Chapter 584: Xin ze xi's Discovery

Leaving Tiancheng, it was already after dinner.

Just after stepping out, I saw Belfast standing beautifully outside the Sakura Empire building, waiting for me.

"How did you end up here?" Qin Ge said, smiling as he approached Belfast.

"I didn't see you at dinner, so I came especially to wait for you to eat together." Belfast said.

Qin Ge chuckled, walking alongside Belfast as he said, "I had some snacks earlier at Tiancheng, so I'm not too hungry. I just forgot to eat, and by the time I came to, it was already getting dark."

"Hehe, you've been busy all day, Master." Belfast said.

Qin Ge shrugged with a smile, saying, "If keeping company with pretty girls like you counts as tiring, then there's no comfortable job in the world."

"Hehe, Master, you're getting better at saying sweet things." Belfast laughed.

"Ha, actually I realized I used to look for trouble when there was none, but now being more relaxed makes everything go smoothly—you're happy, and I'm happy too." Qin Ge said with a smile.

"So, Master, have you decided who will receive the second Oath Ring?" Belfast asked.

Qin Ge froze for a moment, somewhat embarrassed, saying, "There are too many options; I can't decide right now. I'll save up more red points, and when I can buy the next Oath Ring, I'll decide then."

However, I already have someone in mind.

"Who is it?" Even Belfast asked, curious.

Qin Ge stopped, turned his head to Belfast, and said, "You."

"Me?" Belfast blinked, then laughed, saying, "I appreciate your feelings, Master, but I think it would be better to give this Oath Ring to another lady."

Belfast is just a first‑rank maid; as long as I can see you every day, that's my greatest happiness.

Qin Ge shook his head, saying, "How can you say that? Though you weren't one of the first two shipgirls I summoned, you were the third I summoned, and you've been with me this long, always taking care of me."

"If I didn't care about someone like you, what kind of commander would I be?"

"But if you do that, Master, it will make me want to do even more for you, and also make me think too much." Belfast said.

Qin Ge smiled, saying, "Although in the Royal Navy your title would be Head Maid, our fleet isn't royal—you like being a maid as your hobby, but I like you as my freedom."

Besides, after the oath I won't worry about you doing maid duties, so let's settle on that.

"Then thank you, Master." Belfast no longer declined, but said happily, a look of fulfillment on her face that Qin Ge did not miss.

Seeing Belfast content, Qin Ge couldn't help recalling when Duoduo served as his secretary ship.

As a member of the Maid Corps, Duoduo actually had some reservations about Belfast. For Duoduo, being able to look after Qin Ge and stand beside him as a maid was already her proudest achievement.

But whenever she saw Belfast's ambitions go beyond that, and saw her act beyond the limits of a maid, Duoduo would feel jealousy from the heart.

Of course, Qin Ge didn't learn Belfast's thoughts through Duoduo; the two had actually known each other's feelings for a long time, but back then Qin Ge had not yet decided.

Later, because Guanghui helped Qin Ge open his heart and he chose to accept these shipgirls, Guanghui, as the one who opened Qin Ge's heart, naturally became his first Oath Ring shipgirl.

He had actually considered giving the second Oath Ring to either Banrenma or Nengdai, since they were his original shipgirls, and even if he swore the oath within the port, nobody would complain.

But after thinking it over, Qin Ge still wanted to give the ring to Belfast, who had always looked after him.

The two chatted as they walked to the fleet's mess hall; while Belfast helped Qin Ge get his meal, a figure sat down opposite him.

"Xin ze xi, did you just come over to eat too?" Qin Ge asked with a smile.

"No, I'm here especially waiting for the commander." Xin ze xi said to Qin Ge.

"Oh? You're waiting especially for me? What's up?" Qin Ge asked.

"Commander, in a while the Siren Tide will arrive. I always feel the Sirens are plotting something; these past few days, while clearing sea lanes, I noticed the Siren Fleet in the waters is gradually increasing." Xin ze xi said.

"Increasing?" Qin Ge said, surprised, "Why do the reports I receive show that the number of Siren Fleets you encounter each day stays within a constant range, with no sign of increase?"

"I'm not talking about the number of Siren Fleets increasing, but about their size. Previously, most of the time a large Siren Fleet consisted of a few battleships and a few aircraft carriers, accompanied by some heavy and light cruisers and destroyers." Xin ze xi explained.

But during this period I noticed the numbers of battleships and aircraft carriers have slightly increased; perhaps because our combat speed is fast, others haven't noticed. Still, it's a fact—I only happened to discover this by chance.

I think the commander should also know that adding a main battleship isn't just a simple increase in ship count for the fleet's capability.

Qin Ge stroked his chin and nodded, saying, "This situation probably won't affect our fleet much, but it will affect other commanders."

"Could it be that the Sirens are preparing to boil a frog in warm water, gradually increasing the number of Siren Fleets so that, unbeknownst to us, commander and shipgirl casualties become greater?"

"I'm not sure either; this is just something I happened to notice, so I'm telling you, commander, in case you and a few others can infer the Sirens' later plans from these data." Xin ze xi said with a smile.

Qin Ge nodded, saying, "I understand this situation; later I'll contact the other few leaders and have them pay a bit more attention to this while carrying out missions."

If we can confirm that the Siren Fleet is indeed gradually increasing its main force, then we should promptly inform Donghuang and the other major factions so they can take appropriate precautions.

These are turbulent times; we must stay alert. Xin ze xi, if you ever discover such a situation again, report to me immediately. Any abnormality could save our fleet.

"Don't worry, Commander—I'm Xin ze xi, and I will surely find those Sirens' traces."