"Mm..."
Roon woke from her sleep and opened her eyes.
She could have kept sleeping, but she had wanted to wake up after having an unpleasant dream.
Her body was wrapped tightly in bandages, and the Commander was dozing off beside her bed.
When Roon rustled around and made her presence known, the Commander opened his eyes too.
"Mm... Ah, Roon! You’re awake!"
The moment they looked at each other, they both said the same thing.
"I’m sorry."
"I’m sorry."
Hearing such an unexpected reply, the Commander relaxed his expression awkwardly and continued.
"...It was my mistake. I knew the high-risk waters were right next to us, and still I sent you out without checking properly..."
Roon rarely looked a little down as she stared at her own hands.
And in truth, she had also stopped thinking for the moment, trying to sort through the strange emotion she was feeling for the first time.
"Commander..."
"Yeah?"
Roon looked at him with eyes full of moisture.
"...Did I prove my worth?"
"Of course. You performed brilliantly against a Siren battleship-class unit. That’s a result the others wouldn’t even dare to dream of."
"I... see..."
Roon was confused.
Until now, she had only focused on crushing and tearing apart strong enemies, not caring about anyone else’s gaze.
But now, if the man beside her did not acknowledge her, something felt lacking.
Could she even call it simply lacking?
Nothing else could fill that gap, and if she became aware of it, could this hollow feeling really be described with such a simple word?
Roon shoved those stray thoughts aside.
And to fill that gap, she acted.
"Then, praise me."
"Right. You were amazing. A heavy cruiser taking down a battleship..."
"No, not that."
Roon spread her arms.
The Commander must have understood what she meant.
"Ah..."
The Commander adjusted his cap slightly and leaned back against the bed.
Then he leaned into Roon’s warm body.
"Ah..."
The instant the Commander touched her, Roon felt a thrill run straight through her spine.
At that chilling sensation, she pulled the arm around the Commander even tighter.
"R... Roon...?"
With the pressure increasing, the Commander looked a little flustered, but soon seemed to accept it.
But their peaceful moment was short-lived, as a piercing siren blared through the base.
"Wheee- Air raid alert! Air raid alert! All fleets, battle stations!"
Roon clicked her tongue so quietly it could not be heard, then loosened her hold.
"You’re leaving."
"Yes. Roon, you need absolute rest for the time being, so conserve your strength as much as possible."
With that, the Commander hurried out of the infirmary.
Roon stared at the door he had left through for a long time.
...
I ran quickly and arrived at the operations room.
Köln reported the situation to me.
"Commander, a large number of aircraft have been detected over the North Sea. Judging by their flight path, they appear to be planes launched from the Royal Navy and the Northern Parliament."
"What’s their course?"
"That’s... they’re flying toward the research facility where the new ship is being built."
"Damn it. Immediately assemble all fleets toward the North Sea and issue an air raid alert. All anti-air guns are to go on full alert from this moment on."
"Yes, sir!"
If the research facility got hit now, the situation would become truly dire.
Fortunately, with the Vichya and Sakura fleets that had come to support us, we could avoid the worst-case scenario, but you always had to prepare for the worst.
This dock, where new battleships, carriers, and light cruisers were currently under construction, had seen an enormous amount of funding and technology poured into it. It would not be an exaggeration to say Iron Blood had staked its very survival on it.
If even one of them was delayed, the losses would be immense.
Normally, I would have taken command from the flagship and gone out to direct the battle myself, but after Bismarck’s warning and with the damaged electronics still unrepaired, I sat in the command chair and stared at the radar screen.
"They’ve brought quite a number. Is it not just carrier aircraft?"
"Yes. Judging by the larger signatures on radar, it seems they’ve deployed twin-engine land-based aircraft and bombers as well."
So after getting beaten in fleet-to-fleet combat last time, they were planning to win through superior air power.
...Tch. I should have crushed them a little harder back when I was still with Azur Lane.
I wiped out their air force with the intention of forcing a surrender, and now look where that got us.
"Commander, reconnaissance planes have spotted multiple fleets in the open sea near the Royal mainland."
Oh, they brought fleets too? That made things a little more frightening.
