpitz walked by hugging a stack of bricks, refusing to let peace reign. She passed in front of him with a mischievous grin and muttered:
"Harder. Push harder. Faster!"
Hikaru ground his teeth. This damn otaku girl…!
Bismarck looked curiously at her sister, who scampered off giggling. She had no idea what that weird comment was supposed to mean.
Still, her sister seemed a lot livelier now—no longer the gloomy recluse she used to be.
The Commander really is the best medicine for shipgirls, Bismarck thought, feeling genuinely pleased.
Don't be fooled by Bismarck's "pure and proper" act—Tirpitz was hardly better.
Even though she was a hardcore otaku with her head full of doujin fantasies, before she'd ever shared a bed with Hikaru, she honestly had no clue what the actual difference was between men and women!
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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