Elder brother's garrison

"Ah, thank you, Loki! I just talked to Lexington for a long time, and my throat is a little dry..." Little White crawled out of Lexington's arms, smiled shyly at Loki, then picked up the teacup and took a few sips, revealing a happy smile, "Mmm...it's so delicious. As expected of Miss Loki."

“…” Loki lowered his head silently, his whole body trembling slightly.

Compared to maids like Yamato from the Deep Sea who specialize in cleaning skills, Loki's service skills have become quite proficient because he took care of Ella since she was a child. As for small things like serving tea at the right time, Loki had done it more than once or twice when he was at Ella's house, so he was very skilled at it.

Loki watched silently as Whitebeard held his teacup and sipped his sweet tea slowly.

However... Loki found that watching White drink the tea he brewed was a little different from watching Ella drink the tea he brewed.

When Ella praised her tea, she remained calm and composed, taking it merely as a polite remark from the young lady.

When Xiaobai praised his tea, Loki felt his heart pound twice as fast, his knuckles tightened uncontrollably, and his lips began to curl uncontrollably. He desperately tried to purse his lips and pinch the back of his hand to barely manage to calm his somewhat out-of-control expression.

Loki was tormented.

Even though she had worked as a maid in Ella's house for nearly twenty years, accumulating extensive experience and boasting that she could handle any accident, what was happening now, and the strange emotions surging in Loki's heart, were still within Loki's technological blind spot.

Just now.

Suddenly, a series of ringing phone calls came from Xiaobai's desk.

"Hello? This is the Admiral's office." Lexington picked up the phone and answered into the receiver, "...Oh, it's Yubari? What's up? Oh? Hmm? What a coincidence...Okay, I'll pass it on to the Admiral right away."

Lexington's expression shifted from a bright smile after recognizing the person on the phone to surprise upon hearing the conversation. The surprise then subsided, and after hanging up, a somewhat complex and strange expression appeared on her face.

Lexington put down the microphone.

"Lexington? What's wrong?" Xiaobai asked Lexington, holding a teacup beside him.

"Little White... I have some good news." Lexington said to Little White with a smile.

"What good news?"

Chapter 1757 A maid who doesn't crave the admiral isn't a good maid.

"Little White, do you still remember the Empire?" Lexington didn't answer Little White's question, but instead smiled and kept him in suspense.

"The Empire? I remember." Little White laughed happily as soon as she heard "Empire." "Of course I remember, after all, I watched her walk out of the construction device. Hmm... did Veneto send some good news?"

“Yes,” Lexington said to Whitey, “Yubari just called to tell us that the Empire can be remodeled.”

"Transformation? Wow—that's a good thing—" Xiao Bai laughed heartily, picked up his cup and took two sips of tea, then suddenly paused, as if realizing something, and put down his teacup with a hint of disbelief, looking at Lexington, "Eh? What? The Empire has been transformed?"

In a ship girl's life, she may experience two major events. These two major events may not necessarily happen to every ship girl, but as long as either of them occurs, it will inevitably become big news throughout the naval base.

One of the major events was that it became a wedding ship.

The other major event was a transformative change.

At least in the newbie naval base, the rule is that once a ship girl enters a state where she can accept ship equipment modification, the naval base admiral must be notified immediately, and then the admiral will personally arrange the ship equipment modification for that ship girl.

Therefore, it's quite normal that Yubari immediately informed Shiro that the Empire had just entered a state of preparation for modification.

However, something is not normal.

That is……

Why was it the Empire that could be transformed, and not Rome?

Hasn't the Empire been doing nothing all day, just staying in her snack shop reading and sleeping in, without even participating in a single ship girl training session at the naval base?

Why an empire in particular?

"The Empire... she can be reformed? Is Yubari sure she didn't confuse the Empire with Rome?" Xiaobai looked at Lexington in surprise, her face full of confusion. "Is Yubari really talking about the Empire?"

“Yes… I was a little surprised at first…” Lexington murmured, rubbing his forehead, and gave Xiaobai a wry smile. “However, Yubari specifically emphasized on the phone that it was that quiet and gentle empire who likes to sleep in with a book, so I don’t think the probability of Yubari mistaking someone is very high.”

"Uh..." Xiaobai blinked blankly, "Then... where is the Empire now?"

"They said on the phone that it was at the exercise field."

"Lexington, let's go to the training ground now!" Little White jumped up from his seat and said to Lexington impatiently.

“Okay.” Lexington understood Xiaobai’s feelings. She nodded gently and stood up from her seat. “The modification of a ship girl is a life-changing event, no less important than receiving a wedding ring… It’s a precious opportunity that every ship girl only has once in her life, like a coming-of-age ceremony or graduation ceremony for a human child. As the admiral, you must take it seriously…”

"Loki, Lexington and I will head out for a bit! Please look after the office!" Little White called out to Loki, then took Lexington's hand.

"Yes, sir." Loki nodded expressionlessly.

"Thank you!" Little White smiled at Loki, then pulled Lexington out of the office and left with a series of clattering footsteps.

After a brief moment of liveliness, the office suddenly fell silent again.

