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

Page 168

So these are the companions who returned from the royal family...?

"Me and my contractor? It's alright..."

After absorbing some energy from the source called 'Xu Huan,' Hindenburg felt quite satisfied. He straightened his clothes and then smiled at Elbin, saying:

"Elbin, you're now the secretary ship, after all... you're in a good position, aren't you? You should make the most of this hard-won opportunity..."

"....Um?"

Elbin was somewhat confused.

"Don't interfere. Elbin needs to practice and develop his skills..." Xu Huan said helplessly.

"Hmm... I'm going now. There are some things I can figure out on my own..."

After Hindenburg finished explaining, he winked at Xu Huan, and then a card flew out of the ship girl's hand and landed directly in his hand.

The young man looked down and saw that it was Hindenburg's house key card.

Chapter 233 Vigilance

After watching Hindenburg leave, the infirmary returned to its previous state after a brief silence.

Elbin's eyes flickered slightly, as if he were thinking about something. After carefully checking with his eyes to make sure that the commander was not injured, he leisurely walked back to his previous position and resumed his routine of handling official business.

The ship girl didn't ask any further questions, so Xu Huan naturally didn't bring it up himself.

Besides, there's nothing to brag about about being sexually harassed, since I already have the key card. I can teach them a lesson someday when I have the chance.

As noon approached, Belfast delivered a generous amount of food on time, which was still Xu Huan's favorite Chinese meal.

At first, Elbin thought there wouldn't be a portion for her and was going to find a place to eat in the cafeteria. When she heard the young man and Belfast invite her to stay, she was quite flattered.

"You don't have to be so reserved when we're together in private. Just treat us like family..." At the dinner table, Xu Huan took the initiative to put a piece of meat in the bowl of the somewhat introverted and nervous Elbin.

"But..."

Elbin looked at Belfast, who was standing behind the young man, and hesitated.

Even the Royal Navy's head maid, such an excellent ship girl, is just standing there... while I'm so useless, yet I'm sitting properly at the dining table eating...

“Don’t worry too much about me, Miss Elbin…” Belfast smiled slightly, exchanged a brief glance with Xu Huan, and replied after receiving the young man’s affirmative answer.

“I had already eaten before I came...and as my master’s personal maid, it is my duty to provide necessary service during meals.”

When there are outsiders present, Belfast will do her best to fulfill the responsibilities and obligations of a maid.

For example, if other ship girls who are not closely related are present, Belfast will not eat at the same table as Xu Huan no matter how much Xu Huan insists.

According to Belfast, this is what a maid should do for her master.

"Truly outstanding... Miss Belfast..."

"I heard from Master that Miss Elbin is also striving to become a better version of herself, and Master believes that she will achieve that goal in a short time..."

"Did the Commander say that about me?"

Elbin was somewhat surprised and looked at Xu Huan.

"Uh... cough cough..."

Xu Huan coughed twice, somewhat embarrassed, and replied, "We only chatted briefly before going to bed last night..."

He was just chatting casually, but he didn't expect Belfast to bring it up so directly at this moment.

The assist from the head lady-in-waiting... was perfect.

"Thank you... Commander... I didn't expect that someone as useless as me could receive such a compliment..." Elbin smiled slightly, feeling a little embarrassed, but also finding the food in front of him much more delicious.

The brief dinner quickly ended with conversation. After finishing his meal, Xu Huan explained his plans for the afternoon to the two women: "I met Z23 yesterday, and we're going to check out other places in the port area this afternoon to familiarize ourselves with the environment..."

"So this afternoon, the infirmary will be in your hands for the time being, Elbin... If there's any emergency you can't handle yourself, you can notify me directly, or you can contact Zibuli."

"Understood... Commander..."

Elbin hesitated visibly for a moment, then quietly agreed.

She was somewhat afraid, afraid that she would mess up the tasks Xu Huan had assigned her because of her incompetence or mediocrity, just like when she was injured while performing routine patrol duties.

Xu Huan observed the ship girl's reaction and turned to Belfast, saying, "Belfast, if you don't have anything planned for this afternoon, why don't you stay at the infirmary? You can teach Elbin a few things while you're at it..."

