How do I start a romantic relationship with a ship girl?

Page 12

"...A popular vase? What significance does her existence represent that helps maintain stability?" Xu Huan thought for a moment and found a very appropriate analogy.

Stability +++

"That's not it... Elizabeth herself is, strictly speaking, half a child, which does have some significance, after all, her name is there... But the main reason is because of her special ability, something like an energy field, as long as you are within its range, you can receive a lot of 'blessings'."

Hu Teng pointed upwards: "For example, for humans, it means calming people's hearts and soothing emotions; for the Royal Navy's ship girls, it means an increase in combat power."

Xu Huan also understood that when mental energy is used in different ways, it can indeed have different effects on ordinary people.

However, he himself hadn't researched the calming and soothing effects; he focused most of his energy on how to apply them in combat...

As for the people in the city now bathed in light... is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Although Hu Teng's words sound normal, in a sense, this kind of "blessing" is mostly coercive.

Forcibly soothing emotions...

Xu Huan looked at the peaceful-looking passersby on the street, unsure of what to say.

“Commander, don’t worry about that. These people were informed before entering the city... They were all aware and volunteered. Just ask any passerby, and they will all know their current situation... But what can we do?”

Hutten said softly, "Most of the people here live nearby, and the Sirens have cut off all the routes to the truly safe inland areas..."

"Ultimately, it's still a problem with the Sirens."

Xu Huan sighed, temporarily putting his troubling doubts aside.

Royal Wealth watched as Hu Teng kept explaining things to Xu Huan and felt a little strange: "Speaking of which... how do you, a ship girl from Ironblood, know so much about Royal Wealth's affairs here? It seems like you know more than I do..."

She had quite a bit of "interaction" with the royal family, and she thought that in terms of understanding the royal family, she couldn't possibly be inferior to Hu Teng...

I never expected that when things really came to this, I could only stand quietly on the sidelines as a listener, and even if I tried to say something, I would be met with a disdainful glance from Hu Teng.

"These are common sense... Miss Royal Fortune, do you never take the initiative to learn about them?"

"...Your ship girls from the main faction definitely know more than us. What common sense? Why don't I have this kind of common sense?"

“…”

Hu Teng didn't bother to pay attention, but when he turned around again, Xu Huan had already disappeared into the crowd.

"...Where is the commander?"

"Xu Huan... wasn't he just right in front of us? Could he have gotten lost by accident?"

"We must have lost him... but there's no need to worry, there shouldn't be anything in this place that could pose a threat to him."

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A relatively quiet alley.

Compared to the bustling streets outside, these winding alleys in the center of the city seem much quieter.

Generally speaking, no matter how glamorous a city may appear on the outside, there will always be many gray areas that the sun cannot penetrate... and these are the places where you can usually find a lot of useful information.

This is why Xu Huan, after strolling around the streets for a while, specifically went into these alleys.

But as of now... he hasn't seen a single human being since entering this alley.

"It's really clean... spotless inside and out," Xu Huanpo remarked in a low voice, his words carrying a deeper meaning.

As you slowly turn a corner at an intersection, a bookstore that looks quite inconspicuous suddenly appears before you.

The signboard was dilapidated and looked like it had been neglected for years. The orange light shone on the somewhat mottled walls, and the shelves were filled with crumpled books. Through the window, the word "recipe" could be faintly seen above.

A silver-haired woman was standing in front of the bookshelf, wearing a blue and white long dress. From the back, her figure was very graceful, but her face was not clearly visible.

"A place like this can have customers?"

Xu Huan was a little curious, so he pushed open the door, and the tinkling of the wind chimes broke the silence inside the shop.

The table next to the door was empty, except for a lazy British Shorthair blue cat comfortably dozing off.

No boss?

He looked at the silver-haired beauty searching for books and said:

"Hello, miss, may I ask—"

Before he could finish speaking, the other person turned around in confusion.

"Oh? You... were able to notice me?"

Chapter Seventeen Master

Her blue-purple eyes sparkled like water, her delicate nose and slightly pursed cherry lips combined to create a bright and beautiful face.

