Chapter 20: Do Shipgirls Use the Toilet?

Of course, in close-quarters combat, the speed of drawing a blade is always faster than the speed of firing a gun! Nengdai said to Qin Ge.

Qin Ge nodded without thinking, "Considering the loading speed, indeed the speed of drawing a blade is faster than firing a gun, though it's somewhat overturning common sense." After all, in his world ships were ship-shaped, moving slowly in naval battles and turning slowly, so to avoid this disadvantage battles were basically conducted at long range, and ramming or boarding actions rarely occurred.

But this world is different. As another form of warship, shipgirls possess tiny bodies and agile postures on the sea surface, easily achieving tactics impossible for ship forms. For example, after closing in they can use their own ship equipment to inflict damage at close range, and with agile movement dodge incoming shells and torpedoes.

This combat style gave shipgirls greater diversity and broadened Qin Ge's horizons; he suddenly had the idea of transferring the previous world's army combat system to the sea surface. So Qin Ge took a pen and wrote on his notebook, recording this idea.

"Alright, you two can now move freely in the room; next I need to look at those basic books I brought back." After recording the idea, Qin Ge said to his two shipgirls.

"Um, Commander, can I study with you? And if there's anything you don't understand about us, you can also ask me." Banrenma smiled and said to Qin Ge.

"Of course, if you don't mind it being boring." Qin Ge nodded and smiled.

"Of course not!" Banrenma said happily.

Then the three went upstairs together; Nengdai headed to her own room while Banrenma entered Qin Ge's room with him. The two sat side by side at the table; Qin Ge directly took a copy of Shipgirl Compendium and began reading, while Banrenma casually picked up a book from the pile and started reading. The room fell silent, only the sound of turning pages and Qin Ge noting the book's key points in his notebook.

Although this Shipgirl Compendium is called a book, its actual page count is not large, only about forty or fifty pages, yet these pages record many things closely related to shipgirls, such as ship equipment, training level, breakthrough, and so on.

After finishing, Qin Ge organized his thoughts a bit, then marked something in his notebook and said to Banrenma beside him, "Banrenma, I'll ask you a few questions; please answer them for me."

"Sure, Commander!" Banrenma put down the book in her hands and said.

"First, how is your training level calculated? This only says training level is related to a shipgirl's strength, but it doesn't explain exactly how." Qin Ge pointed at his notebook and said.

"Our training level is actually similar to the combat experience gained from the number of battles we've participated in. Take me as an example: the more battles I join, the more proficient I become at controlling my carrier aircraft, the speed of launching planes increases, and my control over the entire airspace also increases." Banrenma explained.

"I see, then what about breakthrough?" Qin Ge asked.

"Breakthrough occurs when training level reaches a certain threshold, granting a shipgirl a qualitative increase: specifically, the number of aircraft launched becomes greater, and her efficiency in controlling aircraft improves. Each shipgirl can undergo breakthrough three times in her lifetime, and she can sense when each breakthrough is possible." Banrenma explained.

"Hmm." Qin Ge nodded, "What about the oath? I read in the book that the oath is similar to marriage in the human world?"

"Probably." Banrenma said, blushing.

Qin Ge blinked, then laughed. Previously, a saying circulated in the academy: the army treats one's steel rifle as a second life, the air force regards one's aircraft as a companion, and the navy regards one's warship as a wife.

Nowadays, the oath basically implies sharing life and death for such a long time, so developing some romance is natural, but there's a problem Qin Ge can't quite grasp.

"Banrenma, I touched your hand earlier and found no difference from a human's, so I want to ask: why can you withstand artillery and torpedo attacks?" Qin Ge asked.

"Because when we aren't using the power of the Wisdom Cube, we're just like ordinary human girls, but once we activate the Wisdom Cube's power, we become true warships." Banrenma explained.

Qin Ge nodded and then asked seriously, "Then, after marriage, can one have a relationship with a shipgirl?"

"Ah……" Banrenma's face turned even redder, she stammered.

Seeing her reaction, Qin Ge immediately realized he might have misspoken, and hurriedly apologized, "Sorry, I was just asking, with no other intention……"

"It's possible, because a shipgirl's bodily structure in her normal form is the same as a human's, so……" Banrenma said.

"Oh, I see." Qin Ge noted this in his notebook, then after finishing, he looked up at Banrenma and said, "Then can shipgirls bear children?"

"Cannot……" Banrenma said, speechless.

"Why? You just said shipgirls have the same bodily structure as humans in their normal form, so why can't they bear children?" Qin Ge pressed.

"Because a shipgirl's power comes entirely from the Cube, she lacks reproductive ability……" Banrenma lowered her head even further.

"It's really strange—since the body's structure is like that yet there's no reproductive ability……" Qin Ge muttered to himself, "If they had reproductive ability, that would be great; then there wouldn't be so few shipgirls, so few commanders."

"Commander……" Banrenma was somewhat speechless, having thought Qin Ge was teasing her, but didn't expect he was seriously considering this matter.

"By the way, Banrenma." Qin Ge turned his head and asked, "Do shipgirls use the toilet?"

Banrenma immediately fell silent, turned and walked away, and when she closed the door there was a "bang"……

"Eh…… if you don't want to answer, just don't answer……" Qin Ge shook his head and began researching again.

Meanwhile, Nengdai heard the door closing and came out, seeing Banrenma's face flushed red, she asked somewhat surprised, "Did the commander lay hands on you?"

Banrenma shook her head, "No."

"Then why do you look a bit angry?" Nengdai asked.

"The commander……" Banrenma stammered, "He asked a lot of strange questions……"

"Oh, what did he ask?" Nengdai asked curiously.

"He asked whether shipgirls can bear children." Banrenma said, speechless.

"Oh, what else did he ask?" Nengdai's face sank as she asked.

"He also asked whether shipgirls use the toilet." Banrenma said, her face red.

With a "whoosh," Banrenma looked toward Nengdai, "Ah, Senior Nengdai, please don't draw your sword……"