After preventing the world from being destroyed, the ship girls started acting strangely.

"Let's bet on whether you'll call me 'Master' during your week as a maid, and the loser has to unconditionally grant the other party one request, how about it?"

Hearing You Ran's words, Elizabeth pondered for a moment, then her heart leaped with joy, and she quickly looked at You Ran, "Servant, are you serious?!"

Wouldn't this be a dream come true? After all, the mouth is on her body, and she doesn't believe that if she doesn't want to talk, her servants can't force her to.

When that time comes, she will be able to...

uh~

Elizabeth suddenly blushed.

"Of course, so many people are listening here, I'm not joking." You Ran didn't think too much about it. After all, he felt that even if he really lost, Elizabeth's request shouldn't be too unreasonable, not to mention that he felt he was confident he could get Elizabeth to shout it out.

"Hmph! Fine, I'll bet then, but you better not regret it later, servant!"

Elizabeth could already envision her blissful life a week from now.

"Of course not. Let's confirm again, what was the bet I just mentioned?" You Ran couldn't resist teasing Elizabeth.

“What’s there to be sure about? It’s just a matter of whether I can call you ‘Lord’,” Elizabeth said, but before she could finish, she suddenly realized something and quickly covered her mouth. “Foolish, foolish servant! Do you think I’m a three-year-old?! How could I possibly fall for such a trick!”

You Ran feigned ignorance and said, "What are you talking about? Elizabeth, what are you talking about?"

"Me? Hmph! I doubt you'd dare to mock me like this."

Elizabeth blushed slightly, realizing that she might have been overthinking things.

"Alright, that's all for now. Sheffield, you can continue,"

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

"What's wrong?" You Ran looked at Elizabeth with some confusion.

"That's it? You're just giving up like this, servant? Aren't you going to... give it a try a little longer?"

From the moment she agreed to You Ran's request, Elizabeth had already imagined countless ways You Ran might try to get her to say those two words. But now that You Ran was suddenly ignoring her, Elizabeth felt a little lost and confused.

Chapter 171 Hmph~ My foolish servant, finally couldn't hold back anymore, could he?

“I was talking about this week, not this day. There’s plenty of time, take it slow.” With that, You Ran smiled and waved her hand. “Sheffield, let’s continue.”

“I understand.” After responding, Sheffield turned back to the four war-weary women. “Then what we are going to learn next is a skill that, while not strictly required for a royal maid, is something that is basically something that every royal maid must master.”

"Skills that a maid basically needs to master...?" Littorio paused, "What are those?"

"Make tea."

As soon as she finished speaking, Sheffield skillfully took out several tea sets from the ship's equipment and began to place them one by one on the table next to her. Then, she soon began to explain the specific tea-making method.

Brewing tea requires skill and patience, so it takes quite a bit of time to learn. An afternoon passed quickly, and by the time evening was approaching, the ship girls had only just learned the basics.

Inside the room, holding a cup of freshly brewed black tea, You Ran gradually formed her opinion after savoring it. Looking at the expectant Warspite in front of her, You Ran chuckled and then encouraged, "This is a big improvement from last time. I didn't expect you to be so talented at brewing tea, Warspite."

"Really?!" Warspite exclaimed with delight, but seeing everyone looking over, she quickly scratched her head a little embarrassedly. "Hehehe~ Actually, it's all thanks to you, Master. I never expected you to be so proficient in tea ceremony."

She felt incredibly satisfied, as if all her hard work that afternoon had been worthwhile. Suddenly, she could understand the sense of fulfillment that Charybdis had described as the feeling of being a maid.

"Master~! You should try mine too." Littorio, who had been waiting for a long time behind Warspite, saw that You Ran had finally finished tasting the black tea that Warspite had brewed, and immediately took his own black tea and walked over.

"Ta-da! This rose black tea, specially garnished with rose petals and as elegant and radiant as I am, has it instantly captured your taste buds, hasn't it?"

Holding the cup by the bottom with one hand, Littorio made a smooth and elegant turn, presenting the black tea to You Ran.

After taking the cup of black tea, You Ran took a small sip, then her expression became somewhat complicated: "Hmm...it does look a bit better, but...Littorio, can you tell me how this cup of black tea tastes different from the one you brewed before?"

