How come I, who has the physique of a succubus, was pushed back by the ship girl?

Once her mentality is shaken, her skills and tactics will also show subtle flaws.

If it were an ordinary person, it would be fine. With overwhelming strength, this small flaw would be insignificant.

But now Ayanami has to face Zhou Xuan, who has good attainments in swordsmanship.

As a man of many talents, he saw through her utilitarianism in her haste to achieve success, and took advantage of the gap when she chopped horizontally to slide to his knees and dodge sideways.

He came behind her in an instant, then hugged her waist tightly with both hands, and using the strength of his lower body, he threw Ayanami heavily to the ground with a fierce back throw, with stars in her eyes.

It was a desperate counterattack that she had not expected. Based on Zhou Xuan's outstanding performance, she could roughly guess it.

Everything that happened before was just to wear out her patience; what was unleashed now was his true ability.

She was knocked dizzy and even the sword in her hand was knocked aside and covered with dust, but Ayanami had no intention of giving in.

It can be said that after experiencing the unexpected surprise brought to her by Zhou Xuan's tricks, her desire to fight was rising, and her physical discomfort was naturally insignificant.

From being knocked to the ground by Zhou Xuan to his later realization, it only took a moment.

With this mentality, Ayanami didn't bother to pick up the ship-cutting sword that she dropped. She immediately clenched her fist and swung it towards Zhou Xuan.

"I swear in the name of a warrior that I will not lose and I will definitely defeat you!!"

He is like a passionate protagonist in a traditional drama, always filled with endless fighting spirit.

Relying on that belief, Ayanami continued her attack, but what she didn't expect was that her swinging fist stopped in mid-air, right in front of him.

No...it wasn't that she stopped, to be exact she couldn't go any further.

No matter how hard she tried, it was as if there was a wall of air in front of her blocking her. She felt like she was punching cotton, which was quite weird.

"What kind of strange power is this? I have never seen it before..."

"My body... seems to be unable to move..."

Finally, the vicious ghost became the confused little rabbit overnight.

Seeing that there was no more murderous look in her eyes, and what was left was only the fear of the unknown, Zhou Xuan finally felt relieved and said.

"So...I win, right?"

"According to our previous agreement, we...are no longer enemies, right?"

Ayanami was silent. In her opinion, Zhou Xuan had every chance to finish her off, and could even kill her and get away before her companions arrived.

But Zhou Xuan did not do so. After pinning himself to the ground, he did not take more radical actions.

Instead, he looked at her with gentle and kind eyes, not like the spy or the source of unrest as she said.

A person's perception is such a subtle feeling. After the battle, Ayanami's image of Zhou Xuan changed instantly.

"You're right...I'm the loser."

"We are no longer enemies. As for the others, we need to investigate further..."

This means that there will be no more fighting. Zhou Xuan immediately released his control over Ayanami and pulled her up.

Just as he was about to continue the conversation, the Cleaner who had been hiding somewhere popped out again, and every word he said was a congratulations to him.

"Well done, human. You were able to defeat the ship girl single-handedly. It seems that my vision is good and I didn't make a mistake."

If people said that they were flattering him, Zhou Xuan would agree, after all, he had really contributed.

But Zhou Xuan couldn't tolerate someone who went around in circles and then took all the credit for himself.

He didn't even think about it and started complaining.

"Because you believed in me, so when I stood up for myself, you hid yourself?"

"You made selling out your teammates sound so noble. You are such a heartless person. You have no shame at all."

“You….You!!!”

He was once a high-ranking Siren, the Lord of Ice and Snow, but now he is being scolded. How can the Clearer still keep his face?

She was so angry that she immediately wanted to organize words to fight back, but the moment she saw Ayanami showing murderous intent towards her again, she instinctively followed her heart and tried to please Zhou Xuan.

"Hehehe, this is a strategic retreat. Next...next time I will definitely live and die with you, so don't...don't worry."

It is said that when people lie, their eyes become wandering and their speech becomes unclear and intermittent.

The purger in front of him was just like that, but there were more important things waiting for Zhou Xuan to do, so he had no time to take care of him.

"By the way, Ayanami, do you still remember...what your identity is?"

Everything was just as Ayanami had judged. While she was dodging, Zhou Xuan was also watching her every move.

In addition to the battle, her inspiring words, especially the four words "name of warrior", were all noticed by Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan felt that, logically speaking, even if he advocated the samurai spirit, for the sake of his most important honor, shouldn’t he swear in the name of the ship girl?

However, when she blurted it out again, Ayanami's answer remained unchanged.

"warrior."

Looking at her expression without hesitation, Zhou Xuan frowned, as if he realized something in his heart, and then asked again.

"Then do you know what a ship girl is?"

"Kan...niang? What...is that? I don't think I've ever heard of it..."

The reaction was more intense than before. When talking about KanColle, the confusion in Ayanami's eyes became even more intense.

"I have never heard of this name, but I don't know why, it feels familiar to me, as if I have heard it somewhere before... I can't remember clearly."

"When I think of this, my brain becomes confused. There are so many blurry images flashing in my mind. I feel dizzy and uncomfortable..."

It is not clear what exactly happened in the land of Sakura Empire, but from Ayanami, Zhou Xuan could roughly see some backlash.

Seeing that the graceful and pretty girl had a splitting headache because of his words and looked embarrassed.

Zhou Xuan didn't think twice and immediately hugged her in his arms, holding her tightly.

"It's okay, it's okay. If you can't remember it, just forget it. There's a long way to go, and you'll have the chance to recall it."

"Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, how about introducing yourself since this is our first meeting?"

