Watching his beloved shipgirl cry so heartbreakingly in front of him, Lin Lan couldn't help but feel bitter inside.
All in all, he had to calm little Saratoga down first.
"Saratoga, don't cry anymore. Look at how hard you're crying—as if I'd already died or something. But here I am, back safe and sound."
"Uwaaah... Commander, you big dummy!"
Saratoga cried even harder.
Hearing such a dense and awkward attempt at comfort, even South Dakota standing nearby couldn't help but show a wry smile and cover her forehead.
Commander... that's really not how you comfort someone...
But then again, this was just like something their commander would do.
If he suddenly started saying sweet and flowery things, they'd probably suspect the Sirens had done something to him.
After a long while, Saratoga finally managed to calm down.
Though her cute little nose was still twitching from time to time and tear stains lingered beside her eyes, her smile and usual energy had returned to her face.
"I knew the wishes of Magical Girl Saratoga would work. Commander would definitely come back safe and sound. Hehehe..."
Saratoga rested her chin on her hands, beaming as she gazed at Lin Lan's holographic projection, as if he were truly standing in front of her.
"Mm, it's thanks to Magical Girl Saratoga's prayers that I was able to escape from the Siren base."
Lin Lan smiled and followed Saratoga's lead, briefly explaining how he'd been ambushed by the Observer in Yunhai City and how he managed to escape the Siren base.
"Commander, you were way too careless! How could you only have one... mecha girl by your side?! Thankfully it all ended well this time, but you absolutely can't let it happen again, okay?"
After learning everything, Saratoga earnestly pointed out the mistake Lin Lan had made in Yunhai City.
"I was wrong. I've learned my lesson and I promise it won't happen again."
Lin Lan, of course, understood that Saratoga was just concerned for him, so he immediately made a promise.
Back then, he'd had only a few Iron Blood shipgirls around him, and he'd assumed that high-level Sirens would only appear on the sea.
That's what had allowed the Observer's ambush to succeed.
There's no way he'd make such a stupid mistake again. Absolutely not!
"So, little Saratoga, I'll have to trouble you to inform Bismarck and Friedrich that I've returned safely. They can follow the plan I previously mentioned and return to the old port area."
"And also, ask that mecha girl named Sui Qiong if she was captured by the Observer alongside me."
After he finished speaking, Saratoga replied with a bright and adorable smile:
"I'll pass on the message to the Iron Blood faction. As for that mecha girl, don't worry, Commander.
She wasn't captured by the Observer. She's safe under Iron Blood's protection... though she's been crying her eyes out."
Hearing this, Lin Lan let out a long sigh of relief.
So Sui Qiong was safe. As long as she knew he was alive, maybe she would stop blaming herself.
But noticing the shift in his expression, little Saratoga suddenly gave a mischievous wink and flashed a teasing smile:
"Commander~ mind explaining to Saratoga who this mecha girl named Sui Qiong really is? Why are you so concerned about her, hmm?"
Saratoga's question made Lin Lan's expression stiffen.
Clever Saratoga had picked up on the key detail just like that.
"Well, that's a long story..."
Lin Lan then recounted everything that had happened in the mirror sea of Dongyun City, including his encounter with Helena META.
Hearing that this country once had the capability to create such an exaggerated Overlord-class mecha left both Intrepid and South Dakota stunned.
After all, while they had seen combat mechas on the East Continent, they had never seen flying giant mechas before.
Finally, when they heard that Lin Lan had formed a vow with this Overlord-class mecha girl Sui Qiong—who was created using a Wisdom Cube—even Saratoga and the other two Eagle Union shipgirls were left speechless.
"Er... As expected of you, Commander. Another companion added to the base. Saratoga is already numb to this..."
Saratoga was the first to recover from her surprise and sigh in resignation.
After all, she had spent the most time by Lin Lan's side. She'd seen this happen again and again, and had long since built up a strong tolerance.
Intrepid and South Dakota were initially shocked but didn't say much either. They accepted the reality rather quickly.
