Revisit Azur Lane

Harman wasn't really stupid, but she genuinely couldn't understand Hermione's riddle-like words and made unintelligible sounds. Then she saw Hermione pause, put down her teacup and teapot, walk over to Zhou He's side, glance at him, and her whole demeanor changed in an instant, only to quickly return to normal.

"Is the commander asleep?"

Harman unconsciously lowered her voice and went around to the other side to check. Zhou He, who was sitting in a brown office chair, had his hands clasped together on his lower abdomen. His eyes, which usually looked at her with a smile, were closed, and he was so quiet that only his shallow breathing could be heard.

"What an idiot, you'll catch a cold if you sleep here at this hour."

Harman pouted and uttered what she considered the most accurate word: "idiot." She then turned and quickly left the office. Hermione, standing nearby, leaned forward slightly and noticed Zhou He's slightly furrowed brows, as if he too was experiencing some troubles in his sleep.

Two minutes later, Harman returned with a blanket. Hermione straightened up and helped Harman cover Zhou He with it before turning around and leaving with the tea tray.

A few noises came from the many rooms on the second floor, but the liveliest place was the lobby on the first floor. After the doors were closed, it no longer seemed like the lobby of the office building, but more like the central living room of a large family. The ship girls gathered there were some quiet and some active. The open space and the chairs and sofas in the lobby all had their own uses. Most noteworthy was the light on in the empty room next to the infirmary. Kaga was doing something inside. She turned around and came out to hang a sign on the door that said "Pet Storage".

"Pet storage? Kaga, did you get the commander's approval?"

People around had noticed long ago that a large iron cage had somehow been crammed into the previously empty room. Inside, a red fox looked miserable, huddled in a corner covered in tattered clothes, with water stains on its body and under the cage.

"I got Commander's approval to capture the fox, so there shouldn't be any problem here either."

Kaga looked at the person who asked the question, and it turned out to be Jarvis, the homeowner next door. She waved her hand casually: "I just saw that the Commander liked this fox quite a bit, otherwise I would have let it run away a long time ago."

"So, the reason you're torturing this fox like this is still because of the Commander?"

Zuikaku, who was passing by to watch the commotion, asked in surprise.

"Of course not. More than that, I want to train this fox more so that it can get used to our presence sooner."

Kaga's answer was sincere, but it revealed more of her terrible personality, causing the crowd to disperse. Jarvis stopped paying attention to Zhou He's permission and went into the room to check on the red fox's physical condition. There were no obvious external injuries, but from its messy, matted fur and mental state, it was clear that it had suffered a lot of stress, and it was purely by luck that it hadn't died.

"It's better to raise animals from a young age."

Hermione carried the tea tray to refill Hood and Bismarck's tea, paying no attention to Red Fox's condition, but instead glancing at Yuudachi, who was hanging out with Bush and U556.

"Ah."

Hud agreed, saying that to gain the loyalty of other people or animals, one must first show enough goodwill, then appeal to their emotions and reason with them, making them feel that they cannot live without you. In this way, you will naturally get an obedient pet.

"Did the commander say anything?"

Bismarck didn't want to get involved in that topic, but instead asked Hermione if Zhou He had said anything.

Hermione shook her head. Zhou He was already asleep, and even if he had something to say, she wouldn't be able to hear it.

"It seems the commander doesn't take these mass-produced models seriously."

Hu De took a sip of tea. She thought she knew Zhou He quite well: "When we usually go out to fight, the commander will give us a relatively detailed battle plan, but not this time. This means that the commander believes that although these mass-produced Sirens are numerous, they can not actually pose a great threat to us."

"It is what it is."

Bismarck was aware of this as well. After each sortie, their bodies and ship equipment would undergo slight changes. After multiple overlaps, she could clearly sense that the damage from the Sirens' shells hitting her was not as great as before.

This is a terrible change.

"However, well... there really isn't any other way but to wear them down."

Hu De also hoped to get some imaginative yet feasible tactics from Zhou He, and could only sigh that he was still a child at heart.

