Early the next morning, before dawn, Lin Lan and his group arrived outside the Holy Teaching church in Yunhai City.
This church stood on the outskirts of Yunhai City. Since most Orlandians had little interest in churches or theology, the surrounding streets were quite deserted.
The church itself wasn't particularly grand. Compared to the Ironblood Fortress, it was shabby to an embarrassing degree, yet its footprint was still considerable.
Clad in formal attire, Lin Lan stood outside the church, looking at the theocratic architecture reminiscent of Western nations on Blue Star, and couldn't help but feel a touch of familiarity.
This church was built in the early days of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Orland Federation and the Holy Teaching.
It had stood for many years and lacked proper maintenance. The originally white walls had turned gray, and many withered vines still clung to the exterior.
Even so, at a glance, one could still feel the sacred aura it exuded—something that the land of Orlan could never have produced.
After all, the two civilizations had walked entirely different paths of development.
But to Lin Lan, who hailed from Dragon Empery, this old church was just a building worth a few extra glances—nothing more.
If conditions allowed, he would have preferred to carry out his vow with Sui Qiong in the traditional Dragon Empery shipgirl fashion.
"To be honest, this church is nowhere near as good as the one Richelieu and the others built back in the port area.
Whether it's the atmosphere or the style—though similar—it's just not on the same level."
August, standing beside Lin Lan, commented as he observed the church.
Lin Lan wholeheartedly agreed. Though he hadn't yet returned to his old port, and the game didn't show exactly what his port's church looked like...
From the descriptions in the game's event text about the grand cathedrals built by the Iris Orthodoxy faction, he could imagine that the churches built by the shipgirls of the Iris faction wouldn't be lacking in majesty.
Sui Qiong was already dressed in a white, off-shoulder wedding gown, with a rose hair ornament on her head.
Her long white hair cascaded down, and her blue eyes remained calm.
However, as she occasionally snuck glances at Lin Lan, a faint blush and shyness would flash across her face, revealing that she wasn't nearly as composed as she appeared.
Nimi and Leoni, the two little girls, stood behind Sui Qiong helping her lift the long train of her wedding dress.
The three little girls from the Wolfpack smiled brightly, each carrying a basket filled with red rose petals, occasionally grabbing a handful and tossing them into the air.
As for Ulrich, Ägir, and the others, they all stood in the back with gentle smiles on their faces.
Surrounding them were several Holy Teaching civilians who had gotten up early for worship.
The devout Holy Teaching followers ignored Lin Lan and the others, kneeling on the ground with eyes closed, performing their national prayer rituals toward the church.
Lin Lan noticed that as these people prayed, a faint yellow translucent halo appeared above their heads, like angels from Western mythology.
This reminded Lin Lan that this was another world.
Perhaps the gods these followers worshipped weren't fictional like those on Blue Star. They might very well exist.
When Akashi inserted a large golden key into the ornate, relief-carved keyhole of the church's massive door, a soft, pale yellow light shimmered, and the door slowly began to rise.
"This door's mechanism must be powered by magic. It doesn't look like it runs on electricity."
Lin Lan examined the surrounding walls with curiosity as the door rose, pondering internally.
"Heh, I bet this door couldn't withstand a single shot from my shotgun. I really want to test it."
"Sis, we rented this place. Don't mess around…"
As he was thinking about the door's mechanism, he overheard a low conversation between Deutschland and Spee beside him, making the corner of his mouth twitch.
Understanding the mechanism of something might be difficult, but destroying it was always much easier.
Soon, with the church door fully opened, Lin Lan and the others entered.
The darkness he imagined did not appear. Once the door opened, the church interior was immediately lit by dazzling chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
A soft golden light filled the entire space, giving off a sense of peace, warmth, and solemnity.
What first caught Lin Lan's eye was a red-carpeted aisle leading directly to the main altar at the center.
This aisle split the hall into two sides, both lined with rows of chairs topped with red cushions, occupying most of the church's space.
Behind the main altar stood a large white statue of an armored figure with a halo above its head, holding a massive sword pointed upward, with six wings outstretched.
It was likely a warrior angel from Holy Teaching mythology.
Akashi, the sly merchant, swept her golden eyes across the hall and smiled:
"Looks like the clergy kept their promise. They really cleaned the place up, nya~"
Lin Lan nodded in agreement. Compared to the exterior, the church's interior was indeed neat and tidy—it was clear they had put in the effort.
So the group passed through the hall and reached the altar to begin preparing the vow ceremony.
Roon took out a long table from her ship rigging and filled it with fruits, cakes, and desserts.
U-37, U-81, and U-96, the three lively little girls, joyfully tossed rose petals into the air—whether they were doing it on purpose and tossing more on Lin Lan, no one could say.
"Music, Akashi, music."
Ulrich reminded Akashi at just the right time.
The little merchant immediately pulled out a speaker from her sleeve.
After fiddling with it, Lin Lan soon heard the background music from the vow interface of the game—a melody he was all too familiar with.
"Now then, will today's two stars—the commander beloved by everyone, and our new port companion, Sui Qiong—please come up to the altar, nya~"
Lin Lan stared wide-eyed at Akashi, who now held a small microphone and was acting as host.
So that speaker even had a voice amplifier function.
"Com… Commander…"
A soft, shy voice reached him. The adorable shipgirl in a pure white wedding dress gently tugged at his hand.
"Yeah, let's go."
Lin Lan grasped Sui Qiong's hand in return, and the two walked side by side up to the altar.
At that moment, all the Ironblood shipgirls watched the two. With sacred vow music playing, their faces carried smiles and blessings.
Though Sui Qiong had only recently joined the port, she had already gained the recognition of most Ironblood shipgirls in that short time.
Most importantly, they had been through this kind of thing many times before, so it was nothing new to them.
After all, if one shipgirl alone were to receive a vow, jealousy might arise.
But if everyone had already pledged themselves to the commander, then there was nothing to be upset about.
It just meant they had gained another close sister.
Even Roon, with her notoriously strong possessiveness, although her mouth twitched slightly upon seeing the two walk to the altar, took a deep breath and adjusted her mindset.
At worst, she could visit the commander's bedroom tomorrow night and vent her dissatisfaction with him on the bed.
"Commander, please make your vow, nya."
Akashi had fully embraced her role as host and officiant, smiling as she addressed Lin Lan.
Lin Lan looked at the dazed shipgirl beside him. Raising his hand, he gently stroked Sui Qiong's fair, soft cheek and solemnly began:
"I swear, no matter where we go in the future, no matter how much time passes, my love for Sui Qiong will never fade. I will cherish her, respect her, support her, and be loyal to her..."
"Never abandon her, for all eternity."
These vow words were from Lin Lan's heart. And, of course, they applied equally to every shipgirl in his port.
Listening blankly to the young man's words before her, Sui Qiong suddenly saw many images flash through her mind.
Being assembled in a war factory by countless mechanics, deployed immediately to the front lines after stepping out of the factory...
Destroying the Natlan fleet, fighting brutally against the Extremists, watching her comrades sacrifice themselves for Orlan, sustaining heavy injuries herself yet still returning to base…
These scenes felt like memories from a past life and had once convinced Sui Qiong that she was nothing more than a tool for war—someone who would never receive true care from anyone.
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