Where was this?
What was going on?
Takao seemed to have passed through some strange space and emerged in an entirely different stretch of ocean.
According to her radar scans, she had instantly appeared beside an island that did not exist in any of her records.
The scans suggested that this was a military harbor. She detected weapon-like installations and several warships, though their designs were strange and unlike any human vessels she recognized.
More importantly, she had identified one particular human among the people present.
There was no mistaking him. He was the man who had broken through her warship, subdued her on the deck, and straddled her.
By now, Takao was intimately familiar with his physique. The match was perfect. He was standing right there on the shore.
As she broke through the surface, Takao suppressed her astonishment at her unfamiliar surroundings and faced him with her usual calm, haughty bearing.
"I am Takao, a heavy cruiser assigned to Unit 420 of the Fleet of Fog's First Oriental Patrol Fleet! Under the orders of the flagship, the great battleship Kongou, I have come to meet you, human!"
With both hands planted on her hips, Takao made her declaration.
That was the right tone to use, wasn't it?
If she looked down at him so arrogantly, would he become angry? Would he hate her?
The instant that possibility occurred to her, Takao panicked.
Seriously, why had she chosen such a haughty pose? Was she an idiot?
"Did Kongou tell you why she sent you here?"
Oh. He did not seem angry. In fact, he sounded remarkably calm.
"Excuse me, but why should I..."
"Then go back."
Wait, what? She had only been putting on an act, and he was already sending her away?
"She only told me to stay by your side!"
Takao hurriedly answered because this man appeared to be completely serious.
"Tell me everything about your weapons systems, including their exact specifications."
"Huh?"
"This..."
"If it's classified, you may return."
He was doing it again.
Takao desperately wanted to tell him that she would gladly leave, but he did not seem to be joking.
This man was practically another Kongou, the kind of person whose decisions were absolute.
Seriously, couldn't he be a little more tactful and let her save some face?
Takao grumbled inwardly.
"The tsundere character archetype isn't particularly popular anymore."
"What? A tsundere character archetype?"
Takao stared at him in confusion, unable to understand why he had suddenly changed the subject.
"It means your personality is tsundere. You say one thing while feeling the exact opposite. Outwardly, you act domineering and refuse to lower your head, but your true feelings are entirely different. For example, you say you don't want something when you actually do. Or you pretend to be aloof and cold toward someone, acting as though you look down on him, when in reality you like him so much that you regret constantly behaving like an idiot instead of simply admitting how you feel."
Takao's face grew redder with every word.
Wasn't he describing her perfectly?
Had this man invaded her Mental Core?
"I haven't invaded your Mental Core."
"Y-You have! How else would you know that's what I was thinking?"
Takao's voice trembled as her blush deepened.
Did that mean he knew everything she thought about him?
"You're also wondering whether I invaded your mind and discovered how you feel about me, aren't you?"
"Y-You got it right again!"
And he still claimed he had not invaded her!
Takao frantically inspected her Mental Core, searching for wherever he had broken in.
Stop peeking into a maiden's heart!
"Stop inspecting your Mental Core. I haven't invaded it."
"Liar! You even knew I was inspecting my Mental Core! Stop invading it! Stop reading my thoughts! Aaaah!"
Takao wailed and covered her face with both hands, overwhelmed by embarrassment.
"All right, stop hiding your face. Tell me your warship's specifications and the destructive power of its weapons."
"Then disconnect from my Mental Core first. Stop spying on me."
"I've disconnected."
"Really?"
He said nothing. He simply stared at her with a flat, indifferent expression, putting enormous pressure on her.
After a long silence, he spoke again.
"This is the last time I'll ask. Give me the weapon specifications, or I'll send you back and bring someone else here."
His tone had not changed, but Takao's entire body stiffened. She could tell that if she did not give him the information immediately, he truly would send her away.
"F-Fine, I understand!"
Takao puffed out her cheeks slightly, then rose onto her toes. Her body seemed to lose all weight as she drifted toward him like a falling feather.
She swept one hand through the air, opening several holographic windows in front of him. They displayed information about her warship's weapons systems, including the number of Erosion Torpedoes she carried, their approximate blast radii, and the maximum destructive power of her Super-Graviton Cannon.
She showed him everything without reservation.
It was like he had seen her completely naked.
Wait, completely naked?
The thought made Takao's delicate body tremble. Heat spread through her, accompanied by a strange feeling of pleasure.
Was this what humans called having a crush? Was this love?
According to the human information she had gathered, if a man saw a girl naked, she would never be able to marry anyone else. Her only choice would be to marry him.
Takao still did not fully understand what marrying someone meant. Apparently, it meant she would belong to him.
"Heh-heh-heh..."
That lascivious giggle made Kain glance away from Takao's weapon specifications and look at her.
Takao was supposed to have masochistic tendencies. Had defeating her like that really caused her to develop feelings for him?
If so, he could recruit this particular Takao into his team.
Although Takao had crossed over, Kain was not concerned about anyone on the other side using the connected dimensional passage to transmit signals into this world and spy on them.
The moment Takao entered, he had stopped receiving any further transmissions from the other side.
Of course, that did not mean he had closed the passage.
It was like connecting two devices with a data cable. Once he had received the file known as Takao, he had refused all further data transfers, effectively blocking the connection.
For now, he was studying the exact capabilities of Takao's firepower.
If her weapons were powerful enough, there might be no need to use a G-Bomb.
Takao's arrival had already been recorded as one of his possible plans for destroying Junius Seven. That was why he had opened his personal space at a scale of 100³ cubic meters and used it as a dimensional passage, allowing her entire warship to cross over.
Otherwise, he would have used the minimum scale of 10³ cubic meters, which would only have been large enough for her humanoid Mental Model.
"Hmm?"
Kain noticed the crates Takao had brought with her. They were filled entirely with nanomaterials.
"If all these nanomaterials were used to manufacture Erosion Torpedoes of this yield, how many could you make?"
Kain pointed at one particular Erosion Torpedo model.
The only real difference between the various models displayed before him was their destructive power.
"Huh? At this level of destructive power, it would be around this many. If I were to..."
Takao gave him a precise set of figures.
Kain compared what he knew about Junius Seven, including its size and mass, with the projected destructive range of the Erosion Torpedoes.
It appeared that they would be enough to break Junius Seven apart.
Even if they could not completely disintegrate the entire colony, they could reduce what remained to fragments small enough that their descent would no longer pose a serious threat.
In that case, there was apparently no need to use a G-Bomb.
He could simply have this Fleet of Fog warship destroy Junius Seven.
(End of Chapter)
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