'I wonder what new companions the Commander will bring tomorrow?'

The two thought to themselves in silence.

……

When Zhou He woke up from his dream, the sky outside the window was already completely dark. He was stunned for a moment, then looked down at the blanket that had fallen down as he got up. He grabbed it and turned back to his office. Looking at the familiar handwriting in his notebook, he realized that he had fallen asleep listening to the rain.

She was even taken care of.

"It should be Hermione, right?"

He scratched his head. Anyone could come to the office, but Hermione and Yuudachi came most often. If Yuudachi came in, he would be woken up when she opened the door, so he guessed it was Hermione.

Without much hesitation, he folded the blanket and placed it on the table beside him. The slightly sweet smell emanating from it told him that it wasn't his blanket—if it were Hermione, she would have gone to get his blanket for him.

"Who else?"

Zhou He looked troubled. It wasn't that he was bragging, but that 90% of the ship girls in the port were gentle by nature, and the remaining 10% were heartless and Kaga.

Unable to come up with an answer, he had no choice but to give up. After dealing with the situation briefly, he left the office and went downstairs. Looking at the clock in the lobby, he realized it was already past nine o'clock. He had actually slept for more than five hours, which should have been deep sleep, but he didn't feel particularly energetic. Instead, he had a bit of a headache.

Am I really sick?

That was the only possibility he could think of. With doubts about himself, he walked around the living room twice and saw the newly added pet room. The red fox inside was kept like a dog and was now awake, observing Zhou He warily.

"The door is so small, it must have been squeezed in through the window."

Having no intention of teasing the fox, Zhou He glanced at it casually and went upstairs. He found a change of clothes in his room, carried them back to the first floor, and opened the door to the bathhouse.

In the quiet environment, the sound of the door opening was particularly noticeable. The layout of the bathhouse on the first floor was similar to that of the hot spring pool, with changing rooms, shower areas, and bathing areas. There were also neatly folded clothes in the changing rooms, which was one of the reasons why Zhou He didn't often use this place. He was still a young and energetic man, and seeing too much of this would give him a headache. Only at times like this when no one would disturb him would he dare to swagger in.

However, he was wrong.

As he opened the door to the bathroom stall, he met Hermione's gaze, who had just gotten up from the bathhouse after hearing the noise and was about to investigate.

"...Looks like I'm still not fully awake."

Zhou He closed his eyes, pinched his brow, and turned to leave, only to bump his head against the door. Caught off guard, the impact was quite severe, leaving him dazed. He even staggered back two steps due to the recoil before covering his forehead with his hand and gasping for breath.

"commander!"

Hermione instinctively crouched down and tried to hide in the pool when she saw Zhou He, but seeing his clumsy movements that caused him to trip and fall, she was both annoyed and amused. She reached out and picked up a scarf from the poolside to cover herself up briefly, then stepped forward and supported Zhou He's back with her hand. She then grabbed Zhou He's hand and moved it away from the wound, saying, "Let me see."

Of course, Zhou He is quite resilient. Perhaps he had bumped into things a lot when he was a child, because this bump only resulted in a minor scrape and swelling.

Even so, Hermione led Zhou He to the infirmary despite his miserable expression and treated his wounds with disinfectant from the first-aid kit.

"I'm not feeling well today, Hermione and the others have gone to a lot of trouble."

Zhou He gasped for breath as the pain was rubbed, but the physical pain had relieved his headache.

Today must be his unlucky day; how could he behave so disgracefully?

"Commander, you had a nightmare. Is something bothering you?"

Hermione was used to Zhou He's polite tone and turned the tables on him, asking him questions instead.

This morning, Zhou He was absent-minded but not sick. He was able to recover, probably due to the aftereffects of his nightmare. He was also like this in the office afterwards. Hermione didn't notice that Zhou He was troubled by some unknown problem and had a series of nightmares, which made Hermione feel that she had failed in her duty.

"What's bothering me? Nothing, I don't think so."

