How do I start a romantic relationship with a ship girl?

Page 3

If she really does that, we can have an extra octopus barbecue tonight.

"Hiss... You're quite strange. Not only are you not afraid of me, but you also seem quite confident?"

"Uh...can't I be knowledgeable and well-informed?"

"Um----"

Royal Wealth pondered, recalling what had happened before, and suddenly realized that he hadn't clearly seen the other person's movements twice in a row. He then felt relieved and stopped worrying about the young man's identity.

"Alright, just remember to pay on time. Now, come aboard with me! But let me make it clear beforehand that you have to follow my rules on board."

Under normal circumstances, she would be busy with adventure and treasure hunting, and would absolutely not agree to such an unpredictable thing.

But just like the sudden flutter in her heart when she first arrived at the center of the island, she inexplicably agreed to the request of the young man she was meeting for the first time today.

It was a kind of inexplicable sense of trust.

"I feel like something's off about me today..." Royal Wealth walked ahead, stopping every now and then to glance back at the seemingly weak young man behind him, making sure he could keep up.

Seeing the girl in front of him turn around, Xu Huan nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"He doesn't seem particularly bright. Is it really okay to let someone like him on board?"

With a sigh, the ship girl turned back again:

"By the way, human, I still haven't asked you what your name is?"

"Xu Huan."

"What? You like it? What a strange name."

"..."

Chapter Four: The Culprit?

"It's Xu Huan, not something I like. My accent is one of the most standard in the entire Human Alliance..."

Xu Huan gave a helpless explanation, and seeing that the ship girl walking in front didn't seem to care much, he stopped worrying about it.

After all, he was often referred to by a code name in the past.

But to be honest... names do feel much more personal than a simple number.

After following the ship girl for about two minutes, when the wind, carrying the salty smell of the ocean, blew in his face, he realized that he was on a very barren and isolated island.

A truly desolate place, where even birds wouldn't bother to defecate.

If he hadn't been lucky enough to run into a ship girl who claimed to be a pirate, he probably would have been lying here for who knows how long.

"Let me tell you in advance, once you're on the ship, don't wander around. You have to stay in the designated area, and you can't make any noise without my permission. If you attract too much attention from the Sirens, I won't be able to save you."

After the girl finished speaking, without waiting for Xu Huan's reply, she slowly slid her hand through the air.

With the movement of its hands, several tentacles instantly rose from the sea in front of it, and then a huge sailing ship slowly emerged from the seabed, its massive hull even instantly blocking out nearly half of the sunlight on the coast.

The ship's overall design is very traditional, resembling a classic sailboat, with tentacles constantly waving around its sides, much like scenes from various fantasy anime.

Because their specializations didn't align, Xu Huan couldn't discern the specific details of the ship, but the unique sense of historical depth it exuded still gave him a slight jolt.

If placed within the People's Federation, it would certainly be considered an antique, and it would definitely be a prized possession in a museum.

However, he had other things he was more interested in than these.

"How did they get this up from the seabed? Is it some kind of special space folding or jump technology?" Xu Huan said, while also activating the corresponding detection function on his watch.

No traces of spatial warp-offs have been detected in the current area.

If it can't be detected, is it because it's a technology I haven't used before?

"What's so strange? This is my prototype ship... Every ship girl has one; you can summon it simply by thinking about it."

Royal Wealth raised a handsome eyebrow and answered casually.

"You're just a human, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you... Hurry up and get on the boat, this place isn't that safe."

"Okay, then I'll—?!"

Just as Xu Huan was about to make a move, two of the tentacles that were encircling the ship rushed over, wrapped his entire body up, and placed him directly on the deck.

"Crack-"

With another light landing sound, the surrounding tentacles and the entire ship sank to the bottom of the sea.

Then a huge bubble slowly enveloped the entire ship.

"Hmm, not bad. It's good that you weren't scared. That's what makes you qualified to board the ship." Looking at the calm and composed Xu Huan, Royal Wealth nodded, finally showing a hint of satisfaction.

"There's no one else on the ship besides you. You can choose any empty room to stay in, but don't go near the cargo hold below or my room at the very back, and don't come up to the deck when we surface. Any other questions?"

