Chapter 47 - Lexington’s Suspicion

"It was sword qi… but that's all I can manage for now." Hikaru sighed in slight disappointment as he released his grip on the sword. "If only I had a sword as durable as your ship rigging."

The alloy longsword crumbled into dust, scattering across the sea surface.

And just like that, the experiment ended. While Hikaru's destructive power was decent, it wasn't enough to be decisive in abyssal shipgirl battles. At best, it gave him a way to defend himself on land if it ever came to that.

Of course, with Lexington constantly by his side, Hikaru doubted he'd ever be pushed to such extremes.

Hikaru's words had been casual, but Lexington quietly filed them away in her heart.

Unlike Lexington, California found Hikaru's sword qi absolutely awesome. The dramatic poetry, the single flawless strike—it looked just as cool as her own massive cannon salvos.

"Commander~~~" California threw her arms around Hikaru's arm. "Teach me that… sword qi, please?"

Technically speaking, shipgirls could learn from him. Imagine someone like Littorio or Missouri mastering close-combat techniques like that—they'd be unstoppable.

Thinking of Littorio, Hikaru's eyes lit up. Didn't she have some kind of ceremonial officer's sword as part of her rigging? If he could borrow—no, secure—her blade…

While Hikaru was lost in thought, California tightened her grip on his arm, pleading softly, "Cooommmaaandeeer~~ pleeease teach me~~"

The way she clung to him sent a surge of guilty pleasure through Hikaru, until he caught sight of Lexington's amused smirk. It felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head, instantly sobering him up.

Flirting with another girl right in front of my wife? That's a death sentence…

Hikaru quickly pulled his arm free and cleared his throat. "You really want to learn, California?"

She nodded eagerly, eyes sparkling. "I do, I do!"

"Alright then. From now on, you'll train with me for one hour every morning. We'll start with the basics. It'll take at least a year. Think you can handle that?"

California smacked her chest confidently, her curves rippling. "I guarantee it."

While Hikaru was thinking about increasing her happiness level for that little task of his, it wasn't entirely self-serving. Taking on a cool and capable beauty as a student had always been one of his dreams… which, now that he thought about it, sounded pretty self-serving after all.

After they finished talking, Lexington stepped up and looped her arm around Hikaru's. Smiling sweetly at California, she asked, "Feeling up for more? We've detected another abyssal patrol fleet a hundred nautical miles south."

California clenched her fists with renewed energy. "I'm ready to go again!"

After a full day of combat, the group returned to the small town under Tsukiyama Ran's jurisdiction for a night's rest. The salvaged rigging parts were hauled back by Glowworm and California and sold to Ran at 90% of the official recovery price—still a decent deal for both sides.

Those parts needed processing before they could be reused as resources anyway, and Ran had regular supply ships that could handle transport.

It wasn't much of a profit, but Hikaru declared it "public funds" and allowed Glowworm and California to take a little pocket money from the earnings.

Glowworm wasn't one to care much, but California, as a grown woman, obviously needed some spending money.

After chatting for a while that night, California took Glowworm back to their room to get some rest and soak in the bath.

Hikaru and Lexington also returned to their room. As usual, they needed to spend time connecting with the shipgirls at the old base. After the first few days, the shipgirls had come up with a new rule: the first half-hour was for group chats, and the second half-hour was reserved for one-on-one time with Hikaru, determined by drawing lots. Naturally, the fleet's power players fully supported this system.

Hikaru wondered who tonight's "lucky girl" would be. The other day, South Dakota's bold confession had left him feeling secondhand embarrassment—not for himself, but for her. Washington had even barged in to drag her out by force.

Honestly, he loved chatting with the destroyer girls the most. They were so pure and heartwarming that he almost regretted not joining the Destroyer Fan Club back in the day.

After drying off from his bath, Hikaru sat on the futon. Lexington soon joined him, curling up in his lap.

"What's wrong?" Hikaru asked, surprised.

Lexington had previously said she wouldn't enter the dream link with him unless someone stood guard, in case of an ambush.

"I have a bad feeling today… almost like an abyssal flagship is watching us."

Hikaru immediately took it seriously. Lexington's instincts were not to be taken lightly.

"Any more details?"

