Vol 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chapter 1: The Sea God's Maiden
Part 1
The seas around Okinoshi+ rain clouds looround of the azure sky A cool seabreeze blew, ruffling the clear, endless sea aves Just a moment later, an immense explosion and plumes of sea foam put an end to this scenic view
“shi+T！Five eneet carried away by their pride and focused their attacks on a single shi+p again?!”
”Re Abyssals, two BBs, 1 CA, 2DD--! We'll keep their a, launch another air strike!”
”We don't need you to tell shi+p this tia?!”
”Understood Preparing a second wave at once”
Akagi and Kaga halted behind Kongou, launching their aircraft Countless arrows shot into the sky--a moment later, the arrows split even further into the fairy-piloted carrier planes In order to launch a successful attack, the carrier planes needed to congregate above the carriers before launching as a single group
It was at this tiou and coed across the surface of the water with reckless abandon”
”two destroyers in front of us--Ha-class, I believe!”
”This is Akagi Hibiki, Yukikaze, it's up to you! [3]”
”Understood Hibiki, breaking off to engage the enemy destroyers”
”Yukikaze understands Just leave it to me!”
As if responding to Akagi's voice [4], the two destroyer-classed shi+pgirls in front of Kongou raised their speed Hibiki's face remained expressionless Yukikaze, on the other hand, broke into an alrin, as if she were already confident of so”
”Hibiki onee-san! I'll be the the bait, Hibiki onee-san, hit 'eet hit so easily!”
”Acknowledged--also, don't call me onee-san, we're both destroyers”
”That won't do Hibiki-onee-san is the senpai Anyhow, I'll be relying on you!”
”Understoodspasibo [5]”
”Iyaaaahhhhh--!”
Gripping tightly to the turret slung on her shoulder, Yukikaze charged towards the enemy--and, a moment later, let fly with several volleys
In a blink of an eye, the shells reached the two ene pillars of water around thefire with belches of flame
”Yukikaze will never sink!”
Hopping and skipping, Yukikaze dodged as she returned fire, at ti into the waterspouts--it was said, after all, that places where shells had hit would not be hit again
On the other hand, Hibiki had already maneuvered to the enemy vessels' side As Yukikaze ducked and weaved, Hibiki stopped, eyeing the eneaze, and then--”
”Well then, let's beginopen fire!”
With the explosion, a shell shot out of the barrel--the foremost enemy destroyer shuddered with an explosion to its side, its hull pierced Belching black smoke, the enemy shi+p slowed to a stop
Judging Hibiki to be a greater threat than Yukikaze, the re in Hibiki's direction
”Hibiki onee-san!?”
”Yukikaze, finish that daed destroyer!”
”Aye, understood!”
Yukikaze put the struggling, still-fighting enemy destroyer out of its misery with a short volley Hibiki, too, distanced herself fro for a chance to resume fire
”I can't lose either!”
Glancing at Yukikaze and Hibiki's fierce battle, Kongou's mouth twisted into a scary smile
”Kirishi+et in there!”
”Understood, Onee-sama!”
Cruising at Kongou's side, Kirishi+lasses that of an intellectual
In front of Kirishi+ures stood before the hair would have lent therotesque turrets on their arms
”Onee-sale are now sufficient--if we fire noe should have a good chance of hitting then”
”Understood, うて[7]!”
”Hit--!”
The two battleshi+ps slowed to a halt as the guns on their back-mounted outfits opened up with a cacophony and blast of smoke that no destroyer could hope to attain It would be i with any ou and Kirishi+ only to fire another volley
On the other side, the two enee that caical ”arou and Kirishi+ma also put up their defenses
Both side's barriers shuddered under repeated AP shell iou and Kirishi+ apart--meanwhile, the enemy barriers seemed virtually untouched
”Tch, they sure are tough,” Kongou muttered under her breath as she felt the strain on her spiritual power--and then her barrier collapsed as an explosion racked her body
”Onee-sama?!”
The sea was shrouded in black s her teeth against the pain The outfit on her was virtually inoperable due to severe dae
At the same time, the enemy vessels bellowed onceMoreover, a heavy cruiser had charged in frouard
”i! Quickly!”
”Don't rush me! Second attack team, launch!”
Having asseed once eysers--and yet, seconds later, the two eneed but alive
”The eneer!”
Akagi and Kaga weren't the si quickly collected herself and made her decision
”Kirishi+uys will also be finished! At this rate we and the destroyers--before that happens, bring down one of those battleshi+ps! Leave the other one to us! Let the Heavy Cruiser do its worst!”
