Chapitre 72: Chapter 72 - Arrival Of The Reinforcement
(I tried shortening it because this chapter was too long and we still ended up with 4.3k words.)
(300 Pwr stone special release. Also, can we make it to 400 before the power stone count reset?)
On the next morning, Adam woke up early around 5 am and immediately went along this routine he made which includes jogging around the base in the cold morning before joining Siegfried who offered to teach him swordsmanship which he accepted because what does he stand to lose other than some of his time.
After the sword training, Siegfried will offer to spar with him or either Jeanne, Jalter or Winter offer to spar since they also participate this morning training except Jeanne who only sometimes joins because she needs to prepare the breakfast in the cafeteria.
But for today, it's Jalter who who wield a spear and sword, essentially dual wielding while Adam only wield a sword.
During the sparring, it's clearly seen that overall, Adam is winning because he has not just superior augmented reflex and reaction, he also hits hard on top of having his body being as light as a feather. However, what he loses against Jalter is rich combat experience which afforded to her as a servant and impeccable form and basics which a newbie like Adam will not have. Although he is capable of tracing others' form and skill with the help of the supercomputer and advanced AI in his Crysis armor suit.
In the end of the sparring, Adam loses as Jalter diverts his blade away with her spear and her sword pointed at his heart, signaling his defeat which he sighed knowing that this is the outcome and he feels dissatisfied with progress on mastering swordsmanship, wishing his can help him gain ski that can raise his proficiency like isekai protagonist with a System using does.
"Splendid spar as always, Master." Siegfried gives Adam praise and he accepts it knowing that Siegfried wouldn't lie to him just to fawn over him or something. Instead it's a genuine praise.
"Is that so? Then, what should I do to improve further?" Adam is eager to know what he lacks so he can improve immediately. But to his surprise, Siegfried answer was, "There's nothing more that you lack other than real battle to temper your skill like how a blacksmith tempering a steel to remove impurities. Only in the heat of real battle can your body do the minuscule adjustment and fix your form to suit your body."
"I see." Adam signed knowing he is at the limit of what training can provide. As for live battle, he would probably never have a chance unless he used his sword on purpose since he is primarily a gun user instead of swordsman.
"Anyway, let's wash up and prepare for breakfast. It's almost time already." Adam did a little stretch before he went back to his room and take a cold shower to freshen up and put on his Commander uniform before going to the cafeteria.
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The breakfast ended quickly as Adam only ate five fruity pancakes and was accompanied by a cup of black coffee before he quickly left for his office.
Upon his arrival in his office, Enterprise is already there. She arrived even earlier than him and was still enjoying her cup of warm milk tea on the secretary desk while reading the document sent by the Admiral.
Enterprise basically instated herself as the Secretary since Adam never bothered assigning anyone to that role with Agent already basically filling up that role and running most of the base in the place of Manjuus with a small army of mechs under her command.
"Morning, Enty."
"Good morning, Adam."
They greeted each other comfortably without any formality as they quickly picked back up their previous bonds and got close very fast.
"The last transmission from both fleets said they are arriving soon. The Sakura Empire fleet led by Amagi and the Royal Navy fleet led by Illustrious will arrive around 0900."
Adam nods and asks, "How's the preparation to welcome their arrival?" Enterprise immediately replied, "I believe Agent had dealt with that part." Adam said no more of that since he believed Agent definitely did.
After that, the office becomes silent as Adam works on his weapon designs for Battleships and also works on the fusion reactor which will be needed to power those power hungry weaponry.
Enterprise was hesitant to interrupt Adam and merely stared at his engrossed self working with great focus as his mind is solely focused on the task in his hand. For Enterprise, it looks mesmerizing. She could stare at him all day just engrossed with his works. However, she had a question that she was dying to ask.
She was curious about his story after he disappeared from the base at the end of the battle. She wanted to know. She wanted to learn about what he did after that and how it led to the present. He heard about her own story, what happened at the end of the battle till the present from her perspective and now she wanted to hear about his own story and especially the daughters that some of his companions sometimes talk about and she had no context of how he had thousands of daughters to boot.
