…Helena McAllen, you survived a war, you successfully led some of the best men in the history of Azur Lane military during said war, you prevented a flanking maneuver through the north-pole where Eagle Union was vulnerable or the war might've end with Azur Lane losing the fight…She did all that so a fucking presentation shouldn't make her nervous this much, but alas that was the case as Lena thought that way. She sat down and collected herself when she saw the ship girls slowly filling the auditorium style room in the campus academy. Considered to be the youngest admiral in history, she shouldn't have problems with this as she even went toe to toe arguing with a general almost thirty years her senior in the past…Alright, Lena decided to steel herself which resulted in some girls who sat in front of her to whimpered and shrunk in their seats. When Lena saw that, she immediately broke into an apologetic smile and looked to the side because she forgot that her stern face could rival William's own.
"Admiral Lena, a word if I may." Lena looked to the side and saw Wales.
"Yes Ms. Wales, is there something you need?" Lena asked Wales.
"Will the presentation take long? We would like to conduct a training exercise as soon as the presentation is done." Wales asked Lena.
"I don't think it would take that long, but we'll see…Looks like everyone is here, we can begin immediately." Lena said to Wales.
Bismarck, Enterprise, Hood, and Belfast arrived in the room, and they're the last attendees missing. As soon as they sat down, Lena walked toward the podium and faced the girls…Okay, she will have to do this but how should she act? Like her usual self or her professional demeanor? When in doubt, wing it. Might as well mix in both of her demeanors…Lena called it, Casual Professionalism.
"Morning ladies. For those of you who don't know me yet, my name is Helena McAllen, and I'm Commander William Blaze's superior and supervisor. Since I don't want you to confuse me with Ms. Helena over there, please call me Lena from now on…Today, I'm here to present you with the knowledge regarding our lab analysis result regarding your physiology. Please listen well, this is very important." Lena said out loud.
She presented the graph and pictures regarding the differences between ship girls and normal humans, she didn't go too far into detail, but not shallow enough to warrant a question. Basically, ship girls have the same structure as normal humans, but they are tougher in some aspects such as they could use one hundred percent of the human body's strength. Normal humans could only use around thirty or forty percent of their natural body strength to avoid injuries, this failsafe is there to keep us from killing ourselves accidentally. Ship girls don't have this restriction and their bodies are tough enough to handle that power, so that explained their strength and reflexes, and somehow it was further enhanced whenever they equipped their rigging. How did they avoid the laser beam? How were they tough enough to survive bombs and torpedoes that would sink normal ships? Basically, when they equipped their rigging, they're even stronger than their usual self. But their immune system is the same as normal humans…So they could still get sick if they're exposed to disease, illness, or having a bad lifestyle.
Also, their physical wounds heal faster than the average human. But that doesn't reflect on their psychological state, mind is fragile subject and not even scientific data could gauge it correctly. Lena knew everyone has their own limits, their own ways of thinking, and ship girls are no exception. That's why there's so many personalities within this base, sure some fights happened now and then, but that didn't cause any kind of huge conflict…How they have come so far since the war two years ago.
"Alright, the next part is…Oh…Well, before we start this last part of the presentation, I have a question to ask. How are babies made?" Lena bluntly asked everyone.
The question caught the audience off guard, some thought hard on the question, some looked clueless, and some obviously knew how but chose not to answer Lena's question…Just from this scene alone, Lena could identify those who were knowledgeable regarding the matters of reproduction and those who were innocent. Lena saw someone raise their hand on the audience seat, it was Enterprise who raised her hand.
"Yes Ms. Enterprise?" Lena asked Enterprise.
"Babies are made when you kiss, right?" Enterprise answered in a confident tone.
"…You're not completely wrong theoretically speaking, but I can't believe you're that innocent! Ms. Vestal, did you not teach her how babies are made?!" Lena asked Vestal with cocked eyebrows.
"…I admit I've been a bit neglecting to explain that…part." Vestal said while looking to the side while sheepishly grinned.
"Hah…Alright, anyone else? Yes, Ms. Zuikaku?" Lena asked Zuikaku.
"They came from a special flower that you planted when you wished to have one!" Zuikaku said out loud.
"No, it doesn't work like that Ms. Zuikaku…Ugh god, anyone else?!" Lena asked again to the audience.
"Don't they come suddenly if you wish hard enough? Usually in a basket on your front door?" Someone said out loud.
"No that's not how-. Oh my dear fucking god, these girls are that innocent!" Lena said out loud as she looked at them in shock.
She just remembered that they didn't grow up like normal humans! Sex education was not something they received since they don't even go to school before they arrived on this base! Lena found herself in a dire state, she needed to explain the reproduction process to completely innocent girls without making them misunderstand how it is supposed to be done…Oh god, she needs to be a demon on this one. Now she understands how difficult it is for her home room teacher to teach sex education back in high school, her teacher had the necessary videos at the time…Lena doesn't and that thing is quite hard to find…
"…Fine, who knows what sex is!?" Lena asked out loud to the audience.
Several hands raised upwards in the audience seats, let's see who…Belfast, Edinburgh, Prinz, Sheffield, Hood, Illustrious, St. Louis, Brooklyn, Vestal, Ranger, Langley, Shoukaku, Akashi, Atago, King George V, Prince of Wales, Lexington, Bismarck, Z23, Koln, Konigsberg, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Graf Zeppelin, Zara, Carabiniere…Less than fifty percent of today's audience?! Looks like Lena indeed has to do this in a surefire way.
"…Why am I not surprised?" Lena sighed as she facepalmed.
"Admiral Lena, I think it would be better for you to explain from the start." Bismarck suggested to Lena.
"Very well then…Did I connect to this base's Wi-Fi? Good, don't want to get charged for this one." Lena said out loud as she went back to her laptop.
What method could kill two birds with one AA cannon fire for this problem she's facing now? Exactly, show the harsh truth. Lena won't sugar coat this presentation, surgical, on point, no bullshit given is how she faced her battles and unfortunately, she considered this presentation as one…So she went to her browser app, opened a site which got several girls to widen their eyes, and then clicked on a video.
"I want you girls to take a look at this video and watch this until it's finished before I will get to my main point." Lena said while her face looked serious.
Most of the audience were excited to watch something, the rest who know what this is about have mixed reactions. Those like Bismarck, Belfast, Hood, Sheffield, and Shoukaku have their best poker face plastered. Those like Vestal, Carabiniere, Brooklyn, Illustrious, Koln, Prince of Wales, and King George V have their cheeks reddening by the minute. The rest? They either looked intrigued or grinning, go figure out who they are…The video only runs for fifteen minutes, that's standard for this kind of clip. What is this? It's porn for god sake! Lena purposely opened a porn site just to prove her point, she could be extreme sometimes. The movie started and it's the collaboration one between Eagle Union and Sakura Empire, the plot is a very simple one. There's this teacher who teaches a lone male student for his supplementary class. She dressed in that business-like teacher outfit with the vest, pencil skirt, heels…One thing though, her boobs are massive.
"…Hey isn't this just a short movie?" Javelin asked out loud in the audience seat.
"Is this a soap opera?" Myokou asked out loud in the audience seat.
"No, it looks like a regular drama." Haruna said to Myokou in the audience seat.
"Wait, isn't that Hitomi Tanaka and Johnny Sins? How the-" Aoba said out loud on the audience seat.
"Shush! Be quiet!" Someone said on the audience seat.
