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

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The mechanical dragon raised its metal head with some surprise, and after confirming that its master did not have any feelings or thoughts of rejection, it slowly closed its eyes and enjoyed the caress from the young man.

"Elbin, in the port area, the health and safety of the ship girls are the most important thing... there is no such thing as wasting resources."

Elbin was silent for a while, and instead of continuing the previous topic, he changed the subject.

"Commander... seems to really like my ship equipment?"

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

Xu Huan paused slightly as he stroked the mechanical dragon's hand, and asked with some curiosity.

"Ever since I summoned the ship's equipment, the commander's attention has been focused on her, and... he seems quite satisfied with her."

"Uh...that's really good ship equipment..."

Xu Huan nodded: "If you're talking about liking someone, then it's pretty much true, isn't it?"

"...The ship's equipment...it satisfies the commander, which should be something to be happy about," Elbin muttered. "But I'm so weak and useless, yet I'm wielding ship equipment that looks so powerful..."

Upon hearing this, Xu Huan gently covered his forehead.

Elbin is currently too difficult for him to get along with.

"How about this..."

Xu Huan sighed: "Don't you always feel useless? From now on, you'll temporarily serve as my secretary ship... to get some experience."

With a personality like that, I feel like she'll break down on her own if I don't keep a close eye on her all the time...

Chapter 224 Leave it to me

Secretary ship.

In the port area, this usually refers to ship girls who are responsible for assisting the commander in handling various daily affairs and acting as secretaries.

After all, a commander's energy is limited (and he's lazy). Managing such a large port and so many ship girls would be extremely difficult without a trustworthy helper.

Thus, the position of the secretary ship was created.

Generally speaking, there aren't many ship girls who can perfectly fulfill the role of secretary ship. After all, ship girls who are as good at official duties as Belfast and Warspite, or as capable as Bismarck, are only a minority in each faction.

During his time with the Royal Navy, Xu Huan's secretary ship was usually Belfast.

However, although Belfast actually does much more meticulous and considerate things than the secretary ship, she never considers herself a secretary ship. Instead, she takes her main role as a personal maid.

After all, any ship girl can serve as the secretary ship, and to some extent, the secretary ship should be filled by ship girls from different factions on a rotating basis. This can balance the faction rhythm in the port and give each ship girl a fair opportunity to understand the commander.

Of course, it also gives commanders the opportunity to get to know different ship girls.

But a personal maid is different.

From beginning to end, only a few ship girls from the Royal Maid Corps have been able to take on this role, and now, there is only Belfast.

After all, there are no truly strict 'maid' roles in other factions; it is only because of the special nature of the royal system that such a role exists.

To be more precise, since Xu Huan isn't yet familiar enough with Ironblood, Belfast would be a better choice as his secretary ship, or perhaps an Ironblood ship girl like Z23 with a serious work ethic.

This will help reduce Xu Huan's work pressure.

If Elbin is chosen...

That might actually add a lot of things and burdens to young people that are not within the scope of their work.

Therefore, when Xu Huan said that Elbin would temporarily serve as the secretary ship for a period of time, not only Elbin himself, but even Z23 felt that it was somewhat inappropriate.

After all, the young man had only been in Ironblood for a short time, and he was unfamiliar with the place. Did he really need to take care of Elbin?

"commander..."

Z23 gently tugged at the young man's sleeve, lowering his voice as if to say something, but the young man simply waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to worry too much.

"Don't worry..."

Xu Huan explained, "Right now, Bismarck is still handling everything at Ironblood, so although she's called the secretary ship, she doesn't actually do anything..."

"And given the possibility I mentioned to you, Z23, the infirmary is likely to become quite lively in the near future... Having Elbin lend a hand seems like a good idea?"

"The commander means..."

"Yes, I plan to stay at the infirmary for the foreseeable future... or for a long time to come, as part of my daily work..."

The feeling of handling port affairs was something I had experienced deeply when I was with the Royal Navy.

Even with Belfast and Warspite's help, he still found it somewhat boring. Although he brought Belfast with him to Ironblood, he figured Belfast wouldn't be involved in the Ironblood's household chores. In that case, he might as well find an 'easier' job.

Healing ship girls right now brings a sense of accomplishment and improves the relationship between myself and the Ironblood ship girls.