The head maid was somewhat surprised by this and replied:

"Master, you can stay in the infirmary, but you need to teach Elbin something... what should you teach him?"

"Let's give her some experience in handling things, the kind of work a secretary ship should do..."

"Yes, Master..."

Belfast nodded slightly, then gave a deep look at Elbin, who was standing to the side, seemingly lost in thought.

She clearly remembered that her master and the beautiful Ironblood ship girl in front of her had only known each other for less than two and a half days, and now she was being asked to train and guide her...

What extraordinary charm does this person possess that has moved their master to such an extent...?

Not a maritime legend, not particularly famous, but her personality is the kind that's quite endearing...

Moreover, she was designated by her master to be his secretary ship.

The head maid thought to herself, and a hint of wariness crept into her gaze as she looked at Elbin.

The perceptive Elbin also noticed the strangeness that flashed in Belfast's eyes, but not knowing the specific reason, she could only take Belfast's slight vigilance as an assessment of her own abilities.

Even though I'm pretty useless... since the commander said so, I have to try my best to perform...

Xu Huan was aware of the two women's thoughts. After finishing his meal, he arrived at the infirmary at roughly the same time.

Ironblood ship girls, especially those known for their seriousness and meticulousness like Z23, seem to be very sensitive to time.

Less than half a minute after the young man left, Z23 arrived at the infirmary in the same SUV he had driven before.

Xu Huan glanced at his watch; there were still five minutes until their agreed time.

Not too much, not too little, just right.

After declining the ship girl's offer to get out and open the car door for him, Xu Huan briefly greeted Z23 and then sat directly in the passenger seat.

"I'm sorry to have kept the Commander waiting..."

"I came out early on my own...and I haven't been out for very long."

"No matter what... it's wrong to keep the commander waiting..."

"If you come too early next time, won't it be me making you wait?"

Although the ship girl wasn't late, Xu Huan's act of leaving early to wait still received a good evaluation from Z23.

"Ah, let's not talk about that... Z23 is happy to continue serving the Commander's journey." Although she was sitting in the car, the girl still gave the young man a very serious military salute.

"So...where does the Commander plan to go today?"

"How about we go out to sea today?"

"Okay—uh?!"

Chapter 234 Pouncing

"Go...go to sea?"

Z23 repeated, somewhat incredulously, "Did the Commander just say we were preparing to set sail?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"No problem...it's just that the sea is a bit too dangerous for the commander right now."

Z23 explained, "Didn't the Commander just say yesterday that the Sirens are likely to become very active in the near future? So even in coastal waters, the Commander's safety is unlikely to be fully guaranteed."

"...Is it dangerous for me? Actually, it's not that bad. I've seen quite a few sirens...I even encountered a humanoid siren on the way from the royal family, but it didn't have much of an effect on me."

“That’s different, Commander… When you came from the Royal Navy, you had Frederick and the others escorting you. But now, I can’t do what Frederick and the others do on my own…”

Z23 subconsciously attributed Xu Huan's statement that it hadn't caused too much of an impact to the legendary ship girl on the same ship.

After all, in her eyes now, even if Xu Huan has the special ability to heal ship girls, he is still just a commander made of flesh and blood, who can easily suffer fatal damage if he is not careful in the face of artillery fire.

"If the commander insists on going to sea... according to the port's regulations..." As a model student in the port, Z23 had long since memorized all of Ironblood's regulations.

"At least three ship girls must accompany the group as escorts, and the target location must be limited to areas normally considered safe and where Sirens are less active. If the destination is changed, it must be reported to...reported to..."

"To whom should we report this? To the commander? Or to Bismarck and the others?" Xu Huan asked with a smile.

"Well...."

Z23 originally intended to report to Bismarck and obtain her approval before proceeding with the operation.

But this makes it sound like the commander is following the orders of the ship girls, so the title of 'commander' feels somewhat misleading.

While that's indeed the current situation with Ironblood, explaining it out like this... feels a bit strange, doesn't it?

As a ship girl, she should be obeying the orders of the young man in front of her...

Fortunately, Xu Huan did not embarrass Z23 further.

Since he had just arrived at Ironblood, he couldn't directly exercise his so-called commander privileges, as that would only put the girl in front of him in a difficult position. So, he followed the port's regulations and prepared to call two more people over.