Kantai Collection - KanColle - Auspicious Seas, Phoenix Skies:Volume1 Epilogue: Wind in the Night

Epilogue: The Wind in the Night

The night of the day after——
Now that the sortie team had recovered from their fatigue, it was time for the celebratory banquet.
The person who suggested the banquet was Junyou.
While she, too, was a well-built light carrier with an impressive hangar capacity, her passion for banquets far exceeded her enthusiasm for training.
She might be a bit of a problem student in the fleet, but in this kind of situation she ca definitely pull her weight.
Junyou held a wine cup in one hand and a box of snacks in the other.
"Ahhh~a drink after an operation is the best! Oh ho, why are there two Admirals~ Yahaaa!"
"You weren't even in the operation. Weren't you originally slated to be in the support fleet?"
"Heehee...well, Hiyou and I, we're a little slow."
"Really, you...eh, whatever..."
"Eh? You're going already? Isn't this a feast for you, Admiral?"
"It's a feast for the shipgirls...I need a breath of fresh air."
Junyou responded to my raised hand with a "come again~" kind of phrase, like something an Izakaya's barkeep might say.
And so I went outside——
Towards the harbor.
The sea at night seemed to be covered by a layer of blackness. Only the moon's reflection floated along the waves.
"Hm?"
I can hear someone whistling.
——This is...this was a pretty popular song three years ago, wasn't it?
I walked closer to take a look. A girl in priestess' garb was leaning on one of those mushroom-like bollards.
"...Yo, is that you, Zuihou?"
"Hm? Eh? Admiral? What is it?"
"I'm not too good with alcohol, so I figured I'd ditch the banquet. I'd ruin the party for everyone if they let me drink too much."
"Ahaha."
"But what about you? You're this banquet's protagonist; what are you doing here?"
"I thought the Admiral was the protagonist."
"Don't be modest, everyone agrees that we wouldn't have been able to go on without you. It's not because you're a little hung up about Nagato getting MVP, right?"
"Ehehe...how could I be?"
Zuihou waved her hand.
Her face is all red.
Although the younger shipgirls got Mamiya's juice instead of wine, this girl looks like she's drunk. Is this okay?
"Speaking of which, I haven't rewarded you, have I?"
"Eh?"
"Well, shipgirls aren't like soldiers, it's not like I can promote you. The reward scrip can only be used in the Naval District as well. All the necessities are supplied too, so this is kind of tough."
"N-no need! Rewards or anything like that!"
"Mm...the only thing I can get is stuff I can wrangle up myself, so I figured it'd be a bit difficult to find something for you. But since I've been worried about preparations this whole time, I couldn't come up with anything. Sorry."
"Seriously! I don't need it!"
"If a violation of protocol deserves punishment, exemplary achievement should similarly merit rewards. This is how discipline is strengthened."
"Is that right...mm, but I still can't think of anything in particular I might want..."
Ah! It looks like she's got something.
"Did you think of something?"
"U-um...is anything okay?"
"Anything I can do."
"Then...k, ki..."
"Kit? Like a model Kit?"
"Ki....mm, Admiral, could you close your eyes? Oh, before that, sit down first."
"Mm, sure, I can do that."
I sit on the bollard Zuihou vacated, and close my eyes tight.
In front of me is just darkness. Can't see shit.
I can feel her closing in.
"Hm?"
"Could you, could you not move around?"
"Oh?"
"Don't move around, okay? And don't open your eyes."
"Mm..."
I can hear her, she's very close. Almost right next to each other. I can hear the sand under her feet, and movement next to my ear.
——W-what's going on?
No, what is she doing?
Well but I did say I wouldn't, so I can't open my eyes.
I can feel myself tensing up.
 
But even though I can feel her breathing just inches away from me...nothing happens.
"Uooohhhhhh....I can't do it after all?!"
"W-what are you doing? Zuihou?"
I can't stop myself from opening my eyes.
Her face is almost right in front of my face. In the moonlight, I can clearly see her bright red ears.
She scrambles backwards in a panic.
"Ahhh....Awawa!"
"Oy, oy! You're going to fall in! Look out!"
"Ah! I-it's fine! I'm a shipgirl!"
Even if it's the sea at night, it's still not a problem for a shipgirl.
Zuihou puts her index finger on her lip, and exhales.
"Whew..."
Those are some beautiful, pale lips.
"Oy oy, Zuihou? Just now, were you about to do something? What kind of thing...is...that...is it..."
Her head shakes back and forth.
"Nothing! Nothing at all!"
"Eh, whatever. After all, you didn't do anything in the end...but, what was it that you wanted to do?"
"B-because! When you said reward, wouldn't be it be a ki...ki....ahhh, I can't say it! Admiral, you're a pervert!"
"Wha-?!"
And with that, Zuihou turns tail and flees.
"I-I'm tired! I'm going to sleep!"
She might be a shipgirl but she sure runs fast, I think to myself as I watch her bolt for the dorms.
 
Leaving just me.
Removing my hat, I scratch my head and watch the ocean under the night sky.
"...what happened?"
I don't know from when they came, but footsteps are closing in.
I turn.
"Eh? Kaga-san?"
"..."
She says nothing. It's a little scary.
"W-what is it?"
"High Command does not hope to see the Admiral and his Shipgirls in...special relationships. Please do not overindulge in personal feelings."
"C-could it be, that you saw it too?"
"...What did the Admiral want to do?"
"Do what? Th-she's a shipgirl. Shipgirls are humanity's future and last hope, their salvation. They're not existences I can have personal feelings for."
I speak without a shred of hesitation.
Kaga nods.
"...It looks like you are well aware of this point."
"Of course."
"...since you understand, please make sure to heed my warning."
"Eh? Warning?"
Did she give me some kind of warning before?
Sighing, Kaga speaks once more.
"Earlier, I mentioned that it is unwise to get too close to the shipgirls, right? Many of these children are not yet mature...a male, especially one such as you, can easily confuse them."
I think back to her past warning.
——I thought she was saying that because she thought I was a creeper!
So that's what she meant.
I only just noticed: just as I don't know how to deal with females, the shipgirls do not know how to get along with males.
To think I only just realized now...
How should I deal with the feelings Zuihou holds about me?
 
"Kaga-san..."
"...what is it?"
"When you say stuff like that, it's hard for me to understand."

Translator's Notes and References

Backward to Chapter 4: The Ah-Go Decisive Fleet Battle

Return to Kantai Collection - KanColle - Auspicious Seas, Phoenix Skies