"Ah, Your Highness is being too much! It's just my personal hobby, there's no need to expose it like this!"

On the eighth floor of the Dongji Star, in Shuma's room, a certain undercover knight who had accidentally revealed their strong muscle fetish in a moment of panic was now huddled up under the covers, rolling and writhing on the bed, entering a state of self-isolation.

"I'm sorry..."

Tiran sat at the edge of the bed, palms pressed together, sincerely apologizing to Shuma, whose body and soul—especially his soul—had been wounded.

Well, at least on the surface.

As for his thoughts... Tiran never expected that beneath Shuma's strong exterior, there was a feminine side, and because of a series of setbacks, it had been completely exposed. He felt a bit tempted to tease him a little.

"Cheeps, sister Mimi... Papa's expression is really strange..."

"Children shouldn't look at this... in the future... no, don't learn it at all."

Maid Mimi, holding Chirp in her arms, stood behind and wore a helpless expression ¬_¬｀. Now thinking back, she had been taking care of His Highness since he was little, and she had definitely done so conscientiously and wholeheartedly. How did she let His Highness become this horrible personality?

Cough cough, no, it's not right. I should respect His Highness... I can't even think about it.

...It seems that the princess is indeed the villain character who suddenly appeared.

"I didn't want that jerk to know about this... I've been enduring it to this extent..."

That guy? In a second, Tiran realized what was going on and his lips curled up in a mad smile. So that's how it is, so that's how it is. He had always felt that there was something strange about those two, and now it made sense.

"So, because he developed a favorable impression of him after he was rescued once by Hero Beinrich in the magitech capital and then this guy had to infiltrate the castle, but as a mercenary and a wanted criminal, he didn't want to expose it due to his knightly pride?"

The princess touched her chin with a thoughtful expression ¯v¯, analyzing the situation meticulously.

Shuma, who had been rolling and possibly throwing a temper tantrum on the bed, froze in place and gradually lifted his face from the covers, pitifully begging,

"Can you not tell that guy?"

It seems like she hit the nail on the head.

On second thought, based on the experience from certain undisclosed collections, when the secrets of a valiant female knight are found, shouldn't I take the opportunity to make some saucy requests?

"Don't worry, I'm not that outrageous. I promise not to say anything about it as long as Aya promises to crossdress for the rest of her life~"

Tiran lightly patted Shuma's head in a comforting manner, withdrawing the subtly mischievous expression on his face, stood up, stretched his arms, turned and headed towards the door. "Come on, Mimi, you've rested enough, let's go back and swing a few hundred swords."

Mimi quickly followed, walking along the corridor with Tiran, returning to the training room they were in before.

Although the design of the cabins became smaller as you went higher up, there were still nearly ten medium-sized rooms on the eighth floor, which was more than enough for the seven of them, including Chirp. Tiran's group used the three innermost ones, and the training room they chose was on the other side of the eighth floor, next to the stairs, so as not to disturb those who were resting.

Walking from Shuma's room to the other end of the ship was almost a hundred meters, not too far, but it would still take some time if they strolled slowly.

Tiran and Mimi walked one after the other. Even though they were leisurely strolling, it was rare for them to walk for so long and still not reach their destination.

"Your Highness seems to have become more mature lately," Mimi casually remarked.

"Mature? Are you sure?" Tiran walked ahead, didn't turn back but chuckled. He had just flirted with Shuma earlier, so this evaluation definitely didn't seem true.

"After all, if we go by Your Highness's previous treatment of Aya, it wouldn't have been so easy to let Shuma off. Drawing the line at teasing can be considered growth, right...?"

"Well, I appreciate it then..."

Tiran's footsteps stiffened for a moment, and his voice sounded somewhat disappointed. Although it was a compliment, why did it sound so unhappy?

But what about Aya?

Recalling the past few months since bringing back that stupid dragon, tying him up like a zongzi, and all the other things Mimi had concocted with the female disguise... From Aya's perspective, it seemed a bit dismal.

But it's not entirely my fault, okay! Who asked Aya to only act tough at crucial moments? I couldn't help but bully him!

And, only I, Miss, can bully Aya. Everyone else, stay away from Miss! No matter what that Yuan thing is, once Miss masters her divine skills, she'll knock him down and make him kneel on the ground singing "Conquer"!

...

The first night of the journey on the Dongjixing Star was about to fall. The calm sea reflected the setting sun, gradually melting into the distant horizon, without a single cloud.

"The weather looks good. It will be a clear night."

