Azur Lane Under the Stars

Page 441

"This is supposed to be a test of courage, so I was wondering if you two have any suggestions?" Ren Shuo asked.

"Commander, although I am from the Dark Realm and that kid Terror is a zombie, we don't particularly like scaring people," the Dark Realm said with a sigh.

"Oh, I see... then never mind." Ren Shuo stroked his chin, preparing to ask the mackerel and Abercrombie.

"Commander, although we don't really like it, we sometimes worked part-time at haunted houses during our previous life as a nomad, so we know a little about these things."

The Dark Realm grabbed Ren Shuo, its small hand icy cold.

"Really? Tell me about it?" Ren Shuo took out a pen and paper.

…………

"I heard there's going to be a test of courage the day after tomorrow?"

The news spread among the ship girls.

"What? That's boring. I still prefer playing video games." Ayanami was battling her game console.

"But Ayanami, everyone should participate in this event." Z23 thought Ayanami shouldn't play games all day long, so he decided to tell a little lie.

Ayanami didn't even look up: "You can't scare me. I already knew this. Participation isn't mandatory, and... this isn't suitable for me."

"How do you know it's not suitable if you didn't even participate..." Z23 was about to start lecturing again.

But Javelin interrupted the chanting: "Um, Nimi-chan, Ayanami, maybe you shouldn't force yourself?"

"Why?" Z23 pulled the javelin aside and asked in a low voice.

"Because the amusement park that my sister St. Louis bought had its soft opening last time, Laffey and I dragged her into the haunted house. As a result, Ayanami got so scared that she took out her ship-slaying sword and demolished the haunted house..."

"W-There's such a thing?" Z23's eyes widened. "Isn't she a ghost or deity? Why is she afraid of ghosts?"

“Long Island even calls itself a ‘ghost,’ but Long Island isn’t a ghost.”

"Alright, I won't force you. Will you come with me then?"

"go."

On the other hand, Xiao Guanghui wanted to go to the courage contest, but he was a little worried. The innocent Xiao Guanghui had never been exposed to these things before. What if he got scared?

But unable to bear the disappointment in Xiao Guanghui's eyes, he could only ask, "Kewei, are you afraid of these things?"

Ke Wei's back stiffened, but she still forced herself to say, "Me? How could I be afraid of these things? I... I am the Royal Navy's proud aircraft carrier!"

"That's great!" Glorious smiled, his eyes narrowing. "Then you can take little Glorious to play with him."

"No, no problem." Kewei suppressed the urge to refuse and agreed anyway.

You have to endure the pain and finish what you said once you've said it; it's tough.

Victory, dressed in a smug expression, knew that Formidable was terrified of these things, so she decided that even if she didn't participate, she would still watch to see how Formidable would flee in disarray.

"What about the unicorn? Has it had this idea?" Radiance turned its gaze to the unicorn sitting quietly to the side.

The unicorn shuddered, then hugged Yu-chan tightly and shook its head vigorously.

…………

"A test of courage? Ghosts? Hmph, even supernatural forces cannot diminish Lord Littorio's brilliance! Hahahaha!"

Littorio, hands on hips, remained lost in his admiration.

“I remember Littorio was pretty scared when he watched a horror movie last time, right? Is it really okay to let him participate?” Pora asked her sister in a low voice.

Zara, however, revealed a mischievous smile: "Isn't it great? Let's see Littorio's reaction and all."

"Hmph hmph hmph..." The two sisters looked at each other and laughed happily.

The scene shifts, and the art style on the Sakura Empire side seems a bit off.

"The Test of Courage is a great thing!" Akagi said excitedly, but pretended to be scared. "I'm really afraid of these ghosts and monsters."

Kaga looked at Akagi strangely, thinking, "Our foxfire, in a sense, belongs to the category of Onmyoji. You, an Onmyoji, are afraid of ghosts and monsters? Besides, strictly speaking, the two of us foxes are also considered to be ghosts and monsters."

Feeling her sister's questioning gaze, Akagi patiently explained, "You don't understand, do you? Let me tell you, in a dark forest, a frightened girl throws herself into the arms of the boy she loves, and the boy comforts her... That's a perfect opportunity to build up her affection!"

"You know, this is the time when the commander's protective instincts are most likely to be aroused, and then I can..."

Akagi's smile gradually became more unrestrained.

"Whatever makes you happy... but the Commander has already been booked by Noshiro," Kaga reminded him.

Akagi's expression froze for a moment, then instantly darkened: "That damned sly cat..."

After saying that, he wanted to cause trouble for Noshiro.

However, Kaga remained calm and said, "Noshiro is with Amagi-nee, I advise you not to go..."