"No." Xu Huan was looking around the ship when he shook his head.

He considered the other party's request to be quite reasonable, and he didn't have much energy to run around on the ship.

"If there's nothing else, go inside the cabin. I'll tell you when we get there. Also, remember to keep your reward safe, or I'll really throw you into the sea to feed the sharks, human."

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl disappeared behind the cabin door along with the tentacles, leaving Xu Huan alone on the empty deck.

The ship didn't dive very deep, and plenty of sunlight still shone through the sea surface and bubbles onto the deck, creating a colorful curtain of light. Combined with the occasional schools of fish swimming by, it was a bit dazzling to look at.

But for Xu Huan, the beautiful scenery was secondary.

"Another technology I've never seen before..."

After the girl left, Xu Huan stared curiously at the bubbles covering the surface. After hesitating for a moment, he gently stepped on the deck.

The next second—

"Boom!"

A sound similar to cracking rang out, and Xu Huan was immediately outside the bubble.

Once freed from the protection of the bubbles, water pressure immediately surged from all directions, violently squeezing the young man's body.

Xu Huan still didn't react, his eyes fixed on the spot where the blister had just burst, silently counting in his mind.

In less than a second, the ruptured blister returned to its original state.

"...It can be repaired in such a short time? It's a pity the strength is too low, otherwise it could even be comparable to our shield." Shaking his head with some regret, Xu Huan, having achieved his goal, pushed off with both feet again and returned to the deck, walking towards the cabin.

The interior of the cabin was nothing special. Compared to the magnificent light show on the outside, the repetitive rooms and furnishings inside seemed rather monotonous and boring.

After turning the corner, I randomly picked a clean-looking room with complete facilities and was about to lie down when the door was suddenly pushed open.

"There might be a problem. Remember not to wander around in a bit." Unlike his confident demeanor just now, Royal Wealth's brows were furrowed, and a hint of worry appeared on his delicate face.

"Hmm? Do you need my help?" Xu Huan, who was about to remind the other party to knock on the door, lost interest in arguing after hearing this and asked.

"What can a human like you do? Just not being a hindrance is good enough..." The ship girl pouted, but after looking into the young man's eyes and hesitating for a moment, she still whispered:

"I don't know why, but it seems like we've been targeted by sirens, and there are quite a few of them."

"Hmm? Siren?"

"Yes, it's those guys who are hostile to both humans and ship girls. Although the mass-produced ones aren't very strong individually, I'm not strictly speaking a surface ship, and my firepower and armor are inferior to theirs. A few are manageable, but if there are many, I'll have a very hard time dealing with them..."

Royal Wealth sighed and continued, "I'll try to see if I can dodge it... If not, I might have to borrow your payment in advance."

A considerable number of enemies? And our firepower and armor are clearly inferior to theirs...

To be honest, before knowing the Sirens' exact strength, Xu Huan felt that this matter was still a bit tricky.

And then I remembered what the ship girl said earlier about trying to avoid it...

"Can the other side monitor our location in real time?"

"That's also what I'm wondering about. Normally, if someone has bubbles in their eyes and is submerged, they shouldn't be so easy to spot."

"...What happens if the blister bursts?"

"It'll be discovered... huh?"

Chapter Five: Legends of the Sea

“Based on my understanding of bubbles, marine life can’t really do anything to them… But how did you come up with this?” Royal Fortune looked at Xu Huan with some confusion.

In her experience, ruptured blisters are practically the least likely thing to happen.

"...A reasonable speculation."

Upon hearing that he was the culprit, Xu Huan fell into a brief silence and could only make up a random excuse to get by.

But how could such a thin layer of blisters have such a significant effect?

Fortunately, if it's related to blisters, it was probably only exposed for a moment.

But from another perspective, if the other side could capture and immediately assemble their forces in just a fleeting moment—

"It might be a bit tricky."

Xu Huan let out a long breath, took out the pendant he had prepared as a reward from his pocket, and threw it directly into the girl's hand.

"Although I don't know what use this thing will be to you, since you asked, I'll give it to you in advance as payment. If you feel it's not enough afterward, I can make up for it with more."

"...Why are you suddenly being so generous?"