Elder brother's garrison

Page 1276

Outside the restaurant, the weather was sunny.

Standing at the gate, Xiaobai subconsciously took a deep breath and smiled at Luo Lian.

"Lianlian, did you learn what you wanted to learn while you were at Ella's house this time?"

"I've learned a lot." Luo Lian nodded and said earnestly to Xiao Bai, "Thank you, Xiao Bai. Without your introduction, I would have taken a long and winding road."

"Given our relationship, there's no need for thanks," Xiaobai said with a smile. "As long as Lianlian is satisfied, that's enough."

"And you, how have you been doing on the sea?" Luo Lian asked.

"Well... I guess I'd say it's all over now?"

"From what you just said, it seems you didn't participate in the final clearing of the Deep Sea Territory," Luo Lian asked with some concern. "The clearing of the Deep Sea Territory will drop a lot of Deep Sea Metal, right? Is it really okay if I don't want that Deep Sea Metal?"

"It's okay. I've been working hard these past few days, so I'll just take a break." Xiaobai shook her head. "Anyway, I've already got the most important reward."

“The most important reward…” Luo Lian tilted her head.

Xiao Bai smiled slightly at Luo Lian.

Luo Lian raised an eyebrow, somewhat realizing what was happening.

“I see… the most important reward.” Luo Lian sighed with some emotion. “No wonder you were so relaxed just now.”

"Hehe." Xiaobai chuckled at Luo Lian, "Lianlian, how long will Ella's exam take?"

"Hmm... In my experience, those test papers would take a newcomer two or three hours to complete." Luo Lian thought of this, then suddenly pondered for a moment, "Ah, right."

"what happened?"

"Xiao Bai, can I go back to my room for a bit?" Luo Lian said to Xiao Bai. "I have some notes in my room that I made before I started learning rune language. I want to take a look at them now. Maybe I can make some new discoveries after broadening my perspective."

"Sure, we can't go anywhere else until Ella finishes her exams anyway." Xiaobai said, then looked at Luo Lian and suddenly pondered for a moment, "Hmm... speaking of which, Lianlian, you haven't been back to your room for two weeks, have you?"

“…Yes.” Luo Lian looked at Xiao Bai. “What’s wrong?”

"Why don't you rest in your room for a while, take a shower, and change into some fresh clothes, Lianlian?"

"?" Luo Lian asked, puzzled. "I'm not tired... and I clean myself regularly underground, it's only been two weeks..."

suddenly.

Luo Lian paused.

Then, as if she had discovered something very important, she quickly grabbed her collar, bent down, and sniffed it carefully.

A delicate, youthful fragrance, mixed with a hint of the scent of books and ink, and a faint, subtle, slightly damp and dark aroma, instantly filled Luo Lian's nose.

The peculiar smell likely comes from the lack of ventilation underground for an extended period, coupled with Luo Lian's prolonged immersion in studying amidst ink and brush, which caused her clothes to become damp.

The smell isn't actually unpleasant.

It's not very obvious.

But when it reached Luo Lian's nose, it was like a nuclear bomb exploding in her head, making her head buzz.

Luo Lian remained head down, sniffing her collar, her snow-white cheeks burning hot like a thermos, wisps of white steam rising from her head, making her look like a whirring kettle.

"..." Luo Lian.

"Lianlian?" Xiaobai tilted her head and looked at Luo Lian.

"!" Luo Lian's breathing became rapid involuntarily. She quickly retreated, taking two or three steps away from Xiao Bai.

"Huh? What's wrong with Lianlian?" Xiaobai asked, surprised.

"I..." Luo Lian blushed and lowered her head, "I'm going back...back to my room."

"Oh……"

"I'll be back in two...two hours."

"Huh? It's been that long?"

"..."

Luo Lian didn't reply to Xiao Bai. Instead, she quickly covered her face and ran towards the dormitory building, disappearing from Xiao Bai's sight in the blink of an eye.

The newbie was left completely bewildered.

Chapter 1628 Loki's Secret

Luo Lian's room was quiet.

Only the bathroom light was on, and the showerhead was running continuously. Through the large frosted glass, one could vaguely see that the bathroom was filled with smoke.

swish swish swish swish —

A subtle, high-speed friction sound echoed discreetly amidst the loud noise of the showerhead.

