When Lin Lan woke up from Emden's lap pillow, the sky outside had already turned to dusk.
"Awake now, human-san?"
As he sat up from the sofa, Emden's gentle and doting voice sounded.
"Yeah, I slept really well—thanks to you. But it's already evening…?"
Lin Lan first thanked Emden and gently stroked her cheek before scanning his surroundings.
Only then did he realize that several little cuties were also asleep beside him on the sofa.
Three little wolf-girl chibis—Nimi, Leonie, and Sui Qiong.
Sui Qiong, after playing with the other little chibis until exhausted, had ended up falling asleep right next to him.
They were all still peacefully asleep, bathed in the warm orange glow of the sunset—a heartwarming sight.
After signaling Emden not to make any noise, Lin Lan and Emden quietly tiptoed out of the hall and arrived at the poolside outside the villa.
"Commander, you're awake."
By the poolside lounge chairs, Ulrich and August, who had been relaxing there, smiled and greeted him.
"I really slept for quite a while."
Lin Lan chuckled self-deprecatingly. Just as he was about to say more, he saw four figures walking toward them from the distant road.
It was Akashi, Graf Zeppelin, and the others returning.
However, judging by Deutschland's expression, it seemed their trip to borrow the church hadn't gone smoothly.
The black-haired Ironblood princess, Deutschland, immediately strode quickly into the courtyard and up to Lin Lan, complaining irritably:
"We only wanted to borrow a church, and those lower lifeforms actually dared to lecture us about faith—how insolent."
"Uh? What happened?"
Lin Lan looked at the fuming Deutschland, puzzled.
"Dear sister, it's all resolved already. No need to complain in front of the Commander..."
Spee, who had been walking behind, quickly entered the courtyard and spoke to Deutschland after hearing Lin Lan's question.
"Hmph, just a flock of weak, cowardly stray lambs. They didn't even dare go meet their so-called Lord. What kind of faith is that?"
Still cold and aloof, Graf Zeppelin crossed her arms and spoke indifferently.
"Nya, if I knew they'd be so easy to talk to, we wouldn't have bothered bargaining, nya."
The sly merchant Akashi, holding a golden key many times larger than an ordinary one, grumbled as well.
"Zeppelin, what exactly happened? Did we get the church or not?"
Seeing the large, ornate golden key in Akashi's hand, Lin Lan looked at Graf Zeppelin and asked.
"Heh. When we arrived at the church and Akashi said we wanted to borrow it, the clergy told her that unless we all pledged faith in their god, they wouldn't agree to rent it to us—no matter the price."
"And then?"
From Graf Zeppelin's words, Lin Lan realized it wouldn't be easy borrowing a church from the religious nation.
After all, those clergy were truly devout and could even use holy magic—definitely not to be underestimated.
"I asked them if their Lord had ever decreed that the church couldn't be lent out. They said no, but insisted it was too sacred to be lent to people without faith. How laughable."
"I confirmed it repeatedly. They said there was absolutely no room for negotiation—unless their Lord personally approved."
"Well, that made things simple. I gave them a taste of Ironblood's power—prepared to send them to meet their Lord and ask directly."
"After that, they readily agreed. They even offered to clean the church in advance."
"Nya, that's basically it, nya. The time's set for tomorrow, nya..."
Akashi finished with a scheming grin, handing the large golden key to Lin Lan.
Lin Lan's mouth twitched as he listened, accepting the church key and examining it.
The golden key shimmered in the sunset's glow, carved with sacred patterns like angels and crosses.
"You guys seriously—couldn't you have shown a little respect for their god? Did you really have to send them to meet him in the physical sense?"
Lin Lan returned the key to Akashi and looked at Graf Zeppelin with a teasing smile.
"Does praying to a god really help? Will their Lord truly answer? Nein. The reason gods are gods is because they lack mercy."
"Faced with power enough to bring the end, no god will grant them salvation."
Right… Lin Lan realized he shouldn't have brought up religion in front of Graf Zeppelin. She truly despised gods—perhaps even the entire world.
"Ahem, well, at least we've got the church now. Thankfully, Graf Zeppelin is both beautiful and kind hearted.
If it had been the Northern Union shipgirls, I bet they'd have skipped the discussion and just asked how many divisions their Lord has."
Lin Lan tried to change the subject with a smile, but this only earned him a cold glare from Graf Zeppelin.
At the same time, the Ironblood princess Deutschland immediately yelled:
"You lowborn creature! Don't you dare bring up the Northern Union again!"
Oops. Lin Lan realized both of them were probably victims of being forced into Northern Union service during their time on Blue Star.
"It's fine—just some insignificant old memories."
Graf Zeppelin sighed softly, then gently patted Deutschland's head.
Only then did Deutschland pout and turn her head away.
Graf Zeppelin then walked slowly up to Lin Lan, lifted his chin with her slender fingers, and locked eyes with him with her crimson gaze.
On that cold, beautiful face like winter frost… appeared an unexpected smile.
"After all, haven't we already found our god?"
Bathed in the sunset glow, the rare smile on Graf Zeppelin's face left Lin Lan stunned.
That peaceful, contented smile engraved itself deeply into his memory.
"Dinner's ready, everyone~ Dinner time~"
Roon's voice rang out from inside the villa, breaking the beautiful moment.
Back in the villa's dining room, the table was once again filled with a variety of appetizing Ironblood dishes.
Lin Lan had to admit—Roon was a perfect shipgirl who could both fight on the battlefield and cook in the kitchen.
With her managing the kitchen, the Ironblood feasts she prepared always satisfied Lin Lan, never making him feel tired of the taste.
After dinner with everyone, night had fully fallen.
After playing a few games with the wolf pack and the two Z-class destroyer chibis, Lin Lan received a call from Sun Dewang.
"I see. Well, that works out perfectly, haha."
After hanging up, Lin Lan looked at Ulrich and smiled calmly:
"Looks like tonight's going to be fun. The target just so happens to be hosting a banquet in the city for those planning to defect to the Battleaxe Military—perfect chance to catch them all at once."
Indeed, Sun Dewang had just told him that Director Yang was hosting a banquet tonight at a hotel in Yunhai City, inviting all Tian'ou Group personnel leaning toward defecting to the Battleaxe Military.
Upon hearing this, Jian Qian'ou immediately instructed Sun Dewang to advise Lin Lan to sweep up these fence-sitters in one go—to eliminate future threats.
Before long, Sun Dewang arrived outside the villa in a Tian'ou Group business vehicle.
"Let's go. Quick and clean tonight. Let's get back early—we've got big things to do tomorrow."
Seeing the car parked outside, Lin Lan stood up and reminded Ulrich.
Ulrich gave a calm nod, while Egir grinned and teased:
"Yeah, tomorrow's your biiig special day, after all~"
That remark made Lin Lan cough awkwardly, while Sui Qiong, realizing the implication, blushed and shyly lowered her little head.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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