Loki silently watched the office door close again. She pursed her lips slightly, revealing an expression of extreme endurance, before a faint blush rose to her cheeks.

"……ha……"

Loki tilted his head back, covered his mouth, stared at the ceiling, and slowly exhaled a warm breath in a slightly trembling voice.

With each exhale, the strange emotions surging within him were released, making Loki, who was struggling to endure, feel a little better.

Loki silently walked to the desk. She first tidied up the documents on the desk, arranging the scattered documents in order and placing them in a conspicuous position. Then she put the pen cap back on the pen and placed the pen steadily in the center of the tidied folder. Finally, Loki silently looked at the teacup that Little White and Lexington had used.

Because it happened so suddenly, Xiaobai and Lexington hadn't even finished their tea when they were called out by Yubari's phone call. At this moment, there was still some tea left in their teacups, and the faint steam rose slowly along the sides of the teacups, evaporating into the cool air above.

By the time Xiaobai and Lexington return, the two cups of tea should be completely cold.

As someone with twenty years of experience serving, Loki knew very well that sweet tea was only good when it was hot. Cold sweet tea was like a soulless shell, losing its wonderful flavor and leaving only endless sweetness.

—It's time to clean the teaware.

Loki silently carried a bucket from the corner of the office, grabbed Lexington's teacup, poured the tea from the Lexington into the bucket, then picked up Whitebeard's teacup and slowly moved it above the bucket, making a gesture as if he wanted to pour it down.

However, Loki soon seemed to realize something and stopped what he was doing.

Loki stared blankly at Whitebeard's teacup, then slowly straightened it and brought it closer to his eyes.

Xiaobai seemed to really enjoy these sweet drinks; the amount of tea left in her cup was noticeably less than Lexington's.

"..."

Loki stared at Little White's cup for a while, then, for some reason, she gently tapped the bottom of the cup with her finger, tilted her head back, and gulped down the tea in Little White's cup.

"Hmm...hmm...it's so noisy..." Just then, the female Kitchen Goddess, disturbed by the sound of Xiaobai leaving, slowly got up from the sofa. Rubbing her eyes, she looked groggily at the desk and muttered to herself, "What's wrong? Huh? How did she suddenly disappear? What just happened?"

"Crack!"

Loki's back stiffened instantly in response to Vesta, and the crisp sound of an empty teacup falling to the ground.

-

When Xiaobai and Lexington arrived at the training ground and found Veneto and the others, Veneto was standing alone on the beach with her arms crossed. The Empire, with its ship equipment released, was standing next to her holding a book. Yubari was rolling up his sleeves and holding a protractor, constantly gesturing to the Empire's ship equipment. It was a very lively scene from afar.

"Yubari, Veneto, Empire!" Shiro waved to the ship girls in the distance.

Yubari was so engrossed in her own world that she didn't hear Shiro's call. Only Veneto turned to look at Shiro, who was jogging over with Lexington.

"Admiral, you've arrived." Veneto smiled at the little white figure running in front of him, his gaze lingering on Lexington for a moment. "And Lexington too."

"Good morning, Veneto... Um, I just heard from Yubari that the Empire has entered a state of preparation for transformation, is that true?" Shiro stopped in front of Veneto, and the first thing she said was to ask Veneto about the Empire.

“Yes, that’s right.” Veneto nodded.

“That’s great news, congratulations, Veneto. You’re such a wonderful sister.” Lexington clasped her hands together and smiled at Veneto. “So, shall we begin arranging the Empire’s transformation? And maybe throw a celebration for the Empire while we’re at it?”

"Great! It seems the Empire is going to become a mainstay of the garrison!" Little White said happily to Veneto.

Ship girls who undergo modifications not only experience a significant boost in combat power, but some even undergo a complete transformation in their appearance. Changchun is a prime example. Before her modification, she was an inconspicuous destroyer in the naval base. However, after the modification, Changchun reached the pinnacle of her ship girl career. Not only did her combat power upgrade from destroyer-level to capital ship, but her appearance also became charming and adorable, making her exceptionally captivating.

This demonstrates just how much a ship girl can be improved by retrofitting.

“Yes…anything is fine.” Veneto smiled gratefully at Lexington, but soon rubbed his smooth forehead with a headache, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes. “…Thank you.”

"...Veneto? You don't seem very happy?" Xiaobai looked at Veneto's strange expression and became curious.

Veneto didn't seem very happy.

“No, I’m very happy that the Empire can enter the preparatory transformation phase.” Veneto shook her head quickly upon hearing Xiaobai’s words, but then sighed helplessly, “No older sister would be unhappy to see her younger sister gradually becoming successful… except…”

"what happened?"

"I'm just a little worried about the other one."

"The other one?" Xiao Bai was taken aback, then realized what he meant and showed a slightly embarrassed expression. "I know... Veneto, are you talking about Rome?"

"Ah."

"...Where is Rome?"

“Over there,” Veneto pointed to the beach beside them.

Xiao Bai and Lexington looked over.

In a previously unnoticed corner of the beach, a bright green ship girl was lying there—it was Rome.

