Chapter 263: Return Home

Commander, we came back very late today; will the seniors say something?

Qin Ge and Banrenma walked home holding hands, looking at the faint house ahead; Banrenma, somewhat worried, said to Qin Ge.

Perhaps due to lingering affection for that moment, or perhaps wanting to enjoy that bit of warmth a little longer, Qin Ge and Banrenma kept embracing on the beach, only starting to head back gradually when the sun set.

Along the way they kept holding hands, walking slowly, and by the time they reached Mikasa's house, the moon was already up in the trees.

"It's fine; as long as I come back a little later when I'm with them, it's okay." Qin Ge smiled and said, "Besides, us coming back this late today is indeed due to unavoidable circumstances."

"Hehe..." Banrenma chuckled, indeed some of it is unavoidable.

"Alright, we're almost home; let's go inside." Qin Ge said with a smile.

At this moment, Banrenma slipped her hand from Qin Ge's, wanting to pull her hand away, "Commander, I think we'd better separate a bit; otherwise, if the seniors see us, they'll tease me again later."

Qin Ge felt helpless, but since they were almost home, it was indeed true that if they walked hand in hand in front of the other fleet girls, they'd surely be teased, so he had no choice but to let go of Banrenma's hand.

The two walked side by side through the gate, past the courtyard where cherry blossoms were falling, and entered the living room.

As Qin Ge had expected, basically all the fleet girls were in the living room chatting. When the two entered, they were greeted by the gaze of all the fleet girls, filled with anticipation and teasing.

"Commander and Banrenma, you came back this late—where did you guys go today?" Guanghui said with a smile.

"We just took a quick turn around the vicinity, then went to the beach to play a bit more." Qin Ge explained while sitting down, speaking to Guanghui.

Actually, his explanation wasn't just for Guanghui but for everyone. At that moment, Belfast came over with a cup of tea and placed it before him.

"Have Master and Miss Banrenma eaten yet?" Belfast asked.

"Um, we came back in a hurry, so we haven't had lunch yet." Qin Ge replied somewhat embarrassedly.

"Oh, it seems this date went quite well, Qin Ge—would you like a glass of vodka to celebrate?" A Furore, sitting on the other side, raised the wine bottle in her hand and said to Qin Ge.

Qin Ge's mouth twitched: "If we're going to celebrate, shouldn't we use champagne? Celebrating with vodka..."

"Champagne is too bland; vodka tastes better." A Furore said, then took another sip of the vodka in her hand.

Qin Ge shook his head: "A Furore senior, you should drink first; otherwise, after I finish eating I'll keep you company with a drink."

"Then it's settled." A Furore said.

"Hey, Commander, aren't you going to tell us a story today?" Biaoqiang asked at this moment; she didn't want Qin Ge and A Furore to drink too much, otherwise tonight there would be no story to hear.

"A story?" A Furore wondered, "What story? Could it be a battlefield story?"

"No, it's a story about love." Biaoqiang said to A Furore.

"Huh? You mean our commander is going to tell us a love story? Haha!" A Furore burst out laughing.

Furthermore, with Biaoqiang's puzzled expression, she turned her head to look at Qin Ge, "I'm saying, when will you tell a love story?" Valley

Qin Ge was speechless: "What makes you think I can't tell a love story?"

A Furore waved her hand: "The key is that you're with us, and your performance at school is really too proper; moreover, regarding your emotional intelligence issue, basically most of the instructors at the school know about it."

"So, we highly assumed that if you usually told stories to the fleet girls, you'd talk about battlefield stories, but we never expected you to actually tell a love story—it's really making us overly curious."

"Huh?" Qin Ge was speechless, turning his head to look at his fleet girls: "So, in your hearts, am I always too proper?"

"Hehe, Commander's performance isn't just too proper—it's practically the epitome of an Iron Blood soldier." Ou Gen Qin Wang smiled.

"Cough..." Qin Ge gave an embarrassed cough.

"However, I think this is quite good; the Commander is the leader of the fleet, being strict and self-disciplined not only poses no problem, but also provides the fleet with an excellent role model." Bisimai nodded and said.

When Bisimai finished speaking, the others all gave a slight smile. Undeniably, what Bisimai said is indeed correct, because Qin Ge's self-discipline also makes the other fleet girls in the fleet work harder.

After all, since the Commander himself has been putting in this effort, the fleet girls can then do even more.

For example, when a typical commander orders fleet girl training, they usually go to the training ground after breakfast in the morning; but Qin Ge will choose to be strong—most of the time they choose to have Qin Ge go to morning training, heading to the training field, and only after finishing practice do they return to eat breakfast.

"However, although this is a good thing, the Commander usually interacts with us in a more everyday atmosphere, so being this overly proper isn't necessary."

"It would be best to be able to understand each other, lean on each other, help each other; this is also something a commander must do, right?" Luodenni said with a smile.

"Mm-hmm~" The fleet girls all began to nod.

Qin Ge looked at this topic, started to veer off in another unknown direction, so he hurriedly said to everyone, "Regarding my debate tournament, let's postpone it to another day; today, let me and Banrenma finish eating first, then I'll tell everyone a story."

"Okay." The fleet girls all said with a smile.

"By the way, where's Senior Mikasa? I haven't seen her." Qin Ge looked around and then said to everyone.

"She's in the inner room, discussing things with Akagi and Kaga." Guanghui said to Qin Ge.

Qin Ge nodded: "So, Tiancheng is also in there?"

"Mm." Biyu nodded.

These past two days, Akagi and Kaga have been coming punctually every day, only leaving very late; they've practically treated this place as their own home.

Although Xianghe and Zuikaku also come every day, their visits are mainly ceremonial. Because no matter what Qin Ge says, he is the representative sent by Donghuang to the Sakura Empire, so the Sakura Empire side must make a gesture.

"Alright." Qin Ge nodded, indicating he understood this matter, and at that moment Belfast also came over with a meal.

Qin Ge greeted everyone, then he and Banrenma started eating.

After finishing the meal, Qin Ge, amidst everyone's expectations, went together to his room and began today's story telling...