Chapter 6: The Person Who Melts the Ice

Tirpitz looked at the man before her, whose appearance was almost identical to the one in her memory. Tears instantly filled her blue eyes.

She trembled as she removed the white military hat from her white hair, clutching it tightly in her hands.

The pain from her nails digging into her palms through her white gloves told her this wasn't a dream.

August had never seen Lin Lan when he was young, but she had.

The boy who once had eyes full of hope for the future, who joyfully shouted when he first saw her.

How could she forget?

Tirpitz, such a powerful battleship, was historically abandoned in the Arctic Ocean as the lonely queen of Ironblood.

In her yearning to protect her homeland and achieve honor, she went from the high spirits of her launch to the long, lonely watch in the icy harbor.

When the "Tallboy" super bomb shattered her hull, it also completely crushed her heart and her dreams.

In the end, she didn't even get to see her homeland one last time.

The Northern Queen, when she sank into the icy sea, sealed her despairing heart in cold, unyielding ice.

...

"Tirpitz! It's Tirpitz! Ahhhhh, I finally got you! Come home with me!"

After who knows how long in a deep slumber, Tirpitz was groggily awakened and brought to a new port by this boy.

Lin Lan's appearance brought a ray of warm sunlight to the heart of the Northern Queen, which had been frozen in ice.

The boy who cheered with joy at the arrival of new companions, who cried with tears streaming down his face after a victorious battle, was like a sun that melted the ice around Tirpitz's heart.

She watched over this boy as he slowly grew, witnessing the arrival of more Ironblood comrades at the port.

Until one day, this boy shyly took her to the port's chapel and placed a ring on her finger.

The once lonely Northern Queen looked back.

Her sister, her Ironblood comrades, and even former "enemies" from other factions were all there, watching with blessings as she stood beside this boy.

Lin Lan had completely melted the cold and despair in her heart.

The Northern Queen was lonely no more.

The honor she had once dreamed of no longer mattered. As long as she could stay with this boy, it was enough.

As this spirited boy grew into a mature man, Tirpitz noticed that the light in Lin Lan's eyes grew dimmer, and he became increasingly quiet and withdrawn.

She saw in him the same shadow that had once fallen over her own life.

But Tirpitz was not a shipgirl skilled in communication. She mustered the courage to talk to Lin Lan more than once, only to find that there was an insurmountable wall between them.

The commander couldn't hear her voice or sense the feelings she wanted to convey.

It wasn't just her; the other girls had also noticed the change in Lin Lan's personality.

The last time the Northern Shut-In saw Lin Lan, this man with a full beard and bloodshot eyes was worn out from exhaustion and poor diet.

Since then, Lin Lan never returned to the port, and without a commander, the port that they had all worked so hard to build fell apart, with each faction going its separate ways.

Looking at the spirited young man before her, his image slowly overlapped with the nearly faded one in her memory.

Tirpitz trembled as she opened her mouth and called out in a tearful voice:

"It's been a long time, my Commander."

Well, the "I came at the wrong time" scene that Lin Lan imagined didn't happen.

And since he had already seen August, there was no doubt that the white-haired Tirpitz before him was his Tirpitz.

"Tizi, it's been a long time."

Lin Lan knew that now wasn't the time to call her "Northern Shut-In," so he used another nickname for Tirpitz.

But before Tirpitz could say anything, four small shadows suddenly appeared behind her and rushed toward Lin Lan.

Before he could recognize who they were, four little lolis jumped on Lin Lan, knocking him to the ground.

They were the Ironblood Z-class destroyers.

"Commander! I knew I'd see you today! Hehe, I felt it outside!"

The black-haired, red-eyed battle loli Z16, with a strand of white hair, was sitting on top of Lin Lan.

"Commander! You jerk, did you forget your promise to stay with Lady Z1 until the end of the world? Where did you go?"

The silver-haired Z1 was clutching Lin Lan's collar, demanding answers as tears streamed down her cheeks.

The other two, who were tightly holding onto Lin Lan's arms, were a silver-haired, yellow-eyed loli in a black military dress and a purple-brown-haired, red-eyed loli with a blank expression.

They said nothing, but they clung to Lin Lan's arms, unwilling to let go.

"Z16, don't sit on me! How much weight have you gained? My stomach can't take it!"

"And my Lady Z1, don't pull on my collar! I'm back now, so let go of me!"

"Z2, Z46… ahem, Leonie, you two stop acting silly too. Let me go."

"Tizi, Tizi, help me out… Hey, Z2, you little rascal, don't encourage Z1 and Z16 to pull my hair! I heard that!"

Lin Lan was completely pinned down by the four Z-class lolis, unable to move, becoming a tool for them to vent their emotions.

Seeing him in such a miserable state, Tirpitz, usually cold and distant, couldn't help but laugh, making no move to help Lin Lan.

Serves you right for leaving without saying goodbye.

August, standing opposite Tirpitz, felt a wave of emotion as she saw Tirpitz's relieved smile.

It had been so long since she'd seen the Northern Queen smile so openly. She even wondered if Tirpitz's heart had ever truly thawed.

But now, it seemed it was just that they had been away from this man, now playing with the Z-class girls, for too long.

These four energetic Z-class lolis only let Lin Lan go after wearing him out and making him swear never to leave them again.

Lin Lan got up from the ground, his clothes wrinkled from the lolis' rough handling.

One loli is enough, but a group of them jumping on him showed Lin Lan their true power.

Z1, the little boss, Z2, the scheming and sharp-tongued loli, Z16, the lively one, and… Z46, the quiet and slightly airheaded literary loli.

(Z1)

(Z2)

(Z16)

(Z46)

Because of her historical background, Z46 was very sensitive about her name, so Lin Lan had personally renamed her Leonie.

Well, as the ring bearer, he had naturally given each of these four Ironblood Z-class lolis a ring, making a vow with them.

Looking at the four tearful, pouting lolis clinging to his clothes and arms, Lin Lan sighed helplessly.

He never dreamed he'd actually see the shipgirls from his game come to life before his eyes.

"Commander, where exactly did you go? We've been waiting for your answer. And what happened to your appearance…"

Tirpitz watched as Lin Lan and the Z-class girls finished playing. She walked up and began to straighten his rumpled white uniform.

It all felt so natural, as if she had rehearsed it countless times in her mind.

Seeing this, August also stepped forward, removing her black cape and gently placing it over Lin Lan's shoulders.

The silver-white Iron Cross, the unique symbol of the Ironblood faction, adorned the clothing of each of them in some way.

Lin Lan stared intently at Tirpitz as she carefully adjusted his uniform.

Seeing her up close, with her delicate features and fair skin, Lin Lan realized for the first time just how beautiful his Tirpitz was.

It's just a shame that Tirpitz was wearing her original outfit from the game, the white Ironblood Northern Fleet uniform.

He remembered that Tirpitz was hiding a rather large bust, something he had only discovered after buying her swimsuit skin.

(Tirpitz Swimsuit Skin)

But no, this isn't the time to be thinking about that.

Lin Lan stroked the tuft of white hair on Z16's forehead, bringing his thoughts back to Tirpitz's question.

How was he supposed to explain all of this to the girls?

The shipgirls standing before and beside him were clearly real, but he couldn't exactly tell them that he had only ever seen them in a game, could he?