"Musashi..."
Hearing the name of the second battleship she had fought a life-and-death battle with over a decade ago, Yamato's expression turned complex.
Back then, unwilling to harm Musashi, she had chosen to surrender, allowing herself to be sunk.
But now, seeing Setsuna and his fleet of starships, Yamato worried that another major conflict between her new commander and Musashi was inevitable.
"I'll try to talk to her."
"If she refuses to listen this time, I'll give her a small lesson—she can't be allowed to act recklessly anymore."
Yamato nodded, her voice carrying a hint of mischievous intent.
"But I'm still not fully accustomed to the power of the Wisdom Cube... Hmm, Commander, can you give me some time?"
"Of course."
Setsuna gestured toward Richelieu.
As one of the few cross-nationality shipgirls in the fleet, Yamato had to transition from the Arpeggio technological system to the Azur Lane framework. It was only natural that she needed time to adjust.
The Azur Lane shipgirls would have to teach her properly.
"Come with me, then. I'll teach you how to deploy and retract your rigging, as well as how to channel the Wisdom Cube's power to enhance yourself and your weapons."
Richelieu brushed a strand of her golden hair aside before leaping gracefully from the dock and landing lightly on the ocean's surface.
She stood steadily atop the waves.
"Even though you'll soon be able to undergo a starship transformation, it's still necessary to learn the basics. Now, let's start with naval combat."
"You should have no problem controlling your hull in battle, but I assume you've never fought in humanoid form before?"
"..."
Yamato hesitantly jumped onto the water.
She quickly realized that the combat mode of Azur Lane shipgirls was indeed more flexible compared to those from the Blue World.
On the ocean, humanoid targets had a smaller hitbox and were nearly undetectable by radar, yet their rigging-mounted cannons retained the full firepower of a conventional battleship.
On land, they could bombard enemies with devastating naval artillery.
Against naval-caliber weaponry, no land-based military unit stood a chance.
A tank facing off against a battleship in a gunfight? It was doomed from the start.
Azur Lane shipgirls were capable of land, sea, and air combat. If there was one downside, it was that Yamato felt their equipment wasn't as advanced as the Fleet of Fog's.
But that problem would soon be resolved.
...
"Hmm..."
"Excellent. Soon, the conquest of the Blue World will be completely finished."
By dusk, Setsuna sat in the office that once belonged to the former garrison commander, reviewing documents.
He wasn't handling administrative work across worlds but rather reviewing the surrender agreements signed by the different nations in this world.
Purifier and Observer had been traveling the world in their spacecraft, and most countries had surrendered with barely any resistance.
After some brief contemplation, world leaders had arrived at a simple realization:
Before the extraterrestrials arrived, they were already losing to the Fleet of Fog, forced out of the seas entirely.
Now that aliens were here, if they resisted, they would face an overwhelming combined assault from both the Fleet of Fog and the alien fleet.
By submitting as vassal states, they at least had a chance to live normally once the aliens dealt with the Fleet of Fog.
No more fear of being mercilessly hunted the moment they set sail.
All they had to do was fulfill resource quotas set by the new rulers.
As a result, in addition to conquered nations, several countries voluntarily sought allegiance.
After reviewing the documents for a moment, Setsuna signed them all into his growing empire.
"Now, as long as Yamato persuades Musashi and brings the Fleet of Fog under control, we will have successfully completed all three objectives we set before departure."
He calculated the progress and found the operation to be remarkably efficient—and incredibly rewarding.
"Commander, is there anything else I can assist with?"
Beside him, Nagato neatly organized the documents and placed them into a file folder before asking.
She had temporarily taken over Richelieu's role as Setsuna's secretary ship.
"No, that's all. Thanks for the help."
Setsuna ruffled Nagato's hair and fox ears.
As one of the few loli battleships in the fleet, she looked undeniably adorable.
"Helping isn't... something you need to thank me for! Commander, if you ever need anything, I will never refuse you..."
Nagato puffed out her cheeks as she replied.
"So cute."
Setsuna couldn't resist petting Nagato's ears again. The little loli let out a soft whimper, her face turning bright red.
"Ah...!"
"D-Don't treat me like a child!"
"I am the flagship of the Sakura Empire's Combined Fleet! I am one of the Big Seven! My existence is proof of the era of battleships!"
Nagato stomped her foot in frustration, clearly upset that the Commander treated her like a small destroyer.
If this went on, she might end up being treated like a daughter.
Worse, she might even get seated at the destroyer table during fleet gatherings.
"Alright, alright."
"Shall I apologize for my rudeness?"
Setsuna chuckled, releasing her and leaning back in his chair, watching Nagato.
He found this slightly shy battleship loli rather amusing.
"W-Well... not exactly..."
"If... if you really want to... pet my head or ears, I suppose I wouldn't mind..."
"But! You have to let me know beforehand! Because... I am the flagship!"
Nagato's face was completely red as she spoke in a small, hesitant voice.
"Come here."
Setsuna opened his arms and pulled Nagato into his embrace.
