I died and was reincarnated as Warship in a fantasy world

Our sailing to the north continued for an entire week.

The further we pierced into the unsurveyed cold waters, the more ice we were encountering. With every passing mile, the chunks of ice were becoming larger and larger. So was the layer of frozen water on the ship.

The gun barrels were decorated with long icicles, and the deck was as slippery, as if it was covered in oil.

The inhabitants of the ship were barely leaving the insides. Only the brave seagulls pretended not to care about the frozen air, even though more than half of them was sitting by the second torpedo mount and trying to warm each other.

“Just who would be so crazy, so as to travel this deep into the Arctic?” I wondered if Yuriko has any idea.

“The last time I heard of what is going on in the bigger world was… You can guess how long ago.” Seeing that she has no idea, I shifted my gaze to Patricia.

“The North is cold, barren, and only polar bears and seals live here. Nobody cares about those waters, not to mention that nobody even tries to sail here. It makes no sense to waste time here.” (P)

While the sun was approaching the horizon, I accepted the fact that this might be a useless trip.

In the morning I was woken up by Yuriko.

The woman was in the same worn out kimono, which was patched more than once, however, her shoulder was now decorated with a polished tsurugi.

“If somebody said that it can be restored, I would’ve laughed.”

“Wake up faster, Doll. My time is precious, so is my will.” I wondered what she is talking about but I obediently followed her, until we went outside of the ship.

The ship was coated in morning fog.

“Though my skills may be rusty, I can teach you some moves. You once asked me if I know some skills, so here I am. Have you forgotten your own request…?” I smiled apologetically, and immediately followed her to the bow. The deck there was somewhat free, unlike in other places.

Yuriko looked rusty indeed, she was sluggish and frequently had her strikes done wrong.

[Not that is helps me…]

Instead of an assured victory against her, I was beaten again and again. The awkward moves were quickly turning into precise strikes, as the muscle memory was awakening from slumber. From slumber was as well awakening Yuriko herself.

From the sidelines I was hearing Patricia’s murmurs, as she appraised our skills.

“You have potential, Doll. Now, I wish to see what this Child is capable of.” Without saying a word Patricia drew her sword, and took a stance. The European stance somewhat surprised Yuriko but the fight was as one sided, as was mine.

“So, Yuriko, how am I?” Patricia played her muscles for a bit.

“Weak. You both are weak. Should an actually capable opponent appear, you both are doomed.” (Y)

While both of us were coming up with excuses and retorts…

‘BOM’

‘SCREECH’

The entire ship shook, and stopped.

The three of us bent over the bow railings, and silently screamed.

We hit a huge mass of ice, and all of the way forward was ice. Even a nuclear icebreaker would get stuck here, or so I thought.

[Stats! Stats! STATS!]

‘Ding’

‘Warning! Hull integrity at critical level!’

‘Warning! Multiple hull breaches detected!’

‘Warning! Hull breaches below the waterline!’

‘Warning!...’

‘Warning!...’

‘Warning!...’

IJN Kuronami – DDL. Upgrade points – 2.

Torpedoes – 0/6.

HP – 1595.

HI – 11%. [Sinking imminent!]

AU – 58%(1741nm).

For a couple of minutes we stood still, fearing to move even a muscle.

The sinking gauge was not filling, so I hoped we actually got stuck and are not going down.

The only sound we were hearing was the sound of seagulls cawing above.

We exchanged glances, and without saying a word headed to pick up some things.

We will surely sink, if we try to move the ship, so we will be continuing on foot.

Nobody mentioned their opinion of what has happened.

Nobody said a word, as if there was nothing worth mentioning.

We only followed the seagulls, as they led us deeper into the glacier. Soon, the ice field started rising, and we reached a frozen island, where we finally let ourselves rest for a bit.

“I wish we could light a fire here…” (P)

“This place is too barren to even have a single branch. We can be burning the clothes but I doubt any of you is desperate enough for this.” (Y)

Even though we were talking, and sometimes laughing, nobody said a single word about the shipwreck.

Since nothing has happened. Nothing at all.