"Alright! *Clap* *Clap* Calm down! Calm down! The meeting is starting." All the representatives of the factions have gathered in my office and they use the school's chairs as their seats. Maybe we should make a dedicated meeting room. "First and foremost, thank you for coming at such short notice. Secondly, I want to know how everyone is doing. Are there any complaints?"
"Nothing that we need to report off." I'm your commander, Dork E. Tell me everything. "Some of the girls are still on edge but those aren't something that the commander needs to be involved with." I don't know what to feel about Dork E's statement. I understand my position but I'm more of an on-field kind of leader so having something that I should not be involved with even though it's happening under my jurisdiction is ticking me off.
"I see… I understand what you're saying but please do keep me informed about that kind of stuff."
"What a kindred soul you have, my signora~~" Good morning too, Littorio. You seem healthy. "This one feels privileged to be living rent free in your head." You're not the only one I'm thinking of, Moss Head. Calm down. "Please rest assured, we KANSEN will help each other and make sure that everyone feels cozy."
"Alright, I'll take you on that." I'm going to punish Littorio if I ever hear someone crying. "The next thing that I want to discuss is about the road that connects this place to the dock. I had a feeling that stretch of road would be the highest in terms of usage. I would like to hear all of your opinions regarding that road. If you have to walk through that road everyday, what improvement would you like to see?" If we're going to have a vehicle like a car or truck then without a doubt we're going to need to fix the asphalt.
"The path is too uneven and wobbly! My feet hurt from walking on it!" Yeah, I kinda expected that. The asphalt isn't the only thing that the tree roots destroyed, the pavement was also a victim. "The asphalt is so broken that the tires of cars would be punctured after just touching the road." Kinda of an exaggeration there Elizabeth but I understand where she is coming from.
"Thank you for your input, Queen Elizabeth." So everyone is thinking of the same thing, huh… "Hmm… The main problem is if we want to fix the asphalt, we're going to need to buy some and also the tools and vehicles to deploy those asphalt too." Asphalt isn't paint where you can use a brush to apply them to a surface. You're going to need specific construction vehicles.
"Excuse me, comrade commander." Hmm? What is it, Belorussiya? "The problem is that the asphalt is uneven and cracks. Perhaps, rather than replacing the asphalt, maybe we can use the dirt under the asphalt. It's arguably better than the current situation as a dirt road is easier to mold and straighten."
"I see your point but how are we going to scrape the asphalt off?" If it's that easy to pick asphalt off the ground then we wouldn't be using them to make roads.
To my inquiring question, Belorussiya just easily answered by, "We can just use our riggings." Damn… What a convenience to have that massive bulk of ships… "Our hulls are stronger and durable than a mere asphalt road and we're definitely stronger than a bulldozer or something like that."
"If that's so then I'll leave that project to you, Belorussiya. Make a team and clean the road of asphalt and if you can, put a layer of gravel over the road" It's arguable whether a gravel road is better but having a dirt road means that you're going to get a lot of dust. Gravel can be used as a temporary measurement to decrease said dust. "You can cut off the tree roots that get in your path but make sure not to damage the tree unless it's absolutely necessary." Having trees adorning the side of the road make an effective shield from the sun and that's crucial in this summer heat.
"I shall personally make sure your wish comes true, comrade commander." Why do you gotta say it like that?
"Now that is done… The next thing I want to discuss is about forming several fleets. Patrol fleets and Arsenal Bird fleets." I don't know if we're going to need more but that's what we should do for now. "I'm planning to ask for a permit from the sakuran officials that'll allow us to patrol around the area." Like I said, I'm not comfortable being a burden like this especially when the sakuran officials have to feed so many mouths. "Can I ask you girls to form the fleets? I assume you girls would know what each fleet would need to perform effectively?"
"Eeeh~~ But we need your help, kommandant~~ Aren't you supposed to be our guiding light?"
"Eugen, I swear you'll end the day drenched in sweat." I want her to pay for this teasing and also the previous ones. I may not be able to go toe-to-toe with her but that doesn't mean I can't fight back.
"What a cruel kommandant you are~~ I miss kommandant Stella." No, you don't. All you ever do when near each other is fight and squabble.
