Girls' Frontline: My Apocalypse with Dolls

Page 393

“That’s fine,” Mercury Rose smiled. “My sister and I aren’t too busy with work, so we have plenty of time to do what we want. But Sister Morido and the others are very busy. I haven’t seen Sister Morido at the company much lately; perhaps she has her own things to do…”

After saying that, Mercury Rose bowed to Lofan again, this time with an even greater curve: "On behalf of my sister, I would like to express my gratitude to you once again, Commander, for bringing us the life we ​​have today."

“No need for such formality,” Luo Fan said, his mood improving considerably after their long separation. “You should learn from the Griffin team in this regard; it’s better to be more relaxed.”

Mercury Rose simply smiled at this. She couldn't express her gratitude in words, but since Lovan didn't like Paradis's etiquette, she wouldn't insist too much and would continue to do her job well.

"Where are you planning to go now? We've set up a small bar on the sixteenth floor of the company, specially prepared for you. When you come, no employees will bother you here."

This surprised Luo Fan quite a bit; he hadn't expected that a bar could be opened in the company: "Okay, let's go there."

It would be a good opportunity to rest with the ship girls and entertain two new friends who were about to arrive. Luo Fan didn't plan to start the mission before he even got off the plane, as that would be too much pressure for the ship girls.

On his way to the elevator, Luo Fan kept looking around the company. There were hardly any people in the lobby, only two receptionists.

But just as everyone entered the elevator, another elevator arrived on the first floor, and as the doors opened, a slightly noisy conversation broke out.

"Hecate, I swear if you use my sister's toothbrush wrong again, I'll embed your sniper scope in your eye!"

"Mantico used it too, why don't you scold her?"

"Still dare to talk back? She's a lecher, and so are you?!"

"No, boss, how can you blame me for this?"

The voice sounded somewhat familiar...

In the last moment before the elevator doors closed, Luo Fan still couldn't see their faces clearly, but he remembered their voices...

Who was it? I can't remember...

......

"This is the place, Commander. I have work to do, so please excuse me. I hope you and your friends have a wonderful evening."

"Well, thank you."

Mercury Rose continued to leave via the elevator, while Lovan and the three ship girls arrived at the bar. Although it was called a small bar, it was much larger than expected when they saw it in person. This was not some small staff rest area; it was specially built for entertainment and relaxation, almost like a small nightclub, only with a more comfortable and low-key environment.

“Commander, do you have time for a drink?” Tirpitz placed two wine glasses on the bar. “Perhaps this is the most pleasant way to relax after a long journey.”

"my pleasure."

Before Luo Fan could finish speaking, Jiang Feng and Kaga also came over with their respective cups.

"Of course, Commander, I don't think you'd mind if I drank the extra cup for my sister, would you?"

Kaga's cold laugh inexplicably made Luo Fan's heart tighten; it seemed like he hadn't experienced this feeling in a long time...

605 Enterprises, Essex, Prince Eugen

However, I'd like to have a drink, but we need to make sure everyone is here first...

"Wait five minutes, I'll be right back."

Jiang Feng's peaceful smile was reassuring, but Kaga's wolfish gaze was even more frightening. Compared to Akagi, he lacked a kind of insidious aggression, but the feeling of being constantly watched by a pair of eyes was sometimes more unsettling.

Therefore, calling upon a few helpers who can ensure stability is a perfectly reasonable choice, Luo Fan thought.

After Luo Fan hurriedly left with his tablet, only three ship girls remained sitting side by side at the bar. The atmosphere instantly turned icy. They didn't have much in common to begin with, and their awkward personalities prevented them from even trying to start a conversation.

It's not that there's disharmony, but rather that they find joy in their own company and don't need to search for extra common ground to fill the awkward emptiness.

However, if a new friend is willing to take on the responsibility of starting a conversation, they are quite happy to cooperate, so they don't have any thoughts of rejecting newcomers. Of course, it's hard to say if Akagi and Taihou are there...

Upon arriving at the storage room, Luo Fan found two empty lockers of just the right size. To be honest, she suspected that they had anticipated her hiring from the company and had arranged the lockers in advance...

"Boss, you know what I want to do, so let's get started and send over three new friends."

Nowadays, the relationship with the leader is no longer a simple use, but an inseparable friend and colleague. Sending the girls over has become a routine procedure, and the leader can skip this period to some extent. For example, ship girls do not need to be built, so they can be completed immediately.

The tablet didn't respond, but the familiar noise came from inside the cabinet again. Thinking about it, it really had been a while since I'd seen any new friends. I wondered who would come and take on this special prison break mission.

"Good evening. Hmm, seems to be a trustworthy companion."

The cabinet had two shelves, and the Enterprise and Essex sat very properly inside. The two were dressed in formal attire, and outside the battlefield, they were no longer the dashing and heroic figures who had dominated the ocean. Instead, they looked like they had arrived late for a banquet, but as the waiting guests complained, they appeared in front of everyone with an even more stunning appearance.

Their reactions were quite calm, but when their gazes fell on Luo Fan, their pupils dilated instantly. Can you imagine? It's the plot of a clichéd yet classic love story: someone who had no intention of attending the banquet, only to unexpectedly encounter their beloved again...

