Yet again, silence overtook the lecture room. Everyone sat and absorbed everything she told them about her first battle, how many men had fallen to her Halberd, and how many had pure, primal fear etched onto their corpses as they breathed their last.

The distant look in her eyes cemented the thought everyone was already believing since earlier, and they thought it wasn't even possible. Großer Kurfürst, the bastion of Human strength, the primordial Shipgirl, the woman many could hail as a living God...was absolutely terrified.

She was suffering as she retold these stories, even the most distant of them could tell as much. "Miss Kurfürst...has the War truly done you in so horribly?"

"...It is less so the war itself, and more what it told me." She was looking at her hands again, staring at the reflective sheen on her armor.

She blinked, and they were covered in blood and gore, before she blinked again in a frenzy to clear it. "The war is a large part of my Shellshock, but it isn't the part I fear."

"Then...what is it you fear?"

She couldn't blame them for being curious, but she felt so exposed right now, telling of her constant memories of those horrid days. But that was no lie, the war and the constant danger isn't what set her off...

"Girls, what I fear the most isn't an enemy I cannot conquer, not is it even my death that I fear. I...I fear myself more than anything."

...

"Y...yourself?"

"Yes...you know of it now, how I was once a human being, and by that, I was raised with different principles and different ideals than all of you."

She swept her hand across the room. "You were all born ships, made ships, to be ships. I have done my best to humanize you, and I am glad my efforts have born fruit with the great character you all show today."

Her positive compliment then turned to a more sorrowful form. "However, that also means that you are all built to kill, seeing it as the main option for you to do battle. I, who was born human, raised human, and believed for so long to be human...killing wasn't in my full mind until those very days."

...

Drip

Many couldn't believe their eyes, seeing the water drop to the floor underneath her. Kurfürst was softly crying, her eyes shaking, but her posture unmoving.

"Those days...I learned just how powerful I was, and how flimsy my compatriots were. All of you know that you can easily kill a human, you be were born with that knowledge...but can you imagine the thought that one day, you became so grossly powerful, that the slightest wrong move could result in a casualty of your own people?"

She wiped away the tears. "Those were the thoughts plaguing me for many years, not even during the peaceful times did it stop. I wasn't afraid of my enemy, nor was I afraid of death, I was afraid of what I could do if I just...let go."

Click!

Her eyes snapped to the sound, seeing Friedrich turning off the recording device. "I do believe you need a break for now dear sister, you're shaking like a leaf."

"N-No, this story needs to be told-"

"And it can be told when you're of right mind again. For now, we should return to your home and rest."

Kurfürst looked down to her shaking hands, taking a deep breath and slowing it somewhat. Friedrich was right, she wasn't fairing well in the moment, and a good amount of rest will settle her.

"You're right...I haven't told much of this yet, but I suppose it can wait for when I'm able of mind." She stood from her chair, Friedrich by her side immediately and making sure she didn't stumble over her own two feet.

Kurfürst went to thank her, but another arm wrapped itself around her, and she turned to see Ulrich also helping her stand up. "Ulrich?"

"I...wish to help my older sister." She gave a very small smile as she said that, which Friedrich was happy to see herself as Kurfürst merely took her hand away and wrapped her in a hug. "I don't mind it Ulrich, every thought counts."
——

The trio had moved from the lecture hall to the cafeteria, grabbing cups of hot chocolate and food to eat as they sat and calmed. Friedrich and Ulrich were sat across from Kurfürst, who noted the similarities of the two.

'Friedrich is certainly taller and is more well endowed, but Ulrich seems...almost sharper than her with those eyes and her much more lithe appearance.'

"Hm? Something upsetting you sister?" Kurfürst blinked, seeing Friedrich and Ulrich looking at her.

"Oh...it's nothing, just noting the similarities you two share."

They looked at each other, then back to her as Friedrich spoke first. "We do look very similar don't we?"

"It's almost strange to me, how I'm the smallest of us, yet I share much in common with both of you."

"What do you mean by that Ulrich?"

Ulrich looked first to Friedrich. "I share much of my actual colors and features with you Friedrich, including my horns."

She then looked over to Kurfürst. "However, I have the sharp features and tough looks of Kurfürst."

"You...aren't wrong on that, I see much of our eldest in you Ulrich, especially with how you treat others."

