Belfast immediately said, "Alright! I don't need your compensation, please put your clothes back on quickly."
Illustrious pressed, "Are you really not going to look? Okay then, but once I put my clothes on, you can't blame me for peeking at your body."
"I know! Hurry up and put your clothes on!"
Having achieved her goal of not being held accountable by Belfast, Illustrious immediately put her clothes back on. "Alright, I'm dressed. You don't need to cover your eyes anymore."
Belfast lowered her hands. Seeing that Illustrious had indeed dressed, she secretly sighed with regret, thinking it was a pity. She should have been bolder and looked earlier, but because she was too shy, she missed out on the beautiful sight she wanted to see.
Illustrious looked at the window, then invited Belfast, "The weather is nice today. I want to go fishing this afternoon. Are you interested in coming with me?"
Belfast put her finger to her chin. "Fishing? Sounds nice. Please allow me to accompany you."
Illustrious began to look forward to it. "There are quite a few fish schools near our Naval Base. I believe we'll be able to have a big feast tonight."
In the afternoon, the two took their fishing gear to a fishing spot by the sea.
"Belfast! Have you ever fished before?" Illustrious asked.
Belfast shook her head. "No, Admiral, can you teach me?"
"Yes, I'll teach you now." Illustrious said calmly, "First, to fish well, you can't do without basic movements. If you master these basics, you can get good catches in any body of water!"
"Admiral! What are the basic skills you mentioned?"
Illustrious explained in detail. "There are five basic movements: pulling, rubbing, lifting, raising, and reeling."
"The first basic movement is 'pulling,' which isn't actually a movement but a preparatory step. Accurately throw the bait to the fishing spot, then simply precisely target an area about the size of a bowl."
Belfast suddenly understood. "I see, so it's about targeting a precise spot to concentrate the fish."
Illustrious nodded with satisfaction. "Smart. The second basic movement is 'rubbing.' This mainly involves regularly shaking the bait basin to allow the bait to fully absorb water, then gently kneading and mixing it after it awakens, forming it into a bait ball for use."
Squatting down, Illustrious used both hands to knead the bait in the basin into a bait ball.
Belfast exclaimed, "I never knew there was so much to kneading bait balls!"
Illustrious threw the kneaded bait ball to a nearby fishing spot. In a short while, a large group of fish gathered towards the bait ball. "The third basic movement is 'lifting.' Simply put, it's practicing raising the fishing rod. To improve, it's best to fish for small, troublesome fish that swarm the bait."
"Admiral! If the fish are swarming, how can that be good for practice?"
"It's precisely because the fish are swarming that it's good, otherwise, how would you improve your fishing skills?"
Illustrious came behind Belfast, then grabbed her slender, soft hands. After throwing the fish hook not far away, Illustrious explained into Belfast's ear, "The fourth basic movement is 'raising.' You can understand this movement as'stabbing.' Simply put, when a fish swallows the hook, the float provides feedback to us."
"When you see the float move, for safety's sake, don't immediately lift the rod. Instead, gently flick and raise it with your wrist to ensure the hook pierces the fish's lip."
Feeling Illustrious's body pressed against hers, and smelling Illustrious's scent, Belfast's face flushed slightly.
Illustrious saw that Belfast had no reaction, so she said in dissatisfaction, "Are you even listening?!"
"Yes! It's about lifting the rod when you see the float move!" Belfast became a little flustered, looking just like a student not paying attention in class and being called on by the teacher.
Illustrious sighed. "The way you say that, I know you weren't listening carefully."
Belfast put her hands together, then placed them on her chin, tilting her head. "Huh? You found out! Sorry! I actually zoned out just now."
"When I'm teaching you, you need to listen carefully, understand?" Illustrious said seriously.
"Yes, Teacher Illustrious!" Belfast said casually.
Seeing Belfast's clearly inattentive demeanor, Illustrious became very angry and threatened, "If you don't listen carefully, I'll punish you by making you wear a bunny girl outfit for a week."
"No! I don't want to wear such revealing clothes." Belfast immediately became serious. "I'll listen carefully, I absolutely won't zone out."
