Since little Glowworm insisted, Hikaru had no reason to stop her. There was no real danger, and he was also curious to see the limits of Glowworm's strength.
The exercise began quickly, with a new shipgirl on duty for safety oversight.
This girl's look at Hikaru was strange—so strange it gave him the creeps.
Out on the sea, the two shipgirls collided head-on!
Elizabeth abandoned her cannons, while Glowworm's strongest attack remained her headbutt. The queen's massive spear stirred the wind as she swung it down hard toward Glowworm's head.
But Glowworm once again erupted with a speed far beyond what the human retina could follow. She left a blur in her wake and reappeared slamming her head into Elizabeth's stomach.
The Queen hadn't expected Glowworm to be so agile. Caught off guard, her spear missed and smashed into the sea, sending waves surging high.
A metal impact of thunderous proportions rang out beneath the crashing waves.
…
Glowworm returned tearfully, clutching her head.
She dismissed her rigging and buried herself in Hikaru's arms, mumbling, "Commander, Glowworm lost… it's so frustrating. I was this close to taking her down! If only Javelin (HMS Javelin) were here… with Javelin's support, I'm in my full form!"
Hikaru gently held her and comforted her. At the same time, he was thinking—after completing this sortie mission, which destroyer should he summon?
Even if it was random, it didn't hurt to fantasize.
Javelin was a strong candidate. That little girl could boost allies' armor, anti-air, and more. In the game, Hikaru almost always paired Glowworm and Javelin, which earned Glowworm the nickname "Javelin's Knight."
But Javelin wasn't really a standalone combat ship. Deep down, Hikaru was more inclined toward top-tier destroyers like Starbreaker Fletcher or the little princess Le Fantasque, whose base stats were already excellent.
After the match, Glowworm only had a bit of a headache—just minor damage. But Elizabeth, who returned holding her stomach, looked downright pitiful.
Her rigging was more than half destroyed, and even her giant shield was cracked in two. She looked utterly wrecked.
The duty shipgirl mocked her mercilessly, "What happened to you? You call that a win? This smells like a cover-up!"
Elizabeth retracted her rigging and shook her head. "Took a headbutt and nearly got wrecked. Barely blocked her second charge with the shield and only managed to turn it around by aiming my cannon right in her face. It was a close call."
That's when Masaki and Takao realized Glowworm had actually been holding back. If she had gone full force, even Elizabeth would've been knocked out in one blow. Against someone like Myoukou or Wilhelmina, it might've been a straight-up KO.
This Glowworm… was way too strong.
Takao's face twisted in disbelief. "Hikaru—no, Kuramoto the Great—I give up. You're seriously a legend."
Hikaru chuckled and accepted the compliment. Even he hadn't expected Glowworm to be this powerful. Still, her attack was very much a one-shot gambit. If her headbutt didn't knock the enemy out, she'd be left wide open—just like Elizabeth had done, slapping a battleship cannon point-blank on her.
But against lower-level ships, Glowworm's ability was almost unstoppable. The best part? Her attack consumed minimal resources. And even against capital ships, it dealt true damage that ignored defenses—a god-tier skill.
Elizabeth, after regaining her composure, looked conflicted. "That headbutt of hers is do-or-die. I can't imagine how such a skill was developed. One mistake and she's sunk."
Masaki chimed in, curious, "Do you have a special remodeling method? I think I heard her mention Javelin earlier—do you have her too?"
Takao and the shipgirl on duty stared eagerly at Hikaru. Remodeling was like the golden apple for admirals and shipgirls alike.
Realizing he had to say something, Hikaru decided to offer a bit of truth—believe it or not, up to them.
"Once, I was a star-chasing legend. 'Great' might be a stretch—LV143 is barely past newbie status. But I had a powerful naval base, over a hundred shipgirls, and a peaceful, happy life. Honestly, I could've just lived quietly… but to save the universe, I stepped forward. After a galaxy-shaking war that shattered starlanes, I vanished from my base and ended up in this world. My shipgirls have been searching for me ever since. Glowworm, as my first ship, shares a unique bond with me. She was the first to cross the stars to find me. Totally plausible, right?"
Takao rubbed his jaw and scoffed. "You trying to sell fairy tales to kids? Save the universe? Might as well say I'm the son of the Creator, destined to have seventy-two well-endowed battleship wives!"
Hikaru shrugged. "Believe what you want."
Elizabeth and the duty shipgirl exchanged glances. As shipgirls, they could somewhat detect truth from lies, or at least read the emotions behind words.
"Some of it's true, some isn't," Elizabeth said. "But your story is ridiculous. I'd rather believe you've got a screw loose. Crazy people believe their stories, after all. Anyway, I'll get your sortie paperwork cleared. But you still need to report to me before you deploy. Deal?"
"No problem."
"Good. Since you clearly don't need me to protect you, I'll be on my way. You know where to find me."
As Elizabeth's heels click-clacked into the distance, Masaki suddenly clapped his hands.
"Hikaru! I've got a bold idea. Come on, I'm taking you somewhere!"
…
In the end, Hikaru never followed through with Masaki's bold idea. That guy was way too unreliable.
He kept blabbering about sneaking Hikaru into the 'Destroyer Appreciation Club' disguised as a noob, and then pulling a surprise move.
A four-star Glowworm? Jealous, aren't you?
Hikaru declined. Takao seemed interested, but Masaki told him that since he'd built a heavy cruiser, he'd automatically lost membership eligibility. Same with the 'Little Sister Protection League,' 'Is the order a rabbit?' club, and the 'African Luck Study Society.'
Tch. It seemed twenty years with only one destroyer had broken Masaki. He'd become something dangerously weird.
After Wilhelmina and Myoukou finished repairs, they all went their separate ways. Holding his freshly patched-up Glowworm, Hikaru murmured thoughtfully, "Hey, Glowworm, remember to stay away from Masaki."
Glowworm snuggled into him and giggled. "Got it, Commander. He's one of those goldfish creeps, right? Heehee."