Akagi could only sit back down, wrapping herself up in her tail and sulking. The name Amagi was simply a deadly weapon.

…………

While the port area is bustling with preparations for the test of courage, our Duke of York is leisurely enjoying his time.

She wasn't particularly interested in the beach; she preferred spending time with her fellow enthusiasts.

Everyone in this club is so nice to talk to and so wonderful; I really like that.

Moreover, the Duke of York was pleasantly surprised to find that these so-called "century-old female dead fat otaku" and "middle-aged greasy aunties" who claimed to be online were actually all beautiful young ladies, and all of them were ship girls.

Whether it's a coincidence or not, most of them are Ironblood ship girls, and they all know each other. Duke of York should be one of the last few people to join this hobby group.

Of course, there's also a York guy in this hobby group. To be honest, the way he speaks and his appearance are so familiar to me. But then I realize I have a York guy in my own port. Oh well, never mind.

Interestingly, among them is a York, but not a royal York; rather, a York belonging to the Ironbloods.

The Duke of York found the old history rather uninteresting, knowing virtually nothing beyond common sense. So, she was only surprised by the iron-fisted York, but not overly astonished.

On the contrary, the Duke of York was extremely envious of another ship girl named Emden, because this ship girl was the kind of twin ship girl that could be described as one in a million. In Emden's own mystical words, it was called "one body, two souls"...

Anyway, the Duke of York thought the design was cool.

The Duke of York took time off work to attend this gathering, which included not only an in-person meeting but also a trip to the surrounding area.

Given that these charming ship girls were exactly to the Duke of York's liking, she had begun to consider whether to try to bring all of them back.

But after thinking about it, I decided against it. This was only our first time making contact, and I wasn't even on my own base. Making a rash move would only put them on their guard... We'll fight another day.

Considering the time was running out, the Duke of York's holiday was coming to an end, so they decided to arrange another meeting, to play the long game and catch a bigger fish.

"Then, for the time being, the unknown fate will be for you to explore yourselves. I will return to my throne and watch over you."

The Duke of York uttered words perfectly in line with his public persona, then looked at the people in front of him and spoke quietly.

"Looking forward to seeing you again~" a sexy older sister with rose-red eyes and silver-white hair said.

She belongs to the group of people who are only interested in the hobby. She is not usually very chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur), and she only pretends to be a so-called "vampire" when she is having fun with her companions.

"However, Duke York, I'm also quite interested in the York you mentioned. She's a ship girl with the same name as me, but she belongs to the Royal Navy... I wonder who is stronger between us?" This older sister is York from the Ironblood faction in the fan club.

"Regarding this issue... York from our port is stronger, in terms of strength, but your potential is greater than hers." When it came to introducing the port, the Duke of York became slightly more composed.

Well, York has been modified and is at max level, so there's no way to improve her further for now. Plus, she's already equipped with the advanced technology, so there's less and less room for improvement... So, the fact that you're not good enough now means that you have a better future than her.

"Really? Can I go and meet her? I'm very curious~" York said with a charming smile.

Although he had gained recognition for his potential from this powerful friend, York was still somewhat dissatisfied with his current shortcomings. After all, he was a member of the Maritime Bureau's strike team.

"Do you wish to come to my castle? Very well, you are welcome to participate in my trial."

The Duke of York smiled sweetly, just as he was thinking about how to slowly trick someone back, when someone took the bait.

I'll say it again: once you've come to our port area, do you think you can leave? You can ask Haitian and Kronstadt, do you think you can leave?

"No way, York, you're already thinking of going to their port?" Another ship girl, who looked dashing and had a standard model's figure despite not having an alluring figure, asked with some surprise.

"Be careful not to walk into the lion's den," the ship girl joked.

York replied with a smile, "Don't worry, Seydlitz. Although I'm willing to serve anyone as long as I have someone to follow me... there aren't many people I'd be willing to serve."

“Oh, I was worried you’d get caught and never come back,” Seydlitz said.

"Speaking of which, Duke of York, I'm quite curious about what life is like in the port."

The older sister, wearing a black hat and hair accessories, with gray hair and gray eyes, was currently nestled on the sofa, hugging a metal shark-shaped cushion, and asking the Duke of York a curious question.

"If you want to know, why don't you come and experience it for yourself? The actual experience is much better than what I can tell you, isn't it, Lützow?" Since the other person had asked out of curiosity, the Duke of York was able to go along with the conversation and jokingly share his actual thoughts.

"Hey~ Is there a lot of work going on in your port area? You know I love sleeping and hate troublesome things, right? If you could indulge me, I might consider it... Ah, this body pillow is so comfortable, I wonder where I can buy the same one..."

