An hour later.
Everyone directly witnessed a live performance.
Taihou, feeling satisfied, lay diagonally on the tatami mat, stroking her lower abdomen, her eyes hazy, savoring the aftertaste.
Jack, meanwhile, casually changed into a clean set of clothes from his backpack, stood up, and said to Nagato:
"Sorry for the wait. Taihou has promised me she won't cause trouble in the port anymore. Now... let's go to the Broadcast Room."
Nagato suppressed the restless feeling in her heart, nodded, and quickly walked ahead to lead the way.
If only she wasn't the Flagship, she would also love to act spoiled like Taihou!
A few minutes later.
Everyone arrived at the Broadcast Room on the first floor.
After Shoukaku and others had set up the equipment, Jack picked up the prepared script and began his speech.
...
"Hello, hello! Can you hear me?"
Across the entire Sakura Empire Port island, almost every place heard the voice coming from the broadcast.
In a certain lounge area.
A girl with beige hair in a single ponytail, wearing a sailor uniform, looked up at the broadcast speaker.
"This voice... sounds a bit familiar desu."
"It does sound a bit familiar, and it sounds like a male voice."
Answering her was another girl with long black hair, wearing a JK uniform.
The two were Sakura Empire destroyers, Ayanami and cruiser Noshiro.
Ayanami didn't continue chatting but stood up and walked towards the Broadcast Room.
Noshiro followed her.
"Where are you going now?"
"The Broadcast Room!"
"Just because of the male voice on the broadcast?"
"Mm... that voice, it should be the Commander desu."
"Huh?!"
...
The broadcast continued.
"My name is Jack. Hmm, you might not have heard this name, but my position, I believe everyone is quite familiar with it."
"Gathering Azure Lane and Crimson Axis, leading the Shipgirls to fight against the Siren... and winning one legendary victory after another—the Commander!"
"Yes, my lovely Shipgirls, your Commander is back!"
At the Sakura Empire Shrine, three legendary Shipgirls with an ethereal aura gathered.
"Oh, so this is the Commander's voice. He sounds quite young, but I wonder what he looks like."
Musashi looked at Shinano beside her.
This younger sister claimed to have seen him in her dreams, so asking her should provide an answer.
"He is beautiful, and his stamina is very good... it's just that his personality is a little bit mischievous."
"Heh heh, using 'beautiful,' a word typically used to describe women, to describe the Commander—that's something Shinano would say. I wonder how the Commander would respond if he heard that evaluation."
"More than beauty or ugliness, I'm more interested in the stamina Shinano mentioned."
Unzen asked, "Could it be that Commander-sama is even stronger than a Shipgirl in terms of stamina?"
Concerned about their happiness, Musashi also looked at Shinano with curiosity.
Shinano's cheeks were slightly flushed as she slowly said,
"This concubine is ashamed; with my meager personal strength, I have not been able to test the Commander's limits. However, I once heard that the Commander fought dozens of sisters in another world without falling behind, so his stamina should be excellent."
Unzen and Musashi exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
This level of stamina could no longer be described as merely 'good'; it was simply magnificent!
And with a Commander possessing such abundant stamina, perhaps no Shipgirl would go hungry in the future...
As they thought about it, both became parched and felt a wicked heat rise within them.
"Excuse me, I'm going to make some tea."
"I... I am too, Unzen, please make an extra portion for me."
...
Jack's speech lasted roughly 10 minutes.
Aside from his initial self-introduction, he then briefly explained the reason for his disappearance over the past few months.
Since he would personally explain the full details to everyone later, he simply fabricated a story about falling into a singularity and then returning, to put the Shipgirls at ease and prevent any unnecessary worries.
Next was the announcement of the Sakura Empire Shipgirl parade, to be held five days later, with the purpose of inspecting everyone's growth during his absence, and also to get a general idea of the Shipgirls' actual combat capabilities, so he would have a clear understanding.
After the parade, Jack would arrange for a formal departure, relocating the entire Sakura Empire Port to Star Sea Azure, making it the first Shipgirl faction to settle in the new port.
Click~
The microphone was turned off.
Jack looked at Nagato and Amagi.
"Five days should be enough time for everyone to absorb the shock of my return and prepare for the parade. And then, I would like to contact Azure Lane Port. Is it convenient to make a satellite call now?"
"Satellite communications are usually handled by Akashi. I have already sent someone to find her."
Knock knock~
No sooner had she finished speaking than a knock sounded on the Broadcast Room door, followed by a voice that sounded no taller than 1.4 meters.
"Meow~ I heard someone calling my name!"
The door opened, and a maintenance Shipgirl with green hair reaching the floor walked in.
She was none other than the Sakura Empire's repair ship, the owner of the cash shop, Akashi-chan, the White Cat's Gratitude!
"Oh my, Commander, the satellite phone you wanted is here!"
"Akashi is not a satellite phone, meow!"
Akashi glared fiercely at Zuikaku, who was making a loose comparison. Zuikaku cutely stuck out her tongue, then received a loving strike from her sister, Shoukaku.
Skipping the brief interlude at the door, Akashi walked towards Jack and looked up to meet his gaze.
"Hmph! So you're Akashi's Commander, meow? To make Akashi wait for so long, I won't easily forgive you, meow!"
Standard tsundere, standard "meow" particle at the end of sentences!
This was Azure Lane's cat girl.
Seeing such a cute creature, Jack couldn't resist reaching out his sinful hands and giving her a good rub.
"Meow! Akashi... Akashi's hair is getting messy, meow!"
Though she said that, a smile blossomed on Akashi's face as Jack stroked her fur.
Rather than an angry cat, she seemed more like a cat playfully teasing its owner.
After teasing Akashi-meow for a few minutes, everyone returned to the main topic at Nagato's cough.
"Akashi needs to operate the satellite phone to call the port, meow. Heh heh, this isn't free, meow~"
"No problem, here are 20 Primogems. Keep them safe."
"Thank you for your patronage, meow! Huh? Primogems... what are those, meow?"
Akashi looked confusedly at the cross-shaped gem Jack handed her.
"Even though it's a bit different from Red Gems, Akashi can feel it, this is also a very rare item, meow!"
"As expected of the shop owner, your sense of smell is keen. This is a super-rare material that can only be exchanged with the crystals leftover from creating worlds in another world!"
Akashi proudly puffed out her flat chest.
When it came to discerning value, her Akashi-meow was definitely second to no Shipgirl!
After Jack's intense praise, Akashi-meow's tail was practically wagging to the sky.
Nagato just rubbed her forehead at the sight.
This silly cat! How could someone usually so shrewd have her intelligence plummet when facing the Commander?
She didn't reflect on it, but it wasn't just Akashi; wasn't she, Nagato, the same?
...
A few minutes later.
Far away, at Azure Lane Port.
A satellite call was connected.
"Coming, coming! This is Saratoga, Azure Lane Port. May I ask who is calling?"
-------------------------------
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