Toot—
At dawn, the lodic sound of a ship's horn echoed across the naval base.
Another Bulin expedition fleet had returned to port, and with the help of the small yellow birds, they began unloading millions of tons of various cargo and resources from the ship's hold.
The Golden Horn Bay was as busy as ever, filled with Bulin transport fleets moving goods and Siren girls patrolling the waters.
Not far from the shore, a sleek silver-white starship floated quietly on the sea. Though it was a spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, it could also function as a naval warship when needed.
This was the C35, Royal Cruiser Belfast.
Setsuna slowly opened his eyes, sitting up in bed.
Beside him, the head maid was still sleeping soundly. A few strands of silver hair lay ssily across her face, adding a touch of untad beauty to her serene profile.
"She looks beautiful like this, too…"
Setsuna gently reached out, brushing a finger across her cheek.
"Ah…"
Belfast stirred, sleepily rubbing her eyes before glancing at the ti.
In an instant, she jolted upright, reflexes kicking in as she leaped out of bed.
"Ah—!"
"I'm going to be late! There's no ti to make breakfast for the Commander—!"
She patted her face, scrambling through the wardrobe for her maid uniform. After a mont, she also retrieved a fresh pair of white stockings.
The Royal Maid Corps' standard attire—Belfast owned plenty of identical sets.
After quickly dressing, she hurried to freshen up.
"What's the rush? I'm right here."
Setsuna watched in amusent, realizing just how deeply ingrained Belfast's daily habits were.
"Ah—"
Her face turned red as Setsuna suddenly pulled her into his embrace.
"How does it feel to have a full day of one-on-one ti?"
He lightly tapped her forehead with a teasing grin.
"Hmm… If I had known, I would've wished for you to stay with alone for a month—no, an entire year."
Belfast turned her face away, muttering softly.
"That's impossible unless I master so kind of ti manipulation ability."
Setsuna chuckled, playfully giving Belfast a light squeeze.
"Yat Sen is easygoing, so she might not mind. But Richelieu and Taihou? They'd definitely fight you over it. Oh, and don't forget Mio."
"Uh…"
Belfast considered this.
One versus four? That would be a tough battle—especially against a lineup featuring a battleship, an aircraft carrier, and the Spirit of Origin.
So instead, she snuggled a little closer into Setsuna's arms, cherishing their remaining monts alone together.
…
A few minutes later, Setsuna's expression turned slightly strange.
Though Belfast had already changed into her maid uniform, her impressive figure was still perfectly accentuated, making her presence in his arms feel… quite dangerous.
Compared to the casual outfit she had worn yesterday, the maid uniform had a completely different kind of appeal.
"Commander… you?!"
Belfast quickly noticed sothing was off about him.
"Your stamina is ridiculous! How long has it even been since—?!"
"Uh… that's just how I am."
Setsuna replied matter-of-factly.
After spending so much ti among hundreds of shipgirls, having good stamina was a necessity.
Not to ntion, he still had to deal with Spirits, Heroic Spirits, Dragon Girls, and who knows what else in the future.
"Eh…"
Belfast sighed softly.
"Even though you're like this, I'm… actually a little happy. It ans I still have so charm in your eyes, Commander…"
"But I'm really exhausted… and my shift is about to start."
She finally understood why Richelieu, Taihou, Yat Sen, and Mio always seed to rotate shifts around Setsuna.
"Hmm… just leaving it like this isn't a good idea either… Please hold on a mont."
…
Setsuna soon discovered that Belfast had mastered so rather unexpected oral techniques.
Although she was still a little inexperienced.
"Did Taihou teach you this too?…"
"Tch, she's corrupting all the shipgirls at the port…"
…
…
"Lalala—♪"
At the naval base, within the Royal Maid Corps' residence…
A dragon girl, sporting two curved horns, golden twin tails, and a maid uniform, humd happily as she prepared breakfast with the other maids.
Tohru had been in the Royal Maid Corps for so ti now, and she absolutely loved it.
The Royal Maids had taught her a great deal about human society and the world itself.
Sotis, she even got to go on expeditions to other worlds with the fleet, making her days filled with excitent.
"Tohru, don't put your tail at in the food!!!"
"The Spirits are eating breakfast too!!! Do you think they have the sa poison resistance as the Commander?!"
Sirius suddenly noticed that Tohru's tail had vanished under her skirt.
