Four torpedoes sliced out from the fog trailing white wakes—one of them had definitely hit its mark.
Just as Elizabeth was about to charge into the grey haze, a small silhouette emerged faintly through the mist.
Who was it?
Closer now—her face came into view.
With a pouty scowl, Glowworm cradled the shattered and smoke-wreathed form of Wilhelmina (USS William D. Porter) in her arms. The girl's rigging was in pieces, her uniform barely clinging to her in tatters—she had clearly been critically damaged. Glowworm dumped her onto the sea surface with a huff and clenched her tiny fist.
"Enemy shamed, I go strip her clothes!"
...
Elizabeth picked the two lolis up, one in each hand, and carried them back.
Naturally, Wilhelmina was hastily wrapped up and sent for repairs. Even though the jinxed little destroyer had taken a heavy hit, she was more relieved than hurt, full of guilt and remorse as she repeatedly apologized to Glowworm.
Had Glowworm not tanked that torpedo, Wilhelmina might really have sunk her comrade—and the resulting torment might well have driven her into the abyss of the Deep Sea.
This was one of the most effective ways to destroy a shipgirl—by pushing her into a moral crisis. The classic example was the trolley problem: pull the lever to save five people but kill one innocent. Such dilemmas easily shattered a shipgirl's psyche. That's why the role of a commander was indispensable. With the cunning and moral complexity of human society, shipgirls often struggled to process things alone—better to let their commander handle it.
Glowworm's victory over Wilhelmina wasn't without a scratch—her rigging was scorched in places, and her hair ribbon had snapped. But she wasn't even close to taking a medium hit. It was a clean, decisive win.
The little shipgirl pumped her fist toward Hikaru.
"Commander! Enemy shamed—I stripped her clothes! I did it!"
Sitting nearby, Masaki looked miserable. Wilhelmina was his marriage ship, after all—Glowworm's words hit him like a slap.
Hikaru buried his face in his hand. Clearly, he needed to stop telling her weird stories. "That phrase means 'I've taken the enemy's head.' Not literally undressing someone. Stop saying that."
Glowworm blinked and scratched her head, laughing innocently.
Elizabeth thumped her spear's haft into the ground, her tone stern. "Masaki, I'm seriously warning you—Wilhelmina is clueless about many things. You have to guide her better. Last time she nearly caused a disaster detonating a nuke. You can't keep spoiling her."
Masaki bowed his head, ashamed, and apologized to Hikaru again.
Destroyers might have childlike minds, but their destructive power was immense. A commander who always thought "she's just a kid" could plant the seeds of catastrophe.
After scolding Masaki, Elizabeth shifted her gaze back to Hikaru and Glowworm, this time with renewed scrutiny.
Hikaru reminded her, "About that sortie—you're still going to approve it, right?"
This sea zone was under the protection of the Windridge shipgirl branch, so Elizabeth could authorize a deployment with ease.
She waved it off. "That's a small matter. But if I'm not wrong, your Glowworm has got to be over level 80 by now—and not just remodeled, but also awakened with a special ability or skill?"
Hikaru rubbed his nose sheepishly. "You're right. She's level 96, actually."
Both Masaki and Takao gasped sharply.
While Takao was merely shocked at the level, Masaki understood the full implications—remodeling and unique skills were far rarer and more significant than raw levels.
A shipgirl's skill was a manifestation of her inner strength—an incredibly rare and powerful ability. Wilhelmina, for instance, had developed a skill called "Jinx" all on her own. Officially recorded in the shipgirl compendium, the skill reduced the luck of all allies—bringing misfortune wherever she went.
Which made it entirely possible that her accidental live torpedo earlier had been the result of that cursed skill. Masaki felt even more guilty thinking about it.
Only one in ten shipgirls ever awakened a unique skill. Remodeling was an even more mythical event—an elevation of a shipgirl's entire being. Remodels greatly boosted all stats and almost always came with a new skill.
Masaki had been tirelessly researching how to get Wilhelmina to remodel. Records said she could reach rainbow-tier rarity someday—and, more importantly, she'd shed that cursed "Jinx" ability.
But he'd found nothing. And now here was Glowworm, barely out of the dock, already remodeled, skilled, and level 96. Masaki could feel the tears coming.
He clearly remembered the flash of violet light when Glowworm was summoned—signifying four-star rarity. He'd thought it was his eyes playing tricks, but now it was obvious—she'd been remodeled right from the start, jumping from a two-star to a four-star shipgirl.
If this kind of thing could happen, what was even real anymore?
Elizabeth gave Hikaru a long, searching look. "You and your shipgirl truly are unusual. I figured something was up when I saw her controlling three pieces of auxiliary armor—no unremodeled Glowworm could manage that. Actually, this is the first time I've seen a remodeled Glowworm. Can you tell me about her skill?"
Hikaru activated his signature goofy grin. "Not much to it. Let's call it 'Headbutt'—massive damage through ramming, scales with armor value."
Glowworm pouted. "Not 'Headbutt'—it's called Fearless Charge, okay!"
Takao chimed in. "What's her armor value with the steel plates equipped?"
Hikaru gave Glowworm's hand a squeeze. She sulked, then answered, "Sixty-two. And I'm a girl too, you know! Always making me headbutt people—I'll go bald one day! Then I'm gonna pluck all your hair out, Commander, I swear I will!"
Takao clicked his tongue. "No wonder my Myoukou lost. That's practically battleship-tier armor."
Elizabeth nodded thoughtfully. "When I was first summoned, my armor was only 66. Glowworm's remodel is surprisingly powerful."
Then she recalled the torpedo explosion. "But 62 armor isn't enough to tank a torpedo. What happened there?"
Glowworm spun her wand smugly. "I'm a mage, remember? A simple torpedo? One magic shield, blocked."
With a flick of her wand, a triangular green energy shield flashed briefly in front of her.
Elizabeth's eyes lit up. "Ah, that explains it."
She stared at Glowworm, her mind turning.
Hikaru noticed the gleam in her eye and pulled Glowworm into his arms protectively. "Elizabeth—don't even think about stealing my shipgirl."
Elizabeth tapped her temple, smirking. "You want sortie permission? Submitting a request every time is a hassle. Spar with me—if you win, I'll approve it for good."
It was an attractive offer. Hikaru hesitated.
Glowworm wriggled free of his grasp and stood tall before Elizabeth. "Bring it on! I, Glowworm, fear no enemy!"