Chapter 80: A Regular Day... Right?

Hmm... I don't know whether to feel awkward or blissful in this situation. As I lay in bed, two beautiful girls who aren't my girlfriend laid by my side. It's been a while since two shipgirls occupied my bed with me in the middle. Not sure how they kept managing to sandwich me without me waking up... I can't tell the time, but I know it's morning since the sun is shining into the room through the gaps I left in the curtain. 

I turned to my left and stared at Shioi's sleeping face. Se looks so cute and peaceful like this. I can see her brownish bare shoulders and collarbone peeking out. Knowing her, she is definitely sleeping naked. Usually she wakes up before me and gets dressed. There are a few times when I woke up to see her bare butt or... how should I put it... extremely slender chest, which are pale and contrasts with the tanned parts of her streamlined body, or while she is the midst of putting on her swimsuit. It was a feast for my eyes. I would pretend I'm asleep during those times after getting my fill. I got caught a few times peeking though, which ended with her being embarrassed and screaming. She should just wear something if she gets that embarrassed when being seen naked...

My alarm clock sits on the night stand on the right side of my bed. I don't use its alarm function since most of the time, the girls would come to wake me up with their own methods. It just serves its function as a regular clock to tell me the time. Today, it's being blocked by another pretty face. A blonde girls sleeps on my right. The outline of her medium-sized breasts moved up and down in tandem with her breathing under the blanket. Prinz Eugen always sleeps with her hands beside her head, kind of like how babies sleep. Today she is wearing yellow pajamas with polka dots, huh. 

Anyway, since I'm wide awake, let's get out of bed. I'm going to have to get out through the front to avoid waking these two up. When I got up and moved, the blanket inevitably slipped off the two sleeping beauties, revealing Shioi's extremely petite breasts and tan lines. Her breasts are even smaller than Zuihou's, but that's part of her charm. Like the saying goes, a flat chest is a status symbol. Zuihou will keep using that phrase if she learns about it. Prinz Eugen's chest is also revealed. I can see two pearls standing at attention underneath her pajamas. I looked over at my clock. 0545 hours. Huh. For winter, the sun came out extremely early today. Usually it comes out after 0615 hours.

Brr... It's freezing. Better tuck them back in, lest they catch a cold. The pitched tent on my lower half will take care of itself naturally with time. It's just a natural physiological phenomenon that happens to men every morning. It's not like I'm aroused or anything. Yep. Let's leave it at that. 

I pulled the blanket over the two of them and tried to open my wardrobe as silently as I can. I almost failed, obviously, since the damn thing decide to make a creaking noise as I opened. Thankfully, it was not enough to wake them up. 

I grabbed my uniform and went to freshen up in my bathroom. Damn! It's freezing! 

After putting on my usual white naval uniform and cap, I opened the door and,

"Oh! Adm-" (Zuihou)

"Shh."

I showed her two fingers and gestured to my bedroom. Zuihou should understand what I'm trying to say. That little nod she is doing confirms it. I closed the door behind me.

"Good morning."

Good morning, Admiral~" (Zuihou)

That much sugar in the morning is a little dangerous...

"You woke up early today." (Zuihou)

"Yeah. I could say the same to you too. Were you planning on waking me up with a good morning kiss?"

"That's..." (Zuihou)

She twirled her hair sheepishly...

"Wait. Were you serious?"

Damn it! I missed an opportunity!

The two of us made our way to the mess hall.

"You're not going to wake them up?" (Zuihou)

"There is still some time. And if I did, there will be hell to pay." 

"Who is it this time? Shigure? Yuudachi? Kisaragi?" (Zuihou)

"Pudding and Shioi."

"Ah. Muuuu...!" (Zuihou)

"Why are you getting angry for?"

"You didn't lay a hand on Shioi's body, did you?" (Zuihou)

Shioi's lack of clothing while she sleeps is a rather uncommon knowledge amongst the girls. All the submarine girls and a few of the usual night visitors know about it.

"Of course not! What kind of person do you think I am?"

"A pervert." (Zuihou)

Oof. That stings. But she is not wrong either. That being said, even I don't know if I did anything to her while I was asleep. 

The two of us entered the Mess hall. There were already a few shipgirls inside, aside from the ones on food duty. 

"Oh. Go- Fwah~ good morning." (Shiratsuyu)

A sleepy Shiratsuyu with unkempt hair greeted me with a yawn.

"First one here again?

"Yep. I have to ...Fuaah~ keep my streak..." (Shiratsuyu)

"Didn't sleep well?"

