A-kun: I'm gonna be hella rusty with my writing. I'll try my damn best to catch up to the lost time and the wait I made you all do. Anyhow, let us start the chapter. 

=================

Days after the realization, Caster and the fleet are looking at a standstill. Which for right now, it's a good thing. Conflict is not in their best interest as of right now. Due to crippled morale, and Commander. 

The best thing that they can ask for right now is stagnation. A predictable schedule.

And Caster has been a good boy in a few days. Since nothing is bothering him, he has no reason to break any rule that the maids gave him.

And no visions in the few days also. He ironically kept away the white Wisdom Cube from him so he won't see those mind-melting vision for now. 

A-kun: Definitely not because this is a 'special' chapter. *cough*

Just like the past few days, he, Hood, and Wales, his temporary helper for paperwork, for now, are just again in his office, checking off paperwork. 

And a small pattern emerged in the days of stagnation. The time was closing into 10:30 AM. And at that point, the trio has already started to work on 4 hours' worth of paperwork. 

And here we are at the most recent point. It's currently breaktime, Hood and Wales got their well-deserved rest for now. As they are at the cafeteria. Leaving Caster alone with Belfast watching Caster eating his food. 

"Uh..." He fiddled with his fork, scraping it on the plate. 

The vegetables he got was tasting a little bit stale... And he didn't want it. 

And because Caster has seen Belfast get mad before, he's hesitant to tell her that the veggies are not up to standards. So he's currently looking for an alibi to escape this situation. 

In the corner of his eye, a book is in arms-reach. His eyes focused. A glance at Belfast, and the book. And once again. 

His position is making him very tense. So he leaned back on his chair. And he smoothly took the nearby book and started to look through it. 

"Oooh. Ironblood ship reports. Akashi doing god's work here." He casually said. As it got Belfast's attention.

"Master, are you finished with your food?" Belfast came near the Commander and tilted her head while walking there. 

He nodded. And then flipped a few pages to see Tirpitz's report. 

"Master... I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, but I forgot to tell you something." She said while looking through the still large pile of paperwork for the plate.

The statement widened Caster's eyes. A shiver throughout his body and his posture is back to its former tense position. And all focus lost on reading the book. 

"W-what is it...?" Caster said trying his damn best to keep his cool but his head is shaking a little bit at the question.

'My end is near... Her eyes just spot it immediately just like she spots dirt when she's cleaning my room.'

'I seriously hate this.' 

"It's a thing that I haven't told you since you got this position. And frankly, I feel like it's my fault for not telling you sooner," said Belfast as she got the plate. "And this might help you a lot as you are recovering, Master." 

Caster snapped back to his chill demeanor. And he was left a bit baffled with Belfast's statement. 'Something that I haven't learned yet? And can help me? Oh, please!' 

He looked at Belfast straight to her eyes. "That's interesting. May you share it?" 

The stare made Belfast avert her gaze from his face. She put the plate onto her face hiding her visible blush. "O-okay, Master. Let me clean this mess first." 

Good thing Caster didn't see anything as he kept reading the reports. And gaining valuable info about the Ironblood girls as Belfast goes out of the office to get his plate back to the cafeteria. 

By the time Belfast came back, Caster was already waiting for her statement on something that 'she didn't tell him before.'

"What is it, Bel?" A glance at her once again. Wanting answers. 

"Commander... There is a position in the fleet that is just as important as your position and complements it."

An intrigued Caster leaned forward on his desk to listen. 

"The secretary position." 

"Uh..." Caster muttered. Thinking this position isn't a big deal at all. 

Belfast saw the look on his face, she knows what he's feeling. 

"Commander," said Belfast making Caster pay attention to her again. 

"The secretary position is really important especially right now. Since Ms. Hood and Wales can't stay helping you with paperwork forever." 

In the most 'Caster' way possible... He closed the book in silence. He stared at it for a second. And onto his arm... 

...