In the cockpit, the captain, wearing a military cap and a white cloak, sat with his legs crossed on the chair at the back, watching the second mate at the helm and the other crew members bustling around.

"Captain, please take some responsibility instead of sitting on the side and talking about irrelevant things."

The second mate was an unusually young girl with refreshing shoulder-length brown hair and a healthy wheat-colored complexion, clearly a girl who grew up by the seaside. Although she was young, she was already very skilled in taking over the helm of the Dongjixing Star. While complaining about the captain, she calmly directed the other crew members. Her hands on the helm were steady as a rock. Compared to her cute and lively appearance, the crew of the Dongjixing Star saw her as a reliable colleague.

...Though her sailor uniform was noticeably shorter than it should be.

"Fatina is really over the top, wearing such a flashy outfit..." The captain seemed to still be dissatisfied, leaping back and forth in the minefield.

The girl's forehead instantly throbbed with veins. Yes, the sailor uniform she was wearing was completely different from the standard uniform, both in terms of material and style. Everything was designed to save fabric, clearly intended to showcase a cute girl – or even a handsome boy – with youthful energy.

Buzz.

The body of the Dongjixing Star vibrated slightly, although not noticeably. The relaxed passengers who were unaware or didn't pay much attention to it didn't feel a thing. Even if they did, they would think it was just a normal small vibration during sailing.

But for the sailors in the cockpit, it was different.

"Um, F-Fatina?"

Feeling the overwhelming anger, several sailors who were assisting in controlling the superliner on both sides couldn't even catch their breath as they looked at Fatina. The scene in the cockpit suddenly became quite comical, with several strong and muscular men anxiously looking at the girl in front of the central helm, feeling incredibly scared. They were genuinely afraid of Fatina.

Because sailing demands a high level of psychological and physical readiness from sailors, and there are usually very few women on board. Even on this high-tech cruise ship that flagrantly violated the conventions of this world, it was no different. Fatina being able to become the second mate wasn't just because she was brought in by the captain.

- Well, almost everyone here has been hit by the girl's fist.

"......It's okay, everyone continue." Fatima's face was still grim, slowly turning the steering wheel back to its original position and then casually pointing to one of the sailors, "Hey, you, come here and help me for a while. Just keep the course."

The captain still had no clue about the impending danger, engrossed in a book he was holding, until he glimpsed Fatima, who had taken control step by step and was now standing in front of him.

"Huh?"

"Hey, you big banana papaya! It was clearly you who forced me to wear the captain's authority!"

The girl executed a move resembling a dragon's tail whip, kicking the captain and his chair out of the cockpit. She followed up with an attack power of 4396, then disappeared from the view of the crowd.

Outside, amidst the sound of banging and occasional cries of pain, the remaining dutiful crew members in the cockpit exchanged glances and ultimately sighed helplessly. Oh well, they had gotten used to it.

The fight outside didn't last long. The two troublemakers, who had made quite a ruckus, had already made their way to the deck at the stern to enjoy the sea breeze.

This area was not accessible to regular passengers, but was instead an exterior passage originally meant for maintenance workers. Nobody would usually come here during navigation, so it had become a nice place to slack off.

"Little Fatima, your acting skills are getting better~ You played that so well just now, they definitely didn't suspect anything! Just that it hurt a bit when we fought...be gentler next time."

"Hehe, you're overthinking. I'm really angry," Fatima rolled her eyes, "And I'll rest for a while too. By the way, as the captain, you should take your responsibilities seriously! You were a military man after all! How come you don't show any signs of it? What if something unexpected happens?"

"Retired military, well, otherwise I wouldn't have been employed as the captain on a commercial route. In case of unexpected circumstances, this captain, with over twenty years of experience navigating these waters, guarantees that this route is absolutely safe."

The captain adjusted his cap, about to be blown away by the sea breeze, his tone still relaxed, "So, since I've retired, isn't it only natural for me to relax and enjoy my retirement? Besides, Little Fatima has already grown up and can handle things on her own, right--"

"In all aspects..." he quietly added, his gaze unconsciously sweeping over Fatima's alluring figure.

"Captain!"

"I didn't see anything!" the captain quickly raised his hands to demonstrate innocence, but he probably couldn't avoid a beating. He decided to close his eyes and play dead instead. After all, he was used to getting hit by now, in any situation, thanks to his relationship with Fatima.

However, the expected beating never came. Instead, his collar was tugged lightly twice.

"Captain, with your over twenty years of experience at sea, have you ever seen something like that before?"

Fatima pointed to the distant horizon with a concerned expression on her face.