While Enterprise is busy deciding whether she should interrupt him or not, someone knocks at the door before Hornet and San Diego enter the office.
"Good morning *Yawn* Commander…" Hornet greeted with a tired expression probably because she is tired and hungry from patrolling in the early morning. She didn't even notice Enterprise at the left side of the room.
"Hey… Commander. Good morning." San Diego also in the same state greeting Adam but at least she didn't yawn.
"Oh. Hornet, Sandy, you two finished your patrol duty. Both of you are dismissed, go and have your deserved breakfast and rest."
"Thanks, Commander." Hornet thanked Adam for dismissing them without needing to write the post patrol report. "Also, what's on the menu for today's breakfast, Commander?"
"Fresh blueberry and strawberry pancakes and bacon and egg with toast. We just had a shipment of supplies from the mainland yesterday."
"Bacon and egg?! This has to be the worst day to be on patrol duty. " Hornet immediately invigorated and saluted Adam before she vanished. Sandy looked at her patrol partner in disbelief before she did the same and chased after Hornet begging her to leave some behind for her too.
Looking at their antics, Adam chuckles and sighed before going back to work. But before he could, Enterprise coughed to grab his attention and asked her a question.
"My past? Well, I never did talk about it did I?" Adam said while trying to hide his surprise of being asked this question. He didn't really know how to explain that Enterprise was in a game from his previous world and he is just a player.
"Ahem. Why do you want to know so suddenly?" Adam acted suspicious by avoiding the question but Enterprise hadn't suspected him yet.
"Just curious. I wonder how your world would be to have interesting companions that look human but aren't." Enterprise points out the peculiarities about his companions even when her real curiosity lies on his three wives and his rumored thousands daughters.
Hearing what she said, Adam suddenly broke a smile and exhaled.
"Sure, there's no harm in learning about my past. You know, the funny thing is I actually died and I am currently living my second life. As for my companions…" Adam paused and pondered before he continued. "Agent and Alice are the first few that I meet. Then I meet Winter during a mission which spiraled out of control when I realized she is actually kinda my sister."
Enterprise already could guess Adam's relation with Winter. But hearing him say it himself felt weird and the way he mentioned it was as if he had absolutely no idea how it even happened.
"Hold on a second. You died?" Enterprise managed to capture the words before they flew out her head.
"Yeah. Because of that, I got reincarnated in another world by a powerful being." Adam nods his head before he gets back to where he left.
"As for Tina, she is my adopted sister. She is a human infected by Gastrea Virus. A very deadly virus that can cause mutation into powerful monsters. I saved her from her evil master that experimented and turned her into a humanoid weapon. Also, I somehow had twenty thousand adoptive daughters of sort which became millions the last time I went to her world. They are all abandoned children infected by Gastrea Virus similar to Tina."
"Finally, the Servant trio. I first meet Siegfried, a Heroic Spirit of the infamous Dragonslayer that slayed Fafnir. I save him from being killed by a maddened Lancelot from the Legend of King Arthur, Saint Martha and Atlanta. Along the way, we helped the protagonist to slay an evil Dragon Witch that tried to burn France and overrun the nation with wyvern as revenge. The Dragon Witch is Jalter by the way." Adam told his tale in greater detail after that as Enterprise asked more questions each time he answered one.
After hearing much of his tale fighting a dangerous outbreak and killing a god. Enterprise became interested with the weapons he used which Adam showed to her. Doing so, made Enterprise realize that there is a way for Adam to enhance her power further.
"Can you help me modify my launching rigging from a bow to a gun? A sniper rifle would be best to raise the accuracy of launching the jet planes. That Hornet sniper rifle would be perfect." Enterprise said. She becomes fond of the sniper rifle because Adam also uses it and it shares the same name as her younger sister, Hornet.
"Well, I'm not sure but I could give it a try." Adam said with a chuckle as both of them left the office and headed to the port to receive their guest because they talked for too long and it's almost time for their guests to arrive.
"Thanks." Enterprise expresses her gratitude and smiles after learning that he actually hadn't had any real children yet from listening to his story.