One thing led to another, the student dropped his eraser and the teacher picked it up. She leaned down and, in the process, gave him a view of her cleavage. The student's crotch grown a big bulge, the teacher noticed, some conversation happened before suddenly the teacher got on his crotch and started opening the zip on the student's pants…by now most of the audience were too engrossed on the movie with blushing cheeks which only intensify when they saw a big meaty stick on screen, their blush grew when they saw what the female teacher did with her mouth to that stick while cocking it like she cocked a pump action shotgun…repeatedly…Then finally most of them got their faces completely red as they witnessed what happened next, the teacher took off her clothes, used her two buoys to squeeze the stick between them, the male student then took the teacher's body, laid her above the table before doing some 'bumping' with her. Moaning and meat slapping sounds filled the auditorium room, Lena herself still wearing her firm mask as she witnessed and gauged the reaction of her audience…She would've said 'amused' as her reaction but some part of her felt guilt at destroying someone's innocence. Oh well, better sooner than later, this is important for them too. The 'climax' of the video happened and then the video ended, Lena exited the browser app and she stared back at the audience who were-
"…Holy mother of-" Baltimore said out loud with gaping mouth and red cheeks.
"Awawawawawawa!" Queen Elizabeth face was completely red as she closed her eyes.
"T-T-T-That was l-l-lewd!" Warspite said beside Queen Elizabeth with flaming cheeks.
"…Oh my god, that was…" Enterprise said with her whole face being red.
"S-S-Shoukaku n-n-n-nee! W-What did we just watch?!" Zuikaku asked Shoukaku with a massive blush on her face.
"That's how babies are made, Zuikaku. Looks like that book you read is wrong after all~" Shoukaku said to Zuikaku while she smiled at her.
"My, the actress is quite talented, isn't she?" Prinz commented while she smiled smugly.
"Yes, I think so. Oh dear, Helena, are you okay?" St. Louis said to Prinz before she asked Helena who sat beside her.
"L-Lou…I feel…dizzy" Helena muttered as she hid her face on St. Louis' left shoulder.
"Whoa big sis Cleveland, your whole face is red!" Columbia said out loud.
"Oh shut up!" Cleveland said to Columbia with her whole face being flaming red.
"Sis? You missed half the show, you know?" Rodney said to Nelson while she smiled.
"Rodney! How can you be so calm when watching…t-that!?" Nelson asked Rodney with a bright red face and in an outraged tone.
"It is a necessary knowledge sis. Come on, that wasn't so bad you know?" Rodney reasoned while she smiled so innocently…
"Oh…so you can use your breasts to do that." Zara commented while looking at her own breasts.
"Nagato-sama?!" Souryuu asked Nagato who leaned on her.
"A-Allow me to…rest a bit." Nagato said to Souryuu as she leaned with red cheeks.
"H-H-How shameless!" Takao said out loud while she blushed.
"Oh, that was a pretty mediocre one you know Takao-chan? BDSM however, that's…ufufufufufu~" Atago said before giggling to herself.
"Laffey, did you see that!? That was-" Javelin said to Laffey.
"Laffey is asleep, Javelin." Ayanami said to Javelin.
"W-Well…I think that gets the point across good enough." Z23 said out loud while looking to the side with red cheeks.
"Somebody please get me a glass of water! Cygnet passed out!" Kent said out loud.
"…Holy shit." Phoenix commented with widened eyes.
"Tirpitz?" Bismarck asked Tirpitz who sat beside her.
"D-Don't worry about me schwester Bismarck, I'll b-be fine in a bit…" Tirpitz said to Bismarck while covering her face with her cap.
"K-Kongou nee-sama?" Haruna asked Kongou who was unresponsive.
"…I think she will need some time to recover." Hiei said to Haruna.
Chaos was one of the ways to describe the situation in the auditorium right now, the girls were noisy due to the outrageous video they just watched. There are those who remained composed as they weren't really bothered by what they saw, especially Sheffield who still managed to keep her poker face all the way to the end of the video. Lena then did several tweaks on the presentation file with images needed from the browser, time to continue despite more than half of the audience being traumatized by this shock and awe tactic.
"Apologies for the blunt method, but I believe a mere power point presentation won't cut that thickness of innocence level, I need to show you the real deal…That activity you just witnessed is called sex, that's how you make babies ladies. Now…I will explain in theory how that works." Lena said out loud to the audience.
So begins the average sex education class, now that the girls have directly witnessed the act as observation, it's time to learn the theory. Lena expertly named the organs, what their functions are, how fertilization and impregnation works, she even went so far to provide a picture example on x-ray view on how it works internally…Yikes, this is what Lena was known for and how she managed to climb up the ranks so quickly. Precision and lethality, she spares no quarter in explaining all of this and won't bother using subtlety in her explanation…Now, it's question time!
"W-W-Will that hurt?" Cleveland asked Lena while she blushed and stuttered.
"For the first time, yes since your hymen will be torn during penetration. But it shouldn't be long before the pain subsides, you will then feel…pleasure" Lena said to Cleveland while she smiled.
"Do you have experience with…sex, Mrs. Lena?" Warspite asked Lena.
"Yes." Lena simply answered.
"Do you have a child?" Zuikaku asked Lena.
"Not yet, and that's because there's various ways to have sex without having to make babies." Lena explained to Zuikaku.
That sent another news flash to the girls who just learned about this, you can do sex as more than reproductive means? You could also do that for pleasure only? Most of them saw how enjoyable it is for the actress despite all the acting, there's some hint of genuine pleasure on her face. Most of them fell silent as each of their minds ran wild with this new…fantasy.
"You girls could also do this, but there's bad news…Our research results say that you girls would be extremely hard to get pregnant, chance of fertilization would be under zero point eight percent, so that means if you do get pregnant that could be considered a miracle…There's some differences located in your DNA strain and normal human DNA strain, while being so close in resemblance the compatibility isn't so well…" Lena said out loud in a matter of fact tone while frowning a bit.
And that one sent a brain crash for the girls who already understand about this topic, all of them wore shocked looks on their faces. Hey, one would do that when they were told that they are probably infertile, so it's within reason to see their faces like that. Lena felt bad, she honestly did not want them to be aware of this unless required to…But hiding the truth from them also felt wrong, Lena personally felt grateful toward them for what they did. The least she wants to do is to lie to them…
"…We can't have a child?" Wales asked Lena out loud.
"You could, but it will take so much effort with the chance being that miniscule…it's extremely hard, not impossible." Lena clarified her statement to the girls.
"This applies to all ship girls?" Bismarck said out loud.
"Yes...the differences between us physically are indistinguishable, but that's where our main difference is located. I'm sorry to be the one bringing this demoralizing news…But don't worry, we're working on it." Lena quickly said to them.
"Working on what?" George asked Lena.
"To mitigate this problem of course…William and I only want the best for you girls, all of you have sacrificed much to combat the Sirens, and I respect all of you for that. That is why I will do my best to help you." Lena said while smiling widely.
That's her most honest feeling regarding ship girls, they would probably be on their last stand, most of the earth conquered, their citizens wiped off, and they would be fighting a hopeless slaughter by the Sirens if they didn't exist. Thanks to them, humanity still has a fighting chance…Lena decided to wrap up the presentation despite there being a few slides she skipped over and yes, that's about the DNA sequence modification that William decided to participate in. Lena felt that the experiment itself is still in the theoretical phase…better not leak something that she can't promise.
"So, until there's more news regarding this development, that would be all regarding this presentation…If you have any more questions, feel free to ask." Lena asked the girls.
"You said you did it before…Is it your first time with…Commander William?" Enterprise asked Lena with red cheeks.
"…You could say that." Lena answered while she shrugged, the audience gasped at the reveal.
"Was he…good?" Prinz asked Lena.