”Understood! Really, I'm not suited for this kind of role!”
Accelerating to full speed, Kirishi+ed towards one of the enemy battleshi+ps
”WoooaoaAAAAAAHHHHH--!!”
Closing to point blank range, Kirishi+--her barrier wilted under the sustained fire And yet, the enemy shi+p was in the same position Both vessels attacked wildly, prepared for mutual destruction Kirishi+ma was the first to pierce the barrier Barrier completely destroyed, the eneh the explosion
And yet, the other enemy battleshi+p had locked onto Kirishi+un's shells zoned in on Kirishi+ma This one would certainly penetrate if it hit--
”Tch! So you're going to shoot me, so what?!!!!”
assured that Akagi and Kaga and launched a new attack unit, Kirishi+uns
—————————————————————————————————————
Several hours later, surrounded by the shi+ps that had fled the battle, the office was inundated in a pervading gloom
”I'm really sorry, 'Admiral'”
Akagi, the shi+pgirl delegated with the i the six shi+pgirls, covered in wounds”
”It's because eren't strong enough that this canhad to be abandoned”
”Don't be so crestfallen, there'll be other chances”
The young man called ”Admiral”, clad in the white Type 1 Uniforh the report
”It seeer than the other abyssals in the area That itself was valuable inforree”
”But, if this continues”
The ”Adi
”There's still time For noe should re-consolidate our forces and prepare for the decisive battle Although I understand your feelingslet's go back As long as we can retreat, we can always return [9]
Akagi nodded with difficulty In order to dispel the sohed emphatically
”Kongou, this tith that much more noticeable?”
”Yeah! They were pretty strong!”
In spite of her wounds, Kongou responded breezily
My guns weren'tthose new enemy warshi+ps in 'that war' [10]!”
”We also felt that the eneer”
Akagi and Kaga joined, nodding
I feel as if the ineffectiveness of our aerial attacks is due to this of course, I don't deny that I was a little overconfident”
”Is that so In that case, this is a good tithen our own fleet”
”Strengthen our fleet? Good time?”
Kirishi+ma looked a little incredulous With a bit of a smile, the ”Admiral” responded--
A new standard carrier has joined our naval district
Part 2
The first thing that ca boards that for
”Hm?”
The neakened s
”This is”
Murirl slowly pieced together her situation
She had been sleeping (quite coht little six-tatas were quite replete--a set of clothes lay by the pillow, cleaned and folded
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like a japanese hotel room--a bit of an old fashi+oned-one at that
And yet to this young wo quite soundly in this room and the fact that she could deduce her location left her even more incredulous
”Because Iam not a human, but a warshi+p, born as the Aircraft Carrier Zuikaku; I've never seen or been to any place like this”
Theher two hands
”Why have i becoirl? Not to in with”
nobody spoke to answer Zuikaku's questions--the surroundings remained eerily quiet
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Zuikaku looked around once more at her room
As expected, it was sih she felt herself cool a little as she calh the --it seemed like it inter
”What on earthwhat is going on around here?”
At that ” behind her Zuikaku turned on reflex
”Eh! A cat?”
And indeed it was simply a cat, a black and white-spotted fellow that must have slunk in fro expression, seely unafraid of ZUikaku
”I saw cats a few times at the factory and on boardbut to think that one day I'd have the chance to pet one”
As soon as she reached out fondly to pet the cat's head, the kitten leapt past, dashi+ng to the folded clothes and picking up a piece
”Oh, that's”
No matter how you look at it, that was a bra
And with that, the kitten fled, hightailing to freedoap in the door, bra in mouth
”Ah, that, eh?”
Zuikaku looked down at her own chest--she earing a bathrobe--no underwear, at any rate Zuikaku the blood rush to her face--without that bra, she would have nothing to wear at all
”Oi ye thievin' lil' cunt! I'll fookin' glass ye when I catch ye--!”
Reflexively tightening her sash, Zuikaku shot off in pursuit of the cat
Flinging the door open, Zuikaku raced into a long corridor, flanked on each side by nu doors
(As expected, a hotelbut there are ht now!)
The cat dashed down the corridor Zuikaku pursued with equal desperation, rubbing shoulders with a girl as she passed by ”Zuikaku onee-san! You're awake, then--!” The girl spoke to Zuikaku with a voice full of vitality, cutting quite the figure in her elegant uniform Zuikaku responded involuntarily--
”Y,you are?!”