It's been a while.

The faint, high-speed friction sound finally stopped, and after a short while, the splashing water stopped as well. The bathroom door opened, and a young girl, her body rubbed raw and wearing only a thin bath towel, swayed as she walked out of the bathroom.

Luo Lian was radiating heat from the bathroom. She staggered to the bedside, bent her knees, and fell to the floor with a thud. She breathed heavily for a while, her chest rising and falling at a normal, youthful pace.

The window in Luo Lian's room was open.

A refreshing breeze blew in from the window, bringing a cool sensation like a whirlwind.

Luo Lian stayed alone in the room for a while, slowly coming back to her senses.

Luo Lian then sat up from the floor, still wrapped in a bath towel. She raised her arms and carefully sniffed her arms, shoulders, and chest. After confirming that she had no other odor besides the smell of shower gel and shampoo, she finally felt relieved and leaned against the headboard.

"Phew... I've been so careless lately." Luo Lian looked empty and disappointed. "I almost caused a major disaster... I must remember to clean myself up before seeing Xiao Bai next time..."

As Luo Lian spoke, her gaze slowly shifted to the clothes she had just worn, which she had thrown onto the floor after entering the house.

Luo Lian got up and silently picked up the clothes, folded them neatly, and then looked at the folded clothes with a complicated expression.

"Should we destroy it...?"

A resolute glint appeared in Luo Lian's eyes, but it softened the next second.

"no!"

"Wouldn't that be like trying to hide something obvious?"

"If I change into something more refreshing, Xiaobai will definitely notice..."

"At this point, I really need to think outside the box. I'm going to wear this outfit back!" Luo Lian nodded emphatically, grabbed the clothes in her hands, and ran into the bathroom. "I still have an hour and a half. I can change my clothes underneath, and I can use the dryer by the maids to dry my outer clothes. I'll have plenty of time!"

Luo Lian had barely finished speaking.

The sound of scrubbing and washing clothes by hand suddenly filled the bathroom, echoing continuously.

-

Outside the dormitory building.

The door of the restaurant.

After Luo Lian left, Xiao Bai and Loki stood there like two telephone poles, waiting for quite some time.

"Uh... Miss Loki, how long has Lianlian been back in her room?" Xiaobai asked Loki beside her, twisting her stiff neck.

"Twenty-seven minutes," Loki replied precisely, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Hmm... it's been twenty-seven minutes already..." Xiaobai scratched his head, glanced back at the restaurant behind him, and sighed, "It looks like he won't be out anytime soon."

“That guest just said he wouldn’t be back for two hours,” Loki reminded him.

“…Okay.” Xiaobai initially thought Luo Lian was joking, but things had already developed to this point, so she had no choice but to believe Luo Lian. “It seems that Lianlian really won’t be back for another two hours.”

“…” Loki glanced silently at the dejected Little White.

Xiao Bai looked up at the sky for a while, thought for a moment, and then scratched his head.

"Hmm... if Lianlian really won't be back for another two hours... that's also the time when Ella finishes her exams, so it's not good for us to just stand here and wait." Xiaobai thought for a moment, then turned to Loki, "Miss Loki."

"I'm here."

"Hmm... how about you take me for a walk?" Little White asked Loki, pointing to the doorway.

"Sure. Where would you like to go, guest?"

"Hmm... Ella said she'd take us shopping later, so going to crowded places isn't a good idea... How about this?" Little White thought for a moment, then smiled at Loki, "Miss Loki, now that we're safe, why don't you take me to the pebble beach again to enjoy the sea breeze?"

“…” Loki was taken aback, then nodded silently.

Little White and Loki left Ella's ship equipment research center and followed the path they had taken before, eventually arriving at the gravel beach.

Now that the super-sized Yamato has been "sunk" by the newbie naval base, the ship girl fleet that was originally stationed on the pebble beach has also been disbanded and set off for the distant deep-sea territory. So, Shiro and Loki have been quiet all the way until they arrived at the pebble beach. The pebble beach was deserted, with only the sea breeze with a slight fishy smell whistling across the beach.

