Elder brother's garrison

“Yesterday, little girl, didn’t you take Yubari and report the Finance Minister to the police station? Although I’m not here, the Ship Equipment Research Center must be full of your legend by now. If you go in now, I guarantee a bunch of people will come up to interview you.” The Vess smiled at Little White. “So I’ll just go in first and say hello to the captain.”

"Ah...that makes sense, alright then." Xiaobai glanced at the figure in the security room in the distance, nodded to the female stove god, and said, "Then I'll wait for you here."

"I'll be back as soon as I go."

"Miss Stove Goddess, please give my regards to the enthusiastic Captain. We really owe him a lot of help yesterday." Little White waved to the Stove Goddess.

The female hearth goddess nodded with a smile, straightened her appearance, and jogged towards the security room.

Taking a day off is a minor matter; usually, you just need to tell the security team leader, and you'll be back soon.

Xiao Bai leaned against the wall and waited for the Goddess of the Hearth for a while. One minute passed, then two minutes, then ten minutes, but the Goddess of the Hearth did not appear at the entrance of the Ship Equipment Research Center.

"Uh... Is it that slow for Miss Vestal to submit her leave request..." Just as Xiaobai was muttering to himself, trying to sneak closer to the entrance of the Ship Equipment Research Center to find Miss Vestal, finally, Miss Vestal's figure appeared in Xiaobai's field of vision.

Appearing alongside the goddess of the hearth was a row of enthusiastic security team captains and members.

Under Xiaobai's watchful gaze, the security team members waved to the female hearth goddess repeatedly, watching her leave the gate of the ship equipment research center. A few steps after the female hearth goddess left the gate, the security team members, led by their captain, shouted in unison to the female hearth goddess, "Comrade female hearth goddess, this will always be your home," "May your journey be long and smooth," and "It's a pleasure to meet you."

This scene left Xiaobai, who was huddled in the corner, completely bewildered.

The goddess of the hearth only asked for one day off... why is the security team making such a big fuss?

However, Xiao Bai felt somewhat relieved when he thought about the overly enthusiastic security team leader's attitude towards him when he visited the security team before.

This is probably what makes the security guards so warm and hospitable.

"I'm back! Sorry to keep you waiting?" The female Kitchen Goddess ran back to Little White's spot, revealing a happy smile, and smiled at Little White.

"Hmm...it won't be long." Xiao Bai smiled back at the smiling face of the Kitchen Goddess. "Then let's set off."

“Okay—but if we pass a bank on the way, could you wait for me a little while?” The goddess of the hearth nodded and then spoke to Little White.

"Sure. Miss Stove Goddess, are you going to deposit all the cash you got back into the bank?"

"Hmm...more or less." The goddess of the hearth smiled.

Xiao Bai and the Goddess of the Hearth followed the same route they had taken to her house last time. The bank's customer service didn't open as early as the security office at the Ship Equipment Research Center, but fortunately, it would take several hours to walk from the Ship Equipment Research Center to the small town where the Goddess of the Hearth's hometown was located. In a big city like Kyoto, there were countless banks of all kinds along the roadside. When Xiao Bai and the Goddess of the Hearth were about the same time, they chose a large bank and went inside.

The bank was nearly empty when it first opened.

Xiao Bai and the Kitchen Goddess entered the bank, and their journey to collect tickets and certificates proceeded smoothly until they reached the manual service window.

"Excuse me, esteemed guest, would you like to withdraw or deposit money?" Inside the manned window, a young woman in uniform, with a professional smile, asked the little white dog and the goddess of the hearth outside the window.

"Deposit money first, deposit money first!" The female Stove Goddess said energetically to the young lady as she raised her hand, leaned on the chair by the window, and sat down. "I want to deposit money!"

"Please push the banknotes you want to deposit through the window. We will count them for you before proceeding," the young woman said with a smile.

"Okay!" The goddess of the hearth nodded, and then, under the astonished gaze of the young lady at the window, she put her hands under her body, opened her ship equipment space, and pulled out a large pile of banknotes, stuffing them into the window.

The number of red banknotes that the goddess of the hearth pulled out was quite substantial. Under the watchful eyes of the young lady at the window, the goddess of the hearth's actions of taking money out of the ship's equipment space were like Doraemon taking out all sorts of magical items from his magic pocket, and in a short while, the window was piled full.

Fortunately, the bank teller was a worldly person. Although the goddess of the hearth pulled out a lot of money at once and in a rather bizarre way, she was only stunned for a few seconds before quickly getting back to work.

She quickly unpacked the banknotes, stuffed them into the banknote counting machine next to her, and counted them out in the window at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Sir, the total amount you've brought out is 1,576,500 yuan. Would you like to deposit it all into your bank account?" the clerk asked the Kitchen Goddess with a smile.

"Just save half, save... save eighty... no, let's save seven hundred thousand first." The female kitchen god hurriedly waved her hand, and then, in front of Xiaobai, took out a stack of slips of paper from her clothes and stuffed them through the window. "The rest of the money can be divided equally and then deposited into these bank accounts."

