Bismarck let out a breath of relief, striding through the warehouse doors and nodding toward Veneto.
"You've arrived, Veneto."
Both were the "big sisters" of their respective factions, and on top of that, they shared a history of cooperating against the British- and US-factions. Their relationship, at the very least, was cordial.
Veneto returned the gesture with an elegant bow. "I may be late, but better late than never."
It's worth noting Veneto's posture here—she was seated on her rigging, a broad, ship-like platform. The platform's sides carried turrets and armor, making it a combination of offense and defense.
On one side of the platform rested a steaming cup of coffee, even with a pot beside it.
It was not unlike how Tirpitz would pile notebooks, dolls, or even a game console on her own rigging seat.
The awkward part was that Veneto was simply too short. Her rigging, however, was a full-sized battleship's—large, imposing, and massive.
When she bowed toward Bismarck, she seemed overly earnest, and with the movement a bit too wide, she toppled straight off the rigging.
Thud!
Veneto hit the cold metal floor face-first in a full-body sprawl.
It had to hurt—without channeling their power, shipgirls' bodies were no tougher than an ordinary girl's.
Hikaru's lips twitched wildly. He at least knew better than to tempt fate. Stifling his laughter, he turned his head aside in silence.
Vampire and Ella also knew Veneto's temper well enough. None of them would dare kick her while she was down, not unless they wanted to be remembered and paid back later.
But not everyone valued their life equally.
From the corner of the warehouse came a barely suppressed snicker of schadenfreude.
Bismarck turned her head toward it, blinking in surprise. "Cali? Yamato? How did you two end up beaten like that?"
Veneto lifted her small face from the floor, expressionless.
Her eyes flicked toward the commander. Seeing that Hikaru wasn't looking her way eased her embarrassment ever so slightly.
Then she caught sight of the smirking satisfaction on California's and Yamato's faces.
Veneto's lips twitched. "Oh? Something funny?"
The next moment, before California could respond, the barrels of Veneto's rigging swung around—then thundered a full salvo into the warehouse corner.
The blast roared, tearing open a gaping hole that let in the outside light.
When the smoke cleared, California and Yamato were nowhere to be seen.
From the side, the quartermaster Leipzig stepped forward, voice cold and businesslike: "Destruction of property. Ten times the damages. I'll be docking it straight from your pay."
"Hmph. As long as I still have coffee, I don't care."
Veneto stood, brushing imaginary dust from her uniform, and turned just in time to see Helena carrying the communications radio out to search for the blasted-away Yamato.
She looked back at Bismarck.
"Now then, Bismarck, what brings you here?"
Bismarck collected herself, her expression tightening as she turned toward Hikaru.
"Commander, we've encountered a sudden situation. Two hundred nautical miles northwest of the base, a four-ship squadron is approaching. Among them are Alaska, Blücher, a destroyer, and a battleship shipgirl."
"Alaska and Blücher… the same ones I know?"
The only ones Hikaru could recall were the two from the bar, the owner Alaska who once tried to rope him into recording songs, and Blücher, who begged to call Tirpitz her big sister only to get so scared she nearly wet herself. Both had left a memorable impression.
"Yes. It's likely they've come here for the base."
"Talk about persistence. Do they really think I'm some kind of peerless song god, to cross half the world just to track me down?" Hikaru joked.
His shipgirls answered with nothing but collective eye-rolls.
They'd all pestered him to sing once before. After hearing it that one time, none of them ever asked again.
"Fine, fine," Hikaru shrugged. "So maybe they're in trouble?"
"Abyssal carrier planes are maneuvering toward them. It looks like a classic encirclement—to bait us into sending aid. Prince of Wales leans toward not rescuing them. We're awaiting your command."
The weight of the issue pressed heavily on Hikaru. He frowned, thinking. "Can we contact them?"
Bismarck could only give a bitter smile. "Even if Lexington's planes can break through, they have no way of communicating with aircraft."
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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