"All fleets, hold Schleswig-Holstein. Focus on anti-air defense as much as possible."
"Then what do we do if the enemy fleet pushes through?"
Jean Bart asked.
"We’ll block the enemy fleet’s advance with our submarine force as much as possible. If the submarines fail, then we’ll have to fight with battleships and destroyers alone. Carrier support... we won’t have any."
"Hah. This is the second most hopeless battle I’ve ever lived through."
"I trust the Commander... Akagi, launching aircraft."
...
"It seems they’ve read our movements."
King George V reported.
"It’s fine."
"...Do you have another plan?"
"The Northern Parliament carriers will bypass Iron Blood’s defensive line, circle through Iron Blood’s interior, and strike the headquarters."
"I see."
As King George V closed the office door and stepped out, she thought to herself.
Could they really win against the Commander?
King George V gave that question a firm no.
He was the Commander who had once taken a small fleet of only battlecruisers and destroyers and wiped out a massive Sakura fleet led by a super-battleship flagship.
All those doubts led to one conclusion.
"Her Majesty has lost her wits."
We were sticking our own heads into the lion’s mouth.
"George, you’re late."
The Duke of York had already joined the formation first.
"Duke. Do you think you can win against the Commander?"
"Do you think you can win?"
"Don’t answer a question with a question, Duke."
The Duke of York let out a short sigh.
"Haa... Honestly, I don’t understand the point of this operation. We’re already struggling to preserve our strength, so why provoke Iron Blood...?"
"I believe it’s because Her Majesty’s judgment has grown clouded."
"You...!"
The Duke of York looked at King George V in surprise.
"...You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you?"
"...Not yet."
"Not yet..."
The Duke of York gave a dry laugh.
"George, we belong to the same order."
"Yes."
"...I trust your judgment as the order’s leader."
Leaving those words behind, the Duke of York moved ahead of King George V.
...
"Enemy bomber formation sighted! Their fire is so intense we can’t get through!"
"Message from submarine command! Anton and Bruno are currently engaged!"
"The enemy bombers currently hold the altitude advantage. Our air superiority is estimated at 34 percent."
Damn it.
At this rate, if they made contact with our fleet and reached the anti-air barrage, they might give up on the target and drop their bombs on our ships instead.
...Was there really no way?
"Message to the carrier group. Pull the fighters back, establish air superiority, then re-enter. Over."
"Commander! An unidentified fighter formation...! It’s shooting down the enemy bombers and pulling out!"
"Huh...?"
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
I pushed the thought aside and did not miss the chance we had been given.
"Now! Carrier group, continue your interception mission against the enemy bombers. Over!"
Looks like the sky was on my side.
...
"Our bomber formation was shot down by enemy fighters and anti-air fire."
"What?! How many were there..."
Warspite reread the report anxiously.
"A... an unidentified fighter formation..."
"...Order them to halt the Northern Parliament’s flanking attack and focus on defending the Atlantic front."
"Understood."
What on earth was this?
Was the Commander really some kind of god?
She already knew his command ability was beyond ordinary, but this much?
Elizabeth’s hands trembled at the widening gap she felt once again.
"...How badly did we get this wrong...?"
There was no turning back now.
The advantage we had once held was gone, and the enemy had grown into a force on nearly equal footing with us before we knew it.
We were the setting sun. The enemy was the rising sun.
...
I replayed the combat footage Akagi had captured, trying to figure out whose aircraft the unidentified fighters belonged to.
"At the very least, I can say with certainty that they’re not from our Sakura fleet."
"We don’t have any carriers except Joffre. And Joffre is staying on the mainland just in case, so it can’t be her either... We don’t even have aircraft that strong."
Akagi and Jean Bart both firmly denied any connection to our side.
Then who the hell was it? Surely not the Northern Parliament or the Eagle Union.
Honestly, the Eagle Union might have aircraft like that, but with the Eagle Union so unstable internally right now, they probably had no room to worry about outside affairs.
As those thoughts kept spiraling, the problem only sank deeper into a maze.
Then, when I paused on a more clearly captured frame, a familiar aircraft appeared.
"A Wildcat...?"
The moment I said the fighter’s name, Akagi shook her head and denied the possibility.