"Okay." The young lady at the window nodded, then quickly got to work.

"Huh?" Little White, standing to the side, looked at the note handed over by the Goddess of the Hearth in surprise. "Miss Goddess of the Hearth, those bank accounts are..."

"Those things?" The goddess of the hearth smiled shyly at Xiaobai, revealing a shameful expression. "Ah...those things...I wonder if you still remember what I told you before, about the damaged ship girls?"

“I remember.” Xiaobai nodded. Looking at the goddess of the hearth’s ashamed expression, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration, “Ah… could it be that the bank account you just gave the staff was…”

“Those bank accounts… those are the bank accounts used by the heavily damaged ship girls I treated before.” The Vesta scratched her head, giving Xiaobai a complicated smile. “Ha… just like you thought, little girl… that’s right, they’re the ones I failed to treat before, and in the end, I dismantled their ship equipment to save their lives…”

Speaking of it.

The female kitchen god scratched her head and then laughed at Xiaobai as if she were talking about something very ordinary and commonplace.

However, the goddess of the hearth's smile was truly complex.

Chapter Recommendation: Fear of the Grand Designation

"Gilgamesh—"

"My friend... the thought of you living a lonely life from now on brings tears to my eyes... Oh, hehehe..."

"Artoria—"

"King Arthur...you are the greatest king...oh ho ho ho..."

“Weber—”

"Weber Velvet, would you be interested in becoming my subject...? Oh, hehehe..."

Demund Federico turned to look at the shivering people and sang in a hoarse voice.

"I know...the fear that lies deep within your hearts."

"And I... will also bring about a terrifying... revival."

Whether it's from the Age of Gods to the modern era, from the Coral of the Moon to the Steel Land, or from the Holy Grail War to saving humanity.

Fiddlesticks' fears will always be with you, forever.

Chapter 1725 Bringing the Relationship Closer (4500 words)

The ship girls whose treatment failed, as mentioned by the Vestal, are those who, over the years, forcibly attacked and damaged their ship equipment, ultimately finding themselves with no other option but to travel a long distance to the Vestal for treatment.

The Vess told Xiaobai that for these ship girl patients, her success rate in treating them alone was only 70%—this 70% success rate was not just something the Vess made up, but rather based on actual data. Among the ship girls who received treatment, some were successfully treated, while others failed.

What happens to ship girls whose treatment fails?

The goddess of the hearth also told Xiaobai that although the failure of the treatment would not directly endanger the ship girl's life, the ship girl's equipment would be completely destroyed after the treatment failed. At that time, the ship equipment would be like a severed limb that had completely lost its vitality to the ship girl's body. If left unattended, the ship girl's body would inevitably be corrupted and dragged down by the destroyed ship equipment, thus indirectly threatening the ship girl's life.

In order to save their lives, ship girls who fail to recover must give up their ship girl identity, dismantle their ship equipment, and become ordinary people.

What would life be like for ship girls who become ordinary people in human society?

Xiaobai had no idea.

She didn't ask the female kitchen god either.

But Xiaobai thinks those ship girls probably don't have a particularly comfortable life.

"Miss, all your formalities have been completed. Here is your bank account."

The young woman working behind the bank window was quick and efficient. She quickly completed all the tasks instructed by the Goddess of the Kitchen God, transferring a large amount of the debt into the bank account provided by the Goddess of the Kitchen God, and depositing the remaining 700,000 yuan into the Goddess of the Kitchen God's savings account. Finally, she smiled and pushed back a bank savings account, giving the Goddess of the Kitchen God a professional smile.

"Ah! Thank you!" The female kitchen god eagerly took the passbook, opened it, looked at the 700,000 yuan in savings, and smiled smugly, her legs dangling in mid-air. "Hehe, I'm rich now too."

The female kitchen god had a contented and happy expression on her face.

After the bank opened, more and more people came in to complete their procedures. The bank lobby, which was quiet just a few minutes ago, quickly became filled with more than a dozen figures.

Xiao Bai and the Kitchen Goddess did not stay at the bank window. After making room for the later customers, they left the bank one after the other.

I walked out of the bank.

I arrived at the deserted street.

Along the way, the female Kitchen Goddess still held her savings book, following behind Xiaobai, staring at the deposit figures in her savings book and grinning foolishly, occasionally letting out a satisfied laugh like "guhehe".

"Miss Kitchen Goddess, don't stare at your bankbook so intently on the road, you might bump into pedestrians," Xiao Bai reminded the Kitchen Goddess with a smile.

"Oh, okay, I'll put it away right away!" The goddess of the hearth quickly closed the passbook, carefully stuffing it into her ship equipment space. Then, she scratched her head sheepishly at the little white creature beside her and smiled, "Um... thank you."

"You're welcome." Xiaobai nodded with a smile.

