"Um... um..."
"Hm? What is it, Commander?"
"I... I can’t remember, so... what did I do yesterday?"
When I asked, Littorio wore a hurt expression and said,
"Oh? After getting so hot and heavy with me yesterday, you’re saying you don’t remember now?"
Every time Littorio spoke, my chest tightened more and more.
"Ah..."
As I stood there, dazed, Littorio stepped closer and handed me a single rose.
"Fufu, it’s fine. I, Littorio, never break a promise once I’ve made it with someone."
What on earth did I do?
As I stupidly took the rose, Littorio looped an arm around my neck and whispered,
"Hehe... I’ve only ever been the one receiving roses. You’re the first person to give one to me, Commander."
Right then, Bismarck burst through the door with a bang.
"What do you think you’re doing, Littorio?"
This was really bad.
Bismarck saw the lipstick marks on my dress shirt and immediately twisted her face in disgust.
"....."
Tirpitz, who had followed behind her, took one look at the situation and her expression turned icy.
"Commander. Looks like you had fun last night."
"N-no!"
When I shouted, all eyes turned to me.
"What do you mean, no?"
Bismarck asked me in a low voice.
"I... I don’t remember anything! I was completely plastered when it happened..! Right! I was mentally and physically impaired!"
Littorio poured gasoline straight onto the fire.
"What?! Then all those sweet things you whispered to me were lies?!"
No, seriously. Shut up!!
Everyone glared at me with angry faces.
Prinz Eugen, who had come in behind them after hearing the commotion, quietly watched from the side.
But why was I the one who had to make excuses?
I was an adult. Which meant I could decide things for myself, and I had every right to do so.
It wasn’t like I was in any sort of romantic relationship with Bismarck or Tirpitz anyway...
So I chose to stand my ground.
"Well, I guess something like that must have happened."
"Oh...? Commander, that expression is colder than an iceberg."
Tirpitz delivered a cutting critique of my attitude.
"No, listen. It’s not like I’m in any kind of romantic relationship with you two. I’m an adult, not some kid. It’s weird that I have to be screened by you every time I do something!"
"What... ?"
Bismarck said in a trembling voice.
When I looked at her with a bad feeling in my stomach, tears were already welling in her eyes.
"Huh...?"
".....So that’s how little the Commander thinks of us...?"
"No, that’s not what I meant."
Bismarck slapped my cheek.
"...Trash."
Even then, she seemed to have held back her strength.
If she’d really hit me, my neck might’ve snapped, or I’d have ended up a vegetable.
And Tirpitz joined in on Bismarck’s side.
"...Were the things you said to me in the Sakura Empire not sincere either?"
"No, why are you all blowing this so far out of proportion?!"
Bismarck knocked my hand away and said,
"Take your hand off me."
At her firm attitude, I took a step back and just stared at her.
Then silence fell.
But in that solemn atmosphere, someone let out a laugh.
Who was it?
Who was laughing?
When I turned toward the source, it was none other than Littorio, clutching her stomach and starting to laugh in earnest.
"Kya-ha-ha-ha! Cut! Cuuut!!! Hahahahaha!"
I stared at her in confusion, unable to make sense of what was happening.
Apparently Bismarck and her sister were in the same boat.
"Ah... hahaha..! This is absolutely the best work! Hahahaha!"
"Stop laughing and explain what the hell is going on, Littorio."
I was starting to get angry, so I lowered my voice and said to her,
"Phew... sorry, sorry. I heard a new Commander had come to Iron Blood, so I wanted to tease you a little. I didn’t expect you all to get dragged into it too."
"I dragged the Commander, who was drunk and asleep in a corner of the banquet hall, into the reception room prepared for me. But I got bored, so I played a little prank. If you don’t believe me, there’s a closed-circuit camera over there. You can check it."
Only then did I understand the situation.
".........."
Bismarck and Tirpitz also seemed to catch on, and their faces turned bright red before they quickly made themselves scarce.
Prinz Eugen, who had witnessed the whole thing, doubled over laughing too.
"Hahahahaha!!! Commander..! Pffft..!"
