How do I start a romantic relationship with a ship girl?

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In order to completely subdue the ship girl in front of him in an instant, Xu Huan admitted that he used a lot of strength, and now it seemed that he had gone a bit too far.

The ship girl watched helplessly as Xu Huan approached her, her body completely unable to move. She tried to say something, but no sound came out.

As the footsteps drew closer, her eyes gradually turned to despair.

They usually handled everything, big and small, but they never imagined that the gap in strength between them had become so vast.

As a ship girl, she can die on the battlefield, she can sink her ship for any reason, but she absolutely cannot die at the hands of someone in front of her, especially if that person harbors murderous intent towards her—

She closed her eyes and waited quietly for the other party's decision.

The imagined pain did not come; the ship girl only felt him gently pat her shoulder.

"If you encounter an enemy in your own home in the future, either run away first, or remember to call for help."

The young man's voice came from beside her, seemingly with a hint of amusement: "The other party can come to your home so openly by themselves, they must have some confidence. You actually think they're just stupid or bold? You think you can take care of them all by yourself?"

"I admire your dedication, but... this is a one-time exception."

There was no sense of mockery; it was as if they were narrating an ordinary, mundane event.

As the sound faded, the doorway opened again, the tinkling of wind chimes filled the air, and the footsteps gradually faded into the depths of the alley.

Beside the table, the cat that had been squinting slowly opened its eyes. It stretched, glanced at the ship girls who were still standing motionless in the room, and then lay down again.

After a long time, the silver-haired ship girl finally sat down on the bookstore floor, feeling weak and sore all over.

"Owner..."

she murmured.

Chapter Eighteen: Take Me With You

After the little incident at the bookstore, Xu Huan returned to the street and blended into the crowd.

As he left the alley, he made a point of investigating to confirm what the ship girl meant by "mind control."

"Such a thin layer...it's not noticeable at all."

Looking at the thin layer of mental energy at the alley entrance, which seemed to have been specially designed to block perception, Xu Huan was speechless.

Although he had lowered his guard in the city, this thin layer was neither threatening nor warning... Given his mental strength, he passed through it without feeling a thing.

The kind that's directly crushed.

However, if placed in the city... it seems just right?

This almost completely undefended location, known only to its own people, can both prevent human activity from reaching it and evade the Sirens' search and detection.

After all, who would have thought that an ordinary-looking bookstore would have ship girls?

As for the ship girls in the bookstore...

Xu Huan had already precisely calculated the duration of his mental intimidation, ensuring that he could maintain a sufficient distance from the bookstore before the other party regained control of his body.

As for learning to hide oneself, it is an essential course for Human Alliance soldiers, and the crowds on the street naturally become the best shield.

To make himself look as normal as possible, Xu Huan took out a very casual hoodie from the space of his tactical watch, put it on, and then casually applied some hair clay to his head and smeared it vigorously.

As he walked in and out of the alley, he transformed into a trendy student who had just started his vacation, with a calm demeanor and a natural expression.

However, just as Xu Huan checked the glass next to him to make sure he hadn't made any mistakes, and was about to set off again to experience the local customs and culture, a beautiful figure appeared directly beside him.

"commander...."

Hu Teng looked at Xu Huan, who had changed his hairstyle and clothes, and couldn't help but smile.

The young man's features were already quite handsome, and coupled with his clothes and hairstyle... to use an inappropriate analogy, he was incredibly youthful and radiant.

If you don't look at the scar on the eyebrow.

"A very suitable look, he looks a bit like a high school student."

"You look like a high school student too..."

Xu Huan glanced at Hu Teng.

"Can I take this as a compliment?"

There were both praises and criticisms.

The other person's facial features were almost flawless, except for that...

Although he is far from being flat-chested, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a high school student.

"By the way, where's the little octopus man? I don't see him around."

"This one..."

Upon hearing Xu Huan inquire about this matter, Hu Teng sighed softly.

"We suddenly lost track of you, Commander, and couldn't find you anywhere, so I suggested we split up to search... Right now, she should be somewhere in the city, right?"

"....real?"

Xu Huan felt that about nine-tenths of what Hu Teng said was false.

It might be somewhat believable that the little octopus couldn't keep up with him, but if the one in front of him couldn't keep up either... that would be too unbelievable.

Upon closer reflection, Hu Teng might also have played a part in the little octopus's inability to keep up.

"Of course it's fake... She's a bit noisy, and I also wanted to spend some time alone with you, so I found an opportunity to separate and let her go find you herself."

Hu Teng's expression was cold, and he stated his purpose without any hesitation, his eyes fixed on Xu Huan.

"They kept too close a watch on the ship; I only got a chance to do so after I disembarked."

Xu Huan wasn't quite sure what the ship girl meant by spending some time alone together and the opportunity, but it probably meant something like continuing to recruit him for Ironblood.

"Your way of speaking can easily lead to misunderstandings."

"Actually... this is the effect I wanted... Commander."

Hu Teng smiled slightly, withdrew his gaze from Xu Huan, and gently lowered his head, letting the strands of hair fall down his forehead, obscuring his expression.

"Speaking of which, Commander, did you just run into other ship girls?"

The voice seemed to be lowered.

"Hmm? You did encounter a Royal Navy ship girl. How did you know?" Xu Huan was about to bring it up when Hu Teng noticed it first.

"You smell like her... like rouge and powder."

"Her scent...?"

Xu Huan frowned.

Odor control is also a required course for Humanitarian League soldiers, a basic course that couldn't be more fundamental.

He is no exaggeration to call himself an expert in this field. He can often evade even the Zerg's dog-like noses, and it is absolutely impossible for him to make such a basic mistake as having a special scent left on his body.

Or do ship girls have a special identification method that they are unaware of?

"Did you detect it by smell alone, or is there another method?"

"A special feeling that I can't quite put my finger on, or you could call it intuition, but I can't really explain it."

The ship girl shook her head, gathered her loose hair, and raised her head again, her disdainful yellow eyes showing some unease.

"I just didn't expect that I would actually guess right."

"Intuition...?"

Xu Huan suddenly remembered a saying that had circulated on the main star before. He couldn't remember the specifics clearly, but this saying—

Commonly known as a woman's intuition.

If researchers could thoroughly understand its principles and apply this intuition to the battlefield, that would greatly increase the chances of survival for every soldier in the Human Alliance.

Without dwelling on it too much, Xu Huan, realizing that the ship girl in front of him knew the Royal Navy better than he did, recounted in detail what had just happened.

"You have likely encountered the Royal Head Maid, Belfast."

After analyzing the information provided by Xu Huan, Hu Teng thought for a moment and then said:

"She's definitely not a ship girl who specializes in combat... You should be able to tell from her name, Head Maid, and nominally, you're likely to be her future master."

"Master? I don't need any maids."

There are many organizations and institutions in the galaxy that sell slaves or servants of other races.

But overall, Xu Huan wasn't interested in these extravagant things.

Living under the service of others for a long time can lead to severe fatigue and make it very easy to lose one's own clear perception, which is a fatal drawback for someone who needs to fight on the front lines for many years.

"It's not a matter of need or not, but for the ship girls of the Royal Maid Corps, the commander is their master, and—" Hu Teng explained, seeing that Xu Huan's expression was still somewhat indifferent, he added:

"Sometimes, it's not that you need them, but that they need you, Commander..."

"If you really care, just treat it as a form of address, just like I call you Commander."

"understood."

Xu Huan nodded.