Laffey pressed her little face against Ye Ming's palm and gently rubbed against it. "Laffey isn't human. Laffey is a Ship-Girl, and Ship-Girls belong to the Commander. Laffey and everyone in the Port District all think so."
What could Ye Ming even say?
He was utterly moved by little Laffey. Squatting down, he hugged her tightly and rubbed his face against hers.
However, Laffey wasn't finished yet.
"So, even if Laffey knows the Commander is lying, Laffey will pretend not to know. Because Laffey doesn't want to cause trouble for the Commander, doesn't want to make things difficult for the Commander..."
Laffey's voice choked up a little. "Actually, actually, the Wedding Dress isn't important at all. A-Actually, it's fine even if Laffey doesn't have a Wedding Dress. Laffey, Laffey isn't sad at all."
"Commander, Laffey, Laffey doesn't want a Wedding Dress anymore."
"Laffey."
Ye Ming froze. He could hear the sob in the little girl's voice, so he quickly let go of her. To his surprise, tears had appeared in her wine-red eyes.
It broke Ye Ming's heart.
Only then did Ye Ming understand. Laffey had seen through his perfunctory attitude long ago, but the sensible little girl had kept pretending she knew nothing. When they had been waiting for the elevator, Laffey's request for him to buy her Wedding Dress along with it had probably been her first and last attempt to test the waters. Once she saw his predicament, Laffey immediately gave up on the Wedding Dress.
The significance of a Wedding Dress to a girl went without saying. Even for an innocent little girl like Laffey, a Wedding Dress was incredibly important.
So the first and only wish little Laffey had made after coming to this world and seeing Ye Ming was for him to buy her another Wedding Dress.
Because her Wedding Dress had been left behind in the Azure world, where she might never see it again.
Realizing this, Ye Ming thought of even more details.
Having come alone to this unfamiliar world, Laffey must have missed her companions in the Port District terribly. Yet she had never mentioned searching for her former companions, nor had she ever said she wanted to return to her old world. Besides wanting to stay with Ye Ming, the bigger reason was probably that Laffey felt she could no longer go back.
Because she believed she couldn't return, she didn't want her Commander to overthink things or be put in a difficult position. That was why, when Ye Ming asked, she said things like, "It won't be long before everyone finds the Commander, reunites with the Commander, stays by the Commander's side, and rebuilds the Port District."
At the time, Ye Ming had been shaken by Laffey's serious tone and instinctively thought of the girls wandering across the world in search of their Commander. But looking back now, wasn't Laffey's determined tone as much about giving herself confidence as answering Ye Ming?
But because she didn't want to put pressure on her Commander, Laffey had never mentioned any of this to Ye Ming.
This was what a Ship-Girl was. This was Laffey.
She really was a little spirit who made one's shoulders feel heavy.
She didn't fight or compete, didn't fuss or complain. She simply stayed quietly by your side, relying on you while protecting you. Yet she could always capture your heart without you noticing, silently take the most important place in it, heal your soul, and make you feel both the weight of her affection and the heavy responsibility on your shoulders.
For some reason, the eyes of Ye Ming, an adult office worker tempered by society, had started to sting. Even his voice choked up beyond his control.
How embarrassing.
"Laffey, the Commander promises that he'll choose the most beautiful Wedding Dress for you, and then personally help you put it on."
Ye Ming hugged Laffey.
"I'm sorry, Laffey. Please forgive the Commander. From now on, rely on the Commander a little more, okay?"
Not a Lolicon
Ye Ming wasn't someone who dragged things out. Since he had decided to buy Laffey a Wedding Dress, the sooner, the better.
It just so happened to be the weekend. Ye Ming decided that after breakfast, once he had settled Fu Hua in, he would take Laffey to a nearby bridal shop.
Of course, although Laffey was an Oath Ship, she was also a little girl. Would a bridal shop even have ready-made Wedding Dresses specifically for little girls?
So Laffey's Wedding Dress would most likely need to be custom-made.
Naturally, to keep the staff from mistaking him for a pervert and calling the police, Ye Ming had already prepared an excuse—the Wedding Dress was for Laffey's cosplay.
That should help him escape judgment, right?
Ye Ming thought nervously, though he looked calm on the surface.
"Laffey, after breakfast, the Commander will take you to have a new Wedding Dress made."
Ye Ming made the promise solemnly.
After receiving the promise, Laffey stood there blankly for quite a while before reacting. The little girl happily rose onto her tiptoes and planted a loud kiss on Ye Ming's cheek. Her smiling face, still dotted with tears, revealed a sweet smile warm enough to melt hearts.
"Thank you, Commander. Laffey likes the Commander the most!"
"The Commander likes Laffey the most too."
Little Laffey was very happy, and Ye Ming, having received his reward, was very happy too. He reached out to wipe away the tears on Laffey's face, then opened the door.
After entering the living room, Ye Ming placed breakfast on the coffee table and told Laffey to eat first. Then he went into the bedroom, intending to open the window and air the room out.
