Azur Lane Under the Stars

Page 568

Thinking this, Prince Rupprecht arrived at the nursery in the Sakura Empire. He saw that the new sisters who had joined the port had arrived, and Fusang, who was taking care of the children there, had a smile on her face.

"Oh, it's Princess Rupprecht. Are you here to see Mutsuki and the others?"

Princess Rupprecht felt a little awkward; for the first time, she realized how really long her name was.

But she nodded anyway: "Yes, that's right."

"Mutsuki and the others are inside. You'll see them when you go in."

After finishing her sentence, Fusang picked up the box of snacks and left temporarily.

Prince Rupprecht walked in, and looking at the little kids in front of him, he suddenly felt like he was the boss.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he called out, "I'm here! What are we going to play today?"

Seeing that their beloved young lady had arrived, the Mutsuki-class children were overjoyed and gathered around, chattering excitedly:

"Sister Princess, let's play the Joker game!"

"Sister Princess, could we take off those horns on your head and play with them?"

Prince Rupprecht felt very comfortable being surrounded by them, so he readily agreed to their invitation to draw jokers.

She played the game often, and her sister and Binjiang often played with her as well. After a few rounds, she felt like something was missing, and then she suddenly clapped her hands and realized what it was.

There were no stakes involved. When I played with Binjiang before, we would sometimes use our own snacks or treats as stakes, just for fun.

Then Prince Rupprecht said, "Shall we use our snacks as a wager?"

Mutsuki hesitated for a moment: "But gambling like this is wrong."

"This isn't gambling, it's just playing around with your own snacks and stuff...yes, it's just playing around."

"Okay, then."

The little ones were somewhat tempted, and after a brief discussion, they agreed.

And so, the simple yet thrilling game of drawing the Joker began.

At first, Prince Rupprecht was quite suspicious that he was having a particularly bad day, losing repeatedly and quickly losing all of his three days' worth of snacks.

But after thinking about it, I realized that my fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven.

So, they stopped fooling around and started counting cards, even carefully observing their opponents' expressions to determine what kind of cards they had.

We played like that for an hour...

Prince Rupprecht, looking quite content, wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead and remarked, "I really worked hard."

Hmm, all that effort spent counting cards, hehehe, as expected of me, a crazy winning streak!

Then he turned his head and looked at the pile of snacks around him that looked like a small mountain, and felt very satisfied.

Prince Rupprecht casually picked up a lollipop and put it in his mouth. Hmm, it's strawberry flavored...

It tastes really good, what brand is it?

I was just about to ask the little guys what brand they were when I saw the Mutsuki-class destroyers with tears in their eyes, looking like they wanted to cry but had to hold back.

No, I can't hold it in anymore... Waaaaaah!!!

Mutsuki was the first to start crying, and the other little ones followed suit as if a dam had burst.

For a time, the sound of crying filled the air, making the entire nursery quite noisy.

Prince Rupprecht wasn't flustered; instead, he looked surprised. Why was he crying? He had to accept the consequences of his bet. Who could he blame but himself for being bad at it?

Prince Rupprecht, unaware of how despicable his act of tricking children into giving him snacks, stroked his chin, pondering what to do.

Before she could even think of what to do, Fusang arrived after hearing the news. She looked at Mutsuki-class, who was crying her eyes out, then at Prince Rupprecht, who was standing to the side with his arms crossed, deep in thought, and finally her gaze fell on the tall pile of snacks...

School bullying?!

Fusang shakily took out her phone and started making a call.

"Oh no! Lord Nagato! Come quick!"

…………

"So, this is the cause and effect?"

Ren Shuo looked at Prince Rupprecht kneeling in front of him, feeling both amused and exasperated.

This is a case of a mischievous kid meeting an honest kid. The honest kid feels he hasn't been taken advantage of; he's just crying because he has nothing to eat and he's too weak.

And the bratty kid doesn't know what to do either...

That's why the adults were alerted?

Prince Rupprecht shifted his legs uncomfortably. Ugh, kneeling like this is really uncomfortable.

Brest stood to one side, still holding a ruler in his hand. He glared at the writhing Prince Rupprecht, and lightly tapped the ruler against his palm.

"Don't move! Behave yourself and accept your punishment!"

You've only been in the port area for a short time, and you're already causing trouble for your older sister.

In addition to work these past few days, Brest also chatted with Lexington, one of the caretakers of the "bear cubs," about parenting experiences.

In short, you can't spoil a naughty kid when they cause trouble; you have to give them a good beating.

Even though Brest is usually very gentle, she felt relieved after seeing how Lexington, who is usually just as gentle as water, dealt with Saratoga. Why bother with gentleness and tenderness when dealing with your own sister?

If you're obedient, I'll be gentle and considerate; if you're not obedient, then I'll teach you the hard way.

Nagato and Frederick the Great, who were standing to the side with their arms crossed, also had strange expressions on their faces.

Honestly, no one is at fault in this matter. After all, it was just kids playing around, and then they took it seriously.

The person in the Mutsuki class blamed themselves for being bad at the game, and Prince Rupprecht didn't know where he went wrong either, because that's how he usually played at home.

As a result, it seems that Fusang misunderstood the situation, leading to the arrival of all three sets of parents.

"What can I say about you... How did you learn to gamble at such a young age?"

Nagato addressed the Mutsuki-class education department.

“However, Princess Rupprecht’s sister said that this doesn’t count as gambling…”

Indeed, it's just like when a few of us were kids taking photos and checking in together. There are wins and losses, and even if you win all your stuff, it's still a lot of fun.

