"Mmmmhhh…"

"...Hmm."

The meeting today is hardly important in my book. Based on the translation from my earpiece, this meeting is an 'opening' meeting, whatever that means. The meeting today talked about who can attend future meetings, where future meetings should be held, the schedule, and sort on. Honestly, I think these kinds of things should be online but what can I say if it's culture. When in Rome be like Romans or whatever the saying goes.

So I decided to ignore the meeting and keep on reading the result of the test only to find the sentence, "With such high compatibility to a wisdom cube, the individual might have a hypnotic influence on KANSEN…"

"...are you still stuck on that?" Sheffy whispered to me.

"Sorry…" I dive the lower half of my face in Sheffy's hair as I think about what that sentence is implying. Without me knowing, my hug around Sheffy grew tighter. "Hey Sheffy, do you really love me?"

"...yes."

"Are you really saying that or is it my influence over you?"

"...I don't care." Huh? "...I love you."

"Sheffy, you read the result, right?"

"...I did and I couldn't care less." Damn. That actually hurt me for some reason. "...It says you 'might' have some influence." I guess she is right about that. They don't have any concrete conclusion as to what my high compatibility could do to a wisdom cube yet. "...Don't be so full of yourself, dummy." The cutie pie pushed herself back into me.

"There's a better way to cheer me up, Sheffy. Fufufufu~~" I tighten my hug around my lovely maid until I hear her grumble before I loosen it again. "Do you ever wonder what you might be thinking if you're not under my influence?"

"...I don't care. …that's not the reality I'm living in." Can you not at least entertain me a little bit, Sheffy? "...Whatever that Sheffield is thinking, it has nothing to do with my duty to serve you."

"You're no fun~~" I rub my face on Sheffy's hair in a show of affection. "And if it's true that I have hypnotic influence over you, what are you going to do, Sheffy?"

"...My job as a maid and serve you." Sheffy patted my arms as if trying to reassure me of her answer. "...Unlike you, I do not have the luxury of thinking anything other than you. …Hypnosis or not, I am still your maid."

"There's a better way of saying 'I love you', you know?" I kiss the back of Sheffy's head. I can't have a better partner other than her, eh? I thought that I'm a fraud who gets around because the girls literally can't control themselves but I guess Sheffy couldn't care less about that. I want to say that at least I have Sheffy if I lost everything but… "Mmmhh~~" Is she saying that she doesn't care because of my influence? Can I trust whatever she is saying?

"...Mmmhh~~" Sheffy grabs my right hand and places it on her left breast. "...You're not a thinker, stop being what you're not and grope me, pervert." I can be both, okay?! "...Besides, you already have blackmail materials of me. …Just use those on me."

"Oh~ I will. You better make sure people don't hear your moans, my love." My fingers dig into her breast under her outfit. I toy with her breast, tickling it with my fingers and play 'guess the nipple'.

"...Mhh~!" My eyes scan around to see where everyone's eyes are pointing at. Thankfully, most of them are pointed at the person that is currently talking.

"I would like to invite mister Todo Hiroukuji as he has experience in air combat." So they're still talking about that, huh? All these political and cultural tapes are annoying. If they're going to keep talking like that then I'll just ignore them again.

"...hey, don't be so brash." Sheffy's hid my hand as I unbuttoned the 3 last buttons of her uniform. "...mmh~!" My fingers invade into Sheffy's uniform and take a hold of the strap of her bra. It's a front hook bra so of course I help her unhook it. "...dummy." Sheffy put both of her hands over my hands.

"Outside or inside, which side do you want to play?" I whisper to Sheffy's ear.

"...I can take you everywhere." The cutie might think I'm stupid but I notice that she is grinding her ass against my crotch.

"Oh~~? Is that so?" I bring my free hand close to me and touch Sheffy's nape with my index and middle fingers.

"...Mnnghhh!" Fufufu~~ I love it when she tries her hardest. I slowly slide my fingers down. "...Hng!" All along her spines, down to her back, and finally land between her dimples of venus. "...Ah!" Sheffy who has been leaning on me this entire time has her body sit straight up.

