How do I start a romantic relationship with a ship girl?

Page 23

If we stay here for a while based on this amount of food...

I estimate that not only will I not recover, but I'll also lose weight.

However, seeing Belfast's expectant expression, he hesitated for a moment and finally used a very tactful way to remind her. After all, living in someone else's house and eating their food, although it can be understood as compensation earned through one's own labor, it is still not possible to make demands too directly.

"Master, how do you feel?"

"It was delicious, thank you for the treat... Next time you can give me a bigger portion."

Chapter Thirty-Two: Roses

"Also, have any of your chefs been to... gone to Donghuang for further training?"

"Donghuang? It's quite far from here, so there aren't any Manju chefs in our camp who have gone to Donghuang for further training yet... Master, do you prefer Donghuang cuisine?" Belfast, having noted the insufficient portion size, asked with some curiosity.

Due to the distance, their royal family and the Eastern Empire did not have much interaction.

Xu Huan smiled, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes: "Hmm... I used to eat this all the time back in my hometown, so I guess I'm used to it. Besides, I'd like to try some Donghuang cuisine here..."

The home planet of the Human Alliance is fundamentally Earth, but starting with Tianjin IV is a more accurate description.

Tianjin No. 4 Middle School also had people from the Eastern Huang people who were originally on Earth, and they made up a considerable number of people, including Xu Huan.

It was precisely because of this group of people that Donghuang cuisine was introduced to Tianjin and developed a unique flavor that differed from the original eight major cuisines. It is also something that Xu Huan has been eating since childhood.

As for the cuisine of the Eastern Kingdom on Earth... Xu Huan has never tasted it before, so he is very curious.

Belfast said, "Finding a chef from the Eastern Empire, Manju, is quite difficult. There are probably Eastern Empire restaurants in human cities, and you can try them if you don't mind the trouble, but they'll most likely have been modified and incorporated with our royal flavors. Finding something truly authentic is quite difficult, but..."

"But what?" the young man asked curiously.

Upon hearing the earlier words, Xu Huan was already considering giving up, but Belfast's words took an unexpected turn at the end.

"We do have a ship girl in our Royal Navy who has some connection with the Eastern Empire. Although I haven't heard that she's good at cooking Eastern cuisine, Master could give it a try."

"Who?"

“It’s the one I mentioned to the master this morning…” Belfast opened the closed window a crack again, and a faint scent of roses immediately rushed in.

“Aurora, by the way, she also has another name.”

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That evening, after another afternoon of studying, Xu Huan followed Belfast's advice and went to a secluded little garden.

He rarely visits someone directly for a simple need, let alone just for a meal.

But Aurora's other name is very meaningful to him—he had heard it countless times from his elders before he grew up.

And that one name was the real reason for this visit.

The silver-haired head maid was supposed to accompany him, but Xu Huan felt bad for troubling her all day, so he simply made up an excuse to refuse and told her to go about her own business.

The garden was not far from where he lived, which is why a faint fragrance of roses would waft into Xu Huan's house every day.

Along the cobblestone path, swathes of roses lay quietly in the twilight sunlight, their orange and red hues blending into a hazy, dreamlike scene, shimmering as if with a faint glow, exuding a captivating fragrance.

The roadside garden was very well maintained, and the soil was perfectly moist. Not a single weed could be seen, which showed that the garden owner was very hardworking and took good care of it.

Xu Huan stopped walking as soon as he finished thinking this.

Not far away, a girl dressed in a white dress with long golden hair was squatting on the ground, holding a small hoe, seemingly weeding and loosening the soil in the garden.

She was focused on the work at hand, her emerald green eyes fixed on her garden, meticulous in every detail. Occasionally, a few drops of sweat slid down her soft face. Perhaps due to the exertion, her originally fair skin appeared somewhat rosy under the sunlight.

Perhaps sensing something, or perhaps the shadows of dusk were lengthening and illuminating her side, the girl paused slightly in her movements.

Then, she looked up, her emerald-like eyes meeting his gaze, and then she stood up somewhat hastily.

Her face was cute, and she still looked young, but her chest was heavy, which was completely inconsistent with her cute face.

The girl was a little nervous, even her movements of taking off her gloves were somewhat clumsy. She patted her chest and revealed a smile that looked very proper but couldn't hide her nervousness.

"Commander, hello...."

"Did my arrival bother you? Why are you so nervous?"

Xu Huan wasn't surprised that the other party knew his identity. The fact that Aurora was so close to him meant that she had probably already been told what to do.

“Ah, no… Miss Belfast told me you live nearby, I just didn’t expect to meet you so soon.” Aurora quickly shook her head to deny it, then added, “I saw you last night, but you didn’t seem to be in a good state, so I didn’t go up to say hello.”