"commander?!"

The company seemed quite excited, and one could sense a barrage of questions about to come out of her mouth. Essex, with a lingering flush from her drink, jolted when she saw Lovan's face, bumping her head against the partition above her head.

"Ouch~ That hurts... Commander, why can I see you now? Did I really drink too much...?"

Seeing that he was about to lose heart, Luo Fan couldn't help but smile. He leaned down slightly and extended his hands to the two ladies, making his intentions very clear.

"Uh..."

The calloused, broad hand, slightly out of character for his composed demeanor, was enough to resolve all doubts. Essex and the Enterprise looked at their respective hands and understood immediately. The melancholy they had hoped to drown in alcohol had faded away in a different way.

"Good evening again, Enterprise, Essex."

Good evening, Commander.

The company remained as composed as he remembered, and Essex, unlike his usual drunken, absent-minded self, straightened up with the help of Lovan and smiled, "Well, good evening~↗↘Commander."

Well, it seems that being drunk is being drunk, and this embarrassing moment is unavoidable...

“Stand still, Essex,” Enterprise said helplessly to her junior colleague who was prone to losing control after drinking. After all, she hadn’t seen Lovan in a long time, so she had been drinking a little more often than before. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Commander, so behave yourself.”

"I...I'm sorry, Enterprise-senpai, I accidentally...had a couple more drinks, haha, sorry, I'm just a little happy tonight, Commander, like we always do, you won't tell Shangri-La, right?"

Essex was "getting into the zone" in a different way, and Lofan couldn't bear to disturb her, so he could only smile wryly: "Of course, I won't tell her. You see, even the company didn't say much. Just be happy, it really is a day worth being happy about."

The company has certain requirements for the younger generation, but that doesn't mean she's an insensitive leader. At times like this, she should relax. After all, she almost blurted out a lot of things she always wanted to say, but fortunately, Luo Fan answered them one by one in a special way.

Your commander is right here, right in front of you...

Thump, thump thump...

Just as he was about to continue catching up, another cabinet made a noise. Only then did Luo Fan remember that he had asked the leader to send over three ship girls. He had almost forgotten about the other one when he was calming down Essex.

After nodding to the company, he leaned Essex against the company's shoulder, and Lovan personally opened the cabinet door.

"Good evening... um...!"

Just as he was about to greet her as usual, the moment he opened the door, a black stocking with a D-value of around 6 hooked around Luo Fan's neck and pulled him inside. Before he could even see who was sitting on the cabinet, Luo Fan's head was covered by some unknown black pattern.

"Good evening, Commander. You specifically called me here when I was wearing formal attire. Is there some particular difficulty that you need me to solve?"

When that incredibly seductive voice rang out, Luo Fan immediately reacted, nodded very sincerely, and gave a thumbs up to the person above him.

Enterprise immediately helped Essex forward, saying awkwardly, "Eugen, uh... isn't it a bit inappropriate to greet the Commander this way...?"

"Uh... well, I haven't even had a chance to have a drink with the Commander yet..."

Even Essex, who was in a daze, was able to come to her senses and support the company, which shows how straightforward Eugen's "greeting" was.

"Oh, really? But it seems the Commander is enjoying this long-awaited reunion. You see, I didn't use much force, yet the Commander is reluctant to leave~"

"Yeah...?"

The company was highly skeptical, but judging from Luo Fan's demeanor, he seemed to have no intention of leaving...

However, only Luo Fan himself knew...

"Eugen, loosen your legs, I'm suffocating...!"

The raised thumb slowly turned downwards...

606 The fault lies with me.

When everyone returned to the bar, there were seven people. Eugen carefully selected from the wine rack and finally placed the wines suitable for the dinner, as well as his favorite wines, on the table.

"It is indeed a pity that I was unable to attend this unexpected dinner in a formal dress."

Tirpitz took the red wine poured by Eugen, raised his glass to Lovan, and Lovan responded by clinking glasses, nodding, and smiling.

"Whether we are wearing formal attire or not is not important. This is not a formal occasion, and there are no bystanders. For us, the wine and the people drinking it are more important."

After saying that, he nudged Essex, who was slumped over the table, with his elbow: "Aren't you right, Dumpling?"

“Uh, I told you not to call me Dumpling, Commander…” Essex forced her head up, frowning slightly, but the blush on her face only made her slight displeasure seem cute: “But, what I’m saying is true, the person sitting here is more important.”

“Yes,” Jiang Feng rarely got involved in the conversation, “people are still more important, no matter what, people are always more important…”

"Couldn't you have expressed your feelings at another time?"

After drinking a cup, Kaga was clearly not satisfied with the performance of his colleague, who also belonged to the Sakura Empire.

The atmosphere seemed a little awkward. Luo Fan secretly glanced at them and found that the Enterprise and Eugen were also looking at him, as if they were hinting that he should hurry up and think of a solution.

However, it is true that a commander is needed to handle situations like this...

“Okay, don’t think too much, just drink,” Luo Fan shrugged, then turned to the wine rack and began to choose the wines he needed: “Wait a moment, I’ll mix everyone a special drink.”

