Elder brother's garrison

Xiao Bai's writing speed wasn't fast; it was rather slow, and in Lexington's eyes, there was absolutely no sense of tension as if he were taking an exam. But in reality, Xiao Bai's speed in completing the test paper was astonishing.

She didn't think at all; as soon as she finished reading the question, she picked up her pen and started writing, as if the answer was right next to her. Her job was simply to copy it down.

This is partly because most of the questions Lexington sets are conceptual, but it also proves from another angle that Xiaobai's learning ability is indeed top-notch.

The exam had an hour allotted, but these kinds of tests usually take two hours; Lexington cut it in half. However, Xiaobai still finished the exam after fifty minutes.

The test paper was covered with writing in black ballpoint pen, and from a distance it looked like a candy wrapper crawling with ants.

"I'm done." Xiaobai handed the paper to Lexington and rotated his wrist. Writing for so long without stopping would make even a student who frequently uses a pen feel soreness in their wrist.

Lexington took the test paper and glanced at it briefly.

Xiao Bai's handwriting was clearly the kind that hadn't been taught calligraphy, but it was still very neat and elegant. Throughout the entire paper, the answers were written precisely from left to right.

—This doesn't seem like someone who's just started learning this stuff.

Lexington put the medical supplies into his briefcase.

"I'll send you the test results tomorrow," Lexington said. "How do you think you did?"

"...I hope it won't be too bad." Xiaobai revealed a clear lack of confidence.

Lexington couldn't help but smile wryly.

With Lexington's sharp eyesight, those few seconds were enough to scrutinize all the answers. On the entire paper, Lexington couldn't find a single place where points could be deducted, not even a single typo.

It's an absolutely perfect score paper.

—It seems our admiral is just naturally insecure.

How humble... This family's upbringing is a bit extreme.

Lexington thought this, but didn't show it. She pulled out the first document from the mountain of documents beside her and handed it to Xiaobai.

Lexington originally didn't intend to give these things to Xiaobai; she felt that Xiaobai was too young to handle these documents.

After all, it's not a simple, foolproof job that can be done by just stamping a document; the review of the text and the verification of various aspects are quite time-consuming.

As for now, it wouldn't hurt to let a novice try it out, right?

Lexington first helped Xiaobai process the first document.

That was a reconnaissance report on the waters near the naval base.

The document was filled with data on maritime surveillance and requests for instructions on whether to send troops to provide assistance in response to the changes.

“First, look at the signature on this document, then look here.” Lexington’s finger traced patterns on the document. “Look at this document, this set of wind direction data from the marine surveillance. Look at this data of mine, this is a record of residents’ fishing trips over the past month, sent over this morning, and the weather changes of the past few days. From this set of wind direction data, you can see that they just mistook ordinary boats for real ones, and also…”

Xiao Bai didn't speak, but listened quietly to Lexington's story.

The silence was almost eerie.

If it weren't for the sparkle still in Xiaobai's eyes, Lexington would have thought that Xiaobai had given up on the job altogether.

After writing several paragraphs and drawing numerous circles on the document, Lexington finally concluded with his disagreement at the end.

“That’s roughly it,” Lexington said to Little White. “Do you understand?”

Lexington was actually a little nervous. She had only explained the order of her work without simplifying any steps, so it would probably be quite confusing to a layperson. She hoped Xiaobai wouldn't feel any pressure.

“…I understand.” Xiaobai nodded.

"Then Xiaobai, please do this one." Lexington carefully selected from the documents for a while and handed Xiaobai a relatively simple report.

Xiao Bai took it and glanced at it briefly.

"...Excuse me," she raised her hand, "do you want those circles drawn?"

"Little White" refers to some marks that Lexington drew with a pen when he was explaining things to himself.

"It doesn't matter." Lexington herself wasn't very good at drawing these marks; to her, they were more like blackboard writing. "What's wrong?"

"Oh... then I won't agree to this one..."

Xiao Bai picked up a pen, circled the part where he disagreed, and then slapped the stamp on it.

"Did you make a decision so quickly?" Lexington couldn't help but ask.

“…Hmm.” Xiaobai flipped through the documents Lexington had shown him earlier. “This page.”

Look over to Lexington.

That was a textbook.

"What should you do when you receive a report of a maritime disaster? If the disaster does not threaten the normal lives of coastal residents, you should first contact the superior naval headquarters and request instructions..."

This is exactly the corresponding information for the document that Xiaobai has.

...That's incredible.

"Did I do something wrong...?" Little White's pair of bright black eyes popped out from behind the book.

“…No, that’s great.” Lexington couldn’t help but smile. “Next, let’s try something else…”

Lexington then guided Xiaobai through a simple process of handling most types of files.

As expected, Xiaobai's performance was just as Lexington had anticipated. He picked things up very quickly. After Lexington gave Xiaobai a quick overview of the documents, Xiaobai began reviewing them.

Pick it up, glance at it, make a mark with a pen, and stamp it. Next.

The movements were fluid and effortless. It didn't seem like someone doing this for the first time.

...It's such a waste that someone as talented as Xiaobai isn't a lawyer or a writer.

Most people who memorize things by rote will have a lot of difficulty when they need to apply them flexibly. But Xiaobai seems to be on a different level than ordinary people. For Xiaobai, there is no rigid knowledge. Everything she memorizes becomes a kind of reflection, a kind of knowledge that seems to have been used skillfully before.