Now, Enterprise's exact thought is to find and capture Akashi from Sakura Empire and lock her up until she can recreate the device which old Adam quoted as the 'Lolification Beam' that can create a younger self of herself to create Little Enterprise and make a daughter for herself and Adam before anyone could and definitely before those foxes from Sakura Empire can sunk their claw on Adam. She cannot afford to lose with this much headstart.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Japan…
"Nya! I can feel my senses tingling. Like a predator is staring at my back nya!" The green haired cat girl that has a pair of grubby hands for anything red and shaped like a crystal, felt a threat to her life and almost jumped in reflex while she was carrying several boxes that almost fell on herself.
Back to Adam.
On the port, he stood and waited with a few curious shipgirls that gathered in wait for the arrival of the allies for their upcoming battle.
"I saw them. They are approaching from the northwest." Enterprise said.
"Can you tell me the name of each shipgirls in that fleet?" Adam said with an unreadable expression that stared at the direction Enterprise just mentioned.
"Hmn. The Royal Navy have Illustrious, her younger sister Unicorn, the Maid Corp's Belfast and Sheffield. As for the Sakura Empire, I saw Amagi and her sisters, Akagi and Kaga. Tch." Enterprise clicks her tongue unconsciously before she realizes it and quickly lists out the remaining shipgirls. "Also the Takao sisters."
Adam somehow didn't notice the click or perhaps ignored it as he nodded his head after listening to the names Enterprise list out.
"Britain aside, Japan is really going all out on sending reinforcements. I wonder if this is a display of power or something." Adam rubs his chin as he thinks of the deeper meaning behind it as the standard fleet will consist of three main ships and three vanguard that come from the game and follow even in this world.
The British sent only four ships, not a full fleet and Adam heard that the British aren't that enthusiastic about the Project KANSEN for some reason despite being an island nation. Japan is different. Since they are an island nation with a less than friendly neighbor called China, they are going all in to the Project KANSEN with plenty of support from America and NATO.
To this date, Agent managed to spy more than 30 KANSEN awakened by Japan. The shipgirls they send as reinforcement is basically the best of what they got in their roster. Sending out their best as reinforcement instead of keeping them to protect their sea. It could be seen as Japan being passionate to repay the kindness of the US for funding basically half of the Project KANSEN for them. But, Adam had learned to always be skeptical about politics.
If he is wrong about his assumption. Well, he is just overreacting. But what if he is correct? That's basically it, he loses nothing to be skeptical and doubtful about the nation's intention. If it's just the Sakura Empire, Adam could trust Nagato and her desire for peace.
After several more minutes, he could start to see their silhouette on the horizon. Another moment of waiting, the reinforcement from both nations finally arrived at the naval base.
When meeting these allies from afar, Adam couldn't help but be mesmerized at the Sakura Empire's fleet. If this is a plot to make him succumb to temptation then it worked because he can't get his eyes off those floofy tails! He wished to grab a handful of those soft furs! To bury his face in it!
It took all his will to not jump on the Amagi sisters as he grit his teeth as tightly as possible to suppress those impulses which made his expression look very stern and intense when those foreign shipgirls stepped on the port.
Seeing the situation becoming oddly tense, Enterprise tried to lighten it with a cough and said, "Welcome to our naval port, everyone. My name is Enterprise." She started with a brief introduction even though she already knew all of their names.
"Then, allow us to introduce ourselves next. I am Illustrious, the flagship assigned to this temporary fleet and here is my younger sister, Unicorn." She steps to the side a little with a light giggle before revealing a purple haired girl hiding behind her industrial sized dump truck, shyly peeking out before hiding again with the plushie of a unicorn to hide her face.
"Come and say Hello to everyone, Unicorn." Illustrious said, eager to introduce her little sister to other shipgirls and Adam.
Driven by etiquette, perhaps. Unicorn reveals herself again and hugs the plushie tightly as an emotional support plushie before she introduces herself properly.
"I... I am... The Royal Navy's... support carrier, Unicorn. ...Commander, can... c-can I call you... big brother?" She struggled to introduce herself but she still did it in the end which made Illustrious smile happily in the back.
"Sure. Not the first time I got a new younger sister." Adam nodded his head and agreed. Like who wouldn't want a cute girl calling him big brother or Onii-chan?
