Elder brother's garrison

"Hmm. After all, those pajamas are all cartoon styles for children, aren't they?" Veneto clapped his hands expressionlessly, analyzing the situation with maturity and composure as he spoke to Shaw. "Admiral, I do admit that those cartoon styles are cute, and perhaps a considerable number of adults in this world would also be fond of those styles that evoke childhood memories. But ultimately, a seasoned adult like myself, in terms of taste or anything else, would never choose pajamas that only children would wear... Perhaps on certain special occasions and under certain conditions I might feel a bit curious about those pajamas, but ultimately, at least for now, I don't have a need to wear those pajamas..."

Veneto gave a long, righteous explanation to Xiaobai, leaving Xiaobai feeling dizzy and confused.

"Oh...oh...I see." After listening for a while, Xiaobai roughly figured out that Veneto just wanted to distance herself from the cartoon pajamas, so she didn't care what Veneto had just said and could only force a smile and nod, "I completely understand now."

“…It’s so good that you understand, Admiral.” Veneto breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiaobai and Veneto's gazes unconsciously shifted to Aviel, especially lingering on Aviel's nightgown, which was completely out of place with her figure, and the two high points on her chest that undulated slightly with her breath like rice cakes, exuding a rich texture.

“About Aviel…maybe I forgot to choose a special size for her when I was picking out pajamas for her.” Veneto’s eyes began to vacant, and his whole demeanor was filled with frustration.

“…Hmm.” Xiaobai turned her head away, not daring to meet Veneto’s gaze.

"Anyway, let's not talk about this trivial matter." Veneto shook his head and called out to Roma, who was lying on the sheets pretending to be a corpse, "Roma."

"I'm here!"

“Since this… cough cough.” Veneto lowered his head and coughed lightly, “Since the pajamas I bought for Aviel don’t fit… go upstairs and bring down one of your extra pajamas for her to change into. With pajamas, it’s always better to have a size that’s a little bigger than a size that’s a little smaller.”

"Yes, ma'am!" Roma got up from the ground, bowed to Veneto, and skipped up the stairs.

"Veneto, aren't you going to change your clothes?" Xiaobai watched Roma disappear out of the living room, then turned to look at Veneto. Seeing that Veneto was still dressed in the same outfit as during the day, she couldn't help but ask curiously.

“I don’t wear pajamas.” Veneto said, hands on his hips, his voice strong and his expression serious.

"Oh...oh..." Xiaobai blinked.

"Big Sister, I'm back!" At that moment, Roma, who had just left, came running down excitedly carrying two sets of pajamas, one large and one small. While shouting, she held up the smaller pajamas in the air and waved them at Veneto several times. "Big Sister, I brought down one of my extra pajamas! I also went to your room to get yours for you! That way you won't have to make an extra trip later!"

The smaller set of pajamas in Rome's hand, under the living room light, reflected the pink pattern of a cute cartoon rabbit on the chest.

“…” Veneto.

"……"noob.

sometimes.

Even a novice doesn't know.

Was Rome's persecution of Veneto intentional or purely coincidental?

"Boss! How did I do?"

Roma ran up to Veneto with two sets of pajamas, looking at her with an expression that said, "Didn't I do a great job? Big sister, please praise me!"

Veneto crossed his arms, lowered his head, and his whole body was trembling slightly.

"……Rome."

"I'm here!"

"Today... I cannot let you live..."

"Don't mention it, big sister, it's what I should do...wait, oh?" Roma said subconsciously, then suddenly realized something was wrong. She paused, looking at Veneto with a puzzled expression. "Big sister, what did you just say?"

“I—” Veneto clenched his fist, his arm flashing like lightning, as if to squeeze Roma’s ear hard again.

"Snapped!"

However, this time, Veneto's outstretched hand was intercepted by another warm hand.

Veneto and Roma were taken aback. They looked down the arm that was holding Veneto's hand and saw that it was Little White holding Veneto's hand and smiling at Veneto.

"Veneto, that pajama set you brought from Rome is so cute! It would definitely suit you perfectly," Xiaobai said with a bright smile.

“…” Veneto blinked dryly, facing the radiant smile on Little White’s face.

A few seconds passed.

Veneto blushed, her strong arms went limp, and she stammered a reply.

“…Hmm…Alright. Since you've said so, Admiral…wearing it once in a while isn't a bad idea.” Veneto took the pajamas from Roma and gestured towards Aviel on the ground. “Here, Roma, give Aviel the other pajamas to change into.”

