I'll kill you after I finish this game!

Reiji, who maintained an ethereal demeanor, revealed a slight smile on his expressionless face. Every time the ship girls broke through a barrier, the data of the Mind Cube would be updated and recorded to facilitate targeted adjustments for later enhancement.

"Yes, thank you for your help, Commander. If possible, I would like to ask you to personally conduct combat training for me later."

Having her intentions revealed, Bismarck's indifferent expression softened into a stunning smile, making her look incredibly beautiful and captivating.

Don't say that the ship girl Bismarck would give Reiji a hard time; that's just her personality. Reiji knows this, so he doesn't mind and doesn't need to make any useless changes for her.

As long as the commander of a ship girl created by the ship girl herself isn't completely rotten, the ship girl is willing to give everything for her.

Bismarck is not a puppet; she has her own thoughts. Reiji and she respect each other, and Bismarck also recognizes Reiji's qualities and strength in all aspects and is proud to have such a commander.

Bismarck wholeheartedly agreed with the training plans for ship girls that Reiji had come up with. As for ship girls like Cheshire who were temporarily lagging behind in strength, Bismarck had a "disappointed in their lack of progress" attitude and wanted to urge them to become stronger as soon as possible. She had no malice or ill will towards them.

Ship girls are beautiful battle spirits, and Bismarck is not just a pretty face; she has a strong pursuit of strength.

In terms of pursuing strength, Bismarck was confident that her commander was no different from herself, so the two got along quite well in some aspects.

"Let's talk as we walk. The other ship girls should have finished their training and returned to port by now."

Rezer gave Cheshire a wink, and Cheshire obediently released Rezer's arm, her eyes clearly showing reluctance, but she couldn't do anything to cause her beloved too much trouble.

Cheshire is quite confident in this regard.

As he walked, he carefully examined the bodies of the aloof and elegant women around him, meticulously investigating Bismarck's changes through the connected mental network.

This undisguised and blatant gaze seemed to penetrate Bismarck's body, and even though Bismarck was a rather cold person, she couldn't help but blush a little.

After all, aside from her personality, she is also a girl.

Reiji's gaze held no impurity; he was simply observing Bismarck's changes.

"Yes, the energy reserves of the Mind Cube in your body have changed significantly, and the energy level has reached the threshold for using that equipment."

After gaining a thorough understanding, Reiji showed a satisfied smile. Bismarck had inherited something from him, one of which was his violent spiritual pressure. As a result, her mental cube energy was much greater than that of other ship girls.

Moreover, Bismarck's energy level and capacity have now increased, which is perfect for modifying that 'black hole cannon' onto her.

"Commander, is it some kind of special equipment?"

When equipment was mentioned, Bismarck immediately became interested, considering herself a tough soldier and taking her weapons very seriously.

He always carries gold-plated equipment, which he started crafting himself after Lei Zhe analyzed his gear.

Special equipment is custom-made by the commander for the ship girl's area of ​​expertise. If the ship girl's level increases and her connection with the commander she has a contract with deepens, she will also receive power suitable for herself from Raiji.

Bismarck knew that the special power within her came from Reiji. She herself envied Laffey, the max-level expert, who could beat them up as easily as beating children during training. Their attacks couldn't even touch the hem of Laffey's clothes.

"Don't worry, I personally prepared this powerful weapon for you."

Rezhe smiled and transmitted the data and images of his modified quantum compression cannon directly to Pismarine via the mental network.

Bismarck's eyes widened as he received the information in his mind, revealing obvious anticipation and joy.

As one of the top female warriors in Ironblood, she has a fondness for weapons with insane destructive power.

"Honey, do I have any?"

Cheshire, watching the two's exchange, said with a hint of resentment, "I wonder if Bismarck has the powerful weapon I personally prepared for her."

“When each ship girl reaches a certain strength, I will prepare a gift suitable for her.” Reiji was very perceptive of the emotions of the big cat beside him, and looked at Cheshire with a teasing look on his face, saying, “You are no exception, but you have to catch up with Bismarck’s strength first. My gift also requires sufficient strength to handle.”

