Cover View
Bang!
The little queen in front of me slammed her hand down on the desk.
Behind her, I could see several of her knights and representatives from the Northern Parliament.
"So that’s it! Iron Blood has already lost control of the disaster zone, and we’ve driven every last Siren out of our waters. So why are you sending us to our deaths? Do you want to see us bleeding out on the battlefield, Commander?"
The leader of the Royal Navy, Queen Elizabeth, was openly defying my orders.
And she had brought her knights with her to make a show of force.
"I completely agree with Queen Elizabeth.
We in the Northern Parliament have already shed too much blood in the campaign against Iron Blood. We oppose the Commander’s plan for total extermination."
I looked at Elizabeth with an expression that said I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
"Elizabeth, the intelligence that Iron Blood had made contact with the Sirens came from the Royal Navy. From you people. And throughout this war, your side has done nothing but defy my orders at every turn. As for you, Sovetskaya, your people always obey my commands halfway and then stop. It’s unfortunate that you suffered so many casualties, but wasn’t that because you didn’t follow my orders properly?"
Then one of the knights stepped forward. Wales.
"Hmph. Have you ever considered that you may simply not be qualified to lead us?"
At that brazen remark, I nearly grabbed the back of my neck.
No wonder I can’t quit smoking.
"I... I unified a broken Azur Lane and built it up to this point. I’m not denying your contributions, but the foundation that lets you all operate and live here was built by me! Take that back and apologize, Wales."
I sprang to my feet in outrage.
Honestly, after feeding them, housing them, and taking care of everything until now, this was what I got?
Not qualified to lead them?
I forced down the feeling that my blood was running backward and spoke as calmly as I could.
"Haa... Right now, Iron Blood is absorbing Siren technology and aiming a dagger straight at our heart. We need to crush them before they fully assimilate that technology and the situation spirals out of control."
"Heh. Maybe I should’ve included you when we forcibly relocated the Koreans, Commander."
...Had this bitch lost her mind?
"Do you even know what you’re saying right now?"
"Of course. Ah, and I brought something I thought the Commander would like."
Sovetskaya Belorussiya took a sheet of paper from her chest and handed it to me.
[Azur Lane Commander Impeachment Vote]
In favor: 10 Against: 1 Abstentions: 5
Motion passed.
"...If you’re joking, stop now. I can’t put up with any more than this."
"Does this look like a joke to you?"
King George V stepped forward and placed a hand on the desk.
"You’re finished. For the development of Azur Lane, you’re nothing but an obstacle."
And just like that, without my even realizing it, I had already been fired.
Azur Lane was no longer a place I needed to lead, no longer a place where I belonged, and the shipgirls of Azur Lane were now just strangers to me.
"You’d be wise to disappear by tomorrow."
With those words, I was left alone in the office.
Alone, I kept running the whole thing through my head, wondering if I was really the one at fault.
Wasn’t it said that if you dig into why you’re angry, you can get even more precise about being pissed off?
That was me right now.
For the record, I was also speechless.
"Fine. I was just starting to lose attachment anyway. Good. Let’s get out of this place."
To clear my head, I went to the bathroom and washed my face.
I was in my late twenties, but maybe because of all the stress I’d been under, there were already streaks of gray in my hair.
I packed my things into a suitcase and a bag.
Then I cleaned the place thoroughly.
As if I had never been there at all.
I left it exactly as it had been when I first came here.
"Wow... It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this."
Like anyone else, I got distracted by the keepsakes that came out while I was packing.
The tea set Belfast gave me, the matryoshka doll Chapaev left behind as a gift, the pine bonsai Cleveland gave me, the broken arrow Enterprise gave me along with one of her Eagle’s feathers... and then.
"Ah."
Wales’s love letter...
Back then, I had coldly rejected her confession.
I’d said the Commander belonged to everyone and couldn’t belong to just one person...
I shook my head and closed the box lid.
It was all pointless now.
My final days as Commander, abruptly brought to an end at the port, stopped here.
Outside, the sky was pitch-black, and rain was pouring down as if it were reflecting my mood.
I loaded my luggage into the back of the car and climbed into the driver’s seat.
The wipers moved frantically against the pounding rain.
For now, I just slammed my foot on the accelerator.
I didn’t want to stay there any longer.
And if you asked whether I had any lingering feelings left... how could I not? I had built this place up with my own hands and raised it to what it was.
It had ended with ugly memories, but there had been good ones too.
As proof, the gift boxes occupying one corner of the back seat were practically announcing their presence.
In truth, there had been even more gifts than that.
That was only what was left after I’d eaten, used, or otherwise gotten rid of the rest.
I drove aimlessly for a while, then suddenly hit the brakes.
Why was I getting sentimental? In the end, they’d driven me out with filthy words and contempt.
Thinking that made my anger surge again.
Those bitches. A gentleman’s country, my ass. How was I supposed to get back at them...?
"Ah!"
A brilliant idea flashed through my mind like a comet.
Switching sides and defecting to the Red Axis, the opposing faction to Azur Lane.
With a goal in mind, I parked the car, handed my luggage over to a moving company, and boarded a train bound for Iron Blood’s port.
...
To get into the mood, I booked a private compartment and popped open a bottle of champagne.
"Haa... This is killer..."
Alcohol I hadn’t been able to drink often while working, thanks to the murderous workload.
The taste of liquor after so long was sweet beyond belief.
I stuffed a handful of oven-roasted chicken into my mouth and chewed with gusto.
The juices from the chicken were so heavenly I couldn’t help but shiver.
"Ah... Good call ordering the champagne."
The carbonation and tartness cut through the greasiness perfectly, and I never got tired of the chicken.
"Ahhh... This is the life..."
The finest chicken and champagne, enjoyed in a luxury seat.
It made me feel alive.
Just as I was getting drunk on chicken, there was a knock at the door.
Knock knock—
Ah, was that the cheese I ordered earlier?
Heh. Fondue cheese, blue cheese, even Emmental. That little beauty... if I tore the chicken apart and dipped it in nice and deep... haa...
I sprang up and opened the door.
"Huh?"
But the last thing I remembered was not drifting off happily in a pleasant drunken haze. It was a familiar-looking girl pressing a cloth to my face.
"You..."
"Prinz Oi..."
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