The Disqualified Commander of the Abandoned Shipgirl

"Of course not. Your commander is not really an idiot."

Lin Shen gave Glasgow a smile that put his mind at ease. He was not a naive person who was completely ignorant of the world. How could he just throw away the most basic things?

"Even if the worst happens, don't we still have you?"

"...You, it's good that you know..."

That straightforward emotion left Glasgow unsure of how to react for a moment.

To be honest, because it is so rare, before meeting Lin Shen, Glasgow had even thrown trust into the trash can.

If it were suddenly picked up again at this time, I wouldn’t know how to deal with it.

"I'll go see if Rafi is awake."

Looking at Lin Shen's smiling face full of trust, Glasgow felt a little flustered for some reason. After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked into the bedroom.

Even if I can never find a ship girl who will believe in me again.

I am content to have Glasgow.

Thinking so, Lin Shen followed in.

In the bedroom, Rafi's consciousness slowly returned from the darkness.

She regained her sense of temperature.

What followed was the recovery of hearing and smell.

"Um..."

Because of the tension before his consciousness completely fell into a coma, Rafi tried to summon his ship suit as soon as he regained his consciousness.

but failed.

The power of the ship suit had no connection with her.

Rafid's mood continued to sink as she realized that she seemed to be caught.

But when she struggled to open her eyes, what she saw was not the cold laboratory she had imagined.

So soft...

And it’s so warm.

Rafi struggled to sit up from the bed, looking confused.

This is...

"Are you awake? Do you feel uncomfortable?"

"……Eh?"

The ship girl I met before was standing by the window in a maid outfit.

Rafi looked around and found that he was not in the laboratory, but on a simple bed.

There were no experimenters here, and there was no sense of icy cold hostility.

"Glasgow...?"

"It was me." Glasgow looked at Rafi's confused eyes and explained briefly: "My commander asked me to retrieve you from Hanning's operations department's encirclement."

"...Is that so..." Rafi was stunned for a moment, then he looked at the boy who he had only glanced at before.

He was wearing the uniform of the first-year students in the academy. His short black hair looked a little messy, and his uniform was not worn properly. At first glance, he seemed like someone who did not follow the rules.

I don't know if it's because the ship suit was stripped off, but in any case, Lafite felt that this person didn't look anything special. Although he had a pretty face, he would disappear quickly if thrown into a sea of ​​people.

The only special thing is the gentle emotion.

There was none of the cold, needle-like malice that those people had.

Rafi was stunned for a while, then he came to his senses and asked, "Why did you save me?"

"Isn't it better to save you?" Lin Shen replied.

"It's not... but what's the reason?" Rafi said, "Those guys... want to get something from me, so they keep chasing me. Then why did you take such a big risk to save me...?"

There is no action without reason.

What's more, Rafi was very clear about the predicament he was facing at the time.

Even if she had enough oil to replenish her physical strength, the final result would be complete death in battle.

As for fighting out?

Such a terrifying siege would have been almost impossible if it had not been for the careful preparation of the rescue team, the deployment of a sophisticated plan, and the fierce fighting.

Knowing this, Rafi asked this question.

But the gaze from those seemingly calm wine-red eyes made Lin Shen feel helpless.

It was as if I was back in the beginning, communicating with those guys.

"I have answered this question of yours many times before, and I am a little tired of giving the same and different answers. So I decided that I would not answer the same question in the future. Anyway, I have saved you, and now let's talk about something practical. Even if I say something empty and pretentious, there are almost no ship girls who will listen to it."

If it were before, Lin Shen wouldn’t have the confidence to say this.

But now it’s different, he also owns a ship girl!

So naturally I am no longer as persistent as before.

As long as Glasgow is still there, he will not be so eager to have more ship girls.

The matter of signing a soul contract with the ship girl has changed from "necessary and urgent" to "necessary but not urgent".

"Lafite, you have two choices now." Lin Shen paused and continued, "The first is to sign an equal contract with me, so that we can temporarily have a cooperative relationship. For me, I can have the combat power I need, and you, I can take you away from Hanning, safely and without fighting. Moreover, if it is an equal contract, it will not leave any soul mark on the ship girl..."

This soul imprint is somewhat strange to talk about, Lin Shen coughed lightly and said seriously.

"Second, I'll give you enough oil supplies and ship equipment, so you can leave now. But you might still be discovered by the Henning Public Security Bureau after you leave, so remember to be careful. I'm leaving Henning in three days, and if you're caught by then, there's no way to get you out a second time. Henning also has several mutant organizations, you can go find them, although their situation isn't much better, but at least it's better to stick together than to act alone."

After saying that, Lin Shen gestured for Lafite to choose one at random.

