"...."
"...."
"I misspoke. I’m truly sorry."
Perhaps because she had seen the grim look on Jinseong’s face, or perhaps because she had sensed a murderous aura rising from deep within him, Rebecca lowered her head and apologized politely. Jinseong, realizing his expression had soured, quickly forced himself to regain composure.
*What kind of face was I making just now?*
"Umm.... I’m just a researcher, so I can’t give you the answers you’re looking for. Now, let me go over the rest of your schedule."
"Ah.... There’s still more?"
Outside the window, the seaside was still sparkling and the day was bright, but Jinseong felt as though he had already endured far too much.
"Huh? You’ve only done the face-to-face measurement with the Eagle Union shipgirl."
"Th-That.... I understand. What do I do next?"
Rebecca lifted the documents again, flipped through a few pages, scanned them, and nodded.
"The face-to-face measurement is sufficient, but for the final tactical command simulation, we’ll give you a brief opportunity to make contact with a Sakura Empire shipgirl as well."
"Tactical command.... training? How am I supposed to do that as a soldier? No, before that, I’m Army, not Navy."
"Oh, don’t worry. We call it tactical command simulation training, but.... you only need to follow the instructions we give you. It’s basically just reading from a script; even a civilian with no military knowledge could do it."
To Jinseong, the road ahead looked darker and darker. His expression turned faintly sour, but he decided to ask about the rest of his group first.
"By the way, what happened to my Platoon Leader and Sergeant Lee Jiwoong? Are they doing this tactical command.... training with me?"
"Ah, those two? The man you called the Platoon Leader is resting comfortably in the lounge, and Sergeant Lee Jiwoong.... he’s currently consulting with an Azur Lane representative."
"C-consulting...?"
"Yes~ His measurement was completed through face-to-face contact, and now he’s getting advice on how to begin if he wants to serve in Azur Lane."
*He actually decided to reenlist for a shipgirl? That guy is insane. Completely insane.... Totally out of his mind....*
"Ah, no...! Then am I the only one doing this training?"
"Of course. A 98% aptitude score makes you a primary research subject. Honestly, it’s a shame we can only do this much."
Nothing was going the way he expected; everything was flowing in a direction he had never foreseen. Suddenly, Jinseong felt like a lonely castaway.
"Then please sit and wait for a moment. I’ll bring in the Sakura Empire shipgirl."
With nothing left to say, Jinseong flopped into the chair. Rebecca left the room with brisk, hurried steps.
"Return.... discharge.... Ah.... I should probably call home too...."
Knock, knock.
At the sound of the knock, the door slowly opened and a woman dressed all in white stepped inside. Her large, wing-like sleeves fluttered as she approached, and Jinseong hesitated for a moment before standing up.
"Ah.... H-hello.... I was really rude the first time we met."
The woman folded her hands neatly and bowed. The atmosphere around her was unmistakably that of a shipgirl—it was almost suffocating.
"Ah, no. Was it because you were seeing a Republic of Korea Army soldier for the first time?"
"Eek, n-no...! No, that’s not it! I-I mean.... Ahem! I am Shokaku, an aircraft carrier of the Sakura Empire, and the elder sister of the Fifth Carrier Division."
"I’m Sergeant Yoo Jinseong of the Army."
Shokaku continued to bow as if trying to steer the conversation. They both took their seats simultaneously after inviting each other to do so. Only then could Jinseong take a closer look at her.
Her sleeves, shaped like massive crane wings, seemed to spread out around her before settling with a soft flutter. Her kimono was neatly fitted and paired with a short black skirt—a style of clothing he had never seen anywhere else.
"I heard you helped my junior, Sergeant Lee Jiwoong, with his face-to-face measurement."
"Ah, yes. He was an interesting person."
*Interesting...? That guy? He actually worked with shipgirls too?*
"Th-then.... Did he say anything weird, or act too over the top....?"
"Ah~ Ufufu! No. He did seem a little excessive in his behavior, but I thought he was just awkward because of the situation. In fact, he tried to talk to me about so~ many things afterward. It was quite fun."
Shokaku laughed behind the large sleeve she lifted to her mouth. Every gesture she made was that of a well-bred young lady. Jinseong thought he finally understood why Jiwoong had been grinning so much.
"Ah, I’ve actually been given less time with you than the original measurement slot. You heard that, right? It’s not absolutely necessary to make contact, but it would be better if you did something even slightly similar to what you did with Yorktown."
Shokaku and Yorktown didn’t seem to be strangers. Since they were from different factions, whether they actually got along was a matter for later.
Shokaku stretched both hands toward Jinseong. Her fingers, peeking out from those oversized sleeves, looked adorable.
"Y-yes.... Then...."
Jinseong reached into Shokaku’s sleeves and took both her hands. He prayed desperately that nothing would happen, but it seemed his prayers went unanswered.
"Ah...? Hah! Uu.... Th-this much...? I-I hate to admit it, but Akagi-senpai’s intuition wasn’t wrong.... Kkuuu...."
Her reaction was exactly the same as Yorktown’s. Shokaku’s head drooped, and she began to tremble slightly. Recalling his experience with Yorktown, Jinseong muttered firmly to himself.
