Elder brother's garrison

Page 834

"Uh-huh……"

Lying quietly on the ground, Veneto, who hadn't moved for a long time, finally let out a murmur amidst the agonizing wait in Rome.

Roma, who was sitting next to Veneto with his legs wrapped around his thighs, turned pale at an alarming speed the moment Veneto spoke, and his body began to tremble involuntarily.

"……Uh-huh?"

After making a series of sounds, Veneto, half-asleep, finally raised his hand, supporting himself on the ground while muttering to himself, and slowly lifted himself up from the ground.

"...What's wrong? My neck is a little sore."

Veneto rubbed his neck and sat up from the ground, somewhat puzzled.

My bottom feels cold.

The floor tiles are hard.

Looked up.

The sun was hanging directly overhead.

It was already midday with bright sunshine.

Veneto sat there, head held high, stunned for a long time.

The memory was a step behind, slowly flowing back into Veneto's mind from the void.

Veneto remembered.

This morning, while I was having breakfast, the military police called me out for a spot check. Apparently, there was a little rascal in the military police who said that my powerful and mighty self didn't look like a battleship, which almost triggered my anger. Fortunately, I intervened in time and calmed him down.

Veneto echoed.

Then the admiral was still arrested by the military police. She and the other ship girls followed her to the entrance of the military police stairwell. After waiting for a few minutes, Hood said that Xiaobai might have been arrested and wanted to go in to negotiate and force the people inside to hand over Xiaobai.

Of course, the other ship girls unanimously agreed that Hood was indeed too hasty; it had only been a few minutes, and she shouldn't have gone in to negotiate so soon.

So, under the watchful eyes of the other ship girls, Bismarck used physical persuasion on the completely unsuspecting Hood, knocking her unconscious with a single slash.

After settling the admiral in, everyone waited for several tens of minutes.

Then I started to panic. The admiral hadn't reacted for several tens of minutes, so he was probably really captured. That's why I was going to discuss with everyone about breaking in and rescuing Xiaobai before she got hurt... and then... and then...

And then what happened?

----hiss.

A sharp pain shot through the back of my neck.

The pain felt like being hit on a baseball, a single blow sending the memory of what followed straight to the back of the field.

Veneto frowned, rubbed his neck, and shook his head uncomfortably from side to side.

Ok?

Did Bismarck also convince me with physics?

Veneto recalled for a moment.

I vaguely remember that I was indeed attacked by Bismarck.

Veneto frowned, clearly displeased, and felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"...Rome, are you there? Are you alright? After I fainted, did you..." Veneto instinctively called out to his sister beside him, who rubbed her neck and turned her head to look around.

Then, Veneto saw Roma sitting on the ground beside him, his face pale, his pupils constricted, hugging his thighs, staring at him tremblingly, as if he had suffered some extreme fright that had scared him out of his wits.

"Shaking, shaking, shaking..."

Rome even trembled, leaving afterimages.

"……Rome?"

"Shaking, shaking, shaking..."

A hint of doubt flashed across Veneto's eyes.

There was a snap.

Veneto reached out and patted Roma on the shoulders, pressing down the illusory image that was shaking on Phantom Roma's body.

"Rome, as a battleship bearing glory, how can you show such a shameful face in front of your comrades? Is she still my sister?" Even though Veneto had some doubts, she still put her hand on Rome's shoulder and scolded her, "Three seconds to calm down."

Although Rome seemed to have suffered a ton of emotional damage, Veneto's special training of Rome had indeed yielded results. Just three seconds after Veneto finished speaking, Rome regained some of its senses.

"Ah... Big... Big Sister..." Roma stared blankly at the delicate face that was only a hand's width away from her own, her trembling gradually subsiding. "I... I..."

“What’s wrong? Tell me properly. With me here, what is there to be afraid of?” Veneto said.

"I... Waaaaaaah... Waaaaaahhhhh!" Roma burst into tears, whimpering as she hugged Veneto tightly, rubbing her face against Veneto's body. "Big Sister Veneto! Big Sister, waaaaaah! I was wrong! Big Sister! Big Sister Veneto! Big Sister Veneto, waaaaahhhhhh!"

Veneto stared blankly at Roma, who suddenly knelt on the ground, hugging her waist and bursting into tears. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed at first, but after a while, they relaxed with a hint of helplessness.

“Strictly speaking, even after I reminded you once, you still didn’t care about your image. I would have given you a good scolding right then and there, you good-for-nothing sister.” Veneto said, sighing, and reached out to stroke Roma’s head, her small gloved hand rubbing Roma’s fluffy green hair. “But this time will be an exception. I’ll punish you when we get back—don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

"Waaaaah!!!"

For some reason, Veneto felt that Rome, who was originally weeping, seemed to cry even harder when it heard Veneto say, "I'm here."

Veneto is strange.

In short, first settle the score with Bismarck for knocking me out, and then ask other people what happened when they fainted.

Veneto thought of this and looked around at himself.

The place I was in was still that same alley.

On the wall next to Hood, the now awake Hood was wrapped in a blanket and huddled there, holding a steaming cup of milk tea. She was slightly bent over, and unlike the elegant and dignified image she had seen in the naval base, she was muttering something to herself in a slightly resentful manner.

