MTLNOVEL Chapter 39: Chapter 039 - Azur Lane
Early in the morning, Reuel rose and quietly left his private villa in Salt Lake City, seeking a quiet place to be alone.
Today marked his second journey across dimensions. There was a nervous feeling gnawing at him, one he couldn't quite ignore—though he hid it well behind his usual impassive expression. The system's portal glowed again, awaiting his command.
He opened the multiverse map—its interface reminiscent of a Stellaris-style strategy game. Worlds from various franchises, anime, films, novels, and games sprawled across the visual field. Some worlds in the distance were still blurry, inaccessible. Whether it was because the system hadn't granted access yet, or because their realities were simply too far removed from this system's technological reach, he couldn't tell.
Reuel raised an eyebrow.
It's like playing Civilization, but instead of nations, it's fictional worlds...
He gave a bitter laugh.
"And I… come from Resident Evil, which started with a food aid request for six point one billion people. How poetic."
Even so, this multiversal diplomatic system was insane. Not even demons likely had access to something like this—being able to view dimensional maps, travel between realities without rituals or sacrifices. The scale of its power was absurd.
But as he scanned the neighboring realms on the map, Reuel couldn't help but feel like a frog under a coconut shell.
Worlds with mind-breaking technologies stood side by side—some powered by magic, others fully mechanical, and some had already reached post-physical forms of existence.
"Alright… first step: finish the basic mission."
To fulfill the system's request—to recruit 30 individuals from other worlds and integrate them into the Imperium of Man—Reuel began scanning for suitable candidate worlds.
His eyes settled on two: Avatar and Azur Lane.
The world of Avatar, as he recalled, was deep in the throes of an environmental crisis that nearly wiped out humanity. Fragile ecosystems, unstable society. Not ideal.
So his choice fell on Azur Lane.
If he remembered correctly… this was the game where anthropomorphized warships became beautiful girls who fought against mysterious entities called the Siren.
Gameplay style? A mix of strategy and fanservice. There was even a meme once about a player calling CV-6 his "wife" because he loved the digital character too much.
But beneath the surface, that world held incredible military potential. Its combat technology was highly advanced, and support systems like the repair ship—Akashi, for example—possessed capabilities that were practically metaphysical.
The Adeptus Mechanicus would lose their collective minds if they saw Akashi fixing machines with just a wrench and screwdriver—no sacred rites, no litany. They'd scream heretek on the spot.
Reuel gave a faint smile and touched the Azur Lane sector on the holographic map. The screen zoomed in, and a brief description appeared:
---
[Azur Lane – Pre-Space Age]
Predominantly oceanic world. Main population: Shipgirls.
Primary conflict: Ongoing war against mysterious entities known as Siren.
Technology: Advanced military tech with minor magical elements.
Social structure: Port-based factions (Eagle Union, Royal Navy, etc.)
Common dangers: Active conflict zones, planetary-scale invasions, reality disturbances.
---
Reuel opened the Diplomacy feature on the interface.
Click
Zzzhh—Zzzhh—Zzzhh—
The screen flickered. The holographic interface blinked three times before displaying a message:
"Contacting faction leader..."
"Language interpretation system installed..."
"Communication successfully established."
---
Azur Lane – Port Area
A blonde-haired shipgirl sat at her desk, poring over the latest intelligence reports. As her eyes remained fixed on the screen, something strange appeared in the air.
A massive hologram—cinema screen-sized—suddenly unfolded in front of her. Her eyes widened in shock.
Inside the projection, a man's head appeared. His expression was serious, but there was a flicker of confusion in his gaze—like someone who wasn't quite used to high-level tech.
"Hello? Hello? Can anyone hear me?" the man—Reuel—asked, waving his hand. His voice rang clearly through the room's speakers.
Instinctively, the shipgirl looked around for the source of the sound. Her body tensed, on full alert—but she didn't attack.
Interdimensional communication was hardly common, even in their world.
It seemed Reuel had just connected with the nominal leader of the Azur Lane world.
"Huh?!"
