"She seems like a nice person." Scary but caring. She has the look that either could snipe your heart or make you quiver in fear.

"Indeed. Sanae is a good person." Nagato thinks highly of her. I don't know if that's because she is the head priestess of the entire Sakura Empire or something more personal.

"Say Nagato, you both were talking about spells and rituals. What was that about?" After the discussion of Nagato's progress, Nagato and Sanae then talk about Sakuran magic that I wiped off my memory cause I don't know jack shit about that stuff.

"Sanae is asking whether I still diligently perform my duty as the head priestess of Azur Lane. Asking me about the ritual procedure to see if I was lying or not." I guess that's a good way of making sure Nagato is doing her job. If she didn't then she wouldn't be able to answer Sanae's question perfectly. "Although, I don't know what to do with this." Nagato commented as she looked at the thing in her hands. It's a small sakura tree in a polybag that she received from The Head Priestess herself. "I would love to plant this in the base but I don't know when we will be able to come back." Her cute little fox ears dejectedly flatten themselves. If we weren't in public, I would've nibbled on her cute ears like crazy.

"Don't worry." I pat Nagato's head affectionately. "I'm sure this whole thing will be resolved in no time and we'll return back to our base soon enough." That sentence is not only for Nagato but also for me. I don't exactly keen on being trapped in The Sakura Empire for the rest of my life. "Everyone is doing their best to solve the massive headache we're having right now."

"Yeah. You're right."

"Mmmhh~~" While I'm having a heart to heart talk with Nagato, my daughter and girlfriend are enjoying some sweets that they receive from the Head Priestess while my wife is gleefully looking at them. "Sweet~~" It's a weird sentence but that's the truth.

"Don't eat too much Lena or the tooth fairy will visit you early."

""Okay~~"" Why are you also answering, Stella?

"What do you think of the air, Béarn?" Hmm?

"It feels refreshing yet stuffy at the same time." The girl that answers is Béarn, an Iris Orthodoxy aircraft carrier. She is a small girl with light purple bob cut hair and blue eyes. She wears a monocle on her left eye and is always carrying a notebook with her. The notebook is so thick that I don't think it can be called a notebook anymore. "I suppose that is what to be expected when I'm here." The girl opens her notebook and writes something in it.

"Kufufufu~~ To some extent, this is a Sakuran magic school, no?" The one that questions her is Clemenceau, a sister to Richelieou and Jean Bart. She has light brown long wavy hair and red eyes. She wears a long black coat, a lot of golden ornaments, and a black crown. The most eye-catching thing is her staff. I wonder what that amber colored massive gemstone on her staff is? Is it really a precious stone or just some decoration? I assume it's just for decoration because thieves would be all over her if it was real. "No wonder you feel intimidated."

"Please don't joke around like that, Manquer Clemenceau. It's rude." Is that so? I don't know at all the etiquette of magic conversation in public so I can't tell if Béarn is right or not. "We don't want to stain the good name of Iris Orthodoxy with the Sakuran people."

"Kufufufu~~ Don't worry. We have our two commanders here to help us if that does happen." HEY! Prevention is better than the cure or whatever they say! "Especially when one of them is listening to our conversation right now~"

"Are you really going to put me at fault when you speak out loud like that?" It's not like I'm actively trying to listen to their conversation.

"Is that so~~?" The wicked witch of the Richelieu sisters comes closer to me. "Shall I punish these naughty ears of yours for listening to other people's conversation? Fuh~~"

"Geeek!" The witch teases my ears, knowing that it's one of my weak spots.

"Listening to other people's conversation is a bad habit, commander." Again, I wasn't trying to listen in, Béarn. You both were talking out loud. "The sakuran might cast some weird spell that makes you grow a third ear." I think that's more likely to be coming from you rather than the sakuran.

"Apologies for making you wait." Ah! The shrine maidens are back. "Should we start making our journey back?"

"Excuse me," KGV raises her hand. "do you perhaps have a green tea that we can buy? I would like to give her majesty something as a souvenir."

