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

Royal Ark: "...Blind student, you've found the key point."

Awesome: “…”

Essex: “…”

Bumblebee: "..."

Kewei: "No way... I can't really accept this."

Warspite: "Hearing you say that, I suddenly regret making the modifications..."

Formidable: "However, Warspite-senpai, is there even the slightest difference between your pre-modification and post-modification versions...?"

Warspite: "What?! It's still a bit too big!"

Saratoga: "Hehe ...

Saratoga: "I told you long ago that the Commander prefers smaller sizes, but you wouldn't believe me, hehe~! Now it's Saratoga's turn to make her appearance~!"

Saratoga: "Everyone, just wait until Saratoga successfully takes down the Commander and then she'll be grinding her teeth in frustration!"

Saratoga: "Hehe! After tonight, there will be a lot more clowns in the port~ Sakura Empire, huh? Here I come~"

Awesome: “…”

Fearless replied to San Francisco: "Why don't you stop trying to intercept the wine shop? You should stop this guy instead. I really can't imagine how arrogant she would become if the Commander actually accepted it."

Atago: "Agreed."

Royal Ark: "Agreed."

Veneto: "Agreed."

......

......

the other side,

"Welcome to Akashi's Convenience Store, meow! May I ask what you need... Commander! What brings you here, meow?!"

With the festival approaching, Akashi, who had just finished a busy day and raised the prices of all the goods in the store by 80% and then put up signs for a 40% discount, was sitting at the front desk idly painting a gold box into a colorful one when she heard the sound of someone entering through the curtain. She quickly put the box down at her feet.

She had intended to greet her first batch of unjust, er, guests with the warmest smile, but she was startled by the familiar face in front of her as soon as she looked up. She thought that her usual behavior had been reported to the commander by the other ship girls, and Akashi kicked the box next to her feet further in to barely maintain her composure.

Seeing Akashi's flustered appearance, You Ran suddenly recalled the frequent reports about Akashi's shop that she had received when she was still handling the trivial matters of various factions. Therefore, before Nobuyo could make a request, You Ran directly warned her:

"Hmm... I've received a lot of reports that you, Shi, often engage in shady practices such as raising and lowering prices, forcing sales, turning purple boxes into gold boxes, and then turning gold boxes into rainbow boxes. I'd like to know if this is true?"

"How could this be true, meow? Akashi's shop has always upheld the principles of honesty, integrity, and customer supremacy. How could a black market workshop exist? This is slander! This must be a slander, meow!"

She knew it! He knew it, meow! There must have been a ship girl who reported it to the commander, otherwise why would the commander suddenly come to inspect in person? It couldn't be because he came to buy something, could it? That would be too fake.

Looking at Akashi, You Ran said with a hint of helplessness, "Why don't I believe it..."

"Commander~! I'm your most trusted logistics partner, meow! Even if you don't trust anyone else, you should trust Akashi, meow! After all, the things here are valuable to everyone else, but they're priceless to you, Commander, meow! Commander, just take whatever you want, Akashi will never complain, meow!"

Akashi's words were righteous and truthful. Although she would feel a little pain if the Commander actually bought something for free, it was nothing. After all, based on her understanding of the Commander, he would only talk and then leave without actually buying anything. In the end, she would continue to make a fortune.

"Does Akashi have the Commander's yukata here?"

One second Akashi was praising her own wisdom, but the next second Noshiro took the initiative to speak.

Seeing that Noshiro had spoken, Yuran did not continue to speak.

"Meow?"

Seeing Akashi's puzzled expression, Noshiro explained, "Since the festival is about to start, it's really inappropriate for the Commander to still be wearing work clothes, so we thought we'd come and buy a yukata."

Things are different now. Unlike before, when there were only two sisters, Sakura and Agano, at home, they couldn't leave home no matter how much they fought.

