I really don't have money for the ship girls.

"I'm guessing I'll get pelted with stones when I get back to the naval base..." The Prince of Wales paused, then realized something. "No wonder the Commander is making this announcement about choosing a secretary ship; it's just a way to attract attention?"

Ying Tian was trying to open a bottle of red wine when he said, "I don't really think so, anyway, we all have things to do."

"Hmph, Commander, you've got a lot of ulterior motives these days."

Despite saying this, the Prince of Wales was filled with the happiness of being cared for by his loved ones, and in the air-conditioned room, a fire seemed to burn in his chest.

She watched Ying Tian clumsily use the bottle opener and couldn't help but smile. She stepped forward, took her lover's hand from behind, gently pried open his fingers, and pulled out the bottle stopper.

Ying Tian felt the Prince of Wales' embrace and explained, "I was just about to exert force."

"Hehehe—" A light laugh echoed in my ears as the Prince of Wales said, "You shouldn't use so much force. Is this the first time the Commander has opened a wine bar?"

"Okay, you figured it out." Ying Tian stopped being stubborn.

"Red wine, candles—you wanted romance but didn't quite pull it off. Let me think, was it someone else's idea?"

"Um...actually, I also thought of some other ways to create a lively atmosphere."

Ying Tian poured the red wine into a glass on the table, smiled, and said, "Thinking about it later, we don't need this kind of thing between us."

Yes, we don't need that kind of thing between us.

Filled with love, the Prince of Wales didn't want to think about anything else. He took the wine glass from Ying Tian's hand and said, "You don't dislike red wine anymore?"

Ying Tian raised his wine glass and said, "Actually, I'm still not quite used to drinking it, but I think if you like it, I'm sure I can get used to it too."

"Then let me teach you another way to adapt."

The Prince of Wales grasped Ying Tian's hand, which was holding a wine glass, and placed it on the table. Under Ying Tian's somewhat puzzled gaze, she raised the glass, took a sip, and her Welsh red eyes sparkled like candlelight, her beautiful lips adorned with a captivating glaze.

Their eyes met, and everything was understood without a word.

Ying Tian's Adam's apple bobbed as he lowered his head and pressed his lips to those beautiful, full lips. The slightly sour wine mixed with a sweet fragrance lingered between their lips and teeth.

As the Prince of Wales' body grew weaker, her hands, supporting her from behind, slid gracefully and charmingly, knocking the candles off the table to the floor.

The candlelight went out, but the night had only just begun.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Night Is Quite Noisy Tonight

"My God, the atmosphere outside is terrifying..."

Mercury Memorial walked into the game room in the corner of the basement and found that, in addition to Ayanami and Bunker Hill playing games in front of the big TV, St. Louis was also half-lying on the sofa, leisurely eating ice cream.

Extending her pink tongue to lick the snow-white liquid that had melted from the ice cream, St. Louis dabbed at the few drops that had fallen onto her chest with her hand and brought them to her lips, creating waves of white, creamy fluid. With great interest, she asked, "What's going on outside?"

"Outside, it's like experiencing both ice and fire."

Mercury Memorial sat down on the rug where Ayanami and the others were playing games, gesturing as she said, "Taihou and Ron rushed into the Commander's room with their eyes wide open. If Belfast, Louis IX, and Enterprise hadn't stopped them, they probably would have torn the door down. Ron was so aggressive; it's a good thing there were no enemies around, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stop until he tore several Sirens apart. And Taihou, she made a paper doll of the Prince of Wales and is about to poke it into a sieve."

"They're all alright, but you didn't see Akagi's face. It was even paler than Kaga's tail. She was drinking tea on the first floor without saying a word. It's like she's either going to explode in silence or perish in silence. Tsk tsk tsk. I was told by Shoukaku before that Akagi went to great lengths to get close to the Commander in order to establish her persona. But look at her now. It's hard to imagine what will happen next."

Mercury was gesturing wildly as she talked about the anniversary, but then she found that Ayanami and Bunker Hill, who were playing games, didn't react at all. Even St. Louis continued eating her ice cream without saying a word.

"St. Louis, don't you have any thoughts on this?"

"What are my thoughts?"

"The commander announced the marriage ship! It's so different from all the ambiguity before. It means the commander will definitely give the oath ring. Many people in the naval base are already clear about their thoughts. Now that they know the commander will marry, their minds will definitely be racing. Don't tell me you don't want to?"

