"...Sister Helena?"
The light and tender voice pulled Helena back from her crowded but blank mind. She stopped involuntarily and responded with a confused look.
"...Huh?"
"Sister Helena...? Are you sick?"
Helena was stunned and turned her head to look at the source of the sound. It was two children holding hands.
"Ru... Yue? Oh, sorry, sorry, I was daydreaming again." Helena took two steps closer, lowered her height by supporting her knees with one hand, and took some snacks from the space. "Want some? I bought some new food a while ago?"
"Ah... Thank you, sister..." Ruyue let go of the person's hand, took a handful of snacks and passed them to her side, "Little Zeppelin... do you want... do you want to eat? You will become... happy, right?"
Little Zeppelin still had a cold expression on his face, but after a few pauses, he reached out and took a candy from Ruyue's palm, "...Thank you."
"No, you're welcome. Are you feeling happier?"
"...Hmm." Little Zeppelin peeled off the candy wrapper and stuffed the round milky white candy ball into his mouth. Then he looked up at Helena who was in a daze again, "...Do you have time?"
"Huh?" Helena was startled, came to her senses, frowned slightly in annoyance, and then realized that little Zeppelin was talking to her.
Perhaps it was the first impression that played a role. Helena always treated little Zeppelin as a child and subconsciously forgot that she was more mature than herself.
But this time, Helena seemed to see emotions similar to her own in little Zeppelin's eyes.
For some reason, Helena nodded.
"...have."
ps: Please allow me to calculate the time off after November slowly. If this chapter is counted as today's chapter, there are still three chapters to be written this month. I think I can update two chapters tonight (maybe a bit late), and the remaining chapter will be updated twice tomorrow! Sorry for the long wait QA Q...
Chapter 411 What to do
I... hate war.
But as a battleship, I must be destined to throw myself into and even devote myself to the battle.
I also once dreamed of ending the war as soon as possible by relying on my own strength.
To do this, I need to become stronger and more useful so that I can truly influence the outcome of the battle, win victory for White Eagle, and end this battle.
But... I never thought that the opportunity for me to become stronger would be that air raid...
The dark mass of carrier aircraft passed over my head like a dark cloud, with a thunderous roar, bringing with it continuous explosions and flames.
I was alerted, but even anti-aircraft fire was of no avail.
I saw Sister Nevada fighting back hard, but was hit by a torpedo at the stern. Even though she successfully set sail, she was stranded on the shore under continuous attacks.
I was torpedoed too...
It hurts.
But this was not even one-tenth of the pain suffered by the other four battleship sisters. I could only watch them sink into the sea under the continuous attacks.
I need a major overhaul, but Sister Arizona is dead.
This was the first time I hated war so much that even being in it made me feel uncomfortable. Even after repairs and the installation of a new SG radar, it could not change the fact that it was used in war.
I wanted to retreat, but I knew it was impossible.
For this reason, I can only change my beliefs, hoping to rely on this new power to protect everyone in White Eagle and prevent similar incidents from happening again.
It did work at first and I was happy with it.
On November 1942, 11, I was unharmed after the attack and was joking with Rafi in the team, saying that I could still protect everyone. However, we encountered the enemy that night.
It was an extremely chaotic night. My SG could only detect the enemy in advance and could not do anything else. I could only watch everyone get into a mess and get injured continuously.
I want to do something for everyone.
So I tried to rely on radar, turned on my searchlight, covered the enemy destroyer, and poured all the firepower I was equipped with on her.
But this is of no use.
I was at the back of the battlefield, and once again watched everyone get injured and die.
Rafi, who was listening to my bragging not long ago, now took on a burden that was extremely incompatible with her small body and stood in the front.
But I couldn't muster up the courage to step forward.
Rafi is dead.
She was praised by everyone, but she lost her life and was buried in the cold, dark seabed.
I hate war.
I admit, I was timid.
During the process of going to sea, fighting, firing and repairing again and again, I gradually began to lose confidence in this war. I didn't understand what I was fighting for.
Is it to protect everyone in White Eagle? But aren't they leaving me one after another?
What is that for?
If the purpose of war is to end war, then why not stop it before it starts?
With this uncertainty, I still carry out combat missions, going to different places with different partners, doing the same thing.
I don't know why, but the image of that little figure always appears in my mind. Even though it was surrounded by enemies, the destroyer would still fire at the enemy battleship ten meters away without hesitation.
Gradually, I got tired. I kept hesitating and reminiscing. I seemed to be... regretting something?
On a night in July 1943, I once again discovered the enemy's traces in advance.
That passing figure kept appearing in my mind. I didn’t want to escape anymore. I thought I could do something for everyone.
So, I opened fire.
It is very important to seize the initiative. The attacks of the three of us, Honolulu sister and St. Louis sister, hit the three enemy destroyers very accurately, which made me feel relieved.
As a result, he failed to avoid the enemy's counterattack torpedo.
I...seem...going to die.
I can't say whether I'm unwilling or relieved. I just know that I didn't back down this time. I'm trying my best to protect everyone in the fleet.
There may be some regrets, but if possible, I would rather be left idle in the port area, because it means that the war is far away.
That way, everyone will be happy.
I heard people say that after death you will go to heaven, or you may be taken to hell. Heaven is peaceful, while hell is full of suffering.
If this were true, I don’t know where I would end up.
I think Lafite would take a nap on the soft clouds, right? She loves taking a nap in the sun the most.
As for me...I shouldn't be able to go to the same place as her, right?
If there is an afterlife... I hope to be a human being, an ordinary person.
Live an ordinary life in an ordinary place.
There is no war, no artillery fire, no torpedoes, and no need for anyone to step forward. Everyone will be happy and peaceful.
