It's time to give out the rings, Admiral!

Shinano and Fubuki asked Shirayuki in front of them. Perhaps because she had found her two older sisters, it was as if she had found her pillar of support. The beautiful girl took a couple of breaths and slowly calmed herself down. She looked up at Shinano, who was carrying a shoulder bag, and her older sister, who was wearing an outdoor coat that she hadn't had time to take off. The beautiful girl frowned her cute brows with a hint of helplessness.

"Sister, did you go out again to distribute missing person notices for the Admiral with Shinano-nee? Honestly, didn't Akagi-nee say we shouldn't go out if we can avoid it? Sigh... Oh right! Where is Akagi-nee? Taihou-nee got into another fight with the young master of this family, and it seems she even injured him!"

The reason why Senior Akagi has been telling her and Fubuki to go out as little as possible lately is naturally because their whereabouts were accidentally exposed a few days ago by the Governor's Office branch of this Eastern island nation, which caused trouble.

As a resource-poor island nation, this place has always been at the forefront of deep-sea attacks. Not only are deep-sea accidents frequent, but the military strength is also very tight. So after hearing that we, who have several capital ships in our fleet, have come here, they have frequently come to our previous residence to persuade us to stay. They hope that Senior Akagi and us ship girls who have a connection with this island nation can stay here and help them share some of the pressure.

Let's not even talk about how Akagi-senpai is already the admiral's married ship. Even a newly built ship girl would never agree to such a request! If a ship girl who has an admiral leaves him, can she still be called a ship girl?

So after finally getting rid of them, and almost getting into a conflict with them because they wanted us to leave the Admiral's office, Akagi-senpai moved us here. To prevent those annoying guys from finding out where we lived, Akagi-senpai repeatedly told us not to go out recently...

Of course, I wouldn't dare disobey Akagi-senpai's words, but because I really wanted to find the admiral as soon as possible, I would secretly run out to distribute missing person notices every day after lunch while Akagi-senpai was teaching the newly recruited sisters combat skills. Usually, the gentle Akagi-senpai would pretend not to know, but since I came back so late today, I might get a lecture from her again.

"It's alright, Shirayuki. I was the one who wanted to take Fubuki with me, so it's not her fault. But what happened to Miss Taihou? She even injured someone?"

Hearing Bai Xue's somewhat helpless words, Shinano gave the girl in front of her a wry smile.

Normally, Akagi-senpai, who is gentle yet strict, would not do anything to us. However, if we really angered her, as one of the first seniors to join the naval base along with Lexington, her imposing aura, honed through countless battles, was still quite intimidating.

Take that Daihou-san we just rescued not long ago, for example. If it weren't for Akagi-senpai keeping her in check, she would definitely give everyone a headache.

However, after hearing what Shirayuki said, Shinano was somewhat surprised. Involuntarily, an image of a stunningly beautiful but extremely flat-chested black-haired woman appeared in her mind, and she sighed softly.

The Taihou that Bai Xue mentioned is naturally not the Taihou sister who was a six-star female warrior like herself before we arrived at our naval base. Before coming here, she had gone with Shoukaku and the others to look for the admiral elsewhere, since searching separately would be more efficient.

As for Bai Xue's words and the Taihou she just mentioned, she and Akagi-senpai accidentally retrieved it when they destroyed a main abyssal fleet in the Fusang Sea. The glittering golden light that emerged from the sea really gave them a big fright. It's amazing that they were able to retrieve two completely different Taihou ships from the same naval base. It seems that even though the admiral is not by our side, his luck is still influencing us!

However, speaking of this newly arrived Miss Taihou, it's hard not to feel a bit of a headache. The headache isn't because another sister is coming to steal the Admiral's thunder... cough, it's just that Miss Taihou's personality is just too... too lively. Of all the sisters in the Naval Base, I've never seen one who has such a high level of affection for the Admiral right from the start, especially since she hasn't even seen him since he went missing.

But none of that matters. Ship girls are naturally drawn to the admiral. Didn't she just join the naval base and have her heart stolen so quickly? In the end, she willingly became the admiral's... who knows how many wives.

But compared to herself, Akagi-senpai, and Shirayuki-chan, who was always called "young wife" by the Admiral, this newcomer, Taihou-san, was far too proactive. She'd constantly pull her and the other sisters aside to ask about the Admiral, and they'd talk until the wee hours. Once, she'd heard strange noises in the middle of the night and gotten up to investigate, only to find this newcomer, Taihou-san, doing *that* to the portrait of the Admiral that Reputation had drawn…

Of course, ship girls have needs too, after all, I am no exception, but you should be more reserved. Making such a loud noise, aren't you afraid that others will hear you?

