Originally, Beidou hadn't been entirely sure about the nature of Ningguang and Ye Xi's relationship — it was all just guesswork.
But upon hearing what Ye Xi had to say, she couldn't hold herself back anymore.
A man like this absolutely had to be kept with the Southern Cross fleet!
A genius!
As for Ye Xi wanting something in return — that hadn't even crossed her mind.
If she could get her hands on this ship, she'd give Ye Xi whatever he asked for!
Even if he asked for her — she'd agree!
Ningguang had long known Beidou was an impatient sort, so seeing the woman react like this came as no surprise at all.
Come to think of it, ships held the same kind of pull on Beidou as the Jade Chamber did on her.
If she ever laid eyes on a sky palace bigger and finer than the Jade Chamber, she probably wouldn't be able to help herself either.
With that thought, she let out a soft sigh. "My great captain, this matter — don't ask me. Go ask Ye Xi."
"This one's not mine to call."
"Eh!?"
Beidou was momentarily taken aback.
In Liyue Harbor, there was actually something Ningguang couldn't call the shots on?
From what she knew of Ningguang, she knew Ningguang was a strong-willed woman.
If Ye Xi wasn't a man Ningguang had set her sights on, then he had to be some new genius she'd recently recruited as a subordinate — someone who took her orders.
And even if Ye Xi was a man Ningguang had set her sights on, this household would still be Ningguang's to run.
Yet now, here was Ningguang saying she wasn't the one making the call.
That clearly meant — in this household, Ye Xi was the one with the final say!
A woman as commanding as Ningguang, willingly playing the role of the little wife at home for someone?
How was that even possible?
Could it be that Ye Xi had something else extraordinary about him — enough to put a proud woman like Ningguang completely under him?
Hard as it was to believe, she turned back around and went looking for Ye Xi anyway.
"Brother Ye Xi… er, Master Ye Xi — what would you like in exchange?"
She had originally meant to call him "brother."
But after thinking it over, she figured — if even Ningguang deferred to the man and called him "Master," wouldn't calling him "brother" herself come off as too presumptuous?
If Ningguang held a higher position than Ye Xi, then sure, Beidou could crack a joke or two — Ningguang would let it slide.
But with Ningguang ranking even below Ye Xi, that kind of familiarity wouldn't fly.
Thinking it through, "Master" really was the safer option.
Ye Xi spoke up. "I want the entire Southern Cross fleet."
"Huh?"
Beidou looked confused. "Isn't that the same thing I just said?"
She'd just been trying to pull Ye Xi into the fleet — she'd even been willing to hand over the top spot.
But Ye Xi had clearly hesitated then.
Why was he raising the same demand now?
Ye Xi shook his head. "It's not the same. You remain the head of the fleet — I won't interfere with daily operations or ask questions."
"But every single person in the Southern Cross fleet belongs to me, ready to take my orders and follow my dispatches at any moment."
"Of course, I won't treat the fleet's people unfairly either."
As he spoke, Ye Xi walked over to the porthole, gazed out across the boundless sea, and made his promise: "I'm going to turn the fleet into the maritime overlords of Teyvat."
"Want to take a look at something twice the size of this ship?"
At those words, the sailors all around erupted into a frenzy.
"M—Maritime overlords!?"
"My gods, I just signed onto this fleet to put food on the table — never dreamed I'd get a chance like this!"
"Maritime overlords of Teyvat! All of Teyvat!"
"Twice the size of this ship!? Good heavens, how big would that even be!"
"This ship has to be nearly two hundred meters long! Twice that — wouldn't that be nearly four hundred meters!?"
"Four hundred meters! Holy — four times the size of the Alcor!"
"Is that even still a ship? If our fleet had a ship like that, would Big Sis dare take us out to conquer Inazuma!?"
"..."
Hearing all that whispered chatter, Yae Miko, standing nearby, wore a face full of question marks.
???
Conquer Inazuma!?
If what Ye Xi said was true — if there really were ships of that immense scale, plus some of these two-hundred-meter ships they were standing on now…
The Tenryou Commission wouldn't stand a chance even if they threw their heads at it!
Even she herself would have her hands more than full!
Sending out every last youkai left in Inazuma — even if they could board every single ship, the cost would be enormous!
And by the time the dust settled, even if they managed to hold the line, Inazuma City would probably be reduced to flat ground.
The only solution would be to have Raiden Ei come out herself!
But no matter how powerful the Raiden Shogun was — how many islands could she possibly defend?