Perhaps because it had spent so much time at sea these past two days, when Xiaobai returned to the pebble beach and smelled the slightly fishy air, it even felt a sense of familiarity.

"Mmm...this is the taste!" Xiaobai stretched comfortably, looking at the flat pebble beach in front of him and the endless blue sea beyond it. "It feels like coming home!"

“…” Loki.

"Miss Loki, don't you find this scene quite familiar?"

Little White smiled and asked Loki.

“…” Loki nodded silently.

"Hehe, thank you so much for your help with this event, Miss Loki," Little White said to Loki with a smile.

"It's just a matter of courtesy... nothing more." Loki paused for a moment, then his ringed finger twitched slightly. "The guest doesn't need to thank me."

"Hmm... But, Miss Loki, you helped us as the Dean of the Deep Sea, didn't you?" Little White said to Loki. "Yamato-neechan did this because she's very close to me. Miss Loki, you must have made a huge decision, right?"

Loki did not speak.

She simply turned her head and glanced at Xiaobai.

In the sea breeze.

Loki and Whitey stared at each other for a moment.

"...Do you mean to say that I have ulterior motives?"

"Ah, no, no, no!" Little White quickly waved her hands, giving Loki an embarrassed smile. "No, I've always thought Miss Loki was a good person! I've always liked you, Miss Loki! I think you're very reliable!"

"..."

"However... there are indeed some things I don't understand," Xiaobai said earnestly.

"..." Loki looked at Whitebeard silently, seemingly waiting for Whitebeard to say the next thing.

“To be honest, Miss Loki, although it’s a bit inappropriate to say this, I do have quite a few Deepsea Directors in my family.” White pointed to himself and said to Loki, “I know a little about how the Deepsea Directors live in human homes. Even someone as hardworking as Yamato can be a bit tsundere when she’s working at our naval base… But Miss Loki, you’re different from them.”

"What's the difference?"

“Attitude.” Little White smiled at Loki, “Miss Loki, your attitude in the human homeland is different from that of Yamato and the others.”

"Have it?"

“Hmm, to be honest, your attitude is really too diligent.” Little White said to Loki, “For example, last night when I asked you if you wanted me to help clean the hall, you told me that these were the duties of a maid and that I could do them myself and not to interfere.”

"Isn't this kind of reaction normal for a maid?"

“But you’re the Dean of the Deep Sea,” Xiaobai said. “If you were a ship girl, Miss Loki, I wouldn’t find it strange to say something like that, but for you, Miss Loki, as the Dean of the Deep Sea, to say something like that gives me a feeling… well… how should I put it…”

Xiao Bai thought for a while.

Xiao Bai's eyes lit up.

"Yes! Diligent! Compared to Yamato and the others who are somewhat forced, I feel that Miss Loki, you take your work seriously from the bottom of your heart. Whether in words or deeds, you are very responsible as a maid and integrate into the human world. Moreover, it seems that Miss Loki, you are trusted by Ella and Ella's grandfather."

“…” Loki looked at Whitebeard silently for a while before slowly speaking, “…Is that not allowed?”

“Of course, that’s a good thing,” Xiaobai said with a smile. “However, I also remembered when Deep Sea Dragon revealed your identity, Miss Loki, and asked you why you stayed in the human world. You said it was only for your own selfish desires, right? That answer made Deep Sea Dragon sad for a long time.”

“…” Loki.

"At that time, I thought that Miss Loki was probably like the Deep Sea Dragon, greedy for the food and pleasures of the human world, which is why she resolutely abandoned the Deep Sea faction and came to the human world." Xiaobai scratched her head embarrassedly. "But now I feel that Miss Loki's diligent attitude as a maid is somewhat contradictory to her original intention of abandoning the Deep Sea faction. After all, if Miss Loki were really a pleasure-seeking Deep Sea Dean, she wouldn't be working here as a maid, and with such a willing and diligent attitude, right?"

Loki didn't speak, he just lowered his head.

"So I think Miss Loki, your statement that you came to the land solely for your own selfish desires must have something else in mind, right?"

Little White smiled at Loki.

Loki raised his head and looked at Little White with a complicated expression, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

"Miss Loki."