Seeing that no one else was stepping forward, Illustrious sighed, raised her hand, and said, "Um, if you're looking for a Mechanics Master, I am one."
The crowd looked surprised. "Why is it you again?! You just settled the trouble of Taihou blocking the ruins gate, and now it turns out you're a Mechanics Master too? What on earth is the background of this Ship Girl?"
Dido was delighted to see someone finally step forward. Seeing it was Illustrious, she wasn't too surprised. After all, a Ship Girl who could get rid of the Legendary Ship Girl Taihou wouldn't be an ordinary Ship Girl. Still, it was better to confirm. "Illustrious, right? Are you really a Mechanics Master?"
"Speaking of which, isn't your Admiral with you?" Dido looked at the two Ship Girls and noticed Illustrious holding Ayanami's hand, with no Admiral close to her in sight. She asked curiously.
"I am the Admiral. This is my Ship Girl, Ayanami," Illustrious explained.
"Eh? Aren't you a Ship Girl? How can you be an Admiral? Can Ship Girls be Admirals now? What's going on?" Dido covered her mouth and spoke in surprise.
"My situation is a bit special, but I am indeed an Admiral." To make the other party believe she wasn't lying, Illustrious even took out her admirals certificate from her rigging space to show Dido.
The crowd was also astonished that Illustrious was an Admiral, and they began to whisper among themselves.
"That Illustrious is so strange. She's clearly a Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier Ship Girl, yet she says she's an Admiral."
"Exactly! And did you see? She even took out an admirals certificate. Has the world changed? Since when can Ship Girls become Admirals?"
"I heard a popular post on the Pacific Ocean Admiral Academy's forum before. It said there was a classmate who was a Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier, Illustrious, and that she enrolled with an S-rank soul network. Could it be her?"
"Hiss! An S-rank soul network? That's terrifying! You know, the Pacific Ocean Governor is also an S-rank soul network user!"
After seeing that the photo on the admirals certificate was indeed Illustrious, Dido had no choice but to believe that Illustrious was an Admiral!
After all, an admirals certificate couldn't be faked. Although she was surprised that a Ship Girl could be an Admiral, it wasn't important. What mattered was whether she was a Mechanics Master and whether she could open this door!
So Dido cleared her throat and said, "Whether you're an Admiral or a Ship Girl, if you're really a Mechanics Master, then I'll leave this door to you!"
"No problem!" Illustrious walked up to Dido holding Ayanami's hand and said with a relaxed expression, "Ayanami! I'll leave her in your care for a moment!"
"Sure! Come here, Ayanami-chan, let big sister give you a hug!" Seeing Ayanami's cute but expressionless face, Dido immediately felt the urge to pull her into her arms.
"Don't use your dirty hands to hug me, yes!" Ayanami pressed her hand against Dido's face as she rushed over, blocking Dido's harassment with a look of disgust.
"Waaaah! Ayanami, you're so heartless. Big sister just wanted to show you some care." Dido took out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes, but without a single tear, she would occasionally peek at Ayanami.
"Since you're getting along so well, I won't worry about you, Ayanami! Stay with Big Sister Dido while I go open the door first." Illustrious patted Ayanami's head; her soft hair felt comfortable to the touch.
Feeling her head being patted by her Admiral, Ayanami didn't get angry. Instead, she narrowed her eyes comfortably like a kitten, looking as if she were enjoying it very much.
"Ah! I want to pat Ayanami-chan's head too!" Dido said with an envious look.
"Ayanami-chan, can you let me pat it too? Please." Dido put her hands together in a pleading gesture.
"As for you, don't even think about it, yes!" Ayanami flatly refused.
"Ah! Don't be like that, Ayanami-chan! Just once, okay? I'll be satisfied with just one pat." Dido continued to pester Ayanami.
But Ayanami didn't respond and simply ignored Dido, making her even more upset.
After patting Ayanami's head, Illustrious walked to the ruins gate. Looking at the patterns on the door, she analyzed them in her mind, thinking about how to arrange them in the correct positions to open the gate.
After a short while, as Illustrious analyzed the patterns, a 'ding' went off in her head. She knew how to solve it! She began moving the patterns on the gate with her hands, constantly rearranging their positions.
Seeing Illustrious moving the patterns and constantly rearranging them, time passed minute by minute. The crowd began to grow impatient and started whispering again.
"Is this Illustrious up to the task? It's been over half an hour, and she's still not done!"
"Exactly! Who knows if she can even open it. By the way, are ruins gates always this hard to open?"
"I think this Illustrious is a fraud. If she can open this ruins gate, I'll eat this door."
Hearing the crowd's comments about her, and even some people shouting for her to come down if she couldn't do it and not waste everyone's time.
Even so, Illustrious did not get frustrated. Her mind was as calm as the surface of a still lake. With sweat on her forehead, Illustrious focused on moving the patterns and arranging them into the correct positions.
Seeing their Admiral working so hard to open the gate, only to be distrusted and loudly urged to come down by these people.
Ayanami's expressionless face finally couldn't be maintained, and she immediately exploded. Her face flushed red as she pulled out her ship-slaying sword, pointing it at the crowd below and roaring, "If you're so capable, why don't you do it yourselves! Your noise is interfering with the Admiral opening the door. If anyone makes another sound, I'll cut them down, I say!"
Startled by Ayanami's roar, the crowd instantly quieted down. If they knew Mechanics, they would have stepped up long ago! There was no need for her to say it, but the key was that they didn't know Mechanics!
"Hmph! A mere Gold-Plated Ship Girl dares to be so arrogant! Do you even show me any respect?" Königsberg said to Ayanami with a face full of disdain.
"Then do you want to test my strength, I say!" Facing Königsberg, this Five-Star Epic Ship Girl, Ayanami didn't show the slightest hint of fear, speaking with a calm, expressionless face.
"What big words! Then I'll have to see what you're made of!" Seeing Ayanami's lack of respect, Königsberg immediately wanted to go up and teach her a lesson.
Seeing the explosive atmosphere between the two, the crowd grew excited. They're going to fight! They're going to fight!
However, no one in the crowd believed Ayanami could win against Königsberg. After all, the power of a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl was no joke! With Ayanami's strength as a Gold-Plated Ship Girl, she would likely be knocked to the ground in a single blow!
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