But they were outside, and there were quite a few ship girls participating in the festival. Moreover, it was dark and windy, and she didn't want her commander to be kidnapped by some unknown ship girl while they were walking. Otherwise, she wouldn't know where to turn to cry.

We were supposed to let Sakai watch the fireworks for a while before they started, but who knew that her silly sister would just sit there with her phone on her head all day, grinning like an idiot. She's obviously unreliable.

Once Noshiro gets serious, she becomes cautious even when facing a seemingly harmless kitten. She takes a step forward and naturally puts her arm around the commander's left arm. Noshiro continues, "So, Akashi, do you have any more suitable ones?"

"A yukata? Yes, of course I have one, meow!" Akashi was clearly stunned for a moment when she saw Noshiro clinging to the Commander's arm. Then, she nodded unconsciously, seemingly lost in thought. Just as she was about to rummage through her storage, she suddenly realized something was wrong. "Wait, meow, Noshiro, you mean... the Commander is going to participate in the festival later, meow?!"

"Yes, of course, otherwise why would I choose a yukata?"

“That…that makes sense, meow…” Akashi nodded, finding Noshiro’s words quite reasonable, and continued walking towards her small warehouse.

A sense of unease lingered throughout the journey, though Akashi couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something just felt off.

Commander, have you ever participated in a festival before?

I don't think so...

Akashi couldn't help but think.

So Akashi searched for the Commander's yukata in her closet for a long time, finally finding three of them, and also took out her own yukata at the same time.

After all, if it were a regular festival, Akashi would definitely stay at her little shop and refuse to leave.

But today is different. The Commander is here today, so even if it means missing out on one night's worth of Red Tips, Akashi suddenly wants to participate.

Chapter Seventy: The Higher You Climb, the Colder It Gets

Which one do you think looks better?

"Blue, I think blue is more easygoing."

"I also think it's blue."

"Then let's take this one."

All three yukatas were fairly standard styles, so it didn't really matter which one Yuran chose. However, since Noshiro and Sakabo had both chosen one, Yuran was spared the choice.

After putting them on, I felt they were indeed quite nice. The main reason is that most yukatas are quite loose, so they are comfortable to wear no matter what.

Before leaving, Noshiro originally wanted to give her money, but Akashi, after an unprecedented struggle, ultimately did not accept it.

Seeing Akashi's pained expression, Yuran couldn't help but go over and stroke Akashi's cat ears and scratch his chin until he saw Akashi's expression of enjoyment. Only then did Yuran withdraw his hand, say goodbye to Akashi, and walk out with Noshiro.

After You Ran and his group left, Ming Shi sat at the front desk, savoring the afterglow of being taken advantage of. He was thinking of waiting a little while and then doubling down the amount of red trinkets he had lost from Noshiro to the next customer.

But after thinking about it, she went back to her bedroom, changed into a yukata, closed the shop, and quickly went out.

After all, it had been a long time since she had actually participated in a festival, and the presence of the Commander gave Akashi a faint sense of anticipation. Therefore, even if the probability of encountering him again was very small, she was willing to try her luck.

On the other side, ever since You Ran came out, perhaps the promotion of the Sake Gourmet had an effect, or perhaps the ship girls spread the news from one to ten or from ten to a hundred. In any case, as soon as You Ran came out, she noticed several indescribable gazes fixed on her.

Knowing that the ship girls had come for her transformation, You Ran responded with a smile.

Just like the ship girls, You Ran himself needs a process of acceptance and adaptation after staying in the sage state for too long. He may feel a little guilty about neglecting the girls before, but he can't make it up to all the ship girls at once, so for now, it's best to let things take their course.

However, to be honest, he always felt that there was something vaguely wrong with his mindset, but whenever he thought about it, he didn't know exactly where the problem lay. In short, he just felt a bit awkward.

Sigh, looks like the schedule for finding Hermione, or rather, the goddess of the hearth, needs to be moved up...

You Ran couldn't help but think.