"I shall guide you to the nearest store. Please follow me." With Yamada as our guide, we began our descent from the castle. The summer sun is shining brightly on us and yet it's not as hot as I expected it to be. That's weird. Once we reach the bottom, Yamada instantly leads us to a store. It looks pretty old fashioned which excites me a little bit. I wonder what the inside would look like.

*Clang* *Clang*

"Welcome~~" My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined. The inside of the store is just your average convenience store with aisles of modern products and such. "Ah! Welcome! Welcome! Please make yourself comfortable!" The cashiers hurriedly get over the counter and greet us more formally this time with the bow and all.

"We're looking for green tea. Do you have some?"

"Yes! Of course! Please follow me!"

"While George is looking for her stuff, I'm going to look around." And with Stella's sentence, everyone scatters to find their own souvenirs. What should I get for Sheffy? Chocolate should do nicely. I walk down the confectionary aisle. I wonder what kind of chocolate Sheffy likes.

"It's not good to judge something by its cover, commander." And it's not nice to read someone's mind without their consent, Clemenceau. "You wouldn't think they would throw away modern conveniences now, would you?"

"Have you seen their building, Clemenceau?"

"Under the wooden cover, it's just metal, commander. They do look convincing from a far but rest assured, their buildings wouldn't fall easily to a mere earthquake." When did you have the time to check? "Kufufufu~~ You're surprisingly innocent, le commandant."

"Keep teasing me and something bad might happen to you, Clemenceau." Since no one was watching us, I bolded myself and put my hand on Clemenceau's back, ready to push them down at a moment's notice.

"Any activity I do with you is a good time in my book, commandant." The wicked witch replies to my threat by also circling her arms around my body. "How about you lead the dance, commandant?" She seductively looked at me like she was inviting me to move forward.

"If threats against you don't work then maybe I should aim them at your sisters instead." I pull myself away from the wicked witch after hearing people footsteps coming closer.

"Oh my~~ Are you doubting my ability to entertain you by myself?" Stop twisting my words against myself, witch! Only I can do that! "It hurts my pride so please give me the chance to show you what I am truly capable of."

"Are you going to cast a spell that forces me to fall in love with you?"

"Perhaps. I believe a man of your quality is wasted on someone like Stella." That's your commander and my girlfriend, witch. Put some respect in her name. "Of course you also agree with me, right, le commandant? A man like you wouldn't suffice to only have one partner, no?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." I definitely know what she is talking about. "Stop suggesting dangerous things that might get me in trouble, Clemenceau." And allow me to do it in secret.

"Kufufufu~~ Then this one shall wait for her turn patiently like the others." Good. I'm going to do your goody two shoes sister first then you. "What are you looking for? A chocolate for your favorite maid Sheffield I presume?"

"Yeah. Do you know what she likes?" Belfast did say that she knows Sheffy is my favorite so Clemenceau knowing isn't that much of a surprise.

"I believe anything that tastes good for you should do fine for Miss Sheffield."

"Uuuhh… You're pushing the burden on me more, Clemenceau."

"Kufufufu~~ Apologies for answering honestly, commandant." I asked her to relieve me of this burden and yet she somehow put the burden back on my shoulders. "I don't think you should mull over it too much. I believe Miss Sheffield would be glad no matter what chocolate she would receive from you."

"Guuuuh… Alright… Then I just choose this." A milky chocolate with cashew nuts in it. I hope she likes it. I kinda like the taste while also having that crunchy sensation once in a while. "Oh, let me buy you something, Clemenceau."

"Oh my~~ How kind~" I'm not some asshole who doesn't know how to repay kindness when given one, Clemenceau. I'm not that bad of a person. "Then please pick a chocolate for me?"

"Eh? You're not going to pick one yourself?" Richelieu probably likes sweet while Jeanie probably likes bitter so does Clemeceau like sour? "I don't exactly know your taste, Clemenceau."

"Kufufufu~~ Then how about we make it into a game, le commandant? If you pick the wrong chocolate then I'll be a little bit mischievous with you."

