Roon x Nero (kinda) (no cringy sex ahead)

ARC II Part 10 (Continued)

ARC II Chapter 10 (Continued)
The commander began doing his paperwork and after 7 AM, all the different secretaries gradually entered the office one after the other. The first secretary to arrive was Gneisenau, followed shortly after by Trieste.
"Well girls, welcome to the world of bureaucracy. After everyone of you has arrived, I'll explain the generic rules which you'll have to follow when working with or for me. Don't worry though, there aren't that many." He welcomed Gneisenau and Trieste.
"What shall we do for you for the time being?" Trieste asked.
"Before you do anything, let's wait for the rest of the bunch to arrive." He answered.
All the other secretaries arrived by 7:13 AM in the following order: Béarn, Essex and Howe.
"I'm sorry for being late!" Howe exclaimed once she had seen that everyone else was there before her.
"No need to apologize. Both Essex and Béarn also did so and you three looked quite intimidated for this reason... But really, you shouldn't worry about being late at all. Of course I'm not saying you can come here whenever you want, but I can let it slide if it's accidental." The commander stood up.
"Now that everyone's here, I can introduce you to my 'terms and conditions', so to speak. You are expected to be here by 7:05 AM: however, if anyone of you has any trouble being punctual due to whatever reason, please notify me about it. Although what I'm about to say should be obvious, in case you are unable to work due to particular physical conditions, do not show up here and let me know about your health via phone. It's very important that none of you works too much and that everyone shares an equal workload. Be respectful and kind towards each other at all times and avoid any fight: starting or encouraging one are both unacceptable behaviors and those who do so will be dealt with properly. Another important thing you must keep in mind is that communication is fundamental: do not be afraid to speak your mind and occasionally criticize my work or someone else's, as long as your criticism is constructive and aimed towards improvement. For any questions you might have about anything related to your job, I will do my best to give you the answers you seek. If there is something you are not capable of doing, ask me or any colleague for directions. If you are tired after working hard, do not hesitate to tell me and take a break. Moreover, external help is accepted as long as it is completely voluntary: for example, if a ship who isn't a secretary offers her help to you, it's up to you whether you accept it or not. If you accept, do make sure that this ship isn't an obstacle to the correct execution of your job. If she is, kindly tell her about it and dismiss her politely. To summarize, in order to know how to have a correct conduct, the key is to rely on common sense. I know I talked too much, but there is one more essential thing you need to know." While saying this last sentence, the commander's mood visibly became very serious; "I know some of you here have never had anything to do with me... so you know almost nothing about me. But one thing you must be aware of... is that I do not intend to follow the example of my father." He looked at them all for a dozen of seconds in silence before resuming: "Is that clear?"
The secretaries stared at him as they were caught off guard by that sudden change of atmosphere. The commander's father was a particularly unpleasant topic not only for the commander himself, but also for the ships, who had to deal with him. But ultimately, all the secretaries nodded their heads.
"Good. That is the most important thing you need to know." He said before sitting back down, "Now then, today is a particular day: I have very important things to say to everyone in the Azur Lane. Therefore, your first job is to go into your respective dormitories and gather every single ship. Do not worry about Japan and China, I will take care of them." He commanded before standing up once again and walking in front of his desk, where all the secretaries were lined up next to each other.
"The 'operation' begins now. Make sure to gather everyone, and wake up the sleeping girls if there are any." He said before leaving his office and setting sail towards the Asian island.

After reaching his destination, the commander started walking towards the residence of Musashi, the flagship of the Imperial Japanese Navy. As he walked, he thought that it had been a long time since he had visited the Asian island of the Azur Lane. Fortunately he still remembered it since he used to spend time there often during his childhood, eliminating the risk of getting lost. He had always loved that island and he wished he had more time to visit it: but now, with a war most likely coming, he'd have even less time for leisure. The cherry blossoms slowly gliding down to the ground reminded him of the happy days he would spend together with his mother before she died. He had to thank her and only her for not having followed his father's horrendous example of a leader. She taught him to be kind, selfless and understanding, and even though she did not want him to be forced to take his father's place, she had always supported her son and loved him as much as she could. Thanks to her admirable efforts, our commander was shaped into a considerate and sensible person. However, his mother was a human being as well and she couldn't stand the pain of seeing her precious child being forced to become a person he did not want to be. Since she had married his father, her life had slowly fallen apart and her only joy, her only reason to exist was her child. But some days after her son had officially replaced his father as the Commander of the Azur Lane, she had fallen into an irremediable depression and committed suicide. But before taking her own life, she had written a note for her beloved son. Our commander will never forget the content of that note and he still conserves it in his room.