"Who are you! Where is this place! … I get it now, you're one of those plotting against Graf Zeppelin!"
"I am going to be Iron Blood's first aircraft carrier, Graf Zeppelin! How dare you bring me to this place without my notice! Take this!"
The tiny white-haired loli struggled and shouted at the unfamiliar man who was holding her high up.
Young Graf Zeppelin didn't know how she ended up in this strange port area.
She should have still been sleeping in the dock, waiting for the Iron Blood personnel to complete assembling her body.
She carried the hopes of the entire Iron Blood faction for the future. It was certain that she would become the pride of Iron Blood.
Therefore, young Graf Zeppelin thought that the current situation must mean she had been kidnapped by this unfamiliar man.
"Are you really Graf Zeppelin? It can't be. Your personality is completely different!"
(Little Zeppelin)
Lin Lan looked at the pouting, adorable silver-haired loli with surprise.
The little girl was dressed almost identically to Graf Zeppelin and had a resemblance to her as well.
The terrifying woman in his port, who seemed to want to destroy the whole world, was actually so cute and easy to bully as a child?
"Hmph! You big bad guy, let me go home!"
Young Graf Zeppelin puffed out her cheeks and shouted angrily at Lin Lan, who was holding her.
Lin Lan, helpless, put her back on the ground.
"Fine, then go ahead. I'd like to see how you get home."
Lin Lan was amused by the adorable loli and chuckled as he watched her. He wondered if the ship girl that entered his port could really just fly away.
"What kind of expression is that? It's your place that's so big that I can't find my way home! Hmph, you're doing this on purpose!"
Young Graf Zeppelin, after looking around helplessly, wrapped herself tightly in her white and red coat and yelled angrily at Lin Lan.
"Ah, this is really troublesome. Since you can't go home, why not just stay in my port for now?"
Lin Lan said with a smile.
"You big bad guy, I don't believe you… Ugh, don't touch me randomly, and don't hold my hand!"
Lin Lan forcefully grabbed young Graf Zeppelin's hand, intending to take her to the Iron Blood dormitory.
But his plans were interrupted when young Graf Zeppelin summoned a miniature main gun with her ship equipment.
"Big bad guy, take this!"
"Ouch! Graf Zeppelin, did you have such a temper when you were young?!"
Lin Lan cried out in distress as he was chased and hit by young Graf Zeppelin's main gun.
Fortunately, since young Graf Zeppelin had just joined the port and her ship equipment wasn't fully completed yet, the main gun's power wasn't very strong.
But it was still enough to make Lin Lan feel like he was about to lose half his life.
After being chased outside the Iron Blood dormitory, Lin Lan finally saw a savior.
"Hmm? Commander, are you finally being punished for being a loli fan?"
Prinz Eugen, who was lounging lazily in the sun on a bench outside the Iron Blood dormitory, saw Lin Lan being "chased" by the little loli and couldn't help but smirk and mock him.
"Eugen, stop talking and save me!"
Lin Lan cried out, as a small cannonball hit his forehead. It didn't explode, but it left a big bump on his head.
"Ha ha ha ha ha."
Eugen covered her mouth as she laughed, eventually stopping the breathless young Graf Zeppelin.
"Take care of this child. I'm leaving now!"
Seeing that Eugen had successfully stopped young Graf Zeppelin, Lin Lan, also out of breath and clutching his stomach, managed to escape.
Though the little girl's cannonballs didn't explode, they still packed quite a punch.
The next day, Lin Lan decided to keep this child in his office as his secretary ship.
The quickest way for a ship girl to adapt to the port is to have her serve as a secretary ship, learning about all aspects of the port.
"Why is there Iron Blood here too? Why is everyone so big…"
While Lin Lan was working, young Graf Zeppelin seemed to come to terms with some unbelievable reality and looked pitiably as she pushed open the door to Lin Lan's office.
The poor loli, after arriving at the Commander's office, remained confused.
She sat on the sofa in Lin Lan's office, burying her head and staying silent.
"Hmm? You don't look very well. I must clarify, I'm not a kidnapper. You should have some snacks first."
Seeing that young Graf Zeppelin was in low spirits, Lin Lan got up and took out a bunch of snacks given to him by the destroyer girls from his desk drawer, offering them to the little loli.
"Uh, thanks…"
Although the silver-haired loli still looked quite down, she accepted the snacks and candy Lin Lan offered.
"I know. You want to go home, right?"
Lin Lan sat next to young Graf Zeppelin and, seeing her mood deteriorate as she ate candy, he smiled and comforted her:
"Here's the deal: Before you find your way home, you can stay in my port. I'll provide food and accommodation."
"And when you find your way back, if you still want to leave, I won't stop you."
The little loli finally looked up at Lin Lan.
"Really? But everyone in Iron Blood here is so big and scary…"
Lin Lan gently looked at the confused and helpless little loli and softly rubbed her face:
"Don't worry, even though they may look fierce, they're actually very kind. Let me introduce you to everyone."
Lin Lan picked up young Graf Zeppelin and went back to his seat. He opened some documents from the pile on his desk and introduced the various figures in the port to the loli in his arms:
"This is Z23, you can call her Nimi-sensei. And this is…"
Held in Lin Lan's arms, young Graf Zeppelin suddenly felt that staying in this port for a while didn't seem so bad.
Well, it was just that she couldn't find her way home right now and had no better place to go.
_______
20+ advanced chapters on patreon.com/SenatusTheta
_______
If any of you noticed an error, please point it out in comments!