The atmosphere suddenly became awkward as it turned out neither of them had actually considered going together.
"I meant to say that the Iron Blood fleet already knows about your vow to the Sui Qiong."
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Bismarck quickly reacted and clarified the reason to Lin Lan.
"Alright, I'll just say I bathe every day, and I don't smell that bad."
Thinking about the looks the shipgirls had given him earlier, Lin Lan couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly.
After all, his daily sparring sessions in the afternoon were intense workouts, so he always returned to shower.
It seemed like he had over thought things.
Just as Lin Lan was about to go upstairs, his phone suddenly rang.
"Who would call me at this time… Sun Xiaozhu?"
Seeing the caller's name on his phone, Lin Lan answered in confusion.
He had already informed Sun Xiaozhu that no one should know about his port area communication number.
And Sun Dewang was still in Lihu County, continuing his role as the acting official of the county.
With the collaboration of these two, Lihu County had become a transfer station for the Tian'ou Group to deliver oil and goods to his port.
"Commander, good evening, I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour."
As soon as he brought the phone to his ear, Sun Xiaozhu's voice came through.
"What's the matter?"
Lin Lan cleared his throat and asked in a calm tone.
Generally speaking, Sun Xiaozhu wouldn't call unless there was an urgent matter.
"It's like this: Feng Tao, the commander of the Lanjing Port area, has just arrived in Lihu County with his shipgirls. He said he wanted to thank you in person."
"After I explained the current situation of the port area, as you told me, he is now waiting for you in the Lihu County inner district. Tomorrow…"
Upon hearing Sun Xiaozhu's report, Lin Lan suddenly understood.
Feng Tao, the commander of Lanjing Port, had previously said he would come to thank him in person, and he thought it was just a polite gesture.
He never expected him to actually show up.
This commander from a big city was indeed a man of his word.
"I got it. Just tell him that I'll be at the Navy Office in Lihu County tomorrow morning to meet him."
After instructing Sun Xiaozhu, Lin Lan hung up the phone.
"Tomorrow morning I have to go to Lihu County. The person we rescued last time is coming to visit."
Looking at Bismarck, who had been waiting for him to finish the call, Lin Lan put his phone away and spoke.
"The secretary ship for tomorrow should be August. I'll notify her about this in advance."
"Then please notify her for me. We can gather a few more people and go for a walk around Lihu County to relax."
Now, Lihu County has become like Lin Lan's backyard. Under the management of the two surnamed Sun, Sun Dewang and Sun Xiaozhu, it was flourishing.
It was just right since he was planning to inform Sun Dewang, a local of Yunhai, to act as his guide when he arrived.
After finalizing the plan for tomorrow, Lin Lan went upstairs, took a shower, and changed into clean clothes before heading to the cafeteria with Bismarck and Sui Qiong.
That evening, even though today's secretary ship was the Iron Blood flagship, the task of rolling in bed could not be neglected.
By late at night, they were both satisfied and embraced each other, falling asleep.
The next morning, before dawn, Lin Lan was woken up by the alarm clock.
"Yawn~ Bismarck... Hmm? Where did she go?"
Lin Lan instinctively reached out to hold the beautiful woman beside him, but found only emptiness.
As he lifted the covers and prepared to get dressed, he noticed that the temperature was noticeably lower than yesterday.
Just as he finished dressing and washing up, Lin Lan heard a knock at the door.
Opening it, the person standing there was none other than the Iron Blood flagship, holding breakfast and a black package.
What surprised Lin Lan was that there was snow on Bismarck's black military uniform's shoulders and her Iron Blood hat.
"Good morning, Commander. It's snowing outside, so before bringing you breakfast, I went to the warehouse to fetch a coat for you."
Bismarck's words made Lin Lan's heart warm, and he immediately opened his arms to embrace the golden-haired Iron Blood flagship standing in the doorway.
"Bismarck, you're so thoughtful, thank you."
"Ah, Commander, there's porridge for breakfast. Please be careful…"
Although she said this, a blush appeared on Bismarck's face, and her voice grew softer.
After a brief moment of affection with Bismarck, Lin Lan put on the black coat she had brought for him.
He had to admit, the Iron Blood uniforms were really stylish. As soon as he put on the black coat, he went straight to the mirror.
The coat, with its silver Iron Cross buttons at the collar, made his already tall frame appear even more sleek and imposing.
The soft fabric soon warmed him up.
"Stop looking in the mirror. Let's eat breakfast, and don't forget to suppress Sui Qiong's meta transformation."
Seeing Lin Lan constantly adjusting his pose in front of the mirror, Bismarck couldn't help but smile, placing the breakfast on the coffee table.
"Hmm, Iron Blood military uniforms really do look good."
After admiring his reflection in the Iron Blood coat, Lin Lan smiled and sat next to Bismarck to start eating breakfast.
Although the Iron Blood winter military uniform was stylish, it certainly wasn't as practical as the Northern Union's winter wear for cold regions.
Watching her commander eat hastily, Bismarck smiled lightly and said:
"Commander, you don't have to eat so quickly. August and the others are still in the cafeteria. You can meet them at the dock and head out together."
Swallowing the bread in his mouth, Lin Lan looked at Bismarck in surprise.
"Aren't you coming with us?"
Bismarck shook her head.
"I still have a lot of trivial matters to handle today, so I won't be joining you. But my sister will go in my place."
Well, as the Iron Blood flagship, Bismarck surely had a lot to do, and Lin Lan didn't want to force an invitation.
After breakfast, while Bismarck was cleaning up the dishes, Lin Lan went to the next room to suppress Sui Qiong's meta transformation.
To avoid having the secretary ship deliver meta crystals to him every day, he had recently picked up a barrel of meta crystals from the Iron Blood warehouse and placed it in his bedroom.
Under the guidance of the Hipper sisters these past few days, Sui Qiong's black wings could now retract into her ship-like armor when not in use.
After all, Sui Qiong was also a mechanical girl born from a cube. Though her original cube was the Meta Cube, she shared many convenient features with other shipgirls.
Dragging the still-sleepy Sui Qiong back to his bedroom, Lin Lan found that Bismarck had already finished cleaning up everything.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot about this."
Just as Lin Lan was about to close the door and leave, he suddenly seemed to remember something, quickly walking back inside.
He opened the empty drawer of the bookshelf, took out a small wooden box, and solemnly placed it in his pocket before quickly walking out and closing the door.
"Commander, what was that you just took?"
Seeing the serious look on his face, Bismarck curiously asked.
Lin Lan locked the door, turned to look at Bismarck, who was gazing at him in confusion.
He suddenly reached out, gently caressing Bismarck's smooth cheek and fixing the slightly messy strands of her golden hair.
"C-Commander?"
Bismarck also raised her hand, lightly grasping the back of Lin Lan's hand, not understanding why he was being so affectionate all of a sudden.
But looking into his eyes, which were filled with warmth and tenderness, she realized that what he had just taken must be connected to why he was acting this way.
Lin Lan looked at Bismarck, whose face showed a shy expression under his gentle touch, suppressing the heaviness in his heart and smiling softly.
"The thing I just took may seem like an insignificant ornament to us."
"But to someone, it is a treasure that cannot be measured by money."
_______
50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
_______
If any of you noticed an error, please point it out in comments!