"What's your gauge on 'a little bit'?"

"Kufufufu~~" Answer me, woman! I don't know what's behind that creepy smile of hers! It could either be forcing me to eat an entire chili or raping me in the middle of the public.

"If you don't answer me then I'll give you the one with the orange flavor on it." Or I assume it's an orange flavored chocolate because I can't read sakuran.

"Kufufufu~~" Shit! She is not threatened at all! I don't know if she wants it or not! "I'm waiting, commandant."

"Guh! Alright, I'll buy this for you." I grab the orange flavored chocolate and give it to Clemenceau. "So how's my grade, teacher?"

"Hmm~~ Let's see." Please a gold star! Please a gold star! With a sly smile on her face, Clemenceau inspected the chocolate that I gave her. "Well, I suppose this is the appropriate grade for you." Without any warning, she then gave my cheek a light kiss.

"Is that a punishment or a reward?"

"I still have a heart, le commandant."

"That's a surprise." In retaliation, Clemenceau lightly bonked my head with her staff. "Ow! Sorry! Sorry! I was joking!" Her staff ain't made out of plastic, that's for damn sure! If anyone had any doubt about the authenticity of her staff then let them get hit by it in the head and they'll know her staff's true power. "Come on, let's see the others."

We listen to the sound of people to locate them like how a bat sees the world. The first one we met was Lena and Helena who were in the candy aisle.

"Papa!" My daughter greets me as I approach her.

"Candy? Didn't I tell you not to eat too much sweet, cutie?" I crouch down and pinch the little sweet demon's cheek.

"Bwut! I want candy!"

"You need to have restraint or you'll lose all your teeth, sweetie. How about we buy something else?"

"What?"

"Hmm… There's a dry snack section over there. How about we take a look at it, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Kufufufu~~ It must be hard to take care of a child, Helena."

"Ahahaha~~ Not exactly. I'm still learning to be a good mother." You're a great mother, Helena. Don't listen to whatever Clemenceau is saying.

"If you need help then don't hesitate to ask. I personally would help you to take care of Lena." Get in line. Lena has plenty of aunts already. "Lena, come here." Clemenceau, the witch, lured my daughter to come to her and it works. My cute daughter walked up to the witch and then the witch scooped her up in her arms. I should teach Lena about stranger danger. "Let's search for some delicious snacks, shall we?"

"Don't you think it's too easy for Clemenceau to lure Lena, darling?"

"I don't think Clemenceau means any harm to Lena." That's not what I'm getting at, Helena. "Hyah!" Since now I'm just with my wife, I can be a little bit naughty so I put my hand on her waist. "Com–commander. We're in public."

"Is it wrong for me to be naughty to my wife?" I pull her in and bring my face closer to hers. "My memories might be blurry but I still remember how wild you were in bed, Helena. Want to make a little sibling for Lena, darling?"

"Da–darling! Someone might see us!"

"Then we should give them a good show." I lower my hand and grab her ass and pull her even closer until our body touches. "Just be yourself and they'll know that I have a very active wife."

"Dar–Darling! At home! We'll do it at home, okay?!"

"That's a promise!" And with that, I let Helena out of my grip. "How about we let Clemenceau take care of Lena for tonight, Helena?"

"Uuuhh! I think we should go to where Lena and Clemenceau are." With a red blushing face, my wife quickly escaped from me to follow where our daughter had gone. Of course I follow after her ass.

"Oh my~~ You want these?" When we reached our daughter and the witch, they were picking some dried seaweed.

"Mhm~~"

"Don't just buy one single type of snack, Lena. You'll get bored if you keep eating the same thing."

"Okay~~!"

"Spoiling your daughter now, are we?" Of course! She is my cute daughter after all! What? Jealous? Too bad! "Lena will grow to be a spoiled child if you keep spoiling her like this."

"You would understand if you have a daughter of your own, Clemenceau."

