Chapter 167: Explanation of Feelings

Qin Ge, who had received monogamous and gender-equal education since childhood, upon seeing these records in the book, couldn't help but feel deeply shocked.

After all, in his view, giving a ring to someone means marriage, and marriage is a sacred thing that happens only once in a lifetime; if two people aren't truly in love, they certainly wouldn't reach this point.

However, the person described in this book seems not to think that way, so Qin Ge turned his head in confusion toward Ou Gen Qin Wang beside him.

"Ou Gen, do you think it's normal for a commander to be simultaneously sworn to two or more shipgirls?"

Ou Gen Qin Wang put down his book, looked at Qin Ge with interest, and said, "Huh? Are you encountering a point of confusion here, Commander?"

"That's right, because I saw in the book that many commanders have sworn oaths to two or more shipgirls. So I have some doubts." Qin Ge said to Ou Gen Qin Wang.

"Regarding this question of the commander, I can only say it's very easy to explain." Ou Gen Qin Wang said with a smile, "What you, Commander, are currently considering is from the standpoint of humanity; you haven't yet entered the true state of a commander."

"Not entered the true state of a commander?" Qin Ge wondered.

"That's right." Ou Gen Qin Wang nodded, "Actually, although our appearance resembles that of human girls, we are fundamentally not human girls; put bluntly, we are weapons, a kind of weapon possessing independent thought."

"Aren't you commanders from another world? Then how do your navies refer to their warships?"

"Um... her?" Qin Ge said embarrassedly.

After all, as navy personnel, especially as sailors aboard warships, they often sail out to sea on the ocean; thus, many people spend very little time with their families, but a lot of time with their warships.

Therefore, in the navies of various nations, a popular custom is to refer to one's warships as "she" (the feminine pronoun). Of course, there is one nation's navy that is an exception; to this day Qin Ge still doesn't know what those Russians are thinking.

The first reason is that a warship is an extension of a nation's territory, a national heavy weapon; thus, just like the motherland, it naturally becomes a feminine presence.

The second reason is that most rumors are about men, and men tend to metaphorize everything they love or wish to protect as feminine, making the warships they accompany daily also feminine.

"So, Commander, do you understand? If you were to marry several warships, would you hesitate?" Ou Gen Qin Wang asked.

"Of course not; that is something I have sworn to protect with my life." Qin Ge said to Ou Gen Qin Wang matter-of-factly.

"Then, if that's the case, replacing warships with shipgirls would work, wouldn't it?" Ou Gen Qin Wang smiled.

"Cough..." Qin Ge was choked up, but thinking about it, it makes sense—each shipgirl he now commands is the incarnation of a former warship.

Moreover, in his conversations with the shipgirls, he also revealed that these shipgirls' battles are exactly the same as those experienced by warships in his world's World War II or World War I.

The only difference is that they now have human bodies and independent thoughts.

"Besides, actually we don't really care much about this; perhaps some people might be more concerned, but these are just shipgirls with strong possessiveness."

"For us, swearing an oath together with the commander represents affirmation of the commander and also a kind of entrusting of our own future." Ou Gen Qin Wang said.

Then she opened the book in her hand and said to Qin Ge, "I just saw a story in this book that seems very interesting; let me tell it to you, Commander."

"Okay." Qin Ge nodded.

Ou Gen Qin Wang said to Qin Ge, "The story begins with a commander who had five shipgirls; he usually got along very well with them, and he had sworn oaths with two of those shipgirls."

"During a mission execution, they encountered an ambush fleet, but at that time oil had been exhausted, the situation was extremely perilous. The commander thought he would surely die there, but he didn't expect his shipgirls to make a decision."

"This decision was to use themselves as bait, lure the ambush fleet to attack, allowing their commander to escape safely."

"What happened next?" Qin Ge asked Ou Gen Qin Wang.

"Their commander would certainly not agree to their decision, after all those ambush fleets are far stronger than them; even at full strength they might not be able to defeat them, and moreover oil is still scarce, putting them in a disadvantaged position."

"However, they knocked out their own commander, then after locking the dinghy's navigation, several of them jumped off the boat. One side drew the ambush fleet's fire away from the dinghy, while the other side fled in the opposite direction."

"Finally, when their commander awoke, he found himself already on the shore; he hurriedly gathered his grand fleet members to go to the accident site to search, but in that expanse of sea he only found the wreckage left by the Siren Mass-Produced Fleet, plus a few small gifts he had given his shipgirls."

"Afterward, that commander never summoned shipgirls again, because when a shipgirl sinks, the commander has a chance to resummon a shipgirl of the same name. He feared resummoning his few shipgirls, for if he did, it would prove they were gone."

"After that, day after day, year after year, that commander stood by the seaside every day, hoping his shipgirls would return to port; although everyone knows it's impossible, he still persisted in this way day after day."

After Ou Gen Qin Wang finished speaking, he looked at Qin Ge and asked, "What do you think, Commander?"

"It's a very tragic and beautiful story; if it were me, I estimate I would make the same choice as him." Qin Ge said to Ou Gen Qin Wang.

"So, Commander, you no longer need to agonize over future emotional matters between us, because from the moment you summoned us, we are destined to always stay by your side."

"So, oaths or marriage, they are merely a declaration of feelings between two people. Even without these things, we will continue to be by your side as always, accompanying you in life, in battle, in welcoming victory, and in welcoming death." Ou Gen Qin Wang said with a smile.

"Thank you, Ou Gen." Qin Ge said to Ou Gen Qin Wang.

"No need to thank me; if you really want to thank me, bring some liquor to find me sometime—last time you didn't drink enough." Ou Gen Qin Wang said to Qin Ge.

"Heh, rather than picking another day, let's just do it today." Qin Ge laughed.

"Okay."