The Divine Throne of Shipgirls

After the broadcast ended, everyone stood in solemn silence for three minutes before returning to their tasks.

Yamato didn't bother arguing with Hikaru anymore. "If you're feeling restless, go ask Cumberland to arrange lodging for you. The coming war could be brutal—prepare yourself mentally."

The brutality of war likely meant that Tirpitz and Lexington would participate in the final assault against Abyssal Barbarossa. But now that they'd integrated the damage control fairies' power, Hikaru wasn't too worried.

Still, going back to sleep wasn't an option either. So he took the three girls with him to the back of the hall to chat on their own.

Meanwhile, more and more people were gathering around Yamato.

The Shipgirl Headquarters had a lenient policy on salvaging stray shipgirls. For any Commander hoping to expand their fleet, this was a golden opportunity.

It made sense: a Commander could only host a limited number of shipgirls. In other words, their soul only had a few drydocks to accommodate them—maybe a few, maybe a dozen. So once a determined Commander sensed they could only recruit two or three more shipgirls, they often stopped building altogether and placed their hopes in salvage.

Construction was a gamble, with the high chance of getting non-main fleet shipgirls with weak combat ability. But salvage was different—you could target the powerful ones directly.

And Yamato was the crown jewel of the salvage world, so it was no surprise that Commanders at any rank alike were swarming around her, trying to show off.

Even some old-but-still-burning Seniors were smiling and closing in with documents in hand, eyes locked on Yamato.

From the back, it was hard to see Yamato's expression, but one could see her pull a cigar from her bag. The moment she clipped the tip, more than ten lighters were thrust toward her at once. One Commander even showed off his supernatural ability, conjuring a flame at his fingertip—clearly well prepared.

Hikaru nearly burst out laughing.

Lexington chuckled softly. "Yamato's in a mood today."

Hikaru smirked. "An aging spinster. Of course she's got a lot on her mind."

"Then why don't you just salvage her yourself, Commander?"

"No thanks. Why would I bring a walking smoke factory home? I don't even smoke." Then he remembered something. "Did you bring me any alcohol?"

Lexington pouted. "I'm your wife! Of course I didn't forget something like that."

"My bad, my bad. I was wrong. Sorry."

"Heehee, then lean over so I can give you a teeny-tiny punishment."

Yamato puffed her cigar slowly. The thick smoke gradually masked her gloomy face.

As a Captain who hadn't even graduated yet, Hikaru wasn't expected to be involved in military planning or sortie execution—especially since his shipgirls were designated for the final assault. That stuff was above his pay grade.

But his insignia still brought plenty of trouble.

After turning down yet another Commander who came demanding his seat, Hikaru watched the frustrated man walk away and rubbed his chin. "That makes… how many now?"

Fletcher kept count. "Forty-seven."

Hikaru touched his face and sighed. "Sigh… cursed by being too handsome."

Of course, it wasn't his looks. It was the sight of all these Commanders standing around without seats, while this unknown Captain sat there like a prince. Naturally, they felt entitled to order him out of the way.

After rejecting dozens of them, Hikaru had gained a bit of reputation among the Captains—if only a negative one.

Namely: "That arrogant Mid-Captain who doesn't know his place! Dared to refuse me—I've got his name memorized. Just wait, I'll teach him a lesson someday!"

Hikaru's name was only known among the top, high-level officials, the East Asia director of the Shipgirl Headquarters, and a few Marshals in the Navy Command. Slightly further down were a few speculative opportunists who'd heard whispers and rumors. But to the thousands of Captains aboard this ship?

Kuramoto Hikaru? Never heard of him.

A Mid-Captain? Since when can a Captain-tier officer sit in our circle?

At this rate, Hikaru felt like if Tirpitz didn't establish an overwhelmingly reputation soon, he was going to offend every person onboard.

So he left the command hall altogether and found the bored-looking Cumberland to ask her to show him to his lodging.

[End of Chapter]

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