If only there really were…
"...This world is no different from where I came from. It still needs artillery fire, and there will still be casualties. I still have to face these."
Helena was stunned for a moment, and then she came back to her senses from her extremely distant memory. She looked at the little figure sitting next to her who said these words. After a few breaths of silence, she suddenly felt a little sad, "I just... want to be an ordinary girl..."
"When you bear the name 'Helena', you should have known that this was impossible." Little Zeppelin stated the fact with a cold face, "Just like me."
Helena paused for a while, then suddenly asked, "Did you ask me to come here just to say this?"
"My fate should have been unchangeable, but the commander pulled me out of hell and changed everything for me."
Little Zeppelin looked at his own white and tender little hands, which were no longer the same size as he remembered. "Although I still hate her, her existence makes me feel that this world is still worth looking forward to."
Helena didn't quite understand. "Since Su Su is so important to you, why do you still... act so indifferent to her...?"
"I was afraid of disturbing her life. She should have her own life. I am an outsider. I am content just to watch her live out her life."
"After she passes away, what will happen to this world is none of my business. What I have to do is to help her maintain the present. No matter if it's the Sirens or humans, don't bother disturbing her world."
"And you." Little Zeppelin tilted his head to look at Helena, "You have already influenced her."
"If you are still hesitating, you might as well give up your hesitation. A ship girl will never be an ordinary person, and she will never be an ordinary person. You have to know what a ship girl should really do."
“Even if you change your place or your identity, war and destruction will still exist. All you can choose is to retreat or face the challenge head on.”
Helena thought of that small figure and clenched her fists, "...I won't back down again."
"Then put aside those useless worries and do what you should do as a ship girl." Little Zeppelin's scarlet eyes were pure and deep, "...I will clear everything for her."
Helena was silent for a long time, then she shook her head and tried to raise her gentle smile as before.
"I understand. I won't hesitate any longer. I should...do my job well."
ps: The ship history is only used as a storyline, don’t trust the authenticity of the content!
Chapter 412 My Parents' Romance-6
"Knock knock."
In the quiet room, Yixian, who was making tea, suddenly heard a knock on his door. He calmly stopped and said, "Come in."
The person who came was, as she expected, the "Miss Knight" from White Eagle.
However, this pretty girl, who usually showed her refreshing smile in the past, seemed a little listless today, and her expression was not as bright and cheerful as before.
"Excuse me." Cleveland walked straight to the wooden table and sat down opposite Yixian. He placed his hands loosely on the table and remained silent.
Yixian didn't plan to ask, he just poured the brewed tea into the dull purple clay cup, then gently placed it on the table and slowly pushed it in front of Cleveland.
"Please use."
"...Thank you." Cleveland picked up the teacup, rubbed it for a few breaths, but did not bring it to his mouth. He just put it back on the table.
"What's wrong? Do you know it's not to your taste before you even drink it?"
Cleveland shook his head. "No, no, I just... I just want to let it cool down before drinking it. I don't mean to say that the tea is not to my taste..."
"Of course, tea tastes better when it's hot." Yixian finished his cup and filled it up again. Then he blew on it gently and took a sip. "After all, temperature doesn't wait for anyone. If you want to heat it up again after it cools down, you have to wait for a while."
It took a lot of effort.”
Cleveland was stunned for a moment, then he picked up the cup and drank it all in one gulp. As a result, he burned his tongue. He could only breathe softly with tears in his eyes, trying to relieve the pain on the tip of his tongue.
Yixian shook his head, feeling helpless about this useless person in front of him, and could only get straight to the point: "So what's going on between you and Helena? I don't think I've seen you two together recently?"
"Um...I...hiss--I...I don't know...hiss--" Cleveland took out a bottle of mineral water from the space that he was going to drink after exercise, took a big gulp, held it in his mouth for a while, and then swallowed it. Only then did he feel a lot better.
"You don't know either?" Yixian pursed her lips, feeling that this conversation might not yield much. "Don't you even know when she became strange?"
"Um... well... I only know that there was a period of time before when she would take the initiative to chat with me, but later on, for some reason, when I asked her to play together, she would be very hesitant..."
"So what did you do when you saw her hesitate?"
"Eh? Just... just say that if it's not convenient, then we can talk about it another day." Cleveland took it for granted, "We can't let her delay her own business, right?"
Yixian was silent for a long while, not knowing how to continue the conversation. After all, whether it was because of Su Xin's request or her own vision, she hoped for a good result.
But it had just begun and the progress was blocked by the person involved. She didn't know anything when asked. She was even more outrageous than Commander Su.
Helpless, Yixian could only sigh and ask, "What do you feel about Helena?"
Cleveland is sunny and cheerful. She can do well in fighting or anything else. She is truly an all-round player. It's a pity that she becomes listless when talking about love-related topics.
When he heard the question asked by Yixian, his face, which was originally a little worried, suddenly turned red, and even his ears became hot and could not be cooled down.
"I...I...I just...just...want to know more about her..."
Yixian was quite surprised to see this. He put down his teacup, looked at Cleveland, whose face was flushed, and asked, "Why are you so shy all of a sudden? Weren't you very calm when you performed magic and gave people flowers before?"
"Eh?" Cleveland was stunned. "She was unhappy at that time. Wasn't it right for me to do that?"
Yixian was helpless and asked again: "Then have you ever thought about your life after being with her?"
"Yes..." Cleveland pursed his lips shyly, "Just help her wash the dishes and cut vegetables... and if there is a power outage again, I can help her fix it... and by the way, let her not feel scared in the dark..."
After hearing what Cleveland said, Yixian suddenly felt inexplicably uncomfortable. It was really torturous to hear Mu Tou say these lines.
So she interrupted Cleveland's statement and brought the topic back on track: "Then why didn't you say anything?"
