Chapter 236: I Accept Your Apology

After experiencing this Siren Fleet, the subsequent journey went smoothly. After a day passed, everyone finally arrived at the Sakura Empire.

After arriving at the Sakura Empire, everyone docked the command ship at the military port of the Sakura Empire's main island, and several people disembarked together from the ship.

It can be said that the Donghuang faction's command ship, especially the command ship flying the Azure Lane and Donghuang faction flags, upon arriving at the Sakura Empire's main island port, attracted attention.

So, when Qin Ge, Mikasa and their group, and Jingang and their group were saying goodbye, a team of Sakura Empire high-ranking personnel was quickly rushing toward this direction.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Mikasa asked Jingang and the others.

Jingang shook his head and laughed, "It's not easy to come back to the Sakura Empire, so naturally we want to tour properly. Moreover, I suppose Mikasa and Qin Ge Commander came to the Sakura Empire due to some official matters, so we won't be joining you."

"If you need to return later, just find us at the local Maritime Affairs Bureau."

"That's fine, after all there are quite a few things this time, so you can enjoy yourselves for a while, and if any problems arise, you can also contact us anytime via the Maritime Affairs Bureau." Mikasa said.

"Thank you very much, Mikasa." Jingang saluted Mikasa, then turned to Qin Ge and said, "See you later, Qin Ge Commander."

"Mm, see you." Qin Ge gave a light smile and said to Jingang and the others.

Just as Qin Ge and Mikasa's group turned their heads and walked toward outside the pier, two figures appeared at the far end of the pier.

"Oh, it seems the people receiving us have arrived." Jingang saw the arrivals and said to Qin Ge and Mikasa.

Meanwhile, Mikasa beside Qin Ge naturally also saw the arrivals; she smiled at the corner of her mouth, "I didn't expect today's duty to be them."

Qin Ge looked at the arrivals and saw that both wore white kimonos and both had the same crane-wing sleeves. The difference was that one had white long hair and a flute hung at her waist, while the other had brownish long hair and a sword hung at her waist.

Qin Ge instantly recalled seeing these two in the shipgirl manual; they were from the Sakura Empire's 5th Carrier Division, Xianghe and Zuikaku. It seemed the two standing before him were the earliest awakened 5th Carrier Division in this world.

They quickly walked toward the group with smiles on their faces. Qin Ge knew this smile was certainly not directed at him. He saw them arrive before everyone.

Xianghe happily said to Mikasa, "Mikasa, you returned this year earlier than last year."

Mikasa smiled and replied, "Because this year I returned on a dedicated command ship, so I arrived here much earlier than usual by passenger liner."

"Is this the command ship?" Zuikaku said beside her, then looked toward the command ship, "We just received a report that a command ship flying the Azure Lane and Donghuang flags had arrived here, and I never expected that you, Mikasa, would be aboard."

"Hehe, being able to return on this dedicated command ship this time, I'm basically riding on Qin Ge Commander's coattails." Mikasa smiled, "Come, let me introduce you."

Mikasa's words drew the attention of Xianghe and Zuikaku, and she then introduced them to the two, "This is my fellow student at the Donghuang Commander Academy and also my colleague, Qin Ge Commander."

With Mikasa's introduction, Xianghe and Zuikaku's gazes turned toward Qin Ge, whom they had just overlooked. After all, there are far too many lieutenant commanders in the Sakura Empire, and the commanders they usually deal with are basically majors or above. valley

And Qin Ge, a lieutenant commander, appearing here, they almost assumed he was a commander on a mission.

"Hello, I am Qin Ge, a first-year commander at the Donghuang Commander Academy; it's an honor to meet you two." Qin Ge said to Xianghe and Zuikaku.

"This..." Xianghe instantly understood, her blue eyes flickering, "I suppose Qin Ge Commander is the commander sent by Donghuang to participate in this competition, right?"

"Yes." Qin Ge said to Xianghe humbly and confidently, "Being able to represent Donghuang in this competition is an honor for me as a commander."

"But the rank for a first-year commander should be private; even after graduation it's only a private first class, so why are you a lieutenant commander, Qin Ge Commander?" Zuikaku asked.

Sensing Zuikaku's doubt, Mikasa said to the two, "That's because Qin Ge performed exceptionally well at the Commander Academy, to the point that the Donghuang Supreme Commander Yixian promoted him by several ranks to lieutenant commander."

"Ah!" Xianghe and Zuikaku exclaimed in surprise, because the ranks in Azure Lane are universal, so they know that going from private first class to lieutenant commander skips the three intermediate ranks of non-commissioned officer, ensign, and lieutenant.

Moreover, Azure Lane has a very strict system for ranks; only when an individual's points reach a certain level can they be promoted to the corresponding rank.

As for Qin Ge's situation, there have been precedents of a faction's supreme commander ordering a rank increase, but each time the promotion was only by one or two ranks.

For a promotion of three ranks like this, unless one has made outstanding contributions to the entire faction, there is no way to achieve such a rise.

Of course, Xianghe and Zuikaku would not believe Yixian did this out of favoritism, because a faction's supreme commander has the dignity of that position and would not arbitrarily issue such an order.

Therefore, regarding this Qin Ge Commander before them, the two realized they had indeed misjudged him earlier.

Looking at the surprised pair, Mikasa gave a faint smile, "So this time I accompanied Qin Ge Commander to the Sakura Empire: first, to let him learn about our Sakura Empire's local customs; second, as a Donghuang special envoy, to lead him in participating in this Nine Major Factions assembly."

"Really, one cannot judge by appearance." Zuikaku sighed, then immediately said to Qin Ge, "Qin Ge Commander, I apologize for my earlier neglect of you."

"I accept your apology." Qin Ge calmly accepted Zuikaku's apology. Because this is not the time to display personal etiquette, Qin Ge here represents not himself but Donghuang.

Therefore, the 5th Carrier Division ignoring him is ignoring Donghuang. As Donghuang's representative, facing Zuikaku's apology, Qin Ge must accept it openly.

Seeing Qin Ge's humble yet confident demeanor, Xianghe and Zuikaku found it hard to believe he was actually a first-year student. However, because of Mikasa's earlier introduction, they had no choice but to believe it.

After all, although Mikasa is not currently employed in the Sakura Empire but in Donghuang, she has always been a senior of the Sakura Empire; she would not use such clumsy means to deceive her homeland.

Moreover, the data in the Azure Lane Commander Academy are interconnected; they only need to investigate a bit to clearly understand.

Immediately, the two exchanged a glance, each seeing deep worry in the other's eyes.