Hold Narukami Island, and what about the other islands? Leave them to fend for themselves?
Covering the head while leaving the tail exposed!
She sighed and patted her bosom, soothing the panic stirring within her.
Thank goodness she was here today!
Otherwise, if this fleet ever truly turned its eyes on Inazuma, they really would be caught completely off guard.
With that, she decided she had to make up her mind once and for all!
Handing Inazuma over to Ye Xi was still better than going to war with him down the line!
At least, Sumeru and Liyue under Ye Xi's hand were being governed beautifully — no worse than a God presiding over them!
As Yae Miko worked through her own private calculations, Beidou too was doing some thinking of her own.
She understood it now.
Having Ye Xi join the fleet as the new head…
…and handing the entire Southern Cross fleet over to Ye Xi were completely different concepts.
If Ye Xi joined the fleet, it was just a swap of positions. The fleet would still be the fleet — Ye Xi's requests would need to be discussed with everyone.
But if the fleet became Ye Xi's own personal force, the very nature of the whole fleet would change.
Every single one of Ye Xi's demands would need no internal deliberation — they'd be carried out to the letter!
Which was to say, she — the head of this fleet — would be reduced to a puppet.
Yet even so, when she really thought it through, no matter how she looked at it, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
As things stood now, the fleet was sizable, and the Mora was rolling in.
But the issue was — when you got right down to it, it was still selling your life!
The sea was dangerous!
Sea beasts, pirates, natural disasters.
Under all those threats, the Alcor at least could fend for herself.
But swap her for any of the other little wooden ships and it was a desperate gamble every time — licking blood off a knife's edge, walking the line between safety and ruin…
Lucky, and you were fine.
Unlucky, and it was the ship destroyed, the crew dead.
Disasters like that happened once or twice every single year!
Every year!
That was a terrifying thing to think about!
Every year, some of her brothers met an untimely end!
And as Big Sis, that broke her heart.
On top of that, recruiting new hands was difficult.
Every time they put out to sea — whether bound for Inazuma, Mondstadt, or Sumeru — it was almost always a month or more.
People who could endure that long out on the open sea were either the ones who genuinely loved it, or the ones with nowhere else to turn.
Why would any normal person sign up for that kind of work?
Let alone the fact that you could lose your life at any moment!
But if the fleet had this great ship beneath their feet — every single one of those concerns would vanish into thin air!
Ask yourself — what kind of sea beast could possibly take down this cruiser?
Osial? Beisht?
How many sea beasts of that caliber were even out there?
Pirates?
The wooden ships pirates sailed — just plow straight through them, no thinking needed.
If they didn't shatter on impact, they could count themselves lucky to still be alive!
And as for tsunamis — even less reason to worry.
The fleet would never set out in weather that extreme to begin with.
Run-of-the-mill winds and waves capsizing this ship? Practically impossible!
With life-and-death worries out of the way, the only thing left was time.
This ship was lightning-fast, and it didn't even need manpower.
A two-day round trip from Liyue to Inazuma — the barrier to entry would drop dramatically, and anyone could do it.
No boredom at all en route — close your eyes for a nap and you'd be there.
With conditions like that, recruiting hands would be easy!
And on top of all those benefits, the biggest thing was — there was so much to look forward to!
A ship even bigger than this one — twice the size!
She wanted to see that too!
Becoming maritime overlords had been her lifelong dream and wish!
After thinking it all through, Beidou nodded. "To put it plainly, Master Ye Xi just wants to be a hands-off boss!"
"On behalf of the fleet — I agree to this!"
"From here on, as you said — the fleet answers to you!"
"As for being some kind of maritime overlord…"
"If I really do end up as some kind of overlord, then I'll just lay it all out on the table!"
"I'm going to be a pirate! A great pirate of the seas! Hahaha!"
Beidou planted her hands on her hips and burst into roaring laughter. Beside her, Ningguang was at a loss for words.
Pirates and brigands and the like — those were unjust outfits. By any reasonable measure, they ought to be hunted down.
But she knew Beidou.
The kind of "pirate" coming out of this woman's mouth wasn't the sort that robbed merchant ships.
It was more like roaming the seas in search of adventure and treasure, and helping wipe out actual pirates.
Put that way, it didn't sound half bad.
On top of that, she and Beidou had a solid friendship — and now there was Ye Xi tying everything together.
Down the line, with Beidou's fleet growing more powerful, it could absolutely help Liyue accomplish a great deal more!
Hearing Beidou's decision, the crew members instantly broke into a chorus of chattering debate.
...
____
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