Elder brother's garrison

The maid ship girl, who was diligently pruning the flowers, suddenly shrugged and turned around. When she saw that it was Shiro calling her, she quickly put down her scissors, ran towards Shiro, and finally stood in front of everyone. She held her hands tightly to her chest and carefully bowed to Shiro.

“Master…Master? Are you calling me?” Richelieu looked at everyone with a pitiful and delicate expression.

It's as if what's standing in front of Xiaobai and the female stove goddess isn't actually a powerful ship girl, but rather a pitiful little maid working under Rong Momo, carefully and timidly making a living, being ordered around by others.

Chapter 1746 The Goddess of the Hearth Finally Discovers the Blind Spot

Richelieu's anxious expression—though he didn't know what had happened, he was terrified that Little White would punish him at any moment—truly startled the goddess of the hearth.

Huh?

Isn't this a highly skilled main battle ship girl?

He'd be walking around outside with his nose in the air, so why is he acting all timid and submissive here?

The female hearth goddess looked at Little White in surprise.

"Nothing much." Xiaobai smiled at Richelieu who had come over, then pointed to the female hearth beside her, "Let me introduce you, this ship girl is called the female hearth, she is a new partner who just joined our naval base. She seems to really want to get to know you."

“Ah…I see…” Richelieu breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at the goddess of the hearth and bowed carefully to her. “Hello, my name is…Riccieu.”

"Uh, hello..."

The female kitchen goddess blinked, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Richelieu stared at the goddess of the hearth and waited for a long time, hoping that she would say something to him. However, the goddess of the hearth just stared at Richelieu and did not say a word for a long time.

"Richelieu, what were you doing just now?" Before the atmosphere between the two became too awkward, Xiaobai quickly interjected and asked Richelieu.

“Lexington said today that the landscape around the hot springs is about due for trimming, so he sent me here to take charge,” Richelieu replied honestly to Xiaobai.

"Oh... I see. I'm sorry to have called you over when you're so busy. Richelieu, you should go back and continue with your work." Xiaobai smiled apologetically at Richelieu.

“…Yes.” Richelieu turned around.

"Oh, right, Richelieu!" Little White called out to Richelieu as he watched Richelieu's retreating figure.

"What is it, Master?!" Richelieu's shoulders trembled, and he turned around timidly, clutching his chest.

“…Ricciul, you…” Xiaobai stared at Richelieu’s revealing maid outfit for a while, pondered for a few seconds, and then finally spoke under Richelieu’s worried gaze, “It’s getting colder recently as winter approaches, Richelieu, you should wear more clothes.”

“…” Richelieu was taken aback, but quickly became grateful, “…Yes!”

The maid outfit Richelieu is wearing is a little prank Lexington played on her as revenge for Richelieu's past treachery. It's a two-dimensional maid uniform specially made for Richelieu by Yamato Fukami, drawing on her years of experience as a homebody. Its features are not only an extremely flamboyant style but also very little fabric, making the conservative Richelieu extremely uncomfortable wearing it. For a long time, she didn't dare to look people in the eye when walking or working at the naval base.

Both people and ship girls will gradually get used to it. Although this lewd maid outfit is a bit embarrassing to wear, fortunately there are no men in the newbie naval base. Letting the other female ship girls see her in this outfit is not too challenging Richelieu's bottom line. So, as time goes by, Richelieu gradually gets used to this maid outfit.

But...

If you can dress properly, who would want to dress so vulgarly?

Since the admiral of the naval base personally told her that the weather had gotten colder recently and that she should wear more layers, didn't that mean he was tacitly agreeing that she could wear her normal maid outfit again for a while? She wouldn't have to live like before, where a gust of wind could easily expose her, and her chest, thighs, and back were always chilly?!

I've been away from home for more than half a year.

This should be the best news Richelieu has received since being captured and taken to the newbie garrison.

Richelieu was like a little girl who had received a favorite gift, unable to contain her joy, and even her steps back to the hot springs became lighter.

