By now, the moon was high in the sky—sometime past 9 p.m.
Dinner and conversation had taken up quite a bit of time.
The warehouse, however, was brightly lit. The base still didn't have a full energy grid, but just hauling out a pile of ship rigging from storage was enough to light the place up like a bulb.
The containers Yamato had brought were placed in one corner of the warehouse. Thanks to magical expansion, the warehouse interior was incredibly tall and spacious—even parking a hundred Ghost strategic bombers inside wouldn't be a problem.
Earlier, California had followed Hikaru's orders and set aside three small crates of resources.
Glowworm clung to Hikaru's leg and looked up. "Commander, can I watch the summoning?"
Usually, during a summoning or construction, the Commander needed to be undisturbed—quiet, alone, and focused.
That was because constructing required something like meditation to resonate with the memory of steel.
But Hikaru wasn't constructing—he was summoning.
So there were no such taboos.
"Of course you can." Hikaru gave Glowworm's cheek a playful squeeze and turned to Bismarck and the others. "You're all welcome to watch too. It won't interfere with anything."
With him saying that, of course the shipgirls wanted to tag along. Fletcher even took the initiative to hoist one of the crates herself and led the way.
Bismarck picked up the remaining two, walking beside Hikaru. "Commander, which companions are you summoning?"
"Three—Helena, Saratoga, and Prince of Wales," Hikaru said thoughtfully. "Maybe also Ranger."
Tirpitz let out a weak groan. "None from the G-faction again?"
For every shipgirl feeling left out, there was one brimming with excitement. Vampire's eyes sparkled like stars. "It's Princess! Big Sister Prince of Wales!"
Fletcher let out a small snort. If all four companions were summoned, three of them would be from the US fleet—an overwhelming US-Faction victory. G-line and UK-line? Pfft. Chicken feed. Totally insignificant.
But she didn't dare say any of that out loud. After all, Fletcher was just a tiny little destroyer.
She snuck a glance at her commander and felt a pang of disappointment.
When she'd first arrived at his side, she got to sleep hugging him every night. But once the marriage shipgirls showed up, that chance vanished. And as more and more companions arrived, the time she could spend with the commander would only shrink.
Sometimes she even had terrible thoughts—like wishing the others wouldn't come, or that they'd arrive three or five years later.
That way, she could stay by his side every day for those few years, build deep emotional bonds, maybe even earn a Ring.
Whenever such thoughts surfaced, Fletcher would be overwhelmed with guilt.
She liked her commander and wanted to spend more time with him—but wasn't that true for every shipgirl?
She'd already had the privilege of arriving first, had precious memories with him that no one else did—yet she was still being greedy.
Fletcher, you little scoundrel!
Hikaru, of course, had no idea what kind of chaos was going on inside Fletcher's head. As he entered the construction chamber, Vampire eagerly rolled out a cushion for him to sit comfortably.
Bismarck and the others placed the crates in position.
Hikaru smiled at them, placed his hands on the resources, closed his eyes, and activated the summon.
His vision blurred—then blazed with light.
A powerful wave of emotion surged through his chest.
He stood upon a vast, endless ocean, gazing into a battlefield wreathed in fire and smoke, thoughts adrift.
This was the steel memory of the light cruiser USS Helena.
Due to treaty restrictions, she had been classified only as a light cruiser, but she was outfitted with improved high-pressure boilers and upgraded weapons systems. Her firepower was on par with a heavy cruiser, and her speed and range made her a standout among light cruisers.
Her life began in tragedy.
It was Pearl Harbor—the nightmare that haunted every US ship.
Helena was struck by an aerial torpedo during the surprise attack. Over a hundred crew members were wounded or killed. After the battle, she returned to port for repairs and was fitted with the then-cutting-edge SG radar.
Then came the Guadalcanal campaign. Thanks to the radar, Helena detected enemy movements at night and opened fire on the enemy flagship Aoba, killing the Japanese Sixth Fleet admiral in command.
More battles followed.
Helena's radar gave her unmatched enemy-detection capabilities, earning her countless merits.
In one legendary clash between cruisers and battleships, Helena turned on her searchlights and locked onto the destroyer Akatsuki—blasting it relentlessly until it exploded and sank, her aggression nothing short of overwhelming.
But the shadow of war was always death...
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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