[5 minutes earlier, U.S. Congress.]
“What is going on, President Louis?!”
“…….”
Standing at the podium of the U.S. Congress, President Louis continued to check his smartphone without responding to the questions from the congress members directed at him.
Was he ignoring the congress members?
No.
The members knew well that the act of looking at his smartphone was intended for the president to grasp the situation immediately.
“Why did the S-Rank Ironblood from Korea attack the Master?!”
Yet, the reason why the members, even those from his own party, were raising their voices remained.
“No, why…?”
One. Purely out of curiosity.
“Is the woman named Ironblood out of her mind? Acting like this? Is she insane?”
“There should be principles to human behavior; this is no different than an enraged orangutan throwing punches at itself.”
“Please refrain from using the term ‘orangutan.'”
“If it sounds like racism…”
“She is worse than an orangutan.”
It was an incomprehensible behavior for those who had risen to politically high positions as senators.
The actions of Blue Lightning could be understood to some extent if viewed from the perspective of ‘a sense of justice,’ but the principles behind Ironblood’s actions were unfathomable no matter how you looked at it.
Doubts were bound to arise.
“President Louis! If you know something, you must speak immediately!”
The second reason.
“You must know why Ironblood attacked the Master!”
To throw suspicion rather than mere curiosity.
“Donald….”
President Louis gritted his teeth as he lowered his smartphone in response to the loud question from the blond, muscular senator pointing at him.
“What if you cannot discern the reasons?”
“If the president does not know how an S-Rank from another country acts, does that mean this country can survive in the age of hunters?!”
“In this age of hunters, I have brought in the most powerful hunter as an ally.”
“If that hunter cannot even protect herself!”
Senator Donald shouted, pounding his chest.
“If she is a single frail human who needs help from others! And yet she is the most powerful hunter?!”
“I have already conquered three, no, four S-Rank Towers, despite that.”
“Those are not the Towers of America!”
“…….”
President Louis briefly glanced at the camera installed in the congress hall.
Some cameras were blatantly turning toward the shouting congress members, most of them focusing on Senator Donald.
“…Right now.”
Just as President Louis was about to suppress his irritation and speak.
Boom!
A powerful explosion occurred on the live broadcast screen.
The helicopter’s wings were damaged, spinning uncontrollably, and began to plummet toward the ocean.
“!!”
“What the…!”
In the sudden situation, President Louis quickly looked around at the members.
Among those raising their voices at him, one silent man remained who had not said a word.
Sneering.
He briefly twisted his lips while watching the helicopter fall into the sea before quickly changing his expression.
In that fleeting moment, President Louis caught a glimpse of that expression.
The emergence of a hunter that must be classified as a new grade.
The movement to come to America instead of staying in Korea.
The consequent anxiety of the existing American S-Ranks.
And the backroom manipulations arising from that anxiety.
“Ugh…!”
It felt as if a single scenario was unfolding, yet President Louis could do nothing but grip his smartphone tightly.
No matter how much he was the president, there was nothing he could do but pray to save those aboard the helicopter plunging into the sea—
Boom!
A massive shadow surged from the ocean.
Like a cable suddenly snatching the helicopter, it slowly landed, raising waves as something emerged.
“What is that?!”
“A battleship?!”
It was a warship.
A steel behemoth that suddenly appeared as if springing forth from the ocean.
“…That is.”
President Louis felt something both familiar and unfamiliar about it.
“…Iowa?”
There might be those who think of the state of Iowa.
“Iowa?”
“Is that an Iowa-class battleship?”
“That can’t be.”
Among the senators, a senior, white-haired one who looked close to eighty stood up, eyes wide in shock.
“…That can’t be.”
Amid a feeling of something rising from below, President Louis blurted out his thoughts based on intuition and experience.
“How is the nonexistent No. 5 ship here…?”
The Iowa-class No. 5 ship, [Illinois].
It appeared near the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, near Jeju.
“…This is happening.”
Success in summoning.
The construction itself had finished, but I never anticipated it would be summoned in such a way.
“Master, are you alright?”
“Yeah. I feel like I’ve never been on a ride like this in my life.”
“Master….”
“Which means I’m fine.”
Kiharu patted my shoulder and activated her magic.
Just as I was about to slam my body into the spinning helicopter, the pain disappeared instantly thanks to Kiharu’s healing.
Dizziness as well.
“Commander. There’s light coming from the bridge up there?”
“Let’s go now.”
Following Dry’s guidance, I sprinted straight to the bridge.
While I had only seen it in records and had no particular interest in the field, it was visible to ‘me,’ who had summoned this battleship.
This way.
A silver haze signaled for me to come, a place that should rightly house the owner of this ship.
