Late at night, aboard the aircraft carrier drifting quietly in the Atlantic Ocean.

The accompanying Heroic Spirits and ship girls had all retired to their rooms to rest.

Only the top level of the command tower still glowed faintly with light.

"..."

"Commander, this is so strange," Taihou murmured as she gently embraced Setsuna.

Among the ship girls of Azur Lane, Taihou was considered one of the more dominant ones.

She was seen as an elder sister figure by the smaller ship girls and served as a key pillar of the combined fleet—a heavily armored aircraft carrier always standing at the front lines against the Sirens.

She had no hesitation about sacrificing herself to eliminate enemies.

But at this moment, Taihou was overwhelmed by an unfamiliar sensation—fullness and heat—that spread through her.

It was strange and alien, something she had never experienced in the port.

She hadn't, nor had any of the other ship girls.

"Relax."

Setsuna gently reassured Taihou, adjusting his approach to ease the intensity.

The unfamiliar sensation made Taihou instinctively want to embrace him even tighter.

From initial confusion and hesitation, under his guidance, she gradually became accustomed to the process.

Taihou was a quick learner.

What initially felt strange to her soon gave way to a different kind of joy, one that was entirely new.

At this moment, she was no longer the flagship of the Sakura Empire's Second Fleet or the lead ship of the Taihou-class armored carriers.

In her heart, she was simply Setsuna's Oathbound Ship, his other half—something no other ship girl could claim to be.

Not Nagato, not Enterprise, not even Richelieu as his secretary ship.

This exclusivity made Taihou indescribably happy, and she couldn't help but hum softly in satisfaction.

As time went on, Taihou noticed that Setsuna began guiding her movements, much like when he had first absorbed the Wisdom Cube in the port and the other ship girls had instructed him on using its power.

Her "hull" followed Setsuna's directions, adopting various poses.

Each attempt felt strange to her but was also a source of delight.

The Next Morning

As dawn broke, the first rays of sunlight spilled across the sea and through the porthole, filling the room with a warm glow.

Setsuna slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at Taihou's profile beside him.

"She's really cute like this," he thought.

Gone was her usual extreme, overbearing yandere demeanor. In this moment, she was just a normal girl—delicate, sensitive, and vulnerable.

These weapons of war, born in blood and fire to dominate the seas, also had their soft sides.

"Commander…"

"Do you like Taihou?"

As if seeking confirmation, Taihou tilted her head and asked the same question she had asked countless times the night before.

"Of course."

Setsuna reached out and patted her head.

Aircraft carriers truly were amazing.

One glance at that majestic, mountainous flight deck was enough to make anyone realize that cuteness was worthless in the face of sheer allure.

"What turned you into this, Azur Lane?" (.jpg)

"Taihou wants to stay with the Commander forever…"

"Why don't you move into my command tower?" she suggested hopefully.

"Uh, wouldn't keeping your hull permanently materialized be too troublesome? Let's stick to living at the naval base," Setsuna replied with a wry smile.

He realized he needed to start working out more.

Even with the combined power of the Wisdom Cube and his synchronicity with machines, maintaining such high levels of "output" every day might not be sustainable.

"This is strange."

"Why's she so quiet today?"

After washing up, Setsuna and Taihou headed to the lower bridge for breakfast.

Since the expedition hadn't included a Akashi, their meals mainly consisted of simple rations: crackers, bread, and yogurt.

Formidable, sitting nearby, sniffed the air and glanced at the two walking side by side.

"She used to treat everyone like pests… Why's she acting like a docile kitten today? This is so weird…"

On a normal day, anyone—be it Artoria, Gudako, or even the smaller ship girls—who got too close to Setsuna would immediately be subjected to Taihou's "benevolent" death glare.

Yet today, she quietly followed behind the Commander, so gentle that it gave Formidable goosebumps.

Even when Fujimaru Ritsuka Fujimaru to Setsuna, insisting she wanted to pilot Strike Freedom, Taihou didn't so much as blink.

"There's definitely something wrong," Formidable concluded firmly.

