Bang!
"...No way."
The little queen could not believe what she had just heard.
"I am certain of it. That was the Commander’s voice."
Belfast did not retract her testimony, even under the queen’s glaring stare.
"Then... why...?"
Elizabeth’s mind raced through countless possibilities, but perhaps because she wanted someone to deny it for her, she asked a meaningless question.
"That... I do not know either."
"...I see. You may go."
"Then I shall."
Belfast closed the door to the queen’s office.
"...I have to get my master back."
Ever since she had heard the Commander’s voice, that was the only thought in Belfast’s mind.
"No matter what it costs. I will bring back the Commander who is being held captive."
Belfast’s violet eyes had already lost their light and gone dull.
For Belfast, serving the Commander was life itself.
The first person who had looked at them as equals.
The person who had given her a place to rest and rely on.
The person whose reactions were always so entertaining when she teased him.
The realization that she could no longer have any of that made her chest ache so badly it felt like it might split open.
"Commander Enterprise has already set out on a journey to find the Commander..."
But she had been entrusted with the duty of serving the Royal Family.
She wanted nothing more than to follow Enterprise, but her position tied her down.
"Master... please wait just a little longer. I will definitely pull you out of that nest of foxes, this Belfast will."
...
"Ugh, why does my ear keep itching?"
"Someone must be talking trash about the Commander."
Hipper tossed out a sarcastic remark.
"Hm? Then your ears must be itching all the time..."
I looked at Hipper’s chest.
"Y-you idiot!!! Where are you looking?!"
Once again, I started my morning by tormenting Hipper.
One tease a day had gone beyond routine and become a rule of life.
Hipper always reacted beautifully when I pressed her buttons, so she really was a top-tier source of entertainment.
Mornings in Vichya were pleasant.
I emptied my plate again today, looking forward to Dunkerque’s delicious dessert, and spent a blissful time tasting her handmade sweets.
"Mm-hm, this one is a macaron, and this one is a mont blanc. I piled on a lot of cream for this mont blanc—what do you think, Commander?"
As you can see, Dunkerque and I had become very close.
"They’re all delicious... Could Dunkerque actually be an angel?"
Dunkerque blushed bright red and fanned herself with her hand.
"Ah... hoho, lately there haven’t been any children around to eat the sweets I make, and with all the fighting I haven’t had time to bake either. So having someone who enjoys my pastries like this is truly wonderful..."
Sis...
Back at the main base, all Hipper ever baked were those brick-like cookies...
Maybe I even teared up a little from the emotion.
"Hey, so you were here after all."
When I turned toward the voice, Jean Bart was standing in the doorway with one hand on the frame.
"Hmph, so you’ve fallen head over heels for Dunkerque’s sweets? Well, I can’t say I don’t understand."
Jean Bart snorted and picked up one of Dunkerque’s pastries, chewing on it.
"Mm. So this taste really hasn’t changed."
"Ah, right. I had something to give you."
"Hm?"
I took Enigma out of my bag and handed it to Jean Bart.
"Hm...? What is this? It looks like a typewriter..."
Dunkerque examined Enigma curiously from every angle.
"It’s a new cipher machine we made. With this, we can communicate without anything leaking to the outside."
"Oh... you brought something quite useful."
I smirked and said to Jean Bart, "We’re allies, after all."
Jean Bart clicked her tongue and turned her head away.
"...Your smile is... still the same, somehow."
"Hm? What was that?"
"Ah... nothing. So how do you use it?"
I kindly explained how to use Enigma.
"I see... Thanks. This really will come in handy."
Jean Bart gave me a rare little smile.
"But who keeps telling me I look like someone?"
"......"
"Ah, if it’s an uncomfortable topic, that’s fine."
"Hmph... good to see you have some sense."
Jean Bart’s expression turned faintly lonely.
I couldn’t quite get her face out of my mind.
So...
Munch, munch.
"Um... Dunkerque. Jean Bart keeps saying my smiling face looks like someone else’s... do you have any idea who that might be?"
Dunkerque stared at my face intently.
"Hmm...."
I gave her that same little smile again.
"...Ah!"
"Is there someone I resemble?"
"Well... I’m not sure if I should tell you this..."
I subtly nudged Dunkerque along.
"Come on... between us..."
"Hmm...."
Dunkerque looked like she was thinking it over.
"Th-then... call me casually too, like Bart does."
"Hm? Sure."
"A-and... the polite speech too..."
"Ah... okay. But somehow you give off such an older-sister vibe that it’s hard not to use polite speech."
Color rushed into Dunkerque’s face.
"R-really...? Hehe... I do like that too, but... still, call me casually."
"Got it, Dunkerque. That much is easy."
"Haa... where should I even start...?"
Dunkerque closed her eyes as if recalling the past.
