Elder brother's garrison

Page 1007

In the past, Xiaobai, who loves children, wouldn't have minded playing with these kids. But now, time is tight, and she wanted to have a private chat with Jinghua's teacher. Putting Jinghua aside, the presence of these other children is making things a bit difficult for Xiaobai.

"Ahem." Seemingly noticing the difficulty in Xiaobai's eyes, Shenhai Yamato, who rarely spoke, glanced at Xiaobai's face, coughed lightly twice, and patted the heads of the two children closest to Xiaobai. "That's right, the older sisters all came from a very—big—city."

"Wow! Really?! Big sister, can you tell me what's over there?!"

"I've heard there are a lot of cars in big cities, is that true?"

"Hmph, these were all top secrets to begin with, but since you've asked so earnestly, I'll mercifully tell you." Deep Sea Yamato took a step to the side. "In big cities, there are very long streets, filled with cars whizzing by. There are wide parks along the roads, with fountains and white pigeons by the fountains. The pigeons often play with the ducks by the river, and every noon, many pretentious... ugh, I mean, affectionate older brothers and sisters come to feed the pigeons..."

"Wow, this looks like so much fun!"

"These aren't really the most fun things. The most fun thing is that every month on the 15th, there's a small anime convention in the city center. Inside there..."

As he spoke, Yamato Shinkai led the two children he had just photographed toward the other side.

The children present, including Kyouka, were immediately captivated by Fukami Yamato's gentle and pleasant voice and the meaning behind his words, and subconsciously followed Fukami Yamato back to his seat.

Shiro finally breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Yamato lead the children away.

A slow sound of footsteps reached Xiaobai's ears.

Xiao Bai turned her head and saw Jinghua's teacher walk up to her.

"That ship girl... is very popular with children." Kyoka's teacher glanced at Abyssal Yamato, who was playing with children, and said to Shiro, "...she will probably become a good mother or a good wife in the future."

"Uh……"

Xiaobai looked at Jinghua's teacher awkwardly, almost failing to say the sentence that was on the tip of her tongue: "She's not a ship girl, she's the Dean of the Deep Sea."

Good morning, grandpa.

"Good morning." Mirror Flower's teacher covered her mouth, her gaze lingering on Pompeii for a moment. "This morning in the village center, you all seemed to be..."

"It's us." Xiaobai nodded, a helpless smile on her face. "You haven't mistaken us for someone else..."

"..." Kyoka-sensei paused for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

"I'm sorry... I think I've caused you trouble," Xiaobai said.

“It’s no trouble at all.” Jinghua’s teacher turned his gaze away from Pompeii and took a deep breath. “I know why you came to me this time. The mercenary group is far weaker than you, and I know all about his little tricks. Rather than entrusting such a rogue with unknown origins, I choose to continue to trust and rely on you.”

"Oh, I see. Well then, thank you for believing in us, Grandpa." Xiaobai smiled at Jinghua's teacher.

"You're welcome."

"...By the way, let me ask you something else." Xiaobai's gaze shifted to Deep Sea Yamato, who was surrounded by a group of mischievous children not far away. "Grandpa, are you... really a teacher here?"

"I guess so. But it's not official."

"Huh? What do you mean by 'not formal'?"

“When I’m resting at the village school, I sometimes tutor Jinghua like this. At first, people from the surrounding area saw that there was a class here and sent their children over for me to tutor. Later, I found that it was effective, and word spread from one family to another. Inexplicably, when I was resting at the school, I ended up having quite a few more children,” Jinghua’s teacher said.

"...Oh, it's an after-school tutoring class..."

“I didn’t take any money.” Kyoka’s teacher said, then looked at the children surrounding Abyss Yamato, and took a deep breath. “Are you rested enough? Let’s continue the lesson.”

Teacher Jinghua's voice was not loud.

But it has a certain teacherly authority.

Upon hearing Ms. Jinghua's voice, the children rushed back to their seats one by one.

Xiaobai said goodbye to Jinghua and her teacher with a look, and left Jinghua's house with the ship girls.

"Ha... It's finally over. Seriously, kids are so annoying..." Yamato Fukami rubbed his shoulders, pouting and complaining to Shiro with an unhappy expression.

"Hahaha..." Xiaobai smiled as he looked at Shenhai Yamato.

