Chapter 18 - Impostor

[ Synchronization 0%! ]

 "So, this is the Azur Lane main building?" I said to Charles Ausburne.

 "Yes, the Eagle Union command room is on the west side of this building. Ah! The Admiral gave me a small map for the location and bedrooms," Charles Ausburne felt her pocket and handed me a small piece of paper. I accepted the small piece of paper and the room key.

 I opened the small piece of paper and read its contents.

 "Ahhh… I see. This is very helpful. Thank you."

 The Azur Lane main headquarters was too large to be inhabited by other nations. Each room was separated by a special block that adjusted to the needs of each nation. For example, there was a hot spring room for the Sakura Empire, a small bar for the Iron Blood, a small cafe for the Royal Navy, and other rooms that supported the needs of each faction.

 Oh.. Hey! There's a pizza shop here? Well, it must be from the Sardegna Empire.

 Kruuuuk…

 Suddenly, I heard a loud sound of a hungry stomach.

 "Umm... Master... I'm hungry," Sofia whispered as she pulled my arm.

 "Anoo... If you want, we can have lunch together. Azur Lane's public cafeteria serves pasta from the Sardegna Empire as its main menu," Charles Ausburne said to Sofia.

 "Pasta? What kind of food is that?" Sofia replied.

 "Why don't you try it while you wait for me to come back after meeting someone?" I replied.

 "Good idea, Master!"

 Sofia and I parted ways. My main goal was to find old friends and perfect the synchronization statistics. Finding the identity specified by the Quest was no easy matter.

 Ah! Damn it! I want this difficulty level to be lowered!

 This is like playing Azur Lane on Hardcore difficulty!

 Wait a minute!

 Azur Lane's gameplay isn't like this!

 What is this? Why is my life's gameplay in the Azur Lane world so different from the game?

 Refund!

 I want a Refund!

 My life isn't that cheap to be played with by a Quest!

 My brain worked hard to complete the Quest and look for any small clues that could be found. The small map given by Charles Ausburne was the starting point for searching for information.

 Speaking of starting points, there was one place that made me curious. A place that was quite sensitive but ordinary.

 The Eagle Union command room.

 I hope the place is not filled with the smell of tobacco or trash.

 Well, that's a good starting point for searching for information.

 I walked towards the Eagle Union command room. Following a quiet and inconspicuous route. The small map was very useful for mapping the vast Azur Lane headquarters. My childhood friend was very attentive to accurate location details.

 The Eagle Union command room was located not far from the main entrance. I walked around to avoid eye contact with the ship girl and slipped into the Eagle Union command room through a small route.

 Right in front of me, was a room with a half-open door that said "Eagle Union".

 The half-open door seemed to invite me to enter it.

 Well... Since my main goal was that place. There was no harm in sneaking in, right?

 Without thinking twice, I entered the Eagle Union command room and found an empty room. My first impression of this room was messy and dirty.

 Scattered report papers, spilled black ink, and dried coffee cup remains decorated this place.

 "Ugh, what a man. Doesn't he have a Secretary Ship to clean this place?"

 "Come on… Even though men can live in dirty places. But not this dirty…"

 I walked to observe the contents of the Eagle Union command room. If this was a game that looked for clues like a detective, then I would start by looking for a journal or diarrhe.

 Ah.. Um... I mean a diary.

 Author note: is it weird to make this joke in english translation? Sorry.

 "What is this?"

 I saw a photo frame containing a man and a woman wearing wedding clothes. The man in the photo was familiar to me and I knew him very well.

 [ Synchronization 10%! ]

 "Urrrk… My head!!"

 Suddenly, dizziness attacked my head and showed me the story of the past that was spinning in my brain. The story of the past contained our first relationship when we met at the secret orphanage. A relationship created from awkwardness and shared fate.

 I...

 Ah! No! That's not it!

 The identity created by Quest...

 Ah! That's not quite right.

 More precisely... The identity of the body I'm using is a child who was a victim of the siren invasion that attacked the human mainland and met a old friend at an orphanage.

