Lexington waved her hand, summoning a fluffy white cloud and gently pressed Hikaru down onto its soft surface.
"Commander, just rest well. Leave the work to us."
Hikaru really wasn't in any shape to be working, so he nodded. "Then I'll slack off just this once."
"Just talking to us is already the greatest support," Yat Sen said with a smile as she rolled up her emerald-green sleeves and walked toward a broken main beam. "I've always wanted to have a face-to-face conversation with you, Commander."
She wasn't the only one. Judging by the look of undisguised concern on Bismarck's face, she clearly shared the same sentiment.
"Alright then, let's chat a bit," Hikaru said, then paused. "Wait—I should go into the dream first and let Missouri know what's going on, so she doesn't worry."
Back in the command room, Missouri had been anxiously waiting for Hikaru to switch her out. Time passed like years.
But her companions at the base had no intention of letting her off easy—especially after hearing from Missouri that Hikaru had materialized a mirror image of the entire base in the real world, and even summoned a few shipgirls with official roles over there. The others were riled up.
Tenryuu, dressed like a strict teacher, crossed her arms. "I'm the expedition corps leader, you know! That's an official post in the base's organization! Why only summon the secretaries?!"
Beside her, her sister ship Tatsuta nodded solemnly. The two of them had earned their rank through exceptional performance in expedition logistics, and Hikaru had appointed them as Flagship of two separate expedition fleets.
Expeditions were essential for gathering resources, blueprints, and tools. Back when Hikaru wasn't as laid-back, the expedition corps ran around the clock, day and night.
Often, just as one mission ended and the exhausted team sailed back to port hoping for a hot bath and a nap, they'd find Hikaru already waiting at the docks.
He'd receive the loot, feel a brief moment of satisfaction… and then immediately assign another expedition. He didn't even let the girls drink a glass of water before sending them out again.
This cycle repeated year after year. Though expedition members could hope to be rotated out, Tenryuu and Tatsuta—being flagship—had no replacements.
Over the years, the sisters had spent nearly all their time on the road, barely returning to base. They were excluded from major operations and hardly even recognized many of their fellow shipgirls.
All of this—was for that heartless man. To make the base stronger. And after all those years of sacrifice, they didn't even get a ring!
They wouldn't dare call themselves the greatest contributors to the base, but Tenryuu and Tatsuta had every right to hold their heads high. They'd more than earned their share of the glory.
Yet in the end, they got nothing. Now the missing Commander had returned, materialized the base, and even then… they weren't among the ones summoned.
The two sisters were nearly in tears.
And they weren't the only ones unhappy.
Leipzig, the ever-calculating one, slapped her cheeks and sighed gloomily. "Even a warehouse manager holds an official post! Damn Commander, not only is there no salary, I don't even get a welfare benefit like this!"
Washington folded her arms and sneered, "I'm the captain of the training fleet. You hear me complaining?"
South Dakota, short and stocky with tanned skin, rolled her eyes. "If we're talking captains, there's the anti-sub team, the torpedo boat team, the destroyer team, and a bunch of combat squads—none of them are whining. You just talk too much!"
Washington drew her axe and grinned wickedly. "you trying to die?"
While the others bickered, Missouri was surrounded by a completely different crowd.
After all, she was currently the only shipgirl who had seen the Commander alive—and returned to tell the tale.
Everyone was bursting with questions for her.
"Did the Commander get tanned? He said he lives on a hot island now."
"What did he feel like when you touched him?"
"Did you hug him? You said you would, right?"
"I thought you were going to give him a serious beatdown?"
"Come on, Missouri, say something! This isn't like you!"
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[p@treon.com/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]