"As expected of Yamato-senpai, you accomplished something Missouri couldn't do with ease." Missouri smiled as she looked at Deep Sea Yamato.

"...Hey, are you implying something?"

"No, no, Missouri is being sincere. After all, to be honest, even Missouri can't handle so many children..." Missouri bowed her head earnestly to Yamato Akami.

"...Why do I always feel like you're looking down on me?"

"No, no, Missouri seriously believes that you, Yamato-senpai, will definitely be a virtuous wife and loving mother in the future," Missouri said with a smile.

"A virtuous wife and loving mother... What nonsense are you talking about..." Deep Sea Yamato was taken aback and subconsciously glanced at Shiro.

"Does Yamato-senpai prefer boys or girls?"

"Huh? Are you kidding me? I hate kids the most!"

"Is that right?"

"of course!"

“…Ah, it seems Missouri misunderstood…I’m very sorry.”

"Hmph." Yamato crossed his arms and looked at the distant ocean.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...a girl."

"Ok?"

"If the world is about to be destroyed, and my choice can save it," Yamato Akagi replied, her face flushed, "...then a girl."

"Ouch."

Chapter 1312 Suspicious Mercenary Group

As for the little episode about whether Deep Sea Daiwa actually likes children, since Xiaobai and the others still have things to do, let's leave it at that for now.

After briefly discussing what to do next with the ship girls, Shiro and the ship girls left Kyouka's house and hurried back to the small inn.

More than an hour has passed since the events of this morning, and most of the villagers have learned that a mercenary group has appeared in their village and that something ominous may have happened in the nearby sea.

Along the way, villagers gathered in twos and threes along the street, whispering about what happened that morning. Their faces showed a mixture of suspicion and fear, and the whole village seemed to be filled with unease.

Xiao Bai didn't really like this atmosphere.

Although the sea area was polluted by deep-sea air, it was clear that because Jinghua's teacher discovered it very early, the sea area was not so bad that it would cause an entire village to panic.

The reason these villagers felt somewhat panicked was mostly due to the appearance of the mercenary group this morning and their disorientation at the unknown changes in the sea.

Now that the villagers are all talking about the mercenary group, Xiaobai took the opportunity to use the ship girl's hearing to inquire about the current status of the mercenary group this morning from the villagers' conversation.

—Just as Pompeii had just said.

The mercenary leader was attacked by "unknown individuals" this morning and received a solid flying kick, which forced him into a state of shock. He has not yet regained consciousness.

Because the captain was still unconscious, and the mercenary group's ship girls were too busy rescuing him to see who had committed the crime, they were unable to search for the suspect in the village.

The village inn couldn't accommodate a mercenary group, so the group simply borrowed a patch of open ground near the village gate, set up rows of small tents, and temporarily camped out there.

After getting a general idea of ​​the mercenary group's current situation, Xiaobai breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the mercenary group was large enough that the small inn in this village couldn't accommodate them all.

Otherwise, I estimate that when I returned to the inn, I would have been met with a fierce battle (for the mercenary group).

Realizing that their situation wasn't as passive as they seemed, Xiaobai felt relieved and swaggered back to the inn with the ship girls.

When Xiaobai and the others returned to the small inn, a beautiful figure in red had been waiting at the entrance for a long time.

Zara was holding her red umbrella, waiting for Xiaobai and the others at the door.

Look at Zara's expression.

She probably learned about this morning's events from the villagers.

"Zara." Xiaobai greeted Zara.

"Admiral Xiaobai." Upon seeing Xiaobai and the others, Zara's face showed a hint of relief. She silently stepped forward, first bowing slightly to Xiaobai, and then her gaze shifted slightly towards Pompeii.

“I just heard that a mercenary group has appeared in the village, and their leader was even beaten up by a very agile person…” Zara glanced at Pompeii beside Little White, “Could it be…”

“Uh.” Pompeii lowered his head. “It’s me.”

“…I knew it.” Zara sighed, somewhat helpless but seemingly unsurprised. She bowed to Xiaobai, “I’m so sorry, Admiral Xiaobai, my companion has caused you and your ship girl trouble.”

"It's okay, it's okay, it's already happened... I'm fine."

Xiao Bai waved his hand.

This is the truth.

Xiaobai really doesn't mind.

