After Greynar reunited with the fleets, Elizabeth gave them a short explanation about the place they're staying at. Since the Commander's room is exclusive, Greynar will be staying separately from his fleets. No one objected it and everyone assigned to their room smoothly. Of course, the fleets are free to take whichever room they want in. She said that this place was built on top of an active volcano which has been destroyed because of the war with the Siren years ago.
Elizabeth also told them that they had a hot spring where they could bathe and clean themselves. She also added that the hot spring hadn't been divided by gender because they thought it would be too much trouble to manage and there has almost never been a male using it. Greynar wanted to complain about this, but he understood that it would also be a hassle if they had to renovate the whole hot spring just because he wanted it to be a separate hot spring. Richelieu invited the girls to come with her and the Iris Libre to deepened their relation in the hot spring while talking about various topics.
Upon the mention of hot spring girls were very excited with it and looked at Greynar with a pleading eyes. He let them do their things while he is going to rest in his room and let them use the hot spring first. Elizabeth left them alone with Warspite because she need to attend some matters with the higher up of Royal Navy.
With no one accompanying him, Greynar arrived at his own room, it was a nice room with one large bed and a sliding window with a balcony that is facing towards the sea. The bathroom itself was very nice looking and looked very luxurious, the room was fairly big for only one person but that's because he is a VIP for the Royal Navy.
He took some time to place all of his belongings and make himself at home. He tested the bed which is very soft and comfortable with the pillow. He wanted to take a shower, but he remembered that he wanted to try the hot spring tonight. After he got nothing else to do, he sit at the edge of the bed and closed his eyes, he will try to use the power once again, and this time without interuption.
"Alright, let's try it again." Greynar took a deep breath before testing his ability again.
~Command Savior, activate ESP.~
His eyes glowed red, and to match the incoming dawn, he added some touch so he could see during the night. There was a limit for the range of his vision, he could only see to the maximum of 90 meters with his current state. He didn't sense anything weird like the one in front of the artefact room.
'Wow, are you sure this shit wasn't created by the Siren, cube?' Greynar muttered to himself asking the non-existant person.
He looked in the direction of the hot spring to get a clear view of the Eagle Union girls. Even though he couldn't tell who was who without getting closer, he was still excited by the sight. He only stared at them for a minute before turning off his 'Wall Hack', because if he used it more often, it would have a bad influence on him and make him feel dependent on the ability.
Greynar lay down on the bed while waiting for the girls to be done in the hot spring. Royal Navy palace is a very luxurious place with many kind of facility, it's not a stretch to say that the person who live in this place will say that this place is heaven. The most important thing is how very secure this place is, he could see some member of Royal Knight roaming around the place and the sea while looking out as a sentry guard.
"Now that makes me wonder, where is that new battleship during that event, i think her name is Vanguard?" Greynar thought for a sec.
The recent UR rarity ship was a battleship called Vanguard, he could only take a look by small margin of what she could do in some video that people post on youtube. He never get the chance to see it because it was relatively new, and it need sometime to get the general idea of the players. There was a mixed reaction by the community about the new released ship, and listening to their opinion was one of his favorite thing to do.
There was a small question in his mind as to whether he could access his world's internet to see what he was missing using the ability of S.A.V.I.O.R. He assumes it is not possible because it came from another dimension and another timeline, so he won't bother trying the useless. Giving his circumstance and the way how his ability work, there might be a chance for him to cross dimension and space to try travel to his world.
"Never mind about that ship, i might meet her in the future." Greynar shrugged. "And is it almost the time?"
He looked at the digital clock on the table, it's already chilly night that made him want to subdue in hot water. He assume the girls has done using the hot spring, he goes to the hot spring while memorizing the path on the way.
"Alright, there's no sound incoming from the inside, i'm alone now, haha~" Greynar smirked, he never thought he could use a hot spring privately on his entire life.
While humming the song he always hear, he took off all of his clothes and grabbed a towel to hide his privacy. He turned on the water to wash himself first before dipping into the water, he remembered that every onsen anime episode will always have an accident or something related to it with a girl. If a flag is raised right now, he could only pray that it will create a core memory for him.
Having washed his whole body, it was his turn to immerse himself in the water. His feet touched the water first and he could feel the pleasure of the hot water meeting his feet. Then he immersed his whole body, leaving only his head on the surface. The pleasant warmth of the water, combined with the chill of the night, made him more relaxed.
"Ahh... This is a blessing," He played with the water using one of his legs, splashing some water to the edge of the hot spring. "Surely no one will come here and make a ruckus, right?" Greynar glanced at the entrance door of the hot spring.
His question was answered when he felt a presence coming in. He guessed there were at least two near the hot spring, possibly someone he knew. Panicking as the presence gradually coming to his direction, he roamed his gaze to search for a hiding place but there isn't a single safe spot. He seemed to heard their voice from behind of the door which is not sound-proofed at all.
'That voice! It's them...' He recognized the voice behind the presence.
The door opened wide to reveal a pair of beauties wrapped in a white towel, he could almost see some sort of bulge but he remained focus on their face. The figures were surprised to see someone in here, but once they knew it was him, they suddenly turned bright red.