"...So I’m the only trash here, huh?"
"Well, don’t look so down. I did get the impression that the Commander is quite the steadfast sort. Pffft..."
"Hey."
I bonked Prinz Eugen on the head.
"Ow! Why’d you hit me? I’m not the one who did it."
"You’re the worst one."
Anyway, the worst.
Eugen stuck out her lips and left the reception room.
"Sigh..."
I let out a long breath and flopped down onto the sofa.
The headache I hadn’t noticed because of the tension came rushing back, throbbing painfully in my skull.
Rubbing my temples, I asked Littorio,
"So... when did you get here?"
"Hm? Ah, when the Commander went to the Sakura Empire, I said I wanted to visit Iron Blood, and then I heard you’d been kidnapped? Honestly, Commander, you do live quite the eventful life."
"So the rumor’s already spread..."
I thought of Bismarck, who always grumbled that I was damaging Iron Blood’s dignity.
...But how was I supposed to go talk to Bismarck now?
"You... don’t go pulling stunts like that just anywhere."
Honestly, if I got mad at Littorio here, she wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.
"Haha, sorry. Seeing Bismarck again after so long made me want to tease her. She seemed to think very highly of you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Did the Commander not notice?"
I stopped rubbing my temple and signaled for her to explain with my eyes.
"Hah... the Commander is excellent in many ways, but when it comes to reading a woman’s heart, he’s truly hopeless."
"Stop dragging it out and just tell me what you said to make her react like that."
Since it seemed related to how Bismarck had been acting toward me lately, I pressed Littorio for answers.
"When I said I wanted to learn about the newly appointed Commander for my visit, she told me that if that was the reason, she’d refuse my request."
"Why...?"
Littorio looked at me like I was unbelievable.
"You really don’t know? She feels something beyond a mere superior-subordinate relationship toward you, Commander. What subordinate would get that angry just because their superior was spending time with another woman?"
"........"
Belfast’s words flashed through my mind.
"Perhaps more than half the girls in the fleet would have wanted to be like this with you, Master."
I sprang to my feet and headed for Bismarck.
...
When the reception room door closed, Littorio was left alone inside.
Littorio poured wine halfway into a glass and carried it to the window.
"Fufu... how amusing. To think he’d be such an innocent person."
Or perhaps innocent wasn’t the right word. Maybe just dense.
Littorio slowly swirled the wine glass.
"...If I took him away, it would be truly interesting."
The wine touched Littorio’s lips.
The taste was astringent, sweet, and sour all at once.
"Was it from Burgundy? The flavor is excellent."
It was also the land Littorio had coveted.
"Hehe... now I want to take it."
Littorio smiled faintly.
...
"Hey, Bismarck!"
I chased after Bismarck, who was walking down the corridor.
"......"
Seeing me, Bismarck quickened her pace even more.
"Hey, wait!"
I ran at nearly full speed and stopped in front of her.
"...Move."
"Haa... haa... I’m sorry... I’m sorry."
"I don’t want an apology that isn’t sincere. And the Commander is an adult, isn’t he? You did what you wanted to do, so you don’t need to apologize to me."
"...I’m sorry. I got dragged into Littorio’s prank and wasn’t thinking straight. Please forget what I said."
"How am I supposed to forget something I already remember?"
"...."
"I... spent a long time thinking before I could fully accept the Commander."
I listened quietly to Bismarck’s words.
"I wondered if you were really a spy, or if you were carrying out some kind of sabotage."
"But after seeing all the changes the Commander brought out in me, I put those thoughts away for good. And I worked to get closer to you."
"Every time I did, the Commander greeted me with a smile and changed me for the better."
Bismarck’s voice began to waver with moisture.
"So... so I thought of the Commander as someone special, just as much as you had done for me. At first I suspected it. If you didn’t care about me that much, then there’d be no reason for you to say such warm things to me."
"But then... you say something like that?"
Bismarck wiped away her tears.
"No, that was just becau—"
"I know. I know I’m usually bad at showing my emotions and seem cold. But even so, I tried my best to show you how I really felt."
