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

Page 160

After all, in her mind, there probably wasn't a more useless ship girl in the entire Ironblood Harbor...

Given how useless I am, it's only natural that I'd get injured dealing with a small, mass-produced Siren fleet, right?

Just as she was reporting the mission information log and preparing to receive repairs from Zibuli, the other party told her that a new 'doctor' had arrived in the port area.

And this doctor, unfortunately, was that young man who had just arrived in the port area, that commander.

Upon hearing this news, Elbin felt as if the sky was about to fall.

Why would the commander heal the ship girls?

And the unfortunate person in question is himself, who has just experienced a failed operation.

If I met the commander at another time, I would probably have some confidence...

Maybe?

But why at this particular time?

The young man in front of him had already introduced himself, and Elbin kept muttering something, but found that he couldn't utter a single word.

As time ticked by, a hint of doubt flashed in the young man's eyes.

He seemed puzzled by his own silence.

Elbin was almost ready to bury himself somewhere, but he still didn't utter a single word.

Their eyes met, and Xu Huan sighed softly.

Sigh... I knew it...

The commander was disappointed in me the moment we met.

Elbin couldn't stop thinking about it.

With such weak firepower and armor, I wasn't really of any help to the commander anyway...

"...Are you nervous?"

After sighing, Xu Huan asked with a smile, "Am I that scary? You don't even dare to speak when you see me..."

Perhaps because the young man had taken the initiative to ease the atmosphere, Elbin immediately shook his head, and the words that had been stuck in his mouth were finally able to be uttered in a faint sound.

"No...."

"But you can still speak, right? I thought you weren't going to talk to me..."

For ship girls like Elbin, the first thing to do is to encourage them more.

At the very least, we need to reach a point where we can have normal conversations before considering anything else.

"No...nothing like that...Commander...."

"Sister Elbin..."

The perceptive Z23 spoke up gently at this moment, easing Elbin's nervousness during their first meeting: "Don't overthink it, Commander is very easy to talk to... and he treats the ship girls very well too."

In fact, Xu Huan's first impression was quite harmless, but Elbin became much more nervous for no reason because he had made a mistake in the mission today.

"So...."

With the help of the two, Elbin gradually calmed the suffocating feeling in his heart and introduced himself: "Elbin of the Ironblood, Pilau-class cruiser..."

"I am a cruiser classified as a small cruiser, and in reality, I have virtually no active ship history... My armor is thin and my firepower is weak; my only advantages are high speed and long sea time..."

"You can't even forget to belittle yourself in your self-introduction? That's not good..."

"These are all facts, Commander..."

Elbin said, "I'm so weak, I'm hardly a fighting force, so I'll generally be ignored... And generally speaking, I'm only useful until I break down... Huh?!"

"I don't know what to say, but you're talking a bit too much..."

Seeing that the ship girl was becoming increasingly self-deprecating and her tone was becoming more and more melancholy, Xu Huan had no choice but to take forceful measures to interrupt her thoughts.

Psychological problems are difficult to solve, and he is not a professional psychologist, so let's leave that aside for now. But for now, it's best to deal with the ship girls' physical health issues as soon as possible.

He grabbed the ship girl's arm and then forcibly dragged Elbin into the medical room, leaving Z23 standing there dumbfounded.

Isn't the commander's behavior a bit too much?

"...Z23?"

Xu Huan pulled Elbin halfway there, then noticed the girl was still standing there, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Z23 recovered from his surprise, gently pushed off with his foot, and quickly caught up with the young man's pace.

"Sister Elbin... don't worry too much, the Commander shouldn't do anything to you..."

She whispered her explanation to Elbin, but at that moment the other man's expression was also somewhat blank, his heterochromatic eyes silently watching the commander holding her arm.

So, I guess I've been... used in this situation?

Elbin thought to himself.

As long as I'm not abandoned... I'm so useless, as long as I'm used until I break, that's a normal end for me...

Elbin seemed to be in a daze. Seeing that explaining was useless, Z23 quickly ran to the young man's side and asked in a low voice:

"Commander...isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"What's wrong?"

Xu Huan replied helplessly, "If she keeps dragging this out, are we even going to get treatment? I reckon if it goes on any longer she might start saying things like I'm useless and don't need treatment..."

"It seems... what you said makes some sense, Commander."

After a moment's thought, the girl nodded slightly, then walked directly behind Elbin, placed her hands on the ship girl's back, and began to help Xu Huan push Elbin into the house.

Xu Huan pulled from the front, while Z23 pushed from behind.

In the middle is Elbin, who seems to be lost in thought.

If someone who didn't know better saw this scene, they might easily mistake it for witnessing the abduction of ship girls...

Inside the research room at this time.

Zibuli looked at the three people on the tightly controlled screen, his mouth slightly agape in surprise.

"Commander... that's so violent... you even made Z23 help push it..."

Chapter 222 The First Treatment

"Alright... Shall I summon your ship rigging and take a look?"

Xu Huan dragged Elbin into one of the rooms and, without saying a word, had him sit on the bed.

"Ah... if this is the commander's request..."

Elbin glanced at the young man with his heterochromatic eyes, then slowly nodded.

She didn't understand why a human commander would want to see her ship's equipment, which had already been severely damaged in the war, but she was perfectly content as long as she could fulfill the other party's wishes, even if they were some strange preferences...

Even if I can't offer any help on the battlefield, it's good if I can play a role in other ways...

As long as it has value in being used until it breaks...

A faint blue light gradually began to shine in the room, and as specks of blue light gradually condensed in mid-air, a long mechanical dragon appeared around the ship girl and slowly emerged in the room.

Presumably because of the ship girls' massive ship equipment, the spacious room where everyone was located only had two beds, with plenty of space, allowing even the enormous mechanical dragon to move freely inside.

Furthermore, unlike the ship equipment of other Ironblood ship girls that Xu Huan had seen before, Elbin's mechanical dragon was not the very traditional black and red like Frederick's, but a lighter gray.

Although she still looks very cool, the sense of oppression she gives off is slightly weaker, perhaps because of the ship girl's inherent temperament or the color scheme.

"...Isn't this pretty cool?"

As Xu Huan spoke, he gently stroked the mechanical dragon's head.

The dragon-shaped ship equipment also closed its eyes in a very human-like way, lowered its head slightly, and looked very obedient, without showing any dissatisfaction or mania.

It's true that the ship girls you have are matched with the ship equipment you get...

Xu Huan then thought of Hindenburg's ship equipment, smiled, and said:

"And she's very obedient..."

Elbin bit his lip, his anxious heart calming down considerably after hearing the young man's two sentences.

Judging from the current situation, the commander seems fairly satisfied with himself...

Or rather, they are fairly satisfied with their ship's equipment.

Even if you are still useless, as long as you are obedient... you should still have value and should not be abandoned.

Xu Huan was unaware of the complex thoughts in Elbin's mind at this moment. After stroking the mechanical dragon's head, he shifted his gaze downwards and onto the mechanical dragon's body.

The original gray, monolithic mechanical exterior was now covered with black stains left by gunfire, and in some places it was even broken open, revealing the cables protecting the steel-clad body.

The majestic and handsome dragon-shaped ship equipment also has a slightly damaged look because of these scars.

Xu Huan looked at it and couldn't help but gently touch it.

The mechanical dragon's previously calm body suddenly trembled. The young man subconsciously looked towards Elbin and found that the ship girl's body was also trembling slightly.

Since ship equipment and ship girls' mental energy are linked, this kind of reaction is quite normal.