"It seems you have an explanation for this…if you do, please tell me. No, I won't get angry," the Commander told his secretary, the very guilty-looking Zuikaku. That didn't sound very reassuring to her, even though she knew well the Commander would keep his words.

Just beside her stood Shoukaku, who was still looking at a rather large number of beer crates stacked on top of each other nearby. She cannot decide whether to be amused or bewildered by them.

Zuikaku swallowed before answering, "Um, well, I kinda…randomly participate in…you know, a Suntory raffle. It seems that these Kirin beers are the prize. I… didn't expect to win, honest. I just thought it was amusing…"

"…Oh," was all the Commander said before he burst into a laugh that served to make Zuikaku even redder; she eventually had to cover her face and hide her blush as the laughter went on.

"Okay, so that explains it. Must be nice, huh, Lucky Crane? I certainly hope you're not planning to guzzle all of them by yourself. Don't want you to end up with a beer belly now, do we? "

Zuikaku heard Shoukaku snorting at the remark, and she grew even more embarrassed.

"…Well, it's not like she could, eh, Commander? Base alcohol policy and all," Shoukaku said, clearly still trying to hold back a laugh.

"Yep, yep," the Commander nodded. "Not entirely forbidden, though. But If it is this much, I think sooner or later you'll have to turn them in to the MPs."

"…Fine by me," a resigned Zuikaku muttered.

"Oh…what are those…things doing here?" Yuubari, who happened to be passing by, chimed in.

"Zuikaku got lucky," Shoukaku replied for her sister.

"…No surprise. Can I have some?"

Zuikaku blinked at that. "You…drink, Yuubari?"

"Drinking? No. My job requires a clear mind. I need them to get rid of rust from my equipment. And there are a lot of rusty bolts there, no thanks to seawater and the like. I'd need them for polish, too."

Zuikaku blinked again.

"Rust…? With beer?"

Yuubari shook her head as if she cannot believe Zuikaku didn't know that already.

"…The carbonation is the key," she said, eyeing the crates impatiently; she was in a hurry and didn't feel like explaining in length. After all, they would just fly over Zuikaku's head anyway.

"Well, go ahead and take as much as you want…" Zuikaku, still a little surprised about the revelation, pointed at the crates.

"Well, then, I'll take a crate, if you don't mind. Thank you very much," Yuubari bowed and took one with her.

"…Well, that's one less crate to think about," Shoukaku commented.

"Oh…are those…beer?" Before Zuikaku could answer, another passerby spoke.

"Oh, Choukai-chan. Yes, they're beer," once again Shoukaku replied for Zuikaku."

Choukai, dressed in what appeared to be gardening garb instead of her uniform, seemed unusually happy hearing that.

"…C-can I have some? I could use some to kill garden slugs…oh, and probably clear up brown spots, too."

Zuikaku shrugged at that; while that was the first time she heard such use for beer, it was less surprising than what Yuubari told her earlier. She's also grateful Choukai was too elated to bother asking where they came from.

"Eh, sure, just take as many as you want," she said.

Thanking Zuikaku profusely—and leaving her flustered again— Choukai took quite a lot with her, though still significantly less than Yuubari's haul.

For whatever reason, more and more people noticed the crates of beer after that, and all of them seemingly had a use for some. Some were plausible and mundane enough, like soothing tired feet or cleaning stains. Some were a little strange, like tying a fly. Some others were bizarre. She cannot fathom what benefit bathing in beer will bring and didn't want to try and find out either.

In any case, it solved her problem to a degree, leaving her with only a handful of beer. Shoukaku had left after asking for some earlier, saying she could use them for her recipes. Zuikaku wondered just how her sister would use them, but knowing her, she was sure the result would be tasty nonetheless.

"Well, well. Looks like they won't go to waste after all," the Commander remarked.

"Thank gods they aren't," Zuikaku heaved a sigh. "Here, would you like one?"

The Commander took the offered can and noticed Zuikaku, too, was holding one.

"Well, why not? Cheers."

"Cheers, Commander."