Learning by analogy is a piece of cake.

Furthermore, Xiaobai also noted down the information that needed to be consulted frequently, which saved a lot of time and made her process documents very quickly.

Lexington needed to process documents for almost a whole morning, but Xiaobai finished in a short while.

"...Is that all?" After realizing that Lexington hadn't handed him any new documents, Xiaobai tilted his head and asked.

Lexington, holding a large stack of documents that Xiaobai had already reviewed, looked at Xiaobai with a little surprise.

"Hmm...it should be...all right now." Lexington placed the mountain of documents in his hand on the table beside him. "...Hmm, it's all right now."

She repeated it again.

"Huh? Is that all the Admiral needs to do?"

Lexington gave a wry smile.

It seems that Xiaobai doesn't realize he's done something really terrible...

"As the secretary ship, I only need to organize these documents, and that should conclude today's work as admiral... I should be able to," Lexington said, looking at the large number of files.

As a result, it turned out that I was the one who dragged things down.

Lexington felt as if he were living in a dream.

Chapter 23 Fubuki's Compensation

The sun shines brightly outside the window.

The bright gold spread across the sea and sky like sand, and seagulls occasionally soared over the horizon.

The azure sea churned with waves, sending clusters of white blossoms fluttering in the breeze.

Xiao Bai picked up the teacup and drank the slightly cooled sweet tea.

...Hmm, it's a bit relaxing.

Xiao Bai looked around, but his gaze eventually drifted to Lexington.

A beautiful woman with long flaxen hair was sitting at a table not far away, carefully reading a document.

Sunlight filtered through the curtains, and the lace draped over her fair skin like ribbons, making her look like she was wearing a beautiful wedding dress.

"Um... is there anything I can help with..." Xiaobai couldn't help but ask.

"..." Lexington smiled and looked up. "No, I can handle these documents."

"But……"

“Little White, you’ve already lightened my workload so much. The work I’m doing now is the kind of work that the secretary ship would normally do,” Lexington said, adding at the end, “It’s alright. It’s already much less.”

"Oh..." Xiaobai blinked, picked up the teacup and took another small sip.

"Admiral! Admiral! Admiral!" Just then, the door to the admiral's office was suddenly pushed open.

Xiao Bai only saw a blue figure flash in and then jump onto his table.

Even the teapot was shaken by the sudden movement of the newcomer, causing it to jump.

What came into Xiaobai's view were two slender legs wearing white stockings.

Although jumping onto someone else's table was a little impolite, the person had taken off their shoes, revealing clean little feet wrapped in white stockings, which was subtly quite polite.

...No, no, jumping onto the table is a very impolite thing to do.

Xiao Bai, holding a teacup, looked up.

She had long, well-groomed blue hair.

It was Fubuki, who was standing with her hands on her hips and holding her shoes.

"Ta-da!" With a slight smile, Fubuki opened her beautiful, agate-like eyes and looked at Shiro. "Admiral! Fubuki! I've got my eye on you!"

Xiao Bai blinked.

However, the first to move was the reputation that had been standing behind Xiaobai for a long time.

As the head maid, Renown is in charge of Shiro's daily life. She was already waiting for Shiro at the Bismarck's house when Shiro left this morning, ignoring Shiro's repeated requests that she didn't need a maid.

Fortunately, Reputation and Counterattack seem to be very good at concealing their presence. After spending a long time with Xiaobai, Xiaobai would even subconsciously forget that Reputation and Counterattack existed.

Of course, reputation is needed in this situation.

Shengwang silently supported Fubuki and lifted her off the table in front of Xiaobai.

"Eh?"

"It's Master's working time now, please don't disturb him." Renown said, then carried Fubuki out of the Admiral's office.

"Huh? Huh? Huh huh huh? Ah————"

Xiao Bai held the teacup, looking a bit confused, and stared blankly for a while.

"If you're worried, you can go out," Lexington reminded Xiaobai at just the right moment. "Anyway, Xiaobai has finished her work, so it's fine for her to have free time. Xiaobai probably wants Xiaobai to go and play with them, right?"

"Oh...oh, oh, oh." Xiaobai put down her teacup. "Then...I'll go out for a little while?"

"It's alright. Remember to be back before lunch," Lexington said with a smile.

Xiao Bai stood up from the chair and walked towards the door.

As soon as I approached the door, I could hear the sound of Chuixue stomping her feet anxiously outside.

"That's not fair! Only Miss Renown gets to be with the Admiral!"

"The master is working, Fubuki, you can come back at noon."

"Liar! Liar! They're just leisurely drinking tea! Let Fubuki in, Fubuki wants to see the Admiral!"

"No."

"Ugh, ugh—you're bullying me."

"No."

"This is clearly bullying!"

At this point, the sound of snow blowing from the other side of the door clearly became more aggrieved.

"It's all Fubuki's fault for talking to the Admiral for too long yesterday! Shirayuki and the others have taken up all my time! Fubuki just wanted to take the Admiral to see Shirayuki and the others... Can't we just make up for the lost time?!"

No sound came from the reputation.

They are clearly in a rather difficult situation.

Xiao Bai quickly came out.

Fubuki, who was stomping her feet and pouting in front of Shinnosuke, saw Shiro and jumped into Shiro's arms without saying a word.

"Admiral, admiral, admiral..." Fubuki, nestled in Shiro's arms, raised her head, her large, teary eyes blinking. "Play with Fubuki..."