"Richelieu," she began, but before any of the ship girls could say more, Taihou stepped forward of her own accord.

"I'd like to request an expansion for the Commander's office, turning it into a space suitable for group operations."

"And of course, the bedroom will need to have a double bed installed."

"?"

It took Richelieu a few moments to process what Taihou was implying.

"I usually stay at the naval base. Why would I need a double bed?"

"Who said it was for you?"

Taihou clung to Setsuna's arm and responded word by word.

"???"

Richelieu was frozen in place, utterly dumbfounded.

"You're a Cardinal, the flagship of the Iris Libre fleet. You're dignified, you're strong, and I can't beat you," Taihou continued.

"But the Commander is mine from now on—"

Her words carried the satisfaction of a long-awaited revenge, as she recalled losing to Richelieu during their earlier skirmishes over who would serve as the Commander's secretary ship.

Leaning closer to Richelieu, she held up a hand and indicated a number.

"Do you know? Last night, it happened… this many times."

"?!"

"Wow!"

Gudako let out a sincere gasp of admiration.

"Does piloting a Gundam give you that much stamina?"

Jeanne Alter and Jeanne d'Arc (White), who had been glaring at each other in a silent battle of wills, were both distracted by Taihou's declaration.

The pure-hearted Jeanne d'Arc looked confused, entirely unable to follow what was happening.

Jeanne Alter, on the other hand, had an expression as if she had just seen a ghost.

"I knew it—this Master is completely indecent… Oh well, not like I'm a saint myself."

Artoria Pendragon sat cross-legged on the deck, meditating, completely ignoring the commotion around her.

"I see… So that's why the mana he's supplying me is so overwhelming…"

After drifting on the sea for a few more days and terrifying the local medieval fleets in the process, a clear morning finally arrived.

Setsuna's skill for piercing through dimensions finished its cooldown.

"Alright, time to go home!"

[Opening Dimensional Portal: Singularity (Hundred Years' War of the Evil Dragons) → Chaldea]

Everyone stepped into the temporal tunnel.

The next moment, as they opened their eyes, they were already inside Chaldea.

The distance between the Singularity and Chaldea felt negligible, as if a single step had brought them back.

Before them was the glowing blue globe—Chaldeas.

The seven Singularities marked on its surface were still visible, but the one at Orléans had gone dark, signifying its resolution.

"Welcome back!"

"You've returned much faster than I anticipated."

Dr. Roman and Da Vinci greeted the ten-person team warmly.

"The problem with the first Singularity has been completely corrected. History has returned to its proper course," Roman explained.

"If we can fix the remaining Singularities, we'll be able to save humanity…"

Roman had initially intended to provide remote support to the team—such as transporting supplies or deploying reinforcements via teleportation arrays and Rayshift equipment.

However, Setsuna's lightning-fast progress had left all of Chaldea's staff watching the mission like spectators.

"Hmm?"

As the group arrived, Roman and Da Vinci's eyes immediately turned to Artoria, Jeanne d'Arc, and Jeanne Alter.

They had departed as a group of seven but returned with three additional members.

"The King of Knights from Britain, Jeanne d'Arc the Saint, and Jeanne d'Arc Alter, the Dark Saint," Setsuna introduced them succinctly.

"Couldn't you come up with a better name?!" Jeanne Alter protested, clearly dissatisfied with her title.

"You're all… Heroic Spirits?"

"Summoned in the Singularity?!" Da Vinci stared at the three in disbelief.

"Even with the Holy Grail destroyed, you can still maintain your presence in the modern world without a mana supply?!"

"He's the Master," Jeanne Alter said, crossing her arms and pointing at Setsuna.

"One Master contracting with three Heroic Spirits?! And supplying all of them with mana simultaneously?!" Roman was utterly shocked.

Such a feat was unprecedented in the history of Holy Grail Wars.

"Don't act so surprised. I could swear a few hundred ship girls and become the Lord of the Rings if I wanted to."

"As a Commander, you can't slack on keeping in shape!"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com