Chapter 9: Sold

Prince of Wales, the second ship of the George V-class battleship, had a rich career, but the most notable aspect of her life was her sinking, which marked the end of the era of big-gun battleships.

Perhaps it was fate, but in the world where Qin Ge lived, the wreck of Prince of Wales was salvaged by some companies of his nation, and in this world, Prince of Wales became the dean of the Donghuang Azure Lane Commander Academy; one must say, this is truly a karmic bond.

Walking through the Commander Academy together with Fushun, everything he saw felt both novel and familiar. It was familiar because it resembled the academy where he had spent four years, a place of study, while the novelty lay in the facilities here, which were obviously far more complex than those of the academy he had attended.

Having walked straight in from the main road, he could see a large building ahead, and in front of it stood a massive black stone monument, its surface densely inscribed with many names in rows, yet there were many blank spaces, which puzzled Qin Ge, so he asked his companion Fushun.

"Oh, the names on that monument are those of fallen commanders, since most of them lie at the bottom of the sea, the academy specially erected this monument here and engraved their names upon it to prove to later generations their past achievements." Fushun spoke these words without her usual lightheartedness, her voice tinged with heaviness.

I see, Qin Ge nodded and took a deep look at the monument, thinking that Wan Lao's son's name should also be on it; however, since the dean of this academy was looking for him, he did not stop to search carefully for that name, but continued following Fushun forward.

After passing several intersections, the two arrived at a place resembling a faculty building; upon reaching the second floor, they stopped before a red wooden door, which bore a sign with three characters: Dean's Office.

With Fushun's knock, a very imposing voice came from inside the room: "Please come in!"

Fushun pushed the door open, and the two entered; Qin Ge saw a lady with short golden hair, wearing a red naval uniform, seated at the office desk, holding a cup of tea, looking up at them.

"Good day, Dean, this is the person I mentioned earlier… that fellow, his name is Qin Ge, and he brought a recommendation letter written by Xu Xin." Fushun said, smiling at Prince of Wales, and handed Xu Xin's recommendation letter to the Prince of Wales; but if she hadn't hesitated mid-sentence, everything would have been perfect.

Prince of Wales smiled, lifted his head, and seriously sized up Qin Ge; he was very spirited and showed no panic in the face of his own growing aura—few young people could manage that these days. Thus Prince of Wales chuckled, nodded, and said to Qin Ge, "Hello, I am Prince of Wales, dean of the Donghuang Azure Lane Commander Academy; you may call me Dean, although you are not yet a student of the academy."

"Good day, Dean, I am Qin Ge." Qin Ge nodded to Prince of Wales and responded in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

"Hmm, was it Commander Xu Xin who recommended you to study at the Commander Academy?" Prince of Wales asked Qin Ge.

"Yes." Qin Ge replied.

"Hmm, if that's the case, why didn't he explain to you clearly what you need to watch out for when entering the academy? Letting a person like you show up with just a recommendation letter is really irresponsible." Prince of Wales said, looking at Qin Ge.

"Well… actually, when Commander Xu Xin wrote me that recommendation letter, I had no intention of becoming a commander, so he simply gave me the letter and told me that whether I would go to the Commander Academy when it opens in September was up to me." Qin Ge answered truthfully.

"Oh, I didn't expect there to be another layer to this; since you originally didn't want to come, why do you want to come now? What changed your mind?" Prince of Wales inquired with interest.

"Over the past month or two, I have learned a great deal about commanders and shipgirls; it is a glorious profession with many great people, so I hope to become one of them." Qin Ge said, though in this matter he lied—his true goal was to go home, but that does not prevent him from wanting to be among them.

"I see; knowing the high mortality rate of commanders, you still dare to come, and I admire your courage." Prince of Wales said solemnly, "It is precisely because of people like you, who fear no death and dare to die, that the Commander Academy can continue to operate."

"You flatter me." Qin Ge said humbly.

"No need for modesty; this is the praise you deserve." Prince of Wales said while smiling, and as he opened Xu Xin's recommendation letter, he added, "I would like to know what your relationship is with Commander Xu Xin."

"He is my lifesaver; at that time I was nearly killed by the gunfire of a Siren destroyer, his shipgirl Tang Si rescued me, and then they brought me back to Minghai City." Qin Ge said solemnly.

"Oh, that means you and Xu Xin aren't acquainted, then?" Prince of Wales looked at Qin Ge in surprise, not expecting Qin Ge to be unfamiliar with Xu Xin, so why would Qin Ge have Xu Xin personally write a recommendation letter? She then pulled out the letter and quickly skimmed through it.

While watching Prince of Wales peruse the letter, Qin Ge did not answer her question, believing that Xu Xin had already explained everything in the letter.

However, to his surprise, after Prince of Wales finished reading the letter and lifted his head, he asked Qin Ge, "Xu Xin said that after you become a commander, you will compensate him for his losses?"

"Huh?" Qin Ge instantly opened his mouth wide, "What money?"

"Well… Xu Xin's shipgirl Tang Si blew up my garden on the day of the graduation ceremony. Since I had to attend the ceremony, I didn't punish him directly then, but who would have thought that after attending the ceremony he would simply slip away, so I had to pay out of pocket to repair the destroyed garden. And in his letter he said that once you become a commander, you will repay him the appropriate compensation." Prince of Wales said to Qin Ge, smiling thoughtfully, "Could it be understood that you have been sold by Xu Xin to the Commander Academy?"

"Huh?" Qin Ge was dazed; he never imagined things would turn out this way—having just stepped through the gates of the Commander Academy, before doing anything at all, he found himself in debt, and moreover a debt he must repay…