21st Century Necromancer-Chapter 777 - 773: The Fleet Returns from Expedition (Please Subscribe, Please Vote for Monthly Tickets)

"The fleet has returned! You’ve all worked hard!" At the harbor’s berth, Rai dashed ashore, taking the lead and shouting loudly at Minato Ward.

"Rai-chan, don’t run so fast!" Watching Rai dash ashore, Akatsuki, who was following behind her, shouted displeasedly, but in reality, she too was eager to return to the dorm in Minato Ward for a good rest.

Seeing Akatsuki acting like she couldn’t wait to get to the dorms for a good rest, yet still trying to maintain the appearance of a lady and an elder sister, Shinano behind her couldn’t help but reach out and softly touch her head, smiling and saying, "Akatsuki-chan, you don’t have to be so serious. We have returned to Minato Ward, it’s okay to relax a little!"

"Don’t touch my head! Haven’t I said I’m not a child anymore?" Akatsuki grumbled unhappily but didn’t pull away from Shinano’s patting hand. Her face turned red as she explained, "But a mature lady should always be composed and dignified, right?"

Hearing Akatsuki say this, Shinano couldn’t help but laugh, and Yamato, who had come back to the harbor with them, also couldn’t help but laugh and said to Akatsuki, "Even the traditional Yamato Nadeshiko of Japan has times when she can express her feelings! It’s good that you hold yourself to high standards, Akatsuki-chan, but you shouldn’t pressure yourself too much. It’s fine to relax once in a while."

"But..." Akatsuki wanted to say more, but Dian and Hibiki had already chased after Rai’s footsteps and dashed into Minato Ward. Seeing her younger sisters so anxious, Akatsuki didn’t know how to stop them. She just felt that as the elder sister and flagship of the 6th Destroyer Squadron, she hadn’t fulfilled her responsibility.

Seeing Akatsuki like this, Yamato crouched in front of her, reached out to touch her head just like Shinano did, and said, "Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. As an elder sister and flagship, you need to set an example for your younger sisters, but if you overstress yourself and aren’t in good condition, how will you be able to complete the tasks assigned by the commander? So take a day off today and rest well!"

"I..." Yamato’s gentle words softened Akatsuki’s attitude. While she looked at Yamato’s demure appearance and felt it might be alright to give herself a day off, a stronger desire to learn from her arose in her heart.

"Alright then, Akatsuki-chan, take a day off for yourself. Everyone has worked hard on this expedition, and I don’t want to see anyone suffering from accumulated fatigue!" Yamato stood up and said to Akatsuki, sensing that she might object, so she straightened her face and with a commanding tone, said, "Akatsuki, the flagship of the 6th Destroyer Squadron, affiliated with the Combined Fleet, I now order you, in my capacity as the Combined Fleet’s flagship, to rest well today. Have fun and prepare for the upcoming operations! No mistakes are allowed!"

"Yes!" With Yamato’s command, Akatsuki felt relieved. After accepting the order, she let go of her persistent seriousness, glanced at her younger sisters who had rushed into the dorms, bowed to Yamato with gratitude, put away her ship equipment, and rushed toward the dorms as well.

Seeing Akatsuki finally act like a child, Yamato and Shinano both showed a relieved smile. They were born on the battlefield in their time, used as war instruments to satisfy the ambitions of aggression. But now, they were just themselves, following only the commands of their commander. Besides the obedience to commands, Yamato hoped that all members of the Combined Fleet could enjoy their second life as ships in a more ordinary human way.

"Yamato, let’s go into the port as well. Minato Ward seems to have changed quite a bit!" Musashi, who was following behind Yamato, looked at the significantly altered Minato Ward and said to her.

Yamato, holding her Tang paper umbrella, looked at the harbor berth and dry docks that had clearly undergone expansion, as well as the larger dorms not far off. She nodded with a smile, "First, let’s send the comrades we brought back to the shipyard. It seems the commander has prepared to welcome the new members. After a short rest later, Shinano, come with me to report to the commander."

"I understand, Elder Sister Yamato," Shinano nodded quickly, although she looked a bit nervous.

As the third warship of the Yamato Grade, Shinano’s experience of being sunk before she could formally serve in the war left her memories blank. Even though the children of the Sixth Destroyer Fleet addressed her as an elder sister, in terms of life experiences, she had the least among all the ship-girls. Therefore, Shinano often lacked confidence.

Yamato, of course, knew about her younger sister’s problems. Since being summoned, she had always been very concerned about her, often taking her along, hoping to train and nurture her.

By the time they had settled the remains of the comrades they had brought back and arrived at Chen Yu’s study to report to him, someone had already arrived before them.

"Commander, may we come in?" Standing at the door, Yamato peeked through and saw Lexington, who was also there to report on her mission, and asked Chen Yu who was sitting behind his desk.

Chen Yu nodded slightly, saying to Yamato, "Come in, just wait a moment on the side."

Hearing Chen Yu say this, Yamato walked into the study with Shinano, greeted Lexington politely, then stood by Chen Yu’s desk, waiting for their turn to report.

Lexington, after returning the greeting to Yamato, continued her report to Chen Yu, "Commander, this time we went to the site of the original Crossroads Project experiment and salvaged Saratoga, Nevada, Pensacola, Nagato, and Prince Eugene, adding to the comrades we’ve previously mentioned being salvaged from Pearl Harbor. The mission has been successfully completed."

"Well done, I didn’t expect you to bring back Nagato and Prince Eugene as well," Chen Yu nodded in satisfaction, pleased with Saratoga and Enterprise for bringing back so many naval ship remnants. He also raised another question, "Speaking of which, how did you think to bring back Missouri as well? And Constitution, losing those is no small matter for the United States. The United States is not like the United Kingdom; if they decide to retaliate, it would cause me a lot of trouble."

"Please rest assured, Commander, we already considered this before our actions. Enterprise has completed the necessary follow-up work, and she will report to you individually later," Lexington said, pausing for a moment when mentioning Enterprise and frowning slightly, clearly disagreeing with what Enterprise considered follow-up work.

Chen Yu, however, didn’t comment on this, only nodded to show he understood, then turned his gaze to Yamato and Shinano standing by.