Chapter 130 – Taking the Essentials and Fleeing

Thinking about the kind of pressure Tirpitz brought, Gorou couldn't help but admit—Shun did have a reason to be afraid. She was strong enough to suppress an entire nation. If she were to fixate on avenging Hikaru, Shun wouldn't have any hope of survival.

"Fleet Admiral Gorou, I will be reporting today's events in full to the Parliament," Murong said, striding toward the helipad, his voice trembling with fury. "To exile our greatest hero, Hikaru, and risk turning Tirpitz—the peerless demon—into our enemy… Old man Gorou, the Parliament will certainly issue a vote of no confidence against you. You'd best start thinking about how you'll survive that."

Gorou's aged figure seemed to hunch even further.

He watched as Murong boarded the helicopter, his fists clenched tight.

"I did nothing wrong. I acted for the greater good. Who knows whether that Hikaru is man or monster! Don't you agree, Indiana?"

No one answered him.

Gorou turned and looked around. For nearly two hundred years, his marriage ship Indiana had always been by his side, inseparable.

Now, she was gone.

For the first time, he felt a creeping sense of fear.

The sky was vast, the land distant, and in this boundless mortal world—it felt like he was walking alone.

Hikaru found his shipgirls in a park next to their rental home.

Vampire and Glowworm were secretly fishing under the shade of a tree, while California was practicing her punches in a small plaza nearby—the same moves Hikaru had once taught her.

As he landed beside them, Vampire flinched and panicked. "Commander! I wasn't sneaking out to fish, honest! It was Glowworm's idea!"

Glowworm stood hands on hips. "The park manager invited us to fish, okay? We didn't steal anything! It's just that some people looked at us weird, so we picked a quieter spot."

Hikaru looked around the park. There were old folks, middle-aged people, and children playing everywhere—but their gazes kept drifting in his direction, distracted and curious.

Naturally. Shipgirls, even in a city like this, weren't something normal people encountered every day. Especially not ones as adorable as Glowworm and Vampire.

California wiped off her sweat and skipped over. Leaning forward sweetly, she chirped, "Commander, you're back from the front lines? Big Sis Tirpitz was amazing! I even saw her on TV. Huh? You don't look too good—your forehead's all sweaty!"

She used her white sleeve to try and wipe his brow.

Even though Hikaru had only unleashed one sword strike earlier, it had completely drained him. He was nearly collapsing and only barely holding on.

"This isn't the time for chit-chat. Cali, Glowworm, Vampire—we need to move out immediately."

Glowworm dropped her fishing rod, a bit flustered. "Why, Commander? I just taught Vampire where to find the best drinks in town today…"

"We'll talk later. We're leaving now," Hikaru said, sweeping a glance at the others in the park. Some of them had clearly recognized Tirpitz and were already looking excited.

They probably thought they had the chance to meet the battle-saving hero they'd seen on TV.

But in a few days, Tirpitz might be labeled a villain—or worse, a deep-cover Abyssal spy.

No, Hikaru shook his head. Gorou and the others were more likely to downplay everything. They'd probably just avoid mentioning Tirpitz at all—at least not smear her while tensions were still high.

But none of that mattered to Hikaru anymore. He was heading into the open sea—to claim true, absolute freedom.

Even though they packed fast, by the time they'd emptied the house and were ready to go, someone was already blocking the door.

She was a beautiful, tan-skinned woman—Indiana.

"This hasn't gone that far. You all can still stay. There will be justice," she said.

Indiana was no weakling—she'd actually caught up to them. Though, in fairness, Hikaru's group had been delayed slightly by grabbing a few extra things.

Hikaru shrugged. "It has gone that far, ma'am. I'm sorry—but I'm the one who's been wronged."

Just a few blocks away, the sound of military sirens rang out—vehicles were already headed their way.

It seemed the Silent Horizon had sent an order over the radio.

[End of Chapter]

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