"Richardius, remember to keep warm during this time!" Little White smiled and waved to Richelieu.

After seeing Richelieu off, Xiaobai suddenly felt a strange sensation of a gaze piercing his face.

Xiao Bai turned his head and saw the female Kitchen Goddess staring at him with a puzzled look on her face, as if she had something to say.

"What's up with that ship girl named Richelieu?" Vesta asked Shiro with a puzzled look. "Why is she a capital ship doing the work of a maid, helping with gardening... Isn't she supposed to be a combat ship girl for our naval base?"

"Before becoming a capital ship, she had to be my ship girl." Xiaobai smiled helplessly at Vestal.

"Huh? She's not your ship girl?"

"Ah."

"Then how did she get here?"

“Ricciole’s previous owner offended our admiral. So when they encountered Richelieu by chance, Mrs. Richelieu took her back to the naval base as a hostage,” Changchun explained to the female hearth goddess.

"What? Hostage? She's a capital ship, for goodness' sake! Doesn't she think she can escape?"

"Well... it's probably because she can't beat Cat Sister, nor can she beat Mrs. Leigh and Saratoga," Changchun laughed awkwardly. "Even if she wanted to run away, she definitely wouldn't be able to."

"..." The goddess of the hearth turned around blankly to look at Richelieu's back.

In the twenty years that the Goddess of the Hearth has lived in Kyoto, she has seen, felt, and healed many civilian ship girls, so she has a general idea of ​​the strength of ship girls. The ship girl aura of Richelieu, who was captured by Shiro and brought back to the naval base, is definitely among the best of all the ordinary ship girls the Goddess of the Hearth has ever seen.

Such powerful ship girls... So there are actually people who can't be defeated and are completely suppressed by them?

The goddess of the hearth suddenly realized another problem.

“You… uh, no! I mean… how many people in our garrison can beat her?” The Vess pointed at Richelieu in the distance, looking at Xiaobai with an expression as if she had discovered some blind spot in Xiaobai’s thinking.

"Ricelieu? Hmm... Actually, Richelieu is one of the more formidable ship girls... In our naval base... there probably aren't many ship girls who can reliably defeat her." Xiaobai glanced at Richelieu in the distance and said after thinking for a while.

"Ah...that's more like it..."

"So, Bismarck, Missouri, Veneto, Yamato, Lexington, Saratoga, Akagi, Enterprise..." Xiaobai said to Vestal like reciting a menu, rattling off a long list of ship girls' names. Then, he humbly scratched his head and said, "...Well, that's about twenty or thirty, not many."

For a newbie naval base where the number of ship girls broke into three digits eight years ago and is now striving to reach four digits, this number is indeed quite small.

Xiaobai is telling the truth.

However, Xiao Bai's honest words took on a different meaning in the ears of the Kitchen Goddess.

Richelieu's strength is actually the highest level of ship equipment quality and training that a ship girl can achieve. In a sense, Richelieu is the ultimate form of a ship girl with the highest talent and potential who has explored everything to the top level. She is the end point of the path pursued by millions of ship girls.

Is there really at least twenty or thirty super ship girls in this naval base whose ship equipment quality and skill level have reached this level...?

So what exactly is the combat strength of this naval base...?

"..." The goddess of the hearth remained silent.

"The goddess of the hearth? What's wrong?"

"I...have a question." The female hearth goddess swallowed hard, looked up at Little White cautiously, and asked, "Our naval base...could it be...surprisingly one of the very strong naval bases?"

Well...I guess so.

How strong is it?

"..." Xiao Bai raised his index finger towards the female stove god.

"The top 100?" the goddess of the hearth asked.

Xiao Bai shook his head.

"Top ten?" The goddess of the hearth widened her eyes.

Xiao Bai shook his head again.

"...The first thousand?" The goddess of the hearth looked puzzled.