"I see. Belfast, withdraw from the room, for now. I need room to think." Caster ordered Belfast. And she left to let him ruminate...

Belfast did so and just left Caster and that new thought. A 'secretary' position or whatever Belfast said, he has never heard of it before.

His thoughts zoned him out that he was just looking at the door. He snapped out of it though and he stared at his injured arm...

=================

The door snaps open. No one got hit by the door thankfully. As Caster is walking out. 

"Master!" Belfast blurted out to Caster. Who passed her as she was standing beside the door when she left the office. 

And with no words spoken right back, Belfast is forced to follow him. 

Leading her... To the cafeteria. 

The girls there are all doing their own little thing chatting and being girls but all went silent when they heard Belfast saying "Master!" repeatedly. The Commander is coming. 

As with Caster and Belfast, as he was coming up to the cafeteria entrance, he stopped abruptly. And Belfast caught off-guard. 

The Commander turned with an inconspicuous smile. 

"Belfast, you've given me a great idea. May I ask to step aside?" 

The maid followed and took a step back and bowed.

"Are you doing it, Master?" 

Caster froze from turning around. "More or less..."

=================

He showed up at the entrance of the cafeteria. And looking at the number of girls in that one place...

'I could have just used the megaphone to say this to the whole base...' He realized how stupid he is by not seeing a more convenient way around this. 

A sigh left his lips. 

"Girls." 

The already silent crowd of girls in the cafeteria were all now frozen by Caster's tone. It's all a given that his aura can scare the living hell out of everyone. 

"I have heard from Belfast that there is another position other than Commander in this fleet." He said in his uninspiring voice. The girls still listened. 

"The 'secretary' position or something. I have a good idea of what it is, And I'm more than sure that you all know likewise." He stroked his chin as he saw all of the different girl's reactions. 

"I am still in the recovery process, so I can't appoint anyone. So a compromise, if you will." 

The silence was making the room super tense. They are listening. Eagerly. 

"I'll be leaving that decision on who will be my secretary to you all. 24 hours deadline, starts now." He said before turning around and walked back to the office. 

Belfast lagged. Wanting to see the reactions of the girls to the drastic news. 

And all of the girls went ballistic. And are amazed and shocked at the news. Belfast was not surprised at all. 

But do you know what this means for the girls?

A position. That guarantees a spot that is always within close proximity of the Commander. And more interactions with him. A due to his reputation, his goofiness, singing talent, and lots of other rumors about him, that's a spot no one can pass up. 

And some... May fight and die for.

 =================

Caster knew from the start that he may regret this decision. He just wants everyone to keep it civil and not destroy the whole base in the process...

... And cannons can already be heard from the cafeteria where everyone else there went crazy after the announcement. 

A PR ship and a dynamic duo are going at it outside of the building's walls and settling something. 

No surprise, it was Roon vs Akagi and Kaga. Whom, in particular, got dragged into this fight because of 'sister goals'. 

Akagi turning all of her yandere switches on and has gone full 'sicko' mode for this spot. Saying that this is the guaranteed way to keep Caster all to herself and keeping other adversaries from ever coming near him ever again. 

And Roon... She can be caring, but her psychotic tendencies, her desire, and how far she'll willing to go is way farther than Akagi. 

The Aircraft Carrier and the Heavy Cruiser were giving it their all. Sliding side to side and even Akagi flying and launching an unprecedented amount of planes at the PR 'opposition'. 

Those two are in the zone and a world of their own. But with silence, watching from the sidelines, it's Kaga. Looking unmotivated to move at all. 

"What's the point?"  She said while yawning. 

Feeling the situation, she just left her sister on her own. Kaga, like her extraordinary sister, is also known to put passion in everything she does. 

And that's one of the main reasons why that the 1st Carrier Division rose so quickly into power. The tenacity together as a duo was only rivaled by a few in the same faction and even fewer outside of it. 

It has been a while since Kaga has seen some battles that she can revel in and enjoy. 