Besides these, there's something even more outrageous. She'd occasionally mutter to herself, "Why can you all be the Admiral's wives? The Admiral can only have one wife." And that's not all. But the time when Snow White carefully removed her vow ring from her ring finger for maintenance, she actually tried to secretly dispose of it! If Akagi-senpai hadn't given her a severe scolding and apologized to Snow White, we really wouldn't know how to face her!

Volume 1, Chapter 196: Senior

The newcomer, Miss Taihou, has a rather strange personality. She is unusually enthusiastic towards the Admiral, but as sisters from the same naval base who are both in love with their oblivious Admiral, she is not difficult to get along with. As long as you don't mention the Admiral's past achievements or discuss your past love affairs with him in front of her, which would excite her, there is no problem with normal communication.

Moreover, since the time she angered Akagi-senpai, she has become much more restrained. At least on the surface, she seems to have accepted the fact that the Admiral already has many married ships, including herself.

Now, when she finishes learning aviation tactics from Akagi-senpai, she also helps out with some tasks. Although she sometimes gets into arguments, at least she's no longer difficult to get along with. I heard that she recently learned that the admiral really likes gentle and virtuous ship girls, so she went to Shirayuki to learn how to become an excellent and virtuous Yamato Nadeshiko. Now, the two of them seem to have become very good friends.

But this young master of the family? Wasn't he just severely reprimanded by Miss Taihou a few days ago? He even got slapped several times by her for flirting with Yamashiro-neechan. How come he hasn't learned his lesson and went to provoke Miss Taihou again? Is a ship girl with an admiral and a sweetheart so easy to mess with? He deserved to be injured, didn't he?

Hearing Shinano's somewhat helpless words, Shirayuki straightened her pretty skirt, which was slightly disheveled from running. Gentle as a little angel, she frowned slightly. But just as she was about to answer Shinano's question, she seemed to think of something, and an unspoken disgust flashed in her gentle, light blue eyes.

"It wasn't Sister Dafeng's fault. It was that young master who went and provoked her. At first, Sister Dafeng didn't bother with him at all, so later he got angry and cursed the admiral. When Sister Dafeng heard this, she attacked him directly."

"That guy again? He actually insulted the admiral! Bai Xue? He really deserves it! If I were there, I would definitely teach him a lesson like Sister Feng did."

Before Bai Xue could finish speaking, Fubuki, the eldest of the four Xue sisters, heard Bai Xue's words and her crimson eyes were filled with resentment. She clenched her little fists angrily.

Insulting one's own admiral is unforgivable for any ship girl who has an admiral. If they only teach you a lesson and hurt you a little, instead of directly deploying their ship equipment, pointing their dark cannons at your face, and firing blanks, then they have already shown enough restraint in terms of emotions.

As the ship of her own admiral's wedding, Shinano's first reaction upon hearing Shirayuki's words was also one of burning rage. However, being a relatively sensible adult, she didn't show it immediately. Considering that in a coastal city where most people knew that an admiral who insulted a ship girl in front of her was practically courting death, she couldn't believe that someone would dare to insult their own admiral in front of Taihou. She assumed that the unruly young master must have gone mad after being taught a lesson by Taihou last time, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to do such a thing. Moreover, Taihou was always so sensitive to anything related to the admiral.

Shinano frowned deeply, almost unable to resist running over to join Daio in giving her a couple more kicks. She gently pressed down on Fubuki's small shoulder. Although they both wanted to take the opportunity to go over and finish her off, they were, after all, guests staying at someone else's place, and it was better to leave this matter to Akagi-senpai.

"Alright, Fubuki, don't get too excited. Shirayuki, do you know where Akagi-senpai is? Let's hurry up and call Akagi-senpai over to take a look."

After a brief moment of thought, Shinano slowly spoke to Shirayuki, but before she could finish speaking, the door to the Japanese-style room not far across the corridor was suddenly pulled open. She heard the sound of the door being opened, and along with Fubuki and Shirayuki, she heard two very soft and melodious voices coming from inside.

"What happened, Shinano? What do you want to see me about? Has Taihou gotten into trouble again?"

"Oh dear, have you finished posting today's missing person notices? Thank you so much, Shinano and Fubuki. But what's wrong? You all seem to be in a hurry?"