"And... the result of all that effort is this?"
Tears spilled from Bismarck’s eyes and dropped to the floor.
"...I was too thoughtless. I’m really sorry."
Bismarck’s tears showed no sign of stopping.
"Sniff... sob... If that was how it was going to be, then you shouldn’t have given me any affection from the start... Why were you so kind to me, why did you try to change me, why..."
Damn it, my mouth really is a disaster.
"Sniff... Do you know... how scared I was... when I heard the Commander had been kidnapped...?"
"Bismarck..."
"...Take responsibility."
"Huh...?"
"Take responsibility. For making me... sniff... like this..."
It felt like the blood was draining from my head.
So I hugged Bismarck first.
As soon as I did, Bismarck lightly thumped my chest and cried into me.
"This isn’t enough...! This isn’t enough to make my misery..."
By the time my chest was soaked, Bismarck had finally stopped crying.
"Done crying?"
"......"
Bismarck turned her face away, cheeks red.
"Haha..."
Bismarck gave a hollow laugh.
"...I thought I’d never forgive you, but I’m so dumbfounded that I’m already calming down just because you hugged me."
...Terrifying.
"...Sorry for making a scene, Commander."
"No. I was the one who spoke carelessly."
"Is your cheek okay?"
Bismarck placed a hand on my cheek and checked on me.
"Well... more or less..."
"Where did Tirpitz go?"
"She said she wanted to see the sea and left partway through."
"...I see."
Just as I turned to leave, Bismarck grabbed my hand.
"I-I’m not done being mad yet...?"
"......Let’s go together."
I led Bismarck to Tirpitz.
Just as Bismarck had said, Tirpitz was gazing at the endless sea.
"Tirpitz."
".......Commander, do you remember?"
I quietly listened to Tirpitz too.
Right... the disaster I caused... I should take all of it.
"When you first brought me here, Commander, you generously pardoned me."
"At first, I didn’t know what your intentions were, so I never let my guard down. But to my surprise, you paid me no attention at all."
I barely managed to keep my expression under control by thinking sad thoughts, even though laughter was about to burst out of me.
"And you even reconciled me and my sister when we were still awkward with each other..."
Bismarck, standing beside me, lowered her head.
"And the words you said to me when you chose me as your escort to the Sakura Empire."
"......"
"Commander, after that, I started thinking about you more than you could ever imagine."
"And when you were kidnapped because of my mistake, I can’t describe how much I hated myself, how miserable I felt."
"Just when I’d finally started to feel warmth... I thought the lonely Queen of the North Sea would never be lonely again..."
"When you came back alive, I was so happy. It felt like I’d gained the whole world."
"But today, because of what you said, I confirmed that it was all just my feelings alone."
"Tirpitz..."
"...Don’t abandon me."
"Please don’t leave me in the cold again."
For the first time, Tirpitz showed me tears.
In the sunlight, the droplets on Tirpitz’s cheeks looked like shards of ice.
Just as I had with Bismarck, I hugged Tirpitz too.
Tirpitz leaned into me without resistance and cried in silence.
"I really said some unforgivable things to you two..."
Anyway, the disaster my own mouth had summoned came to an end by becoming the container for their feelings.
Today’s lesson: my mouth is a disaster.
That was another thing I learned.
While I was buying coffee for Bismarck and Tirpitz and trying to comfort them, Bismarck set down her cup and said,
"So... nothing really happened with Littorio, right?"
"I told you, no. Besides, the last thing I remember is doing a love shot with Jean Bart....."
"You did a love shot with Jean Bart?"
Bismarck questioned me again with a cold face.
"...The Commander really is..."
Tirpitz shook her head.
"Ah... then should we do one too, a love shot...?"
I said, lifting my coffee cup.
"......"
Bismarck gave me a cute little glare.
I took off her hat and roughly ruffled her hair.
"Really, I’m only letting it slide because you were drunk."
"Hehe, okay."
Bismarck let out a sigh and sipped her coffee.
Let me remind myself once more.
My mouth is a disaster.
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