“Haa....”
In the Commander’s office, Yoo Jinseong let out a deep sigh. The room was empty. Rarely, he looked absolutely furious. In his hand was a crumpled sheet of paper.
“Damn it.... Haa.”
His mind flashed back to the phone call from earlier.
“Lieutenant Yoo Jinseong. Your discharge request has been denied. Prepare to head to the Sakura Empire.”
“A formal notice will be sent soon. More than anything.... I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise to you. Your direct superior is the Secretary-General of Azur Lane, but as the officer in charge, I offer my sincere apology.”
“The meeting was one-sided. Even after we explained that there had been a prior promise made to you, it became a rare gathering where the opinions of the shipgirls from several factions and Azur Lane’s upper management were united.”
“To put it simply.... you’ll be dispatched in rotation to the factions that need you. The first is the Sakura Empire.”
Jinseong thought it was very military of them to work him like this. He hadn’t expected them to break a promise, though.
It seemed the mouths of the Secretary-General of Azur Lane and Dylan, the head of personnel administration, weren’t enough to carry the weight. The Eagle Union shipgirls, who hadn’t known about Jinseong’s discharge, seemed unable to speak up properly and were left confused.
“A formal protest....”
Jinseong thought things had gotten tangled beyond belief. He planned to protest the official notice properly, but first he’d need to call in the Eagle Union shipgirls, who had completely sunk into a gloomy mood.
“Yorktown’s number....”
He picked up the Commander’s office phone and dialed the number for Yorktown, which he had now memorized to some extent.
Beep-beep-beep!
A stiff alarm sounded from outside the door. Jinseong lowered the receiver with a slightly dumbfounded look. The alarm cut off in a hurry, and the door slowly opened as Yorktown peeked in.
“C-Commander....?”
“I thought Yorktown would keep her phone off during work hours, but you’ve got it on?”
“I-I thought you might call me, Commander....”
“R-right. Come in for now.”
At Jinseong’s words, Yorktown started to step inside, then hesitated.
“C-Commander? Could.... the others come in too?”
“Huh? Y-yeah....”
At his permission, the door opened wider and the shipgirls filed in one after another.
Yorktown, Bremerton, New Jersey, Laffey, Saint Louis.... Wait, hold on! How many are coming in?!
“Uh....”
The spacious Commander’s office now looked almost full from the shipgirls packed inside.
Laffey quickly came up beside Jinseong, but unlike before, she hesitated and couldn’t bring herself to hug him. With both hands trembling slightly, Laffey timidly grabbed the hem of his pants.
“Laffey?”
“Commander.... Did Laffey being clingy, rubbing up against you.... make you hate it...?”
At Laffey’s words, all the shipgirls’ gazes turned to Jinseong. Every one of them looked uneasy or lonely. Feeling as if some tremendous weight was pressing down on his shoulders, Jinseong shook his head and pulled Laffey into his lap.
“I’ve never hated it, Laffey. Ah.... It’s just that I didn’t expect things to turn out like this.”
After a brief silence, New Jersey let out a sigh and crossed her arms.
“Yeah. Honestly, we already knew, didn’t we? That the Commander would be leaving the Eagle Union in the not-too-distant future. There were rumors from the start too.”
“Mm. Even so, the Commander did his best. I felt so guilty for having doubted him at first that, while he was here, the base was filled with nothing but good things.”
Enterprise’s agreement caused the Commander’s office to buzz for a moment. Jinseong gently stroked Laffey’s head as she sat on his lap and looked up at him. Laffey had once told him not to touch the bunny-ear-like decoration, but now she stayed quiet and obedient without saying a word.
“...It’d probably be better to be honest about how I feel.”
Jinseong gathered himself and looked over the Eagle Union shipgirls, all of whom were watching him. After that, it was easy to speak.
He laid everything out one by one: his sudden change in circumstances as an Army man, his current situation of being forced to keep serving as a conscript rather than a career soldier, and even his own heart, which wanted to go home and had to go home. Then he gave a bitter smile.
“Still, a lot of things got better here, and you all gave me back far more than the trust I gave you. While I was here, it was so good I could forget my problems. Thank you, really.”
At Jinseong’s words, Bremerton wore an unreadable expression for a moment, then suddenly moved behind him and hugged him from behind. While everyone was startled by the sudden back hug, Bremerton smirked and whispered playfully into his ear.
“If the Commander gets discharged.... should I just retire and follow you?”
“What did you say?!”
“Bremerton.... You can’t just say things like that so casually....”
“Why not? All the Commander has to do is sign once, right? Sign my retirement papers now~ and let’s go to the Commander’s home together! I’m curious about that place called Korea too.... since that’s where the Commander’s from.”
Yorktown, who had been smiling awkwardly, now shook her head while holding a badly crumpled sheet of paper.
“Not right away. The Commander isn’t being discharged—he’s being transferred somewhere else....”