"I can't explain it. I'll send my aircraft farther out tomorrow to see if I can find anything."

"That's the best we can do for now." Hikaru gently stroked her flaxen hair and kissed her forehead. "By the way, it's all thanks to you that today's operation went so smoothly."

If there was one thing more important than anything else in an operation, Hikaru would vote for detection.

After all, Fletcher's detection stat was 40 with her rigging boost, Glowworm's was 30, and California's… a pitiful 12. Fortunately, she had room to grow—her max was listed as 39 in the shipgirl encyclopedia.

But Lexington? Her base detection stat was a whopping 90. With her aircraft, she could survey an area within 100 to 200 nautical miles. And that was without going all out.

Thanks to Lexington, they'd racked up 37 confirmed kills today—despite spending a lot of time just traveling. Their efficiency had skyrocketed.

Of the 37 kills, California had taken down 23 by herself. The remaining 14 were picked off by Lexington's fighters—stragglers not worth chasing down personally.

Lexington tilted her face up, pouting playfully. "Don't I deserve a reward for performing so well?"

Hikaru grinned and pulled her closer. "Oh, I won't be holding back."

The next day, even on the return trip, Lexington didn't sense any more signs of the abyssal flagship.

But it definitely hadn't been a false alarm. If Lexington had sensed something, it meant trouble was brewing.

They'd have to mention it to the Academy when they got back.

While Hikaru and Lexington were both a little on edge, California, blissfully unaware, had the time of her life. In one of the later battles, she even kited an entire abyssal fleet with her long-range cannons, shelling them non-stop for half a day. Nearby bases had even sent ships to investigate the commotion, only to find she'd managed to snipe the entire fleet from 10 nautical miles away.

She had burned through nearly all her fuel and ammo, but Hikaru didn't mind—it only cost 85 fuel and 120 ammo to fully resupply her. He could afford it.

And this intense real combat experience had started to pay off. California's base anti-air had increased by 1 to 36, her firepower had risen by 2 to 76, and her level had reached 7.

If the next shipgirl they summoned was a powerful battleship, she'd be the perfect mentor for California.

Hikaru glanced at her, his mind drifting. In his vision, her happiness gauge was a deep blue labeled "enthusiastic."

What would it take to push that to "happy"?

Back in Windridge, Hikaru mentioned Lexington's unease to Elizabeth, who had come over once again to mooch a meal.

"I'll report it to the principal," Elizabeth replied between bites of roast goose. "But don't get your hopes up. They're not going to mobilize over a vague hunch."

Hikaru nodded in understanding. After that, he turned his focus back to training California.

Spending time as her teacher should raise her happiness, right?

So, the next morning at barely 6:30 a.m., Hikaru donned his quick-dry shorts and T-shirt and headed out with California, who was similarly dressed.

Fletcher was helping in the kitchen with Lexington, making steamed buns. As for Glowworm, she wasn't the athletic type and was busy pestering Lexington for grilled salted fish. Honestly, Hikaru had no idea where that craving even came from.

Though the sun had yet to rise, the sky was already growing light as Hikaru and California jogged along the roadside.

"Think you can handle my hellish training without using your rigging?"

California huffed, "Don't underestimate me! One day, I'll have you calling me Big Sis Cali with pride!"

Hikaru laughed. "Alright. Today's goal is to run to the city library and back—about 18 kilometers. You've got one hour. Fail, and you'll be on housework duty for a day. Deal?"

It wasn't the hardest challenge in the world, but for someone untrained, it was pretty brutal.

California's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Fletcher hogs all the housework anyway. Let's bet on beer instead. If I make it, I get a beer. If I fail, you drink one."

This girl really treated beer like a reward. Too bad Lexington strictly limited her to three 1.5-liter bottles a day—nowhere near enough for her taste.

Hikaru also enjoyed a drink, but he could control himself.

"Not like I've got time to drink usually."

"End of the month, then! We'll hit up the food stalls, drink beer, and have the time of our lives!"

The Academy gave students three days off at the start and end of each month. Hikaru felt tempted. "Sounds good."

California held up her palm for a high five. "Give me five!"

Hikaru slapped her palm, checked the time, and together they jogged toward the faint light of the dawn.

[End of Chapter]

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