298: Little Prankster Sara

As they arrived at the meeting room door, Lin Lan could vaguely hear voices from inside.

"Looks like Sara and Bismarck are still in the middle of a call... Alright, let's give them a super big surprise!"

New Jersey chuckled, let go of Lin Lan's hand, strode forward, and pushed the door open.

"Hey! Sara, Bismarck, look who's here!"

"Wahh! New Jersey, you scared Sara half to death! How many times have I told you—knock! Knock first!"

With New Jersey pushing open the door and cutting off the conversation inside, a youthful exclamation rang out from the meeting room.

And Lin Lan saw her—sitting at the long table inside, that long-missed pink-haired carrier chibi, Saratoga.

And floating above the table in front of her, with a calm expression and dressed in a black Iron Blood military uniform, was a half-body virtual projection of Bismarck.

"C-Commander! You're finally awake?!"

Saratoga had been about to continue complaining to New Jersey, but the moment she saw Lin Lan peeking out from behind New Jersey's silver coat, her eyes widened and she jumped out of her seat.

"Commander... I'm so glad you're alright."

At the same time, Bismarck also noticed Lin Lan and the others entering behind New Jersey through the virtual image. 

Her usually calm tone broke with excitement as she spoke.

Soon after, a commotion erupted from Bismarck's side of the call. She suddenly turned her head, and to Lin Lan and the others, it looked like she was talking to empty air:

"Yes, the Commander is awake! Eugen, go tell the others the good news!"

While Bismarck was speaking, the black-stockinged chibi in the white uniform, Saratoga, had already left her seat and ran up to Lin Lan. 

She circled around him, seemingly examining something.

"Wha—! Commander! Why do you have a tail now?! What did the Sirens do to you?!"

Just as Lin Lan was wondering what Saratoga was doing, she suddenly let out a shocked gasp, eyes wide in disbelief.

"What?! No way, really?!"

Startled by her shout, Lin Lan instinctively looked behind him.

Even New Jersey, Anchorage, and Bismarck turned their eyes toward him in surprise at Saratoga's claim.

But when Lin Lan and the others looked closely—there was no tail behind him at all.

"Ehehe~ Sara was just kidding! Commander, hug me, quick!"

With a mischievous giggle, the little Saratoga jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly.

This little prankster… pulling tricks the moment we reunite…

Smiling, Lin Lan bent down to hug Saratoga. Just as the thought crossed his mind, he noticed that her small body was trembling slightly in his embrace.

The pink-haired little girl… was sobbing softly in his arms.

"Welcome home, Commander."

Usually full of playful energy, Saratoga finally let out all the worry she had been holding in her heart.

She didn't even care that Bismarck was watching—she clung tightly to Lin Lan, her tears flowing uncontrollably.

Welcome home. Just two simple words, but from Sara's mouth, they carried immense weight.

Back at the military base in Anna City, she had already cried once during a video call when she first saw her long-lost Commander.

But she hadn't expected another incident during his return trip to the artificial island would leave him comatose for several days.

No one knew how long it would take for the Commander to wake up. 

In those few days, Saratoga had blamed herself endlessly—why hadn't she gone to pick him up faster?

Now that he had finally woken up, all the pressure and negative emotions she had bottled up finally had somewhere to go.

And now, she could finally act spoiled with her Commander again, like before.

"I'm back, aren't I? Don't cry, Sara."

Lin Lan gently hugged Saratoga tighter, speaking softly to comfort her.

Neither Bismarck nor New Jersey said a word. They simply watched in silence as he comforted the weeping Sara.

Anchorage, seeing how hard Sara was crying, stepped forward to help, but Eldridge gently tugged on her sleeve and shook her head.

Let Sara have a proper hug with the Commander.

After all, ever since the Commander left, Saratoga—being a pillar of the Eagle Union—had been under enormous pressure while taking care of all her fellow sisters.

She hadn't even participated in her beloved idol performances for quite some time.

Lin Lan, of course, understood this well.

As the idol of the Eagle Union, Lin Lan had long known from her words and actions that Saratoga always brought joy and energy to everyone in the base.

He could easily imagine that after his disappearance, even though she was worried, she forced herself to smile for the sake of her comrades, carrying all the pressure alone.

Though in history, Saratoga had been teased as the "Queen of the Bathhouse" for frequent repairs and lack of participation in major battles...

In truth, she had the highest number of plane landings and transported more supplies than any other ship.

It wasn't that she didn't want to join key battles. Didn't she want to avenge her sister, Lexington?

The real reason was that she always prioritized the bigger picture—constantly busy with important but lesser-known tasks, which led to frequent injuries.

Even in those few critical operations, Saratoga fought with everything she had, truly worthy of the title "Pioneer of Naval Aviation Warfare."

Behind her seemingly innocent and cute personality, Sara had truly poured all her efforts into caring for every Eagle Union sister.

But in the history of Blue Star, Saratoga's reward for such dedication was the "Operation Crossroads" after the war ended.

Lin Lan would never allow such a tragedy to repeat itself with Sara. That thought made him hold her even more tightly.

"Be good, Sara. I'm right here—I won't disappear again."

After a long while, when Sara finally let go, her eyes still glistening with tears, she looked up at him pitifully. 

Lin Lan wiped her cheeks gently and whispered with a pampering smile.

Before Saratoga could say anything, Bismarck's image smiled and said:

"Commander, it's perfectly fine if you want to spend a little more time cuddling with Saratoga."

"S-Sara's not a kid, okay! I've already adjusted my mood!"

Though her voice still had a sobbing tone, Saratoga realized she had just cried in front of everyone. 

Her pink cheeks turned red with embarrassment, and she pouted at Bismarck.

"Sara, that's not like you at all! You should just be straightforward and express your feelings to the Commander—like… give him a big kiss, hmm?"

New Jersey chuckled at her tsundere reaction and teasingly offered a suggestion.

"Express feelings… to Teacher… means kiss?"

Behind Lin Lan, Anchorage held an ice crystal in her hands and, upon hearing New Jersey's words, spoke as if she had just learned something new.

Hearing Anchorage's words, Lin Lan couldn't help but twitch his lips between laughter and exasperation.

New Jersey, can you please stop corrupting the little shipgirls?

"Chu~~"

Before he could even react, the little Sara in his arms suddenly reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Then a soft, warm sensation landed on his lips.

"Commander~ New Jersey's right! Sara shouldn't follow the examples of Hammann and Hipper, hehe~"

Lin Lan stared, dumbfounded, at the joyful Saratoga in his arms for a moment before finally reacting.

He almost forgot—Saratoga might look like a chibi and act playfully, but when it came to expressing her affection, she was always direct and to the point.

But Sara… it's one thing to use your own faction's little tsundere Hammann as a bad example, but why did you have to drag Iron Blood's big tsundere Hipper into this too?

Don't forget, the leader of Iron Blood, Bismarck, is right there listening—and if Hipper happens to be with her…

"Hah?! Saratoga! Don't think you can badmouth me in front of that dumb idiot just because I'm not there!"

The next second, a familiar tsundere voice rang out from Bismarck's side of the call, making Lin Lan burst into laughter uncontrollably.

See? Spoke too soon—the big tsundere really was there.

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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta

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