Chapter 20 - Gibraltar Military Base

In the dry dock of the Gibraltar military base, Bismarck stared at the front of her ship that was destroyed. Her mind flew to find the cause of her defeat from the USS Seawolf and got a question without an answer. The damage suffered by the body of her ship was not from a torpedo attack but another attack that Bismarck did not know, that was because the bottom of her ship looked healthy without any wounds.

 "This is very strange," Bismarck muttered in low voice.

 Right next to the body of her ship, Bismarck saw the U-30 submarine that was almost sinking to the bottom of the ocean. The damage it suffered came from a torpedo attack that left a wide scar piercing the hull of the ship.

 "Unlike me, U-30 suffered a torpedo attack because its position was at periscope depth."

 "Hng!"

 With that narrow thinking, Bismarck got a new clue about the torpedo attack that hit U-30. Its position diving at periscope depth should have been very difficult to detect with surface radar. Realizing the strangeness, Bismarck concluded one thing.

 "Wait! Since the beginning, USS Seawolf has been aware of the presence of U-30 that followed it?"

 "Did the USS Seawolf win the duel from the start?"

 "That's impossible! Detecting the presence of a submarine underwater? Did the U-30 make a loud noise that was picked up by the USS Seawolf's hydrophone?"

 "Impossible! A submarine traveling at 2 knots using battery power isn't that noisy."

 "How did the USS Seawolf know about the U-30?"

 "Guh! This defeat is so embarrassing!"

 As the Flagship of the Iron Blood, Bismarck became a ship girl filled with hope and pride. Her self-confidence and big ego became cold iron that walked on the ocean. Her small defeat by the submarine was an insult and a cover for her high ego. Now, she began to realize her weakness as the Flagship of the Iron Blood.

 "I have to train harder, huh?" Bismarck muttered softly as she stared at the body of her ship.

 ...

 ...

 ...

 "Bis-"

 "-Marck?"

 "Bis ... Marck ..."

 "Bismarck? Hey! Did you hear me?"

 "Huh?!" Bismarck woke up from her little daydream. Beside him, Hood brought a soft drink.

 "Admiral asked me to see the condition of your ship," said Hood while giving Bismarck a soft drink.

 "Are you and your ship's body okay?" continued Hood's question.

 "..." Bismarck was silent and took the drink that Hood was holding. She looked back at the condition of her ship which was undergoing emergency repairs and drank the soft drink that Hood had given her.

 "As you can see, the condition of my ship is like this and U-30 will temporarily undergo full repairs," said Bismarck to explain the situation.

 "Quite severe damage for a cute Battleship" replied Hood.

 "Cute? What do you mean?" Hood's answer confused Bismarck.

 "This is what I mean," Hood showed a photo of Bismarck wearing a maid's uniform.

 "Ah! Hey! Give it to me!" Bismarck moved quickly to take the embarrassing photo from Hood.

 Hood quickly dodged and put the valuable photo into her pocket.

 "Don't worry, this photo has been circulating throughout the Gibraltar military base, even Tirpitz acknowledged the cuteness of this cute Bismarck," Hood praised.

 "Kuuuuhuuu…" Bismarck hid her embarrassed expression with her military hat.

 "Speaking of cute, I got some interesting information about the USS Seawolf."

 Hearing Hood's words, Bismarck put on her serious face again and forgot about her embarrassing photo.

 "Uhuh, what information is that?" Bismarck asked in a serious tone.

 "It's not that important but it's related to that child. He's just an experimental victim as the Admiral said. His identity is top secret but was successfully obtained by the Royal Navy's Maid Unit. Long story short, he's a test submarine that became the Seawolf Flagship for a secret military operation. There were approximately a hundred secret operations that were successfully hidden from Azur Lane's surveillance."

 "So, he's a veteran submarine, huh? No wonder I lost. That explains everything. His tactics and attacks are unusual," Bismarck said in a cold tone.

 "Veteran? Ah! That's right! We found one important note about him. When the USS Seawolf returned from his first patrol in the Atlantic waters, it returned with a spatula tied to its periscope."