*So it really wasn’t because she hated me.*
"Ah...! Negative emotions? No! I’m not doing this because I dislike you, Jinseong! It’s just that this is my first time experiencing something like this...!"
"Oh...."
He felt like a researcher who had just succeeded in a critical experiment. Jinseong could finally breathe a little easier.
Shokaku, who had hurriedly lifted her head and tightened her grip on Jinseong’s hands to speak, realized she had dragged him closer as she rose from her chair. She immediately lowered her head again. Jinseong could tell her ears were bright red, which stood out vividly against her white clothes and silver hair.
Knock, knock.
A knock signaled that time was up. Shokaku glanced at the door, then at the magic mirror, and her expression turned dejected. Looking disappointed, she slowly let go of Jinseong’s hands and stood up. She bowed politely to Jinseong, who had also stood, then covered her cheek with her sleeve.
"...Please just call me Shokaku. I look forward to the mock exercise in a little while."
"Ah, y-yes...."
Shokaku left the room as if slowly backing away.
After Jinseong sat in the chair for a moment, Rebecca returned so quickly it was as if she had been waiting for Shokaku to leave.
"I have good news. Thanks to you, it’s been confirmed."
"...?"
"I told you that the higher someone’s aptitude score is, the better they match with the Wisdom Cube, right? The shipgirls born from the Cube operate in the same context. After checking the shipgirls’ readings in real time, we confirmed that their stats rise simply through exchange activities, such as contact and mutual resonance with someone who has a high aptitude score."
"Ah.... I see. G-good news, then."
*So if he just held hands, shipgirls like Yorktown or Shokaku got stronger? If he rested a hand on their shoulder, did that mean they could lift heavier things?*
From Jinseong’s perspective, it was still hard to grasp exactly what kind of ability this was.
"Among the many abilities, things like senses, sensitivity, and eyesight also fall into that category. That’s why the shipgirls reacted so helplessly when you held their hands. Their senses suddenly became sharper; if they moved according to their usual sense of balance, their behavior became excessive, or they could feel the emotions of someone with a high aptitude score.... And if you consider the resulting sense of exhilaration, the situations you experienced all make sense."
It was the most useful explanation he had heard so far. Of course, the conclusion he reached in his heart was: *Don’t touch shipgirls carelessly.*
"Now then, let’s move on to the next step."
"R-right now?"
"Of course. I’ll take you to the facility dock."
Jinseong followed Rebecca, who took the lead with tired steps.
-------------
Crackle! Piiing- Boom!
The sound of target drones and ships being blown to pieces rang out. Soon after, only the sound of returning aircraft echoed across the dock.
"Amazing.... It shortened the training record we received in advance from Yorktown and Shokaku by 13%."
"This.... looks like we’ve got a real problem on our hands."
Rebecca, other researchers, and Navy personnel gathered nearby. The group, which clearly included several high-ranking officers, was wrapped in a flustered atmosphere.
"Recon range, speed, destructive power.... Her overall performance stats have risen by more than 10% across the board without any explanation. The largest increase is 32%."
"Hmm...."
A Navy colonel turned his gaze toward the soldier and the two shipgirls gathered at the dock.
"I didn’t expect us to end up cooperating like this. That was an unexpected skill, Yorktown."
"If you’d only said one less thing, I might have been able to look at you more kindly.... I’ll admit you did a good job matching the escort pattern of my aircraft, Shokaku."
The two shipgirls, who somehow seemed to have a strained relationship, continued their conversation.
"Yorktown, Shokaku, thank you for your hard work. The command order sheet was basically just something to read aloud.... but still, that was impressive."
Jinseong folded the crumpled, script-like paper a few times and tucked it into his pocket as he praised the two shipgirls and let out a sigh of relief. He looked like a man who had finally made it through.
Seeing Jinseong smile in relief, Shokaku stepped toward him, her eyes shining, and took both his hands in hers.
"J-Jinseong. We would like to formally invite you to the Sakura Empire. Once we return to the home port, I’ll speak to the others and bring you over as soon as possible! I didn’t have time to say this earlier, but embarrassingly, our faction’s Commander position has been vacant for quite a long time. So we would very much like to invite you!"
Yorktown, startled by Shokaku’s behavior, grabbed Jinseong’s other hand.
"N-no, Yoo Jinseong! Korea is a country much closer to the Eagle Union, one of the Azur Lane factions, right? If we’re going to bring you in, we’ll welcome you as the Commander of our much more refined and familiar Eagle Union!"
"What are you talking about, Yorktown? If we’re talking about familiarity, then our Sakura Empire, with its similar Eastern culture and atmosphere, is much more familiar. It’s a place no different from where you already live, Jinseong."
"That’s shameless, Shokaku.... It was the Eagle Union that put in the effort for so long. Even if the Commander tells me to get along with you later, I’m not going to!"
"How do you know we’ll even meet again, Yorktown.... Even if the Commander orders me to cooperate, I won’t send Zuikaku out with you!"
*I can’t even hear what they’re saying anymore. Please, just release the formation and pull it back already...! I’m dying here! No, don’t pull it back!*
In the middle of his suffering, Jinseong felt a stronger wave of injustice rising up and taking over his mind.
"Please just let me be discharged already!!"
The sun finally began to set over the sea.
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