"Oh my~ Are you proudly showing your breasts to everyone?" Sheffy grumbles at my taunt. "You can't do that. You're mine." I put my hand in front of her belly and pulled her back to me. "I guess I need to give you a lesson."

"...do your worst." You better stop breathing so heavily like that. People will find out. My fingers that are already inside her uniform push deeper and pinch her left nipple. "...mmh!" My hand that was on Sheffy's stomach traveled down to her nether region. "...Aah~ …oooh~"

"You need to be quieter, Sheffy." Even though I say that, my hands are still moving to please my love. "Are you planning for everyone to know that you are a pervert?"

"...shut up. …No one is suspicious because of how pathetic you are."

"Is that so?" I move my face beside Sheffy's. "Better bite your lips now." *Smooch*

.

.

.

"Aaaaah~~"

"Are you happy with your chocolate milk, master Igo?"

Right now is the middle of lunch break so me and Newcastle search for a vending machine with chocolate milk.

"Yeah!" A cold chocolate milk really fits well after a spicy curry. "You should have some, Newcastle."

"Fufufu~~ I already have some warm tea myself, master." Newcastle showed me the green can on her hand. "Master, may I ask you something?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"You were reading something in the middle of the meeting earlier. May I know what it is?" Shit! Did she also see me molest Sheffy?! This is bad!

"It's just some random test result."

"Is that so? Your atmosphere seems different after that." Of course the ex-head maid would have an incredible atmosphere reading ability. That's like one of the criteria to be one. "Master Igo, I understand that it's easy to bottle things up but please try to be stronger and let your humble maid help you."

"Why does it feel like you're mocking me?"

"It's not good to misinterpret someone's words, my master." Your tone is heavy with sarcasm, Newcastle. "If you have no intention of telling me, perhaps I could ask master Stella instead."

"You're far too observant for your own good, Newcastle. How about I give you some personal extra lessons?"

"Oh my~~ Is it my time? I can not wait!" Damn it! That's not supposed to be a good thing, you know?! I'm going to punish Belfast and Sheffy! "So what was that test result you were reading, master?"

"Last meeting, I gave some scientists my spits to be tested and the result came today." I bring out the test result and give it to Newcastle as it was opened on the important page. "Can you please read it? You'll understand which part that stuck in my mind."

"Hmm… 'The individual might have a hypnotic influence to KANSENs'. I see…" It stands out amongst the floods of scientific mumbo jumbo. "I understand why it sticks with you but it's still just a 'might', master. There is still a chance that the scientists make a mistake."

"Until there's further clarification, I would consider it to be true."

"It's not good to be so full of oneself, my master." Eh? "So eager to tell everyone that you're so powerful and have hypnotic power against KANSENs." I see, this maid is teasing me.

"I can prove it to you." Newcastle's lift one of her eyebrows at my words. "Sit on my lap, KANSEN." I pat my lap several times as a signal to Newcastle.

"Ah~~ What is happening to me?" Newcastle fakes her panic as her body walks forward and stands right in front of me. "My body. My body is moving on its own." Newcastle pushed her ass to my face as she lowered her body and sat on my lap. "Master, I'm not able to lift myself up."

"Do you believe in my power now, KANSEN?" I put my arms around Newcastle's waist and hugged her. I put my chin on her shoulder and lean my head on her face.

"Oh yes. I do believe it now." I really want to kiss her cheek right now. "If this is how you use your hypnotic power then there shouldn't be any problem."

"What if the way you're thinking right now is because of my power, huh?"

"Then most likely there should be a huge difference in my attitude before and after I met you." I guess she is right. "I can't remember the last time I acted differently. In fact, everyone is still the same before and after you become an Admiral, master. If anything, they're happier now."

"That doesn't mean it's good."

"Eh? How come?"

"It's like cocaine. They make you happy but also ruin your body."

"..." Newcastle turned her head to me looking flabbergasted. "PFFT! HAHAHAHA!" After what seems to be a good second, the shipgirl laughs out loud, catching me off guard. Newcastle is the last person I expect to be laughing like a common man. "I'm sorry! Ihihihihi! I'm so sorry! Ihihihihi! I apologize!" Newcastle finally controls herself and hides her mouth with her hands but still continues to laugh out loud.