”Destroyer Maikaze! From the 4th Destroyer Division!”
Zuikaku sed her surprise In the Indian Ocean Raid and the Battle of the South Pacific, the 4th Destroyer Division had been known for its steadfast protection of Zuikaku's own 1st Carrier Division on countless battlefield
”Hopefully next time I can dance a real Odori-Bon with Zuikaku oneesan, and not this kind of dodgy maneuver!”
In the many battles Zuikaku and Maikaze had experienced, there was an anti-air maneuver that came to be called the Odori-bon
”Ah, I'ht If you're here, does that mean that there are other warshi+ps that became humans?!”
”They call us shi+pgirls here, y'know--!”
(shi+pgirls?! So we've become a humanoid existence?!)
The kitten had by now passed through the hallway, and was now dashi+ng for thewomen (dressed in beautiful dresses, just like Maikaze) with arms full of laundry
”Ara ara, to run between show brazen~”
”G-gwailo?! And stonking great tits too!”
This newly ly, a lot of stuffing underneath her dress [12]
”I'o, pleased to irls aren't only Yamato Nadeshi+ko, you know”
”I-is that so?”
Though the o should have taken part in the third battle of the Solomons and the Marianas [13] A veteran cruiser of a hundred battles, she was known for her ability to keep her balance in spite of her heavy aracy reflected in her current body”
”Oh by the way, that cat's name is called wanker [14] He's the naval district's second-in-command Please take care of him”
”wanker? Not Weigh Anchor? Also, calling a hotel a naval district, what's gonig on?!”
”This is the Hotel called the Naval District, just remember that, huehuehue~”
”I,I'rateful!”
Still chasing the cat, Zuikaku charged around Atago--but even so, the distance from the cat did not appear to have diminished much
wanker passed through the great hall, straight into the kitchen As expected, several girls that appeared to be shi+pgirls, clad in aprons, were preparing food on the stove
(There are shi+pgirls in the kitchen too?! What the hell is going on?!)
”Hey~ Tenryuu-chan, the first serving of breakfast's done~ come over and have a taste~”
”Oh! hmhm, as expected of Tatsuta's Tatsutir-fry [15], it's delicious!
”Oh no~ though I came up with the recipe, I feel like I haven't had much practice~”
”Forenoughuwahcat?!”
”Arara~if it isn't wanker-chan~”
wanker wasted no ti away from the two--not, however, in the direction of the Tatsutir-fry
”Arara~wanker-chan likes bras more than Tatsutir-fry, huh? It turned out so tasty too~”
”Ah--~ Sorry, pardon--!”
Red-faced as she rushed through the kitchen and past the two, Zuikaku said
”Ah! A new face! My name's Tenryuu, and this is Tatsuta From here on out, pleased to meet you!”
If memory hadn't failed, those two should be the first and second shi+ps Tenryuu-class light cruisers , frequent partners in transport missions
”I'll be in your care! Just asking, but why did I find you two in the kitchen?”
”This hotel is irls, and it's up to us to prepare the food There's quite a lot of us, so it's quite a job~”
”I,is that so”
”ALso, if you keep going that way, you'll get to the Admiral's command room”
”Iif there's anything else, we can talk about it later!”
Zuikaku and wanker barreled straight out of the kitchen, back into a hallway Right in front of Zuikaku loomed a heavy, western-style door
(Thiswhere is this)
”Zui, kaku”
It was a voice Zuikaku had never heard before, and yet it was a voice whose intiht back old memories Shocked, Zuikaku ran forwards to where wanker was dashi+ng with all itsthe room
A shi+pgirl, dressed in see azed at the newco a red headband over fine silver hair, white robe and red pants with brown eyes and a breastplate emblazoned with a ”シ,”--a second later, her name left Zuikaku's lips
”It can't be, Shoukaku-nee”
”Oy, oy!”
The young fellows voice see man were about to collide--and wanker, of course, had already positioned itself between them
”O-outta my way--!”
With panicky steps, Zuikaku tried to slon--instead, she tripped, tu forwards--
Atheround
”Ah Oah, are you alright?!”
“Uh uhuh”
The teenager responded with a gasp of pain Zuikaku hurried to get up--and then froze in place
The i open the collar of her bathrobe, and (For reasons unknown) the young rasped firmly on Zuikaku's left boob
As Zuikaku re man confirmed his situation in relation to Zuikaku as a twisted smile crawled across his face (keikaku doori)
”They don't see if you look at them, but honestly, they're not as bad as you'd think”
”--Tch!”