"…Yeah." Lena nodded her head, the audience murmured among themselves.
"…Was he that big Lena-sama?" Atago asked Lena while she smiled.
"Bigger than that I believe." Lena answered while she smirked.
"I could vouch for Madam Lena's testament." Belfast suddenly spoke out loud.
"""""Bel?!""""" More than a few girls said that and the whole audience room fell silent.
"I saw it myself after all." Belfast continued while she smiled smugly.
…That info was the only requirement before the whole room filled with ship girls asking questions, more comments on what just happened, or general chaos as they started talking among themselves regarding the new knowledge they got. Lena smiled before it turned into a deep frown…She gave way too much info to these girls and that could be bad in lots of ways…Lena apologized to William in advance inside her thoughts, he's going to be the one handling this mess…
"Oh dear…I might just open Pandora's Box." Lena muttered to herself.
.
…Few days went by and everything was back to normal, the ship girls were going on with their daily activities and duties, but something was amiss…Whenever they meet with their commander there's this sense of…curiosity, for the lack of a better word. Some who met him subtly glanced at his groin for some reason, some also got bolder in their interaction with him, but still at a manageable level, fortunately. William was so confused that he asked Lena on the phone a few days after the presentation regarding what the hell she said at that time? Needless to say, William facepalmed and sighed then dropped his head on the table.
"Lena…your methods may work on the battlefield-" William said to Lena on the phone.
"And it worked extremely well on this matter too in my opinion." Lena quickly argued to William on the phone.
"I'm having my crotch stared at! That's not comforting!" William said to Lena on the phone with half opened right eye that twitched in annoyance.
"Well now you could experience being seen like that as you go on with your daily activities, that's how most women feel." Lena said with a cheeky tone on the phone.
"I get it, so let's not turn this into gender talk or something…Either way, good job on providing them with that knowledge. Can't say I'm accepting of the fallout, but what's done is done. But next time Lena, try to be a little more 'subtle' in your approach?" William asked Lena on the phone.
Not that William ever had problems with Lena's strategy or methods in dealing with the enemy, but sometimes there are better ways in handling a problem, especially since she's handling their fellow allies…It's subtle but William noticed it, Lena wasn't the same Lena when he left for prison two years ago. Sure, people do change but what caused her to be this…inflexible? She's not like this in the past, she could still use a softer approach when dealing with her own allies…could handling Sirens for two years start influencing her actions outside combat? Honestly, he didn't see any other reason than that, but he could talk about it later and he really doesn't want to talk about something personal like this over a phone call. Maybe when she visits again, then he could discuss several things with her including this subtle change that only William noticed now…Flipping over the stamped paper on his desk, William returned his focus to the phone call.
"Right, I'll do that, thanks…So, any change with the girls?" Lena asked William on the phone.
"Thanks to your little presentation method, most of them lost their innocence instantly on that day. You know, some of them were a bit shy before, but now they couldn't talk to me without stuttering once…This will need some time to resolve." William said to Lena on the phone as he leaned on his seat.
"You can't blame me when they're that innocent regarding the matter of baby making. I had to do it since it's for the better in the long run, believe me." Lena reasoned with William.
…Yeah, but couldn't she do it without messing too much with their psychology? Look, not one girl he spoke to since that presentation showed that they are NOT affected! Even Belfast, Hood, and Prinz! One became more open in enjoying his troubled look, one started flirting openly sometimes, and one started to tease him even further! Not to mention, Enterprise couldn't even look at him in the eye without blushing! William felt himself returning back to school when they're just done with sex education, ah Déjà vu! I've been to this place before! Riding on the streets, and I knew it's my time to go!
"Now that they're aware what sex is, you need to be more careful." Lena said to William on the phone with serious tone.
"What? You think there's a chance of me being gang raped in my room in the middle of the night?" William asked Lena on the phone with a sarcastic tone.
"It's possible." Lena said to William in a matter-of-fact tone
"That's not helping…" William thought of the possibility, it got above thirty percent according to him, and he wasn't exactly comfortable with it.
"I'm just doing my job, Will. I can't manipulate results like I want to…Besides, why do I hear you disappointed with that possibility? Won't that make you happy having fun with so many girls at once?!" Lena asked William on the phone with confused tone.
"Your accusation was outrageous Lena! I prefer a consensual way, thank you very much!" William basically raised his voice in annoyance.
"Huh, good to know…Anyway, I got to do some paperwork right now. Later." Lena said to William on the phone suddenly.
"Yeah later." William said to Lena as he ended the call.
Looking at the phone screen, he had been talking to her for ten minutes…sighing then scratching his head, William thought that he hadn't returned to one hundred percent yet. No, he's not talking about his busted right arm, but his overall stamina as a whole. He still gets tired pretty easily even though the battle was a week ago, Vestal did clear him for daily activities outside the infirmary as long he 'took it easy and no strenuous activity'…Yeah, he won't be participating in any kind of combat soon. Crimson Cleanser would have to wait-
"Commander? Are you inside?" Someone said on the office door.
"It's open." William simply responded.
The door opened and a woman walked inside, it's Enterprise and William closely observed her. Her stares returned as usual, there's this bit of professionalism in the air around her, and her body language was firm and proper…Good, it seems she already cooled down regarding the events from a few days ago. William stopped leaning on his seat, he offered a small smile on his face.
"What do you need, Enterprise?" William asked Enterprise.
"Just want to relay a message to you sir. Our task force at the North Pole have completed their objectives and are now en-route back to this base, they brought one Northern Parliament ship girl with them." Enterprise reported to William.
"Brilliant news, what's their ETA?" William asked Enterprise.
"They should arrive before dusk sir, using aerial transport." Enterprise said to William.
Nice, the commission for the Northern Parliament Operation is finally completed, and William expects a very grateful reward coming in from Northern Parliament…But maybe it's not in the form of resources or finances since Enterprise mentioned one thing, there's a new ship girl joining them, and she hails from the north. Could she be the reward for completing the operation? William isn't sure since the official report would be handed to him directly by the returning girls. Just wait and see then…
"…And who's this ship girl that was sent along with them?" William asked Enterprise.
"I believe Hornet mentioned her name. Oh yeah, Avrora. Pallada-class Light Cruiser." Enterprise said to William.
"First time I heard about her…Alright, thank you Enterprise. Is there anything else?" William asked Enterprise.
"…May I be excused from duty for the afternoon, sir?" …Now this is new, she's not taking a chance to do a patrol?
"Reason?" William asked Enterprise, this is unusual.
"…I would like to be on the welcoming committee that picks them up at the airport, sir" …Ah, now he gets it.
"…Alright, report to Brooklyn as soon as possible. I believe this would concern her job as our diplomat." William said while smiling at Enterprise.
"Thank you, sir!" Enterprise pulled off a wide smile…oh how cute!
Enterprise energetically exited through the door after throwing a salute at William, passing Zara who's about to enter the office. Shrugging lightly, Zara proceeded to enter William's office and closed the door. She walked forward to see William staring at her while sipping on his lukewarm black tea in a tea cup which was on his table with a teapot. Zara sat in the chair in front of William's table and crossed her legs.
"She seemed happy." Zara said to William.
"She's about to meet her sister after a month without contact, of course she is." William said to Zara.
"Oh…I see you're already working comandante, are you sure it's fine for you to do this?" Zara asked William while she smiled.
"Just the light load should be fine, Hood already chewed me off when I showed up here with my uniform this morning. I got off the hook with this, quite the experience…" William said as he smiled wryly.