"Well, haha." Littorio laughed awkwardly. "Master, don't be so serious. Tea is tea, but it doesn't necessarily have to be drunk. There's a saying in Donghuang that goes something like... 'beauty is food for the eyes'! So as long as this cup of tea can make you feel a little better, then it's already a success. Whether it tastes good or not is secondary."

"Besides, Master, you've been drinking black tea all afternoon. Tell me honestly, Master, do you really want to drink some more now?"

Having probably figured out You Ran's thoughts, Littorio also took the opportunity to exonerate himself.

"Okay, you win. I've been drinking all afternoon, and I really don't want to drink anymore."

One or two cups a day is fine, but drinking a lot of it all afternoon would definitely get a bit tiring for him.

“Phew…” Hearing this, Sheffield sighed helplessly. “Master, if you don’t want to drink anymore, just say so. Please don’t act like you’re enjoying it. Although it’s a maid’s duty to read people’s expressions, sometimes I really can’t understand what you’re thinking.”

"So if possible, Master, you can really do whatever you want. Don't worry, no matter how much of a pest you may appear to be, as your maid, I will still serve you wholeheartedly."

"Yes, yes~ I understand, but Sheffield, why do you keep talking about pests? Do you really want me to act like a pest in front of you?"

After spending an afternoon with him, You Ran realized that although Sheffield kept saying things like "pest, pest," he was actually doing it for her own good and would never refuse any request. In a way, he had the air of someone who was showing you his disgust.

"Only pests would have such pest-like thoughts." Although You Ran's face remained expressionless, her words still made Sheffield's mind start to wander.

"Actually, I'm not as exaggerated as you say. It's just that I only realized it after Littorio said that. Before that, I was actually enjoying it."

You Ran still gave a casual explanation, after all, he was also making tea while the ship girls were making tea. Although he was already a master of theory and knew all kinds of tea-making techniques by heart, it was still quite fun to actually do it.

"But Xie Fei, you're right, it's about time. Let's have dinner first, and we can also try your cooking."

As soon as You Ran finished speaking, Sheffield, who was standing to the side, was clearly not expected that the commander would suddenly call him by such an intimate name, so he visibly trembled.

After speaking, You Ran noticed that Sheffield's expression was a little off. She paused for a moment, then realized what was going on and quickly explained, "I heard Charybdis call you that before too, is it okay?"

“Master, you can call me whatever you want, no need to ask my opinion.” Sheffield said, his face slightly flushed, pretending not to care.

"Then I'll call you that from now on, Sheffield~"

This was the first time You Ran had ever seen such a wide range of expressions on Sheffield's face. You Ran couldn't help but smile. Staring at Sheffield, You Ran mischievously called out to her again in a rather intimate tone. Seeing that a blush finally appeared on Sheffield's face, You Ran got up with satisfaction and walked towards Elizabeth and Veneto.

Not far away, Elizabeth, who had been lost in thought all afternoon and had been struggling with her inner turmoil, was relieved to see You Ran finally arrive. She immediately perked up.

Hmph! What good did it do my foolish servant to suppress his desire all afternoon without coming to me? In the end, he couldn't hold back anymore, could he?

Honestly, all this fussing about is just torturing yourself in the end. So why don't you just come over and accept your true feelings?

As You Ran drew closer and closer, Elizabeth was so happy she almost stood up with her hands on her hips.

Chapter 172 I Want My Master to Teach Me Step by Step

However, Elizabeth's excitement quickly came to an abrupt end, and the smile that had been spreading across her face froze instantly.

Because You Ran completely ignored her and walked straight towards Veneto behind her.

Upon seeing this, Elizabeth felt a mix of emotions and was incredibly aggrieved. She blinked rapidly, as if she wanted to drop her little pearl.

"Elizabeth, what are you standing there for? Is there something you don't understand?"

You Ran had originally intended to check on what Veneto had been studying all afternoon, but seeing that Elizabeth hadn't moved for a while, she turned back and asked.

Seeing that You Ran finally remembered her after a long while, Elizabeth, who was initially a little resentful and unwilling to speak, suddenly became anxious when she saw that You Ran seemed about to leave. She immediately said, "I've drunk more black tea than you've eaten potatoes! Servant, don't look down on me!"