Richelieu was stunned. The coffee cup in her hand slipped, spilling across her desk.
She hastily cleaned up the mess, then stared at the hologram for a moment, trying to comprehend the situation. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her clothes and stood upright. Her gaze returned, calm and composed.
"Uh… hello?"
"Hello," Reuel replied. "This is the Azur Lane Trade District, right?"
Richelieu eyed him sharply, though courteously.
"I am the lead ship of the Liberty battleship class of Iris Libre—Richelieu. And you are?"
The two were now speaking across a holographic projection, bridging the gap between worlds.
Richelieu—with her long golden hair, violet eyes, and an elegant red-and-white dress—radiated extraordinary grace. Her beauty surpassed normal human standards; even the most dazzling movie stars on Earth couldn't compare.
But it wasn't just her looks that drew attention—behind her, two large double-barreled main cannons stood tall. Dozens of secondary turrets flanked her on either side. All were at standby, ready to fire.
"Don't worry. I didn't come with hostile intent," Reuel said calmly. "I'm… your neighbor."
"…Neighbor?"
Richelieu tilted her head. "I don't recall any humans near the port. Don't tell me… you're with the Sirens?"
"No. I come from… the next universe over. Our worlds are side by side."
"What?!"
Richelieu froze. Several seconds passed as she processed the sentence.
Thankfully, Azur Lane's information systems were quite advanced. After a few quick mental calculations, Richelieu grasped what Reuel meant.
This so-called "neighbor" came from an entirely separate reality—divided by dimensional boundaries, beyond any comprehensible interstellar distance.
They were speaking across universes.
"So… there are others beyond this world?" Richelieu murmured softly. "I never imagined anything like that… We haven't even left this planet yet."
She brushed her golden hair back thoughtfully.
"What do you mean by 'other worlds'? Are there many?"
"Of course. So far, I've discovered five others that are connected. Most of them have fairly advanced technology."
Reuel held himself back from saying more. He wasn't sure Richelieu was ready to grasp concepts like the Machine God, Chaos entities, or the mysterious spirits of other universes.
"Oh—"
Richelieu let out a soft gasp, this time in awe.
At first, she'd been suspicious, but after thinking it through—someone capable of cross-reality communication surely came from an advanced civilization. There was no point applying normal logic to them.
Composing herself once more, Richelieu returned her attention to the matter at hand.
"In that case… Mr. Reuel, what is your purpose in contacting the Azur Lane Trade District?"
Her tone was now far more formal. She treated Reuel as a foreign envoy from an unknown great power.
Reuel nodded.
"I'd like to know more about the situation in Minato City," he said seriously. "Oh, and if it's not too much trouble… would you be interested in signing an immigration agreement? Maybe also a non-aggression pact and mutual defense treaty?"
"....."
The shipgirl on the other end froze.
She had just received an interdimensional communication—which was already insane—and now Reuel was talking about the multiverse, immigration agreements, non-aggression pacts, even mutual defense treaties. All of it delivered in a flat tone, like he was discussing routine logistics.
Richelieu, her brain nearly crashing from information overload, stared blankly at the screen.
Inter-world treaties? Was it really on that kind of scale?!
She stayed frozen for quite a while before snapping out of it and forcing herself to refocus.
"You mean… you want to cooperate with Minato?"
"Yeah." Reuel gave a short nod.
His intention was simple. He just wanted to know whether the Port District needed resources—oil, metals, or other materials—and if so, he could provide them.
After all, the entire Earth was now his. He was building an Imperium of Man. The technology of the Resident Evil world was already far too primitive for him, and the Adeptus Mechanicus no longer needed crude oil. Meanwhile, the shipgirls in Azur Lane... they literally drank oil as an energy source.
As long as someone was willing to immigrate to his world, he could even provide infrastructure, logistics, and any form of development support.
"Let me think about it for a moment…"
Richelieu tapped the surface of her desk lightly, her expression deep and cautious.
Minato had spent years locked in war with the Sirens. Supply shortages were a daily reality. Naval blockades only made the fleet's mobility worse.