Zhou He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. At this stage, the problems he encountered were still within his ability to handle. The only troublesome thing was that the Sirens had surrounded the island, and he was a little worried that his ship girls would experience psychological pressure because of this.

Does this count?

"Really?"

Hermione leaned down and met Zhou He's gaze as he opened his eyes. Hermione's dark golden eyes reflected Zhou He's face, and her serious expression moved him. After a brief silence, she recounted the questions she had raised.

"it is as expected."

Hermione smiled slightly upon hearing this: "This is a problem unique to you, Commander. I can't share your burden, but I can offer you help beyond this."

"Ok?"

Zhou He didn't quite understand and couldn't help, but he could offer some assistance.

However, he wasn't particularly bothered by the problem. He figured that once he reduced the number of Sirens in a few days, everything would be fine.

"Yes! Commander, you were thinking of taking a bath, weren't you? I can..."

Hermione couldn't forget the time Zhou He rejected her, and now that she had a second chance, she decided to do everything she could to convince him!

"No, no, Hermione, I appreciate your kindness, but it's really not necessary. I can just soak it by myself for a while."

Zhou He quickly refused. He wanted to take a bath to relax and clear his head. If Hermione joined him, his body would definitely not be able to relax, and his mind would definitely not be clear. It would be harmful in every way!

"Commander, did you have any female friends in your original world?"

Hermione saw through Zhou He's avoidance attitude, which made her narrow her eyes.

"Yes, that happened! But it has nothing to do with us now, right?"

Zhou He was not prepared to back down. He could soak in the hot spring with Yuudachi because Yuudachi was very obedient. If it were Hermione, even if he had no evil intentions, Hermione would do all sorts of strange things, saying things like "maid's duty" and then touching him inappropriately!

"Since you've been there, you should also know that some things are impossible to refuse."

Hermione flashed a bright, Hood-esque smile. Zhou He wasn't about to sit idly by and launched himself away to escape, but it was no use. Hermione's reaction and speed far exceeded those of ordinary people, and she caught him from behind.

Before long, Zhou He's strange, incoherent cries came from the infirmary!

Chapter 106 Preparatory Matters

Zhou He's resistance wasn't actually strong, but his attitude was good enough, and Hermione didn't have any particular thoughts, so after giving Zhou He a massage and dragging him into the bathhouse for a scrub, she let him go.

"I've become cleaner."

Lying on the bed, Zhou He clutched the blanket, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, personally experiencing the consequences of angering his maid.

Thank goodness it was Hermione; if it had been someone else with ulterior motives, he probably would have been in bed tonight.

No way I want to be raped by my own ship girl!

To be fair, after bumping his head and being bothered by Hermione, his headache had subsided, and his mood had improved subtly.

"Should I apologize to Hermione tomorrow?"

After calming down and thinking about these things, Zhou He closed his eyes again.

He slept soundly through the night, and as soon as dawn broke, Zhou He jumped out of bed. He glanced out the window, where the rain had stopped, and then, full of energy, washed up and changed. On his way downstairs, he checked the various interfaces of the system—today he had a lot to do, including building dormitories and arranging raids.

"Oh! The commander is up early today!"

As they passed the second floor, a beautiful figure jogged over. It was U556, with her short blue ponytail. This little follower of Bismarck was quite lively. If Zhou He were to give her a comment, he would say she was "purely adorable."

Because whether it's appearance, personality, or initiative, U556 is exactly the kind of girl Zhou He idealizes.

He felt that destroyers like U556, Yuudachi, and Javelin could all be considered to be in the "girl" category. The reason for this was that some of the characters designed by Azur Lane were too childish. Those ship girls were the real lolis, while ships like U556 seemed to have more of a youthful vibe of growing up.

"Because there's a lot to do today."

Zhou He smiled and accompanied U556 down to the first floor. He glanced at the clock and realized it was only a little past six. The main entrance to the open hall was dimly lit, and the wind blowing in carried a damp chill.

There was a figure looking around at the door. Turning around, he saw Zhou He running over happily to greet him. It turned out to be Bush, the same adorable little guy.

Good morning. Are there other people outside?