Candy is eternal.

The hustle and bustle of even a small town was a world apart from life on base.

If anything, after a childhood aboard ships and living through being an officer cadet, Kotone had grown softly accustomed to the idea that privacy and free time were just things other people got, but she had to write them off entirely.

By contrast, the solitude and endless neglected freedom of the naval district was what being locked in solitary confinement must have felt like.

Even a total recluse welcomed the sight of actual, normal people, a blend of the local populations of humans, nekomata, and kitsune, strolling down centuries-old winding brickwork streets and boulevards.

In a simple white sweater and a pair of denim slacks, Kotone would have blended right in with the citizens, except for her height making her stick out.

The eternal periscope in any crowd.

Really, she wasn’t the one turning heads. Not with the criminally-busty and gorgeous Sovereign and Intervention taking an arm apiece, and flanking her in more softness than could be comprehended. Intervention, in a white hoodie and some black pants, and Sovereign in one of her casually bright-red dresses, with a long-brimmed black hat with a prominent red feather.

From, as she told it, a bird hunted all but to extinction by humans.

We do like to do that.

When asked where Sovereign got that dress, as the naval district certainly didn’t come equipped with it, the heavy cruiser blushed, wiggled impressively, and mumbled something about ‘saving important personal effects’ during her, uh. Evacuation.

The destroyer girls were all beautiful in their own ways, and having them swarm ahead and behind of Kotone and make this a harem dream come to life was tough in some ways, but heavenly in others. Townsfolk certainly couldn’t avoid the impression that a stamen was out on the town with her six girlfriends.

Even on Autumn, that was worth looks equal parts admiring and jealous.

Sunder’s sun-kissed skin was covered in a bit of armor still; a blue breastplate part of her attire, over a turtleneck sweater. Her sandy-blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, which whipped to and fro as she regarded each new passing distraction and frosted-class shopfront window with childlike awe and enthusiasm.

Fortuna, whose blazing-red hair failed to cover a set of exceptionally sharp, pointy ears, but which did cover one of her eyes, set a more ladylike example. Still enthusiastic, and twirling about, to which her corset-laced dress swirled in rippling waves like the sea.

The two of them filled the air with enthusiasm, and a friendly disagreement over what store to hit up first.

A debate only ended when Kotone was pulled by a silent, comically-serious Jaeger.

“I’ve decided we’ll go here first!” Kotone yelled while being dragged along.

This window-light storefront might have been small, but it stood out visually- mostly on account of being bright pink. The colored cane thing out front spun merrily, and the place gave off an aura of blinding sweetness for eyes as well as the mouth. The light, high tones of a bell ringing against the door combined with a sudden wave of sugar in the air.

Kotone followed the uncharacteristically excited destroyer into a literal candy store. Jaeger, quiet as she was, absolutely looked like a kid in one. Ace of Spades was still being dragged around by the other hand, already resigned to her fate of remaining attached for the foreseeable future.

Considering what Jaeger had gone through during the battle, she deserved as much of the teeth-rotting treasure as she could carry-

“Oh no, customers!”

That wasn’t exactly the reception that Kotone had been expecting, but hey. This wasn’t the type of person she anticipated to be working a candy store.

The black-haired gloomy maiden, with bags beneath her eyes and a permanent ****-stare fit for any combat veteran, looked as out-of-place as she was surprised that anyone would show up, let alone a full party of seven. Amid the mind-numbing sea of pink and white, behind a glass counter displaying confections of every conceivable color, stood a truly massive entity clad entirely in black.

“I mean, uh… W-welcome!”

Kotone couldn’t help but stare dumbfounded. The shopkeeper certainly stood out enough to warrant it, though perhaps the most important aspect was sheer scale. This particular girl was even larger than Intervention, in certain places.

Absurd.

They’d finally found somebody taller than Kotone, too. She filled out her black, straining cleavage-rich blouse quite astoundingly, with enormous, plump curves. The admiral had **** but to glance down at her own chest, then over to the storekeeper’s.

“Not to worry,” Intervention cooed up at Kotone’s ear, with a devilish smirk. “You have certain other qualities to redeem yourself. At least one I can think of.”

Don’t get excited in public, don’t get excited in public...

Jaeger wasted no time, systematically scouring each bin for delicious-looking treats and adding the most colorful ones to her bag. She really lived up to the traditional meaning of her name, becoming a relentless hunter.

Each bin was full of delicious-looking, colorful treats, meaning they added up quickly. Although she wasn’t much for words, she sure seemed excited, particularly with the way she dragged Ace of Spades all over the store.

Kotone managed to pull her gaze away from the shopkeeper- much to the nervous girl’s apparent relief- for long enough to find a small handful of particularly rare treats. Stuff she hadn’t seen anywhere since she was small, and remembered fondly. She hadn’t had much in the way of sweets since enlisting, but now that she was out on her own, well… it was as good a time as any to take a nostalgia trip.

“Father used to bring me treats from all over…”

“If only I was an actual rich girl, I’d procedure you confections from across the Empire and beyond!” Fortuna proclaimed. “... As it is, I must merely ask your help, for… these look dashed nice. Ehe.”

“I mustn’t be tempted by devilish sweets to abandon my fitness program,” Sunder proclaimed heroically, while already scooping up handfuls of bags.

Her defense was about as ironclad as the Alliance’s.

The store was quite small, just enough for the seven of them to mill about freely- though there was little more to spare. The shopkeeper remained behind her counter, with a look on her face that implied it was her last line of defense against a particularly fluffy siege.

Kotone couldn’t exactly blame her, given how excited the Destroyers were.

Sovereign and Intervention feigned disinterest, but at least the former had found something she took a particular liking to. Some kind of fancy kitsune candy, apparently tea-flavored. Nothing about the small package seemed to justify the price tag or the incomprehensible warning label attached to it, but Sovereign wasn’t about to let go of it, either.

Intervention lasted all the way up to the counter, up until colorful chocolate truffles caught her eye. She made a point to insist that one was plenty, and they had candy back home, yet…

Since they were on sale, four was the perfect number instead.

Didn’t want to lose out on the added value of a sale.

Kotone didn’t argue, if only because the sight of Intervention and the shopkeeper both looming over the same, now woefully inadequate countertop temporarily disabled her ability to think about anything else.

Her personal fund taking hit after hit certainly helped her from daydreaming too much, though. It definitely wasn’t that bad, even with Sovereign picking something expensive and Jaeger picking the entire store, but it wasn’t something she’d be doing every weekend.

Maybe every other weekend.

Jaeger looked supremely satisfied with her haul as they left the store, smugly carrying two bags full of various candies in each hand. A couple of them had already ended up in her mouth, no doubt the reason she was so pleased with herself. Ace of Spades had filled one bag out as well, though it was hard to say if that was on her own accord, or simply due to proximity to Jaeger’s “supply-gathering mission”.

Most others had much smaller quantities, even Inty herself not totally immune to the charm of candy.

Kotone’s own bag was almost full. In her defense, they had those little fizzy candies that no one else did! They were her favorite, okay?

All of it went into the trunk of the Clydesdale, the first load of many.

“Thank the gods they’re gone.” The permanently miserable shopkeep gave a deep, chest-emphasizing sigh once the door closed. Counting her money to remind herself why she ever got into this line of work…

Only to realize taxes were going up next month, to cover the costs of the ongoing campaign to crush those impertinent rabble across the sea.

“... Uuuu… What do we even have a navy for… Can’t people just leave each other alone?”