"C-c-commander!?" Volga was taken aback.
"H-hey there, i thought you guys joined with the others." Greynar awkardly waved at them.
"N-no, we just went for a walk, I gave Volga a quick tour of the island." Aurora explained.
"I see... That make sense." Greynar nodded while sighing to himself, "Look, i know it's a bit awkward but since there's still some space here, wanna join me?" he gestured his hand for them to come with him and spend some time in the bath.
The girl seems to grasp of what he meant by it, they glanced at each other and nodded. Volga was the first to join Greynar, followed by Aurora.
"How are you feeling right now, Volga?" Greynar was curious with her reaction about the island.
She replied with a brightful tone, "I'm very great! I was very fond of the food and the vodka around here," Glancing at Aurora with a smile, she continued. "I'm also very fond of the girls in this place, they're all are unique people and it's fun to hang around with them, especially the maids!"
"That's good, i was afraid that being a new constructed ship, adapting will be a bit difficult for you."
"...Ahaha, that's not the case, Commander, Volga was pretty much adapting to the surrounding area around her pretty quick, even for a shipgirl like her." Aurora giving a wink to Volga, causing her to slightly blush.
"And how about yourself?" Greynar turned to her. " Since you have been away for a while, aren't you going to catch up of what's happening back here?"
Aurora shook her head. "No... I trust my sister can manage without me, Her Majesty also has entrusted me to become your personal fleet so matters with Royal Navy is not my priority anymore."
Greynar could only wry hearing that. "Just tell me if you want to come here anytime, i can arrange it for you if you need it."
"Thank you, Commander," Aurora placed her hand on her chest and clasped. "The place I can call my second home would be on your side, so if i need to go back, i will also ask you to come with me."
Greynar coughed to hide his embarassment. "Hearing it from you, makes me happy so thank you for wanting by my side."
"I'm the proud Royal Navy's member, Arethusa-class light cruiser - Aurora. My name symbolize the break of dawn which is the first light after the long night." Aurora said while coming closer to Greynar, she reached her hand to his face and kissed him on the lips. The kiss continued for minutes, and they part away while looking at each other. "So no matter where you go, i will always be the light that shine the darkness in your path."
The warm atmosphere between them both was broken off by a sudden splash of water by Volga. She was laughing for half minutes looking at Greynar's wet face. He replied her prank by using both of his hand and made a huge splash all over the area. He snickered and asked Aurora to help him dealing with Volga. She betrayed him by teaming up with Volga and made Greynar lose the fight.
The three of them had a good time until Greynar became dizzy from the hot temperature and decided to end the hot spring time with his companions. On their way back, they met with Richelieu who greeted them as they passed by.
"Cardinal." Greynar tipped his hat.
"Commander," Richelieu replied with a respectful nod. "Did you enjoy the cold night?" She stared at Aurora and Volga respectively with a soft smile.
"We all sure do, thanks to the hospitality of Royal Navy, we get to enjoy our first day in here peacefully, and i hope with our arrival, it will ease your burden a little bit." Greynar slightly chuckled.
"I'm glad if that's what you are thinking, to be honest we are not rushing in time, i got the current situation from the Templar Knights stationed near the Vichya's territory. They haven't made a contact with any of Crimson Axis, but we're not sure if they have some means on contacting them." Richielieu took out a small pendant and gripped it tightly. "Sometimes or later, i will need to confront her head-on."
Greynar took a peek at the pendant, it seems to contain a picture that are very dearly to her. He scratched is head awkwardly since he didn't know how to continue this conversation further. "Cardinal..."
"Just Richielieu is fine."
"Richielieu, i don't know if i can feel empathetic towards you, and since i never had a siblings, i don't know how does brother/sister love works. But, one thing i know, that going against the person you hold dearly will be hard." Greynar offered his hand to her and gave her an assurance smile. "So let's work together from now on to prevent it."
Richielieu let out a small laugh, "I never expected for you to say that, but i'll take your word for it, Commander." She accepted his hand with a smiled.
Never in her days that she will see someone being so confident on their words. But it wasn't all, his determined eyes was burning fiercely, as if the commander in front of her knows everything. He didn't stutter his word, but he gave her a rest assurance. That alone, says something on so many level about his worth as a commander and as the person who reign over the fleets.
"I will contact you sometime later if we ever cross path with Jean Bart. The time we have to prepare for the battle is still long. We won't see each other anytime soon, do you still want to say something?" Greynar asked.
Richielieu shook her head, "No, i have done sharing my concern and worry to you." She looked over the shipgirls behind him. "I have taken some of your precious time this night, so i will take my leave. Goodbye, Commander."
He let out a exasperated sigh as she disappeared and gestured for the girls to move on. It was as if he had a premonition of something that was going to happen, the loud whistling wind from the opposite direction from where he was going made him a bit chilly.
The problem with Vichya and Iris Libre is his concern but it won't be as problematic as a Siren threat. A reenactment might take place sooner than he thought, eventually on the future, it will all lead down to the core of this timeline, the White Tower.