Elizabeth regretted her words as soon as she opened them, but since she had already spoken, as the Queen, she naturally wouldn't take them back. So, although Elizabeth appeared arrogant on the surface, she was actually terrified inside, fearing that You Ran would get angry and ignore her.

That's how it often is, especially for You Ran. Elizabeth clearly didn't want to speak so bluntly, but she didn't know why her words completely changed as soon as she opened her mouth, and in the end, she could only regret it in her heart.

Elizabeth had considered changing this situation, but it seemed to be something she was born with. No matter how determined she was in secret, she always contradicted herself when she was in front of You Ran. In addition, it was difficult for her to talk about this with other ship girls, so in the end Elizabeth could only give up and hope in her heart that You Ran would not hate her.

Knowing Elizabeth's personality, You Ran didn't really care, and just smiled slightly: "Drinking a lot doesn't mean you know how to make tea. Elizabeth, your tea brewing is okay, but there's still a lot of room for improvement."

I did get to try Elizabeth's black tea through the war-weary scheme, and the taste... well, I can only say there's a lot of room for improvement.

“You’ve never even tasted my tea… how do you know if it’s good or not…” Elizabeth’s voice trailed off as she spoke, sounding a little guilty.

"Then I'll definitely have to try it properly next time I have the chance."

She just chuckled lightly without saying anything. Soon after, You Ran came to Veneto's side. Seeing that Veneto hadn't noticed her coming and was busy making tea, You Ran didn't go up to interrupt her.

It must be said that, although I don’t know about other aspects, Veneto is definitely a very serious ship girl. She spent the whole afternoon sitting here focused on making tea and did nothing else, not even getting up.

He had tasted countless sips of Warspite's and Littorio's black tea, and even Elizabeth's tea twice through Warspite's hands, but he had never tasted a single drop of Veneto's tea, so it was impossible for him not to be curious.

"It's almost ready. Don't wait until the water boils completely and starts bubbling. It's just right to pour it out now."

After watching for a while, seeing that Veneto seemed to want to wait until the water was completely boiling before pouring it out, You Ran immediately reminded him.

Upon hearing this, Veneto was also startled. Without saying a word, he quickly picked up the teapot that was boiling water in front of him and poured it into another preheated, exquisitely crafted porcelain teapot.

"The kettle is too low, raise your hand a little higher."

Seeing that Veneto was doing as he was told, but was obviously a little flustered, raising his hand only to have it suddenly go too high, You Ran thought for a moment and then stepped forward, half-hugging Veneto from the side and began to teach him hand in hand.

"You're really a professional, Master."

Feeling the solid embrace behind him, Veneto gradually relaxed. With a slightly flushed face, he nuzzled his head back into You Ran's arms. Veneto suddenly wished that the pot of water would never run out.

"That's about it, Veneto, you can put the tea leaves in now." But soon, You Ran reminded him.

Hearing You Ran's words, Veneto initially wanted to scoop out two spoonfuls of tea leaves, but seeing that the commander behind him seemed to want to leave, Veneto hesitated for a moment before turning to You Ran: "Master, I don't know how much to put in..."

It can't be called greed... she just genuinely wants to master this skill...

Veneto found a reason for himself.

"Let's put them in at a ratio of about one to twenty," You Ran said casually.

"How much is that?" Veneto continued to play dumb.

"Alright, I'll only demonstrate once. Veneto, you'd better watch out. It's probably about two spoonfuls."

"Master, I won't learn the essence that way," Veneto said anxiously when he saw You Ran wanting to do it herself. "How about you teach me step by step like you did before..."

With his head down, not daring to look at You Ran, Veneto couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Okay, I'll teach you step by step."

Hearing Veneto's words, You Ran almost laughed out of anger. Now he understood what Veneto meant. He had just thought Veneto was very serious about his work, but who knew he was up to this.

Ship girls who plot against you should be punished properly!

After thinking for a moment, amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, You Ran stepped forward and hugged Veneto tightly.

"Can i do it now?"

I hadn't noticed before, but now that I've held her, I realize that Veneto's body is quite chubby and very comfortable to hold.

"Hmm~ Although, but, Master, it's hand-in-hand, not hand-in-leg..."