Then she told me many things.
About the time when Iris Libre and Vichya Dominion had been one, about Richelieu and Jean Bart, and about the story of how they had no choice but to split apart.
Creak—
"You’d have no complaints if I hung you from my main gun for prying into other people’s business, would you?"
Gasp...
"A-ah... th-that..."
Jean Bart glared at me.
"I-I’ll tell you a secret too...!"
"...I’ll hear it first."
I hurried to calm Jean Bart down.
Dunkerque, now intrigued by my so-called secret, pulled a chair over and sat down across from the table.
"I... used to be the Commander of Azur Lane."
"What...?"
Jean Bart and Dunkerque asked in unison.
"Tch... what a bat-like bastard."
"Listen. I had my reasons too."
I told them about being betrayed by Azur Lane.
How I had devoted myself more than anyone else to Azur Lane, only to be cast aside once victory seemed within reach, and how not a single person had tried to stop them from abandoning me.
How I had then headed toward the Iron Blood to take my revenge, only to be kidnapped and end up in Iron Blood anyway. (?)
After I finished telling the whole story, Jean Bart and Dunkerque wore expressions full of pity.
"You... lived a far more turbulent life than I expected."
"You really did..."
My mood suddenly sank.
"D-don’t make that face. As long as you don’t betray me, I won’t betray you."
"That’s right! We would never betray you."
Their comfort made me feel a little better.
Creak—
"Commander, are you here?"
Bismarck had come looking for me.
"Ah, yeah. I was drinking coffee here..."
Bismarck grabbed my arm and pulled me along.
"The Commander has business to attend to now."
As we walked down the corridor, Bismarck walked ahead without looking back and said,
"You seem to be getting along quite well, Commander."
"Hm? Ah, well, yeah. We had a few strategy meetings and got close. Jean Bart’s pretty easygoing, after all."
"...The Commander is the Commander of Iron Blood. I’d appreciate it if you remembered that."
"Hm? That goes without saying. So what’s this about?"
Bismarck let out a small sigh and said,
"Haa... we need to prepare for contact with the Sakura Empire. You heard that they’re bringing the Sakura Empire into this request for reinforcements, right?"
"Yeah, I heard the First Carrier Division is coming as the main force."
"On top of that, the Sakura Empire will probably bring their latest heavy cruisers and Kii-class battleships to show off their naval strength."
Hearing that, I shrank a little.
Still, back when I was with Azur Lane, I hadn’t been lacking in anything...
Once again, I resolved to focus on Iron Blood’s military buildup and the commissioning of new ships.
As Bismarck and I headed toward the harbor, a ship’s horn echoed across the port.
"Looks like the Sakura fleet has arrived."
Bismarck said, looking out toward the sea.
"Good. Then shall we go meet our allies?"
But Bismarck stopped me with an arm across my path.
"The Commander... should stay here."
"Huh..? Why?"
"The First Carrier Division has seen your face directly before. If things go badly, we won’t have a way to protect you."
"Then just explain it properly. And anyway, this is Vichya’s main base. Wouldn’t that be enough to prove my identity? Besides, you can just vouch for me like you did before."
Bismarck opened and closed her mouth a few times before saying,
"Th-there’s no guarantee things will go the way you want. What if the First Carrier Division goes berserk and harms the Commander?"
Oh. Come to think of it, that made sense.
Honestly, Dunkerque and Jean Bart were the strange ones here.
If the leader of the enemy force they’d been fighting tooth and nail was standing right in front of them, how many people would calmly listen to my explanation instead of showing hostility first?
Thinking about it that way, I understood Bismarck’s concern.
"Tch... fine. Then you explain the situation roughly, and we’ll meet separately in the reception room."
"......"
Bismarck turned and headed straight back out to the harbor.
...
"It’s been a while, our allies~"
Akagi’s eyes curved pleasantly as she greeted us.
Then, when she saw Bismarck walking out, her eyes widened.
"My, Bismarck. So you’ve recovered."
"Yes, as you can see."
"Fufu... by the way, where is ‘our’ Commander?"
"Ah, the Commander of Iron Blood is currently unavailable."
"Oh my... is that so? Our allies came all this way and he doesn’t even show his face... how disappointing."
"He’s a very busy person, after all."
Jean Bart watched the two of them spar and made a tired face.
"Haa... why are people who never used to act like this suddenly doing it now...?"
She shook her head.
"The reason the Sakura fleet could come here at all is largely thanks to our Commander’s efforts."
"Well, yes, that’s true."
"So I’d really like to meet him and offer my greetings~"
Dunkerque mediated the endless tension and guided them toward the dining hall.
...
Right now, I was sitting in the temporary office.
"Hipper, why do you think Bismarck didn’t bring me along?"
