'Who is this lunatic? Do I know you?' Illustrious wondered if the asylum had burst open and released the patients.
He really was handsome—about twenty-three or twenty-four, short hair, sharp brows, deep black eyes, thin lips, tall and strong—like a drama protagonist.
Any normal girl would squeal and offer to bear his children, provided she was normal. Illustrious was anything but; she didn't like men at all. No matter how handsome, her heart stayed calm.
To her, he was just another fool. If he'd been a pretty girl, things might differ—but he wasn't.
Predictably, Illustrious handed him a courtesy rejection:'Sorry, you're a great guy, but it's impossible. Please return to wherever you came from.'
"Hey! Woman, don't be ungrateful—do you even know what you're doing? You're throwing away a future Admiral you could be proud of forever! Don't come crawling back later begging me to take you back—hah! By then the answer will be totally different, and I won't be so quick to agree!" Li Zifei spelled out the consequences, warning Illustrious not to do something she'd regret.
Illustrious glanced at Ayanami: get this guy out of here—he's ruining our meal.
Reading the message in Illustrious's eyes, Ayanami acted at once. "What? A ship-slaying sword, you say! Some self-obsessed loudmouth is yapping and it's driving you nuts; you want to dice him into chunks—got it! I'll chop him up right now."
With that, Ayanami's right hand flashed to the ship-slaying sword. Clang! The heavy blade left the table with a metallic ring.
Before Ayanami could make her next move, the man bolted—faster than a pro sprinter—though he still flung back a parting threat. "Damn it! You'll regret today's choice! You'll be sorry you ever turned me down!"
"Ugh, what a headache—what's with today? Lunatics crawling out of the woodwork. Ayanami, let's eat fast; who knows what other nutcase will pop up next!" Illustrious wanted to finish quickly and head for Azure Island; she couldn't stand another minute here—too many crazies.
"Admiral, don't worry. No matter how many nutjobs show up, I'll chase them all away," Ayanami said, patting her chest.
Without a word Illustrious pulled Ayanami's head against her chest and hugged her. "That's my Ayanami—so reliable. I'm so glad you're here!"
Pressed to Illustrious's chest, Ayanami blushed. The softness, the Admiral's scent—clean milk that soothed and comforted—she wished time would freeze like this forever.
But that couldn't happen. Her goal was to become the Admiral's Wife Ship, and to do that she had to outshine every other Ship Girl under his command.
Strength was everything; she needed a breakthrough on Azure Island to become an Epic Ship Girl. Only after surviving untold trials could she walk down the aisle with her Admiral.
Ayanami already pictured the scene: in the wedding hall the Admiral would gaze at her and say, "Ayanami, meeting someone as beautiful as you is the greatest luck of three lifetimes. I must have saved the galaxy in my past life to deserve you."
"Just looking at you binds me like poison; I can't move. Clad in dreams, I long to stay with you till the end of time. As your Admiral, may I have the chance to guard you forever? If this guardianship needs a limit, let it be ten thousand years."
"Yes, Admiral, I accept," Ayanami would answer, tears of joy streaming down.
"Silly girl, today is our wedding day—no crying allowed." Illustrious gently wiped Ayanami's tears.
The priest intoned solemnly, "Illustrious, do you take Ayanami as your wife, in good times and bad, in wealth and poverty, in health and sickness, in joy and sorrow—"
"—and will you love her without reservation, trust her completely, and live as equal and faithful partners for the rest of your lives?"
Illustrious looked at Ayanami and declared without hesitation, "I will!"
Receiving her answer, the priest turned to Ayanami. "Ayanami, do you marry Illustrious, to be her life, her love, her closest friend?"
"I will!" Ayanami answered instantly.
Illustrious slipped the ring onto Ayanami's left ring finger, kissed her amid cheers, and applause filled the hall.
The vision ended; Ayanami buried her blushing face in Illustrious's chest. "Meanie! Admiral, you really want to kiss me again, huh?"
"Again? What do you mean?" Illustrious found Ayanami's expression odd.
Ayanami had imagined a second kiss after the first and flushed even deeper.
Snapping back to reality, she stammered, "N-nothing! Forget everything I just said!"
"Suspicious… well, okay, forgotten!" Illustrious backed off at Ayanami's warning glare.
Back at his own table, Li Zifei spotted Wu Goudan laughing and snapped, "Laugh again and we're done as brothers!"
"Haha, Zifei, I can't help it! You called me trash, yet I at least chatted with Illustrious—you got rejected in one sentence! Haha, my stomach hurts!" Wu Goudan howled.
"Hmph, we both failed, so don't mock me. Illustrious must be into yuri—why else turn down a hunk like me?" Li Zifei muttered sourly.
"Give it up. Admit defeat and drink; forget the sadness." Wu Goudan raised a glass.
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