"I doubt she'll do anything even if she is here. In fact, I think she will just make your punishment even harsher." I don't know how but Stella always finds a way. "Strasser, can I ask you to form the patrol fleets? Enterprise, while Strasser is forming and tuning the fleets, I want you to make a temporary one just in case things go south." It's crazy to think that Strasser would make the perfect patrol and Arsenal Bird fleets in a matter of seconds. It might take hours or even days to simulate and think of every possible combination that will give us the most advantage against something so powerful. And when she is tuning the fleets, we would still have a temporary one just in case.
"Leave it to me, kommandant."
"Got it."
"Monty, can I ask you to write the proposal? I'll take it with Stella once she comes back." Honestly, I doubt the sakuran officials would deny such an advantageous proposal. The process would be much faster if we prepare everything beforehand.
"Mmhh~~ Okay."
"I have detailed information about the Arsenal Bird and I can give it to you if you want." I doubt Aoste would make a fuss about me sharing the document. He is not that type of man. "Now that's done… Now, I want to discuss the bar in the recreation room. You girls are going to build a new bar on the third floor and move the equipment there."
"Is it just me or does the kommandant's tone is slightly different?" It's because of how disastrous the worst outcome is, Eugen. I won't be able to forgive myself if one of the little KANSENs becomes an alcoholic.
"Is that so? Then I'll leave the job to you, Eugen. No alcohol until the bar is out of the recreation room." Knowing how much Eugen loves alcohol, that's going to be a good motivation for her. "You can fill the room with wine, beer, cognac or whatever. The only thing that matters to me is that the bar isn't there anymore."
"Aye~~ Aye~~ Kommandant." I can't tell if Eugen is fucking around or not. Her teasing tone and normal tone is almost indistinguishable.
"Alright… Does anyone have any other suggestions?"
"Oh! Me! Me!" A cheerful Zuikaku raised her arm. "Can we make a big dining room?"
"Dining room?"
"Yes! When we were still in the base, we always ate together! But right now, we usually eat in the dining room of many mass-produced ships. I think it'll cheer everyone up if we bring back the canteen where everyone can meet and eat together."
"I see…" She is not wrong with that. I have less interaction with the shipgirls here than when I was at the base. It creates this feeling of distance between me and the girls which I hate. "I like that, Zuikaku. Do you have any idea where you would put the canteen?"
"How about the block directly in front of the gate? We can destroy several abandoned houses and build a new canteen." I wonder how many houses would need to be torn down to make a canteen that big? I don't think the girls would have any problem destroying houses but building something is more complicated.
"Create a team to finalize the plan and then write the proposal and give it to me. Belfast, I want some maids in that team. I want a kitchen next to the dining building." I doubt anyone would know how big a kitchen needs to be to feed the shipgirls better than the maid corps. Also, Zuikaku doesn't strike me as a big brain woman so the maid can also be a consultant to her.
"Leave it to me!"
"As you wish, my master."
"Okay, anything else?"
"I have something to ask, commander Igo." Now it's time for Richelieu to speak out. I wonder if her question has anything to do with Jean Bart. "About the meowfficers and manjuus, do we have any plan about them? We aren't just going to leave them in the mass-produced ships, right?" Her tone gets sadder as she goes on and she looks at me with her puppy eyes. I got to be one of the dumbest assholes to not notice what she is signaling here.
"Well, we have an unused building out there. The yellow building one. Can you see if we can use it to house the meowfficers and manjuus, Richelieu?"
"Yes, commander."
"Okay… next?"
"Me! Hero!" Ah, good morning Reno. Can you please stop calling me a Hero? No achievement is great enough for that title. "I want to make a building where we can convert electrical power from the different mass-produced ships so that we can safely use them."
"Mmhh…" I want to say 'yes' but like I said before, different ships have different power needs but this is Reno we're talking about, she is probably the best among all of us in this field. But I'm still concerned though… "Where would you get the necessary components?"
"Make them!"
"Uuuhh…" This doesn't put a smile on my face. I understand that she is good at electrical stuffs but still, making DIY complex electrical components is a horrible idea. "Will it be safe…?"