Before Shinano and the two Snow-level sisters appeared two stunningly beautiful women with long, flowing, jet-black hair. They gently opened the door and stepped out. Leading the way was Akagi-senpai, dressed in gorgeous attire and sporting two fox-ear-like ship embellishments. Beneath her brow-length black hair, her orange-red eyes shimmered with a captivating light. Her figure was alluring, her face flawless, and her demeanor both elegant and gentle. Just looking at her evoked the thought that this was the true Yamato Nadeshiko.

Following behind Akagi-senpai, dressed in a beautiful pink kimono, and with a pair of towering bridges that even Akagi in front of her couldn't match, was Fusō-neechan. She was another of the admirals' married ships besides themselves, Shirayuki, and Akagi-senpai.

With her beautiful face and gentle temperament, it's no wonder that Fusang, who isn't considered one of the strongest main battleships in her own naval base, became the Admiral's marriage ship. After all, once you've tasted her cooking, just like with Lexington, Akagi, and Yixian, you'll never want to leave her cooking.

Just as she herself said, if there is anyone among all the ship girls in the J-series who is most deserving of the title of Yamato Nadeshiko, then it would be none other than these two seniors in front of her. Although Akagi-senpai always says that she is also an excellent lady, she is still far inferior to them.

"Ah, Akagi-senpai and Fusō-neechan, you're both here. Actually, it's like this, Taihou-san got into another fight with the young master of this family, and it seems she even injured him. Shirayuki just rushed back to tell me, and I was just about to go find you. By the way, Akagi-senpai, it seems that Taihou-san couldn't help but teach him a lesson because he insulted the admiral."

"Did you insult the admiral?"

Shinano slowly explained to Akagi and Fuso who had just come out. After hearing Shinano's explanation, Akagi couldn't help but frown. She closed her clear eyes and thought for a moment. Then she turned around and said to Fuso behind her, "Then Shinano and I will go and take a look. The rest is up to you, Fuso."

"Sigh, of course. Anyway, dinner is already on the stove, and I can handle the rest by myself. By the way, please teach that guy who dared to speak ill of the Admiral, Akagi, a lesson."

Volume 1, Chapter 197 Apology

As the evening sun cast long shadows, Shinano, Shirayuki, and Fubuki followed behind Akagi to the temporary training ground that the owner of the house they had rescued had specially prepared for them. Although this large mansion with a big pond was not as good as the specially built training ground in the naval base, it was more than enough for one or two ship girls to familiarize themselves with how to fight.

Holding hands with Fubuki and Shirayuki on either side, Shinano walked behind Akagi, whose wooden clogs made a "tap-tap" sound on the wooden floor. Shinano quietly raised her head to look at Akagi's beautiful, calm face in front of her.

Before coming, Sister Fusang said she wanted Senior Akagi to teach that bastard who dared to insult her admiral a lesson. However, as a perfect secretary ship candidate who is as understanding and worldly-wise as Sister Lexington, she was really not sure what Senior Akagi was thinking at the moment.

Fusang and I all believe that Taihou-san did nothing wrong, and that bastard deserved the beating. However, we are still in the crucial period of searching for the Admiral. If this matter delays the search, it would be the last thing anyone wants to see. Moreover... although Akagi-senpai didn't say it, as the ship who has spent the most time with the Admiral among us and has the deepest bond with him, I believe she must be even more eager to see him than we are. Besides, this isn't the first time I've seen Akagi-senpai secretly shedding tears in front of the Admiral's portrait when I wake up in the middle of the night...

She let out a soft sigh, which made Fubuki look at her face with some confusion. After a short while, she walked into the courtyard. From a distance, Shinano saw a young girl with pigtails and a golden bird-shaped headdress arguing with a middle-aged woman. Beside them, several people who looked like doctors were hurriedly lifting the guy lying on the ground, clutching his arms and legs and groaning, onto a stretcher.

"How could you do this, Miss Taihou? You eat our food, live in our house, and now you've even injured my child! He just said something to you in a fit of anger, did you have to hit him so hard?! Look, look! Two ribs are broken, his right hand and both legs are fractured. If no one saw this, were you going to call him out by name?! Huh?! So what if she's a legendary ship girl? How can you act like this?!"

"Ha! He deserved it. He dared to insult my Admiral. I didn't go any further and tear his private parts out. That's already giving you enough face! Besides, do you think we wanted to live here? If your father hadn't begged us to stay here, we wouldn't have bothered to stay here at all!"

"you you!!"

"What do you mean, 'you'?! If you dare to say another word, I'll beat you up right now too. You bear a lot of responsibility for raising such a piece of trash whose mind is full of filth all day long!"