And most importantly...

Based on Xu Huan's current understanding of Bismarck's personality, it is unlikely that Bismarck will hand over the Ironblood's power to him completely, like the Royal Family, in the short term or even for a long time.

The iron-fisted prime minister must have a considerable desire to control things in the port area.

Since I'm new here, even if I have the status of a commander, I doubt the other party will readily relinquish all authority.

Trust and relationships are built gradually, not simply because one is the commander.

The road to recognition is still long...

The road to uniting the two camps is longer.

Starting with the weak points of the port area, the medical field is one of the best options.

From this perspective, it would be more accurate to say that Bismarck's approach was correct, since it would have been too careless for the royal family to completely trust Xu Huan from the outset.

Or perhaps the Royal Family has its own different perspective? Or is it because I did them a huge favor before they moved into the port area?

If I remember later when I have time, I'll ask Belfast...

As Xu Huan pondered, Z23 quickly pulled out a small notebook and jotted down everything that had happened that day.

The secretary ship... the commander's healing abilities, the possible speculations about the Sirens, and the fact that she would be in charge of the Ironblood medical work in the infirmary for a long time were all recorded in the notebook.

Although she hadn't spent much time with Xu Huan, the number of shocking things she encountered was almost more than the total number of things that had happened in the previous month.

This made her feel a little pressure, but it was quickly dispelled by the surprise brought by the commander.

The new life brought by the commander may need to be much more interesting than before.

I just don't know when I'll get the position of secretary on that ship.

After completing today's tasks, she not only needs to organize and upload the information to the port log, but also needs to personally go to Tirpitz to report...

"Secretary ship... Am I really that useless?"

Elbin watched as the two of them quickly settled his position as secretary ship, and muttered to himself in confusion.

"It's okay... Elbin, this is a routine that every ship girl goes through..."

Z23 reassured her, "With the Commander's help, I believe Sister Elbin will regain her confidence..."

"I feel... this isn't going to work out. If everyone becomes the secretary ship... won't I seem even more useless...?"

“Miss Elbin..…”

Even the usually cheerful and optimistic Z23 was left speechless by Elbin's words.

"Elbin...do you have any friends in the port area?" Xu Huan pulled Z23 aside, looked at Elbin with a sorrowful expression, and asked in a low voice.

"No, Commander, Elbin is mostly a loner. I've never heard of her being close to anyone..."

"Fine...."

Xu Huan nodded: "I understand... I'll keep an eye on Elbin for now..."

Chapter 225 The Iron-Blooded Legends of the Sea

With the tasks assigned by the secretary ship temporarily concluded, Xu Huan was too lazy to wander around other parts of Ironblood. He simply stayed in the infirmary to familiarize himself with his future work environment.

After learning that Xu Huan might be stationed at the Ironblood Medical Center, Belfast specially came from home to thoroughly inspect and clean the medical center inside and out, and even prepared a special rest room for Xu Huan so that he could rest when he was tired.

In Belfast's words, all the facilities inside have been designed to meet Xu Huan's most preferred standards, and there is even a large bed available so that he can spend the night in the medical room instead of going home.

As for Z23, after lending a hand, he also rushed to the Ironblood command center to prepare for his daily work report.

The girl walked to the door, knocked twice, and only after receiving a cold "Come in" from inside did she slowly open the door.

In the command center today, Bismarck was sitting at his desk as usual, handling port affairs, his expression calm and revealing neither joy nor sorrow.

When she saw Z23 arrive, her calm expression gradually softened: "Sit down... Tirpitz told me she should be here soon."

“Okay, Bismarck.”

Z23 wasn't surprised and found a comfortable spot on the sofa to sit down.

Although Tirpitz was in charge of her main tasks, the matter ultimately concerned the commander, so Bismarck would also participate when Tirpitz received her daily reports.

It's like having your boss's boss come to hear your report to your boss.

Upon seeing the arrival of Z23, Bismarck's thoughts gradually shifted from her busy official duties. She picked up her phone, pulled up the mission log that had just been submitted, and planned to get a general understanding of what had happened before listening to the detailed report.

But after only a short while, a hint of surprise flashed across his previously calm face, and his delicate brows furrowed involuntarily.

“Z23...”