"It will!" Ugh…
"Well… How about you make the proposal and I'll discuss it Stella?" Stella knows Reno better than me so she should know whatever we should accept or reject Reno's plan.
"Yes! At haste!" The big breasted woman saluted me like a normal soldier which kinda weird me out considering how rarely someone does it in Azur Lane.
"Let me take a note of that for a moment… Mmmhh… Okay, next?"
"Me, commander." It's time for Vittorio to raise her arm. "May I propose a big bathhouse?"
"A bathhouse, huh…" I've used one before in the sakura empire island and I get why Vittorio is proposing to make one. It could be used by the shipgirls to clean themselves, relax their bodies after a hard day, and interact with each other which is also a bonus point. I'm pretty sure the Sakura Empire has plenty of hot spring bath houses around their country but the KANSENs are a secret so we can't expect them to use a public bathhouse. "We have a river nearby for freshwater but we still need to purify it in case there's some dangerous parasite… but the heating elements are also kinda annoying to find and install… It might be hard but it's doable. Write the proposal and I'll make sure to put in the word with Stella. There's an abandoned pool in this school, you can use that. Just clean it and build a water treatment plant nearby."
"Yes! Please be assured! I shall make the most excellent proposal you've ever read." It's a proposal, Vittorio. Its fate is to collect dust in some random archive out there. Please focus your effort on designing and building the bathhouse itself.
"Mhhmm~~ Okay, who's next?"
"Me please, commander." Yat Sen's calming noise was enough to pull everyone's attention without her raising her arm. "I would like to build a temporary school for the small ones." We're at school, Yat Sen.
"Hmm… I see…" I have always been worried about the smaller KANSEN so I shouldn't fuck around in this matter. "Eugen, I changed my mind. You can use the big grayish building next to this one as the bar. Yat Sen, you can use the entire third floor for the school." It's not much but it should make do for now.
"Got it, my kommandant."
"Thank you, commander Igo."
"Monty, you're typing everything down, right? Or am I going too fast?"
"Don't worry about me. I got it." I'm glad that my secretary isn't getting overwhelmed. I guess there's a reason as to why Stella chose her to be my secretary. "Just focus on the meeting and I'll focus on noting everything down." Calm down, cutie. I'm just worried about you.
"Alright, does anyone have any other ideas they would like to let me know?" Silence falls on the room as the girls wait for anyone to raise their hands. I guess this means that no one currently has any more ideas. "Okay! *Clap* Since nobody speaks out or raises their arm, I'm going to assume that no one has any more ideas and with that, I end today's meeting. If any of you want to speak with me, whether it's about job or you have a new idea or just anything, you can meet me here. With that, dismissed."
All the girls stand up from their chairs and leave the room. Now, I need to move their chairs out of my office as it's cramping the place and ruining the scene.
"Good work. Can't believe a pervert like you can be such a good commander." Can you at least drop the last part, Jeanie? You're going to have more friends if you learn to not say mean things.
"I know… Sigh… Jeanie, can I ask you to move these chairs out? I'm kinda tired." Thankfully Jeanie nods her head without a single comment and goes immediately to work. Using her shipgirl's strength, Jeanie easily carries multiple chairs with her out of the room.
"You're going to read a lot of paper after this." Yeah… Not exactly looking forward to it.
"That's why you're here, Monty. You're my number one place to lean my head." And hide my cock in.
"Sigh… You're not wrong but don't get too dependent on someone, dummy." I understand where she is coming from but humans are social creatures, we kinda need each other. I can't be a farmer making food and being a commander at the same time, Monty.
"I bet you wouldn't say that if I were Clevebro."
"That's because unlike you, she actually needs it." Does that mean I'm better than Clevebro? "Not to brag but I'm Clevebro number one helper. I will be the one she calls first whenever she is in trouble." Something tells me that's not true.
"Then my next milestone is to convince Clevebro that I'm better than you."
"Yeah, good luck with that." She looks so proud of herself. She looks extremely cute when she is proud like that. Puffing her little chest.
"You're just the cutest, aren't you?" I can't help but pinch Monty's cheek from how adorable she is. "Can you bring me my paperwork, cutie? I think it's in Stella's office."