The smallest of the three (but not by much) looked up to Friedrich with an eyebrow raised. Friedrich only smiled before taking a sip of the cocoa. "You are incredibly helpful to anyone who needs it, and you seem to do it like it's second nature, much like Kurfürst."

With the passive face she always had, Ulrich stared down at her cocoa. "It's merely my way of making up to my symbols. Hope and regret are two sides of the same coin, and I am not going to be drowned in the latter if I can manage it so."

"A noble goal Ulrich, but you have to remember to moderate yourself. If you run yourself into the ground, how are you going to be able to keep your dream alive? How will you see your goal to the end if you can't stand on your legs to do it?"

Kurfürst's message seemed to burrow into Ulrich, and soon, she looked up to her eldest sister. "I know not to do that, but if the day ever comes where I can no longer go on, where my body fails to push me forward through this poison...I have you two to carry my hopes forward."

"Well said!" Friedrich gave her a hug, one she gingerly returned, all the while Kurfürst simply smiled.

Their relationship grew quite a bit over the last several months, and they only really started to grow close after the winter of last year. She even saved a picture of their first time out as family...speaking of.

Kurfürst reached into her neck space, fiddling around for a moment before latching into the very picture, and pulling it out to view it.

'Ah...memories...'

"Sister? What is that photo about?"

She just smiled and turned it around, giving a quick laugh at the suddenly red faces of her younger sisters.

'I love being the oldest...'
—————

Back at her house, she was readying herself to sleep for the night, knowing that tomorrow she would need to continue telling of the harrowing tales and many different things that have occurred during her time during the Great War. Her bed was fluffed and comfy, and she collapsed right into it once she was done freshening for sleep.

"Oww!"

...Except it was occupied.

She sprang up, her instincts going high as she tore the covers away and revealed the person inside.

"...Bismarck?"

Turns out, her daughter had come over and decided to nap in her bed, unfortunately, she napped on Kurfürst's side of the bed, and was practically crushed under her mother's much higher weight and size. "Y-Yes...oww..."

"What in the world were you doing there? On my side especially?"

"I-I think I rolled over here on accident..."

Kurfürst only sighed, moving Bismarck to the other end before getting on the bed herself, cozying under the blanket and burying her head in a pillow. She always adored the modern day luxuries, especially the beds.

Back then, even during her times as Otto's assistant, there weren't beds half as comfortable as the one she currently owned. Oh how Otto would be frothing to get one for his terrible sleep issues!

Her comical thoughts were interrupted, when she felt the bed shifting around as Bismarck moved. This song and dance has been performed so many times, that she already knew what was to come.

Her right arm opened up, and soon, she felt Bismarck slowly lay on it, to which she curled and hugged her eldest daughter close. Ever since she was young, she had this side of her, one reserved only to Kurfürst, seeing as she's the source of its existence.

That thing is Bismarck's clinginess.

"Dear, you're thirty years old, when will you grow out of this habit of yours?"

"I hope I never do." She snuggled closer to her mother, laying her head on the pillow while Kurfürst's arm acted as a brace for her neck.

"What happened to that valiant and powerful lord of 'Ironblood' hm?"

That was all it took for Bismarck's face time glow red, as she looked away from Kurfürst. "I-I told you! It was a majority vote!"

"A vote that ended in a horrible name, and in the end, it was entirely up to you to actually make the choice."

...

Kurfürst didn't bug her more about it, but did pull her closer and gave her a welcome hug. "Don't worry dear, I understand the pressure that came with the position. The name was terrible, but you didn't want to lose your favor."

"...How did you ever manage to deal with things like that?"

"What? Command of a large force?"

Bismarck nodded, and Kurfürst looked up to the ceiling in thought. "I...suppose I simply did. I did what was asked of me, and went above the call to make sure each plan took the least amount of lives as possible."

"Can...I ever achieve something like that?"

She merely smiled at her daughter, booping her nose. "I'm sure you can. You're a natural leader Bismarck, you simply doubt yourself too much. Learn to hold your head higher than any other, and people will come in droves to assist and follow you."

She raised her finger, hovering it over the lamp at the bedside. "I suppose a quote from something you've seen before would help quite a bit for this won't it?"

"A quote...from what? A video game?"

"Indeed, a quote of a ruler who I believe to be one of the wiser I've seen in gaming."

She cleared her throat, turning off the light and finally hugging Bismarck closer to sleep.

"Seek Strength, the rest...will follow."