You Become Like Those You Associate With / I'm Not Katsushika Hokusai, Just Oei

New Orleans blinked, silently left, and went to continue taking care of Quincy.

"Sister, sister, you can't do this!" one of the girls tried her best to dissuade the other.

"Imperio, don't say that. I'm highly regarded even by the Admiral. She often mentions my name. I can definitely handle this little thing."

The visitors were none other than the Vittorio Veneto class of Roma and the Imperio.

There's a reason why Roma is so confident. As Nero's direct ship girl, Roma naturally has a very favorable impression of the name Nero.

When Nero first met Roma and learned her name, Nero immediately decided to take her away.

In her words, "Roma? I am the Emperor of Roma, you won't go wrong if you come with me!"

Then Roma arrived at Nero's garrison, where she was always very proud of her status.

Roma has always had an idea in her mind: to become the eldest sister of the Vittorio Veneto class. She thinks that the current eldest sister, Vittorio Veneto, is like a destroyer, and she doesn't do anything, so she is very unqualified.

Now the opportunity has come. As the main battleship accompanying the admiral, Vittorio Veneto has taken the initiative to serve as the acting secretary ship without realizing it, determined to make a good impression.

Of course, this is just wishful thinking on Roma's part.

Putting aside whether others approve of her acting as secretary ship, just the fact that she replaced Vittorio Veneto as the eldest sister of the Vittorio Veneto class is a testament to her abilities.

She didn't even consider why Vittorio Veneto wasn't at the garrison, but she was.

Those that could be taken away were all powerful capital ships; the ship girls left behind, no matter how much they were praised, were ultimately lacking in strength.

Of course, this excludes the homebody who refuses to go out.

Northern Home, a ship girl who is clearly very strong but doesn't even want to leave her dormitory, is the only exception.

Looking at the confident Roma in front of him, Yuxian didn't know what to say. At this moment, he understood why Orléans wanted him to go find Counterattack and Yat Sen.

Roma doesn't seem like a reliable option at all!

"Okay, we'll definitely come to you if we need anything."

Yuxian quickly made a decision in his mind: he would stall for time and find the little maid, Counterattack, to arrange accommodation for Karna and the others later.

"You absolutely must come find me! Don't hesitate to come!"

Roma gave Yuxian earnest instructions, and only left with the Imperio after Yuxian nodded repeatedly to confirm.

"Let's go, I'll take you to the cafeteria to sit for a while."

Yuxian led Karna and the others to the garrison's canteen.

Pushing open the door, I found it to be very lively inside.

With the admiral and capital ships of the naval base absent, the other ship girls were like monkeys running wild, completely unrestrained and causing a great commotion.

Yuxian saw Musashi mingling with several ship girls, making the most noise in the entire cafeteria. At first glance, Yuxian couldn't tell that she was a Heroic Spirit and thought she was also a ship girl.

No wonder she didn't want to go inland with Yu Xian and the Yuxian to look for people. Musashi was having a great time here, with plenty of food and drink and like-minded drinking buddies. It was just perfect for Musashi.

Yuxian couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. He thought to himself, "Why don't we just equip Miyamoto Musashi with Ship Equipment and turn her into a ship girl?"

From now on, she will no longer be the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, but the battleship Musashi.

Chapter 21, Section 459: One who is near vermilion gets stained red.

Yuxian found a way to retaliate. Under her arrangement, accommodations were prepared for Karna and the others, and they were all settled in the naval base.

Next, we just have to wait for Nero to return.

Yu Xian was quite comfortable at the garrison headquarters during this period. Everyone else was fine, but Hokusai always stayed in his room and didn't come out, which made Yuxian a little worried.

You should know that Hokusai is not a particularly homebody person. In fact, Hokusai usually likes to go out.

As a painter, she needs to travel around and experience different scenery to spark her inspiration; staying at home for too long won't make her a painter.

Yuxian stroked his chin, thinking, "Could it be that Hokusai has also caught the otaku trait from spending too much time with Northern Home?"

This is really not a good thing. Chaldea already has enough of a homebody like Osakabehime, Yuxian doesn't want another one to appear.

"Mash, go and see what Hokusai has been doing these days?"

It wasn't convenient for him to enter Hokusai's room, but Mash didn't have such concerns, so the task of gathering intelligence was left to Mash.

Mash nodded and left to find Hokusai. She was also very concerned about Hokusai and expressed her worry about her unusual behavior.

Mash returned shortly afterward.

Yuxian saw that Mash had returned so quickly, he hurriedly asked, "How is she? What happened? Did you tell her? It's not good for her to stay in her room all the time."

Mash shook her head. "Miss Hokusai seems to be rushing to finish her work; she didn't open the door to see me."

This made Yuxian even more worried. In the past few days, Hokusai has hardly left the house, and when he eats, he just eats a few bites and leaves, looking very preoccupied.

He frowned and asked, "Is Hokusai unhappy because she's about to return to Chaldea? Actually, it's fine if she doesn't go back for now."

If Hokusai is worried about this, Yuxian doesn't think it's necessary. He won't force Hokusai to go back, since Nero definitely can't leave for the time being, Hokusai being here isn't a problem.

After thinking for Yuxian, Yu Xian decided, "I'll tell her next time I see her at dinner."

He planned to have a serious talk with Hokusai to prevent her from continuing to act this way.

During mealtime, Hokusai came in with her head down as usual, picked up the prepared bowl and chopsticks and started rummaging through them. Her eyes were unfocused and she seemed distracted. Anyone with eyes could see that she had something on her mind.

Yuxian walked over, patted her shoulder, and called softly, "Hokusai, Hokusai."

Hokusai didn't react for a moment and continued eating mechanically, clearly thinking about something else.

The body is here, but the soul is not.

