His aura was so terrifying that the young man before him could hardly stand.
Gorou cast him a glance and frowned. "Send a reply. Tell them this kind of agreement isn't worth even a month's time!"
The young man forced himself to remain calm, snapped his legs together, and answered with a "Yes!" before turning to leave.
But as he reached the door, he hurriedly turned back, making Gorou's frown deepen.
"What is it now?"
"Fleet Admiral, a new telegram—classified."
Suspicion flashed across Gorou's eyes as he stared at the young man dripping with cold sweat. He took the telegram and opened it.
[…Confirmed: at least five shipgirls on par with Tirpitz.]
The Fleet Admiral was silent for a long time. Then he folded the telegram, folded it again, and slowly pressed the creases flat with his withered hands—hands shriveled and mottled with age spots, like ghostly claws against the white paper.
He rose, braced himself on the chair, walked to the window, pushed it open, and gazed at the sea for a long while.
He really was old now.
His voice was frail and hoarse. "Tell them—the agreement must be signed for no less than twelve months."
The young man blinked in confusion and cautiously asked, "What about the previous order?"
"Of course it's void!"
Gorou roared, but the exertion set him coughing violently, hand over mouth.
His back hunched like a shrimp. The Iron Lion who had once radiated might during the defense of the South Seas had dulled his claws and fangs, his eyes now clouded with cataracts.
The young man wanted to step forward and help but didn't dare move, caught between advance and retreat.
The coughing fit lasted nearly five minutes before Gorou finally calmed. His chest and abdomen still ached, but he forced his head up and whispered weakly, "Go!"
The young man felt as if he'd been pardoned. He rushed toward the door—only to hear another voice behind him.
"After delivering the order, report to the Secretariat. You will serve as my new aide."
The freshly appointed aide sat stiffly on a bench against the wall, feeling as though even the seat beneath him was burning hot.
He tried to keep his chest out and his posture proper, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the Fleet Admiral and the Grand Governors at the long conference table kept stealing glances at him.
Everyone in the room—save him—was a seasoned veteran of the military, their strength as deep and unfathomable as the sea.
The aide felt like a little white rabbit dropped into a gathering of dragons. A single glare from any of these men could stop his heart dead.
Takeyama finally withdrew his gaze from the aide.
This new aide of the Fleet Admiral really wasn't suitable. Even if Gorou had already gone through more than ten aides in succession, there was no reason to promote such an inexperienced newcomer.
An aide might seem like a mere attendant, but it is more than that. As the closest assistant to the Fleet Admiral, to put it bluntly, if the Fleet Admiral suffered constipation while on the toilet, it was the aide's job to reach in and fix it.
That was how close the relationship had to be. Which meant the aide knew far more secrets and classified military matters than even most Grand Governors.
For example, Takeyama himself could attend this meeting solely because Gorou had personally named him. His rank alone wasn't enough.
And yet this young, lowly aide could calmly sit there and listen to every top-secret meeting the Fleet Admiral was involved in.
It wasn't that anyone despised the newcomer. It was that he lacked the experience needed for the weight of this position.
Could this new aide handle it? Ever since Gorou had fallen out with his shipgirl, he had been completely erratic.
For a commander, the closest and most trustworthy companion was naturally his shipgirl, and thus their aides were usually shipgirls as well.
But Indiana had quarreled bitterly with Gorou some time ago. Since then, he had replaced her with other officers as aides, yet none satisfied him.
That was understandable. What human aide could ever be as intimate or reliable as a shipgirl? And besides, no one knew what forces stood behind those human aides.
As Takeyama thought this, his mind drifted further. He recalled the meals London had prepared for him.
Were shipgirls really the most reliable companions? Takeyama couldn't help but doubt himself.
Just then, Gorou's voice pulled him back to the present.
[End of Chapter]
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