"I would need your help from you then, le commandant." Let's schedule that then. I'm going to be with Helena tonight so how about tomorrow, Clemenceau? We're going to try to get you pregnant tomorrow.

"I want that one too!" My daughter pointed at a big bag of fried intestines. Its size tells me that it's probably chickens' intestines.

"Alright." I grab the bag and give it to my daughter. "Should we wait at the cashier for the rest or do you want to visit other aisles?"

"Drink!" Maybe Clemenceau was right about me spoiling Lena but who cares! She is super adorable! Following my daughter's suggestion, we walk to the cold drink aisle where a line of refrigerators are waiting for us. "I want that one!"

"You really are your papa's daughter, huh. Hahaha~~" Sorry Helena, you might win the DNA war but I win the preferences war. My daughter happily pointed at a cold chocolate milk bottle. "Make sure not to drink too much, okay?" My wife grabs the bottle and gives it to Lena.

"Okay!"

.

We waited at the cashier until the rest of our group came back. We really let ourselves loose, huh? Stella bought an entire vanilla cake. KGV bought both matcha and green tea and both of them come in a special small chest. At first I thought she bought some sort of jewelry but was completely flabbergasted when she opened it and I saw green powders instead.

"I want to eat the cake now!" You're wearing white, Stella. Belfast will kill you if you stain it with the cake.

"I believe everyone is here." Yamada takes a roll call. "Good. Let us continue our journey back." We better hurry or Stella might dive straight into her cake.

"Excuse me." Huh? Out of nowhere, a group of shrine maidens intersect us. They come from the castle. What's going on? "This is a new request from the head priestess. Admiral Igo is to stay for the night in the Miko Village." I'm sorry, what? Is my translator malfunctioning? "Admiral Igo, will you please follow us?"

"Excuse me! We didn't talk about this!" Stella immediately jumps into action. She stands between the shrine maidens and me. "Sorry for not trusting you girls but this is not part of the schedule. I would like some explanation from the head priestess herself if you want me to let you have Igo." I'm flattered to have her as a girlfriend.

"My apologies for asking such a ridiculous request." Well, here she comes, Stella. I hope you know what you were saying. "But I personally would like to invite Admiral Igo alone to stay in the castle for the night." The head priestess herself descends from her castle to say her request. "The previous arrangement still applies. Admiral Igo will be under my protection in the Miko village."

"Alright but why? This is clearly something that you just think about. You would've told me way before this if you want Igo to stay here, Sanae."

"I understand if you feel weird with this predicament, Stella. I must admit that I have just gathered the resolve just now." I don't know if that's supposed to make me feel better or not. "I would like to investigate Admiral Igo deeper than before."

"Is this going to involve one of your sakuran rituals or something?"

"Yes."

"Gah! I hate you so much right now!" Stella screams out to the sky in frustration. "Sigh… I'll let you have Igo but beware, if anything bad happens to him then I'll burn this entire village to the ground." Calm down, Stella. That's a little bit too much I think.

"Be assured that nothing will happen to him as long as he is with me." The head priestess deeply bows her head. "I promise you with my life."

"If you are going that far… Igo, sorry but you're going to stay here for tonight."

"Sure… but let's just be sure here. I'm a man." Do I need to show them my penis to prove my point? "Is it really okay for me to stay in an all girl village?"

"Yes." Stop answering my answer so simply like that! "Miss Inoue, you may continue guiding Azur Lane down."

"Sigh… Lena, papa is going to stay here for tonight. You have to be a good girl and not cause trouble to mama and aunties, okay?"

"Okay~~!"

"Don't worry, le commandant. I assure you that Lena will be safe." Having someone shady like Clemenceau assuring me about my daughter's safety somehow makes it more believable. "But, please hold yourself. Please don't seduce all of these pure shrine maidens, okay?" Clemenceau pats me in the shoulder like an old friend telling you to not let your old habit get the best of you.

"That's true! Igo! I don't want to hear that you seduce any of the girls, okay?!" I know my place, Stella. This is not Azur Lane where I'm an admiral. This is the Miko village where I'm a visitor.