Veneto paused carefully.

It was discovered that Hu De kept muttering, "The German shipmen are still up to no good and have never given up their desire to harm me. I have never seen such shameless people. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't underestimate the ship girls. One day I will avenge my great grudge. I, Hu De, will make sure that the sky can no longer hide my eyes..." and so on.

Ok.

A flicker of surprise crossed Veneto's eyes.

Did Hu De, who always seemed so reliable and like a spiritual icon, actually have this side to him?

I've lost a lot of face.

But it also feels much more welcoming.

Veneto figured it wasn't a good time to talk to Hood, so she turned her head, thinking of looking for someone like Missouri or Akagi nearby.

I just turned around.

Then Akagi's voice rang out.

"Ah, Veneto, you're awake!"

Behind Veneto, Akagi, who had just finished filling a cup of milk tea with Kaga's help, was squatting in front of a milk tea machine that looked like it had been put there from somewhere. She walked towards Veneto with a big smile on her face.

"Here, you've been lying on the ground for so long, your body must be a bit chilly. Drink some of this to warm yourself up."

"Thank you." Veneto accepted Akagi's milk tea, then looked around, took a small sip, and asked, "Akagi, have you seen Missouri?"

"Missouri heard that the baby was about to be born and went home to think of a name."

"Pfft—" Veneto sprayed out a shower of white flowers.

"Hahaha... I didn't express myself clearly. It's not Missouri's child, it's her friend's child."

“…I see.” Veneto wiped his mouth, his eye twitching.

Looking at Akagi cupping her face with a gentle, unreserved smile, Veneto felt that what she had just said was intentional.

What happened after I fainted?

"I'm not too sure about that either, since I just woke up myself."

"Huh??? How come you're here too..."

“They really aren’t good at fighting,” Akagi chuckled. “There’s nothing we can do if we can’t beat them.”

"……All right."

Even Akagi has fallen victim to this.

This is Bismarck.

You've got quite a few tricks up your sleeve, haven't you?

But I still have to settle accounts with her.

Veneto, holding his milk tea, looked around and finally spotted Bismarck sitting opposite Saratoga in the direction closest to the alley entrance.

Bismarck's mental state seemed to be very poor.

Its two ears, which were originally held high (actually just hair), drooped down listlessly, and its once upright posture was now shrunk, like a small animal that had been severely scolded by its owner, silently munching on squid strips.

“…” Veneto scratched his head.

so.

What exactly happened during the time I fainted?

I feel like I've only been dizzy for a short while, and I'm already a bit out of touch with the times.

Seeing the usually composed and confident Bismarck showing such a downcast mood, even Veneto felt too embarrassed to cause trouble. She thought about it and figured that since Bismarck was also considering Xiaobai's feelings, she, as Xiaobai's marriage ship, could be more tolerant and forgiving.

Veneto sighed again and gave in.

"Roma, you're alright now, it's all over." Veneto patted Roma's head. "Don't be afraid."

Roma, who was trembling all over while holding Veneto, shuddered, then looked up in surprise, looking at Veneto with a mixture of confusion and relief.

"...Ah, boss...you mean...I'm alright??"

“Hmm.” Veneto looked at Roma as if it were the most natural thing for an older sister to protect her younger sister (from Bismarck).

"Ah!" Roma clasped her hands together in gratitude. "Big Sister...you...you were actually so kind...!"

"After all, I'm not some kind of demon."

"That's great! I, I, Roma, am finally!" Roma cried tears of joy, hugging Veneto even tighter. "Waaaaah, at first I thought you'd beat me to death after you woke up, but you actually spared my life, waaaaah, that's so great..."

"Huh? Wait a minute..."

"I couldn't help it, Rome! Waaaaah! It's all because Big Sister gets impulsive and won't listen to reason. If she had rushed in, our naval base and the military police would have been at odds! Waaaaah! That's why I did it! Waaaaah! I'm so sad about ambushing Big Sister! I feel so guilty! Waaaaah..."

“…” Veneto.

Oh wow.

Veneto took a deep breath.

The hand that holds the tea.

It trembled slightly.

So this is ah.

In Veneto's pupils, the red light gradually intensified.

"It's okay, if you feel guilty, just train even harder."

Amidst the utterly oblivious, weeping sounds of Rome, Veneto's voice relentlessly burst forth.

"Yes! Yes! I'll definitely train twice as hard this time! Whether it's five times, ten times, or twenty times, I'll work my best! Sis, just tell me! How many times!"

"Let's set a small goal first. How about a hundred million times?"

"Okay—uh? Hmm??"

Chapter 1099 Veneto's Growth

In the slightly cool alley, the milk tea machine was running non-stop, bubbling away, operated by Akagi and Kaga.

The sweet, milky aroma wafted through the air around Rome like silk threads.

A fine layer of sweat gradually appeared on Rome's smooth forehead.

Rome was sweating profusely.

"...Boss...uh, well, I think I just heard something about a rather astonishing order of magnitude..."

Rome's expression was incredibly strange; he even thought for a moment that he was hallucinating.