Several days have passed since Hood found Arthur. Hermione deemed Arthur recovered enough to leave the medical bed. He greets all Kansens on the command ship, which gives them mild chills since rarely any human is this polite to them. He has no memories of his past so he currently does not have an objective. For now, he decides to repay the favor he owes to Hood who saved his life.
He took a job cleaning the command ship by mopping floors and wiping walls along with janitor Manjuus.
Starting from morning to early afternoon, he follows the orders from royal maids. At 3:00, he spent an hour enjoying an afternoon tea with Hood, which surprised her when he made this suggestion. Only a handful of humans join afternoon tea parties and those parties are strictly limited to humans only. As the Prince of Wales has daily military training and Hermione has to oversee Joseph's health, Hood can only enjoy her afternoon tea alone while on this convoy. She never stops her routine since it is part of her identity as an elegant lady.
"Would you like Darjeeling tea for today?" asked Arthur.
Based on his question, does he intend to brew one? Hood finds this afternoon tea party may taste a bit more different.
After a few minutes, "Thank you for waiting," said Arthur.
As Hood takes a sip from the tea, she can feel the slightly high temperature of the teacup. This means that he knows one of the basics of seving a quality tea: warm the teacup by adding hot water first before adding tea to slow its dropping temperature. He added a mild amount of milk and sugar, which are slightly less than how she brewed by herself but still favorable.
Of course, Arthur only got to know Hood just a few days ago so there is no way he knows her ideal taste for black tea.
Drinking tea brewed by oneself and by someone else does make a difference, thankfully in a positive way for Arthur.
"I am sure we both have many questions for each other. As I mentioned before, I don't remember what happened to me before I found myself on that island. Therefore I am afraid I may not be able to answer most questions regarding myself."
"I understand," replied Hood. "Let's take a different angle. What do you think about Kansens?"
"From what I heard from Hermione, Kansens is humanity's only weapon against Siren, the alien threat. You speak, you think, and you put your lives on the battlefield instead of humans. The first thing I want to say to you guys is 'thank you.'"
Thank you, a classic and simple term to orally express one's gratitude. Hood has not felt gratitude from a human since her manifestation. Many Kansens from not only the Royal Navy, but all of the countries faced Siren attacks. Defeating Sirens is the sole purpose of their manifestation from warships and they are expected to fulfill it. Therefore, rarely does any human express gratitude since "tools" showing their "uses" are only natural.
Hood feels like this afternoon tea will taste more delicious than usual.
The two exchanged much meaningful information: Arthur's comments to the command ship, Hood's stories of the recent Siren attacks.
"I have not heard of many events regarding your battles so I cannot say that I fully understand your value. What I do know is that you accomplished something that only you can do and everyone desires you to do so. You deserve respect and rewards. At the very least, hatred is certainly the wrong attitude toward you."
Hood stays silent for a few seconds. She can sense fear, hatred, and disgust from commanders and most other Kansens feel the same. They have been fighting to their limits and asking nothing in return, but the commanders' demands kept increasing. Their orders are absolute, no questioning allowed, and minor mistakes became excuses for punishment. No Kansens in the Royal Navy can maintain their sanity if this continues.
If things go south for commanders, they even have their "insurance" to safeguard them.
"Which brings me to an important question." Arthur's words pulled Hood back to reality. "Can't you report his actions to your higher-ups? Military laws and order should apply to both commanders and the soldiers. If the commanders cannot follow the rules, why should his soldiers do?"
Looks like I need to explain the "insurance," Hood sighed.