Even if I wanted to, so what?

St. Louis propped her long, white legs up on the sofa armrest. To say she had no feelings for someone else would be a lie. A ring is a ring, a vow is a vow—these were very important things for a ship girl driven by her own emotions. But she was different from others. The Commander had personally said that he liked Wales first, Shoukaku second, and her third. Wales was now her marriage ship; she could just wait until after Shoukaku. What was there to worry about? Was someone going to cut in line?

Mercury Memorial was momentarily speechless at St. Louis's smile. She said, "Anyway, there's definitely going to be some fun to watch later. The naval base and this place will definitely be even more lively."

“What fun could there be? You still don’t understand.” St. Louis sat up abruptly, tossing the ice cream stem into the trash can. “Have you ever thought about why the Commander only told everyone about the Prince of Wales becoming the wedding ship after announcing the personnel appointments?”

Mercury tilted his head and said, "Is there some other reason behind it?"

“Of course there are rules.” St. Louis stretched out his hand and drew a line in the air, as if dividing two rectangles. “From now on, each naval base will have its own responsibilities. The matters here will be handled by the commander, and the matters of the naval base will be handled by the secretary ship. In the end, it is still the commander’s responsibility. With Wales and Bismarck keeping things in check when crossing between the two worlds, everyone will be doing their own job. What kind of trouble can there be?”

"This……"

Mercury Memorial pondered deeply and finally understood St. Louis's meaning. She looked up in surprise: "Did the Commander already consider this?"

“Otherwise?” St. Louis lay back on the sofa, resting his chin on his hand, and said, “That’s our commander. It would be strange if we didn’t consider that.”

In front of Mercury Memorial, who was frowning in thought, Ayanami defeated Bunker Hill with a swift combo attack. The little girl curled up her white-stockinged legs and said, "I don't quite understand. The commander just announced that Prince of Wales has become a marriage ship. There were also two marriage ships before, Yatsen and Illustrious, and there was nothing different about them."

“It’s different, very different, okay?” Mercury Memorial was no longer sleepy at this point, she said, “Right now, the Prince of Wales is probably in his room with the Commander…”

Facing the young girl, Mercury Memorial still maintained some principles. She paused for a long time before finally saying, "Uncorking bottles and drinking red wine in the room, living like a god."

As a seasoned veteran of the port area, St. Louis immediately understood. She subtly pinched the flesh on her thigh, showing no emotion whatsoever.

Ayanami tilted her cute little head: "Red wine doesn't taste good."

"Well, you'll understand when you grow up."

"Oh."

Looking at Ayanami's bewildered expression, Mercury Memorial suddenly asked with some curiosity, "Ayanami, if the Commander gave you a ring, would you want it?"

Ayanami replied naturally, "Of course I want the Commander's gift."

"This is not just a gift, it also means... Ugh, why am I bringing this up again? Anyway, the commander shouldn't be that much of a beast."

"Oh."

Ayanami gripped the controller, thinking to herself that she should just play games instead.

-------------------------------------

A door separated the tense outside world from the room filled with heavy breathing.

There's something I need to confess to you.

"Huff...huff...what?"

"I also gave Belfast a ring, and she accepted my proposal. It was a bit of an accident, but actually not at all. It was very natural. Even if it wasn't today, it would have been tomorrow, or any other day. I will officially announce it in a couple of days."

The slender hand that was drawing circles on Ying Tian's chest stopped, and then pinched his waist slightly.

"pain."

"You still feel pain? Why didn't you respond when I cried out in pain?"

"It's not true... Okay, I'm sorry."

"I'm not angry, but if it happens once, it will happen twice, and if it happens twice, it will happen three times. How many people are you planning to marry?"

Ying Tian remained silent. "You give me a peach, I return you a precious jade." The intense emotions he felt were nothing more than a ring. He felt he couldn't possibly be stingy with it. "It's my fault for being too deprived of love before. Now that I've opened my heart, I can't refuse anyone. Go ahead, I can handle it."

The Princess of Wales softened her tone and said, "I know that you had a marriage ship before, and you will have more marriage ships in the future. It's impossible for you to have one all to yourself... But no matter what, you said that I am your first, and you can't ignore me when I need you."

When the imposing Prince of Wales uttered such delicate words, Ying Tian simply embraced her smooth body and found her earlobe.

"Ah."

"Guanghui and Yixian, you need to contact them, we are all married ships."

"Ah."