 The story of the past that revolves inside my head feels very real and doubts my belief in my identity in this world.

 Is this Quest leading me to engineer the memories of this world and body?

 The girl standing next to him is the USS Helena. A light cruiser belonging to Eagle Union that has a bad fate in the real world. Putting aside her dark story, she is very sweet and cute. Suitable as a housewife.

 Erm... Forget about that last one. My goal is a moral NTR. Her dark story has become a blacklist of my NTR targets.

 At least I still have a conscience for her.

 "Uuugh... What is this?!"

 [ Synchronization 20%! ]

 The pain that appeared in my head triggered the synchronization progress that continued to increase.

 So it turns out, the memory that entered my brain was the history of the world and the owner of this body. I was reincarnated into the body of someone who was an old friend and separated due to Seawolf unit training.

 Arthur Mac William was a genius child found by the Eagle Union Navy. The identity regarding his real name and residence is strictly confidential. Arthur Mac William is recorded as a young Admiral who graduated quickly in the Eagle Union Navy. His achievements in forming the Seawolf unit have brought him to the top of the Eagle Union command under one level of the Admiralty Code.

 If the Admiralty Code does not respond, he has the authority to organize the Eagle Union shipgirl fleet or hand over the top command to the Seawolf Flagship.

 In other words, my status is higher after his. Holly Shit!

 My job title as a Seawolf Flagship is too OP!

 I put the wedding photo on his desk and turned to the messy bookshelf. The only information I found was a list of military operations conducted by Eagle Union and a report of a long-distance expedition.

 "This is not that important."

 I went through the unimportant reports and accidentally found a magazine containing a young woman in revealing nightwear.

 "Aaahh... Even though he is married. He still keeps this?"

 I didn't want to ruin someone's marriage.

 So, I took the magazine and kept it for "Research and Development".

 Yep, I need to find the difference between this world and mine.

 Ahem! For knowledge and future development!

 There's nothing strange about it.

 My search continued and found another hidden magazine. For some unknown reason, my hand moved to snatch it.

 I didn't steal it! I just took and studied the technology of this era!

 My hand accidentally touched a hidden photo frame. An old and dusty photo. The photo was well preserved inside a sturdy wooden frame.

 [ Synchronization 80%! ]

 "Arrrgghhh!! My head!!"

 Once again...

 The pain that attacked my head was like acupuncture needles stabbing my entire brain. Memories of the Seawolf unit training, the orphanage children, and my little sister-ships were visible.

 Eh? Little sister-ships?

 I have a little sister-ships?

 Moreover... She's a cute girl that became submarine and little bit trouble by her Brother Complex nature?

 Woah! What is this? My little sister has a Brother Complex.

 No... No... A normal ships family isn't like that!

 What kind of nightmare is this?

 But, it's not bad either. I'm just a stranger thrown into this body as a fake.

 In other words...

 It's not incest! Ah... I mean Shipcest!

 Yup, logically and morally. We're both different people.

 [ Synchronization 100%! ]

 All the memories that this fake body has have been learned or the identity given by the Quest has been successfully learned.

 [ Unlocking Siren Tech Lab! ]

 [ Unlocking Meta Tech Lab! ]

 [ Bonus Reward: 1 Legendary Title. ]

 [ Title: Siren Killer Active! ]

 [ Siren Killer: This is a siren killer title that is famous among Azur Lane and Crimson Axis. The ship who successfully defeats a top-level siren will receive this title. The effect of this title is intimidation from a professional who can defeat a top-level siren. All sirens who see the owner of this title will move away from it. ]

 It seems like I got a strange title after Silent Hunter.

 Kraaaaak...

 The door to the room suddenly opened and revealed someone I knew.

 "Altair?" he said to me.

 "You still have this photo, huh? Long time no see, Arthur."

 I greeted my old friend who I hadn't seen for nine years. Information about him and our past stories had been embedded in my brain.

 Now, we are just two old friends reminiscing.

 I put the old photo on his desk.