"Didn't sleep at all. I was binge watching a new drama series. That tablet I bought is dangerous. Before I knew it, it was already morning." (Shiratsuyu)

"Oi..."

"Ehehe. Sorry. I won't do that again." (Shiratsuyu)

"You girls say that but you will definitely do it again. I'm not a stickler for rules, so I don't really care if you stay up a little bit after lights out, but staying up all night is bad for your health."

"Even though you do it yourself sometimes... Ow!" (Zuihou)

I gave Zuihou a light chop to her forehead.

"Go take a nap after breakfast. The last thing I want is for you to get sick before the mission."

"Hehe. I will do just that." (Shiratsuyu)

Zuihou and I grabbed our breakfast and picked a table to sit at. Today, it's rice, miso soup, Natto and grilled fish. A simple breakfast.

"Ah. Admiral! Good morning!" (Murasame)

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Murasame." (Zuihou)

"Admiral, good morning." (???)

Standing beside Murasame was a girl with reddish-brown eyes and long light brown hair tied in twin braids held in place with cloud-shaped hair ornaments. Her outfit consists of a white shirt with a red plaid bowtie and a grey pleated skirt held up by suspenders, black kneehighs and brown loafers. She is the Asashio-class Destroyer Murasame picked up from the first mission.

"Good morning Minegumo. Murasame isn't bullying you, right?"

"Hey! Admiral!" (Murasame)

"No no no. Murasame-san is very kind to me." (Minegumo)

"I'm just kidding. I know it's only been a day, but are you adjusting well so far? Is there anything making you uncomfortable?"

The girl shook her head,

"Everything is perfect. The bed is warm and comfy. Everyone is kind. I'm happy here." (Minegumo)

"That's great to hear. I look forward to woeking with you, Minegumo-san~" (Zuihou)

"Yes! Me too, ...erm..." (Minegumo)

"Oh. That's right. I didn't introduce myself. Shouhou-class light carrier, Zuihou. Pleased to meet you!" (Zuihou)

"Pleasure to meet you!" (Minegumo)

The two girls bowed at each other. After that, the pair went to get their breakfast and left the two of us alone. Murasame's sudden burst of laughter echoed through the mess hall.

"Hahahahahaha!" (Murasame)

"Murasame-san! You are laughing too loudly!" (Minegumo)

"I'm so telling them later! Ahahaha! That's too funny!" (Murasame)

"Murasame-san!!" (Minegumo)

"Did something happen?" (Zuihou)

"Beats me."

Soon, more shipgirls enter the mess hall and joined the breakfast queue. They greeted us as the passed by my table. 

"Admiral, Zuihou, good morning." (Shigure)

Shigure approached our table with a tray of food.

"Good morning, Shigure." 

"Shigure, good morning!" (Zuihou)

"You're early today. Can I seat here?" (Shigure)

"Sure. You are the second person to say that."

As soon as she sat down, the girls that snuck into me bed last night approached the table with their food. Prinz Eugen and Shioi were red-faced and seem to be avoiding eye contact with each other. This is the first time I see them behave like this.

"What happened?"

"N-nothing!" (Shioi)

"Ye-yeah! Nothing happened! It's not like Shioi and I were hugging each other in our sleep!" (Prinz Eugen)

"Pudding-chan!!!!" (Shioi)

"Ah!! Oh no! Sorry!!" (Prinz Eugen)

Did they...? 

"You two..." 

"Yo-you're wrong! Nothing happened!" (Shioi)

Shioi started flailing her arms around.

"Alright alright! Calm down."

A little headpat was sufficient to soothe her. Shioi looks so happy as I stroked her head. Though, the intense stares from the other, especially Zuihou, are a little overbearing...

In the end, I gave the other three and both the Mutsuk-class Destroyers, Etorofu-class Coastal Defense Shipgirls and the Submarine girls headpats as well. Initially, I only wanted to pet the other three, but my actions caught the attention of the others. Before I knew it, a line had formed.

"That was unexpected..."

"Ehehe~ But everyone was happy~" (Prinz Eugen)

Prinz Eugen and I made our way back to the office. She is on secretarial duty today. Zuihou and the others have practice today. Because of the current operation, there aren't any sorties or expeditions. The girls are still doing exercises with each other, to keep them active and maintain their skills.

I look through the files Ooyodo had passed to me along the way back. It's a bunch of progress reports and a couple of new intel.

"Oh. It's mainly recording today."

