Shokaku stammered, "She... she says you're a scumbag, Admiral, trying to have multiple relationships at once. That people like you are harmful just by existing in the world, and it would be better to chop you into mincemeat while you're sleeping."
"Th-that's terrifying!" Illustrious said with a look of horror.
"Admiral! To untie the bell, you must tie it yourself. You need to go and give her some counseling! I'm afraid one day Zuikaku really might try to chop you up while you're sleeping," Shokaku said seriously.
For the sake of her personal safety, Illustrious decided she should go and give Zuikaku some counseling.
"Um... alright! I'll go find her and talk to her."
"Then I'll trouble you, Admiral." Shokaku got off Illustrious's bed and left without looking back.
Watching Shokaku leave, Illustrious felt a pang of disappointment. She had thought Shokaku was going to do something intimate with her, but she just left like that.
After getting up in the morning, Illustrious went to the dormitory where Zuikaku lived. She took out a large set of keys from her Ship Girl space. This Naval Base was hers, after all, so she had spare keys for every Ship Girl's dorm room.
The reason she had keys to all the Ship Girls' dorm rooms was so she could enter their rooms promptly in case of an accident. Illustrious swore on her honor that it was absolutely not because she wanted to sneak into the Ship Girls' rooms at night that she kept spare keys.
Opening the room door, Illustrious entered Zuikaku's room. A delicate, feminine fragrance wafted towards her. She sniffed the air and suddenly felt it was quite pleasant and soothing.
Illustrious saw Zuikaku. Zuikaku was continuously punching a sandbag, not even noticing Illustrious enter the room. The sandbag was repeatedly dented by Zuikaku's blows, beaten out of shape.
Looking at that sandbag, Illustrious imagined it was herself in its place. The mere thought made her feel utterly terrified.
After one final punch, Zuikaku stopped. Then she noticed Illustrious and jumped in fright. "Wah! Why are you here? How did you get in, you jerk?"
"Hmm! You finally noticed me. How did I get in? Well, actually, your door wasn't closed properly, so I just pushed it open," Illustrious said, lying through her teeth.
Hearing this explanation, Zuikaku didn't doubt it. She probably forgot to close it properly after coming back from her morning run. "What are you here for? Didn't you find new Ship Girls? Go find them!"
Such strong jealousy! Illustrious immediately hugged Zuikaku and laughed. "How could they compare to you? I missed you, so I came to see you."
Zuikaku immediately struggled out of Illustrious's embrace. "Who would believe that? Hmph! They say an Admiral's words are a devil's lies, and it's certainly true!"
Illustrious said seriously, "I'm different from those Admirals who are full of lies. I have a sincere heart."
Zuikaku said with a look of disdain, "An Admiral who's involved with multiple Ship Girls dares to claim she has a sincere heart? Aren't you afraid of dying from laughter?"
Illustrious began to spin a tale. "I'm involved with multiple Ship Girls because I love them all. I want to give them a home, so they don't have to wander aimlessly. They are all my wings; together we can fly higher and farther..."
Zuikaku raised a hand to stop Illustrious's rambling. "Stop! Since you say you missed me, then show me some real action to prove it."
"What kind of real action?" Illustrious asked, puzzled.
"Kiss me. Let me see if you really love me." Zuikaku closed her eyes, waiting for Illustrious's kiss.
Looking at Zuikaku's tempting cherry lips, would Illustrious kiss her? What a joke! What kind of person was she? She was a respectable person. She couldn't just kiss someone because they told her to! That would make her lose face.
"Stop joking around. I'm not that kind of casual person. And you shouldn't be so casual about letting people kiss you either; it cheapens your worth," Illustrious said, shaking her head and sighing.
Zuikaku opened her eyes, looking angry. "I offered you a kiss, and you refused? Why?"
Why? Illustrious was afraid Zuikaku had set up a camera. She didn't want to be caught in a compromising situation because she recently wanted to confess to Azuma. She couldn't be as reckless as before. If she was too reckless and Azuma refused to become her Wife Ship, wouldn't that be a huge loss?
So, seeing Zuikaku's alluring cherry lips, Illustrious restrained herself. In the past, she definitely would have rushed over and kissed Zuikaku thoroughly!
"Then what's there to say? Since you won't kiss me, get out! I don't want to see you." Zuikaku pushed Illustrious out and closed the door.
Looking at the locked door, Illustrious breathed a sigh of relief. From Zuikaku's attitude just now, she concluded that Zuikaku wouldn't come at her with a knife at night. Since that was the case, there was nothing more to worry about, so she left.
After seeing Illustrious leave, Zuikaku took out a camera from a corner. She had originally planned to catch Illustrious in a compromising situation and then declare her sovereignty to the other Ship Girls. That way, she could make those Ship Girls understand that she was the Admiral's favorite, the one worthy of becoming a Wife Ship, so they would stop making moves on the Admiral. But that blockhead actually didn't kiss her, ruining all her plans.
"Could it be because I'm not dressed beautifully enough? Right, that must be it. I'll go online and see if there are any nice clothes."
Zuikaku started browsing for clothes on Taobao, wanting to buy some pretty outfits to seduce Illustrious.
...
Another day passed. The sun rose in the east. In the Illustrious Naval Base, sunlight shone into Illustrious's room. After putting on a white off-shoulder dress, Illustrious set off to find Ayanami.
Ayanami said she had something important to tell them.
On the Naval Base's island-circumference road, Ayanami saw Illustrious and waved. "Admiral! Come over here, desu!"
Illustrious glanced at the surrounding Ship Girls and asked Ayanami, "Is everyone here?"
"Everyone is here, desu!" Ayanami replied.
"Then why did you have me notify everyone to come yesterday? What did you want to do?" Illustrious asked.
Azuma explained for Illustrious. "It's like this: recently, our resources and supplies have started to run short."
"Didn't I give you a lot of resources and supplies when I came back? How did they run out so quickly?" Illustrious frowned.
Azuma sighed. "Although the Admiral and Ayanami brought back many resources and supplies from Azure Island not long ago, because everyone in our Naval Base, except Unicorn, is a Gold-Plated Ship Girl or higher, the resources and supplies are only enough for one more month."
Only enough for one month? Illustrious felt a headache coming on. Yesterday, Illustrious had looked for Yukikaze.
Upon learning from Yukikaze that she was the legendary Naval Base killer, Illustrious was initially delighted, but she found it strange that the Naval Base hadn't been attacked by the Abyssals, so she asked Yukikaze, who said she had hidden her enemy-attracting ability using something called a Luck-Suppressing Ring.
Illustrious told Yukikaze not to hide it; she wanted Yukikaze to be a "threat-attracting cat"!
That way, she could increase the Ship Girls' combat experience, and eliminating Abyssals would also yield resources and supplies, which could be considered killing two birds with one stone.
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