"What are you thinking about?" Seydlitz said irritably. "The port area is probably similar to the Maritime Safety Administration, after all, it has to cooperate with the Maritime Safety Administration to guard the area, and they have a lot of work to do every day, right?"

At least that's the case at the Maritime Authority where Seydlitz is located. Every day is busy because the port area next to it is also very busy, with frequent sea clearing, patrols, and escorts.

"About this..." The Duke of York gave a subtle smile.

Chapter 495 Test of Courage

"What?! You guys in the port area are so idle?! Nothing to do?! Most of the girls are just slacking off?"

Inside the small private room, Seydlitz's incredulous voice rang out.

Lützow smiled with interest: "Really?"

Seydlitz frowned his handsome brows: "That shouldn't be... Duke York, are you favoring the ports in the rear? But that doesn't make sense either. Your training level is even stronger than my director's. It can't be something you can develop in a port in the rear. Or is your commander just a very lucky person who rescued you?"

The Duke of York said, "My commander and I have been bound by an eternal covenant since the day we were born."

“Built up?” Seydlitz was even more confused. “Then it must be on the front lines. Why would it be so idle?”

“Didn’t the Duke of York say before that there are many people in their port area?” York said.

“But even if there are a lot of people, it shouldn’t be that many… How many people are there in your port area?” Seydlitz asked.

The Duke of York gave a reserved smile: "Not many, just a few hundred."

“Oh, a few hundred? That’s not many…” Seydlitz answered instinctively, but quickly realized something was wrong. His voice suddenly rose, even cracking a little, “How many?!”

"Several hundred? I don't remember the exact number, but anyway, our port area has all the ship girls listed in the Maritime Bureau's encyclopedia, except for the most common white-class ship girls like Nevada."

Yes, even if the encyclopedia isn't available yet, we have it in our port area.

“…” Seydlitz fell silent.

York was also quite surprised: "Is it that amazing? Then I definitely need to go and see for myself."

Unlike Seydlitz, who holds a key position, Yorke, although part of the attacking team, is in an awkward position where having her or not having her makes little difference.

It's not that York isn't strong; she's considered one of the top members of the Maritime Bureau, otherwise she wouldn't be in the sortie group. But the problem is that they are the headquarters of the Maritime Bureau, and the Iron-Blooded Governor's port area is right next to it, which is why York is in an awkward position.

So, York is currently taking a laissez-faire attitude towards whether to stay or leave the Maritime Authority, or to find a port. He's just looking around and seeing what's going on.

"Can your port...accept ship girls who like to slack off and sleep?" Lüzoff also became interested.

Based on their port area's shift schedule, it's estimated that it will be a long time before they get to film themselves on patrol. Wouldn't that be a perfect opportunity to slack off?

Lützow is a newly created ship girl who is temporarily under Seydlitz's command. However, her lazy personality is hard for the serious, soldier-like Seydlitz to handle.

Seydlitz tried to change her lazy personality, but Mrs. Lützow's family was unwilling. So recently, Lützow has been figuring out when to leave and find a place where she can slack off, whether it's the maritime bureau or the port area, as long as they can accept her lazy and sleeping habit.

The Duke of York smiled magnanimously: "Don't worry, our port has no shortage of slackers. There are even clubs in the port specifically for sleeping."

Putting aside other factions, even the strict and iron-blooded faction has members like Prince Eugen who like to slack off. The Royal Maid Corps should theoretically be the epitome of diligence, but the problematic maid Suffolk... is a total slacker.

"That's great?" Lützow's eyes sparkled like a thousand stars, and then he decisively said to Seydlitz, "Captain, I need to ask for leave! I'm going to visit their port area, and if I like it, I won't come back."

Although he knew it was Lützow's joke, and that he just wanted to go and take a break, Seydlitz was still furious.

"So, you're even considering joining someone else's port just to slack off, huh?"

Seydlitz was disappointed in her. This girl had great potential; with proper training, she could become a great talent in the future. But why did she give up on herself?

In other words, Seydlitz couldn't see the true nature of this slacker, and kept forcing him to be diligent, so look how he's driven the kid to want to find a random place to slack off and escape.

In other words, they haven't found the right place yet. Once they do, they'll probably be eager to pack up and run away immediately.

But they couldn't find it before, but now there's a place, isn't there? So, although it was said in a joking manner, Lützow really went there with the intention of not coming back.

"Alright, go ahead. You're not exactly a full-fledged employee here anyway..."

Seydlitz was a teacher at the Ironblood Naval Academy and the captain of a teaching squad. Strictly speaking, Lützov was only nominally a person at the academy and the Maritime Bureau and was still a student, so Seydlitz really couldn't control him.

“Oh, thank you.” Lützow patted the Duke of York on the shoulder. “Then I’ll go with you tomorrow.”