At the sa ti, a mysterious, scaled, unidentified chunk of at had appeared in the cooking pot.
Instantly, panic ensued.
"Eh?!"
"Really?! Oh, what a sha…"
Tohru reluctantly pulled the at back, popped it into her mouth, chewed a few tis, and swallowed.
With a soft "poof," a brand-new dragon tail sprouted from her back again.
The other maids were utterly fascinated.
"Now that you ntion it… The Head Maid isn't here today. That's unusual?"
The white-haired maid Dido looked around, realizing that Belfast was missing.
Normally, she was always the first to arrive.
"Maybe she overslept? Or sothing else happened?"
Sirius casually guessed, then turned her head towards the window.
Not far away, a silver-white starship floated quietly on the water.
"…Isn't that Belfast's ship?"
"She must've overslept! I'll go wake her up and bring her breakfast."
Tohru eagerly volunteered.
…
Tap—Tap—Tap—
A few minutes later, Tohru landed on Belfast's ship, shifting back from her true dragon form into her humanoid appearance.
She carried a large al box in one hand and pushed open the bridge's door.
Since they were all part of the Royal Maid Corps, Belfast's ship had no security asures against Tohru.
She walked in unimpeded, heading toward the interior.
"Belfast?"
Tohru passed through the empty lounge, but no one responded.
She continued down the hallway, following the sound of faint noises coming from the farthest room.
"Uh… Belfast, hold on, I think—"
Cough, cough—
A soft, clear coughing sound ca from inside, followed by an awkward silence.
"?"
Tohru's sharp dragon senses imdiately pinpointed that Belfast was inside.
BAM—
She swung the door open.
"Belfast! Breakfast!! You woke up late today— That's so rare—"
…
Tohru froze in place.
She looked at Setsuna, then at Belfast.
For so reason, she felt like she had co in a little too early.
"Tohru?!"
Belfast flinched in surprise.
However, as the Head Maid of the Royal Navy Fleet, she had been strictly trained in proper noble etiquette, allowing her to handle any situation with grace and composure.
Even this.
She calmly sat up, neatly adjusted her silver hair, put on her maid headpiece, and re-tied her braid.
After restoring her usual elegant and poised deanor, she turned to face Tohru with unwavering seriousness.
"The duties of a Royal Maid are extensive… and this is one of them."
"???"
Tohru's head was filled with exclamation marks and question marks.
She was completely dumbfounded by how Belfast had just said that with a straight face.
"Wait, wait, wait— Are you serious?"
"I'm a dragon. I haven't read many books. I don't have much worldly knowledge— don't lie to !!"
…
One hour later.
Setsuna sat in his office, Belfast beside him, as the proud Royal Maid officially announced their relationship to everyone present.
"Although I am already the Commander's oath-bound ship, my duties will remain unchanged."
"I will continue to take care of the Commander with the sa dedication and responsibility as both a Royal Maid and an Oath-Bound Ship."
Richelieu and Yat Sen exchanged a glance, wearing expressions that said, "As expected."
Taihou remained silent, her expression unreadable.
Mio sat at the side, observing Belfast with great interest, as if contemplating what exactly made this Royal Maid so special.
"Commander!"
A group of tiny destroyers from Sakura Empire, barely older than kindergarteners, gathered at the table.
They reached into their bags and pulled out two packets of fries, placing them on the desk.
"Commander, this is a gift for you."
"?"
Setsuna looked at Mutsuki and Kisaragi, confused.
Should he say he wasn't surprised? After all, children loved giving food as gifts.
"Why fries?"
Richelieu was equally puzzled.
"I saw the Commander and Belfast on a date yesterday. They even shared fries together."
Mutsuki raised her hand as if answering a teacher's question.
"The Commander must really love fries—I saw Belfast eat the last one, and the Commander even leaned in to steal a bite with his mouth!"
"So we decided to give him two whole packs!"
"Commander, you shouldn't steal snacks from your shipgirls."
The little destroyers earnestly advised him.
"???"
"Ah…"
Setsuna was montarily speechless, realizing that in the minds of these little shipgirls, his image had completely changed.
anwhile, Belfast turned completely red, covered her face, and squatted down in embarrassnt.
At the corner of the room…
"Hmmm…"
Tohru sat there, counting on her fingers.
"A maid's duties… a maid's duties…"
"Eh? Being a maid requires this many responsibilities?!"
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