"What is even the point of fighting over this, sister...?" She lamented. "It's pointless." 

The sulking from the white fox was just the culmination of things that happened in the past and one recent decision. 

Since joining the Coalition, maybe Caster has not said this to them yet, but what he had in mind when the large factions join him again is not always obey his every command. 

Because he knew that the Sakura Empire had a working and flourishing hierarchy. He didn't want to break and force new habits onto these large factions. Fearing they might lag behind adjusting to the new environment. 

So with that, some confusion on both sides, and a lot of misunderstanding. Like the *upsetting* pattern that Caster would do on commission teams. 

He favored the Eagle Union and Royal Navy ships. And sometimes, the Sakura Empire would get their brief and rare cameo in a team. With barely any sign of stopping from him. 

As much Kaga wants to believe in the Commander, her instincts are telling her that their faction is getting ignored and overshadowed by their Eagle Union counterparts.

And it didn't help at all when with Operation: Snowstorm, he chose to sortie with the 5th Carrier Division. Zuikaku and Shoukaku. It helped with the 'ignoring' problem but left Akagi and Kaga to lose out on battles that with their passion, could certainly change some outcomes if they were there instead. 

And since Caster choosing the 5th Carrier Division, and leaving them to do the boring tasks, Kaga has more or less mellowed out her outlook on battles.

So seeing Akagi fight so hard for that spot, it's not that she disagrees, she always has approved every move from her sister. But in her mind, she knows that the Eagle Union and Royal Navy girls are much more likely to be chosen than the Sakura Empire girls. 

So her usual intensity isn't there. But for a moment, she clutches her fists.

"He completely ignores us." 

"And that pisses me off." 

=================

"This announcement has come out of nowhere... We certainly didn't saw this coming." 

We're back in the cafeteria. With much of the calmer, and more civil members of the fleet. 

"Hood, did you felt that this was coming? You and Wales were both in the office earlier, right?" asked Yorktown. With Juneau behind her helping with wheelchair duties for now. 

"My mind was only on the papers, I must say. That's why I needed so much tea earlier." Hood sat back trying to relax a bit more before going back to the office. Sipping her 10th cup of tea. 

"Likewise from me, too. Commander is such an unpredictable person. I wonder how did he even get that idea from." 

A-kun: She may wanna give those planes some space...

"Let's just hope he's paying more attention this time. Being injured and holding this is not a good short-term decision." 

"I do hope so, Ranger," Yorktown replied. Passing her teacup to Juneau to have a taste of the Royal Navy's tea. 

=================

"Commander is sure spicing up the fleet to a ten. Even Akagi and Kaga-senpai are outside fighting." Zuikaku ate her tempura gleefully. With her sister watching.

"Are you sure are they gonna be okay...?" She spoke softly.

"I don't think even we can stop those two from fighting... So let them be... " Shoukaku just gave up on the idea of stopping the fighting. 

"I wanna be with milord! Will you let me?" Yamashiro spoke up among them. With directed all attention to her. 

"I have no interest in the position. Go for it, Yamashiro-chan." Takao stated her opinion on the matter. 

=================

"I feel like Javelin would try this..." Z23 sat there with her fellow faction girls. 

"I'm sure it will be wonderful, besides, I feel like he needs every bit of help he can get." Eugen looked at the awareness-filled Destroyer. "Join with your fellow friends if you like, I just have no interest in it right now."

"We have no power over your decision. But I'm more than sure that we will be ecstatic when you get that spot. Go for it." Graf Zepplin advised Z23. 

"Yes. Es wird wundervoll sein." said Tirpitz. Nodding slightly. 

=================

"This pen is about to lose all of its ink..." Caster mumbled while he was looking at his pen not doing his paperwork. Since... It's gonna have no ink soon. 

He sat straight up and peered over the papers to see anyone there. Hood or Wales, perhaps. 

"Where are you looking, desu?" 

Caster got spooked real bad that he almost jumped out of his seat. He snapped his head behind him to see who the hell it was. 