Upon hearing this, Bismarck's cold and beautiful face revealed a haughty smile. She glanced at Cheshire, who was looking at her with a defiant expression, and her eyes conveyed a very clear meaning.

'Work hard! Only powerful ship girls can catch the commander's eye. If you're not good enough, all you do is act cute all day; you'll always just be a little kid in his eyes who needs his attention.'

'Hmph! You're like a lump of iron all day long; the Commander will never treat you like a girl, and that's all you'll ever be!'

Although Reizer didn't see it with his eyes, he 'saw' the bismarck and Cheshire cat fighting, which looked like noble Persian cats, through the vibrations.

Now, in his eyes, the two beautiful girls really were like Scarlett, cats of different styles and breeds, secretly competing with each other.

Just as Rai Zhe and the two ship girls walked out of his office, a familiar and friendly greeting almost shattered Rai Zhe's calm and composed mind.

"Hey, kid."

The White Eagle ship girl has the appearance of a traditional Western woman. Her appearance and temperament make her seem like a kind and optimistic older sister. After seeing Rai Zhe, she greeted him with a cheerful smile.

She approached him very naturally, put her hand on Lei Zhe's shoulder, and acted like they were buddies.

"Hmm, the mental network connection is very active. It must be the Commander himself. I don't know if I should say it's been a long time."

Nevada, with a hearty smile on his face, put his arm around the expressionless Razer like an older brother, not caring at all about the difference between men and women.

Seeing Razer in person brought a little joy to Nevada. Aside from the moment she opened her eyes at birth and saw Razer, and greeted him with a roar, the first thing Nevada saw was Razer's stiff expression.

The emotional fluctuations transmitted through the mental network had a strange, frozen feel to them. Nevada, who didn't perceive any other emotions, assumed that her commander was a shy, introverted, and unsociable little boy.

In reality, Raiji experienced a heart attack, something that many Azur Lane players go through.

Although they don't dislike Nevada, when playing Azur Lane, no commander would not feel like Razer just from hearing her voice.

Now, hearing Nevada's cheerful voice always triggers a subconscious reaction.

"Nevada, don't be disrespectful to my children."

A ship girl with a strong presence and a commanding aura, who was sitting at her desk handling port affairs, tapped Nevada.

Dressed in black ship uniform, her skirt trailing on the ground, the red ship uniform on her head resembling two menacing horns, her golden eyes radiating a mixture of majesty and tender maternal affection as she looked at Rai Zhe.

Of course, the gentle motherly attitude is directed at Rezer, while the authoritative one is for Nevada.

This is Frederick the Great, a heavyweight born from the second phase of the Razer Research Ship, the pinnacle of Ironblood battleships.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just a little happy to see the Commander in person."

Although not from the same series of ship girls, Nevada, who originally belonged to the Eagle Union series, also had an embarrassed expression on her face, showing the utmost respect for this Ironblood ship girl.

If she is the leader, then Frederick the Great is the biggest leader and big brother. Few ship girls can surpass her in terms of prestige, not even Bismarck beside Reiji.

"Greetings, Frederick the Great."

Bismarck greeted Frederick with great respect, her demeanor and tone lacking her usual coldness, showing great respect and admiration for this ship girl who was superior to her in strength and every other aspect.

"Hmm, it seems you've been working very hard, Bismarck, and your progress in strength is quite good."

Friedrich smiled and responded to her Ironblood ship girl junior. As a 'mother,' she was very gratified by Bismarck, a meticulous and hardworking ship girl.

The stronger the other ship girls are, the more they can help her child and share his worries and troubles.

However, someone doesn't want to be a child.

"Frederick, stop calling me 'kid' all the time. Can't you just call me by my name properly instead of 'commander'?"

Rezé was somewhat frustrated by Frederick's childlike way of addressing him; he was no longer a little child who needed protection.

It wasn't like that before, it wasn't like that in my past life, and it's not like that in this life either.

Reiger felt a little resistant to Frederick the Great's strong maternal qualities.

