Suppressing the urge to snap back at him, Yamato took a breath. After thinking it through, she finally grasped the key point in Hikaru's words.
"So what you're saying is… you'll fight the Abyssals, and the headquarters can take credit for your achievements—meaning, essentially, you're our hired mercenary?"
"'Mercenary' sounds so harsh. Comrades, Yamato. We're comrades in arms, working together against the Abyssals."
Yamato slowly nodded. "If that's the case, then we have something to talk about."
After all, the headquarters needed accomplishments—quantifiable military victories. Eliminating Abyssals was a hard metric and a major source of their legitimacy.
What Hikaru proposed was simple: any Abyssals defeated by his naval base could be counted as victories for the shipgirl headquarters. They could use those numbers for publicity and to secure more resources.
Of course, in Yamato's mind, this credit would be limited to the Eastern Continent Division of the shipgirl headquarters.
That condition was acceptable.
Yamato added, "You'll need to eliminate a minimum number of Abyssals each month. And we'll assign observers to be stationed at your base to ensure you don't falsify reports. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"No problem at all," Hikaru waved it off. "Which brings us to the next matter—bonuses!"
Yamato ground her teeth. "What bonuses?"
"Based on the number and quality of Abyssals eliminated, of course. Here's my proposal: for every 100,000 Abyssals taken down, an extra bonus of one billion; for every Abyssal flagship below level 100 eliminated, another billion; and for each level 100 flagship, thirty billion."
Yamato visibly shuddered.
Doing a quick mental estimate—just based on the final battle of the Campaign where Tirpitz and Lexington mowed down waves of Abyssals—the bonus alone would be well over 100 billion.
Who the hell could afford that?!
"No way. Monthly bonuses need a cap. Let's set it at fifty billion," she said firmly. "Only large-scale Abyssal forces count—not low-level, straggling grunts. And the Abyssals must be eliminated within the Eastern Continent's jurisdiction, since we're the ones footing the bill. Also—"
Hikaru shook his head, immediately launching into a fierce point-by-point argument.
The negotiation escalated fast. Yamato didn't even care about the food anymore—both hands clenched tightly to the edge of the table, body tense, afraid to show even the slightest weakness.
Every sentence became a strike, every term a protracted tug-of-war.
And yet, Yamato found herself… enjoying it.
This was a real negotiation.
Lexington let out a soft sigh.
She turned her head and saw Saratoga, Glowworm, Fletcher, Yat Sen—all of them staring at the Commander, their eyes filled with open admiration and reverence.
Even Prince of Wales and Bismarck looked impressed.
Lexington felt utterly defeated.
Negotiation wasn't a dinner party. It wasn't embroidery or painting. It wasn't about elegance or politeness—it was a battlefield without gunfire.
And clearly, on this battlefield, Hikaru had come out on top.
Lexington smiled warmly, filled with pride.
No doubt about it—this was her Commander.
What to do? She was falling for him even more.
"One year!" Yamato pressed.
"Three months. Final offer."
"You hard-headed—!"
Yamato cursed under her breath and jumped off the port jetty into the sea.
Joining her on the water, with their sea-walking boots activated, were Bismarck, Prince of Wales, Helena, and Saratoga.
They would travel back with Yamato and personally escort the first batch of resources to Hikaru's base.
The draft agreement had already been signed by Hikaru. Yamato was bringing it back for review. If the shipgirl headquarters had no objections, they'd sign it and send it back—making the agreement official.
The negotiation had dragged on for over a day, and honestly, it had been an exhausting ordeal.
Even now, as they were about to depart, Yamato was still arguing with Hikaru about the duration clause.
The deal would last six months. After that, the contract could be renewed—but only if the headquarters offered better terms than any other organization.
Yamato had wanted a full year, but Hikaru refused.
In another year, his shipgirls might all be over level 100, yet still earning just ten billion per month? That'd be daylight robbery.
If Yamato hadn't been so persistent, he would've insisted on just three months.
Realizing she could no longer negotiate, Yamato brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and said, "You've really surprised me these past two days, Commander Hikaru."
[End of Chapter]
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