Eugen, as a sworn ship (though everyone else is...), suddenly understood and smiled, playing the straight man: "Oh? Commander can mix drinks?"

"Of course, as a commander, even if you're not a strong fighter, you still need to have some skills to rely on."

After saying that, several rare bottles of liquor, along with brand-new bartending tools, were placed on the table. Luo Fan stretched his neck a couple of times and then prepared to resume the work he hadn't done for several months.

Grey Goose vodka, Alexander Julesfino sherry, William & Humbert semi-dry sherry, Giffard Roussillon apricot liqueur, Big Regina liqueur, two drops of salt solution...

These are all rare finds, and the cocktails they require are types that very few people have ever heard of. Compared to famous cocktails like Martinis and Margaritas, they pale in comparison, but their names and flavors have a very special rhythm.

Of course, there's also the inevitable casual conversation during bartending...

"Enterprise, Essex, Eugen, do you know, actually over a hundred miles away, our friends, several ship girls who were here before you arrived, are resting in a building with shattered glass. At this time, they're probably still wondering how I'm doing here..."

"You mean besides everyone here, there are other people here... in this world, right?"

The company nodded and asked a question.

"Yes, not only ship girls, but also tactical dolls. Kaga and the others know this. You can think of them as similar to your army. They came here in a special way, just like you. They, along with the other ship girls, had to stay there temporarily because of their missions. I also sent you here because of special mission requirements."

With the ingredients proportions complete, Lovan began mixing, adding ice to the ingredients, stirring well, and straining into a chilled Nora glass. Surprisingly, there wasn't a complicated shaker process...

"To be honest, the situation is actually quite complicated right now, not as harmonious as it is in the port area. We are engaged in a life-or-death struggle with a group of unseen enemies. I have called you here like this more than once, with the aim of accomplishing those goals that I cannot achieve on my own. To my shame, I have not been able to let each of them sit in such a bright environment and have a drink in peace before the battle begins."

The first cup was ready. Served with a lemon peel roll, Lovan presented it to Eugen, who took it and sipped it...

A truly unique flavor, with dried fruit and nuts, contained within the initial explosion of taste on the vodka. The brain seems to tense up for a moment, like lying in bed listening to your partner tell a dramatic story, only to have them simply smile and tell you...

"We'll talk about it next time..."

"Yes, I didn't even have time to apologize to them. The whistling bullets kept me looking around. Even if I had time to apologize, their answers were almost identical: they all told me not to take it to heart. We know each other too well. We're used to this brutal war. We find joy in each other's misery, but when it comes to serious entertainment and relaxation, most of the time it's just, 'We'll talk about it next time...'"

Luo Fan smiled wryly, then served the mixed drinks to them one by one, completely unaware that Eugen behind him was frowning slightly.

The wine went down my throat, leaving an indescribable bitterness, much like the end of a story. It wasn't just the regret of not being able to hear the whole thing, the abrupt ending, but also a sigh for the story's plot...

The girls took the wine glasses and drank together.

"Cough...!"

Essex choked and the company quickly helped her up: "Are you alright?"

“It’s nothing, Senior Enterprise, uh…” Essex shook her head: “Sorry, Commander, I rarely drink strong liquor like this, but the craftsmanship is excellent.”

"Well, thank you."

Luo Fan placed his hands on the table, his smile very kind. While tasting the wine, the ship girls secretly marveled at Luo Fan's amazing skills. Such a special flavor could be presented in such a special way, just like the special magic of embedding alcohol between the lines. His story was as moving as his wine.

"Ah, after saying so much, it all boils down to one sentence: I'm sorry to have called you all here in this way, and I'm also sorry that I couldn't prepare a special and happy time for you."

Luo Fan took off his coat and put it aside. Then he took his glass of wine and drank it down in one gulp. The spicy taste instantly sobered him up, but the bitter aftertaste made him frown. He wondered if it was because he was impressed by the flavor or because he was not satisfied with the bitter ending.

"By the way, the fault lies with me (Mea Culpa), that's the name of this cocktail."

Feeling an inexplicable weight behind him, he glanced sideways and saw Eugen lying on top of him, smiling faintly...

607 Solving Problems and Alleviating Difficulties

Vodka dominated the cocktail this time, and the ship girls present weren't exactly heavy drinkers; they needed to help each other out to leave smoothly. "The fault lies with me," which certainly lived up to its name. By getting others drunk, they forgot about the faults and conflicts in the dizzying moment. At that point, it didn't matter who was at fault.

However, there is one exception...

After settling everyone in, Luo Fan slowly closed the door. There was only one room on the sixteenth floor, so he would have to sleep with them later. However, Luo Fan was still quite sober, so he planned to go back to the bar and have a few more drinks.

"Commander, it seems like it's time for bed."

He hadn't walked more than a few steps when someone called out to him. Turning back, Eugen leaned against the door, smiling knowingly.

"Hmph..." Luo Fan shrugged: "It's adults' nap time now, let's sleep and talk about it later."

"Oh? The Commander thinks he's reached the age where he can get completely drunk?"