"You promised me you would make everyone happy, and you must keep your promise."

"Yes, I will."

"at last……"

Wales flipped over and straddled Yingtian, his hands braced against Yingtian's chest. At this moment, Wales looked down at Yingtian with pride, regaining his princely demeanor: "You are not allowed to stop until I say stop."

"..."

Unbeknownst to the two entangled individuals, Kaga smiled disdainfully upon hearing these words, and at that moment, another figure leaped to Kaga's side.

Essex crossed his arms and said, "What a cunning fox."

"It's just a trip to enjoy the moon and have some drinks."

"Drinking alcohol while standing on an air conditioner unit, is this the kind of fun you Sakura Empire enjoys?"

Normally, Kaga would have been at loggerheads with Essex, but this time she simply raised the porcelain bottle containing sake and said, "Would you like a sip?"

"I am not interested."

Essex coldly refused, and then she understood why Kaga had suddenly lost his former sharpness.

"Oh...ah..."

"Mmm...so...deep..."

"Mmm... Ah—!"

Hearing the seductive moans coming from inside, Essex's cheeks flushed slightly, and she whispered, "You just wanted to hear this kind of thing?"

"So what are you here for?"

Essex was silent, then said, "Give me a sip of the wine."

Kaga handed the bottle to Essex, watching her hurriedly gulp it down, then choke and cough, before covering her mouth as if afraid the people inside would hear.

Kaga remained silent, gazing at the half-moon in the sky.

The night is quite noisy tonight.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Loss of Reputation

That night, many people, both in the villa and the garrison, couldn't sleep.

Some people were chatting and swiping through the night in various groups because of the secretary ship and the marriage ship. They had endless topics to discuss. It wasn't this lively when the commander first chatted with everyone in the group.

Some people tossed and turned, their hearts filled with complex emotions, some filled with hope, others with unspeakable bitterness and disappointment.

However, everything was soothed as the deep night fell.

As the night passed, most people had accepted the fact, because the new day seemed no different from the previous one. Only the bustling port and lively group chat told everyone that although the commander was in another world, he was still with them.

Could anyone other than the Commander have turned the port into this state?

Zuikaku rubbed her eyes as she walked down the stairs. Last night, she was first dragged out to run in the mountains by Ryuhou and Hiyori, and then while sleeping with Shoukaku, her sister kept talking strange things in her sleep, such as "Akagi-senpai, a woman like you can't get the Commander" and "The Commander is going too far." So Zuikaku's sleep quality was not very good.

However, when she got to the restaurant, she found that everyone seemed to be in low spirits.

"Here it comes! Oh, it's Zuikaku."

"What's wrong with me?" Zuikaku walked into the kitchen, where Shoukaku and the others had prepared various breakfasts. She happily asked her sister to serve her several kinds. It had been a long time since she had experienced this feeling. She could wake up and eat breakfast made by her sister. Shoukaku was such a gentle, considerate, beautiful and lovely person. She didn't even forget the Commander in her dreams. He should be secretly happy.

Kariyong, leaning on the dining table, said, "No, what's wrong with you? We're waiting for someone else."

"Who is it? Commander?"

Zuikaku realized she was right, and while eating, she casually said, "When we were in Africa, the Commander was very disciplined. He usually got up around seven o'clock. Is he still not up today?"

"Today's situation is special, after all, everyone knows that the Prince of Wales was in his room last night..."

Bah!

Falcon slammed the bowl down on the table: "I'm full, I'm going back to sleep."

Carlyon wasn't annoyed by the interruption. She was exhausted from surfing the internet all night: "We're betting on when the Commander and the Prince of Wales will leave. The Commander is so thin... so I bet it will be before 9:30."

Wuwei casually said, "I bet it's nine o'clock."

"10:30."

"Then I'll double it, to twelve o'clock."

"12 o'clock? The commander would be drained dry by then."

"I think..."

The discussion abruptly stopped when Ron walked out of the kitchen with a knife in his hand and a smile on his face.

Of course, we're going to kill chickens to nourish the commander; surely we're not going to kill the commander himself?

"Sister Essex, why don't you go and protect the Commander?"

"Ah? Oh..."

Essex, reminded by Shangri-La, seemed to have just woken up from a dream, and it was unclear what she had been thinking.

Are you alright?

"What could possibly happen to me?"

Essex forced herself to stand up and habitually tossed her long, light purple hair, which was surprisingly tangled today.