Blushi+ng furiously, Zuikaku forced out such a soundless sound--near-instantaneously, Zuikaku's unifored to one similar to shoukaku's as a bundle of carrier planes appeared above her head--
”You can't, Zuikaku! Calm down”
”You bastard--!”
”Oy, wait, don't”
Following closely behind Zuikaku's shriek, the carrier planes flew at the young man--
Part 3
In the end, wanker was caught by a group of destroyers with MAX capture abilities
”Oow”
”Are you alright, admiral?”
It was a scene that escaped words
A previously ied command room; the ”admiral,” rashly wounded by her hand; and Shoukaku-nee, atched in concern while rubbing ointment on the ”admiral”
As the elder sister, Shoukaku was a shi+pgirl of the same class--of this Zuikaku was overjoyed But, exactly because of that, she was thrown into confusion
What exactly are the so-called shi+pgirls? How irls are in the Naval District Hotel? What is the current tifor that rank
When did the weapons she had attacked the ”Admiral” with disappear? For that matter, how did they appear? This seeirls
(No ht)
As she remembered that moment of hostility, Zuikaku pursed her lips
(Well, everyone makes mistakes like these sometimesit was just an accident, just an accident!)
Sitting on a chair in front of the desk with all his boo-boos dabbed with neosporin, the ”Admiral” and Shoukaku eyed each other
”Thanks a lot, Shoukaku, it's fine now”
”Really? Does it really not hurt anywhere?”
Shoukaku pushed on with a worried look Though Shoukaku was her sister, she see person--quite a different first impression compared to Zuikaku
”Ahah, cole up with you Just like this--”
No sooner had he finished that the ”Admiral” reached for Shoukaku's skirt--he was hurriedly stopped by Shoukaku before Zuikaku could angrily get up
”N-no, you can't! Right now I'ht there”
”Then are you saying it's okay as soon as we're done?! Alone time for two?! Is that it?!”
”T-that's not okay either!”
”Ahem”
Zuikaku coughed emphatically From appearance, her first ienerate who touches his secretary
Shoukaku-nee and ”Admiral” both looked flustered as Zuikaku turned around Finally, the two eked out two quiet coughs
”Well, that was just our little joke,”
the ”Admiral” explained with a weak chuckle as he passed the problem [17] to Shoukaku
”Don't you want to talk with your sister? I'm sure she's worried about the current situation”
Zuikaku responded with a small voice
”Well, uh, it is actually pretty confusing”
”Well then, I'll start by introducing myself”
The ”Ad with a sincerity that had not been there before--as if his teed
”I aiven name, it's what everyone calls me I'm the caretaker of this Naval District Hotel, and also serve as itsofficer”
”I'm Zuikaku I'm, uha fleet aircraft carrier?”
Zuikaku replied with a touch of auity as she shook with her own hand Her own h a little incompatible with her current situation Better to end it with a question mark
The ”Admiral” nodded, as if he understood completely
”Don't worry You are, indeed, the fleet carrier Zuikaku Judging by your response, you still have some memories from 'That War'?”
”Mist of it”
”That War” Zuikaku felt an angry twinge at the phrase If this was the world after ”That War,” it should not have such a vague name
Shoukaku appeared to have noticed Zuikaku's sense of violation As if to reassure herself, she lowered her head slightly The ”Admiral,” too, responded with a nod
”Then I'll cut straight to the point” The ”Adirls are another form of those illustrious warshi+ps from 'That War'”
A new form--as she realized what the ”Admiral”to be a shi+pgirl, walking down the next step of her life
But Zuikaku's questions had not been completely resolved”
”'Apparently'what a flippant way of saying things”
””It can't be helped We and you, your pasts and our pasts, it is all a mystery --Shoukaku?”
”Yessir Zuikaku, could you look at this for a moment?”
With that, Shoukaku handed the globe on the table to Shoukaku
”This is!”
Zuikaku gasped
(”Bataan Island [18],” ”the Curry Sea,” and ”Okinoshi+ma”they're not the same as the world before!”)