Did Hood really do that? No, it's more like a civilized argument between the two of them, and Hood finally relented after he told her that he could handle the light paperwork that won't involve signatures…She couldn't refuse since there's assload of work piling up, and she alone couldn't handle it well without doing overtime, not to mention the base has been a bit busy with monthly maintenance for this week, so she does not have much time to rest, or anyone she could ask for manpower help. Now that he's here though, Hood went to see Queen Elizabeth since apparently, she summoned her back to the dorm. She left while basically saying 'Behave yourself' then left with her elegant smile…Sheesh, he regretted not taking a picture.
"Hard to believe she could get angry, wasn't she a woman who always had to remain 'elegant' at all times as a trademark of 'Royal Navy'?" Zara asked William while she smirked a bit.
"She didn't shout at me, but the implication is clear Ms. Zara…Anyway, is there something you need?" William asked Zara.
"I feel like bothering you for a bit." Zara said to William while she smiled.
"Huh, what do you have in mind?" William asked Zara in an amused tone.
"Let's just talk, I want to get to know you." Zara said to William as she leaned on the table.
"Oh yeah, we haven't really talked much since your arrival huh…Alright, I could spare a few moments for you." William said to Zara.
So, he stopped working, took another tea cup, poured some black tea for Zara, and refilled his cup…William didn't have much experience with the Sardegna Empire except for a few operations during the failed Sardegna Empire invasion. What did he do exactly? Deep behind enemy lines, reconnaissance and sabotage, that's it. Task Force Nimbus was then recalled to help Dragon Empery in slowing down Sakura Empire's invasion, one which earned him the title Nimbus Knight in the following weeks into the operation. Zara had made it clear to herself to talk with her commander during the battle a week ago, she couldn't do it immediately seeing that he was injured and lost consciousness for three days. When he woke up, he was busy handling everyone, so she couldn't get him to talk privately. When she hears his office bustling with activity and there's a masculine voice inside the room, that's when she knows she should take her shot.
"You're a Royal Navy citizen, right?" Zara asked William.
"Yeah, you could tell from my accent already." William said to Zara, though rarely he spoke in Eagle Union's accent…Michael's influence, no doubt.
"How's life in your hometown?" Zara asked William, then sipped on her tea.
"Quite peaceful actually, a town by the southern coast. It's a small town, not many exciting things happened there, so life was kind of dull. Though the people were nice and while it's small at least it got everything…For eighteen years I lived in that town, not many fantastic stories to tell." William said to Zara while he smiled a bit in nostalgia…
That small town which Lena and him grew up in, William wondered how it's doing nowadays. Was that bakery where he would spend his afternoon with a few slices of apple pie doing well? How about the library near the town square? Or the park near the river where he often enjoyed going during his breaks? Man, he's quite curious, maybe he should visit it when he has a chance in the future…How about their house? William is here, his mother is in the central headquarters, and his sister is in the capital…So who stayed in it now?
"Then you decided to join the military, why is that? The town you lived in is so peaceful that you could get a civilian job there, right?" Zara asked William.
"Simply said, my father is my inspiration. His family line was all in the military, I'm simply continuing the family tradition." William said to Zara, that's the closest to the truth.
"Hee is that so…I think you would do well as a model, but the fight we had a few days ago cemented that you would make a great commander." Zara said to William while she smiled.
…Frankly speaking, she had the same opinion as his mother at first. You see, William could probably hit it off as a model, actor, or even an author if he wished to but man, he's stubborn enough to be insistent regarding his choice to join the military. He wasn't sure what Zara meant with him being a good commander, since he couldn't be the judge of himself. What is the definition of a good commander? One who gets the job done? Who keeps his or her men alive? Who did what was necessary for the sake of their country? There's a lot of definitions of a good commander, so when one said you are one…Then there would be some clarification needed. William really wondered what kind of 'good' was in Zara's eyes.
"…I haven't done much to be honest, most of you girls handle the threats so effectively that you don't really need any direction." William said to Zara while he smiled.
"Perhaps. But we won because you lured them to that little island, they're so focused on you that they almost ignored us for some reason. That shows you have what it takes to turn a disadvantage to you into an advantage for the entire unit, you are even willing to be under fire for the sake of winning and gaining information for us…Not many commanders went that far." Zara said to William while she smiled back.
"You held me in such regard. Even though I only gave simple instructions and orders during the last fight?" William asked Zara as he cocked his eyebrows.
"Not every battle is won because of complex maneuvers or strategies, comandante, many were won even with simple strategy, but implemented at the right time. Don't belittle yourself, a good commander is one who can react then adapt and you did well a few days ago…I personally thought you've done a good job." Zara said to William then sipped on her tea.
Such wisdom! William himself felt enlightened with those simple words, not every battle was won with complex strategies. In his opinion, Zara was right about it, and he will surely remember that sentence from now on…Then William realized that according to Zara he reacts and adapts well a few days ago, that's due to experience since he's often thrown into sudden clusterfucks, and he had to survive alongside his men. He's used to thinking under stress, that's how he made it so far…Regardless, he felt good receiving such praise from a newcomer.
"Well…thank you." William said to Zara while he smiled gratefully.
"Just stating my opinion…Hmm. This tea is quite good." Zara commented on the tea.
"Belfast does brew the best black tea." William said to Zara as he sipped his.
"I see." Zara responded while she smiled.
"Ms. Zara-" William said to Zara.
"Just call me Zara, will you? I don't mind." But Zara said so…
"…If you say so, Zara. Anyway, try this chocolate muffin, you won't regret it." William said to Zara as he offered a plate with three chocolate muffins on it.
"Well then…Uhm! Delicious!" Zara took the muffin and bit on it before she commented.
"Right?" William said to Zara while he smiled.
That chocolate muffin on the plate was served to him by Belfast who for some reason couldn't bring him lunch for today. She said something happened back in the dorm, so she could only bring this pastry that was intended for dessert alongside an apology for the situation. William said it's fine since he could always eat in the canteen later but as it turns out, he doesn't really have that much appetite for today…Strange, he usually could gorge on lots of food easily. It's delicious though, he knows his stomach wants more, but his mouth won't cooperate for now…Wait, William might need to eat some real food as he's been eating too many sweets lately, so maybe that's the reason? It's the gifts he received as a get well soon gift, most of them were sweets…He needs to check on his sugar intake, diabetes is a bitch, and he's not exactly young anymore. What? Twenty six is young? Well, you wouldn't be saying that as you noticed your body performance started dropping nearing thirties where you go from prime athlete to 'I'm too old for this bullsh-
""Ah…""
The door to William's office was knocked and opened, someone walked in and it's Warspite…Both Zara and Warspite stared at each other, and William could only wince at the uneasiness growing within the room. Everyone within the Royal Navy knew both of them had some kind of history, safe to say they're on edge with each other. Back during the Battle of Terania both of them ignored each other unless it's absolutely required for them to talk. William might want to ease the tension between the two of them later…He's still got a job to do now.
"Good day Ms. Zara." Warspite said to Zara…oh well, it's a start.
"Good day Signorina Warspite." Zara said to Warspite while she smiled a bit.
"What is it Lady Warspite?" William asked Warspite.
"Commander, Hood asked me to deliver this to you. She currently has to console her majesty alongside the others, so she won't be available for a bit." Warspite said as she put a small stack of papers on top of the table.
"…How many times does this make today?" William asked Warspite with half opened eye.
"Three, it's getting old actually." Warspite said to William then sighed.
…William has been hearing some kind of mess happening in the Royal Navy's dorm, and that's the reason why most of the Royal Navy ship girls are currently absent today. Queen Elizabeth herself is experiencing some kind of mood swing since morning, William wasn't sure what the exact reason was, but Belfast subtly told him to 'not' interfere…William thought he'd heed her warning and leave the queen's situation to her, he doesn't want to get involved and possibly complicate the mess.