"My name is Zhou Xuan, and I'm a lost traveler. The person next to me is my travel buddy, so we can just call her the Clearer. What about you, Ayanami?"

Ayanami's mind was originally in a state of confusion, and her mind was filled with the word "Ship Girl" that Zhou Xuan had just mentioned, and she had no peace at all.

At this moment, it was because of this man, because of his words, that Ayanami's mood returned to calm.

Even nestling in Zhou Xuan's arms, Ayanami, who was breathing in his fragrance from a close distance, couldn't help but relax, thinking silently in her heart.

I had already called out her name, but I still had to ask her name again. What a waste of time.

But if this is the necessary procedure for friends to get to know each other, then...she will do it.

Um....

"I'm Ayanami, the devil Ayanami!"

"I see that you are older than me, so why not just call you brother? It will be more convenient this way."

"Okay, whatever is convenient for you. It's up to you to decide."

This was the formal meeting between the two after they became acquainted with each other.

Perhaps she felt embarrassed to stay in Zhou Xuan's arms for too long, so after introducing herself to him, Ayanami shrank back and straightened her back again.

"By the way, what were you doing just now, brother? Did you want to buy something?"

After all, it is a mechanical creature, and the yellow chicken used as a passerby has no emotions including fear.

Faced with such a tense situation just now, it still stood still, just like an NPC, continuing its sales work.

Following Ayanami's gaze, Zhou Xuan looked at the stubborn mechanical yellow chicken and sighed.

"Yeah, I've been walking all day, and I wanted to buy something to replenish my energy, but I didn't expect that there would be a problem when I was paying at the end."

After saying that, Zhou Xuan took out the stack of colorful banknotes with the portrait of the ship girl Washington engraved on it and handed it to Ayanami.

"Well... it's something I haven't seen before, so it doesn't apply here."

"Here, we usually use official paper money, or currency from Donghuangbo, gold and silver. This is the first time I've seen something like this."

In other words, the knife in my hand has completely become waste paper, and even using it to go to the toilet is an eyesore.

Seeing Zhou Xuan's current predicament at a glance, Ayanami immediately took out a bunch of neatly folded private notes from her small pocket and bought some food to give to the two of them.

Suddenly, balls of hot steam came out with a fragrant aroma. The cleaner was the first to be unable to hold back, so he tore open the package and started to devour it.

However, there were still doubts lingering in his mind. Zhou Xuan did not imitate the purger's eagerness. He looked at the food in his hand and asked again.

"Ayanami, can you tell me what time is the Sakura Empire in right now?"

"Or, what was the reign title under Nagato's leadership?"

"Qinghe, this is the reign title of His Majesty Nagato. Brother, do you... know His Majesty Nagato?"

At this point, Ayanami's eyes suddenly flashed with a hint of weirdness, and her originally peaceful mood suddenly became inexplicably alert until Zhou Xuan gave an explanation.

"No, I just heard a little about it." Zhou Xuan shook his head and said so.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart with a brief silence, then adopted the posture of a scavenger, tearing open the package and eating it bite by bite.

Since there was no friendship between them, Ayanami didn't think too much about it. She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to plan her next move when suddenly, several voices came clearly from a distance.

"Are you okay, Ayanami? We got your message and rushed here right away. Are you okay? Enemies, where are the enemies?"

Yudachi, Shigure, and Yukikaze, just as the game settings say, are good companions.

They came as fast as they could, making noises and laughing, having a great time, with sweet dimples on each of their faces.

Even Ayanami, who is a serious person, couldn't help but be moved and raised the corners of her mouth slightly.

"No....there are no enemies anymore."

"Brother Zhou Xuan... is a friend I just met today. He is a close friend who is a perfect match for me."

"I wonder what you think about inviting them to our camp?"

Yudachi and Yukikaze were the first to respond to Ayanami's suggestion.

With their simple minds, they thought that since Ayanami said there was no problem, then there must be no problem with Zhou Xuan's character and his background, so they could just follow him.

However, compared to the views of his companions, Shi Yu, who is more mature, has a different opinion.

It didn't go against Ayanami's good intentions. She just put a patch on the consensus of the three people and made a reminder similar to a disclaimer in advance.

"Mr. Traveler, if it's Ayanami's suggestion, you can come along."

"But everything in the city is decided by Lady Akagi, and the specific stay or departure depends on her arrangement."

"So if she doesn't agree, you can't blame us. We are just samurai and we still have to obey the orders of the daimyo."

Barrier, lost contact, Keiwa, samurai, Akagi, daimyo...there are more and more doubts hanging over the Sakura Empire.

Zhou Xuan thought so, smiled and nodded, and he was still as easy-going and elegant as before when responding to everyone.

But in private, I have new plans...

Chapter 271: The Past of Sakura

Ayanami said that His Majesty Nagato, who ruled Sakura Empire, was a diligent, frugal and benevolent monarch.

Her greatest wish in life was to seek prosperity, harmony and peace for Sakura Empire. Therefore, she chose Keihe as the reign title for her rule.

This is the news I heard from Ayanami, provided by the person involved, so the truth or falsehood of the news carries considerable weight.

But in Zhou Xuan's understanding, especially in order to connect with Sakura Empire in the future, he specially learned about the history.

Keiwa was the first era name of the Sakura Empire after the end of the Warring States Period. It has a history of several hundred years from now and has long become a thing of the past.

Now, how could such a thing come out of the mouth of Ayanami, the ship girl?

What's even stranger is that they seem to be already in this era and are part of it.

Zhou Xuan really couldn't understand this.

In order to get more details, he looked up at Ayanami and asked.

"So, what happened next?"

"After all, it didn't develop in the way that His Majesty Nagato desired."