- Alicization Dividing Interlude IV 16 defense forces weren’t an army, so the ships they owned wouldn’t be warships, or so logic would dictate, huh. In other words, the ship visible on the other side of the window would be… Asuna turned her eyes towards the window once again and stared hard at the linear silhouette of the large ship as she spoke. “Then, that’s… not a warship, but erm, a Japan defense ship…?” “That’s close. Vessels belonging to the maritime self-defense forces are termed escort ships.” Nakanishi gave a toothed smile, then turned his own eyes towards the faraway ship and continued. “That ship is a newly manufactured destroyer, DD-127 «Nagato»1. As for why it cruises around this sea region, unfortunately, I am not at liberty to…… hmm…?” His clear words cut off unnaturally and Asuna looked at Nakanishi’s face before she returned her sight to the sea. When she did, the grey warship—no, escort ship just happened to start changing its direction. Turning its stern towards the Ocean Turtle in less than ten seconds, it continued off into the distance. Having seen that, Nakanishi stood up without warning and turned his back to Asuna and Rinko, taking out a nondescript portable terminal from his pocket. Putting it to his ear in a nimble motion, he began speaking in a soft voice. “Lieutenant Colonel Kikuoka, I apologize for disturbing your rest, this is Nakanishi. However, regarding «Nagato», was it not supposed to be escorting this ship until 1200 the day after tomorrow… no, it changed course towards the west just a… yes, I’ll be immediately there.” 1 DD-127 in the real world is Isoyuki, a Hatsuyuki-class destroyer. However, the real question is why DD-128 wasn’t used instead…