91: Chapter 91 Welcoming

To be honest, Kano had never been this far out to sea before.

Sitting aboard a heavy cruiser designed by the Federation but built by a Ship Girl shipyard, Kano received her first directive since accepting the mission: to pick someone up.

Cruising at a high speed of 25 knots, it would still take sixty hours to reach the destination, a task completely unrelated to her previous coastal defense duties.

1,500 nautical miles... She hung over the railing like a dead fish. The ocean looked exactly the same; even though they had traveled a bit further, nothing seemed to change.

It had been so many years; she had long since grown accustomed to the sea, and there was nothing left to pique her interest.

The Sirens, who usually prowled outside visual range, were nowhere to be seen; she hadn't spotted a single one along the way.

"The Director lied to me! Even though there's nothing to do, I'm so bored..."

"No internet, I'm going to die of boredom..."

It was about to get dark again. Forget it, she'd just go back to her room and sleep. Luckily, she had saved some novels on her phone, otherwise she really would have turned to ash from boredom...

Hmm... what's that?

A dark shadow suddenly appeared on the surface, followed by a massive creature leaping out of the water. It arched over the cruiser and plunged back into the sea on the other side.

"Whoa!" She was startled, then watched as the unknown creature surfaced again, staring at her with a pair of eyes.

"Is that... a whale?"

She held onto her hat and looked at the big guy.

Wait, normal whales aren't this big. Is it some kind of deep-sea creature, a relative of the whale?

Regardless, after sensing her curiosity, the giant whale spitefully sprayed a jet of water toward the ship, soaking Leica from head to toe before diving back down and vanishing.

"Hey! ...It ran away?" Leica was a bit annoyed, but since it had already escaped, there was nothing she could do.

Helplessly wiping her face, she hurried off to take a shower and change clothes.

When she emerged again, she found it was already afternoon.

About another day's worth of sailing left...

She stayed on the Bridge for a while before deciding to return to her lounge to rest.

Anyway, the Construction Fairies were managing the ship, so she didn't need to keep a constant eye on things.

She stretched. On the bright side, she didn't have to deal with paperwork...

What is that?

Her eyes, squinted from the stretch, snapped wide open. In the distance, there was the silhouette of a warship.

Is that a Siren? Or the faction the Director mentioned?

She stepped out of the command room and took out her binoculars for a closer look.

Only then did she hear a strange roar.

Looking up, she saw exactly what was in the specially marked photos in the files Verres had given her:

A combat aircraft, the P-51D "mustang."

The fighter circled above the cruiser before quickly climbing and disappearing into the clouds, while the warship on the horizon finally came into full view.

What a massive vessel.

The identification number was FVS-1001, an "Admiral" class battlecruiser.

The other party immediately signaled with lights, providing a radio frequency.

"Ship Girl Bureau vessel, identification number 3116, this is Horizons Edge Navy Ship 1001. Please state your business." A slightly young female voice came through the radio.

Kano activated her rigging and tuned into the frequency.

"Horizons Edge Navy 1001, this is Ship Girl Bureau vessel 3116, the Large Cruiser Kano. I am under orders to receive..."

Receive who again? The Director just said to receive the target, but how should she address the target?!

"Receive... er, anyway, I'm here to pick someone up on the orders of Director Verres!"

"...I understand. Hello, welcome to Horizons Edge, Plata Port. I am the Destroyer Z23. The Commander is already waiting for you!"

Coming out a full day's journey to meet her?

After a brief response and following Verres's instructions, Kano quickly sent a report back to her Director. After waiting for several hours, she received the Director's reply while sitting on her bed eating fried chicken.

Is this a whole detailed report?

"Commander Li Ming... Ship Girl... Horizons Edge Leader..."

Kano suddenly felt like she didn't want this assignment anymore. This wasn't a cushy job; she was clearly being sent as cannon fodder!

With a long face, she finished her fried chicken anyway.

Her Director wasn't someone who acted on impulse; if she placed this much importance on it, there must be a reason.

But was this the person she was supposed to supervise? It was quite unexpected. Would a leader of such a faction be willing to accept her supervision?

However... he actually agreed. How did the Director manage that? He would follow her to the frontline border city of Oronia...

Uh... why is it for enrollment? Does a person like this need to go to the Oronia Maritime Academy to study?

Kano looked at the information and guidance Verres had given her, completely bewildered. She felt there was some strange inside story, but she simply couldn't understand it.

...Anyway, just do the job, right? It shouldn't be too difficult. Kano still had confidence in her abilities...

With a somewhat apprehensive heart, she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes to rest her mind.

It wasn't that she didn't want to read manga; it was simply because she felt uneasy. This was the first time she would meet a big shot other than her own Director...

The Grand Knight Commander of the Federation didn't count; she had only seen him from a distance.

That aloof old man made her very uncomfortable. She wondered what kind of person this Commander Li Ming would be.

——————

"Large Cruiser Kano..." Li Ming looked at the telegram sent by Verres, stroking his chin.

At this time, Z23 should have already met her. She would likely arrive by tomorrow evening.

With Z23 away, he'd have to figure out dinner himself tomorrow. It needed to be relatively grand, but he didn't know how to prepare seafood.

What a headache.

He picked up the Shittim Chest... this magical tablet from Blue Archive had an incredibly long battery life. Although Arona and Plana weren't inside right now, Logic had been installed.

"Logic... how do you cook seafood?"

"According to the database, the preparation methods for seafood are..." Logic began to explain solemnly.

After receiving step-by-step guidance from Logic, Li Ming confirmed one thing: he was not suited for cooking seafood.

So he gave up on the spot. Tomorrow, he'd just press-gang A6 and Ayanami into making some home-cooked dishes.

Generally, the canteen was left to the Yellow Chickens. The last time Verres came, they used that area mainly because there were suddenly too many people plus an outsider, but this time there was only one guest.

Hmm, he could give it a try...

...

...