But now that she was well, there was no reason to refuse Illustrious. "Then, alright! Be gentle, this is my first time."
"Don't worry, I'm famously gentle!" Illustrious put her left arm around Atago's slender waist, her right hand supporting Atago's chin, then slowly brought her cherry lips closer to Atago's cherry lips.
Watching Illustrious's cherry lips approach, Atago's heart raced, and her face flushed.
Just as they were about one centimeter from kissing, the room door suddenly opened.
"Illustrious, has Atago woken up yet!" Saratoga roughly opened the room door.
Atago's eyes shifted to Saratoga's direction, and upon seeing that it was Saratoga and Essex, Atago's face immediately turned bright red.
Seeing Illustrious and Atago about to kiss, Saratoga was momentarily stunned.
Two seconds later, Saratoga, realizing what was happening, immediately closed the door and shouted as she did, "Sorry for interrupting, please continue."
After someone entered the room and interrupted them, Illustrious and Atago only felt a little regret, then slowly separated. A moment later, Saratoga and Essex walked into the room, and Saratoga chuckled, "Captain, how was the kiss?"
Without answering Saratoga's question, Atago put on a serious expression and said, "You've arrived! Thank you for guarding this base while I was asleep."
"Oh-ho! The Captain is changing the subject!" Saratoga wasn't about to let Atago off easily. "Confess honestly, Captain, what flavor did you taste when you kissed? Was it chocolate or strawberry?"
"What flavor? I don't know what you're talking about," Atago feigned ignorance.
"Alright, Captain just woke up, don't make it difficult for her," Essex interjected, seeing Atago's troubled expression.
Seeing Essex come to her rescue, Atago was incredibly moved. "As expected of my capable subordinate, Essex, thank you so much."
"Tch! I just wanted to know a little bit!" Saratoga pouted in dissatisfaction.
Essex placed the fruit on the table. "Captain! I brought you a basket of fruit, as a celebration of your recovery from a serious illness."
"You're too kind. Just coming to visit is enough; there's no need to bring gifts," Atago said politely.
Essex smiled faintly and said, "It's only right. Captain, you just woke up; how could we not bring anything?"
"Wow! Such fresh fruit, I won't be polite!" Illustrious took an apple, bit into it, and then said, "So delicious! As expected of an apple grown by the Royal Navy, it's big, crisp, and sweet."
"Hey! This is for Atago to eat! Not for you," Saratoga said, displeased, from the side.
"What does it matter! Atago's things are my things. It's not for an outsider like you to tell me what to do when I eat her apple." Ignoring Saratoga, Illustrious continued eating the apple.
"Shameless! Captain isn't even married to you yet! Her things aren't your things," Saratoga retorted.
"Noisy!" Illustrious accidentally bit into an apple seed, then spat it out at Saratoga. Saratoga's forehead was hit by Illustrious's apple seed, causing her to fall down heavily damaged. "You just reminded me, Atago, let's go get our marriage certificate tomorrow and hold the wedding the day after, so no one can say we're a couple in name only."
Covering her face with both hands, the blushing Atago said shyly, "Idiot! Who said I want to marry you?"
Looking at her Captain, Essex shook her head. It seemed the Captain had already fallen.
Saratoga stood up from the ground, her face full of anger, and said, "You dare hit me? I'm not done with you!"
Saratoga pounced on Illustrious like a fierce wolf. Illustrious dodged, but her arm was still bitten by Saratoga.
"Damn it! Are you a dog?" Illustrious shook her arm repeatedly, but she just couldn't shake off Saratoga, who was biting her.
After a while, Illustrious finally shook off the biting Saratoga. She brought a bowl of preserved egg and lean meat congee to Atago. "Atago! You must be hungry after just waking up! Here's some delicious preserved egg and lean meat congee; you'll definitely recover faster after eating it."
"Okay! Then I won't be polite." It's so nice to have such a gentle girlfriend! Atago happily opened her mouth, waiting for Illustrious to feed her.
Illustrious extended a spoonful of congee to Atago. Just as Atago was about to eat, Saratoga used a spiritual message to transmit to Atago, "Captain, don't eat it! Otherwise, your life will be in danger!"
Upon hearing this, Atago suddenly snapped out of Illustrious's gentleness. Could this bowl of congee have been made by Illustrious?
Atago used her divine sense to confirm with Saratoga. "Is this bowl of congee made by Illustrious?"
