Thinking of this, Hikaru glanced at California and sighed, shaking his head.
California blinked in confusion, pointing at herself.
Of course she had no idea—Hikaru was remembering how, when he had first summoned Tirpitz, he'd scoffed that California had only triggered a measly purple mission.
But then, with Saratoga, Prince of Wales, and the others… forget four-star purple missions, not even two- or three-stars appeared.
He still didn't know what the exact trigger conditions were.
Hikaru decided he'd study it later. The lotteries could also wait until tomorrow—for now, summoning new shipgirls took priority.
But first, naturally, he had to stop by the dream-world base and let them know, so they wouldn't be waiting for nothing.
Speaking of which, Fletcher had already set up a little table at the real-world base, chatting with her sisters every day through a notebook, apologizing for their mischief—though Willie alone caused more trouble than all the others combined.
Still, Hikaru felt it was better to inform them in person through the dream, not scribble a note on paper. That was too perfunctory.
After telling Lexington briefly, he shoved aside lazy Tirpitz, sat on the still-warm bench she had been hogging, and drifted into the dream.
As always, he was greeted by a wave of greetings and fussing—followed by a pile of complaints.
Even the tiniest little squabbles had to be brought before their Commander to judge.
For example: submarine U-96 and Akagi had stolen food from the fridge that belonged to the UK girls. U-96 promptly fainted for half a day, while Akagi, the infamous glutton, looked completely fine. Now the three factions of shipgirls were quarreling over responsibility.
Hikaru asked first: "Who cooked the food?"
The UK girls all turned to Hood, the glasses-wearing lady holding an orange cat in her arms. Hood sipped her tea nervously and looked around. "Wh-why are you all staring at me? What's it got to do with me?"
"Then Hood can eat her own cooking for ten meals. Repulse, you'll supervise."
Repulse, wearing a black-and-white maid apron with her mismatched eyes, bowed lightly, her clear voice ringing out: "As you command, Master."
Repulse and Renown always insisted on calling him "Master," no matter how much he tried to correct them. Hikaru had eventually given up—and, secretly, he found it a little delightful.
But Hood was utterly indignant, loudly protesting. "Why only punish me? I'm the victim here!"
Hikaru turned to timid U-96. She wore a wide-brimmed white cap, her long pale hair clipped with a sawfish-shaped pin, her uniform exposing her midriff over a school swimsuit. A quiet girl, but endlessly gluttonous.
He had already heard countless complaints from the other wolfpack girls—U-96 constantly hoarded snacks, canned food, and supplies in the dorm, even though the cafeteria's food was endless.
Her stockpile had grown so ridiculous that the submarine dormitory barely had space left to live.
Under Hikaru's gaze, U-96 hung her head, clearly guilty.
Blue-haired U-47, livelier and the wolfpack's leader, immediately stepped forward to shield her little sister.
"Commander, it wasn't U-96's fault. Akagi egged her on! Blame that gluttonous adult!"
Even if U-47 hadn't spoken, Hikaru couldn't bring himself to scold the little girl. He cleared his throat twice and turned instead to Akagi—the black-haired fox-eared girl in black-and-red shrine maiden robes. "Akagi, you'll be punished too. You're responsible for cleaning the wolfpack dorm for ten days."
Akagi, looking deceptively youthful, nodded demurely, the picture of grace.
In truth, as a J-Faction shipgirl, she had been remodeled into her current appearance. Once she'd looked like a university student—now, after her refit, she looked even younger.
Aside from being a bottomless stomach who schemed to scam food, she was otherwise exactly Hikaru's type of ideal wife. And really—was loving to eat even a flaw? More like a charm point.
But Akagi's sister Kaga was less forgiving.
The white-haired archer, dressed in a crisp white kyudo uniform with her hair in a ponytail, was sharp and cool. She loved her sake, which gave her something in common with Hikaru.
"This isn't fair," Kaga said flatly. "Why punish only my sister? U-96 might be small, but she still needs discipline."
"Fine, fine," Hikaru waved his hand. "I'll take U-96's share myself. Tomorrow at noon, I'll drink and play a match of go with you. Deal?"
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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