"Who knows? Maybe she’s embarrassed by you."
"What?"
"You’re always late signing paperwork, your background is from an enemy faction, and you keep sexually harassing your subordinates. Is good command all that matters?"
"But that only applies to you."
"You little...!"
I chuckled and dodged Hipper’s backhanded smack.
Still, if she’d left me behind because she was embarrassed, that would be pretty hurtful.
At the very least, I hadn’t done anything embarrassing in front of Bismarck.
On the contrary, I’d helped her plenty; I didn’t think I’d ever humiliated her once.
"Haa... forget it. Let’s just work. Work."
How long had it been?
My body, after drinking far too much coffee, was screaming at me to let it empty the tank.
I hurried to the restroom, took care of business, and then went outside to smoke.
"Huh...?"
"Hm?"
When I looked back, Akagi—the Sakura Empire’s carrier with the beautiful harmony of black and red—was standing there.
"Ah...?"
Akagi rushed at me and threw herself into my arms.
"Haa...! Commander... Commander, Commander...!"
"I knew we’d meet again like this. Surely we are a fate ordained by the gods...!"
Akagi spouted a flood of incomprehensible words, then rubbed her face against my chest again.
"Y-you... I get that you’re happy to see me, but let go already. If someone else sees this, it could become a big problem."
"Fufu, those pests? This Akagi will eliminate them all, so you needn’t worry about a thing, Commander~"
Akagi’s fluffy tail wrapped around me.
"Ugh, i-it’s ticklish."
Just as I was about to be completely overwhelmed by Akagi’s fluffy assault, a cold, dark voice rang out.
"What... exactly are you doing?"
Bismarck was standing there.
Her eyes were hidden beneath the shadow of her hat.
"...Tch, to interrupt such a good moment."
"What an insult to the Commander of Iron Blood."
Bismarck looked quite angry.
She strode straight toward me, seized my arm roughly, and dragged me back toward the barracks.
"W-wait, what are you doing, Bismarck?! That hurts...! It hurts!"
Bismarck only let go once we reached the office.
My arm where she’d grabbed me was left red and marked.
"Why are you doing this!"
Bismarck stared at me coldly.
"Why...? Do you really have to ask?"
"Yeah, I don’t know. Why are you acting like this?"
"Do you have no awareness that you’re the Commander of Iron Blood? Even if you’re visiting another faction, that doesn’t change who you are. You must never lose your sense of belonging, no matter where you are."
"What kind of nonsense is that, Bismarck?"
"...You only need to support our Iron Blood. There’s no need to go flirting with girls from other factions."
I was so dumbfounded that I shot back at her.
"That’s ridiculous... flirting? Me?"
"...I’ll trust that you understand what I mean. That is all."
Bismarck said her piece and left.
"Did she drink or something?!"
I stood there blankly, more baffled than angry.
And Lohn, who had been secretly watching the whole thing, ran out to the sea.
...
"Haa... haa..."
"Break, break, break—!!!"
Lohn screamed as she smashed a mass-produced Siren ship to pieces.
Whenever she was stressed, Lohn always shattered Siren mass-production ships.
That usually helped her work off the stress.
But today was different.
A sticky, murky feeling kept clenching around her heart and refusing to let go.
"Aaaaaaaah!!!"
Lohn let out a roar.
"Haa... haa..."
The Commander and all those people who had seemed so close.
The hatred that should have been directed only at the enemy had begun to boil over somewhere else too.
Lohn fired her main guns again.
It was only after several hours that Lohn returned.
...
I still couldn’t understand Bismarck’s behavior from earlier.
So I’d been sitting here smoking one cigarette after another with nothing else to do.
Why on earth had she acted like that?
I put the last cigarette in my mouth and tried to light it.
Click... click...
Only the flint turned; no flame caught.
"Damn it... is the fuel already gone...?"
I was about to shove the lighter away irritably when a hand suddenly reached in from the side and placed one in mine.
The beautiful lighter, with black, silver, and red blended together in perfect balance, was a Dupont.
"Ah, thank yo...?"
Bismarck stood there with a dejected expression.
"About earlier... I’m sorry. I was being too unreasonable..."
"When did you get here?"
"Just now... and since the Commander is Iron Blood’s Commander now, you should use our lighter too."
"I thought this was expensive... how did you get it?"
"They said Vichya made it as a commemorative gift for us this time. It made me think of you..."
Bismarck gently leaned against my chest.
"Still... I hope you’ll remember what I said before. You’re a proper member of our Iron Blood now."
"Yeah... got it. I guess I was being careless too. I’m sorry."
We exchanged a warm apology and went back to the barracks.
On the way, I thought I had seen Lohn in a total state of disarray, but she had disappeared again before I knew it.
Well... she’ll be fine, probably.
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