At least, that was what Cheshire herself believed.
After Cheshire bumped into her, Belfast noticed something was off with her clothes and her heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly held down Cheshire, who was nuzzling against her chest to show affection, lest she lose her composure in public.
Casually straightening her outfit, Belfast looked up and saw Gwen smiling at her. Her heartbeat quickened slightly, but she still wore her flawless smile as she said to Gwen:
"Commander, Belfast will take Cheshire over there first."
"Mm. Thank you, Belfast."
Gwen had clearly caught the fleeting glimpse when Cheshire bumped into Belfast, but he merely smiled, nodded, and replied.
Perhaps because most of the ships from the other two major shipgirl factions, the Eagle Union and Sakura Empire, had already been recovered by Gwen, his subsequent constructions were filled entirely with Royal Navy ships. Some had sunk before, while others were new faces, leaving Elizabeth beaming with delight.
The one who broke that rhythm was the woman with the large mole on her chest—
"I am the miracle of the Iron Blood Third Reich, Admiral Hipper's third ship—Prinz Eugen. No matter what kind of battle it is, I will survive..."
With her legs curled up and her whole body leaning against her rigging, Prinz Eugen habitually bit her left index finger, yet still spoke with perfect clarity.
As she spoke, her eyes, the color of champagne that had once shattered against her bow, curiously studied the Commander before her, who had previously been thought not to exist.
"I believe those words will become reality from now on."
Gwen did not take Eugen's less-than-friendly attitude to heart. He did not say anything like, "Then why did I pull you out of the construction machine?" Instead, he simply smiled, nodded, and replied casually.