Chapter 16: Not Entirely Out of Style

Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser, the eldest sister, Admiral Hipper, is the most typical example of a tsundere in the game. 

With her blonde hair, blue eyes, and flat chest, she embodies the archetype of a "loser" in love.

The second ship, Blücher, with her cream-colored long hair and red eyes, is an energetic girl who has been given the rather imposing nickname "Lü Bu." 

Aside from her name's abbreviation, she also possesses the secret confidence to face coastal artillery head-on. Though straightforward, she's deeply devoted to the Commander.

The first thing she says upon meeting the Commander is a declaration of love, and her natural charm earns her high affection immediately. 

In the Iron Blood faction, where cold and edgy characters are common, her personality is refreshingly unique.

The youngest of the Hipper sisters is the cunning white-haired older sister, Prinz Eugen.

Sucking on her index finger is her signature move, which has earned her the nickname "finger-biter." 

As most new players receive her after signing in for seven days, she's likely the first super-rare shipgirl they obtain.

With her skill-based shield and heavy armor, she was once the most durable frontline tank in the game.

Aside from the three sisters, the fourth sister, Weser, was converted into a light aircraft carrier, and the fifth sister, Tallinn, was transferred to the Northern Parliament, where she now belongs.

"Ugh..."

After being successfully ambushed by Prinz Eugen and Blücher, the eldest sister Hipper clenched her fists, on the verge of exploding. She had been utterly fooled by Eugen!

She had promised they would stand together when they met the Commander, but her two younger sisters had sold her out completely!

Lin Lan stood up, first gently pinching Blücher's round, rosy cheeks, then looking at Prinz Eugen.

"Tell me, Eugen, aren't you worried about making your sister jealous by doing that just now?"

Prinz Eugen adjusted her loose white hair and smiled. "Commander, instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself."

Lin Lan instantly understood what Prinz Eugen was hinting at. This was no time to settle scores with her. If he didn't appease Hipper, his morning would be anything but peaceful.

But Lin Lan was confident he could calm Hipper down. 

After all, she was one of the first shipgirls he had trained to max level and pledged to in the early days of the game. You could say they were like an old married couple.

After patting Blücher on the head, Lin Lan walked over to the fuming Hipper.

"Hipper..."

"Huh? Now you realize you need to comfort me?!"

Even though her eyes brightened when she saw Lin Lan approaching, Hipper still turned her head away with a huff, arms crossed and cheeks puffed out in annoyance.

Lin Lan stifled his laughter. Despite all the years they've been pledged, Hipper's pure tsundere personality hadn't changed a bit.

"I'm just worried about you getting too jealous, so I had to come over and fix things," Lin Lan said with a smile as he gently placed his hands on Hipper's shoulders.

As the eldest sister, Hipper was shorter than her two younger sisters and, naturally, shorter than Lin Lan too.

"Huh? Who are you calling jealous? Commander, you..."

Hipper turned to scold him but was suddenly silenced as Lin Lan kissed her on the lips.

Faced with a tsundere who was already at full affection, Lin Lan opted for the most direct approach.

Don't speak, just kiss.

As Lin Lan leaned in, Z23, who had been watching, suddenly found her vision blocked by someone's hand.

"It's not appropriate for little Z23 to see this," Prinz Eugen's amused voice came from above.

"Hey! Eugen, you're too much! Why can't I see this?" protested Z23, who had been blushing from anticipating the scene.

Hipper was completely stunned by Lin Lan's bold move, her mind going blank.

This... This isn't right?

The Commander was never this bold before!

Feeling Lin Lan gently caressing the golden locks at the nape of her neck, Hipper's entire body softened.

After a few seconds, Lin Lan pulled back and whispered, "That was my first kiss, Hipper. You really hit the jackpot."

"You, you idiot Commander..."

Hipper's face was now as red as a ripe apple, her eyes dazed.

Seeing how easily Hipper was won over, Lin Lan couldn't help but think that tsundere characters were indeed the easiest to deal with.

And he wasn't lying; that really had been his first kiss.

"Commander! I want one too!"

Seeing this, Blücher was overcome with envy.

"Oh my, little Blücher, what do you want? You can tell me," Roon said as she walked out of the kitchen, carrying a tray full of cereal and jam, just in time to hear Blücher's words.

"I want the Commander... Mm!"

Blücher's words were quickly muffled by Prinz Eugen, who covered her mouth from behind.

"What she means is, she wants the Commander to check out our big sister's figure collection later. Look, Hipper's already embarrassed."

Blücher, though naive, was smart enough to quickly nod in agreement, realizing the potential trouble if Roon found out what had just happened.

Lin Lan was also startled by Roon's sudden appearance, relieved that Prinz Eugen had intervened in time.

Roon and Prinz Eugen exchanged harmless smiles, but for some reason, everyone present could feel an invisible tension in the air.

"Oh, Hipper does have quite a collection. Commander, you should definitely take a look sometime."

As long as it didn't involve sensitive topics about Lin Lan, Roon was a very kind and gentle older sister. She decided not to pursue the matter further and turned her attention to Lin Lan.

"Commander, little Z23, eat up. This is a special breakfast I made just for you," Roon said cheerfully as she set the tray on the table and pulled up a chair to sit down.

As Lin Lan sat back down next to Z23, enjoying the jam-covered cereal, he listened to their conversation.

"Huh?

Are you worried about us? We adjusted our rigging last night, so we'll head straight to the training grounds in a bit," Hipper replied confidently.

Despite her lingering thoughts about Lin Lan's close face just now, she was very self-assured when it came to training.

"Is that so? But I heard your opponents in this exercise are led by Peter. Last time, you were defeated by Prince Heinrich, and she's on their team this time too."

Lin Lan continued eating his delicious cereal while recalling the familiar names Peter and Prince Heinrich.

Prince Heinrich was an armored cruiser, classified as a heavy cruiser in the game.

 He remembered her as a sporty, long-legged sister with a straightforward personality and a love for battle training. But on the other hand, Prince Heinrich was terrible at theoretical knowledge.

(Prince Heinrich)

Peter's full name was Peter Strasser, a regular aircraft carrier of the Iron Blood faction and the second ship of the Graf Zeppelin-class carriers.

(Peter Strasser)