The angry argument could be heard clearly from a distance. Although she was the one who hit the other, Miss Taihou did not seem to be at a disadvantage when facing her master's questioning. Perhaps it was because the other party was a daughter carefully raised by a large family. Faced with the aggressive Miss Taihou, who was also a ship girl, she instinctively felt inferior.

Annoyed by Miss Taihou, she patted her chest, turned around, and saw Senior Akagi and the others. It was as if she had found someone to take charge. The daughter of this family, who was also the mother of the scoundrel who had been taught a lesson by Miss Taihou, shouted loudly at Senior Akagi.

"Miss Akagi? Is that Miss Akagi? Come here and judge this for us! Miss Taihou injured my son and said he deserved it. How can that be?"

The sound traveled across the pond and landed directly in her and Akagi-senpai's ears. Having also heard her words, Daihou-san immediately turned around and looked in her direction. But when she saw herself, Shirayuki, Fubuki, and Akagi-senpai standing on the opposite side of the pond, she was like a mouse seeing a cat. Daihou-san, who had just been so arrogant, immediately dropped her aggressive expression and became somewhat timid.

"Aka...Akagi-senpai?!"

Just as expected, Daihou's voice became somewhat flustered. Seeing her panicked appearance, Akagi-senpai slowly shook her head, narrowed her eyes slightly, and then led herself and Shirayuki across the pond.

As for why Taihou lost her courage like a mouse seeing a cat the moment she saw Akagi-senpai, it was entirely a consequence of the time she angered Akagi-senpai. Although Akagi-senpai didn't actually attack or use her carrier-based aircraft, she merely unleashed the aura of a seasoned veteran who had fought countless battles against the Abyss against Taihou, and even that was enough to turn Taihou from a fearless tiger into a timid little animal.

That makes sense. To quote the admiral, even someone with top-tier combat skills like himself felt incredibly intimidated when facing someone like Akagi-senpai, let alone Taihou-san, who had only recently been born and had never even fought a single battle.

"What exactly happened, Taihou? Tell me properly."

She slowly approached Miss Taihou and that scoundrel's mother, her face still displaying a calm yet gentle expression. Akagi-senpai softly asked Miss Taihou, but perhaps because Akagi-senpai's pressure on Miss Taihou was too strong, Miss Taihou moved her lips in a flustered manner before nervously organizing her thoughts.

"Yes...it's like this, Akagi-senpai. When I was training here just now, that guy came to bother me again. I ignored him, and he got angry and cursed at the Admiral. I couldn't hold back, so I beat him up..."

"Is that hitting? You're almost beating someone to death!"

"No! I've already made sure I didn't hit his vital points!"

"Alright, Taifeng, no need to say anything more. Leave the rest to me."

Seeing that Akagi-senpai had come in front of her, that rascal's mother seemed to have someone backing her up and became energetic again. Just as Daihou-san was about to start arguing with her again, Akagi-senpai gently patted Daihou-san's shoulder, signaling her to stand behind her.

Watching from afar as the group of doctors carried that guy away, Senior Akagi gently lowered her head and closed her eyes towards the middle-aged woman.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Reina. It's my fault for not disciplining them properly, which led to this situation. On behalf of Taihou, I apologize to you..."

"You don't need to apologize, Miss Akagi! That brat deserved the beating! Rena! Apologize to him right now! If you hadn't spoiled him so much, would he be like this? You don't apologize to him, but you expect him to apologize to you?!"

Volume 1, Chapter 198: Lessons Learned

"You don't need to apologize, Miss Akagi! That brat deserved the beating! Rena! Apologize to him right now! If you hadn't spoiled him so much, would he be like this? You don't apologize to him, but you expect him to apologize to you?!"

The sound of a cane tapping the ground rang out, but before Akagi-senpai could finish speaking, a male voice that sounded very angry but was full of energy suddenly interrupted Akagi-senpai. Fubuki and Shirayuki turned their heads to look, and it turned out that the old man that they had happened to save at sea earlier was walking into the courtyard through the side gate with the help of a servant.

He was the head of the family and a respected elder in the neighborhood. As a junior and a daughter, Miss Reina naturally dared not disobey his words. Seeing that she was startled by his voice and looked flustered, she immediately turned around and looked at her father behind her, who was leaning on his cane and glaring angrily at her.

"But Father, Miss Dafeng just injured Xiaoxin, and the injury is quite serious..."

"Enough! Didn't I tell you?! He brought it on himself! He's naturally unruly and unambitious. Do you think I don't know what kind of terrible things your precious son has done?! If you hadn't spoiled him so much and taken the blame for everything he did, he wouldn't have turned out like this! You're largely to blame for how he turned out!"

"........."

