My ship girl setup is off...

Page 139

"So, that's why you came to me crying and complaining, right, Long Island?"

"Yeah!! Commander! Long Island! My game progress from playing all night is gone, gone, ah... Commander, Kurushi..."

Masahiro, who was already sipping his black tea and about to ask to see the documents and reports, looked at Nagashima, who was holding him and making his statement, and Ayanami, who had a serious expression on her face. Hearing Nagashima's loud complaints, as if the Gundam he had painstakingly assembled had been destroyed by the neighbor's child, Masahiro suddenly felt like laughing.

But Long Island is already in this state; if she were to laugh out loud again, she might just sit on the ground and hug her legs, refusing to move.

So Zheng Ri could only suppress his laughter and comfort Changdao, patting her head and saying:

"It's alright, Nagashima. I'll have a proper talk with Ayanami. Crying now is useless; once it's gone, all that's left is..."

It was played again.

"Commander! Does what you're saying sound like you're trying to comfort me? I was just about to cry, but what you said makes me really cry."

Listening to him trying to comfort her while suppressing a laugh, Changdao quickly brushed his hand away from her head, looked up at him, her eyes already brimming with tears that seemed about to spill, as if tiny pearls were about to fall.

"Alright, alright, my poor Miss Ghost, don't cry, don't cry. How about this, I'll come visit you in the next few days, and then we'll play games together to catch up on the game progress, okay?"

Seeing that Changdao had already pouted, Zheng Ri roughly understood what she meant. He hugged her in his arms, feeling Changdao's soft body, and pinched her little face, feeding her a piece of candy.

"Really? Great! In that case, Miss Ghost won't be angry anymore. If the Commander has promised, then you must keep your word, otherwise Ghost Long Island will keep bothering the Commander and lingering around with resentment!"

Having received a response to her cries, Long Island's expression shifted swiftly, revealing a triumphant smile. She then wiped away her squeezed-out tears, happily wrapped herself around Zheng Ri, and formally announced her arrival.

"The commander has fallen for it."

Seeing Nagashima nestled behind the Commander and embracing him, Glorious quickly understood what was going on. He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked back and forth between Masaharu, Nagashima, and Ayanami with a gaze that gradually revealed everything.

"That's good. At least Long Island can come out for a bit. Otherwise, I was really worried she would stay in the room until she got moldy. Luckily, Rei pulled her out."

The company took a sip of the Belfast-brewed black tea, enjoying its rich aroma and slightly relieved. Their brows relaxed a bit, as they had been worried about Long Island, who hadn't come out of her room.

However, it seems that there are no problems now.

"Commander, Ayanami, I have accomplished my mission," she said.

Seeing that Nagashima was already clinging to the Commander and acting coquettishly, Ayanami, who had been silent until now, also came to Masahiro's side. However, looking at Tirpitz and the others, Ayanami still did not pounce on Masahiro directly.

"I won't stop you anymore, Ayanami. You can just pounce on the Commander, like Long Island does."

Hearing Azuma's gentle expression and looking at the other older female carrier battleships present, Ayanami thought for only a few seconds before rushing into Masahiro's arms and snuggling close to him.

"Ayanami, I miss the Commander."

"Mmm, Ayanami, my little darling."

Zheng Ri pulled Ayanami into his arms. Naturally, Zheng Ri wouldn't refuse his beloved daughter. After holding her petite and soft body, he placed her upright on his lap, resting her chin on Ayanami's shoulder. Smelling Ayanami's youthful scent, Zheng Ri felt particularly satisfied.

"I feel like Ayanami has grown up a lot since her makeover. She used to be so cute, but now she looks like a middle school girl."

He nuzzled Ayanami's shoulder, saying with a hint of infatuation, since the difference between before and after the modification was obvious.

Before the transformation, Ayanami had bandages on her thighs. After the transformation, Ayanami wore white stockings. Now, Ayanami wears simple clothes and a pair of white stockings. That's what it means to be deeply loved.

"After all, modification is an opportunity for us to grow again, Commander. But when will Illustrious be able to be modified too, Commander?"

After finishing her cup of black tea, Glorious watched the Commander happily snuggling up to Ayanami and said with some envy, "Ayanami is my little sister, she can openly cling to the Commander, but I can't." However, Glorious still thought that since there were many ship girls in the port who could be modified, then she could too, right?

Thinking of this, Glorious looked at Masaru with a slightly expectant gaze. If possible, he could shine again and no longer have to retire in the port.

Although there are no opportunities to make a move now, there will always be such a day.

"Well, I'm not sure about that. Modifications require blueprints and such, so Radiant might have to wait."

Zheng Ri also spoke with some uncertainty, after all, whether or not a modification would be released was a matter for the official authorities, and he already knew nothing when he arrived, nor did he know what new ship girls would come later, or whether the sixth phase of research had been released.

"I understand, Commander. Illustrious will await your instructions."

Despite not receiving recognition, he remained optimistic, saying that no one can predict the future and it all depends on fate.