Eagle Union shipgirls were generally tolerant toward the commander in this regard. If it had been Sakura Empire shipgirls, especially Akagi or Taihou...
This conversation might've turned into a real interrogation.
Even so, it was hard for even Saratoga to believe that the Commander was still expanding his harem after arriving in this new world.
This hopeless womanizer... Like we're not enough for him already.
With that thought, Saratoga couldn't help but mutter quietly:
"Maybe we really do need to watch Commander more closely..."
"Saratoga, did you say something just now? The signal seems a bit unstable on my end?"
Hearing Saratoga's muffled voice, Lin Lan assumed the signal was bad and asked uncertainly.
"Nope~ Commander, Saratoga was just wondering what this Sui Qiong looks like! She's curious, that's all. Ehe~"
Seeing Saratoga's pure and adorable smile, Lin Lan felt as if he had been healed just by looking at her cute pink-haired image.
"In that case, when you contact Iron Blood later, you can ask Sui Qiong to chat with you directly. Then you'll be able to see what she looks like.
You can even represent the Eagle Union faction and help me screen her a little."
"Yay! A new companion, a new target for pranks~"
Seeing the adorable Saratoga no longer pressing the matter about Sui Qiong, Lin Lan secretly sighed in relief.
He also realized that in the future, when he visited the Sakura Empire side, he really had to be careful with such topics—or he'd be in big trouble.
At the very least, he couldn't bring this up too soon in front of Akagi or Taihou.
Just as Lin Lan was about to ask Saratoga about the Goilia Corporation on the East Continent, Saratoga suddenly dropped her smile and adopted a serious expression.
"South Dakota, are you listening? Now that the Commander is back, you don't have to remain at the Anna City base."
"Tomorrow morning, take all the sisters from your base and return to headquarters with the Commander. You must stay by his side at all times—do not let him out of your sight!"
"Understood."
South Dakota, whose role had always been the Commander's loyal bodyguard, immediately stood up straight and gave a firm response to Saratoga's hologram.
But Saratoga wasn't done yet. She turned seriously to Intrepid and said:
"Intrepid, notify Cleveland. Have the Sea Knights swear to protect the Commander with their lives. The Sirens are very likely to pursue him once they find out he escaped."
"Your location might be targeted by a large-scale Siren fleet assault."
"I'll dispatch a fleet—or no, Saratoga herself will lead a team to reinforce you. We absolutely cannot allow anything to happen to the Commander again."
Sitting nearby, Intrepid also rose to her feet and responded resolutely to Saratoga's image:
"Please rest assured, Saratoga-senpai! In the name of the Essex-class, I swear to do everything I can to protect the Commander!"
Lin Lan remained silent as he listened to Saratoga give orders to Intrepid and South Dakota.
Originally, he had planned to stay at this military base for a while longer, but Saratoga's insightful remarks made him realize the danger.
After all, if the Observer realized he had escaped, it was highly likely she would pursue him.
He had been too caught up in the joy of reuniting with the Eagle Union shipgirls and had completely forgotten that he hadn't truly escaped danger yet.
Currently, the only major Eagle Union shipgirls at this base were Intrepid and South Dakota, maybe plus the light carrier Independence.
The Cleveland-class Sea Knights were all brave and formidable, top-tier among his light cruiser shipgirls.
But remembering the massive number of Busters and III-type Strategists he had seen in the Siren base, it would be very difficult for the Sea Knights and the Benson-class chibis to hold their ground.
If the Sirens really went all out and sent every III-type fleet after him, with high-level Sirens leading the charge, there was a very real chance he'd get captured again.
Even though Lin Lan didn't know why the Observer was so obsessed with him...
It was obvious she would never willingly release the one person she had sacrificed an entire experimental field to capture.
___
"This hopeless womanizer... Like we're not enough for him already."
Lmao 600 plus shipgirls aren't enough for the Ring King.
_______
50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
_______
If any of you noticed an error, please point it out in comments!