The problem is that Mutsuki-class cries too much, and that brat is too ruthless.

"What do you suggest we do?" Nagato was also having a headache; she wasn't good at handling these kinds of problems.

Help! Where's Mikasa? Where is she?

Frederick the Great was also somewhat troubled: "Indeed, what does the commander think?"

Honestly, both sides are at fault. It was Mutsuki and the others who suggested drawing the Joker, and it was Prince Rupprecht who suggested betting on snacks...

Ren Shuo thought about it and realized that in this situation where both sides were at fault, Prince Rupprecht's mistake was obviously greater, and he was extremely familiar with how to handle this matter.

How do you think Ren Shuo handled the matter concerning the mackerel and the others?

Ren Shuo then put on a stern face and said to Prince Rupprecht, "Do you know you were wrong?"

But Prince Rupprecht argued vehemently: "I don't think I'm wrong."

Very good, just like Saratoga's stubbornness.

Ren Shuo could only feign distress: "In that case, you don't want to disappoint your sister, do you? If your sister is disappointed, she might have to rely on you in the future..."

Satisfied with the change in Prince Rupprecht's expression, Ren Shuo continued, "But if a child is willing to admit his mistakes and correct them, then there is still hope. In that case, his older sister would actually like such a child."

Brest chimed in at the opportune moment, "Yes, what the commander said makes a lot of sense."

Prince Rupprecht was somewhat conflicted: "But I really don't know where I went wrong..."

Ren Shuo said to Brest, "Can you teach Prince Rupprecht about this later?"

Brest nodded: "No problem."

“Now, apologize first,” Ren Shuo said.

Prince Rupprecht could only say, "I'm sorry..."

"Then return the things to them..."

"Oh……"

"Commander, it's not necessary. We lost..."

Although Minazuki was very reluctant, he knew that a good child is one who accepts defeat, so he could only say it with a heavy heart.

"You accept this..." Ren Shuo continued his instruction to the Muyue class.

"Take this as a lesson for you all. Don't gamble with others or promise things without being sure you're sure. Understand? Otherwise, this feeling and this regret will be the consequences."

"Understood." The Mutsuki-class members nodded vigorously.

Ren Shuo sighed and said to Prince Rupprecht, "Don't be upset. Return the things. I'll buy you a snack gift pack later. Don't be unhappy."

"Really?! Thank you, Commander!" Prince Rupprecht's mood brightened.

After giving another warning, Brest took Prince Rupprecht back for further moral education, while Fusō stayed behind to comfort the Mutsuki-class members.

Ren Shuo then led Frederick the Great and Nagato away.

"The commander is getting more and more skilled."

Walking along the path, Frederick the Great remarked.

Ren Shuo said, "There's nothing we can do about it. We have too many children in the family, so we have to learn a little about how to handle these situations, right?"

"That's true, but where did you learn this method of giving both sides equal blame and then offering a sweet treat to appease them?" Nagato asked.

Honestly, she wanted to learn too, and didn't want to be seen as the mascot of the Sakura Empire's divine child... well, or to put it more nicely, a symbol.

“Well, you can talk to Tiancheng more,” Ren Shuo said.

Look, he has so many younger female colleagues and juniors under him, and even some with quirky personalities, and he manages to handle them all perfectly...

Tiancheng's move truly has all the necessary elements.

"I see... I'll have a good talk with Amagi later."

Frederick the Great said, "Commander, we still need to deal with Prince Rupprecht's personality issue properly, otherwise there might be a conflict one day."

Frederick the Great saw things very clearly. He considered Prince Rupprecht's personality to be that of a spoiled, arrogant child. The matter was neither a huge issue nor a small one.

After all, we all have to live together, and her personality makes it easy for her to offend people.

"Well, I've already put Brest on that note, and I'll leave the rest to you."

When it comes to raising children, Frederick the Great, the Great Mom, is the most suitable.

No matter what kind of unruly child they are, they can at least be well-behaved in front of Frederick the Great.

For details, please refer to Roon, the first ship girl to receive psychological counseling.

"Well, since the Commander has said so... it's been a long time since I've taken care of a child, I'm really looking forward to it."

Frederick the Great stroked his cheek, his face filled with longing.

Seeing her expression, Ren Shuo and Changmen exchanged a glance and silently mourned for Prince Rupprecht.

They could already imagine the miserable daily life of that brat in the days to come.

"Speaking of which, didn't you two participate in this competition?" Ren Shuo was very curious. Frederick the Great and Nagato were both very powerful, right?

Nagato's face tightened: "I...I'm not good at these martial arts."

Frederick the Great was also somewhat troubled: "I'm just a musician, not suited for these things."

Nagato was a standard turret-type battleship, and it had its own White Fox Guardian spell for close combat. As for Frederick the Great...

Although they don't deliberately pursue close combat, they are not afraid of being approached by enemies.

Even if he couldn't beat it, his dragon, which he had raised for many years, was no pushover. Even if Ning Hai and the others were entangled by this dragon, it would still take them some effort.

With the current modifications, Longlong can now instantly return to Frederick the Great's side regardless of distance.

That's why the two of them didn't participate, because while the weapons were usable, they were biological in nature and therefore unusable.

"Oh, I see... I'm planning to go check out the competition venue. It seems the qualifiers are over, and the official matches are tomorrow. Do you want to come along?"

Ren Shuo extended an invitation.