Afterwards, they ate snacks and drank tea, talking about port affairs with the company, Belfast and Illustrious chatted about daily matters, and Tirpitz exchanged information about the outside situation, while Azuma just listened without saying a word.

"Master, it's almost lunchtime. Would you like to eat in the office, or would you like to go somewhere else?"

Suddenly, Belfast mentioned the time; it was lunchtime. Hearing this, Zheng Ri felt like he had forgotten something, and then it dawned on him.

Okay, I haven't looked at or done today's reports yet.

"So fast? I don't think I've taken care of anything yet."

"Don't worry, Master, we'll handle things in the port area."

At this point, Belfast was already baring his fangs, revealing his true intentions.

Chapter 371 Companionship

"This...this isn't quite right...If you're going to handle this...I'll handle it now."

Masaharu didn't realize anything was wrong, but he started to feel that he was becoming lazy. Well, although he hadn't been involved in much of the port's affairs at the beginning, if things continued like this, Masaharu felt that he was gradually turning into a useless person who only knew how to eat, drink and have fun every day.

Although I feel it's about the same now.

"Don't worry, Master. The port affairs were originally meant to be handled by the secretary ship, but that was when we didn't have many people at the beginning."

"Nowadays, the number of ship girls in the port is increasing day by day, and the port is gradually becoming larger, supporting a series of production chains. Naturally, this needs to be handled by the secretariat. However, since that's what you think, Master..."

"So, from now on, Belfast will provide you with the main documents every day. You won't need to do anything; you'll just need to give your approval or disapproval."

Belfast, who had completely figured out his master's personality, brought up the "open window effect": since the master wants to see, then let him see, just some of the important things.

After all, aside from the initial efforts, most commanders' tasks are taken over by the secretary ship; efficiency is one factor, but as for the rest...

"...Okay, Belfast, I agree with your idea, but it feels like this makes me feel like I'm back to being idle."

"No, actually it's my problem. I've become lazy. Maybe that's just who I am."

Masaharu started to feel depressed and began to think it was his fault, but the ship girls looked at him with smiles on their faces and comforted him.

"How could that be? Commander, you can't think like that. You are the haven for each and every one of us. You don't need to do anything; you just need to stay by our side. Or rather..."

"Let's do something that will strengthen our bond, Commander. When would you have time to visit Radiant Garden? The roses Victory planted are in bloom, and I'd like to come with you to admire their beauty."

Guanghui took his arm with one hand and shook hands with him. Her face was slightly pink, and she looked at him with shy eyes, but her words were full of hints.

"Well, I'll see when I'm free. And speaking of Glorious, you've actually already..."

Zheng Ri naturally understood Guang Hui's meaning. He turned to look at her flushed face and smiled. After all, he understood what she was implying.

"So, Ayanami, my dear daughter, what do you think?"

Masahi lowered his head and looked at Ayanami, who hadn't said a word. Although she was usually expressionless and emotionless, Masahi knew that she was definitely listening, but whether she understood was another matter.

"Is the commander referring to handling matters in the port area?"

When she heard the commander calling her name and jokingly referring to her as his "good daughter," Ayanami's face immediately turned red, and her two legs, clad in white stockings, swayed as if confirming his words.

"Yes, Ayanami, what are your thoughts?"

Knowing that the older sister ship girl wanted him to stay out of port matters, Masahi had no choice but to ask his own Ayanami, since he had to listen to her opinions, big or small.

"Um, Commander, Ayanami, I don't know... but what I really want is for you to spend some time with me, Commander. That would be so nice."

Lingbo thought about it carefully, and after a short while, she turned around and gave the answer she was thinking of.

Rather than having the Commander spend his time on those tasks, Ayanami would rather have him by her side, especially after feeling his affection in her arms. Ayanami then knew the answer.

"I see. Then I'll do as you say. But then it seems unnecessary to move here."

Listening to his beloved daughter's words, Zheng Ri still felt it was alright to start the business, but at the same time he felt he had done a lot of unnecessary things, so... especially...

"If the Commander simply wants to hear about what's happening in the port, Belfast can report it to the Commander. But why does the Commander want to handle this himself?"

Suddenly, Azuma asked curiously, "The consensus in the port is that the commander doesn't get involved. Although some Ironblood ship girls think that the commander should at least be involved, in reality, it's normal for him not to get involved."

"How should I put it? I feel like if I don't do something soon, I'm going to become apathetic."

Zheng Ri said with some helplessness, "Although this kind of life, which is all about eating and sleeping, is nice, I'll start to feel uncomfortable after a while."

"Hehe~, although I don't know why the Commander would have such thoughts, isn't the Commander's job to eat snacks and chat with us?"

"The port area is now developing rapidly, and enterprises..."

They've all done a good job, and we've arranged for people to patrol the defenses. Why would the commander think that way?

"Or is it that the Commander is starting to feel... a little lonely?"

Guanghui patiently dissected his thoughts, and after much consideration, there was only one conclusion: he was disconnected from human society.

