Heavy cruiser London, standing by Takeshi's side, broke the silence:
"I was my Admiral's first ship. In over thirty years, my Admiral has never spoken a deceitful word nor done a dishonorable thing. Every year, he donates over a billion credits to the Windridge Naval District alone. You can rest assured he's not short of one or two billion!"
Hikaru nodded.
"California, bring the standard battleship build formula. We'll do it inside."
Right in front of everyone, California counted out the resources—400 fuel, 80 ammo, 650 steel, 30 bauxite—and placed them in an empty crate beside Wilhelmina.
Hikaru walked confidently toward the construction chamber, with Lexington, Elizabeth, and the others following.
The crowd parted, watching them as though they were walking to their execution.
"To pull a battleship from a single roll, and only with a battleship formula… no carriers… the odds are less than one in ten thousand."
In reality, probability didn't apply cleanly to shipgirl summoning. Some people were lucky, some were not. But Takeshi didn't believe in luck—he believed in science and statistics.
And just to crank up the pressure, Takeshi's staff began bringing over dishes with covered trays. One by one, they revealed them in front of Hikaru.
A green, foul-smelling meat soup: "Niu Bie Tang—boiled cow stomach and partially digested contents."
A plate of pink, hairless baby mice with soy sauce: "San Zhi Er—squeak when you pick them up, dip them, and eat them."
Roasted sheep eyeballs, still staring: "Semi-raw Lamb Eyeballs."
A reddish-brown drink: "Freshly Squeezed Frog Juice."
A bat floating in soup: "Bat Soup." (LMAO)
Raw, bloodied bull testicles: "Fresh Bull Testicles."
Grilled spider and centipede skewers.
Squid ink rice.
Maggot-infested cheese.
Live octopus.
And the list went on…
Hikaru flinched visibly as he passed each "delicacy."
Picking up the key at the construction chamber, he stopped to ask,
"Takeshi, have you actually eaten all these?"
From a distance, London hugged Takeshi's arm and replied,
"Of course. My husband and I are chefs. We always sample our creations."
Hikaru almost fell to his knees.
Life… finds a way.
With that sobering thought, Hikaru waved his girls to follow.
Elizabeth pointed to herself.
"Eh? I'm coming too? Isn't that a bit… improper?"
Nobody answered her, so she sulked and followed along.
As they walked, Lexington whispered,
"Isn't this a little reckless? Summoning is random, isn't it?"
Hikaru leaned closer and whispered back,
"If I lose, would you actually let me eat all that? And if I do, would you still kiss me after?"
Lexington shot him a glare.
"I'll burn every plate of that garbage before I let you touch it. And if you dare eat any… I'll scrub you down with soap—inside and out—before I let you kiss me again."
Hikaru shivered.
"Okay, no soap. Fine, I wanted to be a good person, but I guess I have no choice but to cheat a little."
What was supposed to be a simple PR stunt for the blueprint had somehow escalated into a full-blown integrity challenge.
If all he had was the random summon right, he'd have no choice but to give up.
But the mystery reward from California's limited-time task had granted him a selective summon ticket.
Tough luck, Takeshi.
Now… who to summon?
They entered the chamber, California unpacked the resources, and Hikaru sat down, scanning the room.
Aside from Glowworm, who was likely at home watching anime, all his current shipgirls were from the US.
Elizabeth was British, but she didn't count.
He could flex by summoning someone famous like Missouri, Wisconsin, Lion, or Hood—all six-star legends.
But that felt cheap.
More importantly, Hikaru wanted to consider his shipgirls' feelings.
And there was one girl he'd been thinking about all along.
Sitting cross-legged before the materials, Hikaru extended his hand.
But before synchronizing, a dangerous idea crossed his mind:
What if I only used resources for destroyers? Would that help me "steer" the summon?
But no… he couldn't risk damaging the shipgirl.
Wasting a summon was one thing. Hurting someone was unforgivable.
He let that thought go and synchronized with the steel's memory.
The Queen of the North Sea
Cold. Alone. Miserable.
Her sister had already sunk. She was the last hope of the German fleet.
But what could one fading ember do in a collapsing nation?
So she waited, isolated in the North Sea port.
Her enemies gathered, scheming for years to crush this final threat.
She stood alone.
They called her the Lonely Queen of the North Sea.