"Don't pinch too hard, dumbass." Sorry. I promise to be more gentle next time. "Wait here and don't make me look for your ass." My little secretary exited the room which made it just me in the office.
"Aahh…" I let myself relax in this rare alone time. I lean my back on my chair and it feels wonderful. But of course my group of assholes had to ruin it as I felt the vibration of my phone in my pants. "Ugh…" I took out my phone and it was a call from Looke. Ah shit… I remember he wanted to meet me in the Sakura Empire. "Yeah, what's up?"
"Hey bad luck charm, why did you bait the Arsenal Bird here?"
"Bitch! I wasn't trying to!" If I was, I would've invited all of the Arsenal Birds here instead of just 1. At the very least it would centralize all of humanity's problems into a single area. And maybe we can nuke it too. "You should blame Aoste for not warning me."
"Sigh… I assume we can't meet, no?"
"Nope. Still busy getting things in order." I'm sure Stella would murder me on sight if she knew I left the base in her absence. "Make yourself useful and do something to help the sakuran, will ya?"
"The fuck do you want me to do? Fly and destroy the Arsenal Bird with my bare hands?" Hey, if you can do it then do it. It will make everything a lot easier. "Sigh… Call me when you have some free time? What I wanted to show you has become much more interesting."
"Good side or bad side?"
"Can't determine it right now even with Logan here. We think you're the only one who can do that." The hell? Me? Only me? What does he mean by that? "Don't forget or I'll tell Alice."
"I'm going to fucking murder you." I don't want to deal with her. Looke then ended the call without any further explanation. Something that I will be interested in, huh… I put my phone on my desk and lean back on my chair with my arms crossed. What did he mean by that? What is my interest anyway? Wisdom cube? And what development does he mean? "Hmm…" Did he perhaps discover the existence of other kinds of cube like the energy cube? If so… "Guh…" I need to get it in my hand before someone does something stupid and eliminates a good chunk of the earth.
"Here's your paperwork, dummy." My cute petite secretary walked back inside the room with a stack of paper in her hands. That stack of paper is half her height… I'm so fucking dead. "Why are you crying? Did you get a stomachache?"
"There's so much work! GGGGAAAAAAHHHHHH!" I WANT MIA BACK! I WANT STELLA BACK! AAAAAAHHHHH! I HATE PAPERWORK! SOMEONE SAVE ME!
"What's wrong with the pervert?" Jeanie returned back just in time to see me wailing in physiological pain.
"The paperwork scares him." You would be too if you understand my pain. All of you are the roots of my pain! STOP MAKING SO MUCH PROBLEMS! "He is so pathetic… It almost makes me sad." OH! TALKING BIG SHIT FOR SOMEONE WHO CAUSES THE PROBLEMS, HUH!
"You know what?! You girls are my secretary so why don't we split the work? Monty gets two fifths of the paperwork, Jeanie gets two fifths too while I get one fifth! I don't want to hear a denial! I'm your commander and my words are supreme!" If Stella can abuse her power, so can I!
"What a fucking loser…"
"Is being pathetic and perverted the only thing you can do?"
"Shut up! You girls are the cause of this paperwork so you better take responsibility and work your ass! Be an adult and take responsibility for your actions!"
"Use a mirror, dumbass." If I'm not a responsible adult then I wouldn't be here talking with you girls right now. I would've booked it once I got a taste of a KANSEN's body and yet, here I am, still with you girls. "Sigh… let's do this… The sooner we start, the sooner we finish."
"Hehehe~~ I love you girls~~" Monty separated the workload into several piles and gave me the smallest amount. "Come here and let me kiss you, Monty."
"Ugh… Fine…" Monty acts begrudgingly and pushes her face closer to me. I give her a wet kiss on the cheek. "Never going to get used to that."
"For your own good, don't." If you're jealous then just say it, Jeanie.
"Alright, let's get to work!"
The 3 of us started working on these papers and the look on the girls' faces when they read the paperwork was precious. Yeah, those are the things we, the commanders, need to think about. You girls surely are a handful to take care of. Not only that, some of you are also troublemakers who cause a shit ton of headache.