Once Unicorn introduced herself, she once again hid behind Illustrious.
Then next the maids.
"These two are Belfast and Sheffield from the Royal Maid corp that serve our Queen." Illustrious introduced the two next.
"I am Belfast, head maid of the Royal Maid serving the queen. It's my pleasure to meet you, Commander and for the duration of my stay, please allow me and Sheffield to serve as your maid also." Belfast introduced herself with a curtsy with Sheffield. Sheffield's introduction is plain and on point. "I am a member of the Royal Maids, Light Cruiser Sheffield. I will be listening to your… command for the duration of my stay in this base." She introduced herself before stepping back behind Belfast and giving Adam a silent judging stare.
"So, in short. You two wish to extend your service as maids to this base?" Adam tried to confirm and Belfast nodded.
"I see, if that's the case. You have to refer to Agent." He said.
"Agent?" Belfast and the rest of the newly arrived shipgirls are confused by what he meant.
Although, before Adam could explain. Agent made her appearance via teleportation and teleported beside Adam with a blue flash.
Without even uttering a word, Agent stares at the two maids as they did the same on Agent. A silent battle raged like the showdown between Dio and Jotaro is happening as Agent exudes her presence and so does Belfast and Sheffield to decide who is a better maid.
A long and tense minute later, they stopped as a winner emerged from the battle. Agent held her ground with the home ground advantage, she managed to make the other two yield.
"The two of you may work under me if you two intend to honor your words." Agent said which met with nods from Belfast and Sheffield. "Good. Now let's go. We have a busy schedule in preparation for the upcoming operation."
"Yes." Belfast and Sheffield both replied.
Just before Agent leaves, she sensed Adam's gaze on her and turned to him before he asked her a question.
"You know what to do right?" Adam asked not because he need to remind Agent on how to handle those with prying eyes and ears.
"Of course." Agent nods and understands what Adam hinted to her.
Often, the best way to keep spying eyes away is not to keep all the secrets from them because that will just make them dig deeper for it. Instead, just give what one can afford to reveal. It's the same principle as hiding a dead body under a decoy animal grave works every time.
*Rewrite*
Once Agent brought the two maids away, it's Sakura Empire's turn for introduction. Once Illustrious and Unicorn stepped aside and gave the stage to the entourage from the Sakura Empire, the flagship of that fleet, Amagi, introduced everyone just like how Illustrious did.
"It's my pleasure to meet you, Commander. I am Amagi, a Battlecruiser of the Sakura Empire. I heard that you had prior experience leading a fleet and an ex-Admiral. It's reassuring to have you to lead us to battle." Her elegant and soft-spoken voice is very enchanting to hear although Adam noticed the lack of coughing which she had from the game since she said she had a chronic illness. But he didn't pay much mind to it and moved on as Amagi introduced the others.
"These are my sisters, Akagi and Kaga." She introduced the iconic fox duo which Adam is very familiar with, especially Akagi.
"Aircraft Carrier, Akagi, of the First Carrier Division."
"Aircraft Carrier, Kaga, of the First Carrier Division."
The two sisters introduced themselves. One with a smile and another an impassive look. Akagi however is gauging Adam and then Enterprise before the other Eagle Union shipgirls in the background.
"I am glad that the rumor about the Commander didn't seem to be false. For a former Admiral, you obviously looked too young to be one. Then the rumor about you being a person from another world isn't baseless as many thought. Not to mention repelling a powerful Siren without the help of KANSEN." She said with a faint playful grin and her eyes narrowed to near shut.
Akagi casually reveals information that probably should be secret for whatever reason, most possibly to incite a reaction from Adam but unfortunately for her, Adam gave none of the reactions she was looking for from him. But she isn't discouraged.
"Well, I don't know if that is supposed to be a secret or something. But yes, I did and while I didn't receive help from KANSEN to repel Purifier, I didn't exactly do it alone and nearly died twice." Adam shrugs as he didn't really see it as a big deal considering he has greater achievements under his belt like killing a god. The biggest flex he can throw around.
"A humble one, huh. This Akagi doesn't dislike it. I hope we will have a fruitful cooperation on the upcoming operation." Akagi bowed a little as a sign of respect to his rank before taking a step back for Atago's turn.