Saratoga didn't reply via divine sense; instead, she simply nodded.
Seeing the nod, Atago was one hundred percent certain. This was the legendary Death Cuisine made by Illustrious. Looking at the congee, which appeared perfectly fine on the surface, Atago wouldn't be so easily fooled into believing nothing was wrong.
If she ate this, she feared she would be meeting God! Atago smiled and asked Illustrious, "Illustrious, is this the congee you made?"
"That's right! I made it early this morning. Aren't you touched?" Illustrious said with a beaming smile.
"I'm so touched I'm about to cry." Atago's body trembled several times in fear.
"It's good that you're touched. Look at you, trembling from hunger. Hurry up and eat!" Illustrious moved the congee toward Atago's mouth.
Watching Illustrious urge her to eat, Atago felt like she was Pan Jinlian from Donghuang's Water Margin saying, 'Dalang, it's time for your medicine.'
Heavens! This is terrifying. Atago broke out in a cold sweat.
As the congee Illustrious held drew closer, Atago immediately said, "Um, I'm actually not that hungry, so you don't need to feed me."
But just as Atago said that, her stomach let out a 'gurgle.' The sound nearly made Atago cough up blood. She grumbled inwardly, 'You useless stomach, are you trying to kill me? If I eat this congee, I'm finished, and you won't survive either!'
"Don't be childish. Man is made of iron, but food is steel; miss a meal and you'll feel the ordeal." Illustrious brought the congee to Atago's lips.
Atago kept signaling Saratoga and Essex with her eyes, but as soon as they saw her looking, they immediately turned their heads away, acting as if it were none of their business.
Seeing them stand by and watch, Atago was furious. These girls were far too disloyal.
Saratoga and Essex were also helpless. They were afraid of getting into trouble themselves. If Illustrious made them eat the congee too, they would be doomed.
"Seeing how affectionate you two are, we won't stay here as third wheels and disturb you." Saratoga planned to make her escape.
Seeing Saratoga about to flee, Essex didn't plan on staying in this dangerous place either. "There's some business at the base, so I'll be taking my leave as well."
"Hey! Don't leave!" Atago cried out desperately.
But her shout only made Saratoga and the others quicken their pace to escape the area.
"Don't mind them. Come on, Atago, eat the congee!" Illustrious continued to urge her.
"I'm not hungry! I have no appetite, I won't eat it, take it away!" After speaking, Atago clamped her mouth shut, refusing to eat Illustrious's Death Cuisine no matter what.
But Illustrious wasn't about to let Atago off that easily. She reached out to tickle Atago, trying to get her to open her mouth.
"Haha... ha... stop... haha... I'll eat, okay?" Atago surrendered after being tickled.
Hearing that Atago was finally willing to eat, Illustrious stopped tickling her. "Then Atago, eat up!"
"I'll eat it myself, you don't need to feed me," Atago said.
"Alright then! Hold it steady, don't drop it." Illustrious handed the preserved egg and lean meat congee to Atago.
Don't drop it? What a joke. Of course she was going to drop it. Atago had already planned to intentionally fail to catch the bowl so it would shatter and she wouldn't have to eat it.
Atago reached out to take it, then feigned a clumsy grip. The bowl of congee instantly fell to the floor, shattering into pieces and spilling everywhere.
"Oh my! Atago, how could you be so careless? I worked so hard to cook this for you! It's such a waste that it's spilled!" Illustrious chided.
Atago immediately apologized, "Sorry, sorry! It's my fault, all my fault. Oh! Illustrious, the congee you made with love is gone just like that. What a pity! I was really looking forward to it."
"So you were that excited? Don't worry! I cooked a whole pot; there's definitely enough for you to eat your fill." Illustrious smiled and said, "Wait here for a moment. I'll clean up the mess and the shards, and soon you'll be able to eat my delicious congee!"
"What? There's more? And a whole pot? Heavens! Am I doomed today?" Atago thought in horror.
Humming a song and holding a broom and dustpan, Illustrious quickly cleared away the spilled congee and broken bowl from the floor.
After cleaning up, Illustrious brought over a pot of congee. It was an earthenware pot, and looking at the volume, there were at least six bowls' worth.
Seeing Illustrious carry the pot over, Atago's face turned pale with fright. Just as she thought she couldn't escape her fate, Illustrious suddenly slipped on a banana peel on the floor and fell.