A broken chain encircled her long neck, and she wore a white maid uniform. The top of her dress covered her chest and was slightly tightened, making her snow-white breasts appear even more magnificent. The skirt was very long, almost dragging on the ground.

"Oh? You... were able to notice me?"

The beautiful woman in front of him asked with some curiosity.

Xu Huan suddenly realized something and looked at her wrist.

Sure enough, the other person was wearing the same bracelet on their fair wrist as the one Hu Teng had just taken out, which could block mind control.

The person in front of me... is she another ship girl?

Moreover, most of the ship girls currently in this city are likely to be ship girls belonging to the Royal Navy.

In an instant, his mind raced through a variety of ideas to cover it up, but in the end, Xu Huan simply and decisively admitted it.

After all, I'm not engaging in some kind of stealth raid, and the other party isn't a Siren; rather, they're a potential ally. If the other party doesn't make any moves, there's no need for me to take action.

"Yes... I'm not blind."

"Um...."

The silver-haired ship girl curiously sized up Xu Huan, her eyes, brimming with autumn water, sweeping back and forth over him before finally settling on his face.

"You don't have His Majesty's blessing on you, which means you shouldn't have been in the city for more than half an hour. However, even if you walked continuously from the outermost part of the city to this place, it shouldn't have taken half an hour to reach this location..."

"So, it's more likely that you won't be affected by this..."

The ship girl continued talking to herself, showing no sign of stopping.

"Those who are unaffected by mental energy generally also control their own mental energy... So, sir who has suddenly arrived, what are your thoughts on this?"

Xu Huan shook his head and said very directly, "Actually, I just happened to be passing by."

He just happened to be passing by and came in out of curiosity after seeing what was there.

"Just passing by?"

The ship girl smiled slightly, slowly walked to the door, and blocked the possible exit route: "This shop... and even this alley are completely covered by mental energy. Ordinary people can't possibly walk in, let alone just pass by."

A faint ripple appeared in the air as the ship girl in front of them summoned her ship equipment.

"Skilled in change and disguise, among the sirens I know, there seems to be only one who fits the description..."

“Miss Observer, I admire your courage to infiltrate directly, but now that things have come to this, are you still not going to reveal your true colors?”

Among the sirens, the one skilled in disguise and transformation is called the Observer Siren, and is very likely to be humanoid.

Xu Huan kept this information in mind.

Then, he stretched out his hand, his mental energy surging wildly. As he pushed his palm in mid-air, the ship equipment summoned by the ship girl in front of him was forcefully pressed back. The spatial ripples were smoothed out again, and the entire store was locked in by a strange air pressure.

Disarm.

This place is different from the sea; if a conflict breaks out here, people could die.

and....

Why do these ship girls always show off their weapons and prepare to attack right away? Hu Teng is the same, and so is the ship girl in front of me. Was the threat and pressure from the Sirens too great?

Xu Huan was somewhat puzzled.

So it seems the little octopus is actually quite amiable?

"??!!"

The ship girl in front of him was caught off guard by this sudden situation. Her pupils shrank slightly as she looked at Xu Huan in great shock.

She once again mobilized the mental energy within her body, attempting to summon the ship equipment that had been forcibly shoved back into place. However, no matter how hard she tried, the energy within her body was like a stagnant pool filled with lead, suppressed and unable to move.

Not only that, even physical movements seemed to be frozen, the body's energy was locked, and the body subconsciously rejected the commands from the brain, trembling slightly with fear.

The person opposite me... is on a completely different level from me.

However, this aura of mental energy—

It's not a Siren.

The brain is racing.

If we connect all the previous points, then the most likely answer remains.

Has the person I've been searching for finally appeared...?

The ship girl's eyes instantly became much clearer.

"You're probably not a ship girl specializing in combat... at least not one skilled in melee combat, otherwise you wouldn't be unable to move. But judging from this..."

"That siren called the Observer is probably not as strong as you, otherwise you wouldn't be so confident that you could block the doorway all by yourself."