"Well…Nothing we can do, just don't pour gasoline on the fire with her situation." William said to Warspite while he frowned.
"I believe your intervention would resolve this matter quickly, commander." Warspite said to William while she folded her arms.
"I'm not ready to lose another arm on short notice, I'll leave this to you ladies." William said to Warspite with half opened eye as he frowned.
William started reading the paper…This is about the base maintenance that's currently underway, let's see here. Canteen is all good, shops are all good, and their garages have additional SUVs brought in…nice? Okay, the armory has been restocked so ammo is all good, academy has been checked and no need for improvement at the moment, dorms…Hmm, looks like every dorm is doing well and the construction project for Sardegna Empire's dorm is almost complete. After briefly reading it, William considered that everything checked out and he put the papers on a new pile.
"…All in order, thank you. Give Hood my thanks and tell her to meet me after she's done." William said to Warspite.
"As you command, milord. Excuse me." Warspite said to William then bowed a bit.
Warspite left the room after giving a brief nod at Zara who returned the gesture, William felt everything was done for today so what to do left? Oh yeah, lunch with a complete dish…Would it be bad for him to sneak outside base, go to fast food chain, and have some bit of Eagle Union's freedom burger with-. Nah, he didn't think he could drive with his condition, and he felt he shouldn't leave the base today for there are ship girls arriving after completing their commission. The least he wanted to do would be absent by the time they arrived…that's not a good first impression.
"…Well, I think it's time for me to head back." Zara said to William as she stood up.
"Alright then." William nodded his head as he watched Zara leave.
"…Can I come by again?" Zara stopped by the door, she stared at him with a smug smile.
"As long as you're not interrupting me during busy times." William answered while he smiled slightly.
"Bene…Arrivederci, comandante." Zara said to William while waving and closed the door.
.
…Hood sighed as she walked on the halls of the Royal Navy's dorm, she lightly massaged her head at the ordeal she had to face today. Queen Elizabeth could be quite unreasonable sometimes, and today she happened to be handling her since morning, oh Hood needs to rest a bit before she returns to William's office. She was walking when she felt herself losing her balance, and she leaned on the nearby wall, her eyes widened in confusion…How could she suddenly lose her own balance like that? She heard light gasp and looked behind her, Hood saw Belfast walking fast toward her with a concerned look.
"Madam Hood?" Belfast asked Hood in a worried tone.
"Oh, it's you, Belfast." Hood managed to smile weakly.
"Do you need help?" Belfast asked Hood and touched her left shoulder.
"Yes…I think I have a headache." Hood said to Belfast while she frowned.
Belfast took Hood's left arm and sling it around her shoulder and started helping Hood walk, both being ship girls carrying Hood like this wasn't a problem at all for Belfast. The head maid keeping an eye on Hood in case she requires additional help, this is the first time Belfast saw Hood not looking good since she got blasted by Bismarck in the past…
"Is her majesty done with her mood swings?" Belfast asked Hood.
"For now…Hah, it's one of those days…Um, Bel, I need to meet with Lord William." Hood said to Belfast when she realized they're not heading for the administration building.
"Surely, he will understand your current situation Madam Hood, I will guide you to the infirmary…" Belfast said to Hood while she smiled a bit.
"It's alright Bel-" Hood tried to argue while she smiled.
"No, it's not. You've been working hard for the past week Hood; you need to rest. Please, I'm asking you as your friend, not as the head maid." Belfast said to Hood with furrowed eyebrows.
Hood widened her eyes, well Belfast was known for her attention to detail after all so of course she would notice that Hood had been pulling overtime these past few days. Hood smiled as she realized that being stubborn wouldn't do her any good, it's clear something is wrong with her body right now and having it checked would be in everyone's best interest.
"…Understood." Hood said to Belfast while she smiled weakly.
"Brilliant. I will take over your supposed task from master later, but first we head for the infirmary." Belfast said while she smiled a bit in satisfaction.
Reaching the infirmary, Belfast opened the door, and that got Vestal's attention who sat behind her desk while looking at her smartphone. It's her break time, might as well browse for some cute clothes while she's at it. That until Vestal looked up to see Belfast and Hood, she immediately put her phone down as she went to them.
"…Ms. Belfast? Ms. Hood? What's wrong?" Vestal asked both of them.
"She's been working too hard and clearly needs to rest, please check her condition." Belfast said to Vestal as she glanced at Hood.
"Ah, I see. Please lie down over there." Vestal said to Hood as she pointed a spare bed.
Belfast helped Hood to the bed before she took off Hood's hat and placed it on the night stand beside her. Vestal placed her hand on Hood's forehead, she then took a thermometer and snuck it under Hood's right armpit to measure her temperature. Vestal then took out a stethoscope and Hood undid her belt a bit to allow access to her body, Vestal opened Hood's clothes a bit and used her stethoscope to check her body…the thermometer beeped and Vestal checked Hood's temperature.
"Hmm…you do have a slight fever; you will remain here until you rested enough. I will get you some medicine in a moment. Ms. Belfast, please look after her for a bit." Vestal said to them both then left.
"…How embarrassing, I shouldn't be this careless." Hood said while she smiled bitterly.
"Precisely. What happened to you, Hood? Why did you push the limit for these past few days?" Belfast asked Hood.
"It's the secretary's duty. Lord William shouldn't be working for at least a week, I also figured everyone was busy with the monthly maintenance, so I shouldn't be disturbing the other secretaries. I took all that workload, but handling her majesty has been a bit rough today, and I got too tired." Hood said to Belfast as she stared at her.
Yes, Hood was normally alright with her secretarial duty but she's got too much on her plate today, and that's why she got too tired in handling everything. She really didn't want William to work, that's why she reminded him sternly this morning, but she eventually relented when Queen Elizabeth called her to help a bit. Then, that mood swing happened which caused most of the royal family members to have to work in order to calm her down…even Wales and George were still accompanying Elizabeth last time Hood saw them.
"…I see. Hood, I want you to rest for now. Please let me handle the rest for today." Belfast said to Hood.
"How about your duty with her majesty or your internal affairs duty?" Hood asked Belfast with widened eyes.
"My big sister helped me a bit, and I solved all the current problems for the week, I'm free for the afternoon." Belfast said to Hood while she smiled confidently.
"…Alright Bel, just don't make the same mistake as I did." Hood said to Belfast as she smiled at her.
"I won't…Get well soon, Hood." Belfast said to Hood as she walked out of the room.
"Thank you, Bel." Hood said to Belfast in gratitude.
Hood re-equipped her clothes and rested her head in a comfortable position above the pillow. She sighed a bit as she took the blanket and covered herself with it…Maybe because she's a bit sick right now, but it's really comforting being under the warm blanket within this air conditioned infirmary. She could really fall asleep right now, and Hood rarely took naps, she's almost always busy during the day. Vestal returned to the infirmary, she carried a tray with several pills and a glass of water above it.
"Ms. Hood, here's your medicine. Have you had lunch yet?" Vestal asked Hood.
"Oh, no I haven't. I was quite busy before." Hood answered, she really didn't eat anything since morning…
"My, no wonder you've fallen ill! Okay, put on this cold compress on your forehead. I will make something light for you to eat." Vestal said to Hood while she frowned as she handed her the compress.
"Thank you, Ms. Vestal." Hood said to Vestal while she smiled.
"Don't worry about it." Vestal flashed her a smile.