"Commander, that Wildcat fighter is inferior even to our Sakura fleet’s early Type 0 carrier fighter. It’s got a bit of toughness, sure, but compared to the Eagle Union’s Hellcat or Corsair, it’s nothing. I even doubt that plane could survive that anti-air barrage."
"Then what in the world..."
In the end, we never solved the mystery and simply settled on one conclusion: as long as it wasn’t the enemy, it was fine.
Right... as long as it wasn’t the enemy.
I threw a party for the allies who had gladly come to our aid.
It was the first party at the base held together with other factions.
For reasons I didn’t know, Jean Bart, Akagi, and Kaga all attended in seductive dresses.
"Wow..."
"What are you staring at so intently?"
Jean Bart spoke to me as I stood there blankly staring at them.
"No... I just... you’re really beautiful."
"W... what...?"
Jean Bart’s face turned slightly red.
"Comman-der~?"
Feeling murderous intent from behind me, I reflexively turned around.
"A... Akagi too... you’re really pretty..."
The red dress, with its neckline boldly exposed, suited Akagi perfectly.
And beside her, pretending not to care, Kaga had also come wearing a blue dress in a similar style.
I complimented Kaga too.
"Wow... Kaga, you’re really beautiful."
"Hmph."
Perhaps she still hadn’t fully let go of the resentment from being on the enemy side last time, because Kaga snorted coolly and went off to get a drink.
"Fufufu, I’m so glad I answered the support request~"
Akagi said while clinging stickily to my arm.
I led the attached Akagi to a table and sat down.
When I sat, Jean Bart and Kaga sat down after me.
"Ahem, excuse me while I take the seat beside you."
Jean Bart slipped into the seat next to me.
"All right. It seems everyone’s here, so shall we make a toast?"
"Cheers!"
The sound of glasses clinking rang out, and the sweet yet slightly astringent wine flowed down my throat.
"Hm. This wine... it’s the one Vichya sent us last time, isn’t it?"
Jean Bart emptied her glass and asked me.
"Oh, right. You can tell the difference?"
"Hmph. Any Vichya who doesn’t know Burgundy wine from our homeland wouldn’t even have the right to complain if they were hung from a gun barrel."
Jean Bart and I fell into a deep conversation about wine.
As expected from someone from the homeland of wine, Jean Bart told me stories I didn’t know and some amusing little anecdotes tied to it.
But Akagi seemed annoyed, perhaps because the conversation had been taken away from her.
The mood at the table grew richer, and everyone gradually became pleasantly drunk.
Bang!
"Comman-der~ Akagi’s lonely... It feels like pests keep crawling around you. Should this Akagi clean them up for you~?"
"What did this nine-tailed fox bitch just say...?"
Jean Bart refused to back down and provoked Akagi in return.
"Hmph. The Commander prefers a pure, big-chested woman like me over some washed-up pest like you... and your chest is tiny too."
Crack...
It definitely came from two places.
One was Jean Bart... and the other was...
I could tell where it came from. I just chose not to think about it.
"Ha... ha ha... You want to try me?"
Jean Bart, swaying drunk, grabbed Akagi’s tail and yanked it.
"Kyaaah!! You...! I’ll kill you..."
"Stop it!!!"
I could not stand by any longer, so I sprang to my feet and shouted.
"I want... some tail too..."
"Huh...?"
"What...?"
Akagi and Jean Bart both voiced their confusion at the same time.
Akagi’s face turned bright red as she covered her mouth with her tail.
"Com... Commander, if it’s you... I..."
"Good... you’re allowing it, right...?"
I dove into Akagi’s tail.
"Kyaa...! Ahhng...!"
"Y... you shameless tramp! Don’t make those lewd noises!"
Jean Bart shouted.
"B... but...! Ngh...! It feels... ahn♡"
"Commander, what are you doing?"
Ah.
I was screwed.
A cold voice pierced straight through my body.
"I asked what you were doing, Commander."
Then the back of my neck was seized and I was dragged away.
"Haaah..."
Akagi trembled, still flushed with lingering sensation, and got to her feet.
Kaga looked at us with a disgusted expression.
...
"What do you think you’re doing, Commander?"