Following the shimmering light like the trail of a fairy, I dashed across the deck, opened the door leading up the stairs, and quickly arrived at the bridge.
“…Wow.”
An overwhelming scene, even more so than what I had seen in movies.
“I’ve seen it in records, but… this is the ship that was supposed to be constructed in the 1940s, right?”
Elaine examined the interior in astonishment at the facilities of the bridge.
Even just looking at the pilot seat of the aircraft, anyone could see, “I shouldn’t just push any button,” and the bridge of [Battleship Illinois] was filled with all kinds of displays and buttons.
“Kiharu. Don’t just hop on anywhere.”
“I’m not a real cat.”
Kiharu landed in front of the glass window, scanning the area ahead.
At the same time, perhaps the most accustomed to such an environment, Dry—
“Commander.”
Placed his hand on the radar-like panel, chuckling softly.
“Did you really just summon the battleship?”
“Just the battleship?”
“I thought there’d be something like an AI for managing the battleship, or a mechanical girl resembling that kind of AI, like a secretary android or something.”
“If you were hoping for a robot-type companion, I’ll look for another opportunity in the future, but this was summoned to serve as our ‘base’ in the first place.”
There had been many games that ‘moefied’ ships.
I had even tried playing one of those games once.
But what I had summoned was purely the battleship itself.
The Iowa-class No. 5 ship, [Illinois], which had been canceled during construction in reality and was destined for scrapping.
That battleship now floated on the sea as if it had been newly built in modern times.
While its appearance was not significantly different from the past, all the internal devices were now filled with the latest technology.
To put it in car terms, it felt like a car from World War II that a car company had built for an event, but packed with the latest engines and technology.
“Commander. Do you know how to pilot this?”
Dry cautiously tapped the radar.
“Should I do it?”
“Can you?”
“Rather than saying I can, I have to manage somehow. Fortunately, I can connect, and I’m currently synchronizing the battleship operational manual in my head.”
“…Just make the synchronization first. But for now, it’s alright; take your time.”
I sat down in the captain’s seat with my smartphone.
“In terms of precision control, I can definitely pilot one thing right now.”
“What is that…?”
“It’s coming.”
Toward Jeju Island.
“That crazy woman is charging at us across the sea.”
Ironblood was running toward us.
“Having summoned this battleship after dropping the helicopter is not enough; it seems someone is threatening me to k*ll me or risk having some Yasu tape leaked.”
If that were not the case, there would be no reason for her to charge like that.
“Master. Should I go out?”
“No, Elaine. Since we summoned the youngest like this, she should take the lead.”
The Illinois advanced forward.
Determined to quietly carry out its duties, it started moving toward the Pacific Ocean.
“Let’s check the combat power just once. It’s perfectly set up as ‘enemy.'”
Perhaps due to the acknowledgment that Ironblood was approaching with hostility, one button was activated, and I pressed that button.
At that moment.
Screech.
“…Huh?”
Something, something that shouldn’t be moving, seemed to have moved.
“Crazy.”
A battleship appeared on the ocean heading toward America.
Ironblood was sprinting on the water, chasing that battleship.
“Darum! That, that is real…!”
Blue Lightning could do nothing against Ironblood’s sprint.
She couldn’t spread her wings like someone and had no connections for running at that speed—
“Undersea cable!!”
Blue Lightning dashed toward the nearest telephone pole.
Following the high-voltage wire, she kept an eye on the cable extending toward the seabed.
“…Ah!”
There’s no path.
She barely touched the undersea cable, but even trying to cross using the cable touching the ocean floor didn’t intersect with the path of the battleship moving ahead.
“Dammit… huh?”
Just as she pondered how to throw electricity to reach the electronic devices inside the battleship.
“Is that… mana?”
A tremendous amount of mana was flowing around the battleship’s exterior.
As if the battleship itself was one of the awakened—like an S-Rank or higher hunter.
“What is this….”
Boom!
Ironblood kicked off the sea and jumped high.
Whether she aimed to create a hole in the deck in her landing or not, the power in the military boots extended down with immense mana.
The moment Ironblood’s body soared higher than the bridge and hung in mid-air.
Flash.
Without a sound, something turned its head toward Ironblood.
“…Main g*n?”
Boom!!!
With the light of blue mana, an unheard-output mana cannon struck down upon Ironblood suspended in mid-air.
An artillery barrage reminiscent of the breath expelled by the dragon in the boss battle of an S-Rank Tower.
In the midst of the light spectacle, Blue Lightning watched.
Ironblood’s mana aura, which had enveloped her from her feet to the tips of her hair, slowly began to extinguish.
“Ironblood’s light… is going out…!”
*
“…….”
Auto-battle.
Activating.
