Chapter 581: Rose Fragrance

"Good morning, Commander."

Qin Ge had just opened the office door when he saw that familiar figure inside.

"Good morning, Chongqing." Qin Ge smiled as he walked into the room, closing the door behind him and said, "Is it your turn for the rotation this week?"

"Yes." Ou ruo la laughed and said, "Commander, are you looking forward to it? I remember it's been a long time since I last served as your secretary ship, and the competition among the fleet is fierce."

Qin Ge smirked; ever since he gave Guanghui the Oath Ring, although his work in the harbor area wasn't too heavy, his dating time had become far more than before.

The secretary ship naturally gets the first pick, but monopolizing Qin Ge's time isn't good either, so the fleet's shipgirls worked out a plan: a secretary ship may date at most twice during its weekly rotation.

The remaining time is to be given to the other shipgirls, after all, for the sake of fairness.

But whenever feelings are brought up, there's never any talk of fairness. At this moment, the women's scheming shows itself in full force, since Qin Ge is the only target, so they basically leave no stone unturned.

However, this extreme is based on Qin Ge not disliking it; if it makes him dislike it, then it backfires.

However, Qin Ge turns a blind eye to this competition, after all he can't participate because he's the judge; if he joined, he'd hurt the others' feelings.

So lately he's been both pained and happy; although each day's schedule is packed full, being able to go on dates with different shipgirls or do enjoyable things is also a very good experience.

"How could I not remember you?" Qin Ge smiled, looked at his desk, where a bunch of gorgeous roses was placed, filling the whole office with their fragrance.

"Did you grow these here, or were they planted back when you were in the harbor area?"

Seeing Qin Ge's gaze shift to the roses, Ou ruo la smiled and said, "These are rose bouquets I brought from Sun Moon Island and transplanted here."

After a few days of care, they've revived nicely, so this morning I came over, picked a bunch, and placed them here for you, which should also put you in a pleasant mood.

Qin Ge walked over to Ou ruo la's side, took a sniff, and said, "Sure enough, a very strong rose scent—looks like the rose garden is growing well."

Ou ruo la laughed and said, "The goddess named Ou ruo la is said to also be called "rose‑colored fingers"; although I'm not that formidable, my fingers also retain a hint of rose when they touch it."

Moreover, giving roses leaves fragrance on the hand, so perhaps that's why you notice it so clearly, Commander.'

Qin Ge chuckled, "Then hurry up and finish today's work; later I'll go with you to the rose garden. I'd like to see whether, compared to the size back at Sun Moon Island and the Commander Academy, it has expanded further now."

"Then Commander, does this count toward our dating quota?"

Qin Ge blinked, then laughed helplessly, "No, how could that count as a date? After all, you're the ones who brought it up; I'm just passively accepting."

That counts as a date, but this trip to the rose garden is my own initiative, so we can go under the pretense of patrol.'

Then we can rest a bit in the rose garden; that shouldn't violate your agreement, right?'

"Hehe, that's right, it doesn't count." Ou ruo la laughed and said, "Then Commander, keep working; I've marked the important documents and their necessary reviews with flower petals, so I'm sure you'll finish them soon."

"Mm, I really should work then—thanks, Chongqing." Qin Ge said, sat down at the edge of the desk, and began to focus on processing the matters submitted by the various departments of the harbor area.

A day's work was quickly finished, after all there aren't many things happening in Guandao now, no need to report to the Maritime Affairs Bureau, and without its directives the workload dropped a lot; around ten o'clock Qin Ge had completed his current tasks.

By rights, after finishing work he should go on patrol, but Ou ruo la didn't want to go so quickly and end the day's work.

After all, she is the secretary ship; as long as Qin Ge is working, it's only natural for her to stay by his side. But if Qin Ge has finished a day's work, the secretary ship ought to attend to her own affairs rather than follow him around.

"Commander, try this; it's a rose‑petal pastry I made earlier, blending Donghuang and Royal styles, and the sisters all think it's quite tasty."

Although Ou ruo la is called Chongqing by Qin Ge, she is essentially a Royal shipgirl, so the habits of Royal shipgirls are also reflected in her.

For example, even after arriving in Donghuang and becoming a Donghuang shipgirl, she still has the habit of having tea after work.

"Commander, how is it?" Ou ruo la watched Qin Ge pick up a piece of the pastry and put it in his mouth, then asked eagerly; her expectant gaze was like that of a child waiting to be praised.

"Mm, it's delicious." Qin Ge smiled and said, "Actually I've eaten flower pastries before in another world, but perhaps they didn't use petals as fresh as yours, so I find yours very tasty with a strong floral aroma."

"Hehe, as long as you like it, Commander, I'll make more whenever we have fresh petals and send them over." Ou ruo la said happily.

"Hehe, sure." Qin Ge readily agreed, after all even if he can't eat it himself he can share it with others; those destroyers and submarines often come running to him, so bringing a little treat is always good.

Just like how Dunkeerk usually sends him macaron‑style cakes, Qin Ge always keeps a bit for himself and shares the rest with them.

After the tea party ended, the two began their patrol of the harbor area, just as usual, going through every district and naturally running into many shipgirls.

Smiling, they greeted each one, then went together with Ou ruo la to her rose garden.

From quite a distance away, Qin Ge could already smell the fragrance drifting in the air; accompanied by the gentle sea breeze, it was refreshing to the heart.

That feeling made Qin Ge eagerly anticipate the garden, so he and Ou ruo la quickened their pace forward.

After walking along a small path, turning a corner they saw a vast rose garden spread out between the hills and woods.

The gorgeous, dewy blossoms swayed gently in the breeze, a sight that left one somewhat intoxicated…