"That's more like it." Illustrious continued, "The fifth basic movement is 'reeling.' This movement refers to the back-and-forth struggle of loosening and tightening after a fish has taken the hook, utilizing the elasticity of the fishing rod and line."
Belfast suddenly saw a fish swimming in the sea, then excitedly said to Illustrious, "Look, a fish is swimming over! Admiral, let's quickly hook it."
"Saying all this is not as quick as letting you see it in action." Illustrious assisted Belfast from behind.
Through the earlier teaching and Illustrious's assistance from behind, Belfast quickly hooked a big fish. "What a big fish! Admiral! We'll have plenty to eat today."
"Not bad! Although my assistance played a part, your skill truly surprises me!" Illustrious encouraged, "Keep up the good work; I believe next time you'll be able to hook a big fish by yourself."
"Yes, I will." Belfast threw the hook not far away and continued fishing.
Illustrious moved a little further from Belfast, then also threw her hook not far away. Not long after waiting for a fish to bite, Illustrious found that Belfast had hooked another big fish.
Waving the lively big fish with her rod, Belfast was very excited. "Admiral! Look, I hooked a big fish by myself!"
Illustrious immediately congratulated her. "Amazing, you hooked another big fish so quickly."
Over the next hour, Belfast had already hooked eight fish, while Illustrious had only caught three, and those three were very small.
Belfast looked at Illustrious's fish bucket, then smiled, "Admiral! Why do you only have three small fish? This won't do!"
Illustrious, being mocked, looked embarrassed and angry. "L-less nonsense! I just have bad luck, that's all."
Belfast said nonchalantly, "Luck is also part of skill, you know! Admiral! You have to admit my fishing skills are better than yours."
Illustrious was very unconvinced. "Although you have more in quantity than me, as long as I hook one fish bigger than yours, then my fishing skills aren't weaker than yours."
Seeing Illustrious's angry expression, Belfast immediately felt delighted. "Then I look forward to you hooking a big fish that can beat mine!"
"Don't get too smug; just you wait." Seeing Belfast's disdainful gaze, Illustrious felt his dignity as an Admiral was being seriously challenged. "I'm definitely going to hook a big fish later. Then you'll realize that no matter how strong a student is, they can't surpass their teacher."
Another ten minutes passed, and Illustrious felt the hook shake. "Such a violent struggle—there's no mistake, this must be a big fish."
After ensuring the fish was hooked, Illustrious utilized the elasticity of the fishing rod and line to finally pull the big fish up in one go.
As the big fish landed on the shore, Illustrious was just about to show off to Belfast when he discovered that this 'big fish' wasn't a fish at all, but a Ship Girl. "My goodness, others catch fish, so how did I hook a Ship Girl?"
This Ship Girl had white hair and wore a short skirt with black stockings; her overall appearance was extremely cute.
Illustrious checked his Ship Girl encyclopedia and immediately discovered she was the Royal Navy Destroyer, Swan. "She's quite cute, but why is it another white-haired Ship Girl?"
Belfast came to Illustrious's side and said sarcastically, "Admiral! That's quite a big 'fish' you've caught!"
"Alright! Stop teasing. She seems to have stopped breathing; hurry up and give her artificial respiration," Illustrious said anxiously.
"Ah! It's that serious?" Belfast was nervous for a moment, then spread her hands and said, "But I don't know how to do artificial respiration!"
Illustrious was very disappointed. "As a Royal Navy Maid, how can you not even know a basic life-saving method like artificial respiration!"
Belfast lowered her head, her two index fingers tapping together. "Even if I am a maid, I'm not omnipotent!"
Illustrious thought for a moment and then said, "Then come over here, I'll teach you how to do artificial respiration."
Belfast was very puzzled. "Why be so troublesome? Since you know how to do it, Admiral, you should just do it to her directly!"
"You think I want to? I'm just afraid it'll cause a misunderstanding!" Illustrious said helplessly.
Belfast persuaded, "Don't be afraid, saving a life is urgent. Besides, Azuma isn't here; it's just the two of us. I'm sure if you don't say anything and I don't say anything, no one else will know about you giving this Ship Girl artificial respiration."
Seeing the Ship Girl beside them was about to die, Illustrious had no choice but to save her first. "Fine! But, let's be clear beforehand, you absolutely cannot tell Azuma."