Done.

Veneto then grabbed his pajamas and ran to the corner of the living room.

Roma stared blankly at Veneto as he left, looking completely bewildered by what had just happened.

Xiao Bai patted Rome on the shoulder.

"Rome."

"what?"

"...Don't make Veneto angry again in the future..."

"Eh??"

Rome stared blankly at Little White.

However, Xiaobai didn't expose this secret; he simply smiled at Rome and withdrew his hand.

After settling the Camicchia destroyers, Rome and Little White pushed Saratoga and Empire into their respective beds on the side. A few minutes later, Veneto, who had changed into her bunny pajamas, walked back somewhat awkwardly from the corner of the living room.

Don't say it.

Veneto's figure and appearance, combined with this petite nightgown, really give the feeling of a delicate doll coming to life.

"Admiral, how is it?" Veneto covered his mouth and asked Xiaobai cautiously.

"Well, it suits you very well."

Little White gave Veneto a thumbs up.

"Big Sister is awesome! Big Sister is so cute!" Roma waved his arms and cheered to Veneto.

“…Really?” Veneto scratched a strand of hair behind her ear and asked softly.

"Mmm! That's awesome! I've been looking forward to sleeping in the living room with such a cute older sister and the Admiral, and having a wonderful and exciting girls' nighttime chat!" Roma excitedly threw off her blanket, burrowed her lower body under it, then grabbed the blanket and fell onto the pillow, staring expectantly at Veneto and Little White, patting the two empty spots beside her, "Older sister! Admiral! Come on! Come lie down here, let's chat while we sleep!"

Xiaobai and Veneto exchanged a glance and smiled slightly.

"Okay, I'm coming." Xiaobai walked towards the spot near Rome, lifted the blanket, and crawled into bed.

The soft, thick quilt covered her body, and Xiaobai, lying down, couldn't help but let out a comfortable "hmm".

Sleeping on the floor feels a little firmer than sleeping in a bed, but it doesn't have to be soft, as long as it's lively. It's quite a novel experience to do this occasionally at someone else's house.

Xiao Bai grabbed the blanket, stared at the ceiling, and spoke to the person next to him.

"Rome, what shall we talk about?" Xiaobai asked.

"..." Little Bai was quiet.

"Rome?"

"..."

"Rome? Are you listening?"

"..."

"Huh?" Xiaobai turned his head in surprise and looked at Rome beside him, but his gaze suddenly froze when it fell on Rome.

Just a few seconds ago, Rome was full of energy and seemed wide awake, but as soon as he touched the pillow, he opened his mouth wide and began to snore softly, falling into a sweet sleep on the floor.

Chapter 1790 Interrupting Sister's Flirting

"Uh...this..."

Xiao Bai stared blankly at Rome, who had already fallen asleep.

Rome.

Didn't she just say she was looking forward to a thrilling and exciting tea party with herself and Veneto? How come Rome fell asleep the moment I lay down?

And the speed at which she falls asleep...

This is so enviable for a newbie...

"Admiral, Rome is the type who falls asleep the moment her neck touches the pillow." Just then, Veneto walked to the empty bed next to Xiaobai, lifted the covers and crawled in, explaining with a smile to Xiaobai.

"Uh... I can fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow..."

“After all, her training volume is many times that of other ship girls... But a large part of the reason is also due to her physical condition.” Veneto said to Xiaobai, her eyes also looking at the ceiling, “...I’m not surprised by this kind of development.”

"...Oh." Xiaobai smiled helplessly. "Then, Veneto, are you sleepy?"

"I'm fine. What's wrong, Admiral?"

"I can't sleep yet," Xiaobai said with an embarrassed smile. "It's a rare opportunity to come to Veneto's house, and I don't want to just fall asleep like this. Since Rome is already asleep, Veneto, if you're not sleepy, how about you chat with me for a while?"

“Alright.” Veneto nodded. “What would the Admiral like to discuss?”

"Hmm... let me think about it." Xiaobai pondered for a while.

Veneto was also waiting for Xiaobai to speak. She quietly curled up in the quilt without moving, with only her little head showing, like a delicate rag doll serving the emperor.

In the quiet atmosphere, Xiaobai thought for a long time.