"That's easy." (Prinz Eugen)

"Yep. Let's finish this up and head to the Arsenal to develop and improve some weapons."

"Yes!" (Prinz Eugen)

Prinz Eugen began updating the new information we received into the intel booklet while I copied everything else into laptop. The important thing is the new intel we received. It will let us know what kind of Abyssal variants to expect. The plans and routes are fixed but knowing what we are up against will give us an edge in the battle. 

Plus, it lets me know what sort of equipment I should prepare for the girls.

My knuckles let a series of popping sounds as I cracked them. Phew. Finally done. It wasn't difficult, just a lot of information to be recorded.

"How is your progress?"

"Just... one more... line. There! Done!" (Prinz Eugen)

"Nice work."

"Admiral too." (Prinz Eugen)

She gave me a high-five.

Since we are done with the paperwork, it is time of weapon development. We left the main building and head for the factory. Grey clouds have started gathering above the base. 

"Looks like it's going to rain." (Prinz Eugen)

"Will Shigure be alright?"

"Unless there is thunder, she should be okay. She might be feeling melancholic though." (Prinz Eugen)

"Let's check on her later." 

Prinz Eugen nodded.

We entered the factory and head to the development sector. Looks like we are not the only one planning to do some development. Hiryuu and Souryuu are here as well. The two of them seem to be working on a set of Type 97s and Type 99s. Zuihou is here too. But what is she doing?

Zuihou is moving her right hand around, mimicking the motion of a plane. I've seen her do that quite a number of times before. She does that when she is bored. 

That's so cute, no matter how many times I see it!

"Ah." (Zuihou)

Ah. She spotted us.

"Admiral, Prinz Eugen, hello~" (Zuihou)

She trotted happily towards us.

"Yo."

"Hey. You are here to develop weapons too?" (Prinz Eugen)

"Not really. I'm just tagging along with Hiryuu-senpai and Souryuu-senpai." (Zuihou)

"Yep. Don't you know? Having a Zuihou nearby increases your equipment improvement rate." (Souryuu)

"That's a thing?"

"It's not! It's just a superstition!" (Zuihou)

"Maybe I should let you do my gachas from now on. Ouch! I was just joking! Stop kicking me!" 

With Zuihou's 'blessing', Prinz Eugen and I managed to improve the Ar196 Kai and her SKC34 20.3cm Twin Gun Mount. We managed develop a couple of medium-sized guns and some aircraft as well. It was just some Tenzen Torpedo Bombers and Type 99 Dive Bombers but Zuihou is elated. The fairies then helped to store what we improved and developed in the Arsenal.

When we left the factory, the sound of rain greeted us. The place was dark and water was being blown into the sheltered walkway.

"When did it start raining?!"

"Woah! It's cold!" (Prinz Eugen)

"Run for it!"

" Ah! Wait for me!" (Prinz Eugen)

We made a mad dash through the walkway, the rainwater soaking us despite it being sheltered. It's cold and wet, but somehow, fun. 

"Phew. Ooh. It's cold."

"Ahahaha! Of course it is! Aachoo!" (Prinz Eugen)

"Let's hurry back to the office and get you a towel."

"Unn." (Prinz Eugen)

Once we returned to the office, I told Prinz Eugen to sit at the sofa while I grab a towel from the bathroom. I should prepare the bath for her as well. I opened the door,

"Huh?" (???)

"Eh?"

Standing in the entrance room is a tall naked girl which I have never met before. Her long unkempt black hair is still damp and her breasts are as big as Prinz Eugen's.

"KYYAAAA!!!!!" (???)

The girl immediately covered her breasts with her hands and crouched down.

"Mio?! What's wrong?!" (???)

I don't recognize that voice.

"Wait, Fubuki! Don't-!" (Mio?)

The sliding door to the bathroom opened and I locked eyes with another naked girl with wet, white hair, 

"NYAAA?!?!" (Fubuki?)

The girl with white hair quickly hid behind the door,

"Pervert! Get out of here!" (Fubuki?)

Oi! Why am I still staring?!

I turned away and covered my eyes,

"Who are you two? And what are you doing in my bathroom?!"

"What wrong? Who are you two?" (Prinz Eugen)

"Eh? Pudding-chan, Commander. You're here for a bath too?" (Tokitsukaze)

I opened a gap between my fingers and immediately saw Tokitsukaze peeking out from behind the sliding door, underneath the white-hair one.

"Tokitsukaze, what the hell is going on here?!"