"It's number one in the world." Changchun said with a smile to the Goddess of the Hearth, "Sister Goddess of the Hearth, you probably don't know this because you weren't in the Admiral circle before. Our newbie naval base is recognized by the Admiral circle as the number one naval base in the world."

"Number one in the world?!" The goddess of the hearth gasped, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes, number one in the world." Xiaobai lowered his hand and smiled sheepishly. "Um... I was originally planning to tell the Goddess of the Hearth about this at a more suitable time..."

"You...you're already the world's number one naval base?" The goddess of the hearth stared blankly at Mutsu, only to find that Mutsu's expression was unexpectedly calm, as if he had foreseen this all along. "Mutsu, Mutsu, aren't you surprised?!"

"Ah...actually, I had a pretty good idea that the Admiral's naval base must be incredibly strong." Mutsu said to the female hearth goddess with a smile. "After all, even though I'm known for my training level, when I first met Nagaharu, Yubari, and New Jersey, I could feel a sense of unfathomable depth."

"So Mutsu-neechan already guessed it?" Changchun looked at Mutsu-neechan with surprise.

"I didn't guess it accurately. I just thought our naval base would be very powerful... As for the fact that it's actually the world's number one, I really didn't expect that," Mutsu said modestly with a smile.

"You're pretty good!" Yubari laughed heartily, patting Mutsu on the shoulder. "Your mindset and observation skills are both excellent; you're a promising talent!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Yubari-neechan. I will work hard!"

Mutsu and Yubari started chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere became quite harmonious for a time.

But when the goddess of the hearth looked at the ship girls behind her, she froze on the spot, completely dumbfounded.

The female hearth goddess's mind was currently replaying the grand words she had spoken to Xiaobai when she first joined Xiaobai's garrison.

For example, he could reassure Xiaobai that he would live up to Xiaobai's expectations and lead Xiaobai's naval base to the top of the world, or help Xiaobai eliminate all difficulties and obstacles and become the strongest naval base in the world, and so on.

These words uncontrollably surfaced in the hearth goddess's mind, reverberating in a 3D surround sound within her head, repeating themselves intensely.

A strange mix of shame, embarrassment, and a desire to dig a hole and disappear began to linger in the hearth goddess's mind.

sizzle--

The goddess of the hearth lowered her head, her face turning red and hot.

"No………"

"Do not……"

"No! No! Ah! Tell me this is fake!!!" The goddess of the hearth screamed, clutching her burning face. "This is so embarrassing! So embarrassing, I'm going to die of embarrassment! What kind of development is this?! How come you've become number one in the world before I even had a chance to try?! Doesn't that just make me look so awkward?! No! Tell me I'm dreaming, tell me this is all fake!!!"

Chapter 1747 The Capable Loki

When Xiaobai and his group returned to the admiral's office at the newbie garrison, Lexington was sitting in his office cultivating his mind and body, brewing tea leaves with a set of purple clay teaware. The aroma of tea permeated the air, filling the room with a refreshing fragrance.

"Xiaobai, you're back." Lexington smiled and stood up from his seat to greet Xiaobai as he led the way into the office.

"Lexington, I'm back!" Little White opened her arms and walked towards Lexington, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, letting Lexington pull her into her warm embrace. "You've had a hard time while I was gone."

"Perhaps it's because the Admiral Headquarters assigned us an urgent mission last time, so the work at the Naval Base has been quite light lately, and there's not much to do." Lexington smiled and stroked the stray hairs on Xiaobai's forehead, saying to Xiaobai, "But Xiaobai, I heard that you were quite the show-off in front of the other top ten admirals not long ago."

"Hahaha……"

While combing Xiaobai's long hair, Lexington turned her gaze from Xiaobai to the ship girl behind her.

Bismarck and Hood had already informed Lexington that Xiaobai would be going to Kyoto after the event for the top ten admirals ended. Lexington noticed that there were significantly more unfamiliar ship girls behind Xiaobai, and without Xiaobai saying anything, she could roughly guess what Xiaobai had been doing in Kyoto.