"Hmm?" I was taken by surprise when my phone rang again. Is Looke calling me again? What else does he want to secretly not tell me? "Yeah, what is it?" I answer the call without looking at the caller as my eyes are still glued to the paper in front of me.
"Good morning, Igo~~"
*Click*
"Evil begone… Evil begone… Evil begone… Evil begone… Evil begone… Evil begone… Evil begone… Evil begone… Evil begone… Evil begone…"
"What is going on?"
"Hey! Are you okay?!"
No, I'm not! Your commander had just been called by the evilest creature to have ever been born in this entire universe. She had just cursed me with her presence! I'm going to be in so much fucking pain!
"Evil begone! Evil begone! Evil begone! Evil begone! Evil begone! Evil begone! Evil begone! Evil begone! EVIL BEGONE!"
"Snap out of it!"
"What's wrong?!"
My secretaries jump toward me and show genuine concern. They pull me away from the office and check on my body as I know how white my face is.
"Vestal, now!"
"I'll carry you!"
The girls were about to carry me in their arms before.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
"..."
"..."
"..."
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
"Mhh…" Monty grabs my phone and looks at the caller. "Alice…" Never have I heard a name that I don't want to see or meet less in my life before and I met Alpha. "Do you want to decline it?"
"No. There'll come a moment in a man's life where he needs to face his biggest fear and right now, it's that moment for me." I thought I had lost her the moment I got conscripted but nope, seems like the past always catches up. You know what? Maybe it's just my prejudice. Maybe she has turned a new leaf and become a much more respectable and admirable person. Yeah! It's been quite some time since we met so maybe she had changed. I picked up the call and put the phone near my ear. "Hello Alice, how have you been?"
"Without you? Lonely of course." I changed my mind. Bitch is still the same like how she used to. "Come on, don't you miss me too?" Hardly.
"Sigh… What do you want? I'm currently very busy right now." Memories of a distant past resurface which worsen my already painful headache. I would not like to deal with her in the middle of what's going on. "If you want to mess with someone then do it to your husband. Isn't that why you marry him?"
"Might as well marry a vanilla ice cream if you ask me." What's wrong with him? He sounds like a good man from what I've heard about him. "He is a good husband don't get me wrong but he is not a fun one." Bitch! The fuck do you want? You killed the bad ones while saying that the good ones aren't good enough? This woman is annoyingly complicated. "Why can't he be more like you?"
"Because he is not me." That's a compliment, believe it or not.
"Sadly, you're right." Don't say that. "That's why I'm coming there to play with you."
"What…?"
"Mhmm~~ I'm now on a plane to the Dragon Empery." Oh my god… I'm going to die. I already have my hands full with Azur Lane and Arsenal Bird and this bitch decides to make it so much worse. "Don't worry~~ I promise to help you." Stop reading my mind! "It's been quite some time since we worked together." She's not wrong. "So please wait for yours truly's arrival. I'll show that fake girlfriend of yours how to really treat you~~"
"Sigh… Fine, I'll humor you as long as you assist me in my problem." I can't deny that she is a truly remarkable woman. I don't know the limit of options if she really wants to help. I don't think there is even a limit. But then again, we're dealing with something super extraordinary. Can she do something against it? "You do understand what I'm dealing with, right?"
"The Arsenal Bird, no?" Nevermind. It seems that we're on the same page. "Don't worry~~ Your love will come there and sweep you off of your feet." A lot of people have been doing that lately so that's not special to me. And I'm also bigger than the last time we physically met, Alice. You might have a harder time now. "For example, do you know that the Sakura Empire's long range drone plan is not even a tenth of their actual plan?"
"I see…" Well, shit. It would be awkward if the sakuran needed the Arsenal Bird to ignore the drone when I've asked Alpha for the opposite. It seems that the sakuran has not taken account of a stupid eagle poking his nose where it shouldn't be. "Please don't tell me. I don't want to be investigated."
"Suit you then. See you later, Igo~~"
"What a tyrannical leader you are."
Damn that drunkard with the body of a supermodel.
"Alright, alright. What a spoiled dummy thick girlfriend I have."
"You of course, who else?"
I made a horrible decision to let Eugen pick her own team.