Chapter 1374: Acquaintances, but not very well acquainted

"What did you say?"

After hearing her older brother's words, the female cleaner, who was using a ladle to scoop stew from a bucket, couldn't help but open her mouth wide in shock.

"You want me to be an envoy and represent you at the wedding?"

"Correct, you heard me right."

After nodding with a look of certainty, the current King of the Northern Kingdom raised the long-handled wooden ladle in his hand and pointed it into the air toward his younger sister. While chewing the stew with puffed-out cheeks, he reminded her with a look of utter disdain:

"Meli, hurry up and straighten your napkin. Don't you see the soup is about to stain your clothes? You're a grown woman now, yet you're still so sloppy. What will people think if they see you like this!"

"You have the nerve to lecture me?"

Upon hearing her brother's reprimand, the female cleaner felt a slight flare of annoyance. She immediately threw the wooden ladle back into the bucket, placed one hand on her hip, and pointed at him with the other, shouting angrily:

"Your napkin might be straight, but the soup is hanging right off your beard. Hurry up and shave off that thicket of facial hair! It's absolutely disgusting!"

"Hmph, child."

Picking up another napkin from the side to wipe his beard, and casually plucking a pair of shrimp off it, the burly, blue-haired man snorted coldly:

"What kind of man is a man without a beard? This beard of mine is the symbol of a king!"

"Pah! Hu Zi King! Sloppy King! Filthy King!"

Across the long table filled with various foods, after exchanging a few more words of mutual disdain, the female cleaner finished the stew in the bucket first, then spoke up with a look of dissatisfaction:

"There's an emergency mission at the Bureau; I've been busy lately. Is it absolutely necessary for me to go to this so-called wedding of yours?"

"It's not that I want you to go, but as a Princess, you must go!"

The blue-haired young man raised his head upon hearing this, wiped the red vegetable juice from the corner of his mouth, and emphasized with a serious expression:

"Meli, although peace is maintained on the surface, we only fought a war with them six years ago, and there have been no shortage of small frictions over the years. We are genuine enemies!"

Right now, they have obtained the inheritance of the Koroque Kingdom. Besides high-quality population, they have also gained a large amount of advanced technology. Once they digest these things and clear up their domestic conflicts, a war between our two sides is practically inevitable!"

"Therefore, we must find a way to intervene early and grab a piece of the cake from their hands. At the very least, we must unite with several other kingdoms to force them to share some key technologies. To achieve this, an envoy who is a direct member of the royal family, representing the King's will, is essential!"

"Oh..."

Looking at her brother's tightly set face, knowing that there was likely no room for negotiation on this matter, the female cleaner couldn't help but pout, but she still couldn't help muttering:

"Why are you thinking about starting a war again... A war will kill so many people. Can't we just not fight?"

"We cannot."

The blue-haired young man frowned upon hearing this, swallowed the pizza in his mouth, and educated her with a serious face:

"War will kill many people, but if we don't fight, even more might die. Some wars must be fought!"

"For example, six years ago, it was highly probable that they had internal chaos. They might not have truly intended to cut off the trade routes and shipping lanes. The war didn't have to be that large, but Father still insisted on leading the campaign while dragging his sick body, and in the end, he nearly died on the battlefield. Do you remember why?"

"I remember... Father seemed to mention it a few times, saying it was because of some Deer Pass and Frozen Port?"

"It was the mountain pass that secures part of the Kingdom's grain and vegetable supply, and the ice-free port that allows for the normal transport of coal and other fuels during winter!"

"Although they have always appeared very gentle, they are actually holding our lifeline. Previously, nearly two-fifths of our needs had to pass through there, and we were fleeced for a huge sum every year! If we couldn't take advantage of their internal chaos to attack and seize these places, we would be forever at their mercy!"

Turning the table knife in his hand, he tapped the table heavily twice with the silver handle, and the blue-haired young man scolded with dissatisfaction:

"Meli! You are a Princess with the right of succession. Even if you have no interest in these things, you must try to understand them!"

"Don't forget, your nephews are only three years old at the oldest. If I die before they come of age, you will have to take my place! By then, even if someone assists you, you yourself must be able to handle some government affairs!"

"Ugh! So annoying, so annoying!"

Not expecting to be lectured while just trying to eat a meal, the female cleaner angrily stabbed a large piece of steak, bit into it fiercely as if biting some annoying person, and then glared back with puffed-out cheeks:

"I don't want to take your place! Great-Uncle even said that I am a natural cleaner. I shouldn't be like you, wasting my unparalleled talent and squandering my life on scheming with those nobles. I should be doing something more meaningful!"

"Hmph!" Hearing the female cleaner mention that Great-Uncle, the blue-haired young man's face darkened, and he said with a sneer:

"What talent or no talent? To me, the most meaningful thing is to be a good king, to lead the tribes, large and small, that support and follow me, so that we don't have a large group of people freezing or starving to death every year, instead of joining the Cleaning Bureau's..."

When he reached this point, the blue-haired young man paused slightly, glanced at the female cleaner who had also stopped eating, a flash of regret crossing his eyes. He then lowered his head, speared a piece of pizza, and said while chewing:

"Forget it, I don't even want to talk to you... Where is Great-Uncle? Why didn't he come to eat?"

"Great-Uncle has things to attend to."

After pursing her lips slightly, the female cleaner, whose mood seemed a bit low, turned her gaze away and answered somewhat distractedly:

"News came from the Bureau that the Water Bottle Branch is very dangerous here and might cause a very serious disaster, so they requested reinforced security while waiting for support. Uncle Grandfather went to inspect the underground hot river."

Underground Hot River?

Upon hearing this, the knife and fork in the blue-haired young man's hand paused, and he raised his head, frowning:

"So the recent anomalies in the Underground Hot River are not due to natural or human causes, but are problems from 'your side'?"

"It's not clear yet, but it's highly likely."

The female cleaner said with some uncertainty:

"Great-Uncle left in a bit of a hurry and didn't tell me exactly what the situation was. He only requested that seniors above Level 2 try not to leave the Hot River City area and wait for Li Ang to come and accept his command."

!.

"Li Ang?"

"A cleaner sent by the General Bureau to support us. His talent is much better than mine... Oh, right!"

Mentioning a certain cheat-like talent monster, the female cleaner pouted, then as if suddenly remembering something, she proposed:

"I won't be with the main group when I return. Li Ang happens to be a cleaner from the Virgo Branch. If you insist on me being the envoy, I can just return with him after I finish the mission."

Li Ang... Virgo Branch... Cleaner... Kingdom...

After savoring this familiar name, the blue-haired young man's brow furrowed.

"That Li Ang... is the cleaner sent by the Cleaning Bureau to support you and help solve the Underground Hot River problem?"

"Yes!"

The female cleaner nodded, then said while chewing steak:

"Don't worry, I've met Li Ang. We can be considered acquaintances. Although he has a few too many tricks up his sleeve, I feel he's actually a pretty good person."

You've met? And you're acquaintances?

After hearing the female cleaner's words, the blue-haired young man's brow not only didn't relax, but furrowed even tighter.

"Then did he tell you that he is getting married soon?"

"Ah?"

The female cleaner was stunned upon hearing this.

"He doesn't look much older than me? Is he already getting married?"

"..."

This acquaintance of yours... doesn't seem very well acquainted...

Looking at his foolish younger sister who looked surprised, the blue-haired young man nodded and said with utter speechlessness:

"Don't you know? The wedding I'm asking you to attend is his wedding!"

"..."

(*Д*)? ！！！

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1375 =====