"What are you standing there for? Apologize to them right now!"

Rena angrily pounded her cane on the bluestone floor. Facing her always stern father, Rena, who had just been arguing with Taihou, fell silent. Although she knew that her son must have gone mad for scolding the admiral in front of a group of ship girls, as a mother, she couldn't bear to see her son being bullied and beaten like that.

She clenched her fists tightly, gritted her teeth, and then turned around and bowed to Ms. Taihou and Senior Akagi in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Miss Taihou and Miss Akagi. It's my fault for not disciplining my son properly, which led to this unpleasant incident. I hope you can forgive me."

"It's alright, Ms. Rena. We were also at fault. It was Taihou who acted too impulsively."

“Miss Akagi, Miss Taihou did nothing wrong. It’s only right to teach that brat a lesson so he won’t do such a terrible thing again.”

The old man interrupted Akagi-senpai's words again. Unlike the stern and rigid face he had when facing his daughter, Reina, he showed a very kind face to Akagi-senpai and Shirayuki and the others who had come with him. He asked the servant beside him to let go of him and took two steps forward on his own, leaning on his cane.

"I'll teach that brat a lesson when I get back, so please forgive him, Miss Akagi. By the way, how are you finding this place? Are you settling in well? If you need anything, please let me know, and I'll have the servants prepare it for you."

“There’s nothing else you need, sir. The environment here is very nice, and we are quite comfortable. Besides, we just happened to save you while we were looking for the admiral, so you don’t need to thank us so much.”

"No, you are my saviors! If you hadn't saved me in time, I and my servants would have perished in the deep sea. So, no amount of gratitude is too much for me. Miss Akagi, please stop trying to persuade me."

"By the way, speaking of Admiral Ling, I have already sent people to search the entire Nogami region, but unfortunately we have not found any useful information. I am sorry, Miss Akagi, but do not worry, I have asked an old friend to have them expand the search area."

"Is that so? Then thank you for your help, sir.

"It's alright, it's alright, it's not a big deal for me. Well then, I'll be leaving now. I'm on my way to the police station. I have an acquaintance's son there, and I'm planning to ask him to keep an eye out for news about your admiral."

Despite having such a grandson, the old man's words were still very convincing as the head of the family. After speaking with Senior Akagi, he turned around with his daughter and servants to leave the large courtyard that they had temporarily used for training.

The crimson sunset had almost completely sunk below the horizon. Normally, this would be dinnertime for the sisters, but due to this delay, dinner had to be postponed. Shinano looked up at Akagi's exquisitely beautiful face beside her, noticing the slight disappointment on her face upon learning that she hadn't received any news from the Admiral. She spoke softly to Akagi.

"Senior Akagi, let's go back too. Sister Fusang and the others are waiting for us to come back for dinner."

"Well, let's go."

Akagi nodded slightly, her beautiful black hair trembling gently with her movement. Looking at Taihou, who still seemed a little uneasy, she smiled at her as if to comfort her. Her elegant and gentle smile was like a spring breeze, calming Taihou, who was worried that she would be scolded by this seemingly gentle and refined woman, who was actually more terrifying than the most frightening sea monster when she got angry.

"But Sister Akagi, if we don't find the Admiral here, will we have to leave? If we leave, where will we look for the Admiral next?"

"Akagi-nee, can we... really find the Admiral?"

"Now that we've discussed it with Kaga Shoukaku and the others, let's continue searching along the coastline. But don't worry, Fubuki, I believe we'll find the Admiral..."

The lack of news about the admiral was something they had anticipated after searching for so many days without success since arriving in this town. But when the mystery was finally solved, whether they had guessed it or not, just the thought that the admiral was still nowhere to be found was enough to make the ship girls who missed their admiral feel a pang of sadness.

Noticing the slightly uneasy and disappointed expressions on the faces of Shinano, Fubuki, and Shirayuki beside her, just as she had for over a year, Akagi, as the eldest sister, gently stroked Shirayuki and Fubuki's beautiful light blue hair and began to comfort them. However, before her gentle voice could even finish, she suddenly noticed a scarlet diamond hanging around the neck of a maid who had come with the old man, strung on a red string, and her voice abruptly stopped.

Akagi's sudden pause puzzled Shinano and the others, but before they could react, she quickly ran over and grabbed the servant's arm.

"Excuse me, where did you buy that diamond around your neck?"

“Miss Akagi? You mean this diamond? My brother found it on a deserted island beach when he was fishing at sea. Although it looks like a diamond, I had it appraised, and it's not a diamond…”

Volume 1, Chapter 199: The Girls