The chapter begins on the Maginot school ship, which is a submarine of comparable size to Oarai's ship. While the aircraft carriers that house the schools are significantly larger than in real life, this is the first time I've seen the same thing happen with a submarine. Eclair walks by some girls who are gossiping about the four month old change to the school policy, along with voicing their displeasure for it and her, the person behind it. They argue that Maginot has always had defense at the core of its style, and it is foolish to change it.
Eclair waits until she's out of earshot before screaming in rage; apparently, she's so upset that her stomach is hurting, and she takes some "G&P" medicine. She's especially irritated that no one can say what's on their mind to her face (I personally find it quite cowardly for people who have complaints about me to go behind my back). Fondue wishes that they would be open with their opinions, and Eclair wishes she could earn the approval of the others, but Eclair resolves to bring victory for Maginot.
The discussion shifts to the new tactics, with Eclair confident that everyone has gotten better in the four months since the advent of the new policy, while Fondue is concerned about the difficulty of moving from a defensive style focused around a heavy tank to a mobile style. Eclair admits that she's unsure of whether it would work in a match as they are at the moment, but Fondue tries to encourage her.
Eclair and Fondue arrive, and find that not only are not all of the members present (the few that are seem to be gossiping about Eclair's stomach troubles), but some are riding their tanks without authorization. Fondue chalks up the former to Maginot's poor group discipline, but upon her mentioning the latter, Eclair angrily demands that all tanks get back there. The Renault R-35 and the Renault FT-17 are introduced, and Eclair mentions that they have their weaknesses, with Fondue adding that against Saunders, Maginot "got beaten to a pulp." Eclair, in spite of her pessimism, doesn't appreciate that, nor does she appreciate being reminded that the SOMUA S35, the pride of her school, was little help.
Gallette, commander of the S35, parks her tank (I do have to wonder; will the next Maginot character's name begin with an H?), and makes some passive-aggressive remarks toward Eclair about her leadership, subtly implying that she needs to step up to inspire their confidence.
Eclair politely accepts this, but Fondue finds that it gets on her nerves, and thinks back to the day when Maginot Academy changed its ways. It's implied that this incident somehow resulted in the commander changing, and Galette was "attached to" that commander. Naturally, the implications of all this still yet have to be clarified, but this seems like an interesting plot point. In any case, Fondue finds Gallette's attitude unacceptable, and Eclair is a bit surprised at Fondue taking umbrage to the degree that she does. Eclair changes the subject and reviews the training match with Saunders with newfound zeal, for the sake of using mobility-based tactics like Napoleon did and end their losing streak. Eclair stops herself short of saying what will happen if they don't get stronger, and decides to focus on the positives, thus preventing Fondue from saying anything. This is a nice bit of Character Development for her, and goes to show that even if Maginot is probably one of the weaker schools, they still have a great deal going for them.
Eclair's thoughts are similar to those of Miho and the Oarai student council's at this point; the match they had recently and lost was a good learning experience, but they're having trouble finding another. As Fondue bids farewell to Eclair, exchanging French phrases of trust, she thinks about who might be good, and realizes that St. Gloriana had a match with someone else. It then cuts to Oarai, and shows their student council receiving news of Maginot's acceptance, with Anzu eager to see how it turns out.
Next Installment: Oarai and Maginot train to improve themselves, while more is revealed about the team's past and Eclair's interest in Oarai.