When it comes to topics, a newbie can chat with the ship girls for an entire afternoon without repeating a single one. However, if it's just for the sake of chatting, sometimes it becomes difficult to find suitable topics.

Xiao Bai stared at the ceiling in bed for a long time, but couldn't come up with a suitable topic.

Hmm... I was having a pretty good chat with Veneto today, ever since I met him... so why have we suddenly run out of things to talk about?

Xiaobai frowned in distress. In order to find a suitable topic, she briefly recalled what she had talked about with Veneto recently.

Memories of talking with Veneto flowed like a stream against the current in Xiaobai's mind, appearing in a jumbled mess.

As Xiaobai reminisced, she suddenly noticed something she hadn't been aware of before, and was slightly taken aback.

"……Eh?"

"Admiral? What's wrong?" Veneto asked with concern when he saw Xiaobai's surprised voice.

"Ah...no, it's nothing..." Xiaobai shook her head, pulled the corner of the blanket up, frowned slightly, and showed a troubled expression.

If you don’t think about it, you won’t know. Once you think about it, you will be shocked.

After a moment of recollection, Xiaobai realized that in the past few months, including when she met Veneto today and chatted with her... she seemed to have never seen Veneto bring up topics about herself.

Veneto herself, the topics she talks about with Xiaobai always seem to be indirectly or directly about her two younger sisters.

This is also the main reason why, once Rome fell asleep, Iniesta and Veneto ran out of things to talk about.

"Veneto." Thinking of this, Xiaobai turned her head and spoke to Veneto.

"Admiral?"

"Empire clearly didn't run with Saratoga and the others, nor did she eat the food you cooked, yet she still slept until now."

“…Ah, it’s like this.” Veneto sighed. “As you know, Admiral, when the Empire was first built, it had a mental deficiency, and it was very sleepy. Although this ailment was later cured thanks to your efforts, Admiral, the habit of sleeping was retained by the Empire…”

"How many hours does she sleep a day in the Empire?"

"Well...it depends on her mood. Occasionally, when she finds a book she likes, her sleep schedule becomes a little more like a normal person's. But most of the time, she sleeps more than eighteen hours a day." Veneto sighed helplessly. "Honestly, if she sleeps this long every day, she'll eventually neglect her social interactions at the naval base. I still hope she can spend more time with the other ship girls at the naval base and chat with them..."

Veneto, who had been completely silent with Xiaobai earlier, started talking non-stop when the topic turned to her sister.

Little White listened quietly to Veneto's words, watching Veneto talk to himself on and on, staring at the ceiling.

“…Ah, sorry, I seem to have talked too much…” After a short while, Veneto seemed to realize that she had been talking about the Empire the whole time. She closed her mouth and smiled apologetically at Xiaobai. “I seem to have been talking about the Empire the whole time… I’m very sorry. This is supposed to be a rare tea party… This topic must be very boring for you, Admiral, right?”

"No, it's fine." Xiaobai shook her head, but after a moment's hesitation, she said, "However... Veneto, speaking of which, ever since Rome and the Empire came to your side, you seem to have been circling around them the whole time."

"……Have it?"

"have it."

"...I feel alright..." Veneto closed his eyes and thought for a while, then muttered to himself with some doubt, "...I should be alright, right?"

"Does Veneto have any ideas about doing things he wants to do?"

There are two things I want to do.

"Which two items?" Xiaobai asked curiously.

“The first thing is… to take good care of the Empire.” Veneto said, glancing at the sleeping Rome. “Then the next thing is to train Rome into a ship girl warrior who can stand alone in the naval base.”

"As expected, it's still all about Rome and the Empire..."

“Uh…” Reminded by Xiaobai, Veneto seemed to realize her own situation. She shrank back a little embarrassedly, then smiled at Xiaobai with relief, “…Hmm. It seems so. But please rest assured, Admiral, I don’t feel burdened at all. On the contrary… after Rome and the Empire came to my side, I actually feel that my life is much better than the days when I lived alone in the naval base.”

“I understand.” Xiaobai nodded. “After all, Lexington said that Veneto rarely appeared in the naval base and rarely had close contact with other ship girls... so her interpersonal relationships were actually quite bad. In this respect, you are really similar to the Empire.”

"That's all in the past... Admiral, please don't tease me..." Veneto scratched the corner of the blanket and replied somewhat embarrassedly, "...So now I'm working hard to prevent the Empire from becoming a reclusive ship girl like I was before..."