Vestal exited the infirmary to head toward the pantry, she quickly got the ingredients to whip something up for Hood to eat…Hood used the sticky cold compress, applied it to her forehead, and stared at the ceiling while she thought Belfast should have arrived at William's office by now. He would probably be surprised to know that Belfast would be the one reporting back instead of Hood, when he finds out she's sick from Belfast…
"…Will he visit me if he knew I'm here?" Hood muttered to herself.
.
Enterprise walked toward Brooklyn who's inside the base garage who told a Manjuu to do something, the little bird saluted as it and its fellows walked toward the SUVs and performed several checks on them. She heard footsteps behind her and saw that Enterprise stood while looking at her, cocking her eyebrows in confusion so Brooklyn decided to speak to Enterprise.
"I just told them to perform a last minute check, don't want it to bog down when we have to pick them up from the airport." Brooklyn said while she smiled.
"Who's driving?" Enterprise asked Brooklyn.
"I am, the second car will be driven by Prinz." Brooklyn said to Enterprise.
"Prinz?" Enterprise asked Brooklyn and tilted her head.
"I'm guessing you're here for the same reason as her? I understand, Hornet and Hipper would be happy to see you both." Brooklyn said to Enterprise while she smiled a bit.
Yup, busted since the start. She missed Hornet, she missed Yorktown too, and there's nothing more that make her happier than to be reunited with her sisters and ending this sickening war…Enterprise guess that Prinz is the same with Hipper, she might tease her a lot but deep down Enterprise knew she's a caring little sister nevertheless. Said person then appeared in the garage after walking from the direction of the dorms, Enterprise looked back and saw her approaching.
"Oh, Ms. Grey Ghost is here." Prinz said to Enterprise.
"I didn't know you could drive, Prinz." Enterprise said to Prinz.
"You will be in awe when you find out I could race Brooklyn to the airport first, Enty." Prinz said to Enterprise while she smirked.
"Hohoho, is that so?" Enterprise said to Prinz while she grinned a bit.
"I don't want to turn this pick up quest into a racing one, Prinz. You better drive safely." Brooklyn said to Prinz in a stern tone.
"Can I do that before we pick them up? Of course I'll behave when we head home?" Prinz said to Brooklyn while she tilted her head to the right.
"If you get pulled over, I won't help you." Brooklyn simply said to Prinz with half closed eyes.
"Hmph, boring~" Prinz pouted cutely.
"You know she's teasing you, Brooklyn?" Enterprise asked Brooklyn while she smiled wryly.
"Knowing Prinz? There's always a possibility of it being serious, you could never know." Brooklyn said to Enterprise.
Brooklyn turned her head around when she heard a chirp, she saw the Manjuu give her a thumbs up, and she threw a car key toward Prinz who caught it effortlessly. Both get into the SUVs, Enterprise gets into the car that Brooklyn is driving, and they drive to the city's airport…So, a question appeared. Ship girls were military units, so why did they land at civilian airports? Well, the reason is because they are a specialized unit that aren't part of regular divisions, landing at the military base next to theirs is possible, but High Command, specifically, wants to limit the contact between them and the regular divisions for unknown reasons…Either way, the protocol is clear, and they all thought it's better to follow it. The drive to the airport was filled with light chatter between Brooklyn and Enterprise, Prinz was humming along with the song she set on the radio. At least there's no incidents along the way, though traffic was a complete bitch since apparently few idol groups are scheduled to perform in downtown tonight…After driving at crawling speed for half an hour, they managed to reach the airport which was crowded by diehard fans waiting for the idols' arrival. Good, at least this way they won't be noticed. They arrived at the gate leading to the runway, two Military Police halted the cars and approached them.
"I'll do the talking." Brooklyn said to Enterprise.
"Even if I'm the one's driving, I'll let you handle the talk too." Enterprise said to Brooklyn while she smiled a bit.
"Hmph. I knew it." Brooklyn said to Enterprise while she rolled her eyes.
The window to the driver seat was knocked twice, Brooklyn lowered the window to get a good look at the officer. He's fully armed, carrying an M4 carbine, wearing a bulletproof vest, Azur Lane marine blue camouflage, with an ammo pouch on his back alongside wearing a helmet with letter MP in white paint on it…What's with this extra security? The last time Brooklyn saw these military police here they were not this equipped, probably they needed to be extra careful with this many people at the airport. Crimson Cleanser could use this as an opportunity for terror attacks, a well-placed C4 could kill so many of the civilians…
"Afternoon ma'am, identification please?" The man asked Brooklyn.
"My name is Brooklyn; we are here to pick up the group boarding C-130 Cargo Plane from Northern Parliament." Brooklyn said to the man while she smiled professionally and handed him a small card.
"…Identification checks out, welcome ma'am. We've been expecting you, head over to the secluded military hangar to the left from here." The man said to Brooklyn and handed back her card.
"Thank you." Brooklyn said to the man then closed the window.
They entered the airport and immediately headed for the military hangar the soldier mentioned before, it's not even five minutes from the gate. When they arrived there, there's a parked C-130 cargo plane that just turned its engines off…Well, it looks like the traffic jam had caused them to be a bit late. Parking the cars, the three of them got out of their cars to watch the plane slowly dropping its rear hatch. Ship girls then came out of the plane, each carrying some kind of bag. They immediately recognized Brooklyn, Enterprise, and Prinz waiting for them near the cars, and the destroyers waved excitedly. Enterprise was about to greet them before she was tackled on a bear hug by a twin tailed blonde wearing a cowboy hat, cape, and black bikini. Yup, it's Hornet who did that, and Enterprise couldn't help herself but to hug her back…It's great to know that Hornet is totally fine, Enterprise takes a glimpse at her, and she can't find any kind of scars on her.
"Welcome back, Hornet." Enterprise said to Hornet while she smiled widely.
"Yeah, I'm back sis! Phew it's good to be back here, how are ya doing?" Hornet asked Enterprise while she grinned.
"As you can see, I'm fine." Enterprise answered Hornet.
"Glad to hear it! Oh, I got tons of stuff to say about my experience there. Seriously, not a day we don't get some action! I hope I get some time to rest, I don't feel like going into action for a while." Hornet said to Enterprise while she smiled wryly.
"Oh sure, we could exchange stories then. Few days ago, we're also involved in a battle with the Sirens." Enterprise said to Hornet.
"Maybe we could do that later tonight or tomorrow sis. I've been on a long flight since this morning, and I definitely need to hit the sack after this…Say, we have to report to this new commander too. What kind of man is he, sis?" Hornet asked Enterprise while she held her own chin.
"I think it's best for you to judge him for yourself…One thing I could say for sure, he's not like the previous one." Enterprise said to Hornet while she smiled.
Not too far from there, another blonde was being crushed in a hug instead and reluctantly hugged back the person who did that. Admiral Hipper, Prinz's older sister couldn't believe herself that she missed this teasing, smug, irritating, and cheeky little sister…But she couldn't help herself to miss the interaction between them, not that she'd admit it because she will shoot herself in the head first before admitting it. She doesn't need to give Prinz more ammo to use, she's already got enough as it is.
"Welcome back schwester, how's the trip?" Prinz asked Hipper while she smirked a bit.
"Endless blue but just above the clouds, nothing new there." Hipper said to Prinz while she shrugged.
"That so…got any souvenirs for me~?" Prinz asked Hipper while she grinned.
"Ha? You honestly thought I'd brought you something?" Hipper asked Prinz with cocked eyebrows.
"Now don't be so mean to your little sister, I've been waiting for your return ever since the day you left…surely I get a reward for having to be patient? I haven't teased you for almost a month." Prinz asked Hipper while she smirked widely now.
