Azur Lane: Kaiserin (Book 1)

Ch53: Potential Danger

Me: You're mine.

Bismark's knees buckle but rather than continue pressing, I return to getting dressed. Even as I pull on my gloves thus completing my outfit, she's still leaning against the wall utterly breathless.

Smiling, I walk around the bed until I get to Ulrich and lean down, whispering that she should find me later before making my way out of the room. As I pass by Bismark, I take her hand and drag her out behind me, closing the door as I do so that Ulrich can go about getting ready without giving away the fact that she's actually awake.

Despite the hotel being a maze, it doesn't take me long to find the lobby and once there I find everyone else sprawled all over the place. Most are clearly going to wake up with a hangover but some genuinely look like they passed out from exhaustion. 

Me: Seems you all had quite the party.

Bismark: I-

Me: Relax. I'm not going to kill you over going a bit overboard.

That'd be hypocritical of me given what you technically speaking just walked in on mere moments prior. In any case, however, they'll need to get up soon as we have much work to do. For starters, the war isn't exactly over and until it is we'll still have it to worry about on top of all the usual things that'd come with assuming leadership of a country. I bet anything they didn't actually think this through. It's why I didn't want to rush things...

Roselyn comes rushing into the lobby, wincing at the bright light blasting through the front doors. She all but flees like a dear caught in the headlights of a hunter's truck but does stop and attempt to recompose herself once she sees I'm here.

Roselyn: Ma'am! You're already here!

So that's how it is.

Me: I am.

An awkward silence passes in which she doesn't know what else to say and I don't have anything else to say to her. It lasts for some time until yet another person comes rushing into the lobby. This time, however, it is an officer who stops and readily salutes upon seeing us. How he keeps a straight face despite the scene of utter mayhem before him is beyond me. There is no way I'd be able to remain as professional despite the countless girls sprawled across every surface within the lobby in various states of disrepair.

Roselyn: What's the report?

Officer: We're detecting an unidentified vessel within our waters, ma'am!

Roselyn: Is it the Royal Navy?

Officer: No ma'am. It is showing up as one of ours, a KANSEN.

One of ours, huh? Well, this should be interesting. I wonder which one of our girls Azur Lane is trying to imitate to infiltrate us. I mean, that's the only possibility other than it being someone arriving in this world the same way I did as we certainly don't have any girls in the area at the moment. Everyone's either with me or off towards Leningrad. All the others are down inside the Sardegna Empire. There's simply no one anywhere near the North Sea at this point in time.

Roselyn: I see. Continue tracking her and providing us with regular updates.

The officer leaves and Roselyn immediately turns to face Bismark and me but Bismark beats her to the question on everyone's mind.

Bismark: Who's unaccounted for?

Roselyn: I was about to ask that.

Me: The answer is, no one.

Bismark: But he said-

Me: I know what he said and just going by it, this could very well be a trap.

Roselyn: That is the most logical conclusion.

Bismark: But what if it is indeed one of our own?

Me: One would think getting yourself sunken would've taught you the importance of not rushing in headfirst unnecessarily.

She falls silent at that. Regardless of whether that is one of ours or not there is simply no way I'd needlessly complicate things right now by dispatching someone to investigate. We're spread too widely at the moment to take such risks and I'm unlikely to receive external help as I did last time. Heck, even if she offered it I likely should be very hesitant in accepting any offers from her. She's still a stranger after all and the other girls seem to view her as enemy #1. They say she's the real enemy but then here they all are, busy fighting one another so I doubt their words can be taken at face value besides they did all come along willingly with me when she offered assistance so surely it can't be all bad.

Bismark: I can't do it. I can't just sit back and watch-

Me: You were doing that just fine before I came along. What? The thrill of battle is so addicting you can't control yourself?

Bismark: No. That's not-

Me: Roselyn, leave us.