 "Huh?" Hearing Hood's strange words, Bismarck's expression was filled with questions.

 "I also had that expression when I first read his report. However, in the tradition of Eagle Union submarines. Tying a spatula to a submarine's periscope signifies a Clean Sweep or thorough cleaning operations. For the first time, a single submarine managed to completely flatten a siren convoy operating in the Atlantic waters."

 "Huh?!" Bismarck was shocked after hearing that.

 "Losing to such a great man, isn't that an honorable defeat?" Hood said with a wide smile.

 "..." Bismarck pondered after realizing this information. The surprise attack she experienced was not without reason. The USS Seawolf was a veteran who disrupted the siren convoy in the Atlantic waters. She had heard rumors about the siren passing through the Atlantic waters from Tirpitz. However, to confirm the rumor. She had to get the right source and that was right. The wound that Bismarck got slowly became a source of pride for her, she had not had a worthy enemy for a long time. As a fellow Flagship, this defeat was an honor for her.

 "One more thing, Bismarck. We will return to the main base tomorrow. Do you want to come home with us?" asked Hood.

 "Maybe not. My ship is still not seaworthy" replied Bismarck.

 Hearing Bismarck's answer, Hood just smiled sarcastically.

 "Why are you smiling like that?" Bismarck's instincts were running fast. She felt that there was other information that Hood was hiding.

 "It's okay, it's just that... Ah! Oops..." Hood quickly covered her mouth.

 "Hood, you did it on purpose to make me curious, didn't you?" Bismarck said as she approached Hood.

 "N-No, this is just additional information. Eagle Union will conduct anti-submarine training against USS Seawolf."

 Bismarck's eyes widened and her ears twitched after hearing the interesting information.

 "Why would they do that? Especially against USS Seawolf? Doesn't that feel strange?" Bismarck demanded.

 "B-Bismarck… Please don't force me to say more about Admiralty Code's decision to terminate the Seawolf program."

 "In other words, it's the final farewell for USS Seawolf."

 Bismarck fell silent and thought about something.

 "Hood, I'll go back with you guys and leave my ship's body here!" Bismarck exclaimed as she pressed Hood.

 "I-I understand."

 Hood accepted Bismarck's request. Their little alliance to find information about USS Seawolf had paid off. Azur Lane and Crimson Axis may have reconciled as one entity but their limited mindsets and human interference made the other party play behind their backs. The birth of the Seawolf unit that played behind Azur Lane's surveillance became clear evidence of human efforts to fight the sirens by sacrificing moral and legal values.

 "However, all of that was paid for with the loss of human hearts. Humans are quite interested in some things. Their unique thoughts are very difficult to guess. Hood, among all humans. Who made you interested in gaining your loyalty?" Bismarck asked in a serious tone.

 "I don't know, I only have a relationship with humans for a while. All orders from the Royal Navy require Queen Elizabeth's approval. So, my loyalty is still under the leadership of the Queen. However, we need human help for another purpose."

 Bismarck smiled wryly after hearing that. The conditions of the Royal Navy and Iron Blood were very similar. They put their loyalty to one thing but needed humans to take care of other needs.

 In the end, they needed humans to fulfill one goal.

 "I think I need to get to know that man better," Bismarck said.

 "Heh, that's very interesting. What are you going to do?" Hood asked.

 "Isn't it obvious? I will give up my body for him," Bismarck replied.

 "Eh? Eeeeh?! Don't be like that, Bismarck! Humans are too weak for that one!" Hood shouted.

 A small commotion broke out at the dry dock of the Gibraltar military base. The feud between Bismarck and Hood was complicated and tense. They fought over human norms and ethics with the needs of men that were hard to hold back. They debated problems that had not yet occurred until they came to a fair decision for both parties.

 "Alright, I'll take control of the right side while Bismarck takes control of the left side," Hood said.

 "Deal!" Bismarck shouted as a sign of agreement.

 On the other hand, a man who was walking leisurely enjoying the scenery was attacked by a ticklish feeling in his nose and sneezed.

 "Is someone talking about me?" he said in small tone.