The earthenware pot in her hands also fell to the floor, shattering into seven or eight pieces. Naturally, the congee inside was not spared and spilled all over the ground.
Looking at the banana peel that caused her fall, Illustrious said angrily, "Ah! My congee! Which bastard is so inconsiderate as to throw a banana peel on the floor!"
Illustrious was furious, but Atago was delighted. Great, she finally didn't have to eat Illustrious's Death Cuisine. Atago knew exactly who had thrown that banana peel—the culprit was Saratoga, who had just slipped away.
Atago felt grateful in her heart: 'Saratoga! Thank you for saving my life.'
"I'm so sorry, Atago. I really wanted you to eat my congee, but I didn't expect it to get ruined," Illustrious apologized immediately.
"It's okay! Let's just order takeout!" Atago suggested.
"Sigh! I guess that's all we can do." Illustrious immediately picked up the phone and ordered takeout.
Seeing Illustrious order takeout, Atago breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God! She had finally escaped the ordeal.
After the takeout arrived, Illustrious and Atago began to eat. Once they finished, Illustrious said to Atago with a serious expression, "If anything happens in the future, you have to tell me, okay? Don't keep it all bottled up. Even if I might not be able to help, I can at least be a listener! That way, you can relax a bit."
"Mm! I understand!" Atago nodded and promised.
"That's good. By the way, after eating, let's go soak in the base's hot springs!" Illustrious suggested.
"A bath? That sounds good. It'll be a nice way to relax." Atago stretched her limbs and slowly got out of bed.
To go to the hot springs, Atago planned to change out of her pajamas and put on a white sailor suit.
After changing, Atago pulled Illustrious along to the hot springs.
Seeing Atago so energetic, Illustrious felt relieved. Looking at Atago's graceful figure, Illustrious began to look forward to the bath... Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside the meeting room of the Atlantic Governors Mansion, the Four Grand Governors had gathered. They were holding a meeting today regarding the plan to sink Illustrious.
Alice, the Atlantic Governor, shouted angrily, "Illustrious actually stole the treasures of our Four Grand Governors Mansions! She is so overbearing and arrogant; we absolutely cannot let her get away with this!"
"That's right. She relies on her great strength to oppress us. We cannot remain without any resistance. Comrades! It's time for us to stand up!" Kardan, the Governor of the South Atlantic, agreed.
Taking a sip of the black tea on the table, Lilith, the Pacific Governor-General, raised her hand and said, "You talk about sinking Illustrious, but her unique ability, 'Above and Below Heaven, I Alone Am Honored,' is extremely troublesome. You've experienced its power firsthand, so you should know. Are you sure you can sink such an opponent?"
This sentence struck a chord with everyone. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Illustrious's unique ability was invincible. As long as Illustrious encountered an enemy stronger than her, she would instantly gain the power to crush them.
"Then what should we do? Are we just going to let her oppress us while we do nothing?" Kardan said unhappily.
"If only we could seal her ability. Then she would be no match for us," Alice said calmly.
"Easier said than done. To seal the ability of a Five-Star Legendary Ship Girl, we would probably need a Heaven-Shining Grade ship device. But the problem is, I've never seen a sealing-type Heaven-Shining Grade ship device in this world," Kardan sneered.
"Just because you haven't seen one doesn't mean they don't exist," Alice retorted.
"So, are you saying you have one?" Lili Si asked.
Everyone else turned to look at Alice. Being stared at like that, Alice immediately spread her hands and said:
"Don't look at me like that, I don't have one either."
"Tch! Then why are you even talking!" Kardan said, annoyed.
"Speaking of sealing-type Heaven-Shining Grade ship devices, I actually have one," Limo, the Governor of the North Atlantic who had been silent, said calmly.
"You have one? Why didn't you say so earlier! Bring it out for everyone to see and let's find out if it can seal Illustrious's unique ability," Kardan said excitedly.
Limo pulled a rod-like object from her chest for everyone to see. "This is the sealing-type Heaven-Shining Grade ship device I mentioned."
Everyone looked at the rod-like object covered in many particles, and their expressions turned strange. Sister! We might not be highly educated, but you can't lie to us! How does this look like a proper ship device?
Seeing their strange expressions, Limo realized she had taken out the wrong device. "Sorry! I grabbed the wrong one."
"This is the sealing-type Heaven-Shining Grade ship device I was talking about." Limo calmly put back the rod and pulled out a golden orb with strange patterns for everyone to see.
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