Compared to Richelieu, Yat Sen, or Mio, she felt small.
Lacking certain... assets, but incredibly cute nonetheless.
Not just the animal ears—her fluffy fox tail as well.
Setsuna ran his hands over it; it was incredibly soft.
"Eep—!"
Nagato shivered as if reacting to a sudden stimulus.
"No one's ever touched my tail before..."
She buried her face in Setsuna's chest, mumbling.
"If you're uncomfortable, I'll stop."
"N-No... you can keep going..."
Nagato twitched her ears slightly, speaking in a quiet voice.
Like stroking a cat, Setsuna rhythmically ran his fingers through her ears and tail.
The little loli soon let out a pleased hum, instinctively snuggling into his arms.
"Beast-eared girls are the best."
Setsuna realized that petting Nagato felt no different from petting a fox—except she was even cuter.
Aside from being flat as a board for a battleship, she had no flaws.
"Commander, when you have time, come visit the Sakura Empire fleet more often..."
"I get lonely by myself..."
Nagato rubbed her cheek against his chest.
Ever since she had become the Sakura Empire's flagship, she had never felt so relaxed.
"Of course. You should also spend time with the other shipgirls instead of just staying at the port alone."
Setsuna pinched her cheek lightly.
"T-Then... can I still come to you in the future?"
"But first! You can't treat me like a kid! I am Nagato, the battleship Nagato of the Sakura Empire! Just like Richelieu!"
"No—my caliber is even bigger than hers!"
Nagato puffed up her chest in defiance.
"Oh?"
Setsuna was amused.
"Alright, if we go by our timeline's reckoning, you're a few hundred years old—you're an adult."
"That's more like it!"
Nagato nodded in satisfaction, her fluffy tail swaying.
Then, she snuggled back into Setsuna's arms, enjoying the sensation of being petted like a cat.
...
An hour later.
"Master?"
A gentle knock at the door was followed by the entrance of another shipgirl—a brunette with violet eyes, adorned with beast-like ears on her head and a large, fluffy tail swaying behind her.
Amagi.
A true battlecruiser, she carried the graceful demeanor of an older sister, exuding a mature and refined charm.
"Eh?"
Upon seeing Setsuna with Nagato snuggling against him, Amagi paused in surprise.
"Miss Nagato? Commander? This is...?!"
"Ah!"
Nagato quickly leaped away, hastily smoothing her hair before stammering out a response.
"N-No, I was just...!"
"She was feeling overwhelmed with work and needed a break."
Setsuna answered casually.
"Y-Yes! I was just tired, so... I'll go check on the Sakura Empire fleet now!"
Nagato bolted out of the room in a flash.
She was easily embarrassed, even around her fellow Sakura Empire shipgirls.
Setsuna figured that if it had been Taihou instead, she would have proudly flaunted it to the others.
"Did you need something?"
He turned to Amagi.
"Ahem, nothing too urgent... I just wanted to discuss some proposals regarding the future administration of this world."
Amagi coughed lightly before placing several documents in front of Setsuna.
They detailed plans for the further development of the Blue World—mapping out mineral reserves, extracting deep-sea resources, establishing a unified government, and more.
Everything was meticulously organized and flawless in execution.
After a quick review, Setsuna signed his approval.
"Well done. Proceed with these plans accordingly. You've structured them excellently."
"Thank you, Master."
Amagi bowed slightly in appreciation.
"..."
Setsuna noticed that her expression seemed a bit off.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, it's just... seeing you and Miss Nagato so close is... well, quite enviable... no, reassuring, I mean."
Amagi shook her head.
"..."
"Would you like some ear and tail petting too?"
Setsuna chuckled, glancing at Amagi.
She was also a beast-eared girl, and her tail and ears were even fluffier than Nagato's.
"P-Please, Master, don't joke about such things... um... cough..."
Amagi's face turned red as she stammered.
"Wait a moment."
"You've already undergone a starship retrofit, yet you're still unwell?"
Setsuna stood up and scrutinized her.
Originally, Amagi had been a frail shipgirl, but after being refitted into a starship, theoretically, all of her systems should have been replaced.
Any illness should have been cured—unless there was an issue with her cognitive core itself.
"No... I'm fine, really. It's just an old habit..."
"But thank you for your concern, Master."
Amagi shook her head softly.
"Oh, that's good. In the future, I'd like to have a little Amagi too—it would be great for Kaga to have a younger companion."
Setsuna patted Amagi's shoulder.
He had decided that when time allowed, he would bring more small shipgirls to life.
"M-Master—!"
For once, Amagi's usual composed and confident demeanor cracked as she let out a rare flustered yelp.
"Creating little shipgirls... aren't you planning a bit too far ahead?!"
"There are still many steps and things that need to be done first... Have a little patience, Commander..."
"Oh?"
Setsuna chuckled, understanding the underlying message in Amagi's words.
In theory, bringing a small shipgirl into existence only required drawing power from two Wisdom Cubes and handing the process over to Compiler.
But in reality...
It was always better to develop relationships properly and go through the natural steps first.
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