"You're the worst, Newcastle." As an act of revenge, my fingers tickle her waist. "I'm being serious and you're laughing at me."

"My apologies! Ihihihihi! I'm very sorry! But! But! Ihihihihi!" Newcastle's body vibrates like a magic wand as she continues to laugh at me. "Aaah… My stomach… My stomach… It hurts… It hurts so much…"

"You done, asshole?"

"I'm sorry… I truly am sorry but how can one be ready for something so absurd like that?"

"I'm grabbing your breasts if you keep laughing."

"I suppose that's a fair trade for giving me a good laugh." Newcastle pushed her chest forward to emphasize it. "You have a talent for being a stand-up comedian, master. Have you ever thought of doing a show?"

"Hmph!" I pinch Newcastle's waist in response to her question.

"Oh~~" Don't moan! People will know that I'm a pervert! "Ufufufu~~ But I have never heard of anyone comparing themselves to drugs before. It's so absurd and so new that it caught me off guard."

"But it's the clearest comparison I can make."

"If you're comparing yourself to cocaine then that means you have no hypnotic influence over us, master." Eh? How come? "Cocaine can only affect people that use it and people that don't use it would know. By that logic, KANSEN that's near you would have their attitude change but anyone far from you would see that. I have not seen that, master."

"..."

"And people that use cocaine would know of their actions too. Don't you think at the end of the day, the girls would remember their actions and wonder why they did it?" That is true. "So please be assured, master. We're not under your influence. The girls just love you that much."

"How do I know that you're not under my influence right now and your memory is not altered?"

"Oh my~~ That's a good question. Perhaps after we're done here, I will notice that I'm not feeling like myself. I shall inform you if I feel anything like that."

"What is something that you would normally not let someone do to you?"

"How about kissing my cheek, master?" Newcastle turns her face so her cheek is closer to me.

"Don't be mad at me after this, okay?" I push my face to her cheek and plant my wet lips on that soft part of her face. "How are you feeling now?"

"I think you're right, my master. I feel so happy after your kiss."

"So are you saying that you're not in control and I'm forcing myself over you?"

"We shall see about that." Newcastle stands up, putting her ass right in front of me. I want to dive between her ass cheeks. "I shall return back to the meeting room, master Stella is asking me to buy some coffee on the way back. I shall see if I feel anything weird when I'm away from you, master."

"And If you don't?"

"Maybe you don't have the hypnotic influence to begin with or…" That smile on her face reminds me of Belfast. I guess it's a staple for head maids to have that smile. "We might need to be bolder so I can notice it even after my mind alteration."

"Pervert."

"Ihihihi~~" Newcastle walked up to a vending machine and bought several cans of coffee. "I shall take my leave early, master. Please return at one o'clock, okay?"

"Yeah." I watched the maid exit this glass room and disappear in a corner. "Sigh…" What am I doing? I should really focus more on the meeting even though I know it's not that important. It's the sakuran culture so I should follow it.

"Excuse me." Huh? It's Tsuyo's husband, Kaku. "Mind if I sit next to you?"

"No. Of course not." I scotch over to give space for Kaku. The sakuran man sits down and brings out a cigarette pack and over me one. "Sorry, I can't smoke or my girlfriend will scold me. She doesn't want me to smoke right in front of the girls."

"Ahahaha. It must be hard for you, huh?" Kaku put one in his mouth before lighting the other end with a lighter. "Fuuh~~" The white smoke rose up to the roof before quickly getting sucked through the air vent.

"Is something bothering you? I usually smoke when things are tough."

"Ahahaha. It does make one calmer, huh?" Kaku put the filter end in his mouth, taking it deeply, and let out another puff of smoke. "I agree with you, mister Igo."

"Eh?"

"That this meeting is meaningless." Should I agree or not? It's their culture after all so I don't want to be rude and step on a landmine. "When our nation is in danger, we waste our time on all these meetings instead of just getting straight to it. It must be tortuous for someone like you."

"Are you not being tortured too, mister Kaku? You sound like it."

