Luo Qingyan's smile froze on her face, her lips twitching. "What, you didn't have enough fun in Xiangchu last time, and you're still thinking about your uniform!"
Lin Ran stretched lazily. "You bet!"
"The desire for uniforms is definitely every man's lifelong dream and pursuit!"
"It's already good that I haven't made you cosplay and role-play every day. I'm quite content!"
Luo Qingyan's face froze further. "Then I should thank you, shouldn't I?"
Lin Ran laughed heartily. "Thanking me is a bit too much, but if you insist on thanking me, it's not impossible."
"It's just that saying such things now is a bit premature."
"If you want to thank me, let's talk about it later when we get back to the hotel and are in bed!"
With that, Lin Ran's hand slid from Luo Qingyan's lower abdomen, and he lifted her around the waist. Before Luo Qingyan could let out a soft cry, Lin Ran summoned a hoverbike from his soul ring, placed Luo Qingyan in front of the bike, and then enveloped the entire bike with the illusion formation of the Eternal Kaleidoscope.
"Let's go, dinner first. I'll take you this time!"
"But on the way, we can have a little appetizer first..."
As he spoke, Lin Ran also straddled the bike and sat behind Luo Qingyan, pressing tightly against her smooth and fair back. He whispered in her ear, "By the way, on the road, you need to find the correct socket, okay?"
"Otherwise, if the plug isn't inserted into the correct socket, and with the bumps on the road, it might break easily!"
Luo Qingyan's pretty face immediately turned red. Embarrassed and angry, she struggled, wanting to jump off the motorcycle before Lin Ran could do anything. But since Lin Ran had already decided to do this, he naturally wouldn't give her a chance to escape.
He gently wrapped his left arm around her agile and firm waist, and his right hand slid down her back, unfastening a restraint that was enough to accommodate something foreign. Then, he adjusted Luo Qingyan's upper body to a 45-degree forward tilt, lifted it about twenty-five centimeters high, and after aligning it, he forcefully lowered himself.
"Uh... Mmm..."
Luo Qingyan, who had been about to say something, suddenly felt as if all her strength had been drained. She weakly leaned against the motorcycle, using her hands to support the weight of her upper body, only able to let out meaningless grunts.
...
Late at night.
Sakura Country.
Kyushu Island.
Sakura Imperial Palace.
Side Hall.
"Patriarch Tanaka, you're saying that we should recruit this Dragon Countryman, Lin Ran, and have him lead us to revival?!"
On the throne, a young man with long hair, wearing a yellow robe, and with unnaturally pale skin, spoke with displeasure. Below him, a group of people in various attires, yet all noble and luxurious, were arranged on the left, center, and right. They all had serious expressions and furrowed brows, lost in thought.
Tanaka Ken'a stood at the forefront of the left group, nodding slightly. "Reporting to Your Majesty, that is indeed my intention."
The young man snorted, took a deep breath, and gripped the armrest of his throne so hard that it creaked. He then fell silent.
This person, whom Tanaka Ken'a addressed as His Majesty, was naturally the new emperor and leader of Sakura Country—Kanna Miyaji. Kanna Miyaji was an emperor of considerable talent and aptitude. In the four years since his enthronement at the age of eighteen, under his leadership, the entire Sakura Country had shed its past twilight years and regained its youthful vitality. With his strong methods and performance, Kanna Miyaji had quickly won over the civil and military officials and the heads of major clans who had initially not thought highly of him. Not only had he gained their recognition and support, but he had also re-unified Sakura Country, which was on the verge of disintegration.
However, the biggest problem facing Sakura Country's development remained unsolved. The intervention and obstruction from the Lighthouse Country were still a lingering shadow over them. Without dispelling this shadow, Sakura Country could never become a truly normal country. But how easy was it to clear the clouds and see the blue sky? The Lighthouse Country's influence on Sakura Country was so deep that it had suppressed every corner of their development.
After nearly a hundred years of lessons learned, they realized that slow development through stealth and subterfuge was merely chronic death and stagnation. To completely change this, they needed to detonate it with a strong and thunderous hand! But doing so would be almost like a gamble of national destiny, walking on the edge of an abyss. If successful, Sakura could break free from the Lighthouse's control, take charge, and regain its former glory. But if they failed... Sakura Country would be even more miserably carved up than it was now, ten times over!
Furthermore, with the increasing frequency of fierce beasts and alien races in recent years, the risk of initiating change had also grown. Even though Kanna Miyaji genuinely wished to end all this quickly, he had never been able to make the final decision. For them, this was a move that could only succeed, not fail. Therefore, before taking action, they had to gather as many chips as possible.
After four years of harsh reality checks, Kanna Miyaji clearly understood the strength of the enemies they faced. This also made him increasingly open to various opinions. His once impetuous and fierce temper upon ascending the throne had mellowed considerably. Otherwise, just Tanaka Ken'a's words would have infuriated the Kanna Miyaji of his early reign to the point of near death.
However, while Kanna Miyaji could endure, the other civil and military officials could not. A civil official in the middle row immediately jumped out with an unsightly expression. "Patriarch Tanaka, look at what you're saying! Instead of using the heroes of our Great Sakura Empire, you want to use an outsider?!"
"Not to mention, this outsider is from Dragon Country!"
"Do you still remember the war between us and Dragon Country five hundred years ago? How many people died then!"
"And the defeat in that war was also a significant factor leading to our current predicament!"
"And you!"
"Today, you can utter such treasonous words in court..."
"Are you worthy of the soldiers who died on the battlefield?!"
"I... I... I..."
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! We absolutely cannot agree to Patriarch Tanaka's suggestion!"
In the court of Sakura Country, there were three factions: the spokespersons for the noble families, the civil officials, and the military generals. These three often looked down on each other. It was no wonder they would immediately jump out and attack Tanaka Ken'a when he proposed an idea that seemed utterly preposterous to them!