Yamato was happily feasting in the dining hall. She had taken up an entire table for herself—half of it buried under a towering stack of empty plates.
She picked up a golden-brown roasted sea fish the length of her forearm, grabbed it by the tail, and chomped her way from the head to the tip in one go. After a satisfied burp, she tossed the bones aside, took a big gulp of creamy white fish soup, and reached for the next one.
Slam!
Hikaru slapped the draft agreement onto the table, shaking the dishes.
"Yamato, you totally screwed me over!"
Yamato froze, licking her fingers as she nervously said, "I didn't even eat that much... And Yat Sen didn't say she was tired either. If it's really a problem, I-I'll pay for the food, okay?"
Hikaru's eyes lit up. "You'll pay? Yes, you should! After all, a chef like Yat Sen is a rare treasure. Pay what you think it's worth."
Pinch.
Lexington, still smiling, gave Hikaru a subtle pinch on the arm.
Shameful.
Who the hell asks guests to pay for their food?
Snapped out of his excitement, Hikaru looked at her resentfully.
As the one in charge of the base, he felt the burden on his shoulders—dozens of mouths to feed here, plus hundreds more at the rear base. All of them depended on him, their Commander, to keep them fed and equipped.
What's wrong with asking Yamato to chip in for food?
Especially when she ate this much!
But still, now wasn't the time to keep pushing the issue. Hikaru jabbed a finger at the agreement. "Yamato, I treat you like a big sister. And you treat me like… your half-cousin or something, don't you?!"
"…Wait, are you talking about the agreement?"
Yamato looked confused. "Didn't I settle everything with your wife already? Why are you flipping on us now?"
Lexington added from the side, "Commander, I actually think this agreement is solid."
And of course she would. The entire agreement was basically a trade deal—no military cooperation, no joint command clauses, no sovereignty disputes. It gave the base full autonomy and avoided all the sensitive stuff.
From Lexington's perspective, there was no reason to renegotiate.
But Hikaru argued with conviction, "You guys are getting a huge bargain! Yamato, if we want a long-term relationship, you can't just take advantage of your friends!"
Yamato wiped her hands on her clothes and carefully picked up the draft, giving it a thorough look before asking, confused, "Alright, then tell me—where exactly are we taking advantage of you? Point it out, and I'll change it."
What a joke. The shipgirl headquarters had practically showered Hikaru in resources just to win him over. Yamato herself, as the East Asia liaison, had stepped in personally. They gave him both substance and prestige.
This first agreement was supposed to be the foundation. Only by letting Hikaru get a real taste of the benefits would he be motivated to deepen cooperation.
If anything, Yamato wanted to give him more advantages—within reason.
But seeing that Yamato still didn't get it, Hikaru shook his head, utterly disappointed.
"You didn't put anything about wages or bonuses in here!"
"Wages?" Yamato's expression turned odd. "Wait, am I understanding this right… You want the shipgirl headquarters to pay you a salary?"
"Not me," Hikaru said, full of righteous indignation. He pulled the half-asleep Tirpitz next to him into view. "I'm talking about my girls—my shipgirls who fight on the front lines against the Abyssals! The bravest, cutest warriors! We can't let them shed blood and tears, right? Look at Tirpitz! She's exhausted from worry about the war!"
Hsssss.
Yamato sucked in a cold breath.
Do I look like an idiot to you? Tirpitz was clearly just lazy! Saying crap like that without even blushing—your skin is thicker than the corner of a castle wall!
Lexington's eyes also sparkled with surprise. In terms of negotiation, she could expertly read an opponent's bottom line. But when it came to shamelessly lowering your own, she was no match for her Commander.
At least she still cared about appearances.
Shock aside, negotiations still had to continue. Yamato tentatively asked, "Even if the shipgirl headquarters does want to give your shipgirls salaries… there has to be a justification, right?"
She wasn't stupid—Yamato had already found Hikaru's weak spot.
Lexington glanced at him with concern, worried he was walking into a trap.
As the ancients said: "Titles and tools are not to be lightly given to others."
In this case, it meant: naming and status matter a lot.
If Hikaru wanted his shipgirls to get paid, fine—but Yamato was subtly asking: Doesn't that mean we need to define their official roles?
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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