"Stella, please don't say stuff that can cause misunderstanding." You'll cause the girls of this village to look at me like I'm some sort of filth. "Please don't listen to her, head priestess. She's just jealous."

"There's nothing to worry about, Admiral Igo. This one understands what kind of woman Admiral of The Navy Stella is."

"HEY!" You have no right to be angry, Stella.

"Then, we bid farewell, Admiral Igo." With Yamada's closing, the Azur Lane entourage leave the village, leaving me in this all girl village with the head priestess beside me.

"Let us make our way back to the castle, Admiral Igo."

"Ah yes!" I don't know if it was because I'm with the head priestess but the climb to the castle is way faster than before. Like a blink of an eye.

"We have prepared some clothing for you, Admiral Igo. Please change into the prepared clothes as we would like to wash the uniform that you are wearing."

"Ah! Thank you so much!"

When we reached the castle, I was immediately guided to the top floor of the castle. Sadly enough, the stairs in the castle aren't an escalator so I have to manually move my feet.

"Ah… excuse me! Sorry for intruding!" The topmost floor is a room so that's why I was saying that stuff. "Is this your room, miss head priestess?" Should I start calling her 'head priestess' instead? Even that is kind of mouthful.

"Please call me Sanae."

"I'm sorry but I couldn't do that." Not with someone that can smite me from anywhere in the world. I know what I said but calling her just by the name isn't good. She called me 'Admiral Igo' so just calling her 'Sanae' is a little bit problematic on my side.

"Please call me Sanae."

"No, please. I can't do that to you."

"Please call me Ochi." Wait! Did it change?! "For more efficient communication, please start calling me Ochi."

"I understand. Miss Ochi, is this your room?"

"Yes and this will also be your room for tonight."

"I beg your pardon!" We're going to sleep together?! I have never heard of this!

"It is the best way for me to defend you." That's true but still! Stella is going to kill me if she knows I will be sleeping with the head priestess. "I'm afraid that I might not be able to reach you in time if you're anywhere else." I do think that I can defend myself long enough for you to arrive if you let me sleep on the floor below.

"Uugghhh… Is it really allowed for a shrine maiden to sleep with a man?"

"I'm a shrine maiden, yes but I'm also a sakuran. Protecting an important guest of state takes top priority." I felt so special when she said that. "There are other shrine maidens that can take my position as the head priestess."

"Please don't sacrifice your hard work just for me." Unlike me, Ochi Sanae must have gone through rigorous training and harsh trials to get where she is. I just need to have a clingy ex-girlfriend to get where I am. "It would eat me up inside if something happened to you because of me."

"Isn't that sweet~~?" Who? A sultry warm voice with just the hint of maturity entered my ears. I turned my head toward where the voice was coming from and it was a woman with cat ears and 2 cat tails. "It's rude to not take account of your guest's desire, Ochi."

"Kara." Kara has a darkish purple straight hair that flows beautifully behind her back. She wears a version of a shrine maiden's outfit but with a shorter skirt and her own color palette. "Chie." There's another girl who is standing beside Kara. I guess her name is Chie. She has a thick fish's tail on her back. Honestly, I think she is the first sakuran I saw who has a fish's characteristics.

"If we also sleep with you, will it make you feel better, Admiral Igo?"

"Uuh…" At least with them, I can make sure I don't fuck around and find out. "Sure…?"

"Please be assured that we'll be there as a guarantee to everyone that nothing happened between you and the head priestess." Chie chimes in to make sure I don't misunderstand their intention. "That should address your concern."

"Then yes! I don't think I can soften Miss Ochi's head."

"What does that mean?"


"There's nothing to be gained by preserving any relationship with those kinds of people."

"That's the exact reason, dummy~~ I want to experience something new."

"Okay! Okay! I'll take off my shirt so please stop trying to undress yourself!"

"No. Why would we need a separate bath?"

"Admiral Igo, it's not nice to flirt with a woman if you have no intention of following your advance."