Chapter 736: Apology

The next day's sun rose as usual, but because of the snow, the morning sky was dull and overcast; yet when looking out the window, it was unusually bright.

Qin Ge did not get up for his usual morning exercise as he normally would; instead, he lingered in bed, embracing the beauty in his arms.

He also finally understood that saying at this moment: 'Spring nights are short, the sun rises high; from now on, the king does not attend early court.'

Compared to the very ladylike Guanghui, Belfast is practically poison for men, and this is Qin Ge's personal experience.

Therefore, facing such a head maid who understands men's hearts, Qin Ge believes no one would refuse or dislike her.

Even now, although he is awake, he still holds Belfast and cannot bear to let go.

"Master, your usual waking time has passed; it's time to get up. This morning, people from the Northern Union might come to show you the secret room's documents, and if they arrive while you're still in bed, Master, that would not be good." Belfast, curled up on Qin Ge's chest, reminded him without forgetting.

"It's fine; I already told Bisimai and the others yesterday. I believe even if I'm not present, they'll handle it very well." Qin Ge said indifferently.

Such an answer made Belfast smile involuntarily: "Master, I don't want others to look down on you or our fleet because of me."

Qin Ge couldn't help but grin after hearing that; what Belfast said was correct, and he naturally understood: "Alright, I get it—there's plenty of time ahead anyway."

Seeing Qin Ge agree, Belfast also breathed a sigh of relief; after all, as a maid she could offer suggestions but could not order the master to do anything, so it was wonderful that Qin Ge could heed her advice.

Not long after Qin Ge got up under Belfast's service, having just left the room to go outside and view the heavy snow, he suddenly received a report from his own shipgirl Cleveland.

The Northern Union's Soviet Bella Ross and Kirov, bearing documents concerning the secret room, had already arrived at the door.

This surprised Qin Ge about the Northern Union's attitude, and at the same time made him all the more grateful for Belfast's reminder just moments ago.

Otherwise, lying in bed right now would be a bit too lazy.

Immediately, he followed Cleveland to the reception house's meeting room, only to find that everyone else had already arrived.

Soviet Bella Ross, seeing Qin Ge appear, obviously relaxed, stepped forward and said apologetically, "Sorry, Commander Qin Ge, the matter is rather urgent; we've disturbed your rest."

Qin Ge smiled and said, "It's clear, so we don't need to exchange pleasantries. First, give us an overview of the secret room's basic situation; after we understand, we can proceed with further discussion."

"Of course." Soviet Bella Ross said with a smile, or rather, that was her intention—otherwise she wouldn't have come so quickly.

When everyone had seated themselves, Qin Ge was perusing the documents Soviet Bella Ross had brought, but she interrupted him.

"Commander Qin Ge, you need not examine the documents we brought; some truths are too particular to be recorded in writing, so those files have undergone certain alterations and polishing."

Hearing Soviet Bella Ross say that, Qin Ge smiled, closed the documents, and waited for her further explanation.

Before, he hadn't been particularly interested in the secret room, but at this moment he suddenly felt some interest.

"The reason I'm here to explain is that the fleet responsible for the secret room in the Northern Union is under my command, so I know best about the situation there." Soviet Bella Ross said under everyone's gaze.

"Commander Qin Ge, you've surely heard that in this world, shipgirls appeared before the Wisdom Cube, right? But we felt that answer was somewhat off, so we returned to the place where the Northern Union first produced a shipgirl to investigate, hoping to find the answer to the question."

"In the course of exploration, we discovered the existence of the secret room. This so‑called secret room turned out, in later research, to be a Siren fortress. Perhaps at that time the Sirens had not yet prepared for our discovery, and we ultimately seized complete control of it by a surprise attack." Soviet Bella Ross said with a smile.

"So you're saying that your possession of the secret room isn't from four years ago, but rather dates back much further?" Qin Ge, having understood Soviet Bella Ross's words, asked her.

"Didn't expect Commander Qin Ge to figure this out so quickly?" Soviet Bella Ross showed no surprise, smiling and saying, "That's right; we actually seized this secret room long ago, and some of the data we recovered from it are fundamental to our Northern Union all this time."

"Then what exactly happened four years ago to cause the Siren Tide, and what's the deal with the Monarch's research drawings?" Qin Ge frowned and asked.

Answering this question was Kirov: "The situation back then was an attempt; earlier, at the banquet, what Bella Ross told Commander Qin Ge—that our exploration of the secret room was less than one‑fifth true—was factual, because a wall blocked our exploration."

"We've been studying that wall for a long time; back then, when we conducted blasting research, some mishaps occurred, which led to the emergence of the Siren Tide."

"Although there were some losses, that blasting research was not without gain."

"As for the research drawings, the wisdom unit, and the fleet drill data—these are all things we previously acquired. We've fully mastered the latter two, but we cannot make sense of the research drawings."

"After that incident, all factions turned their gaze to the Northern Union; without producing something, peace could not be restored, which is why the exchange meeting that Commander Qin Ge experienced came about."

"I see." Qin Ge nodded, finally grasping the Northern Union's motive.

"I'd like to ask—where exactly is the secret room you spoke of?"

"The polar region—it's not convenient to say, but if Commander Qin Ge agrees, we'll bring your fleet there." Soviet Bella Ross said, "Of course, whatever we obtain inside the secret room will be shared between our two sides; this is also our sincerity."

"The polar region?" Qin Ge pondered a moment, then said, "Sorry, but it seems impossible for now."

"Huh?" Soviet Bella Ross looked at Qin Ge in astonishment, her face full of confusion.