"......"
"How much farther do you plan to drag Iron Blood’s dignity down? I clearly told you to stay with me in situations like this."
I was currently being scolded in the hallway after being dragged out by Bismarck.
"The moment I take my eyes off you, this happens!"
Bismarck looked genuinely angry.
"Okay... I’m sorry..."
"You know you’re sorry?"
I quietly spread my arms and stepped toward Bismarck, hugging her.
"I... I’m not angry over something like this... ngh..."
Bismarck resisted a little at first, then accepted me.
"...Commander."
Bismarck’s voice turned cold again.
W... what was the problem...?
"Take off your clothes. Change."
"Huh...? Why...?"
"I said change, so change."
Bismarck spoke even colder than before.
"O... okay."
I shuffled into the changing room and changed clothes.
"Ugh... maybe because I’m drunk... I can’t get this tie on..."
When I went back out after loosely draping the tie around my neck, Bismarck approached and said,
"Honestly... you can’t even tie your own necktie."
Bismarck tied my tie for me.
"There. I’ll be out soon too, so wait out front."
"Mm."
Bismarck went into the changing room.
...
Click.
Bismarck looked at the Commander’s suit hanging on the rack.
Then she picked up the white dress shirt inside it and locked the door.
Clack.
"......."
Bismarck erased the unpleasant feeling from earlier and stared at the dress shirt intently.
"...It’s your fault for being like this."
Suuuup...
When she buried her face in the shirt soaked with the Commander’s scent and breathed in, Bismarck felt a strange stirring in her lower abdomen.
At that unfamiliar sensation, she let out a faint moan.
"Hngh...!"
"Wh... what was that just now...?"
The thrill that seemed to pierce her brainstem, the buzzing sensation in her lower belly, was far too addictive.
"Ha... just one more time..."
Though Bismarck felt a bizarre sense of depravity at doing this with the Commander’s clothes, she could not stop herself.
"Huuup... ngh...!"
Knock knock—
"Hah!"
"Bismarck? Is something wrong? You’re taking a while."
Stupid Commander.
"W... what, do you not know that it takes a woman a long time to get dressed?!"
Bismarck snapped irritably at the Commander.
"R... right..."
In the now-quiet changing room, Bismarck spent a total of thirty-five minutes.
"Man... I thought my legs were going to fall off waiting... But why is your face so red? Did you drink something extra earlier?"
"Ahem...!"
Bismarck brushed off the Commander’s question with a cough and headed back to the banquet hall.
Then Roon approached from far away.
"Commander, you came at just the right time~ Come on, please take my glass~"
Roon still had bandages wrapped around her arm, but the dress she wore was so beautiful it turned those bandages into part of the fashion.
"Roon... you’re pretty."
When I said that with a smile, pain shot through my side.
Bismarck had jabbed me there.
"Ow. What the hell?"
"Tch... try to behave yourself in the banquet hall."
I ignored her and took the glass Roon offered, then clinked glasses with her in a love shot.
"Oh~ The Commander can drink quite a bit, can’t he?"
Eugen came over and placed a hand on my shoulder.
Ah. Eugen’s drinking habits are kind of strange... but...
Feeling uneasy, I looked toward Bismarck, and she seemed extremely displeased.
I clinked glasses with Eugen, then escaped by saying I needed to pour a drink for Bismarck.
When I held out my glass and asked for forgiveness, Bismarck let out a short sigh and accepted it.
"...Just this once."
Liquid poured into the glass, and a clear chime rang out as we toasted.
There were laughter all around, and everyone looked happy.
It was the happiness I had longed for more than anything.
...
"Ugh... my head..."
I need a woman... I need a woman...!
Clutching my head, I got up from the table.
"Oh? You’re awake?"
A handsome green-haired woman in a thin outfit spoke to me.
Wait... where am I...?
"I was hurt, you know~ I’m right here, and you didn’t even come see me once. You’re the first Commander to ever do something like that."
"Ugh... who are you...?"
"What? You went so hot with me last night, and now you’re acting like this?"
What?
Wait... this...?
I lowered my head and checked my clothes.
There was red lipstick on my dress shirt.
..........
I’m screwed.
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