“...To the Sakura Empire.”
Sighs full of worry burst out from all over among the shipgirls. Jinseong could feel cold sweat starting to run down his back.
“So, um, Commander....! You’re not leaving because.... you hate us, right?”
Saint Louis, her voice a little shaky, stepped closer to the table and asked. Jinseong gave a firm, heavy nod and took her hand.
“No. Don’t worry.”
Feeling the mood lighten a little, Saratoga sank deep into the sofa and stretched.
“If the Commander isn’t ditching us because he’s sick of us~ then we all have each other’s contact info, right? We can call anytime. More than that, the thing we should really worry about is the Sakura Empire, where the Commander’s going to be dispatched.... or whatever.”
“True enough. That faction was hostile until not too long ago.”
“Their behavior up to now is annoying, and the meeting made it clear they won’t harm the Commander, but.... they’re still shady as hell.”
“Commander! If anything happens, you absolutely, definitely have to contact us, okay?!”
With New Jersey, Enterprise, and even Hornet chiming in, Jinseong started to feel the pressure of the situation. The trust these shipgirls had in him had become far too heavy in just half a year.
As if the office had turned into a conference room, worried discussion went back and forth among the shipgirls, and Jinseong had to spend the time patting Laffey, who was fidgeting with his collar in his lap.
-------------
“Commander.... I woke up. Can’t you not go?”
“...Commander, I hate this.”
“Hmph! How can you be so irresponsible and just leave like that! You’re the worst...! Tch....”
“....”
Nicholas stared straight at Jinseong with her odd-colored eyes, Eldridge wore her displeasure all over her body with a sulky, tearful expression while still not sending even a single spark through the hand gripping his pants, and Hermann kept clutching her skirt with both hands and shaking it as if venting her anger, but she couldn’t even meet Jinseong’s eyes after turning away. The destroyers’ atmosphere was a mess.
“Commander, let’s go.”
The day Jinseong left the Eagle Union. The mood at the base dock was, as expected, gloomy. Only the minimum number of shipgirls remained to guard the base, while most of them had come out to help escort the Commander, making the place very crowded.
“Don’t worry too much! We can always contact each other! Let’s meet again someday!”
He gave a light farewell and turned away, but from start to finish, Jinseong’s heart wasn’t at ease either. He had grown attached to the Eagle Union, after all.
He moved his heavy feet and boarded New Jersey’s command ship. That was because it had been agreed that the Eagle Union’s flagship would personally escort and guide him.
“You’re here. I’m.... sorry things turned out like this.”
“Not at all. After hearing what New Jersey, Enterprise, and Saratoga said about the meeting, I realized there was nothing we could do. You’ve worked hard.”
“Hmm....”
Waiting for him above New Jersey were Dylan and Ricardo. Ricardo added that, since this was about escorting and guiding Azur Lane’s Commander from one faction to another, they had been sent directly from the upper ranks.
“...New Jersey, let’s depart.”
At Jinseong’s command, New Jersey began moving, and alongside her the Eagle Union shipgirls advanced in formation without hesitation. Jinseong let out a hearty laugh at the rather majestic sight.
“What on earth did I do for half a year to make the shipgirls this....”
“The Commander simply did what he was supposed to do.”
Even after answering, Jinseong felt oddly embarrassed. What he’d just said sounded like something a person who had accomplished some great feat would say. And on top of that, Dylan and Ricardo were looking at him with a strangely approving expression, which only made him itch more.
“There were previous ones who didn’t do even the basics a person should do, so I guess the comparison makes me look good....”
“Commander, just a moment.... this way.”
Enterprise, who had climbed onto New Jersey’s command ship at some point, quietly called Jinseong over. The two of them came out from the bridge onto the deck and stood in the sea breeze for a moment before speaking.
“What is it, Enterprise?”
“Actually.... there’s something I haven’t told the Commander until now.”
Enterprise, resting a hand on the deck railing and hesitating for a moment, continued with difficulty.
“Do you remember? A while back.... I mentioned the Pacific singularity in passing.”
“Ah.... I don’t remember exactly when, but I do remember hearing about it. And once I started going out to sea myself, I understood it clearly too.”
Enterprise seemed reluctant to speak as she fiddled with her cap. But when Jinseong tilted his head and stepped closer, she cleared her throat and waved a hand.
“...Actually, we know what that singularity is.”
“What? No, if you knew, why didn’t you say so sooner....”
“The mood at the base was already like that, and even if we told the Commander, I didn’t think proper action would follow. Besides....”
“...?”
“The Sakura Empire heard that someone had made contact with the singularity.”
Jinseong’s head hurt at the fact that such an important detail was only being delivered now, but when he thought about the state of the Eagle Union, his own position, and Azur Lane’s movements, he also couldn’t really say that telling him earlier would have changed anything.
“We don’t know everything either, and there isn’t much we can pass on.... but be careful of the existence called ‘Siren,’ which is said to appear in that singularity.”
