Chapter 840: Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit
Perhaps foxes have more sensitive noses, at least that's what Qin Ge felt. Before he could finish chatting with Musashi, Tiancheng and others came over.
However, Akagi and Kaga were not seen among the visitors at that time. I heard from Amagi that they seemed to have gone to discuss things with the Sakura Empire camp. Although they are no longer the leaders here, their fame and prestige are still there, so the Sakura Empire high-level officials had to give them face.
The leisurely time passed quickly, and the afternoon was over in a blink of an eye. Since the banquet invited by Nagato was to start in the evening, my brother returned to his room after dinner in the afternoon, took a short rest, changed into his commander's uniform, and went to the venue of the banquet with the ship girls.
Qin Ge originally thought that it would be at the shrine where Nagato was, but it seemed that it was not, but in a hotel controlled by the Sakura Maritime Bureau. Speaking of which, the shrine is a solemn place, and it is indeed not suitable for holding a welcome banquet like this.
Of course, there was something Qin Ge had expected, that is, although Nagato was the initiator of the banquet, it was Hiei who hosted the banquet, which was exactly the same as Qin Ge's Minato area.
Shokaku, Zuikaku and others who attended the banquet were also dressed in their best attire, and it was obvious that they attached great importance to this welcome banquet. As for Nagato, she wore the same shrine maiden costume that never changed. Perhaps it was a bit difficult for someone like her to wear a formal dress.
"Welcome Commander Qin Ge to the welcome banquet in Chongqing, but the badge on you looks a little scary." Ruihe welcomed him with a smile, and said with some surprise when he first saw the badge on Qin Ge.
"Yes, at a glance, among the nine camps, except for the highest medal of honor of our Sakura Empire, all the other camps' medals of honor have been collected! This kind of achievement has never been achieved by anyone, not even us, the ship girls.
But then again, Commander Qin Ge deserves this honor. If it weren't for your rescue last time , I'm afraid the current situation of the Sakura Empire would be ten thousand times worse than expected." Xianghe nodded and said with emotion.
"Haha, since my commander is already excellent, shouldn't the Sakura Empire also show some appreciation? After all, the other eight factions have already given corresponding honors. If the Sakura Empire doesn't give any, then it would be unreasonable, right?"
At this time, Akagi, holding a wine glass, came over from the other side and looked at Shokaku and Zuikaku with a provocative look.
"Oh, isn't this your senior? What you are talking about is an internal matter. We will make a decision after careful consideration. And you are now the ship girl of Commander Qin Ge. You are an outsider to the Sakura Empire. It is better to restrain yourself in matters like this." Shokaku looked at Akagi and retorted without any politeness.
"Hmph, your mouth is still as hard as before." Akagi frowned.
"This is all thanks to our seniors' teaching. They just walked away from the position they were supposed to guard. Otherwise, how could we, the younger generations, get to this position now?" Xianghe said with a smile. The resentment in his tone made Qin Ge feel ashamed.
However, he couldn't get a word in now. After all, although Akagi's decision to leave Sakura Empire was her own, Qin Ge's decision was also involved. Saying something now would only add fuel to the fire.
"Heh, I'm just looking for something more real. And if I weren't there, do you think my commander would have gone to Sakura Empire to help immediately? At that time, Sakura Empire's losses would have been even greater than they are now.
So even though I left Sakura Empire, I am still protecting it, unlike some of my juniors who are in the same position but have caused Sakura Empire's current strength to plummet." Akagi did not show any weakness and retorted.
"Uh." Looking at the performance of these two people, Qin Ge felt a little overwhelmed. Just when he was wondering if he should still stand here, a figure walked over with a smile. It was Hiei, the host of this Sakura Empire banquet.
"Excuse me for disturbing you two, but the banquet is about to begin. If you have anything to say, you can wait until the opening ceremony is over and find a private place to talk about it." Hiei said to Akagi and Shokaku who were being sarcastic to each other.
Then, ignoring the reactions of Akagi and Shokaku, he turned his gaze to Qin Ge, "Commander Qin Ge, in order to thank you for leading the fleet to help the Sakura Empire, Lord Nagato will award you the Sakura Empire's highest honor medal, the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sakura Empire, at this banquet. So, please lend me a cloth and go to the center with me to start the entire banquet together."
Qin Ge smiled and said, "Thank you very much for Nagato's kindness, and thank you very much for your information, Hiei. Then let's go together."
"Okay, please come this way, Commander Qin Ge." Hiei smiled and led Qin Ge away from this place of constant conflict.
The two of them walked all the way to the high platform of the banquet venue, and then Birui took the microphone and said to the venue, "Welcome everyone to participate in the dinner prepared by the Sakura Empire to welcome Commander Qin Ge. In fact, this banquet should have been held earlier, but due to some delays, it can only be officially held now.
When Ren attacked, the Sakura Empire suffered huge losses. If it weren't for Commander Qin Ge and the ship girls who appeared in time, the Sakura Empire's losses would have been even greater than it is now.
Therefore, in order to thank Commander Qin Ge, this banquet alone was not enough to express the respect of the Sakura Empire for him. After high-level discussions, our Lord Godson Nagato was ready to award Commander Qin Ge with the highest medal of the Sakura Empire as a reward.
This is the highest respect from our Sakura Empire, and it is also to commend Commander Qin Ge's noble qualities of selfless dedication and heroic fighting. Now let us welcome Lord Nagato."
After a round of applause, Nagato, dressed in a shrine maiden's costume, slowly walked from the back of the venue to the stage, and then stood in front of Qin Ge, holding a small box in her hand.
She opened the box, revealing a golden medal inside. On the five-colored petals was the emblem of the Sakura Empire. This was the highest medal of the Sakura Empire, the Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit.
"As the Son of God of the Sakura Empire, I represent all of the Sakura Empire today in awarding Commander Qin Ge the highest medal of honor. I hope this medal, which carries our respect, can thank Commander Qin Ge for his contribution to the Sakura Empire. I also hope that this medal can continue to inspire Commander Qin Ge to continue to fight bravely and implement the core of Azur Lane."
Changmen held the medal in his hand and spoke to Qin Ge very solemnly. Qin Ge was also moved by this scene and saluted Changmen.
Then Nagato put the medal in his hand on Qin Ge's chest. However, because Qin Ge was taller, Nagato looked a little cute and funny when he stood on tiptoe, but the result was good.
"Haha, the awarding ceremony is over. Now the time belongs to everyone . I hope you have a pleasant night!"