"I'm very sorry. Anyway, I'll try to resolve this matter with Pompeii on our own, and try not to hinder Admiral Xiaobai's work..."

"No, no, Zara, listen to me." Little White quickly stopped Zara from speaking. "I've already talked to Pompeii, and we'll work together to resolve this."

"This... I can't possibly accept this..."

“That mercenary group and I have business conflicts too, I’ll have to talk to them sooner or later.” Xiaobai flashed a bright V-sign at Zara. “With you and Pompeii around, I feel a little more at ease, right? You guys, don’t even think about going solo.”

This person truly lives and learns.

The reason Missouri used to persuade Pompeii was quickly learned by Xiaobai and used to persuade Zara.

Missouri's reasoning was very simple, but it had a logic that Zara couldn't refuse.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Zara finally understood Xiaobai's desire to help her and Pompeii, and a hint of gratitude crossed her face.

"Zara will remember Admiral Xiaobai's kindness." Zara bowed to Xiaobai again.

"You're welcome. We're all in this together, aren't we?"

"Admiral Xiaobai is right."

"Waaah, I knew it! Zara, you knew you hadn't misjudged me!" Pompeii, also moved, reached out and hugged Little White, rubbing his fair face against Little White's head.

Zara silently watched Xiaobai and Pompeii, a somewhat relieved smile appearing on her face.

"Can't we wait a bit before we get intimate?" Yamato pouted as she watched Pompeii and Shiro hugging and snatching Shiro from Pompeii's arms. "We still have enemies to deal with."

"Ah, you're right, you're right!" Pompeii scratched his head sheepishly, then looked at Little White, "Admiral Little White, so next we..."

"Didn't I say before that I'm not really good at taking the initiative? Let's just wait for their reaction," Xiaobai said with a smile.

"...Is this really okay...?"

"I think there shouldn't be any problem, right?" Xiaobai said, casting a questioning glance at Missouri.

“Missouri doesn’t think there’s a problem either,” Missouri said to Xiaobai with a smile.

"Shall we just wait here?" Pompeii asked.

“According to Missouri’s observations, the pollution level on the coast is still very low. At that level of pollution, even if we leave it for another ten days or two weeks, no deep-sea amphibious ships will appear. The patrol priority isn’t very high.” Missouri smiled at Pompeii. “Why don’t we stay together? That way, we can help each other if any special situations arise, right?”

“Uh…that makes sense…” Pompeii.

“However, although the Admiral said we’re waiting here for their reaction… we’re not just standing here waiting for trouble to come knocking. The weather’s nice too, Senior Pompeii, Senior Zara, would you mind sharing a little about your experiences dealing with mercenary groups?” Missouri said to Pompeii.

“Experience…that’s true.” Pompeii nodded in agreement after hearing Missouri’s words. She crossed her arms and thought for a moment. “But now, if you ask me to speak…I don’t know where to begin…”

“Well, if Senior Pompeii doesn’t mind, could you start by talking about what kind of organization a mercenary group is? Missouri is quite curious about that,” Missouri said with a smile.

"Oh, what kind of organization is it?" Pompeii nodded, suddenly inspired. She counted on her fingers, "Most mercenary groups are greedy, profit-driven, money-obsessed, and all they talk about is money!"

"All the characteristics Pompeii mentioned...aren't they all the same thing..." Xiaobai smiled.

“You mean you’re very profit-driven… Missouri understands.” Missouri nodded, touched her lips with her finger, and thought for a moment. “Hmm… but that’s a bit strange.”

"Huh? Missouri, what do you mean by strange?" Xiaobai's attention was drawn to Missouri's words.

"Did I just say something strange?" Pompeii looked at Missouri with a puzzled expression.

"Hmm?" Missouri looked up at Little White and Pompeii. She recovered and smiled. "Ah, sorry, Missouri just started talking to herself again."

"That's fine, but Missouri, could you explain to us what you just said about feeling strange?"

"Are you referring to the strange thing you felt in Missouri just now?"

"Ah."

"That's right," Missouri said to Xiaobai. "Just now, Senior Pompeii used four different descriptive methods to describe the profit-seeking nature of mercenary groups. This basically shows that mercenary groups are indeed organizations that value profit quite a bit."

“That’s right.” Xiaobai nodded.