Chapter 81: The Enigmatic Dragon Princess Rupprecht… Prinz Rupprecht

"Hmph, cute human, be careful next time and don't get hurt again."

Upon arriving in front of Lin Lan, Emden spoke to him in an extraordinarily gentle and affectionate tone.

Before Lin Lan could respond, a flash of red, alluring light flickered in Emden's blue eyes:

"Otherwise, I will make sure to control you tightly and never let you leave Emden again~"

Though it was Emden's voice, the tone had become much harsher.

Black Emden was clearly displeased with Lin Lan's recent injury.

Lin Lan hastily swore that he would never take risks again, and only then did Emden return to her elegant fairy persona, her smile reappearing.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Zeppelin and her group finally arrived.

Along with Zeppelin were Elbe, grinning mischievously; the silver-haired girl Mainz, who wore the black sailor uniform Lin Lan had bought and had finally shed her group leader title; the cute teacher Nimi; and the still expressionless Z46.

Also present was a petite girl with pink shoulder-length hair, black-red horns on her forehead, and dark yellow eyes.

Seeing the girl in a black, charmingly sleeveless dress with white stockings, Lin Lan took a deep breath.

Rupprecht…

No, Prinz Rupprecht.

This was a heavyweight, proud character who, from the moment he crafted her from blueprints, seemed to want to claim him as her own.

"Commander? You…"

Upon seeing Lin Lan, the once proud girl who seemed to have been arguing with Elbe stormed up to him, looking furious.

"Rupprecht… It's been a long time."

Hearing Lin Lan correctly pronounce her name, the girl's angry expression immediately turned into a blush. She quickly turned to Elbe and made a face.

"Did you hear that, Elbe? He's the only one who can call me by my proper name! No one else is allowed to call me Rupprecht in a playful manner! Got it!"

???

Upon hearing this, Lin Lan's smile instantly froze.

Oh no, they could actually hear the nickname he'd been using for the little girl!

He looked at the irate dragon princess and silently lamented.

The name "Prinz Rupprecht" was just so awkward.

But if it were "Rupprecht," it would be much more natural…

"You, how dare you disappear for so long when you clearly belong to me, Prinz Rupprecht? What do you think you should do to make it up to me!"

The pink-haired dragon princess, with her hands on her hips and her head tilted slightly upward, glared at Lin Lan.

She was a half-head shorter than Lin Lan.

Yet, she completely failed to notice that from Lin Lan's perspective, he could perfectly see her slender neck, the small, rounded shoulders beneath her slipping white tank top, revealing large areas of pure white skin.

If the tank top slid down a bit more, it might reveal what was beneath…

"Ahem, … Rupprecht."

Lin Lan reached out, gently patting the dragon princess's pink-haired head with one hand, while using the other hand to adjust the slipping tank top back onto her shoulders.

Feeling the smooth, delicate skin of the girl, Lin Lan forcibly suppressed his impure thoughts and smiled gently:

"I really didn't mean to leave you. Remember how much effort and resources I spent to see you? Don't you think I'm the type to leave you so easily?"

"Not listening! I'm very angry!"

Prinz Rupprecht acted like a stubborn little girl.

Although she didn't refuse Lin Lan's head pat and the adjustment of her clothes, it didn't mean she would easily forgive him.

"Unless… Hmph, unless you agree to one condition."

Suddenly, Rupprecht seemed to have come up with a good idea. Her gaze turned playful, and a mischievous smile appeared on her lips.

Gazing into the dark yellow eyes of the dragon princess, Lin Lan instinctively knew that it wouldn't be anything good.

But with the meal in the conference room getting cold, he could only nod to the proud pink-haired girl and ask:

"I agree. What's your condition?"

At that moment, the cold-faced Zeppelin and the other Iron Blood shipgirls also entered the courtyard.

"Hmph, I'll tell you my condition later. Since you belong to me, you must listen to me and not disappear again."

With a huff, Rupprecht wrapped her slender arms, covered by her charming sleeves, around Lin Lan's arm.

Even though the cute dragon princess was holding his arm, Lin Lan's smile was quite strained.

He had just been worried by Rupprecht's words, and now came the mysterious condition from Prinz Rupprecht.

He had a bad premonition.

Perhaps he should quickly eat something to strengthen himself, just in case?

Yes, it's just to be prepared for any potential danger, not for any other reason.

After confirming that Zeppelin, Elbe, and Mainz were all accounted for, the group finally entered the conference room.

The table was already filled with dishes prepared by the manjuu girls, including famous Iron Blood dishes like pork knuckles.

As the Iron Blood shipgirls insisted that he take the main seat at the round table, Lin Lan, upon sitting down, saw Akashi already enjoying a big pork knuckle next to him.

Seeing Akashi devour the pork knuckle in just a few bites, Lin Lan was curious about where the pork had come from and asked:

"Hey, little boss, where did you get all this food? There are only rivers and seas nearby. How did you manage to get pork?"

The little schemer's cat ears twitched slightly as she looked up with an innocent smile:

"You don't need to worry about that, Commander. Just enjoy the food."

"No, you have to explain. I always feel there's a conspiracy behind that smile."

Lin Lan noticed that the manjuu had even brought champagne bottles in and couldn't control his curiosity.

"It's actually quite simple. After you went missing, Akashi started wandering around, crossing seas and oceans. How could we not prepare some food for ourselves?"

The little schemer's face took on a pitiful expression, and even Ulrich looked surprised at this little girl.

After all, Akashi, who had rarely faced Siren combat, had been wandering alone for so long and was quite brave.

Although Lin Lan was touched by Akashi's dedication, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Wandering and preparing food was one thing, but how could they even have champagne?

But he knew it wasn't the time to probe deeper; it was time to eat. He would interrogate this little schemer properly later.

The table in front of him was already set with the fragrant pork knuckles and a rich potato soup.

Although he had eaten a lot in the morning, his stomach was growling again.

With the Iron Blood shipgirls and Akashi's company, this lunch feast was very satisfying.

Although Rupprecht wanted to toast him, he declined on the grounds that his body hadn't fully recovered.

It would be a joke if he started drinking now—probably the second or third cup would come immediately.

Though Ulrich and Brunhilde were meticulous and reliable, they were not Bismarck or Friedrich der Große, who could command the Iron Blood fleet.

If he got drunk, the consequences were something he didn't even want to imagine.

However, while he was enjoying his meal, he didn't notice that a little manjuu had secretly taken a string of keys from his pocket.

This unnoticed manjuu inserted the keys into a soft, blue, mysterious object and then took them out and put them back in Lin Lan's pocket.

Akashi watched all of this with sharp eyes, her lips curling into an extremely cunning smile.

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