For a long time afterward, they spent most of their time enjoying various snacks and games at the festival. They even encountered Agano, who was helping out with a lantern riddle game.

At the commander's invitation, Agano originally wanted to join them, but seeing his two younger sisters protecting him tightly on either side, he felt it would be a bit redundant for the commander to join in. After thinking about it, Agano politely declined the commander's offer.

After all, she now knew that the commander should be completely finished with his work, and there would be many days ahead after the crisis was over, and there would be many opportunities to be intimate with the commander, so she was not in a hurry.

Joyful times are always fleeting, and as time goes by, the highlight of tonight's festival is approaching: the fireworks display, which has been in preparation for a whole week.

When the time came, it was naturally time for Sakano and Noshiro to fulfill their bet. Although she was reluctant, Sakano knew that it was already a pleasant surprise that the Commander had brought her out tonight, so she didn't act coquettishly or pester him as usual. Instead, she was quite carefree.

This performance surprised You Ran somewhat.

"So, has anyone decided where we should go to watch the fireworks?"

After saying goodbye to the sake shop, Noshiro and Yuran found a relatively secluded spot and asked curiously.

"Go there." Gazing at the highest peak of Sakura Empire, the thought that had already been planned in her mind pointed to that place.

Following the direction Noshiro pointed, Yuran also looked over. If he remembered correctly, that should be the shrine of the Sakura Empire, where Shimanto (虒) also lived. However, it was indeed a good place to watch fireworks.

After confirming their target, the two headed straight for the hilltop. To avoid other ship girls, Noshiro specifically chose a relatively secluded path.

The mountain was high and the road was long, but Noshiro's heart grew even more excited. Just as expected, with more than ten minutes to go before the fireworks show started, Yuran and Noshiro finally reached the top of the mountain.

When Noshiro saw that there were no other ship girls on board, the last worry in her heart was relieved.

Soon, she led You Ran to the perfect viewing spot she had specially scouted out the day before. After spreading a blanket on the lawn and sitting down together, Noshiro leaned against the commander's arm, feeling sweet in her heart as she quietly waited for the fireworks display to begin.

Time ticked away in Noshiro's heart like a clock; ten minutes was neither fast nor slow.

Soon, as a barely noticeable beam of light shot into the clouds, sending out the first dazzling signal in the air, the remaining fireworks arrived as scheduled, unveiling the festival in the darkness.

Fireworks in the night sky, like golden chrysanthemums in autumn, with beautiful and enchanting petals, bloom in the night sky with fleeting beauty.

Leaning against the commander, Noshiro had no heart to appreciate anything anymore; she just stared blankly at the familiar face of the commander beside her.

After all, for Noshiro, these were the most beautiful fireworks in her eyes, even more so than the dazzling displays in the sky.

Gradually, You Ran also noticed that Noshiro was not as shy as usual, but was unexpectedly bold, staring straight into his affectionate eyes.

Knowing that any words would be superfluous at this moment, he did not hesitate at all, wrapped his arms around Noshiro's slender waist, and kissed her directly.

Unlike her initial awkward and passive kiss, Noshiro is now a little more skilled after the first time. Her little tongue, unwilling to accept its fate of being merely played with, begins to clumsily try to respond...

Good coupons for a long time... lips part.

At this moment, even the sound of fireworks exploding could not drown out the increasingly rapid breathing of the two of them.

"May I?"

Yu Ran noticed the dampness on her fingertips as her right hand, which was wrapped around Noshiro's waist, asked.

"Ugh~! Hmm..." Her body became increasingly sensitive, and her mind was spinning. Noshiro responded almost subconsciously.

But when most of her yukata was undone and the cold night wind swept across the hills, Noshiro realized where she and the commander were.

Her already rosy cheeks suddenly flushed, and Noshiro buried her head in You Ran's arms in embarrassment, her voice trembling as she said, "But, but not here, it's too embarrassing here..."

Chapter Seventy-One: Pleasure in the Shrine