But after entering the bedroom, Ye Ming discovered that the window was already half-open.
Strange. Had I opened the window? Probably not?
Could Laffey or Fu Hua have opened it?
The doubt flashed through his mind, but Ye Ming didn't dwell on it.
He drew the curtains closed, shut the half-open window a little further, turned around and made the bed, then finally left the bedroom.
But when he reached the bedroom door, Ye Ming noticed a patch of wet marks on the floor behind it. Specks of moisture dotted the ground, as though drops of water had fallen one by one onto the floor.
Was there a leak?
Ye Ming frowned and carefully inspected the ceiling, but there were no signs of leakage.
Ye Ming breathed a sigh of relief, used a mop to clean the floor, and returned to the living room.
On the living room sofa, Laffey hugged a cushion and leaned against the backrest, her chin resting on it and her eyes half-open, half-closed. She looked as though she was about to fall asleep again.
Little Laffey always looked adorably sleep-deprived.
"Huh? Why aren't you eating?" Ye Ming asked curiously when he noticed the breakfast on the coffee table hadn't even been unwrapped.
"This is Laffey and the Commander's first breakfast together. Laffey wants to eat with the Commander."
Laffey tossed aside the cushion and pulled Ye Ming down beside her. Before he could do anything, she opened the bag herself, took out a bun, and held it up to his mouth.
"Commander, ahh~"
Laffey's beautiful wine-red eyes watched Ye Ming expectantly.
Ye Ming had felt a little embarrassed, but under the little girl's expectant gaze, he could only take a bite of the bun.
Laffey smiled. "That bite was Laffey feeding the Commander. Commander, do you want some soy milk?"
Ye Ming swallowed the bun and shook his head.
"Ahh~"
Laffey held the remaining half of the bun to Ye Ming's mouth again.
"Uh, Laffey, the Commander can eat by himself."
Though he said that, Ye Ming obediently opened his mouth and swallowed the half bun Laffey offered him in one bite.
Since it was his first time being fed by a little girl, Ye Ming was a little nervous. When he closed his mouth, his lips accidentally brushed Laffey's fingers. The little girl seemed to find it amusing and giggled. Then she said seriously, "That bite was Laffey feeding the Commander on behalf of Ayanami, Javelin, and Z23. They're the Commander's Oath Ships too. When everyone reunites someday, Commander has to testify for Laffey. Laffey hasn't forgotten them."
Ye Ming obediently nodded. Seeing Laffey's smile made him happy as well.
Of course, he wasn't happy because he was enjoying being fed by a little girl for the first time. He was happy because Laffey had finally opened up a little in front of him and started talking about her companions in the Port District. That was a good sign.
Laffey picked up another bun and held it to Ye Ming's mouth. "That bite is Laffey feeding the Commander on behalf of Enterprise and the others. Enterprise is the Commander's second Oath Ship, and she was Secretary Ship for a long time too. She always did her best to assist the Commander with the Port District's affairs. Everyone in the White Eagle has always liked the Commander most in the Port District too. When the Commander gives out rings in the future, he must consider the White Eagle seniors."
Laffey had started boosting her sisters' favorability.
Ye Ming could only nod.
"This bite is from Belfast, little Belfast, and the sisters of the Royal Maid Corps..."
Next came the Royal Maid Corps, who had always taken good care of Laffey.
Ye Ming panicked.
Good grief. He had never carefully counted how many Ship-Girls there were in Azure, but there had to be at least four hundred. His account before he quit had been fully collected too. If Laffey fed him bite by bite, he wouldn't be able to finish even if he stuffed himself to death.
Of course, there were so many Ship-Girls in the Port District that even Laffey might not know every one of them well. But even just the Oath Ships would be enough to stuff Ye Ming to death.
The joy of being fed by a little girl quickly turned into panic, and Ye Ming decisively surrendered.
"Laffey should eat too."
Ye Ming snatched the bun from Laffey's hand and brought it to her mouth. "This is the Commander's first time feeding someone. Laffey isn't allowed to refuse."
When her favorite Commander said something like that, a Ship-Girl like Laffey naturally had no way to refuse.
Little Laffey could only obediently open her mouth and accept Ye Ming's feeding. In doing so, Ye Ming successfully defused the crisis of being stuffed to death.
Uh, though Laffey wouldn't have deliberately stuffed him to death anyway.
Still...
Come to think of it, whether he was accepting little Laffey's feeding or feeding little Laffey, both were things that put him in a good mood. Ye Ming realized that no matter what happened, he came out ahead.
And though it sounded a little narcissistic, Ye Ming realized that although he had never had experience getting along with little girls, after just one short day with Laffey, he had already begun to grasp the tricks of getting along with one. He could even use his wits to resolve crises reasonably.
Could this be the legendary talent?
But that was so strange. I'm obviously not a lolicon, so why do I have this talent?
Ye Ming was deeply confused. Although he had quite a few destroyer lolis and Submarine Lolis among his Oath Ships, he had even more main fleet ships with long legs and huge boobs.
Before you continue