17. Commander...where are you going to sleep tonight?

Lafite listened carefully to Lin Shen's words, and then discovered a problem.

"What if I sign the equal contract first and cancel it after I'm out of danger? In that case, won't you get no benefit at all?"

Being able to pull himself out of such a dangerous place, Lafite doubted the authenticity of what Lin Shen said about the required combat power.

"You are really clever. Of course I am of no benefit at all."

"then you……"

"Just think of me as a good person. When I see a ship girl in trouble, I can't help but want to help her." Lin Shen said with a smile: "You have met the only big enemy in the world. You are so lucky, Lafei."

"..."

Although he couldn't sense how serious this sentence was from his emotions, Lafite's intuition told him that Lin Shen was not lying.

Of course, it's not necessary.

After all, I am now a fish on the chopping board.

If Lin Shen wanted to do something, he would have done it long ago.

There is no need to ask.

Maybe, this guy is really a good guy who is always the target of misfortune.

How likely is this?

It’s tiring to think about it…

Rafi thought about it and then lay back down.

"Then let's sign the contract."

"Oh? All right."

Lin Shen was a little surprised by Lafite's agreement, but this was naturally better, although he did not expect to gain Lafite's trust directly.

In fact, Lin Shen had planned to take Lafite away from Hanning from the very beginning.

After all, it was a mutant that was born with great difficulty. Lin Shen couldn't accept watching Lafite being captured and taken back to the laboratory.

"Then I will start building an equal contract now."

Lin Shen controlled the soul network and prepared to start the contract signing ceremony.

"What is... an equal contract? Is there any difference between it and a soul contract?" Rafi asked in confusion.

"It makes no difference to me. If it were any other commander, the Equality Contract would not restrict your freedom, and you could leave at any time. However, this contract has been out of use for a long time..."

Even why it was only discovered in the first place remains a mystery.

"The most important thing is that it won't leave a soul mark on you."

"brand?"

"Every ship girl who has signed a soul contract will be branded with the commander's soul." Lin Shen had no choice but to continue to explain patiently: "This brand will not disappear unless the commander dies."

"Is this... any use?"

Rafi was still confused, because he was born not long ago, so it was normal for him not to know these strange things.

"It doesn't have any practical significance, but to some people, it's actually quite important. Anyway..."

Lin Shen suddenly didn't know how to continue explaining, so he looked at Glasgow.

The latter sighed softly and said simply and directly: "Branding is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for a ship girl. It is said that the most ancient ship girls would never betray their commanders after signing a contract with them, although it is impossible to verify it so far. However, for ship girls, branding is like the first time of a human girl, with half practical meaning and half spiritual meaning, but how important it is still depends on you. After all, the current ship girls..."

Not to mention old-fashioned thinking, even whether one has a heart has become a question.

Therefore, everything related has disappeared in the long river of history.

"So, Commander, are you going to take away Rafi's virginity?" Rafi blinked and looked at Lin Shen and asked.

"What kind of bullshit are you talking about? I already said it's an equal contract!" Lin Shen said with a tingling sensation on his scalp. "Although there are indeed some romantic legends and rumors about branding, and some people even regard it as a kind of marriage contract, these are just rumors and will become history anyway. The reason why I emphasize the equal contract is to avoid trouble."

“But the Commander actually values ​​it very much, right?” Glasgow added silently.

Lin Shen: "..."

Yes, he takes it very seriously. It is true that he is an old-fashioned person with ancient ideas.

After all, times have changed, sir. If anyone knew Lin Shen’s thoughts, they would definitely laugh at him.

What era is this? You still treat a ship girl as your wife. Your wife is really great. You can even customize her by spending money... But she is just a tool. You can use her however you want.

Open up a little, boy.

The scoffer would surely say this with a grin.

But there are only very few, almost non-existent, people who still stubbornly stick to their own opinions.

Those copies that look like Q-dolls are not Kancolles at all.

The ancient agreement between the original ship girl and the first human commander has now been tampered with beyond recognition.

It won't even be mentioned in history books.

The heart-to-heart agreement between them eventually turned into today's "slave contract".

Time will bury the past, and the seeds of stories will die completely in the cold winter.

But even so.

There will still be people who seek the truth and dig up the frozen soil with trembling hands.

To witness all the beauty that has ever existed.

"Yes, I take it very seriously, even a little old-fashioned. If I must say, I am a remnant of the old times."

Lin Shen spoke in a relaxed tone, but his expression was serious.

"If you are not sure that you can entrust your sincerity to someone, you must not sign a soul contract. The brand... is a very important thing."

Having said that, Lin Shen had completed the construction of an equal contract.

"It's done, just nod your head."

Lin Shen said to Lafei who was still lying on the bed like a salted fish.