Firstly, it would remind him of his deceased mother.

Secondly, it would unconsciously project the image of his mother from his memories onto Frederick.

Both her mother in her past life and this life are irreplaceable, and Reige did not want to seek their presence in Frederick, as that would be bad for everyone, even if Frederick the Great himself did not mind.

“My proud child, whether it is the deep contractual bond between us or my own intuition, it tells me that you have not yet fully grown up.”

With a mature and inclusive maternal smile on her gentle and delicate face, Frederick casually handed a piece of scrap paper from her desk to the living dragon-shaped ship equipment beside her.

The ferocious dragon-head-shaped ship equipment, like Frederick's little pet, opened its huge mouth and bit the useless scraps of paper into pieces, swallowing them whole and burning them to ashes.

"Even if you are mature and strong now, and don't need our ship girls' protection for the time being, the growth I recognize comes from the inner heart."

Frederick's gentle golden eyes seemed to pierce through Rez's body and even his heart, clearly seeing the unhealed wounds deep within him, which made him resist anyone entering this area.

This gaze made Rezhe very uncomfortable; the strongest fluctuation in his mental network came from the man standing before him, Frederick the Great.

Despite being a ship girl who was only recently created, she is as mature as an elder who has seen through everything.

Friedrich, with an undisguised maternal aura that appeared unmistakable to the other ship girls, conveyed her feelings to Reiji. A tender, intoxicating smile graced her face as she slightly raised her finger, pointing to Reiji's heart, and said:

"But my child's still somewhat innocent heart tells me that it needs me, and that my existence is necessary."

"I will accept you completely and remove everything that stands in your way... So, leave your cold rationality to your opponents on the battlefield. In front of me, you don't need to suppress yourself; just be as spoiled as you want, my child..."

This is why Reiji is somewhat inexplicably resistant to Frederick; she seems to understand Reiji better than any other ship girl.

However, his understanding was too profound, so profound that Reiji was extremely uncomfortable with it. His heart, which was not yet fully open to anyone outside of Nep, was very sensitive to such straightforward and explicit behavior.

Last time, only the mature version of the Little Saint managed to do it with that holy and all-encompassing demeanor.

It's not that Frederick is inferior to Saint Peter, it's just that Reiger's inner capacity hasn't reached that level yet, no matter how deeply he opens his heart to someone else.

If Reiji hadn't met Little Saint, Frederick would have only needed a little time to enter the deeper parts of Reiji's heart, but that path had already been paved and blocked by a god.

It's impossible to replicate Xiao Sheng's appearance from that time.

"..."

Faced with Frederick, who exuded a maternal aura that seemed almost tangible and smiled with open arms, Rezé's lips twitched, unsure of what to say. He was not good at dealing with Frederick and didn't know what to do.

So he looked to Bismarck for help.

Bismarck avoided Reiji's gaze, pulling his military cap down as if he couldn't see him.

If the commander isn't good at dealing with this, is she good at dealing with Frederick?

P.S.: Please vote and recommend! Frederick (Whitebeard #): Be my son!

Chapter Seventeen: Dies irae - Everything is Ready

"Phew! Finally, training is over and I can rest."

Suddenly, the office door opened, and a voice full of arrogance followed, breaking the awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere in the room.

A hint of displeasure flashed in Friedrich's golden eyes as he looked somewhat resentfully at Reiji, who had already focused his attention on the three ship girls who had just entered the room.

Although her child was somewhat sensitive, he didn't dislike her, so he certainly wouldn't reject her, Frederick knew that.

If she had just waited a little while, Lei Zhe certainly wouldn't have been so rude as to directly refuse her, but now she's been interrupted.

"Hey! Everyone's here, and... even the Commander himself!?"

Rafie, whom Lei Zhe knew best, was happily drinking a beverage, her clothes loose and revealing her delicate, fair shoulders.

At the very back was a ship girl who also belonged to the Ironblood faction. She had a seemingly gentle smile on her face, which deepened when she saw Raiji herself, and a more fervent ignited in her beautiful eyes.