The female Kitchen God quickened her pace and walked to Little White's side. She blinked, turned her head to steal a few glances at Little White, then lowered her head, stared at her toes, and silently pondered for a while.

"..."

"..."

"Those children..." After a short while, the goddess of the hearth suddenly spoke, explaining to Xiaobai, "They are the ship girls I mentioned before whose treatment failed... Actually, I didn't give them money because I felt I had wronged them..."

Xiao Bai looked at the female Kitchen Goddess.

The female Kitchen Goddess gestured to Little White and said earnestly.

“As you know, ship girls who have lost their ship equipment have almost no ability to survive independently in human society. Of course, this is something they can learn… However, before they learn enough skills to support themselves, most of them will go hungry and live in very cold houses… So, so…” The Vessian gestured as she explained to Shiro, “I simply… simply got to know them, thinking that at least until they learn enough to be self-reliant, I could provide them with enough money to live on…”

"Hmm." Xiaobai looked at the female stove god and nodded gently.

“I’ve said it before… I don’t charge for the repairs I do for the ship girls. It’s an action I don’t expect anything in return, so I’m not responsible for any consequences. Repair failures aren’t my fault either. I’ve tried my best to repair them… so I have nothing to apologize for. I’m not giving them money because I feel bad about them…” The female Vestal explained to Shiro, her voice growing softer and softer, her whole demeanor listless, even the hand gesturing in the air gradually losing strength. “So… so…”

"..." Xiao Bai looked at the female stove god.

The female Kitchen Goddess lowered her hands, bowed her head, and followed Little White quietly for a while before suddenly speaking.

“That…little girl.”

"Ok?"

"...Can you pat my head?"

The female Kitchen Goddess lowered her head and moved closer to Little White.

Little White looked at the head of the female Stove Goddess in surprise, but still raised his hand and quietly stroked her head.

A rustling sound rang out above the goddess of the hearth.

"Is that so?" Little White asked the female Stove Goddess while stroking her head.

"Thank you."

The goddess of the hearth took a deep breath, her expression relaxing somewhat.

“…Little girl.”

"Ok?"

"...Do you think what I just did was right?"

"..." Little White paused in her stroking of the goddess of the hearth. She looked up at the sky and thought for a moment, "Hmm... I think..."

"..."

"At least it's not a bad thing?" Xiaobai asked rhetorically.

"Oh, I see!"

The female kitchen goddess raised her head and looked at Xiaobai with a smile on her face.

"However, Miss Hearth Goddess..."

"I know, this is a one-time thing, right?"

The female hearth goddess regained her spirits and smiled at Little White.

"……Um."

Xiao Bai laughed.

"Okay! I'm fine now!" The female Kitchen Goddess pressed down on Xiaobai's hand, looked up at the clear blue sky overhead, and energetically put her hands on her hips. "Now let's go home together!"

Xiao Bai and the Kitchen Goddess returned to their familiar small town.

When Xiaobai and the Kitchen Goddess returned to the small town, it was already the busiest time of the morning. The streets of the small town were full of street vendors, their calls echoing through the air.

When they returned to the alleyway in front of the Goddess of the Kitchen God's house, the pancake stall that had given Xiaobai directions last time had just opened. The kind auntie was skillfully spreading out a pancake, expertly spreading sauce on it, and sprinkling it with minced vegetables, meat, and sausage.

"Oh my, isn't that the girl from a few days ago?" Just as Xiaobai and the female stove god approached the alley entrance, the kind-hearted auntie who was making pancakes looked up and saw them. The kind-hearted auntie's face was filled with a warm smile. She waved her spatula at Xiaobai and the female stove god and called out, "I haven't seen you these past few days. How have you been?"

"Aunt Wang!" The female Kitchen Goddess waved excitedly to the kind-hearted aunt, then ran to the scallion pancake shop and said to Aunt Wang with a happy smile, "Aunt Wang, I haven't been home these past few days. I went out to play with some people!"

"Ha, so you went out to play. No wonder I haven't seen you." Aunt Wang skillfully flipped the pancakes she had made and smiled at the female kitchen god. "How about it? Want two pancakes today? Auntie will give you two extra sausages!"

"Yes, yes! Two servings today!" The female kitchen god exclaimed excitedly, standing on tiptoe. She waved to Little White beside her, pulled Little White to her side, and said with great enthusiasm, "Little girl, order whatever you like! It's on me today!"

"Huh? Is that okay?" Xiaobai asked the goddess of the hearth in surprise.

"Of course! I'm rich now!" the goddess of the hearth said proudly, patting her chest.

"what……"

"Hurry up and choose! I can afford any flavor, even the family-style scallion pancake! Don't hold back, order whatever you like!" The female kitchen goddess patted Xiaobai's arm and said excitedly, "Freshly cooked, hot scallion pancakes are so delicious!"

"Hmm... okay, but..." Xiaobai thought for a moment and asked the female stove goddess, "Miss female stove goddess, when you went to deposit the money just now, did you have any cash left over to keep as change?"

Xiao Bai had barely finished speaking.