"Let Blücher go with you. She's your secretary ship for today. We'll head to the cafeteria first and see if we can help out."
Ulrich spoke calmly.
No one had any objections, and Blücher was even more delighted, immediately wrapping herself around Lin Lan's arm.
"Yah-ho~ Commander, do you need me to join you for a sweet, romantic bath?"
Cough, cough… Let's talk about this later when we get back.
Feeling the soft pressure on his arm, Lin Lan coughed awkwardly.
"Oh, right. Sui Qiong, you come with me too."
Lin Lan hadn't forgotten about the mechanical girl, Sui Qiong. After telling her to accompany him, he turned to the green-haired little swindler and said:
"Akashi, I remember there's a vacant room next to my bedroom. Have Bulin and Manjuu set it up later and prepare the bedding. From now on, that will be Sui Qiong's room."
Following closely beside the commander, Sui Qiong suddenly felt a few faintly hostile gazes sweep over her.
"?"
The simple-minded mechanical girl tilted her head in confusion, trying to find the owners of these gazes, but she couldn't pinpoint them at all.
After making all the necessary arrangements, Lin Lan and the others left Akashi's shop, except for Akashi, who stayed behind to feed and recharge Manjuu and Muscular Meow.
They didn't encounter any other Iron Blood shipgirls on the way, as it seemed most of them had already gone to the cafeteria.
After temporarily parting ways with Ulrich, Hipper, and the others, Lin Lan hurried back to the office loft with his sweet little Blücher and the quiet, white-haired Sui Qiong.
As soon as he stepped into the bedroom and started to undress, he noticed that both Blücher and Sui Qiong were sitting on his bed.
The energetic Iron Blood heavy cruiser was gazing at him with an expectant look.
"Commander, are you sure you don't need me to join you in the bath? Maybe it'll deepen your love for me~?"
Seeing Lin Lan pause halfway while unbuttoning his shirt, the twin-tailed, cream-blond Iron Blood cruiser grinned and asked teasingly.
"Bathing together… deepening love?"
Sui Qiong blankly repeated the phrase in a soft voice, her blue eyes now focused on the commander in front of her.
Lin Lan didn't hear Sui Qiong's murmured words—he was too busy giving Blücher an exasperated glare.
"Quit messing around. Both of you, go wait on the balcony—"
Before he could finish, Blücher cut him off in her usual high-spirited tone:
"No way! My most, most, most, most, most beloved Commander, today, you will absolutely not escape Blücher's loving assault!"
The red-eyed, twin-tailed girl declared her intent, then immediately stood up and began unbuttoning her gray-red Iron Blood uniform.
"Stop! You'll get your turn later! We're in a rush right now!"
Faced with this direct and intense commander-obsessed girl, Lin Lan panicked and quickly waved his hands to stop her.
If Blücher actually bathed with him, who knew how long that bath would take? If he ended up being late, that would be a disaster.
"Mm… well, that makes sense. I guess I'll have to put my attack on hold for now. But Commander, you better hurry up."
Despite being from the Iron Blood faction, Blücher knew when to be serious about important matters.
"Sui Qiong, go with Blücher to the balcony. I'll be out soon."
Once the two girls left for the balcony to admire the view, Lin Lan finally sighed in relief and hurried into the bathroom to shower.
While on the balcony, Sui Qiong gently tugged at Blücher's sleeve and asked curiously:
"Blücher… sister, does liking the Commander mean you have to bathe with him?"
"Of course! And besides bathing together, you should also stick to the Commander all the time!"
Blücher had been getting bored while waiting for Lin Lan to finish bathing, but when she heard the white-haired girl's question, her interest was immediately piqued.
Though Blücher was the second sister of the Hipper-class, both her younger sister, Prinz Eugen, and her fourth sister, Weser, not to mention Tallinn, who had joined the Northern Parliament, all treated her—who had a straightforward personality—as the little sister in need of care.
Blücher wasn't stupid; she could see it clearly.
What she didn't understand was why expressing her feelings so openly made her seem "simple" in her sisters' eyes.
Now that she had a new junior who called her "sister," Blücher felt completely satisfied and enthusiastically explained things to the innocent-looking Sui Qiong:
"Whether it's eating, sleeping, daytime, or nighttime, you must always express your overflowing love for the Commander clearly!"
"There are many ways to express love. Besides bathing together, you can also go on dates, kiss, hug, sleep together… and so on."
"Only by doing this can you make the Commander fall in love with you and let him experience the power of love as well!"
"You must never learn from Sister Hipper! Hm~ she's the flat-chested blonde who punched the Commander today.
She's always getting teased by Eugen because she isn't honest about her feelings."
"In short, Sui Qiong, you have to understand—love is omnipotent!"
"And once the Commander falls in love with you, he'll give you this treasure."
Blücher spoke at length without a hint of exhaustion, then proudly showed Sui Qiong her right hand.
Sui Qiong noticed that Blücher's black, fingerless combat glove had a beautiful, radiant wedding ring on the ring finger, reflecting a warm orange glow under the evening sun.
"When you make a vow with the Commander and receive this special ring from him, you'll be able to feel the power of love even more!"
Sui Qiong reached out her small hand and gently touched Blücher's wedding ring.
At this moment, the straightforward Blücher had completely accepted Sui Qiong as one of her own.
Afterward, Blücher continued passionately sharing her knowledge on how to "capture the Commander's heart," as well as various amusing stories about him.
Meanwhile, Sui Qiong listened intently to the experiences shared by her new companion, committing everything to memory.
Just as she had once absorbed combat techniques from her comrades when she was still a battle mech.
If Lin Lan knew that Blücher was teaching Sui Qiong these things, he would definitely regret ever letting them stay together.
However, at this moment, Lin Lan was blissfully unaware of it all, happily enjoying his bath in the bathroom.
Once he finished showering and changed into the black evening suit that the Tianou Group had sent over, he called the two girls back inside.
"Yah-ho! My most, most, most, most beloved Commander, are you ready to go?"
As soon as he was tightly embraced by the energetic heavy cruiser girl, Lin Lan helplessly patted her head.
"Yeah, I'm about ready. Let's hurry, it's already close to seven."
After speaking indulgently, he turned to look at Sui Qiong.
He had been debating whether or not to bring Sui Qiong to the banquet.
After all, her current identity was quite special, and many shipgirls didn't know her yet.
He decided that tomorrow, he would hold a formal meeting to introduce Sui Qiong to all the Iron Blood shipgirls.
For now, he definitely wouldn't leave her alone.
"Blücher, when we get to the cafeteria, take Sui Qiong to sit with your sisters."
"Once the banquet ends, bring her back with you."
During the banquet, Lin Lan would be with Bismarck, so it would be best for Sui Qiong to stay with Hipper and the others.
After instructing Blücher, he turned to Sui Qiong and said:
"When we get to the cafeteria, stay close to her and don't wander off, okay?"
The white-haired mechanical girl nodded slightly and replied seriously:
"Sui Qiong understands. Sui Qiong's most, most, most, most beloved Commander-sama."
Lin Lan, who had just let go of Blücher and was heading for the door, instantly froze as if struck by lightning.
His eyes widened in shock, as if he had just heard something that shattered his worldview.
Turning back to look at the adorable white-haired mechanical girl, he asked in a trembling voice of disbelief:
"Sui Qiong… what did you just say?"
"Sui Qiong understands. Sui Qiong's most, most, most, most beloved Commander-sama."
Sui Qiong tilted her head in confusion and repeated her words exactly as before.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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