Over two years, she endured bombings, submarine attacks, and more bombings—countless sorties like mosquitoes buzzing in and out.
She was tired… but she stood firm, determined to guard until the end.
But the end never came by her hand.
A specially-designed 5.5-ton armor-piercing bomb struck her twice.
After 13 waves of massive air raids, over 600 sorties, and pocket submarine attacks, she finally sank into the dark, freezing depths.
Such bitter memories…
Hikaru opened his eyes.
A pink-haired, red-eyed woman stepped out from a shimmering rainbow light.
She wore over-the-knee boots, hotpants, a high-cut bodysuit, and long gloves—black leather with red crosses.
Even though she showed only a bit of thigh, waist, and shoulder, the outfit oozed seductive energy.
She planted her boot on Hikaru's chest and pressed him down.
"Who gave you the nerve to come back?"
Her voice was cold, depressed—the soul of the battleship Tirpitz.
Hikaru, unfazed, looked up,
"Nordy, from this angle… you're flashing white."
Tirpitz's face flinched in panic, quickly stepping back, before realizing—she was wearing black.
He tricked me!
Tirpitz pouted in frustration, her eyes almost welling with tears.
Hikaru stood, wrapped his arms around her.
She pushed him away.
He hugged her again.
She pushed again.
A third time, but this time, Hikaru held her tight.
Tirpitz buried her face in his chest, wriggling before looking up.
"You hurt everyone and act like nothing happened… I'm not forgiving you that easily."
"I'll spend every day making up for it, my wife," Hikaru whispered into her eyes.
"Has anyone ever told you… out of all the shipgirls, you're my favorite?"
Tirpitz's eyes darkened.
"If you kiss me right now, I won't guarantee what happens next."
Hikaru leaned in.
"Thanks for the invitation."
And kissed her hard.
California seized the moment to stir the pot.
"Lexington-oneechan, the Admiral just said you're not his favorite."
Lexington gave California a knowing smile.
"Of course… but I'm still the First Lady."
California flinched, looking away guiltily.
Elizabeth scowled,
"Ugh… I really don't get you girls. He's just some plain guy and you're all treating him like he's a treasure."
After a long, deep kiss, Hikaru let go of Tirpitz's swollen lips and intertwined their fingers.
"I'll never leave you alone again. I promised your sister. Now I promise you."
Tirpitz tried to shake him off but couldn't.
She huffed,
"Sweet words don't work on me."
Summoning Tirpitz wasn't a whim.
Bismarck had often confided her worries about her lonely sister.
Tirpitz feared loneliness.
Her transformation had begun after dreaming of Bismarck's sinking, turning her from a lazy shut-in into a cold, distant warrior.
And after Hikaru's disappearance, she only grew more closed off.
But Hikaru was the only one who could melt that icy heart.
And the system noticed.
[Special Timed Mission Triggered: "Tirpitz's Fear"]
Tirpitz is currently marked as 'Fearful,' possibly worried about being abandoned again.
Complete within 3 months to raise her happiness to "Blissful."
Rewards: 1000 Diamonds, 3x Mystery Rewards, 3x Tactical Training Instant Completion Manuals.
[Special Timed Mission Triggered: "The Lonely Queen of the North Sea"]
Historically called a "Fleet in Being," Tirpitz's life was one of isolation and tragedy.
Within 3 months, spread her legend across East Continent to the status of "Unrivaled Demon Queen."
Rewards: 1x Oath Ring, 3x Mystery Rewards, and Summon Tickets for 1 Large, 1 Medium, and 1 Small German Shipgirl.
Looking at California and then at Tirpitz, Hikaru sighed.
"Man… the difference in mission rewards is brutal."
Meanwhile, outside the construction hall, the restless crowd had swelled to over two thousand.
Some had already remembered last month's terror, when Lexington and California dominated the scene.
"Five and a half hours already… that's gotta be a battleship or nothing over four hours is even possible,"
Takeshi sighed.
"London, I think we've lost."
London held his hand tighter.
"He could still fail."
Takeshi shook his head.
"Fortune favors the bold. I doubt someone like him will fail now. Honestly, with a result like this, the Academy and the authorities should be thrilled."
"But that 'blueprint' thing—"
"I still don't believe it's real. No way such a thing exists.
But… I do want to see which shipgirl he pulled."
[End of Chapter]
[50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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