"Captain Himeko, I'm back!"
After enduring a rather brutal and prolonged battle on the front lines, Hua, dragging her weary body, had finally managed to return alive today.
But though she called out as usual, no reply came from Captain Himeko.
'Is Captain Himeko swamped with work again today?'
Realizing this, a tiny flicker of disappointment stirred in Hua's heart.
But considering the Captain was often busy late, sometimes returning even later than Hua herself, or perhaps was simply more exhausted and resting, lacking the energy or mood to respond,
Hua—whose thoughts tended to run a bit 'delusional'—quickly conjured up some plausible excuses for the Captain and settled back into her usual, undisturbed calm.
Truth be told, given Hua's current standing in the Australia Branch and the focused attention Himeko poured into nurturing her, if Himeko, as the person in charge, was considered the 'emperor' of the branch, then Hua was undoubtedly its rightful 'crown prince'!
In any other, better-treated branch of Fire Moth, someone with a 'crown prince' status like hers wouldn't need to throw herself into the fiercest frontline combat over and over.
In fact, she'd be better off staying safely in the rear, learning how to become a competent leader versed in human affairs.
But the current leader of the Australia Branch, Himeko, had clawed her way up from the very bottom, accumulating reputation and contributions through life-and-death struggles to finally reach her position.
As the saying goes, 'like father, like son.'
So as the 'crown prince' of the Australia Branch, Hua didn't live a life of ease because of her apparent privileged status.
Instead, due to Himeko's emphasis, she was constantly thrust onto the front lines against the Honkai.
After all, their superior officer, Captain Himeko, had come up exactly that way herself.
Though, it's worth mentioning, one of the few perks Hua enjoyed as the branch's 'crown prince' was getting to live directly in Captain Himeko's home.
It might sound like a nice deal—living under the same roof as the branch head surely meant being in the boss's good graces, with promotions and raises just a matter of time, right?
But in reality, Himeko's main reason for this arrangement was to keep this highly useful subordinate close by, under the noble pretense of 'fostering bonds.'
To put it bluntly, it was just like how Mobius back in the day worked poor, adorable Lunelle to the bone with endless overtime—pure exploitation of the dutiful.
So, poor Hua returned from battle each day not to rest, but to dutifully tackle all the dirty, tiresome chores in Himeko's house.
Like now, having just changed out of her combat suit, she automatically headed to the kitchen to whip up some Shenzhou snacks for dinner, even preparing a portion for Captain Himeko in advance.
But just as Hua instinctively reached to grab her usual cooking apron...
'Huh? My apron should be hanging right here. How could it disappear in less than a day?'
Without even looking, driven by ingrained habit, her hand went straight for the usual spot, only to close on empty air.
This sudden disruption to her routine gave her pause.
'Why does Captain Himeko's place feel kinda... clean today?!'
It finally dawned on Hua that the Captain's home looked quite different from her usual, fixed impression.
While Captain Himeko's abilities and strength were beyond doubt, as the 'maid'—well, 'steward' felt more fitting—sharing the same roof, Hua, responsible for all the grunt work, knew exactly how undisciplined her esteemed Captain's daily habits were!
Normally, when Hua dragged herself home from battle, the place was littered with all sorts of personal items and bottles, turning what should have been a nicely decorated house into a veritable dumpster.
Seriously, using the wardrobe as a trash can and filling it to the brim without bothering to clean up? That level of slovenliness wasn't something just anyone could achieve!
As a woman of few words, Hua could only helplessly admit she'd tried to advise the Captain many times.
But Himeko, so decisive and quick to correct the slightest issue in work or combat, was the complete opposite in her private life.
Even rigid, inflexible Hua, after countless attempts where the Captain stubbornly refused to change, was forced to give up on reforming her superior's less-than-shiny habits.
Yet now, looking closely, despite so many days having passed, the mess upon her return was far less eyesearing than before.
It even seemed somewhat... tidy?!!
Could it be that her unbelievably slovenly Captain had actually bothered to clean?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!!!
The mere mental image of Captain Himeko voluntarily cleaning shattered Hua's usually wooden expression.
Frankly, if Hua ever saw the Captain cleaning, she'd sooner believe Himeko had found herself a partner out there—or even brought them home!
Little did Hua know, her esteemed Captain Himeko had indeed done exactly what she imagined—found herself a partner out there.
And that partner happened to be an impossibly adorable, cheat-level beautiful girl.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.