Elder brother's garrison

"Okay, but if there's a chance, I'd still like to see you come up for an interview." Xiaobai said to Qingye with a smile, then looked at the ship girls around her, "Including you guys, if the job posting for the new secretary ship is released and no one dares to come for an interview, then I'll be in a really awkward situation."

"..." The ship girls fell silent.

"Ah, lunch break seems to be almost over." Xiaobai glanced at the time, picked up the tea leaves in her hands, and smiled apologetically at the ship girls. "That's all for now, I have to go back to the Admiral's office building. We can talk about the rest later."

After saying that, Xiaobai pulled Shropshire up and ran towards the direction of the Admiral's office building.

As Aoba and the others watched Shiro and Shropshire walk further and further away, she suddenly realized something and hurriedly called out to Shiro.

"Admiral----"

"What's wrong?" Little White, who was in the distance, turned around.

"What just happened—are those things secrets we're asked to keep for now?" Aoba called out.

"Hmm—" Little White thought for a moment, then waved her arm towards Aoba, "No, it's not that—"

Little White turned around again and disappeared from everyone's sight with Shropshire.

Aoba, Quincy, Washington, and Frederick the Great stood quietly in place, gazing at the vast horizon, lost in thought.

"Ugh……"

After a long while, Washington was the first to break the silence.

"I never expected... that Lexington would actually... retire."

"That's right..." Aoba lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes, "Even Lexington... is she going to resign and leave us?"

"It's not that she'll leave us, but she'll probably go from being a secretary ship to a regular ship girl like Hood." Washington scratched his head, feeling a bit annoyed. "Sigh... that's true. Lexington has been working in this naval base for over ten years. Even an iron woman would be pretty worn out by now. Retiring now might not be a bad thing for her. The admiral is probably recruiting a new secretary ship at this time so that she can have a proper rest in the future."

"Hmm..." Aoba wiped away her tears, "Then who will be the new secretary ship?"

“Who knows?” Washington shrugged. “Most ship girls probably don’t have the ability to take on Lexington’s responsibilities… But who knows, after all, our naval base is now three or four times larger than it was a few years ago, so who knows, maybe another ship girl as powerful as Lexington will pop up somewhere.”

At this point, Washington looked thoughtfully at the silent Frederick the Great.

"Speaking of which, Your Majesty, haven't you met Lexington before?" Washington asked, stroking his chin.

"..." Frederick the Great was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"How was it dealing with Lexington?" Washington asked again.

"..." Frederick the Great remained silent for a while, then slowly raised her hand to touch her neck and uttered two words, "...danger."

"Hahahaha, even you, the Great, can say such things. It seems you have a very high opinion of Lexington!" Upon hearing this, Washington burst into laughter, slapping Frederick the Great's arm repeatedly.

Washington's slaps were quite powerful, and the sound of slapping echoed continuously from Frederick the Great's arm.

Faintly, faint red handprints began to appear on Frederick the Great's fair arm.

Seeing this, Aoba quickly grabbed Quincy and pulled him back, as if afraid that Frederick the Great would get angry because of the slaps and start hitting people.

But Frederick the Great's emotions remained unusually stable.

"Sigh...it seems the naval base will be busy for a while." After laughing for a while, Washington also sighed and put down her hand. She said regretfully to Frederick the Great, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry, it seems that we can't hold this party until we recruit the new secretary ship."

"..." Frederick the Great was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly to Washington, "I'm going back."

"Oh, once the new secretary ship takes office, we'll have a few drinks sometime!" Washington waved to Frederick the Great.

"..." Frederick the Great silently turned around and left.

Gala——

Gala——

The heavy hinges dragged on Frederick the Great's feet, gradually moving away and disappearing from everyone's sight.

After Frederick the Great left, Aoba, who had been holding his breath, finally breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time looked in the direction Frederick the Great had gone with a strange gaze.

"Sister Washington...you have such a good relationship with that Dean of the Deep Sea?" Aoba asked nervously.

"Huh? Who is it? Oh, you mean the Emperor?" Washington was taken aback, then realized what he meant, and laughed heartily, "Hahaha! It's not like we're close or not, we just had a few drinks together!"