"I am a little bit but I've been around for so much longer than you so I kinda get used to it." Well, I guess it is his culture. Even if he doesn't like it, he can't just outright hate it. Kaku sucks another puff of smoke and lets the air vent take his smoke away. "Sometimes I wish we had a more western minded approach to things."

"Hey now, not everything on the other side of the pond is nice." Good and bad, there's always those sides of the coin to everything. We are brash and in-your-face while the sakurans are polite and behind-your-back. You can't be both at the same time. "We can only follow what the higher ups have to say."

"Sigh… The story of my life…" Kaku takes another drag of smoke. "Please don't tell Tsuyo I'm smoking. She doesn't like it."

"If only you buy me an orange soda."

"Ahaha. Alright then." Kaku pulls out his phone and scans the QR code. "There, go press the button that you want. Just make sure to remember your promise."

"Don't worry, my mouth is busy drinking the soda." I stand up, press the orange soda's button, take my drink, and sit back. "You should be more concerned about Stella rather than me." I open the can and take a good gulp. "Ah~~ She is closer to Miss Tsuyo than I am."

"I'm glad you're here and not her."

"Hey, this can is for me to not talk to Tsuyo, not Stella."

"Damn… I can feel my wallet is in danger."

"Ahahahaha!"

,

,

.

"...Stop kissing my hair."

"Mmmhhhh~~~" Back in the meeting, it's still one of the most boring ass meetings that I've ever attended. I want to wish for God to let Arsenal Bird come to this nation but I know how powerful my words are sometimes. "Haampph." I take some clumps of Sheffy's hair into my mouth.

"...stupid." Sorry but I'm getting kinda bored like usual. My eyes walk around the room to see anything interesting. Alice is playing on her phone. Stella is sleeping with her eyes open. Kara pretends to be meditating. I guess we all share the same brain.

"To prepare for future meetings, I would like to create a small committee consisting of at least one person from every organization that will partake in future meetings." What in the fuck? Huh? What just happened?

"Yes, I second this plan." After that, more and more people agree to the person's idea. Man, are we really doing this?

"Stella, who are we going to pick?"

"Huh? What? Ooh?" This woman! Seriously! "Oh yeah, I leave it to you, Igo. Yawn~~"

"Sigh… fine… Sheffy, kick her."

"...Hmph!"

"Gak!" Good! Enjoy that, Stella. You deserve that for separating me and Sheffy. "Why are you listening to that playboy, Sheffield? You know better that he's just playing around with you."

"...he loves me more than you."

"Bitch." Calm down, Stella. Why are you the one that got angry when you were the one who started this?

"Alright, calm down you two." I pat both of their heads. It must look extremely weird from an outsider's perspective, huh? Well, whatever. I'm not exactly known to be a proper individual either. "Sigh… Seriously Stella, what have you gotten me into?"

"Oh come on! Don't be a whiny baby." Say the girl that is snuggling onto my palm right now. "Just think of this as a way to make friends in The Sakura Empire." I already have several. I don't need that many friends, okay? I'm not Naruto. I just need the important ones to stay while the rest can fuck off.

"Ugh… Fine…"

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.

.

"Can you keep kicking Stella on a regular basis while I'm away, Sheffy?"

"...Sure."

"Don't just listen to him!"

The meeting has ended and it's time to return back to the base, for the girls of course. I will be staying here for a couple more hours cause Stella is an asshole.

"Are you both really lovers?"

"I'm debating that right now." On the plus side, Tsuyo seems to be stuck in the same boat as I am. At least I have someone that I can talk with. "You didn't get rope into this too, right, Tsuyo?"

"No, I pick myself." See, Stella? Why can't you be like her?

"Darling, are you sure everything is okay?" Kaku asked his wife with a concerned tone. Why can't Stella and I be like that?

"There's nothing to worry about. This isn't my first time." There's nothing wrong with being concerned about your loved one, Tsuyo. Bask yourself in Kaku's love. "Beside," Ey? What's with the change of tone? It sounds like Tsuyo is annoyed at something. "you won't be home tonight anyway. There's no reason for me to go home."

"Ah… Ahahahaha…" What's with the empty dry laugh, Kaku. Can you at least mask it better? "It's custom, Darling. I have to attend The drinking party." Drinking party? For an entire night?