It was Ayanami. Together with the other 3 starters. Laffey, Javelin, and Z23. 

And it put Caster at a moment of disbelief. On how he did not saw them coming from the side as he was looking straight at the door and the couches. 

Most of the 4 didn't react but Javelin was pretty darn close to laughing at the poor Commander. 

"I was looking at the door. And yet, you 4 got behind me? Is there something you're not telling me?" 

"Are you sure you're okay, Commander? Because we just walked up behind you." Z23 answered for the 4. Baffled on why Caster would even ask this. 

Accepting that he made himself look like a fool, he just turned his chair to them as the 4 sat on his bed facing him. 

Caster laid back on his chair. "So, what do you want from me? Something about the announcement?" His eyes sharpen on the 4. 

"Yes, Commander! Us 4 want that position!" Javelin nodded. 

"Us 4 will be more than enough, desu," Ayanami added. 

A-kun: Have I mentioned that this is Ayanami's first full sentence? I may be wrong, but I am sure wronged Ayanami so badly for so long. 

Z23 was hesitant to join in. But gave in. 

"I can be very sure that us 4 will help you in all matters. You have our words for it, Commander." 

Caster was unaffected by their words but he was grateful that these 4 went out of their way to go to him directly. He doesn't get much of those except for a few. 

"C-Commander... hic." 

His eyes widen as he looked to his right. It was Laffey, drunk? From all the 'cola' she has been drinking all day. She was all over the place and laying her head on Nimi's since she was next to her. 

"We would help you so much... hic... And... We would do a-a-anythi-" Laffey drunkenly said before getting interrupted by Z23 and Javelin by covering her mouth. 

Caster was surprised by the reaction and was curious about Laffey's statement. And it threw his mind to all sorts of places which he shook his head violently to snap out of it. 

What's more surprising in Caster's eyes is Ayanami just sitting still with no reaction nor emotion. Just staring at something. 

And when it finally calmed down, Javelin had one more statement to say. 

"All of the other girls would say also that they will help you with everything, Commander. But we have something better than that!" Javelin exclaimed. 

"We want that position not just because we can lo- I mean, bond with us, it's because we'll protect you from the many girls in this base that resorts to violence," Javelin added... Which gave Caster a new perspective on the matter.

It's not like he did not know some of the 'girl's' tendencies, he was aware, but he did not know that the secretary position could be viewed as a 'bodyguard' position also.

Now her reasoning was more effective. Making him consider the starters a lot more now. 

'But it's way too early...' Caster thought about an early appointment. Especially when he announced it a few hours ago and if he did choose now, it would be looked at as an 'asshole' move since he didn't let everybody else have a chance. 

So he held off for now. But with a caveat. 

That the longer that this 24-hour nomination process gets, there may be more fights and it will inevitably lead to demoralizing the girls.

But that's a risk he's willing to take.

"No promises, but I've considered all 4 of you."

================

Since the injury to the Commander, there has been someone that had been 'MIA' for a couple of days...

Enterprise.

The ace of the Eagle Union has not been present. Hell, Akagi was there when Caster's fleet arrived and the 2nd fleet came back not too long after.

Wherever she is right now, she's living up to her nickname.

=================

"Nothing much happening inside... My roommates are noisy too..."

Due to annoyances in her dorm room, Independence decided to go outside with her weapon. Looking for something to do with or without the bow. Just to get her out of her boredom.

Walking down the pathways, looking over the ocean, she bumped into a pole, making her flinch, and took steps back.

"Ow..." She held her head as she stood up immediately.

She raised her head to see what she bumped into...

"A target range..." She took a glance at what she's looking at. Some light poles, some tents, and targets in the distance, the longest one reaching the beaches.

Then she remembered that Cleveland told her that there's an archery practice range that the Grey Ghost personally built before Caster arrived.

"Enterprise built this..." She mumbled. Looking a bit dazed as she was still processing that Enterprise built this range.