After rambling on for a while, Aurora suddenly realized she hadn't formally introduced herself yet, and the Commander might not even know her name. So she lifted her skirt and gave a slight bow:

"Um, I haven't introduced myself yet... Greetings, Commander, I am the fourth ship of the Aretosha-class light cruiser—Aurora."

Looking at the ship girl lifting her skirt in front of him, Xu Huan suddenly felt a little confused.

As Hu Teng had previously told him, besides having a kind and gentle nature, the most important thing for becoming a commander is gaining the approval of the ship girls...

Having encountered so many Royal Navy ship girls, including Aurora in front of me, why did I gain their approval without doing anything?

It was only their first meeting, and they were already calling him "Commander"...

Illustrious and Belfast, and even the ship girl called Monarch, can all be attributed to their own strength. Warspite can be attributed to the fact that she did the Royal Navy a great favor. But what about Aurora in front of us?

The Royal Navy ship girls seem to have a more naturally friendly attitude than those of other factions? Or is there some other reason?

Xu Huan couldn't quite figure it out. So far, he had only encountered two ship girls outside the Royal Navy faction, Little Octopus and Hu Teng. The sample size was too small to make a judgment easily.

“Um, Commander…?” Aurora waited for a while without getting a response, then looked up, her pale green eyes filled with doubt.

Did I do something wrong?

"Ah, I'm sorry... I just suddenly thought of something." Quickly putting his doubts aside for the time being, Xu Huan returned the bow to Aurora.

"Xu Huan, please give me your guidance."

Chapter Thirty-Three: Preparation

Aurora's house looks no different from Xu Huan's house from the outside; both are two-story villas.

It should be said that apart from the central palace, all the other royal buildings look the same, especially to Xu Huan, an outsider who knows nothing about architecture.

However, once inside, a traditional Eastern Huang decorative style immediately comes into view.

The first thing that catches the eye is an exquisite wooden carved screen, decorated with landscapes and flowers, the lines flowing and lifelike. The mahogany table and chairs in front of the screen are smooth and shiny, and on the table sits a blue and white porcelain vase with a few sprigs of green bamboo, adding a touch of elegance to the room.

The tea table next to it was made of a special kind of mahogany, which emitted a faint fragrance. The purple clay teaware that Xu Huan had only seen in history books was neatly arranged.

The fragrance of flowers from the garden wafts in, mingling with the subtle scent of redwood, creating a tranquil and comfortable atmosphere.

Clean, tidy, and bright.

This was Xu Huan's first impression of the house where Aurora lived.

"Commander... the house is a bit messy, it's been a long time since we've had any guests, please don't mind too much." Only after entering the house did Aurora's tense little face relax slightly.

It was their first meeting, and the girl was still a bit too nervous.

She wanted to take out slippers from the shoe cabinet, but after searching for a long time, she couldn't find any that looked suitable for Xu Huan.

Unfortunately, this was the first time an "outsider" other than her family had visited the house, and it was so sudden that she hadn't made any preparations beforehand.

"I'm sorry... I didn't prepare the commander's size."

Xu Huan, seeing the apology in Aurora's eyes, joked:

"Does this mean... I can interpret it as, 'Wait until you've prepared slippers that fit me before you come to visit?'"

"No, no!? I used the wrong words, please don't take offense, Commander."

The ship girl hurriedly shook her head, and then, as if to prove something, she walked past Xu Huan, closed the door behind him, and blocked the way out with her body.

It wouldn't be good if the commander ran away because of a single wrong word.

"Actually, you can just step in directly, Commander."

"real....?"

Xu Huan looked at the wet mud on the soles of his shoes from walking through the garden, then looked at the clean, bright wooden floor inside the house.

To be honest, even someone as unconcerned with details as him felt a little reluctant to step on it and 'stain' this clean and bright area.

"Um...you don't mind if I take off my shoes, do you?"

Having already mastered psionic energy, Xu Huan naturally wouldn't have the so-called problem of bacteria on his feet. However, seeing the floor in front of him so clean, he worried that the ship girl might have obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"Yes, it's possible, but the floor is quite cold. Is the Commander alright? Miss Belfast asked us to take good care of Mr. Xu Huan..."

"Okay, then I'm the commander, listen to me."

The two lingered for a while before finally going around the screen and entering the room.

It was here that Xu Huan finally understood what Aurora meant by "somewhat chaotic".

Compared to the clean and tidy outer room, the room in front of him was filled with all kinds of pruned and trimmed roses, as well as countless packets of seeds and various small tools for gardeners. The things were piled up messily, and at a glance, Xu Huan couldn't even find a place to stand.

Even though she had prepared herself mentally, Aurora's face still turned bright red the moment she saw Xu Huan's stunned expression.

Her home is usually not this messy. She has been cultivating new varieties of plants these past few days and forgot to tidy up. And then, unfortunately, Xu Huan came to visit.

Her previously reserved and ladylike demeanor shattered completely at this moment.