Roma lay sprawled in the yellow sand like a salted fish that had lost all fighting spirit. A strange aura of defeat and frustration swirled around her. Although she was quiet, when Xiaobai looked at her, he could clearly see a kind of lamentation on Roma's body, as if she were wailing, "Leave me alone," "I'm already a salted fish," "Waaaaah..."

written request for leave

Let's take a break and come back tomorrow.

Purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding purple potato pudding

Happy Labor Day.

Chapter 1758 Mao Sui Recommends Himself

"Rome...uh..." Looking at the completely inactive Rome, Xiaobai finally understood why Veneto had made that strange expression earlier.

The Empire and Rome were twins.

They were both born from the same construction device. Xiaobai remembers that when they were first created, Empire, being a planned ship girl, was in very poor physical condition. She needed to sleep for at least 20 hours a day. If Xiaobai hadn't listened to Sukhbaatar's words and used her mental energy to nourish Empire continuously, Empire might still not be able to summon ship equipment to fight like a normal ship girl.

Even so, after returning to the naval base, Xiaobai and Veneto never forced the Empire to participate in any of the newbie naval base training sessions. Instead, they let the Empire be a happy little bug in the naval base.

According to Veneto, the Empire was a planned ship with a bumpy fate. She was not good at fighting and had a quiet personality. It was already a difficult thing for her to stand out from human history and become a ship girl, to be born into this world in the form of life. As for her becoming a warrior, Veneto never even thought about it.

Because of this incident, Veneto once suggested to Xiaobai that Xiaobai simply cancel the monthly salary paid to the Empire and that Veneto pay for the Empire's daily expenses himself. However, Xiaobai rejected this suggestion.

Since the naval base is large and well-established, it's not a big deal to support a few ship girls who do nothing. There are already quite a few ship girls in the naval base who don't do any work, and now one more from the Empire won't make a difference.

However, this ship girl, who was just eating rice in the naval base, never participated in any ship girl training, and whose daily routine consisted of sleeping or reading, inexplicably entered the preparation for modification.

Absolutely.

Is this the legendary academic superstar who never does homework, falls asleep in class every day, yet still gets into a top university?

This must be so frustrating for the other ship girls who are working hard to improve themselves and training every day...

Rome, in particular.

Rome, in particular.

Rome is the older sister of the Empire, and since it was built together with the Empire, it has been receiving super Spartan training from Veneto. Every day, its efforts have been seen by the ship girls in the naval base. Logically speaking, it would not be surprising for a ship girl like Rome to enter the pre-modification state at any time. However, Rome has not yet entered the pre-modification state, while the Empire, which has been watching Rome suffer from the sidelines, has broken through first...

Looking at Rome's retreating figure, which resembled a salted fish, Xiaobai could easily imagine the complex and utterly dejected feeling in Rome's heart.

“Veneto… how about I go check out Rome first?” Xiaobai rubbed his forehead, pondered for a moment, and asked Veneto for his opinion.

“I understand your intentions, Admiral, but it’s best not to do that.” Veneto shook his head, glancing wistfully at Rome in the distance. “If you go to comfort Rome now, it will only make Rome realize its pitiful state and become even more frustrated.”

"Uh...yes, that makes sense...so when should I go?"

“At least after you’ve seen the Empire.” Veneto paused slightly, then gave Xiaobai a faint smile. “Don’t worry, she’s my sister after all. Rome isn’t a ship girl who’s so easily swayed. Let her calm down for a few minutes.”

"Okay..." Xiaobai gave a wry smile.

Xiaobai and Lexington walked together to the side of the Empire and Yubari.

Yubari was still rubbing her arms, her skin beaded with sweat, completely absorbed in the Empire's ship equipment. Meanwhile, Empire, who was being relentlessly groped by Yubari, showed no surprise or excitement despite being declared to be in the process of undergoing modifications. Her gaze was lowered slightly as she stared intently at the small patch of sand in front of her, her expression unusually quiet.

"The Empire," Xiaobai called out to the Empire.

The Empire looked up and saw Little White in front of her. Her calm eyes flickered slightly. She nodded gently to Little White and took the initiative to speak.

"...Greetings, Admiral."

"I heard from Yubari that you've entered the preparation stage for the remodel, right, Empire?" Shiro smiled at Empire and extended her palm. "Remodeling is a major life event for any ship girl. Congratulations, Empire."

Empire looked at the outstretched hand from Xiaobai, but his face did not show any joy after being praised. Instead, he immediately raised his head slightly and glanced at the back of Rome, who was lying on the beach. Rome looked like a salted fish, surrounded by an aura of dejection.

"..."

The Empire hesitated for a moment, but still silently reached out and shook hands with Xiaobai.

"Ah, Admiral, you've arrived too!" Just then, Yubari, who was inspecting the Imperial ship's equipment, finally noticed the arrival of Shiro and Lexington. She stopped what she was doing, wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, and smiled enthusiastically at Shiro.

Compared to most of the people on the beach with mixed feelings, Yubari is the only ship girl who can still maintain her enthusiasm, as if the ship girl entering the pre-modification phase is not the Empire, but her.