Humans are social animals. Although ship girls look like humans and have human-like thoughts, it can be said that once they take off their ship uniforms, they are no different from humans.

However, ship girls born from the blessings of the sea are endowed with near-eternal existence. Apart from death, their appearance remains largely unchanged, and their life and brain have super-powerful computational abilities, which means they are not truly human.

Even if their values ​​align, they can still have differences and become severely unbalanced in their studies.

Therefore, Guanghui believes that this is the real reason.

"Yes, a tiny bit..."

"I understand, Commander. If you wish to go outside, we will not stop you. However, please be sure to allow us to accompany you, for we are your ship girls, and regardless of any constraints, it is our duty."

In Radiant's eyes, Masaru's words and actions reflected a sense of loneliness stemming from being disconnected from human society. After all, ship girls are not human, or at least not. Ship girls wouldn't experience such psychological reactions.

The only possible reason for such a reaction is probably the feeling of being rejected by the commander.

"Let me think about it..."

Zheng Ri was feeling somewhat melancholy, and even his beloved daughter Ling Bo, whom he was holding in his arms, didn't seem so appealing anymore.

Chapter 372 Money Power

In the end, Masaharu still granted their wish; no one could refuse their obedient daughter, Ayanami! However, Belfast was still allowed to tell him about things in the port every day. Even if he really didn't care anymore, he should still occasionally exercise his influence behind the scenes.

However, even though that's what he thought, when Masahiro saw the report Belfast brought out, he couldn't sit still any longer. If it weren't for Ayanami sitting in his lap and Nagashima rubbing against him while playing games, Masahiro would have jumped up.

"Belfa, I know you guys have some money, but isn't this a bit too outrageous?"

Masaharu glanced at the report Belfast handed him. It was just a summary report, covering port expenditures and income. Although he knew his ship girls were very wealthy, when he saw the nine zeros filled in, Masaharu immediately felt something was wrong.

“Master, when money can solve problems, it’s no longer a problem. Of course, the most important thing is that we have what’s called ‘money power’.”

Belfast simply smiled understandingly at Zheng Ri's shock, saying, "After all, it's just a small target. What's that? If you really want to count them, every ship that has appeared in history is made up of countless small targets."

Compared to this, doesn't a small goal seem insignificant?

"In fact, Master, I don't think there's anything surprising about it. These are just some routine expenses, although they do include some building costs, but compared to the others, they're really nothing."

"No, I'm just starting to feel like my perspective is too narrow..."

A small goal on the books suddenly became incredibly complicated for Zheng Ri. A small goal sounds simple, but it's an amount that countless people couldn't accumulate. Now, looking at the status of each small goal, Zheng Ri was speechless.

After all, there's a huge difference between a million and a hundred million.

"How come you need so many?"

After thinking it over, Zheng Ri still felt it was a bit too exaggerated. How could so much money be needed? Where did all the money go? And how was the income calculated? How many sirens would one have to beat up to have that much money?

"In that case, please let Belfast report to the master: the large-scale purchase of vodka and whiskey, the supplies for each ship girl, the food expenses, the toys for the sisters, such as game consoles and pretty clothes, not counting the cost of sea freight, and the high-speed construction we requested from the Manjuu, as well as our daily oil allocation..."

"Of course, that's not enough. There's more. Would you like to hear it, Master?"

"It's no longer necessary. I roughly understand."

Belfast smiled slightly at Zheng Ri's curiosity and then casually brought up some related things. Each time she mentioned something, Zheng Ri's brows furrowed.

If I didn't understand at first, I really do now. Although it sounds like it costs a lot, when you break it down, it's actually worth it.

You know everything.

But you don't need a small goal, that would be too exaggerated!

Seeing Zheng Ri's furrowed brows, Guanghui, Enterprise, and the others laughed in unison. In reality, these were not expensive things; mentioning them would only discourage the commander. Where would they get so many small targets? It's just that the port is currently thriving and everything is flourishing, so the amount of money needed for the time being is only a little bit more.

However, Tirpitz frowned as he looked at Belfast, the head maid who was still as perfect as ever. Her two long legs, clad in white stockings that were slightly see-through, were crossed, creating a sensual and alluring look. Her hands were outstretched, her fingers touching, as if she were trying to figure out what they were thinking.

Because Tirpitz knew that Belfast was only selective.

She was only saying a few things, not revealing everything, but guiding the commander along the route she had prepared, directing his every move.

"In that case, does Master still require me to report to you weekly on matters concerning the port? Of course, Belfast will do its best."

Seeing that Zheng Ri had already retreated, Belfast nodded in satisfaction. As the highest-ranking person in the port and the commander of hundreds of ship girls, he should spend his time on the ship girls, not on finances and the operation of the port.

Commander, all you need to do is act as a mascot.

"...It's necessary. Although I haven't been involved much, I am still your commander. I can't just do nothing; that wouldn't be right, and I'd feel bad about it myself."

After thinking it over, Zheng Ri decided to listen to Belfast's reports every week. Although he was basically sidelined now, he still needed to know what was going on.