"Wow, that's amazing..." Qingye lowered her head somewhat ashamed, "This Great Emperor sister's appearance is really a bit... scary. Every time I see her, I feel like I'm suffocating, so I haven't dared to talk to her until now..."

"It's alright, it's normal." Washington looked at Aoba and smiled slightly. "She is a legitimate Dean of the Deep Sea. Just based on that bloodline alone, not only you, but many kids in the naval base would instinctively be afraid of her. You don't need to feel guilty about this at all. As for us... after a few drinks, we're not even afraid of the Heavenly King himself, so why would we be afraid of the Dean of the Deep Sea?"

"what……"

“However…” Washington raised his hand and patted Aoba’s head, then said to her, “Well… since this is a rare opportunity, I’ll tell you a little secret.”

"What secret?"

"Do you know the conspicuous anklet on Frederick the Great's foot? It was her own suggestion that the admiral put it on her."

"Huh? Is that so?"

“They know that her actions in the naval base will make many ship girls uneasy, so at least with that set of heavy prison garb, we will feel more at ease watching her.” Washington patted Aoba’s head and looked into the distance with some emotion. “Frederick the Great, well… if you’re willing to understand her, you’ll find that she’s not much different from Yamato and the others.”

"..."

"They are all very gentle people," Washington said with a sigh, gazing into the distance.

"Ah..." Aoba blinked, then blankly shifted his gaze back to the direction where Frederick the Great had disappeared.

Aoba gazed in that direction, lost in thought, her expression momentarily conflicted.

Just then, a slender finger poked Qingye's cheek.

Qingye turned her head to the side.

"Ovo!" Quincy was cheering himself on with an energetic expression.

"Speaking of which, Quincy, you never seemed afraid of Frederick the Great from the beginning..." Aoba looked at Quincy and asked her, "Did you think Frederick the Great wasn't scary from the start?"

“ovo?” Quincy tilted his head.

"..." Qingye looked at Quincy's expression and gave a helpless smile. She raised her hand to touch Quincy's hair and sighed, "Sigh, really... I think I've lost to you again..."

“Kun…”

Quincy narrowed his wine-red eyes, like a kitten being stroked, carefully feeling the touch of Aoba's fingers.

Aoba's cool, gentle fingers weaved through Quincy's blue hair, occasionally brushing against Quincy's cheek.

Aoba usually resists close interactions with Quincy.

Quincy is usually the one who tries to get close to Aoba, while Aoba rarely takes the initiative to be intimate with Quincy.

For Quincy, this was a rare and comfortable experience.

Chapter 2548 Lexington's Troubles

Xiao Bai bid farewell to Shropshire and returned to his office with the newly purchased tea.

Lexington had been waiting in the office for a long time. After Xiaobai handed the tea leaves to Lexington, Lexington brewed Xiaobai a cup of sweet black tea.

There are only a few minutes left in my lunch break.

Xiao Bai and Lexington chatted over tea about the funny things that happened at noon, their laughter filling the entire room.

Inside the room, the admiral and his secretary ship were enjoying a happy time.

Outside the room, the entire garrison was in turmoil, as if swept away by a whirlwind.

……

In the sunlit garden pavilion outside the newbie garrison.

Centered around Hood, a group of ship girls sat at a beautiful table and chairs, holding a tea party among ladies.

On the table of the ship girls were three layers of exquisite porcelain plates. The first layer of the plates was filled with a dazzling array of sandwiches and handmade cookies, the second layer was piled with traditional English pastries, and the third layer was cakes and fruit tarts. The sweet aroma of English muffins, rich jam and handmade cookies wafted out, accompanied by the conversation of the elegant ship girls, making people feel relaxed and happy.

War-weary looked down at his teacup, tears welling in his eyes.

"Is this...is this really...is this really a place I can come to?" Warspite's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly. "I...I feel like I'm living in a dream."

“Miss Warspite, our tea party warmly welcomes every refined lady.” Hood smiled and said to Warspite, “Especially a lady with such noble bearing and exquisite appearance as you, your visit would be our honor.”