“And if anything happens, you absolutely, definitely have to contact us!”
New Jersey, who had come up beside him without him noticing, said as she clung to Jinseong’s arm. Enterprise nodded in agreement.
“Haa.... Yeah, got it.”
There was still a long way to go before they reached the Sakura Empire. Jinseong was planning to sort out his thoughts, but also to use this chance to find Dylan and protest the discharge issue.
“I’ll keep protesting, suggesting, and asking until something changes! And....”
This time, Jinseong vowed that in the Sakura Empire, he would think about nothing but his discharge and ignore the shipgirls and the base entirely.
-------------
“My, my? You’ve come with quite the grand fleet. Did you think that would intimidate us?”
“I didn’t say anything of the sort. Escorting a precious Commander like this is only natural.”
A shipgirl in a black coat with a white lining and red inner fabric, long black hair, sharply raised animal ears, and nine tails swaying behind her stood in a sharp standoff with Enterprise. Enterprise looked unimpressed, but the shipgirls of the Eagle Union and the Sakura Empire floating on the sea were glaring at each other or turning their eyes away in a very cold atmosphere.
“Uh.... well.... First of all, nice to meet you. I’m Dylan from Azur Lane. I’ll be the one helping Lieutenant Yoo Jinseong adjust to life in the Sakura Empire for a few days before heading back.”
The red fox-like shipgirl glanced over Dylan and gave a light greeting.
“Welcome to the Sakura Empire. During the meeting, they were talking about the Commander’s situation.... are you his direct superior?”
“My direct superior isn’t me but the Secretary-General of Azur Lane.... Still, I suppose it’s fair to say I’m the closest escort.”
“...I’m Akagi.”
“...I’m Ricardo, Colonel Dylan’s adjutant.”
Brief, awkward greetings were exchanged. Dylan also looked toward the pure-white, short-haired fox-like shipgirl standing silently beside Akagi, but she seemed to have no intention of speaking.
“We just need to take over the Commander, right? We’re in a hurry to get back to the base too.”
At Akagi’s curt words, Enterprise let out a small sigh and headed toward Jinseong.
Jinseong was talking in a slightly more relaxed atmosphere with Yorktown, New Jersey, Shokaku, and another shipgirl dressed similarly to Shokaku.
“Commander! Have you been well? I missed you. This is my younger sister, Zuikaku.”
“Uh, uhh.... Ah, hello, Commander! My sister told me a lot about you.”
“Yes, nice to meet you, Zuikaku.... Ah, I’ve gotten used to speaking casually with shipgirls. Is it okay if I talk casually?”
“Yep! Of course. This feels so weird....”
New Jersey shrugged as if the situation was awkward, and Yorktown offered Shokaku a gentle greeting.
“It’s been a while, Shokaku. We’re not exactly the kind of people who should be greeting each other warmly, but.... I’ve seen how seriously you act through the Commander, so I trust you. Please take good care of the Commander.”
“I didn’t expect to hear that from the Eagle Union. Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of the Commander. Since that day.... I trust you too, Yorktown.”
The conversation between them was enough to make even Enterprise and Akagi widen their eyes. Yorktown and Shokaku’s only real point of contact had been their first meeting with the Commander in Korea half a year ago, along with the aptitude test. Everyone except the people involved was left wondering what on earth had happened that day for the three of them to be this softened up.
“Well.... as someone who’s sailed with the Commander, I think I can guess what kind of feeling it was. Anyway, Commander, it’s about time.”
The Sakura Empire’s command ship had pulled up close beside New Jersey’s. Jinseong nodded and stepped away, moving a little distance from Yorktown, New Jersey, and Enterprise.
“Then, the escort mission for Commander Yoo Jinseong is complete. We’ll be waiting for the day we meet again.”
“...Let’s meet again.”
As New Jersey gave a formal farewell and salute, Jinseong returned it properly, then boarded the Sakura Empire’s command ship with Dylan and Ricardo.
The Eagle Union and Sakura Empire shipgirls, who had been spread out in a tense standoff, slowly separated as well, and only one familiar ship advanced forward under the guidance of the Sakura Empire’s shipgirls.
“You could have just boarded the command ship you came with....”
“I wanted to escort the Commander personally. It’s an honor to have you aboard this Shokaku. Fufu.”
The ship Jinseong boarded, with its wide deck and a strange resemblance to Yorktown and Enterprise standing nearby, was Shokaku’s command ship.
“Is it that there are a lot of carriers, or that I just keep ending up around carriers.... There really are a lot of carriers.”
“I hope it stays that way from now on.”
For now, the three of them—having boarded a ship from the Red Axis faction, which had once been hostile to Azur Lane, and having crossed the point of no return—swallowed hard and kept their nerves tight.
“Pull yourself together. From now on, I’m really only thinking about going home!”
Jinseong clenched his fist.
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