Even so, accepting aid from an alien being from a parallel universe wasn't a decision that could be made lightly.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Reuel," she said politely. "A matter of this magnitude involves all major fleets. I don't have the authority to decide on my own."
She bowed slightly as a gesture of respect.
"And even if you were willing to offer us resources—how would you deliver them? Our universes are separated by… hundreds of billions of light-years, aren't they? Minato City hasn't even achieved orbital flight, let alone interstellar travel."
"I'll handle the delivery myself."
Reuel's answer was calm but resolute.
"By the way, would you be able to receive a guest now? It'd be easier to talk face-to-face. This kind of cross-world communication drains psionic energy quite a bit."
"Huh?"
Richelieu was stunned once again.
"You mean… meet in person? Now?"
"Yes."
Reuel pressed a button on his holographic interface.
"Open channel: Earth – Azur Lane World."
The space before him instantly warped, forming a glowing spiral corridor. Strange light swirled into a vortex, reminiscent of a more controlled version of the Webway—or the Warp.
In an instant, Reuel's body was engulfed in light, and then—vanished without a trace—gone from his origin world.
On the other side, Richelieu, watching from the window of her command post, screamed in shock.
"What was that?!"
"A vortex? A portal?! You can freely move between worlds?!"
"Reuel! I'll contact someone right now to meet you!!"
---
Azur Lane Universe
The sky stretched wide and clear, a brilliant blue unmarred by even a single cloud. The sea was calm, reflecting the shimmer of sunlight across the horizon.
Boom!
A sudden rumble tore through the air without warning.
A swirling vortex of multicolored energy ripped open the sky—slowly blooming directly above the port's shoreline. Its tremors shook both land and sea, sending ripples out in every direction.
Tiny shipgirls who had been playing in the sand immediately froze. They glanced at each other, stood on tiptoe, and squinted toward the sky.
"Was that… an earthquake?" one of them asked, clearly panicked.
"What is that? It's all dark… there's a shadow inside it…"
"Don't tell me it's some new Siren weapon?! Or… is Yubari doing weird experiments again?!"
"Should we… just shoot it first?"
They stared at the portal, fear mixed with curiosity. The dark figure within the dimensional tunnel slowly grew—approaching… then falling.
"Whoa whoa whoa, something's falling!!"
The little girls screamed and scrambled away, sand flying up behind them.
"AAAAAaaaaaaaAAAAAAAA!!"
A shrill scream echoed from the sky, accompanied by a human figure plummeting like a projectile from hell.
Boom!
Reuel crash-landed onto the beach—the sand beneath him collapsing inward as dust and grains exploded into the air. Fortunately, his body had the durability of the Emperor of Mankind himself. Otherwise, the space-time portal—which seemed dead set on killing him—just might have succeeded.
He rose slowly from the small crater he'd made, dust still swirling.
"…What the hell… Why the hell did that damn system open the portal from altitude?!" he muttered, patting dust off his coat.
His vision spun for a moment, his consciousness briefly fuzzy from the rough interdimensional transition.
"This is the Azur Lane world, right?"
He rubbed his temple.
"Why did that wormhole feel like a short-circuited washing machine?"
It had taken about ten minutes to cross the boundary between worlds. Not pleasant. Dimensional transit drained enormous amounts of psionic energy—causing migraines, nausea, and a bit of emotional trauma on the side.
Thankfully, he had landed in the Azur Lane trade port. Dropping into a Siren stronghold would've been a goddamn nightmare.
He glanced at the interface panel on his wrist.
"Cooldown time: 29 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes."
One month until he could open a new portal without penalties. Fair enough. Still within acceptable tolerances.
"Hm?"
Reuel looked around.
He stood on the sandy beach. In front of him, the sea was calm and the sky endless. In the distance, the naval port complex came into view—the distinctive structures of Azur Lane unmistakable. Nearby, small children in miniature uniforms wandered about, staring at him with wide, confused eyes.
Those girls weren't ordinary kids.