Hipper sighed as she reached for the duffel bag she carried, after rummaging it for a while, she pulled out a bottle of vodka and handed it to Prinz while looking to the side with a cute pout. Prinz smiled as she took the bottle, her eyes showing amusement, and a hint of fondness at the thought that Hipper did care for her despite how Prinz acted towards her. Checking the bottle, she made note to enjoy this brand of vodka tonight. Weather's prediction said it will be a cold one, and might as well make full use of this good stuff.
"Aww, you do care~" Prinz said to Hipper in a teasing tone.
"If you don't like it-" Hipper said with her hands on her hip.
"Nein, I love it…Danke, Hipper." Prinz said to Hipper while she smiled.
"W-Well, if you love it then fine! Just don't down it in one go!" Hipper said to Prinz as she looked to the side with a blush on her face.
After handling the destroyers, Brooklyn saw several others coming towards her. Honolulu came close to Brooklyn, and she offered her a brief hug. Brooklyn saw Mikasa who wore a tired smile while carrying her duffel bag, and Formidable who kept her composure and elegance as she walked toward Brooklyn. All of them made it out of the operation just fine, it's a great success, and Brooklyn imagined this reinforcement would further enhance their combat capability. Formidable stood in front of Brooklyn before she offered a curtsy at her, Brooklyn nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"Ms. Brooklyn, we have returned from our task." Formidable said to Brooklyn.
"Yes, it's good to see everyone is alright Ms. Formidable. I understand the trip is quite tiring, but you ladies still have to report to Commander William Blaze after this." Brooklyn said to Formidable with an apologetic smile.
"It's fine Ms. Brooklyn, I'm quite curious regarding this new commander as well." Formidable said to Brooklyn.
"How are things since we left for the front, Brooklyn-san?" Mikasa asked Brooklyn.
"Since you left, there's been one attack on our base from a terrorist group, one skirmish with a Siren fleet, and a battle on the Isle of Terania. We have successfully prevailed in all encounters; you can rest easy." Brooklyn said to Mikasa.
"That's comforting news. Anyway, where is she?" Mikasa asked out loud as she looked behind.
Just as Mikasa said that, another person exited through the rear hatch of the cargo plane while carrying a big suitcase. A girl with twin braided white hair, looking around before she saw Brooklyn and the others, then headed there. The girl is Avrora, the ship girl from Northern Parliament who followed them back to this base, and Brooklyn noted that she doesn't look that exhausted…She could be excited about travelling to different places that she didn't feel as tired as the others?
"My, it's warmer here…Ah, are you Brooklyn? Privyet, my name is Avrora. I was sent here specifically to aid and reinforce Azur Lane ship girls in this region for Northern Parliament." Avrora said to Brooklyn while she smiled brightly.
"Yes, good afternoon Ms. Avrora. Thank you for coming all the way here, we are more than glad to have you here with us. You're the first Northern Parliament ship girl that come to this base, Ms. Avrora." Brooklyn said to Avrora while she smiled warmly.
"Da, my comrades are rather…occupied at the moment, the fight with the Sirens is not over yet." Avrora said to Brooklyn.
"Right…Well, we could discuss the details back on the base with the commander. Oh, speaking of which, we might need a bigger car." Brooklyn said to Avrora then to herself.
"Why did you only bring two cars with you, Brooklyn-san?" Mikasa asked Brooklyn.
"…I didn't account for everyone's baggage, this is purely my fault…But don't worry, I just thought up a solution for this." Brooklyn said to Mikasa.
Brooklyn forgot that they carried bags, and she bet her chance on stuffing the destroyers in one SUV while the rest in the other, by calculation it should fit. But what about their baggage? That's why she sighed in embarrassment regarding this miscalculation. Brooklyn pulled out her phone and searched for her contact list to find the name 'Commander Blaze' on the screen, she quickly pressed the dial button to call him…waiting for a bit, he finally answered the call.
"Commander, we have a bit of a problem. I request permission to use the helicopter, there's been a bit of a…miscalculation." Brooklyn said to William on the phone.
"By that you mean you couldn't fit so many of them inside two SUVs?" William asked Brooklyn on the phone.
"…Right, their baggage would be left behind if we follow the original plan." Brooklyn said to William in a matter-of-fact tone.
"…I suppose. Alright, inform the people at the airport. I'll send the helo over there in a bit." William said to Brooklyn on the phone.
"Roger that sir, thank you." Brooklyn replied to William on the phone while she smiled.
.
Ending the call with Brooklyn, William put his phone down as he looked at Belfast who's in front of him doing the rest of the work for today. William had heard about Hood, it's good to know that she's dedicated, but to think she would neglect taking care of herself…Honestly William felt bad, if he didn't get injured then perhaps Hood won't get sick due to that overtime. He made up his mind, he would visit Hood later after the work here is done.
"Master?" Belfast asked William.
"Yes?" William asked Belfast back.
"You're staring." Belfast said to William while she smiled.
…Did he? That's when William realized that his head position while he was thinking could be interpreted as him staring at Belfast's cleavage, William immediately straightened his posture and stared at Belfast face instead. She actually knew with the fact that William didn't do it on purpose, but that doesn't mean she couldn't mess with him for a bit. How else could the head maid get her entertainment?
"Sorry, I was thinking about something." William said to Belfast.
"Is it about Madam Hood?" Belfast asked William.
"You're not wrong." William said to Belfast.
"She will be fine after a short rest, master, though I'd imagine she won't mind you visiting her." Belfast said to William while she smiled.
"Yeah…Anyway, how many left?" William asked Belfast.
"Just this stack master, this should not take more than five minutes." Belfast said to William while she smiled again.
"Alright." William simply replied.
William stood up, he walked over the large window behind him and saw that the large helicopter was still there. He took out his phone and messaged the special chat box for Manjuu command, he was given the privilege to use the room chat when he took command of the base. This room chat is where William could specify an instruction for the Manjuus' manpower, only he and the secretaries possess this privilege to access the chat room, and it's very useful whenever they need something done out of their sight or receiving reports regarding status of a project. He commanded that the helicopter be brought to the airport to pick up Brooklyn and the others, when he sent that he waited for around five seconds before a confirmation message appeared on it saying that the Manjuus received the order and were executing them. William turned back his attention to the helipad and indeed he already saw several Manjuus over there preparing the helicopter to take off.
…William's right eye widened, he rubbed it several times to make sure what he's seeing was real. The helicopter soon became operational and took off not long after, heading straight for the airport in the city…WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! How does that work!? William just sent the message and five seconds later those chickens appeared as soon as the confirmation message was sent to him!? Did they just magically appear out of thin air like in those base building games?! The event he just saw is witchcraft of the highest order, he started to wonder if this world is nothing but a game simulation designed by…No, he's getting too deep into this. Ignorance is bliss William, pretend like you never saw that happen!
"…Master, the paperwork is done." Belfast said to William.
"Excellent work Belfast. You're free to go, thank you for the help." William said to Belfast while he smiled.
"Are you sure you don't need anything else, master?" Belfast asked William.
"…No, I'm fine for now. Though, are you free tonight?" William asked Belfast.
"Yes I am, master." Belfast answered while she smiled a bit.
"Then please come to my room later." William said to Belfast.
"…Understood master." Belfast said to William while she nodded.