Once Zuikaku understood, the ”Admiral” resumed his explanation: ”It is as you see it That is to say, those battles in which you all fought and, unfortunately, sunk, we can only call them parts of 'that war,' because that is all we know of it All our knowledge, everything we know, comes from the scraps that you tell us”
”Then'that war' in this world”
”You can say it never happened But, from what you've told us, we're quite a bit more advanced compared to the time when you all lived,”
””
”Don't worry There are virtually no cultural differences between your hos will seen at first, they'll become everyday pretty quickly”
”Is that so”
Without noticing it, Zuikaku's hands balled into fists This is not the country she and her co else hit harder than this fact
But there were still other questions about their nature
”Well then, why are we here?” Zuikaku asked, hesitantly
The ”admiral” stood up from his seat quietly as he walked over to the
”This world, it faces an existential threat”
”An existential threat?”
”Shoukaku”
”mm”
Thu the TV re on the wall Fro and inti fire and pitch-black s on the water's surface, their bodies dyed black froled to stay above the water Most of the shi+ps there were cargo shi+ps and tankers, but ae aircraft carriers And yet, the thing that caught Zuikaku's eye was not this hellish scene Around each stricken shi+ps, the size of a whale, so on the unfortunate survivors The re destroyers and cruisers desperately fired at the nored them [19]
But that was not all Behind thes hueful souls of warshi+ps and those who died upon them had attained a corporeal, human form--[20]
”This, this is”
”The Abyssals The enemies of humankind”
The ”Admiral” calmly explained to the speechless Zuikaku
”Regarding the identity of the Abyssals, there's still a lot we don't know But one thing is absolutely clear--they mean harm to us, and they wish to conquer the oceans And we, humans, are powerless to stop them”
”Powerlesshow could it be”
The ”Adled to find her words
”Currently, on this planet virtually every sea and ocean is a lake to them Maritime trade--all the trade routes, connections, convoys, have been completely destroyed Every country may as well have been blockaded or landlocked Of course, for us as a mercantile nation, this is an existential threat”
ZUikaku could not even nod Her own home country had been a mercantile nation as well--with few do and exporting to the outside world [21] ”That War” and this reality were hardly unrelated [22]
”But, if you use air transport, you could theoretically”
”Air transport can't coo capacity Plus there are Aircraft Carrier-type abyssals, like you At the start we tried transitioning to air transport, but their carrier planes shot down our cargo planes, and so we've largely given up”
””
”The international coainst the abyssals But the power gap is too large The World's navies are already struggling trying to secure the seaboard Even the seaboard has not been coround invasion”
The scene Zuikaku watched transitioned to what looked like a coastal area Against the background of ruined buildings lay the corpses of what seemed like enemy transports
Zuikaku could not resist another sharp intake of breath The onslaught of the abyssals had already reached populated areas
”I heard that you all were born to fight the abyssals You all possess coo”
Zuikaku absently regarded her own fist The equiped inemotionthis was probably the ability of the aircraft carriers The other shi+pgirls must have other unique abilities
”Additionally, as your co officer, I must annhilate the abyssals with you all in order to return peace to the oceans”
”Then, the other shi+pgirls are already”
”That's right, they've already joined the battle There have been more than a few casualties as well”
An indescribable feeling welled up in Zuikaku's chest While ”That War” had spiraled towards a tragic end, this as still continuing, and the shi+pgirls were the trump card
(During ”That War”, there were s we couldn't protect)
Meedies from the war floated unbidden to the surface She had not been able to do anything--she had not even been able to bear her share of her comrade's sorrow before
(But if I'ht?)
”This Naval District Hotel was rented for your everyday life, so that you all would form a proper 'naval district' As such, I and the other shi+pgirls simple refer it to the 'naval district'”
With a touch of pride, the ”Admiral” [23] continued
”In spite of that, however, this is also a nor and running the day to day affairs in the hotel Of course, the real preparations are in the nearby factory
”In that case, why not just live in the factory to begin with--”
As warshi+ps and weapons, living in a factory is normal; the ”Admiral”, however, replied with a bitter chuckle: ”Currently at the naval district hotel there are over a hundred and ten shi+pgirls Noto fit you all into a ht As in Teneht”
”Ah, over a hundred and ten?!”
Quite a few shi+ps had taken part in ”That War”, but even so Zuikaku felt shock
”Besides, I don't want to just treat you as warshi+p, or as tools only used when there are things to kill”
The ”Admiral”'s steely response made clear his resolve
”You are not warshi+ps and you are not huirls' I cannot help but send you all to risk your lives in war But in spite of--no, because of that, I wish that you all can live peaceful and gentle lives until you go out to fight”
After that speech, Zuikaku felt a hint of awe Compared to the ”Admiral” from earlier, this ”Admiral” seemed like a completely different person
”Well then, I hope you can be our vanguard”