Chapter 51: Collecting the Books

Although it was said to be a day off, this day went by very quickly for the newcomers who had just entered the Academy. After just constructing their own shipgirls, they had to bring their shipgirls through a series of registrations, collect cards, familiarize themselves with the campus, and so on.

And Qin Ge naturally didn't need to worry about these things; now he was heading to the cafeteria with his two shipgirls to eat.

However, the looks directed at him today were obviously much greater than yesterday's, because yesterday nobody knew his identity, but today there is no one in the entire Academy who doesn't know that Qin Ge is the Academy's newest Strategy and Tactics Course Assistant Teacher Instructor.

Although everyone still held a doubtful attitude toward his teaching ability, since he was directly appointed by the Prince of Wales, he naturally wouldn't be far off.

So on the way to the mess hall, many people would salute and greet Qin Ge upon seeing him. Qin Ge was also quite familiar with this routine; returning the salute with a smile, he felt no unfamiliarity or nervousness at all.

"How come you seem so familiar with this etiquette, Commander? You couldn't have been practicing it in private, could you?" Banrenma said with a laugh when no one was around.

"This has already become my habit," Qin Ge said, nodding slightly, recalling that when he was at the Naval Commander Academy, upon entering the Academy he learned etiquette and manners, and this action had persisted for four years, long since becoming his instinct.

"Hmm, Commander never told us what you do before; you always seem rather mysterious..." Banrenma's eyes turned sly as she said this to Qin Ge, intentionally or not.

Upon hearing Banrenma's question, Nengdai beside her also became very curious, turning her gaze toward her own commander.

Qin Ge hesitated slightly, then laughed, "Do I have to talk about it? That would be a long story; let's just leave it for today. I'll explain properly to you another time when I have the chance."

Qin Ge's answer made Banrenma and Nengdai even more curious—what kind of past could it be that makes their commander unwilling to say more to them?

"Then I won't ask the commander; whenever he feels ready to tell us, we'll hear it then." Although she still felt a bit unwilling inside, Banrenma understood Qin Ge.

"Hmm." Qin Ge nodded, the three changed the subject, and headed again toward the cafeteria.

After arriving at the cafeteria, it was again a buffet just like before, but this time Qin Ge ran over to Yixian and bought each of Banrenma and Nengdai a serving of naval curry using an oil card.

However, naval curry takes some time to prepare, so he could only get a bowl of rice first and wait with Banrenma and Nengdai at a nearby table.

The wait wasn't long; Yixian personally brought two plates of naval curry to his seat. After handing the naval curry to Banrenma and Nengdai, who happily took it, Yixian didn't leave right away but sat down beside Qin Ge.

"Qin Ge, I just forgot to ask you something—did Fushun tell you to go pick up the teaching materials?" Yixian asked Qin Ge.

"Huh? I thought the Commander Academy didn't have any teaching materials, but apparently there really are some!" Qin Ge looked at Yixian in surprise.

"I knew that girl Fushun might have forgotten this, so I asked; sure enough she did." Yixian sighed, "But I estimate it's been several years since a new instructor came, so she probably just chose to forget this."

"Where do we pick up the materials? Are there materials for the Strategy and Tactics Course?" Qin Ge asked curiously.

"The materials are uniformly collected at Ninghai; after you finish your meal later, go to the school's logistics area—right next to the Grand Hall there is a large warehouse building; that is where Ninghai and Ping Hai handle office work." Yixian said to Qin Ge.

"I know that place; I went there before with the Dean." Qin Ge nodded, saying, "But thank you anyway, Senior Yixian."

"No problem, this is also me making up for forgetting to tell you about Fushun's duty." Yixian said with a smile, "You go ahead and eat; I need to return to the workstation."

"Hmm."

Watching Yixian's departing figure, Nengdai raised her head and said to Qin Ge, "Commander, are you going to Ninghai later to pick up the teaching materials?"

Qin Ge affirmed, "Exactly, I need to get the materials first; otherwise, if we have no materials for tomorrow's class, it would be rather funny. Moreover, starting tomorrow, you won't be able to practice as usual during your free time; you'll have to attend class with me from now on."

"That's not a problem; I heard from Senior Mikasa that if we listen attentively to the lectures, we can slowly improve our proficiency, so listening to the lectures together with the commander won't interfere with our training." Nengdai said.

"Then that's perfect." Qin Ge smiled and nodded, "You two hurry up and eat; after we finish, we'll go together to Ninghai to pick up the teaching materials."

"Hmm, Commander." Banrenma and Nengdai nodded, and together with Qin Ge they sped up their eating.

After finishing their meal, the three left the cafeteria and headed straight for the warehouse. However, as they passed the Grand Hall, the crowds gathered there, a scene of crying and laughing, surprised Banrenma and Nengdai quite a bit.

But they didn't linger long, after all it wouldn't be right to stand there watching others' jokes. Every crying commander behind them has a bottle of bitter African tears, but Qin Ge isn't African, so he doesn't understand.

Upon arriving at the warehouse, however, they found that Ninghai wasn't there—only Ping Hai was present.

"Hello, Ping Hai." Qin Ge greeted Ping Hai.

"Yah, it's Commander Qin Ge; are you here to look for your older sister?" Ping Hai asked Qin Ge.

"Sort of, but looking for you is the same." Thus Qin Ge told Ping Hai about his need to pick up the teaching materials.

"I see; the teaching materials were actually distributed yesterday, but since Commander Qin Ge resides in the faculty and staff area, it's normal that he didn't receive them." Ping Hai said to Qin Ge, "Please wait here a moment; I'll go get them for you."

"Hmm, thank you, Ping Hai." Qin Ge smiled.

"No trouble, this is what we should do." Ping Hai laughed, then headed into the warehouse; shortly after, she emerged carrying a stack of books.

After handing the books in her arms to Banrenma beside Qin Ge, the platform said to the several people, "The books are all here, and there is also a course schedule inside; if you need to look up reference materials, go to the library to check. However, I think Commander Qin Ge has probably been to the library many times already—when Lingjie earlier gave us books, she mentioned you."

"Heh, is that so?" Qin Ge chuckled, "Then we'll be off now; goodbye."

"Hmm, goodbye."