Some wore light combat uniforms with ship emblems. One had a toy torpedo slung across her back. But Reuel recognized exactly who they were.
"…Yukikaze? Mutsuki? Kisaragi?"
He picked out a few faces from the illustrations and data he had previously gathered.
The tiny shipgirls stood frozen for a few seconds—then suddenly screamed:
"WAAAH! THE ALIEN CAN TALK!!"
They scattered in every direction.
"ALIEEEEN!! AN ALIEN INVASION!! GET THE BIG SISTERS!!"
The beach instantly turned into a miniature disaster zone. Reuel could only stand awkwardly in the middle of the sandstorm and tiny chaos.
Half an Hour Later
Breathing in the fresh sea breeze, Reuel walked leisurely along the path toward the main building in the harbor area. Around him, shipgirls passed by—some glancing at him with curiosity, others only sparing him a fleeting look.
His dramatic arrival had certainly stirred a minor commotion. Fortunately, Minato had promptly sent a welcoming team to ensure everything stayed under control.
A nation of little girls.
That was Reuel's first impression upon setting foot in the world of Azur Lane.
Mommy Ships, Destroyer Lolis, and every other character archetype imaginable—this was truly a world inhabited by girls manifesting from warships.
Destroyer girls, cruiser girls, aircraft carriers, battleships—all of them appeared in charming forms with distinct personalities.
A few small and large yellow chickens with soft feathers could also be seen bustling around, busy with their chores: sweeping floors, hauling cargo, even captaining rescue boats.
"Azur Lane's mascots," Reuel thought, impressed. "Unique… and kind of cool."
Judging by the scale of the facilities and activity, this harbor was even larger than NS Norfolk—the largest military port in the Resident Evil world.
Their technology looked semi-modern: some aircraft and artillery designs still bore shadows of the World War II era, but had been modified with magitek—a fusion of technology and magic unique to this world.
Reuel allowed himself a ridiculous yet intriguing mental image:
"What if these shipgirls were replaced by warships from Warhammer?
Imagine a Gloriana-class or Imperator Somnium turned into anime girls…
This world would become a galactic battlefield filled with miniskirts and void shields."
"Mr. Reuel, this way please."
A soft voice snapped him back to reality. Across the plaza, in front of the main building's entrance, a silver-haired girl in a classic maid uniform stood gracefully, bowing slightly while lifting her skirt in a noble curtsy.
"The aircraft carriers from each fleet are waiting for you."
Reuel returned the gesture with a formal Anatolian court greeting—used by the high nobility of the Imperium.
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Belfast."
The girl smiled calmly.
"Likewise, Mr. Reuel. Please follow me—Lady Richelieu is expecting you."
Under the head maid's guidance, Reuel ascended to the top floor of the building, entering the main reception hall.
Several shipgirls were already present, standing in formal attire, ready to welcome a guest from another world.
Enterprise – The carrier from White Eagle.
Queen Elizabeth – Representative of the Royal Navy.
Yixian – The premier delegate from Donghuang.
Bismarck – The iron-blooded carrier from Iron Blood.
They were the leaders of each major fleet faction in Azur Lane.
Without an active Commander, the harbor region was run as an autonomous federation. Each fleet held high autonomy and full voting rights on policy matters.
Richelieu stepped forward as the first to greet him. Her appearance was as stunning as ever—a short red-and-white dress with gold accents, red suspender stockings that were striking yet elegant. A combination that would look vulgar on others, yet only emphasized her grace and charisma as a cardinal.
Her golden hair cascaded softly down her back, and her violet eyes looked firm but warm.
"A visitor from another world. You are the first human to come to Minato," she said in French, formally but with a friendly air.
"Hello, Reuel.
Welcome to Azur Lane's Harbor Area."
Reuel looked at the girls standing before him—the personifications of war machines, now gracefully acting as diplomats of their world.
Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, Ada Wong, Alice, even Angie…
What would their expressions be like if they saw this?
Meeting shipgirls from another reality, who could fire high-caliber shells while smiling sweetly.
A first interdimensional meeting that, without doubt, would change everything.