It's been a week after the first actual battle of Commander Sieghart, he researched the Mirror Sea and the Sirens by himself by taking notes and asking about the ship girls' experiences. It helped a lot but that made him exhausted to the point he's completely blanked at work. Jintsuu sees this unproductivity to the point that she asks Newcastle to give him a lavish meal to lift his spirit.
"Sorry to ask for this Newcastle. But our commander is still not himself." She apologized and Newcastle just smiled and understood the situation.
"I do believe he needs a day off, after all, he worked very hard." Newcastle suggested which Jintsuu is thinking it will be a good idea.
"I think tomorrow is good, right? Very well, I'll let him rest." Jintsuu agreed to her advice.
Commander Sieghart is eating the meal that Newcastle prepared and it seems it's working. He finished the whole meal yet after that he fell asleep and fell on the floor and that made them shocked and worried. That made the office close early because the commander is unconscious and was brought to the infirmary to reciprocate.
"Err... He might take a while." Jintsuu said as she stood beside the infirmary office's door.
"Jintsuu, probably it's not the best time to overwork him. He got himself pretty badly during the last time." Sendai advised her as she stayed beside her.
"Sendai, did he actually do his role well this time?" She asked and Sendai nodded
"Yeah, but he became so aggressive later on." Sendai answered that Vestal goes out to the infirmary.
"He should be fine by evening, but tomorrow will be his rest day." Vestal said and Jintsuu nodded and took note of it.
At the mess hall, as usual ship girls are here to eat with their friends but this time Jean Bart alongside Dunkerque joined the Eagle Union's group for a chat.
"I didn't expect you to be so fired up during the last sortie! Thanks a lot!" Hornet complimented as she takes a bite to a donut.
"We're only doing our part, that's it." Jean Bart replied as she took a sip on her drink.
"You know, Laffey saw how you wrecked those Siren ships. It was amazing." Laffey complimented her as she drank a bottle of wine.
"L-Laffey, y-you're drinking too much!" Arizona is stopping Laffey for drinking the wine.
"You can certainly hold your alcohol, Laffey." Dunkerque said as she ate more food.
"Oh my, Dunkerque, your baked sweets are too good!" Hornet complimented as she grabbed more of the sweets.
"It's my hobby to bake some sweets for everyone." Dunkerque admitted and they're so surprised, Hornet clasped Dunkerque's hands together.
"Hey! Can you make some again?! Please?" Hornet asked as her eyes were glittering.
"O-Of course!" Dunkerque agreed which made Hornet happy then Lexington dropped by.
"What are you all talking about? It seems lively." Lexington asked as she sits beside Arizona then Jean Bart made a brief sigh
"About making sweets for next chat." Jean Bart answered as she sipped her drink that made Lexington curious as she took a donut baked by Dunkerque.
"Alright, mind if I take it." She said as she took a bite, and her eyes sparkled.
"Good luck accommodating all of your friends, Dunkerque." Jean nonchalantly said to Dunkerque which made her sigh in disbelief.
"Don't say that as if I'm going to lose myself." Dunkerque replied then they all enjoyed their own conversation.
From afar Enterprise and Yorktown are watching them, they're happy for Hornet because she's able to be herself more without hesitation even talking with the new ship girls. After those girls finished eating at the mess hall they all separated. However Dunkerque is still accompanying Jean Bart, it's now 4pm...
"Y'all talkative." Jean Bart commented for today's chat and Dunkerque giggled.
"Jean, don't you think we missed those old days before the war started?" Dunkerque replied and Jean Bart is not amused.
"... It's not like I don't like it." Jean Bart paused as they arrived at the docks, seeing their vessels getting repaired then she continued, "But it's just too good."
"True, I missed them. But for now, we've been assigned here to aid the commander." Dunkerque agreed as they're watching their ships being repaired.
"Dunkerque, what do you think about the commander?" Jean Bart asked out of nowhere and she's surprised.