She gripped her bow's handle.

Anything related to Enterprise is considered a 'legend' in out of itself. The stories, what she did to uphold the Coalition.

But this place was a bit of an outlier. Up to this point, no one has said the name: Enterprise and building in the same sentence.

So this place was 'sacred' to most people. And was not taken down for the longest time. Any damage it sustained, someone or Enterprise herself would fix it.

With this 'sacred' thing put into the mind of Independence, she took position on the medium-range target range, winded up her bow... And let go.

"Bullseye..." She smiled that she hit center 1st try.

Then another thought came to her. For being such a prominent ship in this Coalition, Independence hasn't seen Enterprise. Not once since she arrived.

Not even her Eagle has been seen for a few days now.

She looked at her bow... "She trained here. She got better here..."

The gap between Enterprise and everyone else in her faction was staggering that she alone made the Eagle Union and the 2nd generation of Azur Lane so much more prominent.

And since Independence's inception into this world, and as she took up to archery, many unsurprisingly started to connect her with Enterprise even she was a completely different class of CV's.

It was jarring for her, but as she learned about the greatest ship of the Eagle Union, she not only admired her more but it made her realize the harsh reality of expectations put on her.

Just because the bow that she chose for fighting, whether it was intentional or not, most of Enterprise's expectations as a fledgling CV was also put on Independence.
Like there are expecting the same result.

The good thing is, she learned how to live and ignore it. But even her closest friends would not stop saying it as well.

And when she first saw Caster for the 1st time, she was observant in him. And clearly, he showed curiosity on her bow and instantly knew without even thinking about it too much.

"I'm not a worthy successor." She murmured to herself as she winded her now once again.

With a new sense of inspiration... She decided... 

"But I'll set an example for my sisters." 

"And this place is gonna be the beginning." 

================

7 AM. Hood and Wales are coming back to the office for their last 2-hour shift before they go back to their dorms. 

And as they were walking, the 2 got some terrible news and were prepared to tell Caster as soon as they get into the office.  

In more 'not the Hood I know' moments, she burst into the office without knocking. 

And Caster was there on his chair... The 3 share an awkward stare... 

The protocol is Caster is supposed to be on his bed at this time. No excuses. Hood and Wales were about to finish them all for the day. 

"Commander... We just saw you..." said Wales who is very annoyed at him. 

Caster put down his guitar next to his desk... With both of the girls confused. 

'Is he planning to play that guitar with one hand?' Both of them thought.

Completely acting like a child, he turned his head to stare at Hood and angry Wales and immediately turned his head around facing the window, and he leaped onto his bed. 

Wales looked even more annoyed. But she turned her head to face Hood. 

She turned around and she saw her cusp her cheeks. 

Hood's face was heating up. As she thought Caster doing that is so uncharacteristic of him and adorable. (Even with him breaking protocol.)

'Okay... If I can see that type of behavior from him every day, I have no problem being a secretary for the Commander.'

You see, aside from that obsessive vibes that statement is emanating, Hood was being respectful enough to not step in to be a candidate for being Caster's secretary. She already had her fair share of interactions with Caster and she is a busy woman. 

But with that single interaction made her question everything. And now second-guessing.

And Wales already knew just from a stare. Hood looked at her in response and looked away after. 

'That's a dead giveaway...' Wales thought.

But enough foolishness, the work must go on. But first, Wales called Caster to get his attention. 

"We have terrible news connecting to this nomination of secretary," Wales stated. 

Caster rolled on his bed to face the 2 girls. Wales unfazed, but Hood was close to a heart attack. 

She took a deep breath. Then almost let out a chuckle. 

"There was a bit of 'infighting' among Roon and Akagi... They were fighting outside of the base since 2 PM.

The look of disappointment plastered on Caster's face was to be expected. But it's not like he didn't saw this coming either. But Wales is not done yet. 

"And it got so bad that they got so far away from the base, and they ran out of oil. Which they were stranded." She concluded the report. 