"I know. I know. Just don't drink too much, okay?" Tsuyo pushes her face up to Kaku's face and gives her husband a kiss. "I think you understand what will happen to you if you do."

"Alright! Alright! I understand! No need to tell me!" Kaku waves his hands panicky. "Mister Igo, I leave my wife in your care."

"You have my words, Mister Kaku." Although I doubt I can do anything. It's more likely that Tsuyo will protect me from breaking any taboo. "You can enjoy your drinks with ease." Kaku smiles and nods at me before he leaves while waving his hand.

"Well, I believe it's time we depart too, Master Stella, before it gets too late." Newcastle is the only girl I can depend on here. "I do hope you have good luck, Master Igo. Don't fret, I shall take care of Master Stella while you're away."

"Please do, Newcastle." Newcastle nods and gives me a curtsy bow before she drags Sheffy and Stella away with her. Keep kicking that asshole, Sheffy! I left you with the most important job!

"We both have it rough, commander Igo." I'm not going to deny that.

"Ahahahaha…" I could only give her a dry laugh as we walked back to the elevator. Tsuyo called for an elevator to come which only took 2 seconds to come. "Miss Tsuyo, what will we be doing in this small committee? Should I be preparing something?"

"Not really. It'll just be a social gathering for us to share contacts and get to know each other. We're basically becoming a common ground for all the various institutions." The elevator's jingle plays along as we rise through the building. "It may be hard for you to follow, commander Igo." Tsuyo looked at me concerned.

"I guess it's more reason for me to stick close to you." I follow up on my words by physically moving closer to Tsuyo. "Please help this foreigner, Miss Tsuyo."

"I shall do my best, Mister Foreigner." There's no need to talk using sakuran for a little tease, don't you think? Tsuyo snuggles up to me until I can feel the warmth of her body through my uniform. "Don't worry. I don't want to make Stella angry."

"You both have known each other for a long time, huh?"

"You can say that. I, myself, forget when our friendship started." It must be a good one if you forget how you both met. "All I know is that she is honest, brute, and frank. Quite the fresh personality for me at the time." At the time? Has Tsuyo been a high-ranking official since a long time ago?

"That she is alright. Sounds just like her." Under all the cruel words I give to Stella, I genuinely love how she is and I know she knows it too. "Has she ever hurt your heart before?"

"Of course she has. That's what being frank means, no?"

"She is lucky she is part of Azur Lane, huh?"

"Indeed she is." That woman… Seriously… "May I ask how both of you become lovers, Mister Igo?"

"Well. At first she wasn't gunning for me. She was aiming for one of my friends." I can hear Tsuyo gasp like a gossiping mother. It's not that hard to wrap your mind around that fact, Tsuyo. No need for the gasp. "She tried using me to get closer to him and I don't know how but she became attracted to me instead. You should ask her if you want the more juicy details."

"Are you not angry at Stella, Mister Igo?"

"Why should I? At that time, I knew she was only using me to get closer to my friend but I also used her to cover my ass several times." She basically became my babysitter. "It's a fair trade. Somewhere down that path, she turned to the side and went for me instead."

"It must be like one of those romance novels." Eeeeeeh… Honestly, I don't know. Novels usually end with the couple having a happy ever after while Stella have to live with the fact that her boyfriend is fucking everyone but her. I should probably apologize to her.

"Now that we know mine and Stella's backstory, how about it's time for you and Kaku's?"

"Mine and Kaku's… Mmmhhh…" Tsuyo looked down, deep in her thoughts. "I can't think of anything special like yours. We met, grew close over several interactions and dates, before he proposed to me and we got married." I'm pretty sure that's how most marriages are if you abridged them, Tsuyo. "I don't have any special story where I tried to make one of Kaku's friends fall for me or anything like that." You don't need to have only that to be special, Tsuyo, Please expand your scope. "I guess me and Kaku's story is so normal that it's not worthy of being told to children before bedtime."

"I would like you to stop before that, please."

"There's a mirror in the toilet."

"What a weird metaphor… Is this how you seduce the girls?"

"Ugh… Too tight."

"I will explain everything. Please… Just keep your penis inside of me."