The Divine Throne of Shipgirls

The Silent Horizon, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, had over 3,000 compartments—though that was only because the hangar deck took up so much space. Despite that, the number of personnel aboard far exceeded 3,000. Add in the fact that Commanders and shipgirls weren't keen on sharing rooms, and many compartments ended up extremely overcrowded.

Which made sense. Commanders tended to live longer than normal humans. Someone like Fleet Admiral Gorou, who had lived over two hundred years, was rare, but it wasn't unusual for Mid- or Senior Captains and Marshals to live a century or more—meaning they'd served as Commanders for eighty years.

Most officers with potential typically serve for forty to fifty years, steadily rising through the ranks. Even someone like Masaki—famous for his terrible luck—still managed to become a Marshal in just over two decades. For most, fielding ten high-level shipgirls was never a problem.

Thousands of Commanders. Tens of thousands of shipgirls. Sailors maintaining the fleet. Mountains of supplies and equipment.

Even though most shipgirls were on active missions at sea, the ship was still packed. Fortunately, Hikaru was now considered under Yamato's direct command, so he didn't have to be reassigned to other vessels, and his shipgirls were exempt from the mountain of side tasks usually assigned by headquarters. As a result, they were given a decently sized four-person cabin.

Cumberland handed Fletcher the magnetic key card. "Don't forget the room number. If you get lost, it's a pain."

Aircraft carriers were structurally complex. Below the flight deck were more than ten layers, and without proper training, it was easy to get lost wandering into the wrong area.

"Ladders go up first, then down. If you're heading toward the bow, take the portside passage—keep left. If heading aft, stick to starboard. The cafeteria and store are…"

Cumberland kept droning on, but Hikaru had tuned her out. As long as Fletcher remembered it, they'd be fine.

He laid the already-sleeping Tirpitz on the lower bunk. Even in sleep, the lonely northern queen still clung to him, reaching up instinctively to hook his neck.

Hikaru stared at her delicate sleeping face, lost in thought, until Lexington curled an arm around his.

"Commander, you really do like Tirpitz, huh? I'm getting jealous."

Hikaru chuckled and slipped his arm around Lexington's waist. "It's not that. I was thinking about how to light a fire in her again—to make her rise to greatness and earn a name that shakes the world. She's been growing more and more like a soft little homebody lately. It's honestly a bit concerning."

Tirpitz's eyelids twitched.

Lexington, watching from the side, smiled and cupped Hikaru's face. "You want the world to remember the name of the Northern Queen? Then let's figure it out together."

…

The next few days settled into a slow rhythm for Hikaru and the others—sleep, eat, repeat. Life was more regular than even back in the City.

But the war situation only worsened by the day.

The carrier also housed many foreign observers and war correspondents—both human and shipgirl. Many had risked their lives crossing oceans by air just to be here. The eyes of the world were fixed on this battle.

Cumberland mingled with them often and brought back grim updates every day.

"Due to the appearance of five-star Abyssal flagships Tirpitz and Bismarck, the surprise strike against Abyssal Yamato failed. She was only lightly damaged. The submarine squadron suffered losses over 32%, the 3rd and 4th carrier squadrons lost over 11%, and the 3rd battleship squadron suffered 23% casualties."

"Abyssal Barbarossa is advancing at a rate of 100 nautical miles per day. Our defensive line is collapsing."

"The large-scale bombing operation against Abyssal Barbarossa failed. She is surrounded by intense anti-aircraft fire, and the six-star Abyssal flagship with magical powers is capable of summoning wide-range blizzards. Only a handful of elite carrier aircraft can get close."

"Abyssal Tirpitz and Abyssal Bismarck have been confirmed among Barbarossa's fleet."

"The western front suffered defeat in aerial battles and retreated to Qiongzhou Island. The island's major cities are now under air raid."

"Our close-range assassination attempt against the second Abyssal flagship failed. She has been confirmed to be the heavy artillery vessel Monitor, whose close-combat capabilities rival magic."

Monitor? That was absurd. That name belonged to an ironclad from the Union fleet during the American Civil War—older than even World War I-era vessels. And she had somehow become a six-star, fully trained Abyssal flagship?

No one knew how many decades—or even centuries—it had taken her to reach such power.

And worse… how many more Abyssal flagships like her were still out there?

[End of Chapter]

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