"Hehe, I see, you want to test if I have the strength to protect my sisters, right? Alright, Observer accepts this challenge!"
"Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly what I meant!"
Hakuryuu's eyes lit up, thinking the other party's explanation was good, and immediately adopted it.
Then she looked at Jack with an expression of "Commander, you've wronged me again."
Jack couldn't tell for a moment if she was truly stupid or just pretending.
In the end, he could only hug the fragrant elder sister Musashi and take a deep breath to calm his nerves, which were about to explode because of Hakuryuu.
Ah~ This warmth from a person's heart, it's truly comforting!
Musashi patted Jack's back, cradling him in her arms like she was taking care of a child.
"En, feel free to act spoiled with Musashi, Commander-sama, hehe~"
...
More than an hour later.
The fleet finally returned to the Port before sunset.
The Shipgirls walked up the flight deck, while Jack flew directly from the sea to land.
"You've worked hard, Commander-sama. Would you like to eat first or bathe first, or perhaps..."
As soon as he landed, Taihou and Akagi greeted Jack with a dual-voiced welcome, one on each side.
"Let's discuss life philosophies together later. Where's Nagato? I need her to open the training ground."
"Training ground?"
The two sisters exchanged glances, both feeling puzzled.
Commander just returned and is already going to the training ground? Could it be that he salvaged some powerful new equipment?
"I'll go notify Nagato, but..."
"Commander, why do you want to open the training ground now?"
Akagi and Taihou spoke one after another.
It made Jack feel as if he was talking to a bunch of twins, their voices echoing back and forth, which was quite novel.
"When did you two… get along so well?"
The two girls exchanged glances, smiling at him without speaking.
Actually, even if they had reconciled, their relationship wouldn't have become this good.
It was only because a certain Grand Sage appeared midway and advised them, saying, "Shipgirls are not limited to just the Sakura Empire faction."
Those few short words were like a sudden enlightenment, instantly making them understand.
The true struggle wasn't within the Sakura Empire, but outside of it.
So, the two joined hands and formed the Commander's Doting Alliance, determined to make the Commander immerse himself in the gentle embrace of the Sakura Empire Shipgirls, thus diverting more of his energy to their side.
The two thought they had hidden it very well.
But Jack could probably guess that anyone who could persuade them must be someone with extremely high credibility and wisdom within the Sakura Empire.
Such a person would either be Amagi (the strategist) or Unzen (the Grand Sage).
"Never mind, I won't ask too much about your secrets... As for why I opened the training ground, it's actually because I recently subdued a Siren, and Hakuryuu wanted to understand the strength of her new companion through a spar."
"Originally, the two of them wanted to duel at sea, but I was afraid it would delay things too much and make you worry, so I decided to spar after returning."
Taihou nodded, "Oh, a new companion."
Akagi also made the same gesture, "Sparring to test strength, hmm, very normal."
"Wait!" x2
"Siren?!" x2
Jack covered his ears and only after their surprise subsided did he retort, "It's a pity your synchronization rate isn't used for piloting mechs."
"No, Commander, the new companion you just mentioned is a Siren?"
"That's right, and you two have even met that Siren before. Observer, very familiar, right?"
"But how can a Siren..."
"Why can't a Siren become a companion? Essentially, they are just Shipgirls who took a different path. As Sakura Empire Shipgirls who adopted Siren technology and grew beast ears, you should understand this most clearly."
Jack didn't explain too much, as he didn't intend to publicize Observer's defection for the time being.
After all, on the Siren side, he still wanted to send Observer as an undercover agent later, to gather intelligence while also coaxing a few more Sirens out for him.
When Dreamweaver (Observer Zero, the current highest leader of the Sirens) discovers that the entire Siren organization has been infiltrated by him like a sieve, she will surely show a very interesting expression.
"Commander Brother! Long time no see, did you miss Observer?"
"What are you talking about! It's just the short distance from the return capsule to the ground, how long could it have been?"
"It was! Observer missed you terribly after being separated from Commander for just two seconds!"
"Then... then I missed Commander in just one second!"
Behind Jack, a group of 7 Shipgirls walked over, chattering noisily.
So, a smile blossomed on his face, and he took Taihou and Akagi's hands: "Let's go, I'll take you to meet Observer first. After a preliminary understanding, I believe your impression of her will change."
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