"Big sis, look at him! Look at your brother-in-law!"
Tirpitz, always eager to stir up drama, grabbed Bismarck's hand to complain.
"Stop saying 'him him him'—call him Commander!"
Bismarck flicked Tirpitz on the forehead.
"Meanie," Tirpitz pouted, "You've hit me so many times today… Sis, you've changed!"
Bismarck snorted and turned away. Brother-in-law, she said? So disrespectful.
It should be husband, obviously.
As the heart of the base, Hikaru—who was now sleeping soundly on Yat Sen's lap—naturally became the focus of everyone's attention.
Even while the shipgirls were hard at work rebuilding the base, they couldn't help glancing back at him every few seconds, as if checking to make sure he was still there.
Seeing him sleeping peacefully gave them the same feeling: that the world was at peace, the glass glistened, and the air shone with warmth.
This was especially true for the newcomers who had just joined Hikaru's side. Bismarck, with her usual military discipline, would sharply turn her head now and then to glance at Hikaru, as if afraid he'd vanish into thin air.
Of course, no one dared laugh at her for it—the only one who had tried was already half-beaten into a human bobblehead by Bismarck.
Now, if Hikaru had accidentally face-planted into someone else's chest, the girls would've burst into teasing laughter.
But Yat Sen was… different.
Leaning on a bamboo broom she somehow found, California sighed,
"Even as a woman, I have to admit, Yat Sen's got that ethereal goddess vibe. Ughhh, I want to nap on her lap toooo!"
Yat Sen had the gentleness of a fairy touching down upon the mortal world—soft, shy, completely non-threatening. Even other girls wanted to protect her, let alone joke about her and Hikaru.
Of course, part of that was also because California and Yat Sen weren't very close yet.
"Yat Sen… why you?"
The words left Hikaru's mouth before he could stop them.
Which immediately made it sound like he was disappointed. Panicking, he tried to backpedal.
"I mean—"
But Yat Sen softly raised a slender white finger and pressed it against his lips.
"I understand, Commander," she said gently, head lowered with a faint blush. "At first it was Sister Lexington, but she had to leave, so I came to take care of you." Her tone became even more tender. "It looked like you were having a nightmare just now… shall I give you a massage?"
She was simply too beautiful, too kind. Even a small movement like lowering her head made Hikaru feel like bursting into song—or maybe writing poetry.
That gentle downward glance, he thought, like a water lotus swaying shyly in the breeze…
Ahem. Hikaru snapped out of his daze and looked away. "So, what happened with Lexington?"
Smack!
California suddenly slapped him on the shoulder, earning herself a scowl.
"The buildings on both sides of the base are connected, remember? Sister Lexington's over there comforting her little sister."
Hikaru let out a cold snort. "Take your hand off me."
With Yat Sen's gentle, water-like demeanor right in front of him, a rough tomboy like California? Hmph. Stranger danger.
California awkwardly pulled her hand back—not because she was scared, no way! It was just… Bismarck's glare from across the way felt like being stabbed by an icy blade.
Definitely not scared! Just giving her some face, that's all!
Hikaru finally stretched his neck to look around.
Now he understood why he hadn't seen any of the younger shipgirls around. Normally, those tiny terrors would be all over him the moment he woke up. He'd almost thought he was still dreaming.
The base's reconstruction site was buzzing with activity.
Floating bricks, chairs, tables, even food zipped around midair—like they were being carried and juggled by invisible ghosts. It was easy to tell from their movement patterns that something unseen was playing with them.
Recalling how Missouri's shell had shattered both the real and dream versions of the base, Hikaru quickly pieced things together.
Everything the girls on the other side—the dream side, or the inner world—did to the base synced up in real time with this side too.
Put simply: the base was now crawling with hundreds of invisible ghosts you couldn't touch or see.
Kind of amusing, really. A ghost naval base.
And right at the center of the phantom festivities were none other than the two tiny terrors themselves: Vampire and Glowworm.
Hikaru could barely even make out their faces or bodies. They were completely surrounded by layer upon layer of dresses, toys, snacks, soda—everything little girls loved.
They seemed to be drawing something on the ground with stones—writing messages to communicate with the "ghosts."
Didn't take a genius to guess: the shipgirls in the dream-world base were chatting with them from the other side.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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