"To celebrate Azuma, Ayanami, and Unicorn joining the Naval Base today, we are all one family from now on! Alright, I won't say much more! Everyone, dig in!" Seeing their impatient looks, Illustrious didn't dawdle and simply gave the word to start, watching with anticipation as they began to eat.
"I'm digging in!" Azuma, Ayanami, and Unicorn shouted together. They each took a bite, and then their eyes all widened simultaneously.
Their faces turned pale, their eyes lost focus, and they began to foam at the mouth as if they had eaten some kind of poison. One by one, they collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
This sight terrified Illustrious. She rushed to their side, crying out, "What's wrong? Don't scare me like this!"
She called out several times with no response. She placed her hand under the noses of Azuma, Ayanami, and Unicorn. Phew, they were still breathing; they weren't dead.
They were perfectly fine just a moment ago! Could it be the food? Impossible. In her past life, her cooking could rival that of a restaurant chef! How could it be bad? And so bad that it looked like poisoning? Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? You guys aren't just acting, are you?
She stood up and looked at the dishes on the plates. The presentation was excellent—the colors were beautiful and the food had a nice glaze. It looked so delicious, so why did they all collapse as if poisoned after eating it, falling unconscious one by one?
Refusing to believe it, Illustrious picked up a pair of chopsticks. She was about to put a bite into her mouth when she suddenly stopped. Wait, if I eat this and collapse like I've been poisoned too, then what?
No, if I don't even have the confidence to eat my own cooking, what about my dignity as a chef? Pfft! I'm really making myself laugh. It's just a bite of food, what's the big deal? No matter how bad it is, how bad could it possibly be?
I think Azuma and the others are just too pampered! Illustrious looked at them with disdain and contempt. Once they woke up, she would have to put them through some special training! Otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to handle a little hardship. She then moved her chopsticks and put the food into her mouth.
Suddenly, Illustrious's face turned pale, her eyes lost focus, and she began to foam at the mouth as if she had eaten some kind of poison. Finally, with a thud, she also collapsed to the floor, unconscious... "Ugh, who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?" Illustrious asked in confusion the moment she opened her eyes.
This is my bedroom. Speaking of which, why am I lying in bed? How long have I been asleep? Illustrious was a bit puzzled. She began to search her memories. She remembered seeing Azuma and the others collapse as if poisoned after eating, then she had looked down on them for being dramatic, and finally, she had taken a bite herself and also collapsed.
Recalling the sensation of that bite now, her body couldn't help but tremble; the feeling was too terrifying. First, it felt as if she were drinking lava in the depths of hell, then as if she had gone to an iceberg to eat ice blocks, and finally, as if she had taken a mouthful of dirt from a meteor passing through the starry sky.
The sensation was all over the place and tasted terrible. No, not just terrible—it was atrocious. How could anyone in the world make something so foul? It was practically murder! Such a person should be humanely eliminated to prevent them from endangering the world.
Wait, this thing... it seems, maybe, possibly, I was the one who made it.
Ahem! Fortunately, I'm not human. What does a bad dish made by a human have to do with me, a ship?
I wonder how Azuma and the others are doing. Are they okay?
Speak of the devil. With a bang, a loli kicked open the door to Illustrious's bedroom. She had long, smooth, pale blonde hair that reached her hips, tied in a single ponytail, with two red and white ship horns on her head.
She wore a sailor suit that exposed her waist and shoulders and had large sleeves. White over-knee socks wrapped around her slender, fair legs.
Who else could it be but Ayanami?
Illustrious immediately got out of bed and ran to Ayanami's side.
"Oh! It's Ayanami! Is your body okay? Are you alright? But in the future, you must knock before entering. You can't just barge in without knocking; it's very impolite. As a lady, you must be elegant and maintain etiquette at all times. If you're so reckless, something is bound to happen sooner or later. But now that you know you're wrong, just change slowly. I believe you can do it. Besides..." Illustrious began to nag Ayanami.
Watching Illustrious nag like an old mother, Ayanami's face darkened. She said to Illustrious expressionlessly, "Stop! Don't say another word. I'm fine, but you're the one in trouble, yes."
"I'm in trouble? What trouble could I be in?" Illustrious looked confused upon hearing Ayanami's words.
Ayanami didn't bother explaining. She flashed behind Illustrious, grabbed her hands, and pinned them behind her waist. Looking at her with a cold, indifferent gaze as if looking at a dead person, she said to Illustrious, "You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Come with me, yes!"
"What are you doing, Ayanami! I'm your Admiral! I've shed tears for the Naval Base, I've shed blood for the Naval Base! You can't do this! Let me go!" Illustrious struggled and said.
Getting a bit annoyed, Ayanami pulled off the white thigh-high sock from Illustrious's right leg and stuffed it into her mouth. After hearing Illustrious's muffled groans, she said with satisfaction, "Behave yourself, yes."
Upon arriving at the Admiral's office, she saw Azuma standing on the Admiral's chair with a fake mustache on her face. Unicorn was standing to Azuma's left.
"Kneel down, yes." After ordering Illustrious to kneel, Ayanami cupped her fists and saluted Azuma. "Reporting, My Lord, the perpetrator Illustrious has been brought in."
"Ow~ that hurts!" Seeing that Illustrious wouldn't kneel, Ayanami kicked her in the butt. Illustrious knelt down instantly from the pain. She used her left hand to pull out the white thigh-high sock from her mouth and threw it away, while her right hand rubbed her kicked bottom.
"Mm, Constable Ayanami has done well. Step aside for now!" Azuma said to Ayanami very seriously.
"Yes, My Lord!" After answering Azuma respectfully, she stood to Illustrious's right.
Ayanami took out a big, black, and long stick from her rigging space and struck the ground with it, shouting with great momentum, "Wei Wu!"
With a bang, Azuma held a block of steel in the air and slammed it onto the Admiral's desk, making a deafening sound.
"Bold commoner, do you plead guilty!" Azuma shouted majestically at Illustrious.
"Pfft! Azuma, what are you guys doing? Is this a play? Pfft! And that mustache is so funny! Hahaha!" Illustrious pointed at Azuma's fake mustache and laughed out loud.
"Bold commoner, how dare you despise this official and challenge my bottom line? Do you want me to sentence you to thirty strokes of the cane?" Azuma said, flushing with anger.
Ayanami looked at Illustrious with an indifferent gaze, as if to say that if Azuma sentenced her to thirty strokes, she definitely wouldn't go easy on her.
A bead of sweat rolled down Illustrious's forehead. These guys were serious. If that big, black, long stick hit her butt thirty times, wouldn't it be split open? Forget it, a wise woman knows when to retreat. "Wait, Azuma, I was wrong. Don't give me thirty strokes."
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