Yuxian sighed, gave her a slight push, and called out louder, "Hokusai!"

"Huh? Ah!" Hokusai was startled, and his hand trembled so much that he almost dropped the bowl on the ground.

"Master, please don't scare people like that!" Hokusai realized that Yuxian was calling her and said with some reproach.

She was startled by Yuxian, and her whole body trembled. It was inevitable that she would feel some dissatisfaction with Yuxian.

Yuxian ignored her unfriendly tone and asked with concern, "You seem a bit distracted. Is something on your mind?"

"Something on your mind?" Hokusai blinked, looking at Yuxian with a strange expression. "What could be on my mind, Master? Why are you suddenly acting so strangely?"

Yuxian said speechlessly, "You're the one who's acting strange. You almost ate your food up your nose just now. Does that mean you're not worried?"

Hokusai said dismissively, "Don't interrupt my thinking. I'm pondering a problem. My creative process has reached a critical point, and I've encountered a small issue."

"Is it really a problem with the creative process?" Yuxian asked suspiciously.

Hokusai said irritably, "What else could it be if not a creative problem?"

She suddenly looked at Yuxian with a strange expression, and said hesitantly, "Master... you wouldn't be... thinking about something unhealthy, would you?"

Snap!

Yuxian slapped her hard on the back and said irritably, "I guess I was being nosy. You really took my kindness for granted!"

This Hokusai, with his own unhealthy thoughts, actually projected those ideas onto him. Yuxian suddenly realized that his worries were unnecessary.

After Yuxian left, Hokusai quickly returned to the same thoughtful state he had been in, unchanged. After finishing his meal, he went back to his room and hid, and no one knew what he was doing.

Yuxian had no choice but to let her go. They could explain in detail when Nero returned and everyone was together.

A few days later, Nero finally returned.

With her capital ships swaggering around, it was clear that this would be another triumphant return.

Yuxian stepped forward and asked, "Was everything going smoothly?"

Nero raised his head and smiled, saying, "I have plenty of time; it's just a trivial matter."

"Yes, yes, the admiral almost scared the other admirals of the naval bases to tears," Lexington chimed in with a laugh.

"I didn't say anything; they wanted to see for themselves," Nero said dismissively.

Lexington blinked. "Yes, who can blame us when our admiral is His Her Majesty the Emperor? We mere underlings naturally have no idea of Her Majesty's majesty."

Nero's penchant for calling herself emperor is common knowledge among her ship girls, but Lexington's statement suggests that something unexpected happened during this aid operation.

Curious, Yuxian asked, "What happened?"

Nero didn't bother to explain, but Lexington found it amusing. She smiled and said to Yuxian, "A few people from the naval base had some opinions about the admiral's reputation and resource allocation, and then... that was it."

Yuxian immediately realized that this was a scene where someone was proven wrong, which made it all the more understandable.

Given that Nero lived in such a remote place, he was probably only known by name and never seen in person. It is understandable and not surprising that some people would question him.

Given Nero's temperament, he certainly retaliated forcefully, for as emperor, his dignity was not to be violated.

Most importantly, she possesses such strength; both she and the ship girls are top-notch.

Trying to cause trouble for her is just asking for trouble.

"Alright, bullying the weak is nothing to brag about. Everyone's tired, go and get some rest," Repulse interrupted Lexington, who had been standing by his side the whole time.

However, Yuxian felt that her words were even more hurtful, directly classifying the other garrison commanderies as weak.

They're a naval base that's been protecting humanity and fighting against the deep sea; don't they have any pride?

Yuxian smiled helplessly. Sure enough, you become like the people you associate with.

The ship girls under Nero's command are all exceptionally discerning and arrogant.

This is probably what is meant by "one is influenced by one's surroundings".

Chapter 22, Section 460: I am not Katsushika Hokusai, but simply Hokusai- Ei.

Nero's return with his capital ships immediately caused a stir at the naval base.

The Elizabeth Báthory immediately found Nero and shared her joy with her. The two chatted quietly, laughing and talking, and seemed very happy.

Lexington has officially returned to her position as secretary ship. She will be busy for a while, as she has been away for several days and has accumulated a lot of work.

Roma was somewhat unwilling to give up its position and struggled to do so.

At that moment, Vittorio Veneto came to the door, glanced at Roma, and turned to leave without expression.

Roma lowered his head and followed Vittorio Veneto without hesitation.

She claims she wants to be the eldest sister of the Vittorio Veneto class, but criticizes the Vittorio Veneto as unqualified, comparing it to a destroyer.

But deep down, she was terrified of Vittorio Veneto, the big sister.

That doesn't mean she's a coward.

To be honest, none of the Italian ship girls are afraid of Vittorio Veneto, the big sister.

According to Vittorio Veneto, "When I get angry, even I'm afraid of myself."

Following behind Vittorio Veneto, Roma saw the Imperio peering out from afar. She glared at it fiercely, instantly realizing that the Imperio must have gone to report to the Big Sister.

After dinner, Yuxian called everyone together to discuss returning to Chaldea.

He said, "You all have your own careers now, and it's definitely not right to ask you to give them up. Now that we've found you all, I'm relieved."

"Master, I will return to Chaldea with you."

Karna expressed his stance without hesitation; he was unambiguous, and idols were of no importance to him whatsoever.

Yuxian shook his head. "Chaldea is fine for now, so you don't need to worry. If we really need your help, I will definitely not hesitate to help."

Arjuna nodded and said, "Please rest assured, Master, we will keep in touch with Da Vinci. If anything happens, Karna and I will return to Master side immediately."

Yuxian smiled and then instructed the two of them, "There's something you should pay attention to. I don't know if there are any other Chaldea people in this world. You two are public figures now, so you have more opportunities to come into contact with other people. If you do, please be sure to let me know."

"Good!"