"Mhm! I promise I will absolutely not tell Azuma." Belfast raised her right hand and said solemnly.
After getting Belfast's guarantee, Illustrious went to Swan's side.
Seeing Swan's moist, lustrous cherry lips, Illustrious couldn't help but swallow. After hesitating for a moment, he leaned toward Swan's lips.
At this moment, Illustrious's heart was completely devoid of impure thoughts, focused solely on saving a life. Belfast realized the time had come and took out her phone to snap a photo of Illustrious kissing Swan.
Noticing a flash after reviving Swan, Illustrious immediately questioned Belfast. "What are you doing taking a photo!"
Belfast narrowed her eyes. "How could such a heroic act of the Admiral saving a life go without a photo as a memento?"
Thinking about the danger if Azuma found out about this photo, Illustrious warned, "You promised me you wouldn't tell Azuma."
"Mhm! I did say that." Belfast nodded, then her tone shifted to a deep voice, "However, I never said I couldn't tell the other Ship Girls!"
"As long as I show this photo to the other Ship Girls..." Belfast walked closer to Illustrious and said playfully, "Admiral! What interesting things do you think will happen?"
What could happen? Chaos, of course. Looking at Belfast holding the photo, Illustrious felt the situation was very familiar, as if someone had used a photo to threaten him before.
He thought about it and clapped his hands together; he immediately remembered that Intrepid had used this same trick to force him to agree to something before.
History always repeats itself. Illustrious never expected that one day he would be threatened with a photo again.
Illustrious shrugged. "Fine, speak! What do you want in exchange for deleting the photo?"
Belfast leaned into Illustrious's ear and said seductively, "Come to my room tonight, and I'll delete this photo."
Leaning back slightly, Illustrious was a bit scared. It turned out Belfast had gone through such a long detour just because she was greedy for his body. "What do you want to do? I'm telling you, I'm a decent person, not the kind of easy person you imagine."
"Admiral! I'm not that kind of easy person either," Belfast stated in a calm tone. "The reason I want you to come to my room tonight is actually because I want to watch a horror movie. Since I'm a bit of a coward and don't dare to watch it alone, I want you to watch it with me."
"What! So that's what it was!" Illustrious breathed a sigh of relief, but for some reason, he felt a small sense of disappointment deep down.
"Fine! I agree. Remember to delete the photo afterward."
"Don't worry, I will."
"Where is this? Why am I here?" Swan opened her eyes, looking completely dazed.
Illustrious went to Swan's side and asked with concern, "You're awake? That's great. How are you feeling?"
"My stomach feels a bit bloated, and my head is a bit dizzy."
"You swallowed so much seawater; it would be strange if you didn't feel bloated!"
"That's true!" Swan realized something was wrong and reacted immediately. "Wait, who are you people?"
Illustrious immediately introduced himself. "My name is Illustrious, and I'm the Admiral of this island's Naval Base. I accidentally fished you out while I was fishing."
Tapping her head, Swan immediately remembered she had come to this island to escape pursuit. "My name is Swan. Thank you for saving me, but I have to leave immediately, or you all will be in danger too."
Illustrious was very puzzled. "Danger? What danger could we be in?"
Swan didn't answer; instead, she stood up and walked toward the sea, but before she had gone far, she collapsed onto the ground.
Illustrious went to Swan's side and asked with concern, "Hey! Are you really alright?"
Swan said weakly, "It's fine, I've just been starving for seven days, so my walking is a bit unsteady."
"You've been starving for seven days and you say it's fine?" Illustrious persuaded, "Your complexion doesn't look good either. Why don't you stay at my base for a few days? It won't be too late to leave once you've recovered your strength!"
On the surface, he was letting Swan stay for a few days, but in reality, Illustrious already intended not to let her leave.
Among Destroyers, there weren't many Ship Girls like Swan who were soft, delicate, and well-endowed. Now that he had met such a rare Ship Girl, Illustrious naturally wouldn't let her go. As for whether Swan had an Admiral...
Illustrious was certain that Swan definitely didn't have an Admiral, because he was an S-rank Admiral.
Admirals who reached S-rank gained an ability: the ability to perceive which Ship Girls were Free Ship Girls.
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