Belfast curtsied then left the office, she wondered why did William request her for tonight? So many predictions, even few that could be considered lewd crossed her mind but Belfast chose to ignore it for now. She'll find out what he wanted with her tonight…William took the last of the chocolate muffin, downed the rest of the black tea, grabbed his phone, and then exited his office. Walking down the hall he looked outside to see that the sky is clear, but it's quite humid now…That could be a sign that tonight it's going to rain, what's with all this rain before summer? Exiting the administration building, William greeted several ship girls who were walking past him. William saw that the girls were heading for the canteen, curiosity got the better of him, and he walked there. When he arrived at the canteen, he saw the interior had been modified…There's a banner with 'Welcome Back!' written on it, tables are arranged in linear fashion, several ship girls are busy decorating the walls or putting utensils on the table…Wait, is this a welcome back party for those girls who went to Northern Parliament? Hiei noticed that William was at the front door, she then approached him.
"Ara, shikikan-sama." Hiei said to William while she smiled.
"Ms. Hiei, I was not aware of this welcome back celebration." William said to Hiei while he stared around.
"I heard it's a tradition on this base, for those who have been away to be welcomed in this kind of celebration. Kongou nee-sama said so." Hiei explained to William.
"It's a good tradition because that could keep morale high, but please inform me before doing this next time alright?" William said to Hiei while he smiled a bit.
"Hai…This also serves as a welcoming party for the new ship girl arriving today." Hiei said to William as she looked back a bit
"Hmm? For A…Avrora, yes, this also serves as her welcoming party? How did you girls find out so quickly about her?" William asked Hiei.
"You get a bunch of girls a bit bored with smartphones in one location, it's prone to happen they would form an information network." Hiei said to William before she winked.
…That's not a stretch, I mean he was just notified a few hours ago regarding the fact that this base would receive additional ship girls, and now everyone could assume they knew about this. Several other ship girls who noticed him then greeted him shortly before returning to their work, William nodded in response before Hiei offered him something on a plate. Its Sakura Empire dish that's called Onigiri, taking one, William didn't hesitate to take a bite immediately…The fulfilling taste of rice, the right amount of spice, and this one flavorful bite is really nice! William's eye widened, the brief taste of the onigiri immediately reminded him that he wanted to eat something not sweet and fulfilling. His primal instinct awakened, his hunger demanded to be sated, and he devoured the onigiri in a heartbeat. He subtly looked at Hiei who stared a bit at him before she smiled and offered more, William didn't hesitate to take another one and started munching on it.
"…Uhm, this is really good Ms. Hiei! My compliments to the chef." William said to Hiei while smiled after he finished the onigiris.
"Ara, thank you. I'm glad to know it's delicious…I made these for those girls working hard on setting this place, I'm now confident that they will enjoy these onigiris." Hiei said to William while she stared at the working girls.
"My opinion is valued that much?" William asked Hiei while he cocked his eyebrows.
"You're a foodie, aren't you? Most of the girls said so." Hiei asked William.
Okay, it seems the news that he could eat so much has spread around the base ever since he downed that big ass portion back during his first combat mission with the Sirens. It's not a lie, he's a big eater for sure. How do people think he got this giant body? Nutrients and workout with a touch of genetics would do that to you.
"Not at that level yet Ms. Hiei…Alright, can I come to this party?" William asked Hiei while he smiled a bit.
"I was about to ask you before you arrived here first, shikikan. Of course you could come, you have to." Hiei said to William.
"Brilliant. I'll see you girls tonight then." William said to Hiei while he left the canteen.
"Hai." Hiei simply replied.
Leaving the canteen, William heads to his original destination which is the infirmary. He regretted the fact that he needed to be fully dressed on a day like this, he's already sweating…Arriving at the infirmary without any problem, William knocked on the door twice before opening it. He stepped in and saw Vestal seated behind her desk, she noticed the door was opened and saw William walking toward her before looking to the right. There he saw Hood, she's asleep on the bed.
"Afternoon, Vestal." William greeted Vestal.
"Good afternoon commander, here to check up on Hood?" Vestal asked William.
"Yeah, I heard she's sick from Belfast. Diagnose for her?" William asked Vestal.
"Light exhaustion, sleep deprivation, and apparently, the lack of taking care of oneself. She's been a bit fixated on her work, she hasn't eaten much and doesn't get enough rest…She experienced a slight fever, I've told her to rest for now and see if she gets better after a nap. I also gave her some medicine; she should be fine." Vestal said to William.
"Good to hear, it's not nothing major at least." William said to Vestal as he stared at Hood.
"Sir, can you please watch the infirmary for a while? I have to pick up something back at the dorm." Vestal suddenly said to William.
"Yeah, I can do that." William said to Vestal while he nodded his head.
"Perfect. Be back soon." Vestal said to William.
Vestal exited the infirmary, William then found a stool, took it with him, placed it on the right bed side, and sat there as he stared at Hood. Even when sleeping, she's a beautiful woman, one who William daresay was even more beautiful than Lena, who most people find attractive already. It's no doubt if he ever brought Hood with him back to his hometown, she would instantly catch the attention of people there…William dared himself to move his left hand, he lightly touched Hood's forehead to check on her temperature, sweeping few strands of her golden blonde hair away in the process…Nothing odd about how warm she is, her body temperature seemed normal. Hood stirred in her sleep, and William pulled his hand back. Come to think of it, this is the second time he saw Hood sleeping and-.
"…Touching a lady without her permission is rude, milord." William's heart rate spiked in one nanosecond.
"…You're awake." William said to Hood.
"I can't fall asleep; I have been trying for the past fifteen minutes." Hood said to William.
Hood opened her eyes, she stared at William with half lidded eyes while smiling sweetly at him…BOI, if god is love then that stare is the cupid! William felt his cheeks flushed, and he looked to the side in embarrassment, man that stare was so unfair! Hood then giggled when she saw William do that, now she understands how Belfast feels when she did that to him. William can't believe that simple stare was so mesmerizing! If he didn't control himself, he felt like he'd stare too long and be rude to her…
"My, your cheeks are a lovely shade of red." Hood said to William.
"It's hot outside." William said to Hood with a serious stare.
"But isn't this infirmary comfortably cold?" Hood asked in a playful tone.
"I just got here; my body need some time to adjust." William replied smoothly.
Both of them know that's bullshit, but they played along with this little act. Hood had these strange feelings of…excitement? Relief? Happiness? Inside her heart right now, William did care enough that he would visit her despite its only being a light fever. Hood felt herself getting better already, but she'll follow Vestal's orders before she clears herself from the infirmary.
"…Our commission team from the North Pole is arriving now, I will debrief them myself later. There's also a welcome back party, a tradition on this base if I recall Hiei's words correctly, to celebrate their return and the new girl's arrival." William explained to Hood.
"Ah…yes, that is true. We held that kind of celebration for the commission girls who have to go on missions for extended amounts of time." Hood said to William.
"I want you to be there tonight." William said to Hood.
"My my, you want me to be there?" Hood asked William while she smiled a bit.
"Yeah, I need my trusty secretary who didn't get herself a break for the past week there. No work for tonight, I want you to rest and have fun." William said to Hood while he smiled.
Hood widened her eyes a bit before she eventually smiled, William knew how to get his message across very well. William doesn't feel like arguing with Hood and thus he suffices with that simple sentence, both of them are grown adults…If William wants to go to this celebration tonight, then he supposed he needs to get his business with Belfast done as soon as possible tonight. Hood and William then stared at each other, William expected Hood to respond and she shall give him just that.
"…As you command, milord." Hood said to William while she smiled widely.
Updated: 03-11-2021 (Beta Readed by Culture-Hunt3r)
Aaron: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, thanks for the advice too
Guest: Here you go!
…Thank you for the follows, favorites, and the reviews everyone. So, this chapter's done, time to rest by reading that Hood doujin for a bit (man it's hot!).
Until next time!
- Dasmara