Wales sat down on the couch trying her damn best to not smile at the news. As it was ridiculous as it sounds. 

Akagi was getting helped back by Kaga and Z23 and Friedrich went out and got Roon. 

Hood smiled also and Caster was in the same situation as Wales. Trying to keep a serious face without laughing. 

He laid on his bed, looking at the ceiling... Then a question arose. 

"I have a question, girls." 

Hood and Wales heard it and stood up to go in front of Caster's desk and looked at Caster on his bed. 

"Is this 'secretary' position really worth fighting for? Is it really that important?" 

The Royal girls shared a stare. Wales looked more serious so Hood stepped back from answering. 

"I, for one, don't care. But here's what I can assure you."

"It may not matter to some, but it means everything to others." 

There's something that Caster appreciated from Wales since the start. Not twisting words and telling him the truth immediately. 

The statement rang through Caster's head. As he broadened his view of the nomination. 

He looked at the time. 

It has been near 12 hours since the announcement. And knowing the stakes that the girls *suddenly* have with the prospect of being with him near 24/7, which Caster didn't get bothered by as long as the girl was serious enough to help him, but he needs to put his jurisdiction on this matter immediately or the girls will keep fighting and damage morale.  

And with this thought, he found a solution. 

"Wales, I heard that you're neutral in this matter, yes?" Caster asked in his serious voice. The pressure in the room gets more prevalent. 

Wales is not new to this. And she prepared to be calm. 

"From this point on..." 

And both Hood and Wales were intrigued. And with the secretary position still up in the air, they listened twice as hard on what Caster is about to say.  

"I ask of you to be my adviser..." 

Silence...

...

...

Hood's eyes widen. And Wales was plenty surprised as well. Not expecting to turn out this way. 

But a question immediately popped up. 

"Commander, is being an 'adviser' is basically being a 'secretary'?" asked Wales. Making Hood perk up. 

If Wales's question was true, she would lose the spot... But it's her best friend... But it's also Caster. And at this point, let's just say she's fallen too deep. 

"I have no idea for that answer, Wales. But there's one thing I can answer. This position is different from the 'secretary' position." 

"So... Technically, I haven't chosen a secretary yet." He said, smiling. Hoping they can understand his reasoning.

A curious move...

And Hood breathed a sigh of relief. And knowing if she wins the spot, she will be with Wales. So it won't be awkward at all! 

After some silence, she raised her head about to say something. 

But Caster is already tucked inside of his blanket. Very tired from the workday and the stress that his announcement is giving him all day round. 

================

Early morning... 7 AM... 23 hours have passed since the announcement. 

Caster has already woken up 2 hours ago. And the stress from yesterday sure persisted to this morning as it also interrupted his usual sleep.

 Belfast was already awake also at the time where Caster first woke up. Already feeling that this would happen to the Commander.

She already prepared some food and some well-needed choco coffee. 

And Caster has been left alone in his office as he was panicking. He wanted to remedy it with exercising, but injured shoulder and his heart attack could 'attack' at any moment. So that wasn't a good idea. 

He also realized that if he keeps panicking and stressing out, the heart attack likeliness is gonna go up and he might not live another day. 

So in response, he imagined himself talking to the girls about the nomination. Or basically, he's doing 'mock' conversations to calm his nerves. 

And he kept babbling un-supervised for an hour until the time arrived... 

9 AM...

The time has finally dawned on him. He sat back on his chair, with Belfast behind him sitting on his bed. 

"Master... You know, I can just announce it to the whole fleet for you." She suggested. But Caster has mustered up some courage to just do it himself. 

He got out the microphone that can talk to the whole fleet from his office. 

He tapped the mic to see if it was working. It is...

"Everybody... Who is awake, go to my office. You know the drill." He announced to the whole fleet... 

He put back his mic on where he got it and sat back with Belfast beside him. And she's shoulder massaging him to calm down. 

His nerves were fine, but his heart sure wasn't. As it was almost beating out of his chest. 