"Miss Warspite, these are freshly baked cookies from noon today. They taste even better with apple sauce," a ship girl kindly recommended to Warspite.

Looking at the small cookie gently placed in front of him, Warspite carefully picked it up and took a bite.

The freshly baked cookies emitted a strong aroma, mixed with cool, sweet and sour jam. It was a common thing, but it was an experience that Warspite had never had before in his life.

Warspite picked up his teacup and drank the last sip of tea.

It's sunshine!

It must be because the sun is shining so brightly right now!

And it must also be because soothing music was playing all around, and elegant ship girls dressed in gorgeous clothes were surrounding them!

In this kind of environment, everything tastes amazing! Damn it!

“Since I stepped out of the construction device, until now, I’ve finally truly felt how wonderful it is to be alive…” Warspite said to Hood with emotion, “Thank you, Miss Hood!”

"I hope you like it." Hood put down his teacup and smiled at Warspite.

As Hood put down his teacup, Counterattack, who was standing behind him, quietly stepped forward, picked up the teapot, and poured new tea into Hood's teacup.

“Oh dear, your teacup is empty.” Hood looked at the teacup in front of Warspite and said with a smile, “Please let me pour you another cup.”

"Ah, no, no need, I can do it myself..."

“There’s no reason for guests to serve themselves at a tea party.” Hood stood up, picked up the teapot of red tea on the table, and smiled as he tilted it slightly toward Warspite’s teacup. “Miss Warspite, you are a distinguished guest of our Commander. The Commander himself said that we should treat you well. At our tea party, you are also an honored guest. It would be too impolite to let you pour your own tea.”

"Ah..." Warspite looked at Hood's profile, completely captivated.

This is... the true British aristocracy...

Whether it's appearance, figure, temperament, or upbringing, she is an impeccable perfection!

This aristocratic ease and grace, this elegance and composure... it's simply... too...

"Not good!"

"Lexington is retiring from the secretary ship!"

"Admiral, the Admiral is recruiting a new secretary ship!"

"..."

Suddenly, the faint shouts of the ship girls could be heard in the distance.

Hu De's hand trembled as he was pouring tea, and the cool, clear black tea liquid spilled all over the table.

"Huh?" Hood turned his head blankly, staring into the distance. "Did someone just say something? What happened in Lexington?"

"Sister Hood, it seems someone said that Sister Lexington is going to retire..."

The ship girls on the table looked at each other and discussed for a while. Some of them stammered as they spoke to Hood.

Snapped!

Hu De's hand suddenly felt lighter, and the teapot crashed to the ground with a loud thud, shattering into pieces.

“Lexington… Ouch, ouch…” Hood held his head, swayed a couple of steps, then felt dizzy and collapsed.

"Hey! Sister Hood!"

"Miss Hood!"

"Hu, Sister Hu De, cheer up!"

The ship girls on the table instantly erupted into chaos.

The peaceful tea party instantly transformed into a bustling marketplace.

Sitting in the chair, Warspite stood there dumbly with her hands clasped together, staring at the dark tea that had soaked her red dress and the chaotic scene before her, blinking her eyes, motionless like a wooden sculpture.

……

Scenes like these frequently unfolded within the naval base.

The news that Xiaobai was going to choose a new secretary ship spread throughout the entire naval base in just over ten minutes, thanks to the efforts of several ship girls.

When Shiro told Aoba and the others that there was no need to keep the secret, she had given it serious thought.

In Xiaobai's mind, she really didn't mind the news of her choosing a new secretary ship spreading ahead of time. After all, spreading the news in advance would not only allow the ship girls in the naval base to receive the information more quickly, but also allow them to prepare in advance for the election of the new secretary ship, which was entirely beneficial.

However... Xiaobai was upright and honest throughout her life, but she made a huge mistake in this one matter.

That is... Xiaobai didn't explain to her ship girls that her recruitment of a new secretary ship didn't mean Lexington would leave.

Xiaobai didn't realize that he needed to explain the concept of the secretariat to the ship girls!