—It seems Xiaobai has amassed quite a few boats again.

Lexington, smiling, was about to say something when her gaze swept over a ship girl at the very back of the group, and she suddenly froze.

"Huh? Little White, who is this little sister...?" Lexington looked at the back of the line and asked curiously.

Everyone turned around.

The goddess of the hearth, stripped of her fighting spirit and paint, now a pale gray, swayed and collapsed onto the sofa. She muttered resentful phrases such as "It doesn't matter anymore," "I'm just superfluous anyway," "Waaah, so embarrassing," and "Don't bother with me anymore," leaving everyone with a dejected and lifeless back view.

"Ah...that...Lexington, let me introduce you, that's the Goddess of the Hearth." Little White looked at the Goddess of the Hearth's back with an awkward expression, and then introduced her to Lexington.

The reason why the female hearth goddess became like this.

It all started a few minutes ago.

Just as the goddess of the hearth discovered that the rookie naval base had become the world's number one naval base, the goddess of the hearth, who was originally full of fighting spirit and life ideals, suddenly lost all her goals. In addition, she was overcome by the shame of the bold words she had once made, so she temporarily fell into a strange state of despondency.

"Vestal is a ship girl I met in Kyoto. As for why she became like this... well, it's quite complicated to explain. Anyway, letting her calm down on her own for a while should be fine." Xiaobai scratched his head and smiled awkwardly at Lexington.

“Alright.” Lexington looked away. “It seems… Little White, you really have had quite a few things happen to you in Kyoto.”

"It's alright... although there are quite a lot." Xiaobai scratched his cheek, then pointed to Mutsu and Yubari beside him, "Um... Lexington, this is Mutsu, and this is Yubari. Mutsu, like Lexington, is a ship girl I met when I met Vestal. She helped me once, so afterwards I invited her to join our naval base. Yubari said she was tired from work and wanted to come back to the naval base with us to rest for a while."

“That’s a good thing.” Lexington smiled and nodded at Mutsu, then looked at Yubari beside him, his smile full of teasing. “As for that little sister who hasn’t been home for several years… if I remember correctly, when I invited her back to the naval base last time, didn’t she ruthlessly refuse? How come she obediently came back with the admiral this time?”

"Huh? What did you say? I can't hear you without my glasses on." Yubari covered her ears, looking like she was determined to play dumb to the end.

"How long will you be staying this time?" Lexington asked Yubari with a smile.

“This time, I’ll stay a little longer, a little longer.” Yubari put down her hand and smiled at Lexington. “This time, I’m going to enjoy the warmth of home before going back to work!”

"You're wearing your glasses?" Lexington asked Yubari with a smile.

"Oh my god!" Yubari quickly covered his ears.

Lexington smiled and shook her head, then slowly walked back to her desk, picked up a few registration forms for ship girls joining the company, and returned.

"Whether it's your first time visiting the naval base or your sister returning after a long separation, it's a good thing." Lexington took out a few pens from her ship's storage space and smiled at everyone. "Well then, let's sign our names to mark our first meeting and our long-awaited reunion?"

The registration forms were sent from Lexington to New Jersey, Yubari, and Mutsu. As for the one for Vestal, given her current condition, Shiro will sign it on her behalf.

Xiao Bai took the registration form from the female Kitchen Goddess and filled it out smoothly in the boxes and forms.

"Xiaobai, you're getting more and more skilled at filling out registration forms for ship girls." Lexington couldn't help but sigh as she watched Xiaobai quickly fill out the registration form for Vestal.

“Because I lived with the goddess of the hearth during my time in Kyoto, we often chatted after meals, so I know quite a lot about her.” Xiaobai looked up at Lexington and answered, his pen moving rapidly. “Oh, right, Lexington.”

"Ok?"

"Speaking of which, have you met Super Yamato, Ryujo, and Loki yet?" Xiaobai asked curiously.