Bismarck quietly tiptoed forward.
She arrived just in time to hear Hikaru demanding another kiss.
Apparently, Tirpitz thought the kissing had gone on too long and wanted to stop, but the commander was using some kind of excuse to pressure her.
"We agreed to kiss a thousand times to complete your treatment. This is only a few—one thousand means one thousand! Not one less, not even half! That's the full therapy!"
Tirpitz's face was beet red, but her tone was full of irritation. "We already did some today. Tomorrow. We'll continue the treatment tomorrow. I'm really busy right now!"
Hikaru seemed to sense a weakness and pressed harder. "Ha! Caught you! You were drawing your sister's doujin, and I saw it! If you don't give in, I'm telling your sister!"
"I'm not scared. Go ahead and show it to her if you've got the guts. You're the main character, after all!"
Tirpitz's voice had a "let's go down together" energy to it. At the same time, her "Big Sister Radar" suddenly went off—beep beep beep!
The alert was rapid and intense. Her sister was nearby!
Crap. She'd gotten too caught up in being kissed by the commander and let her guard down completely.
Startled, Tirpitz turned and tried to snatch up her half-drawn sketchbook and bolt.
But a hand pressed firmly down on the book.
Bismarck lowered her head, voice heavy.
"Commander. Tirpitz. Just what have you two been doing behind my back?"
—
California walked away, head hung low.
Lexington, having laid down the law, felt refreshed. Tilting her head thoughtfully, she turned and made her way toward the dorms.
She'd spent a long time talking with Saratoga today. That girl was always stubborn, trying to convince Lexington to pull strings and get her summoned early.
But now, Lexington had made up her mind. She needed to talk to her sister properly.
Knowing her little sister well, Lexington figured she was probably curled up in bed right now, sulking under the covers.
—
Far away, a small black dot appeared on the surface of the sea.
As it came into focus, it was clearly Yamato.
She looked a little worse for wear, with signs of battle on her. Her rigging was scratched and scuffed.
Coming from the north, Yamato had been forced to pass through waters where the Abyssal version of herself had summoned a massive fleet. She'd been spotted by a group of high-level Abyssal shipgirls—most of them around level 90—and nearly got bogged down there.
Had she not broken through in time, she'd have been surrounded by tens of thousands of Abyssals alone—and likely wouldn't have made it out alive.
Luckily, she didn't encounter any Abyssal flagships. If she had… there would've been no hope.
Or perhaps the Abyssal flagship simply didn't consider her worth bothering with.
Either way, she would need to take a different route on the way back—ideally veering southwest first, then heading northwest to make a wide detour.
Fortunately, the nearby waters had been cleared of high-level Abyssals due to the flagship's summons. That left the surrounding seas practically unguarded for Yamato.
She lifted her head and looked around. Soon, she spotted her destination.
A small island emerged on the sea ahead.
Engaging her propulsion systems, the blue vector thrusters beneath her feet flared brightly, pushing her forward at high speed.
Beneath the rippling waves, a large shadow moved beneath her—ten meters long, five wide.
Ahead, the naval district on the island was coming into view.
—
Bismarck's ears twitched. She immediately stopped scolding Tirpitz.
She tilted her head toward the storm-laden northern sea, eyes narrowing as if sensing something in the distance.
Hikaru and Tirpitz exchanged a glance.
They stood there silently before Bismarck like two grade-schoolers caught surfing the internet by the principal.
Bismarck was strict about hierarchy, yet she didn't scold Hikaru. By rights, Hikaru could've just walked away and left Tirpitz to her fate.
The fact that he stayed—out of loyalty—made Tirpitz deeply grateful.
She even started wondering if she should draw him in a better position next time in her doujin.
But Hikaru hadn't stayed because of loyalty.
It was instinct.
He was certain: if he dared to run, Bismarck would absolutely kill him.
So he didn't move a muscle. No matter what Bismarck said, he bowed his head and nodded seriously, acting as if he were equally at fault.
That wasn't cowardice—it was survival instinct.
Still, Hikaru found it odd when Bismarck suddenly stopped lecturing them.
Could it be she wasn't satisfied with just yelling? Was she about to escalate?
"Someone's coming," Bismarck muttered, frowning. "They're strong. I'll go check. Tirpitz—protect the commander."
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]