"He might be the strict one and valued victory, but nevertheless he cares for his ship girls." Dunkerque answered but Jean Bart has nothing to say at the moment.
Dunkerque thinks that she got the wrong impression with their commander. Of course, he is the famous "the foolish beast". Where would you see a commander jumping off to his flagship to personally attend the matters by himself while under fire. That of course, happened personally from Jean Bart.
"I see, because... I thought he was a man of stupidity and cowardice." Jean Bart replied and then they left the docks. Then Jean Bart adds, "Geez, he's actually much more bearable than the other commanders."
From there on, Dunkerque understood what she meant. Commander Sieghart just earned her respect. Despite their clashing introductions from the first time they met, it seems he understands Jean Bart well enough. After all, Jean Bart is the leader of Vichya Dominion, she carries many responsibilities within her and she's not telling any of it. She cannot show weakness for it might stain the pride of the battleship. In that case, Dunkerque smiles for this.
"Well, we could visit him later, if you want." Dunkerque suggested and this made Jean Bart annoyed.
"Tsk. No." She outright refused that and Dunkerque giggled after that.
Night fall, Commander Sieghart has been discharged at the infirmary and he's well at the moment but needs more rest to be sure. Just before he's heading out to the building, someone is waiting for him... He thought it was his secretary but it was Jean Bart out of nowhere. He is now panicking inside since he might've accidentally let one of his ship girls resent him or hate him even more than he could imagine, he's totally intimidated. He tries to remain calm and composed as he tries to approach her.
"Stop looking so intimidated. Long as you won't betray me, I won't betray you." She said and that made him froze for a bit to his place.
"Uh... Okay? But umm---" Before he could finish his sentence Jean Bart approached him instead.
"I am here because of Dunkerque's banters. Don't think of anything ya." Jean Bart said as she made a distance from him.
"Oh..." He took note of it then she glares at him
"Don't just make fun of me, le commandant." She warned as he knew before she even said anything.
"Well since I'm out of duty for the moment... Want to take a walk or you're tired?" He asked her out in a friendly way.
"Lonely aren't ya? Hmph. I don't mind, I'm bored anyway." She accepted the invitation, so they made their way to the park and they only spotted a handful of ship girls and they saw stalls were closing.
"By the way, just call me Sieghart when out of duty." He said as they sat down on a nearby bench and gaze upon the sky.
"Whatever." She replied and they remained silent for a minute.
"Anyways, how was your recovery, Jean?" He asked
"Good enough, I guess." She answered "How about you? I heard from Jintsuu and the others that you fainted because of fatigue." She followed up and then Sieghart made a deep sigh and disappointed face because of the event that happened earlier.
"Y-Yeah... I messed up, and didn't rest very well." He admitted but nervously trying to hide his embarrassment for this.
"You're really pushing yourself too hard. What a coincidence." She said in a very annoyed way since she noticed the similarities they have.
"I'm pushing myself too hard because I don't want to repeat the same mistake I did during our last sortie." He explained as he crossed his arms then suddenly remembered he needed to buy soda for both of them. "Wait here."
After a few seconds, he came back with two soda cans in his hands and he gave the other one to Jean Bart. She accepted it.
"Hmph. Fair enough." She said as she stands up with him as she opens the can.
"Hmmm?" He is dumbfounded on what she said.
"How long will you stand over there? Sit down." She said that Sieghart noticed he hadn't sat down, so he complied.
"Le commandant, tell me, do you think the spoils of war are good enough especially the ones we usually get?" She asked out of nowhere as she drank her soda.
"For research purposes, quite. But for survival, I don't think so. However, the rewards should be adequate enough." He answered truthfully as he opened his soda.
"Hmph. You're considerate with many factors. Like a leader should be." She complimented and that made him think of his actions, is he even considerate, he only knows he should enjoy the battle as possible.
"I'll escort you to your dorm building then I'm out." She offered and that made Sieghart surprised and very dumbfounded that why Jean Bart would go that far.
"Alright, I-I'll take that offer then." He reluctantly accepted her offer.