The Reborn Admiral of the Ship Girl

He couldn't remember exactly how he rushed out of the sea and returned to a safe area after that. Even how he reported the situation in the sea to the local admiral was a blur. When he was able to think and come to his senses, he knelt in front of the hotel bed, the quilt covered with tears.

After that, he gave up his ship girls and handed them over to his trusted friends. From then on, he had nothing to do with the position of admiral.

After finishing speaking, the person in front of him drank the tea in one gulp and turned his head to look out the window.

"You have..."

"You want to say I've done good enough, right?"

He suddenly turned back and stared directly at Zhong Yu.

"...Yes, there is no better choice."

"Everyone says so, and I know it very well." He looked down at his empty tea cup, "That's the best choice, and there is no other way. But when everyone makes a mistake I always think, "It would have been better if I hadn't done that" or "It would have been better if I had been more cautious" and then I started to regret it."

"I am no exception. I always think, "If I had not chosen to move forward when the sea fog filled the air" and "If I had not taken on that mission, would Yixian have survived? "I can't put this behind me and I can never forget her."

"Since then, I haven't been able to accept commissions. Once I open the panel, I tremble all over. I don't want them to fight. Once I hear it, my breathing starts to quicken."

"That's when I discovered that I couldn't accept their death in battle—I wasn't qualified to become an admiral."

Zhong Yu's mouth moved, but he couldn't say a word.

The appearance of ship girls often makes people forget that they are essentially a battleship and a weapon. But they are weapons, which means going to the battlefield, and going to the battlefield means blood and tears.

The pain of war is equal. No matter who you are or what your status is, once you participate, you are dancing with death. Among the admirals, there are only a few who have not sacrificed their ships' wives. Even Zhong Yu has had his ships' wives sacrificed. Even at the end, the entire port area was burned to the ground.

As he said, those who cannot accept the sinking of their own ship are not qualified to be admirals. There is no need for weak people on the battlefield.

"So, what is the "witnessing of existence" mentioned in your mission description?"

In order to break the silent atmosphere and for his own curiosity, Zhong Yu asked a question.

"Actually, it's a bit exaggerated. I didn't really witness it."

"Four years ago, I came here on a ship. It was the first time I passed there in thirty years. Not far from the sea, I felt something, which I had long forgotten. The feeling, when I recalled it, I rushed to the deck almost desperately and stared at that place."

"The connection between the ship girl and the admiral, right?"

"Yes," when he said this, his tone became urgent, "I will never forget it, and I can't forget it. Although I haven't felt it since then, I firmly believe that Yixian must be there. In that sea area, it just hasn’t been found.”

“I’ve been moving here ever since and posting commissions like this every day.”

"……Yeah……"

To be honest, although his story is indeed touching, the time span for Yixian's death spanned thirty years, and it felt like it was all three years ago. In addition, Zhong Yu's rationality has never been felt since then. It's more likely that it's just the other party's illusion.

"I know that you probably think it's just my illusion. In fact, I told myself so, but I can't give up. As long as there is any possibility, I will believe it, even until death. And you accept my After entrusting you, you can’t go back on your word, right?”

"No, no, no, you are serious. I just thought about it for a moment. I am willing to assist you. This is also a very rare opportunity for me. When can I leave?"

Hearing this, he laughed again, "Haha, you can do it at any time. If it's not troublesome, let's go now."

This matter is ninety-nine percent impossible, Zhong Yu knows very well, but it is not absolute. If reason denies this possibility, then sensibility acknowledges its existence. Ship girls themselves are incredible creatures, aren't they?

Besides, this is a person, no, an admiral who has obtained clues in thirty-four years. It is already very lucky for Zhong Yu to be able to participate in it.

…………

"Little brother, although you are lucky enough to encounter the time when the sea fog weakens, it is impossible to ask Li Ke to support them. What's more, the frigate is just a destroyer. If you insist on doing this, you will have to do it as early as when you set off. Just leave them in port.”

"Well... I got a very rare radar ship suit. It's very powerful, so I'm not afraid of sea fog. As for the frigate, it's enough even without the z46. It's still no problem in low- and mid-level sea areas."

"In this way... Anyway, let your ship girls be more careful."

"Ok."

After hearing Zhong Yu tell his story, all the ship girls were so excited that Zhong Yu worried that if he stayed in the port and said such words, he would be dealt with directly on the spot.

Finally, after careful persuasion, Lexington, Unicorn, Saratoga, and Z46 were on standby outside the sea area for support at any time. As for powerful radar equipment, of course there is none, but there is armor that is much more powerful than that thing, let alone a mere sea fog. Even across planets, it can be delivered to you instantly.

"This is the inside of the sea area..."

Standing in the Missouri command room and looking out, the visibility was much lower than usual. This was in the afternoon when the sea fog had weakened. If it had been in the early morning, the visibility would have been quite scary.

"Commander, can you just leave him outside like this?"

When mentioning the people standing at the bow of the ship at this time, Missouri's expression was a little worried.

"It's okay. I will call the enemy as soon as I find him."

"It would be great if I could find it this time."

Missouri also looked out the window like Zhong Yu, but she was more worried.

"Would you rather have witnessed this?"

"Of course, I want to see him fulfill his wish."

"...I hope so too."

Two hours passed, but contrary to expectations, nothing was found, and the admiral didn't feel anything. When he realized that it was the second time he passed a place, Missouri sighed with helplessness and regret.

"Commander, is this search...?"

Missouri stopped mid-sentence. He saw that Zhong Yu was not frowning, but looking thoughtful.

"Any questions?"

"How should I put it? This situation is within my expectation."

"Considering that he has been searching for four years to no avail, if Yixian is still alive in some state, then she is consciously avoiding all ships. But I don't know how this is done. With Yixian It should be impossible for the equipment on board to escape so many searches..."

"Then, will this operation end in failure?"

If Zhong Yu thinks there is nothing he can do, then there really is nothing he can do. Missouri and the others have always thought so.

"Huh? I didn't say that, right? It's just my doubts...Wait a minute, Missouri, don't approach with such a fake smile, it's a bit scary. I'm trying my best, give me some time."

Although it was some cheating, Zhong Yu had already sent most of his armor out to search for everything in the sea area when he realized that the search was fruitless.

Let me put an end to this longing that has spanned thirty-four years.