"By the way, Servant, there's something I need to confirm," Elizabeth said as she reluctantly stepped out of Jun Hao's embrace.
"Hm? What is it?" he asked curiously.
"You... you'll come to the victory banquet tonight, right?"
Seeing the hopeful look on her face, Jun Hao reached out and gently pinched her soft cheek.
"My Queen, of course, I'll be there. Even if I only joined halfway through, I'm still one of the main contributors, aren't I?"
At his answer, Elizabeth's face immediately lit up.
"Hmph. At least you know your place."
Just then, a faint notification sound came from her pocket.
It was her personal communicator.
Elizabeth took it out and glanced at the screen. The message was from Illustrious, and it was attached to a photo.
The person in the photo was none other than the Sakura Empire's strategist, Amagi.
Her eyes, usually filled with wisdom and composure, were lowered slightly now, giving her an unexpectedly pitiful air.
Her delicate hands were bound by cold handcuffs, and the proud fox woman exuded a strange blend of helplessness and tragic beauty.
Below the image was a short message from Illustrious.
|| Your Majesty, the target has been successfully 'captured.' Please advise. ||
Elizabeth quickly typed out a reply.
|| Mhm. Bring Amagi back as soon as possible. Everyone will be rewarded according to their contributions. ||
From that moment onward, Elizabeth's victory was absolute.
Even so, when she looked back at Jun Hao, reluctance still lingered in her eyes. Unfortunately, as Queen, she couldn't remain by his side at a time like this.
"Servant, I still need to handle the aftermath. Lion is also waiting for my report. I have to personally tell her that the Royal Navy has won."
She paused for a moment before speaking again in a softer voice.
"And remember... I'll be waiting for you at the restaurant tonight."
"Don't worry, My Queen. I'll definitely be there."
After hearing his promise once more, Elizabeth finally left with a satisfied smile.
Meanwhile, Jun Hao turned his attention back to the massive battlefield projection, quietly admiring his own "masterpiece."
But at that moment, a cold notification sound suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for fulfilling Amagi's emotional need. Would you like to claim the reward?]
Jun Hao froze.
'Hm? I fulfilled her emotional need?'
From beginning to end, he hadn't met Amagi even once.
A slight frown formed on his face.
"System, what's going on?"
This time, the system didn't answer immediately. Instead, a translucent screen appeared before him.
[Amagi: Wishes to be defeated once by a strategy personally devised by you.]
The moment he read the line, Jun Hao instantly understood.
'So that's what it was...'
As a strategist, Amagi genuinely wanted to test herself against him intellectually.
Not as enemies consumed by hatred, but as two commanders testing each other's brilliance on the battlefield.
Although Jun Hao lacked formal military training, he had studied enough history to grasp certain tactical principles.
Breaking encirclements, disrupting supply lines, creating false retreats... even if his understanding wasn't professional, it had still been enough to turn the tide of battle.
And because of that, he had technically "defeated" her.
Entirely by accident.
Jun Hao silently stared at the flashing reward notification. A complicated feeling rose in his chest.
After a long pause, he slowly shook his head.
"Sorry... but I can't accept this reward."
His voice was low, but firm.
For the first time, even the emotionless system seemed surprised.
A few seconds later, its mechanical voice sounded again.
[Why?]
Facing the system's question, Jun Hao calmly raised a hand and straightened the collar of his military uniform.
"Because it wouldn't be fair to Amagi."
His expression remained composed, but his tone carried unwavering conviction.
"System, do you understand? What Amagi truly wanted wasn't just defeat. She wanted a genuine clash of minds... a connection born through strategy itself."
His gaze lowered slightly.
"A strategist like her doesn't seek hollow victories or meaningless defeats. What she wanted was an opponent worthy of standing against her on the same battlefield."
Jun Hao let out a quiet breath.
"But this time, I didn't even know about her emotional need. I never treated this battle as a conversation between strategists, nor as an answer to her expectations. To me, this was simply a war that needed to be won."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Today, I never even met her face-to-face. I never challenged her directly, nor did I personally respond to the resolve she carried into this battle."
His eyes drifted toward Amagi's image on the screen.
"So tell me... can this really be called the defeat she wished for?"
The system fell silent as Jun Hao lightly clenched his fist.
"If I claim this reward just because fate happened to align with her wish, then it would be disrespectful to her feelings. And more importantly..."
His voice softened.
"It would betray the trust she placed in me as her Commander."
Jun Hao slowly closed the reward window.
"I refuse to respond to someone's sincere expectations with opportunism. At the very least... when I truly defeat Amagi someday, I want it to be a result she can wholeheartedly accept. And when that day comes..."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I'll claim the reward without any hesitation."
Jun Hao's words plunged the system into silence once again.
This time, the silence lasted far longer than before.
Several minutes later, the cold mechanical voice finally echoed in his mind again.
Only now, it sounded slightly different. The rigid, emotionless tone seemed softer somehow, carrying the faintest hint of human nuance.
[Detected Host's exceptionally strong "Commander's Soul"... Host's understanding of and respect for Shipgirls' emotional needs has exceeded the system's preset logical parameters...]
[Mission completion conditions are being corrected...]
[Correction complete.]
[The completion condition for this mission has been updated: The Host may claim the reward at any time after personally believing he has given Amagi a "perfect" defeat.]
Immediately afterward, the text on the light screen shifted once more.
[Mission rewards are being recalculated...]
[Calculation complete.]
[Reward Content: Upon mission completion, the port's Harmony Level for that day will be directly set to 100 points, with an additional 100 Bond Points awarded.]
Seeing the newly updated reward, Jun Hao's eyes widened.
"Holy shit... the Harmony Level gets set straight to 100 for the entire day? And there's another 100 Bond Points on top of that?"
Even he couldn't help feeling shocked.
"System, since when did you become this generous?"
[This system exists to provide maximum support for the harmonious lives of the Host and all Shipgirls.]
The answer was still as robotic as ever.
Jun Hao chuckled and shook his head.
"Forget the rewards for now. They're not what's important."
His gaze drifted toward the door of the command room.
Now that he understood Amagi's feelings, he couldn't simply ignore them. He had to answer them properly.
A true duel.
One that belonged solely to him and Amagi. But before that, there was something else he needed to do first.
He still had to visit those "prisoners of war" and offer them at least a little comfort.
Meanwhile, over in Sector B, the battle had finally come to an end as well.
Although New Jersey still wore her usual bright smile, the truth was obvious to anyone watching closely. She was already in no condition to continue fighting.
Even so, she had no intention of admitting defeat so easily.
That was the pride of a warrior.
At that moment, Lion suddenly ceased fire and pulled out her communicator.
On the public channel, she uploaded a celebratory photo of the Royal Navy girls standing victorious together.
"Miss New Jersey, you can stop now. The exercise is over."
"Hm? What happened? Lemme see."
New Jersey dismissed her rigging and quickly leaned over beside Lion to look at the communicator screen.
A moment later, she let out a relieved smile.
"I get it now. As expected of my Honey... I lost."
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