"It's my turn." Atago hummed before introducing herself. "I am Atago, a heavy cruiser of the Takao-Class. With me are Takao, Maya and Choukai. All of us have participated in many campaigns and battles before. So please do not hesitate to give us orders in battle, especially for this big sister." She licks her lips seductively like she saw a juicy piece of meat. "No matter the task, the Commander can always rely on his big sister."
Each of the sisters introduced themselves after Atago. Takao sounded like a very serious and diligent one. Maya is a little harsh and impolite with her voice and tone, a lone wolf -ish image. While Choukai is a very friendly and polite one like Atago minus her flirtatious part.
Adam claps his hands to get their attention before saying. "Alright, as everyone of you introduced yourself already. I am the Commander of this base, my name is Adam White. Just call me Adam or Commander. The operation will begin tomorrow and a meeting will be held in the afternoon. So, everyone is dismissed until then."
But Akagi suddenly lifted her hand with a question to ask.
"Go ahead." Adam gives his permission.
"May I have a tour around the base, Commander?"
"Sure." Adam nod instantly, seeing no issue with that since everything important is well hidden underground.
"You may bring along some guide. I'm sure those girls would be happy to help." Adam points at the group consisting of San Diego, Cleveland, Alice and Tina.
"Ah, that would be wonderful." Akagi nods her head and then turns to the said group of girls. But when she saw Alice with an animal-like ear which is a trademark characteristic of Sakura Empire KANSEN, she became curious.
"May we join as well, Miss Akagi?" Illustrious approached her with Unicorn tucked close to her legs as she curiously glanced at the group that can be considered her peers.
"Of course. The more, the merrier." Akagi said with a polite smile.
Adam felt like they are already befriending each other instead of being on each other's throat like he would expect because the Sakura Empire is part of the Crimson Axis. But they are newly awakened shipgirls, they should have no reason to be in conflict against one another unless the history of the ship they represent would affect their judgment too. Which didn't seem to be the case or they would already be hostile against Enterprise or did they simply hide their emotions very well?
Either way, Adam has no answers to his speculations and decided to leave it be for now while continuing to observe as the game itself teaches very little about the lore unless one is a lore expert that likes to dig deep into the story which a casual player like Adam isn't. In fact, he learned most of the shipgirls personality isn't through the in-game but actually from fan made comics and memes instead of the story itself.
Heaving a sigh, Adam turn around and noticed the quiet Enterprise had been staring at him and waiting.
"Ahem. Did I make you wait for too long?" Adam were a little embarrassed to be absorbed in his own thoughts.
"Not really. Also, I didn't want to interrupt you since you looked like you were thinking about something serious." Enterprise replied.
"Well, probably." Adam sighed after he replied. "I just wonder if the Crimson Axis members would be hostile to us considering they were in our timeline.
After Adam shared his thoughts, they both thought of it and gave their opinions over the subject.
Enterprise said, "It certainly is a big probability." She said thoughtfully with a nod. "We KANSEN embodied the warship we are named after. We carry all the memories of it and its crew's experiences throughout its lifetime. Like how Bismarck and Hood would act wary when meeting one another. But using that as a reason to fight is very unlikely." She stated.
"I see. Well, we just need to wait and see how it will work out." Adam said and turned his head towards Enterprise before looking her in the eyes. "We both know to some extent what the future has in store for us and we will do our best to steer it in our favor."
Hearing his declaration, Enterprise was feeling awed because she never thought of it. Both Adam and herself experienced the war with Siren. Even if it may not be the exact same as her original world, they both know to some extent what to expect from the Siren and how they affect most of the events that will happen in the future.
In short, they are both in the position to benefit from their circumstances for knowing about the future and Adam wishes to be the invisible hand that steer everyone away from the bad decisions and shape the future to his own liking. It's human playing god to manipulate destiny but Enterprise has trust in Adam that his actions are for the greater good and survival of humanity.
After the talk, Adam left to find Agent and prepare for the briefing that will happen later in the evening while Enterprise decided to get close with the shipgirls from other factions and reforge the bonds from her previous timeline as allies and friends.
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