Adam had no idea when Richelieu had decided to appoint herself secretary ship.
The announcement, however, had an explosive effect.
Taihou, who had only just been calmed down, immediately challenged Richelieu to a duel.
Her reasoning was simple: the position of secretary ship should go to the strongest shipgirl in the fleet.
Ten minutes later…
“Pest, just you wait!!!” A defeated Taihou was dragged away by Formidable.
Well.
Richelieu really was the strongest fighter in the fleet.
“Commander, shall we get back to work?
“But first, so that I can better fulfill my duties as secretary ship, I have a few questions I’d like to ask you.” Richelieu brushed the dust from her clothes, pulled a notebook from her coat, and looked at Adam with complete seriousness, as though nothing had happened.
“What sort of food do you prefer?
Is French cuisine acceptable?
I have some confidence in that area.
“Any dislikes?
What is your usual daily schedule…?” “…” “Isn’t that the Royal Maids’ job?” Adam had watched the entire fight and was still a little dazed.
“The Royal Maids?
Would you rather eat Looking-Up-at-the-Stars?” Richelieu dismissed the idea without a second thought.
“Oh… fair point.” He thought about it.
The entire world seemed to share a certain contempt for British cuisine.
The French, as their historical rivals, simply held that contempt a little more deeply.
“Still, Richelieu, let’s put the small matters aside for now.
“Why did you claim the secretary ship position all by yourself?
I haven’t decided yet.” Adam watched the Iris Libre flagship with a half-smile.
Normally a post like this was appointed by the commander.
“I…” Richelieu fell silent for a moment.
“Well… I felt that as flagship I was more suitable for the role than the other sisters.
“I can help you solve problems, and when emergencies arise I’m stronger and better suited for combat…” Her confidence faltered a little.
Adam studied her.
It was remarkable.
As a cardinal, Richelieu approached everything with absolute seriousness and kept both large and small affairs in perfect order.
She maintained a clear sense of distance that made her seem almost ethereal, someone who did not quite belong to the ordinary world.
Yet once you got to know her, you discovered she had all sorts of endearing little thoughts of her own.
“Appointing yourself without the commander’s permission is invalid.” He deliberately stressed the second half of the sentence.
“Then…” “Will you appoint someone else…?” Richelieu glanced up at him carefully.
“Mm.” “Ah?
…I really did overstep.
I’m sorry…” She sighed, looking a little dejected.
“Richelieu, I appoint you as my secretary ship.
“Do a good job.” Adam patted her shoulder.
“!” The sudden swing from disappointment to triumph left her expression complicated, almost dazed.
In the end she could only answer with a resolute gaze: “I will bring you victory, Commander.” … Without a single crane, excavator, or bulldozer, construction of the new capital began.
At first Adam had estimated it would take thirty days or longer just to establish a decent foothold.
He had seen the Port’s facilities before…
they were far more than a simple naval base.
The complex contained docks, parts assembly plants, shipgirl dormitories, aircraft factories, gun foundries, and more: essentially a full military-industrial complex rivaling any spaceport in complexity.
But once the Bulins and the little yellow Manjuus started working, he could only murmur: “Once upon a time, I believed in science.” The Bulins and Manjuus were building the base with their bare hands.
Their strength was less than that of ordinary shipgirls, yet it still far surpassed ordinary machinery.
Several Manjuus dragged steel beams weighing over a thousand jin from the containers and carried them steadily to the construction site without so much as a wobble, occasionally calling out “Jii!” “Jii!” “Chuu!” in rhythm.
Adam suddenly understood why the shipgirls never worried about the Manjuus and let them forage freely in the forests.
A tiger or lion that ran into these little yellow chicks would get kicked into next week.
The Bulins took the parts, clicked them firmly into place, pulled out their wrenches, and hammered away.
In moments the building frames stood complete.
It looked exactly like assembling giant Lego bricks.
These retrofit girls were living construction machines.
No blueprints.
No construction drawings.
No structural-mechanics calculations.
For the precision work the Gold Bulin’s drill and the Colorful Bulin’s hammer went to work with a flurry of clanging and buzzing, and the job was done.
Heaven only knew where the Bulins had learned architecture, but the buildings they raised were rock-solid.
The main Port was under constant Siren attack and carpet-bombed by carrier aircraft on a regular basis, yet the structures never suffered serious damage.
Adam could only chalk it up to the chaotic power of the Wisdom Cubes and the Azur Lane itself.
… Half a month later.
North of Constantinople, on the Golden Horn.
Where the shoreline had once been buried under ruins and construction materials, a magnificent naval base now rose.
The ground and coastline for dozens of kilometers around had been completely cleared.
The base formed a crescent shape.
Its semi-enclosed harbor was large enough to berth several aircraft carriers and battleships at once.
Though still a little smaller than the main Port, it contained everything a shipgirl fleet needed: dormitories, repair yards, arsenals, and a complete military production line.
Given sufficient resources it could continuously turn out torpedoes, naval guns, carrier aircraft, and more…
all of Azur Lane design, of course.
The pioneer fleet shipgirls were overjoyed.
A port was home to them.
With a naval base of their own they finally had a place to belong in this world.
On land the ruins of the entire city had been leveled flat.
Tens of thousands of square kilometers of wreckage had been cleared away until the ground was as smooth as an airstrip.
Yellow lines marked out future building sites…
residential districts, living quarters, research zones, and more.
Once resources arrived, construction of the main urban area could begin.
“Ah… truly a scene of thriving life and flourishing growth,” Adam couldn’t help saying.