And it didn't help that he was hearing the collective footsteps from the girls going to the office. 

For one more act to try to calm down, he looked away from the door and to his lap. And he closed his eyes and took deep breaths...

And after he hears the murmurs from the girls, he opened his eyes. And he is very surprised. 

He can't believe that so much of the girls are now awake and more are on the way. But his eyes didn't show the emotion. 

He was for a lack of a better term, 'stone-cold'. 

"24 hours have passed... I am now willing to see the nominee of the position." 

In a moment that was surprising even for Caster, no one did anything. There was just an awkward stare at each other. Some girls wanted to step up but were blocked by other girls or just were shy, but believe, everyone wanted to make an effort into this since well, the Commander is injured, and not helping him will be a bit of disrespect. 

Caster just thought about what he's going to ask next with this awkward silence. But he's just going straight to the problem.

"I must ask, did all of you, well, not ALL, but did you, girls, talk this out like normal people? Without any fighting?" 

The Akagi vs Roon news spread like wildfire among the fleet. But the bravery of some girls was starting to muster. 

And through the staring and hesitating, some girls were making their way up to the front of the room. 

And Independence gets her way up to the front of everyone. With Caster very curious. Since this is their 2nd time interacting. 

"Commander, I'm not gonna twist this, but I want that position. Though I'm a newcomer, I feel we can go far with our drive and passion combined." She declared in a shocked crowd of girls. 

A smile grew on Caster's face. And he got a great idea. 

"Anyone who isn't ready for the position, you can leave, the courageous that is willing to make their case, please stay. I'm willing to work with anyone and everyone." 

Many people liked the idea of being the secretary with Caster... But just like humans, they are busy with their own things too.

So one by one, and to dozens upon dozens of girls left the room. Until it, all funneled down to 6 candidates. 

The 6 Candidates: 

1.) Hood

2.) Zuikaku

3.) Independence

4.) Long Island

5.) Z23, Javelin, Laffey, and Ayanami. (4 Starters.)

6.) Yamashiro

And if you are wondering, Akagi and Roon were both fatigued from the non-stop battle yesterday. And so they are sleeping the nomination. Sad.

Caster sure got some unexpected faces into this lineup. Zuikaku and Yamashiro? And Long Island?! When did she decide that she would be running for this position?

================

'I wanna help...' Long Island pondered... 'But how will I do that?' 

================

His mind cleared and ready, he declared: "Make your cases." 

Each of the girls had almost speech-long reasoning on why he should choose them rather than the others. 

So the 1st phase took very, very long. 

And finally, after Hood uttered her last word, it's finally done. 

'Damn... Another decision that I hate to be in...' He thought. Looking at the 6 candidates... 

"Okay... After a bit of thinking, I have come to a conclusion." 

All of the girls get tense. Especially the 4 starters. With Javelin's legs trembling and holding to Ayanami. Fearing that they might not be chosen. 

"Independence." 

All of the girl's eyes widen. But before any reaction come from the girls, Caster isn't done yet. 

"But there is a catch." He said before raising his finger. 

"Since I think I've done more bad than good with this decision, with some girls fighting. And not resolving issues with words." He expressed his regret for his lack of foresight on what this decision could bring. 

And fully knew that he acted completely on instinct when he announced it. 

"And since you were all courageous enough to stand before me... 

"No one loses. All of you girls standing here, are all gonna be my secretaries." He said... Before his eyes are starting to get drowsy...

And before any of the girls could process what has happened, Caster is now sound asleep in his chair. 

All of the candidates and Belfast was stunned. Everyone who wanted to get the position, they all reasoned with him. But in the end,

He chose everyone. 

But the question again: "How are they gonna 'share'?" 

A-kun: My god, this 'special' chapter IS NUTS. I did not expect this to get this large of a word count. Okay, I'm going to have a month break, bye! (jk lul)

Word Count: 5752 Words.

11:23 PM
19/10/20