Chapter 904: 502 Swap the Host

Phew… hosting envoys is such a hassle…

Unaware that the envoy he had hosted today had already set his sights on him, Prince Andre of the Krook Kingdom, after a full day of hard work, pushed open the door to his room with a body that wasn’t particularly tired.

"Big Brother Andre~"

The moment the door swung open, a crisp voice rang out from inside.

After squinting, the third prince saw a beautiful girl with fair skin turn her head from a large lounge chair by the window, her tone laced with playful teasing:

“Aren’t you supposed to be hosting Prince Leon? Why are you back so soon? Didn’t you just ditch the duty again?”

“It’s not exactly ditching.”

With a calm shake of his head, the third prince stepped inside, hanging up his coat as he replied:

“My job was just to greet him. The rest isn’t my concern—he can handle it himself with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. My staying wouldn’t change a thing.”

“So you did ditch it, then?”

The girl blinked her emerald eyes, then grinned mischievously:

“After you agreed to host the envoy, Mother looked so pleased and told me that her favorite son had finally grown up and would surely do his duty this time. Looks like she got overexcited a bit too soon, huh~”

“It’s fine.”

Slowly walking to the window, the third prince stretched his arms out to bask in the afternoon sun, then said with utter indifference:

“It’s her own fault for having such unrealistic expectations. Besides, the entire kingdom is now under the control of the Atphi entities—whether I work hard or not makes no difference. The end result won’t matter anyway… Get up, get up! Move!”

Watching the girl, who had barely moved despite his arrival, cling stubbornly to his lounge chair, the third prince grew impatient and shooed her away:

“If you want to sunbathe, go do it in your own room. Don’t keep stealing my chair!”

“My room’s on the other side! The sun’s almost gone already!”

“Then get another chair. There are guest chairs over there!”

“No way!”

The girl, seemingly thirteen or fourteen, gripped the armrests tightly and shook her head fiercely:

“Those stiff chairs are nowhere near as comfortable as this one! If you want to sit, sit yourself! And move over! You’re blocking my sun!”

Tsk… such a nuisance…

Seeing his sister refuse to budge, clutching the chair like a lifeline, the third prince sighed, resigned, and dragged another chair onto the balcony, settling down with a lazy sigh and closing his eyes.

The sunlight was perfect.

At four-thirty in the afternoon, though no longer scorching, the golden rays streaming through the greenhouse glass still carried a soothing warmth that made the body feel limp and the breath slow naturally.

Unfortunately, this tranquil rest lasted only a few minutes before being interrupted again.

"Big Brother Andre~"

As the prince, having worked for over two hours, began to enjoy the afternoon sun, the girl on the lounge chair beside him shifted her hips closer and kicked his shin with her bare foot, then asked with bright curiosity:

“What’s Prince Leon like?”

Seriously… you’re annoying…

Shooting his sister a glare for interrupting his rest, Prince Andre replied irritably:

“A man.”

“Answer properly!”

Unsatisfied with this dismissive reply, the girl pouted, her emerald eyes blinking:

“If you keep answering like that, I’ll keep bothering you! Every afternoon, when the sun’s best, I’ll come here and take your chair!”

“…”

Such a nuisance…

Knowing his sister was perfectly capable of carrying out that threat—and that his peace would be ruined if he didn’t appease her—Prince Andre sighed and reluctantly answered:

“He’s a strange man. His country’s power isn’t strong, yet his conduct is aggressively assertive, and he seems to harbor deep hostility toward the entire Krook Kingdom.”

“Huh? You mean he hates me?”

Startled by this answer, the girl’s expression turned wounded:

“I’ve never even met him before. I haven’t done anything to him. Why would he hate me?”

“Do you even understand what I’m saying?”

Prince Andre glared at her, exasperated.

“I said he harbors hostility toward the entire Krook Kingdom—not just you personally!”

“But it’s the same thing~”

The girl tilted her head, then traced her fingers over the snowy owl mask resting on the lounge chair, blinking her large eyes:

“Aren’t I, right now, the entire Krook Kingdom?”

“Hmm…”

Hearing this, Prince Andre paused, then nodded slowly:

“Well… that’s technically true. But overall, he gives me a very different impression from the people of the Olesong Kingdom.

The cleaners from Olesong may scheme behind the scenes, but they’re always cautious on the surface, terrified any bold move might draw our attention.

But this man is strange—he accepted a Cleaners Bureau investigation mission, so he should be discreet, yet he acts with brazen openness, speaking and acting loudly at every turn.

Since he landed from the airship, I’ve had people cause him trouble twice. He didn’t even flinch—just shot back immediately, without hesitation. I get the feeling he’s actually looking forward to a confrontation.”

“I see… he really is a strange man.”

Nodding in agreement, the girl tapped the wooden snowy owl mask twice with her slender fingers, then suggested with interest:

"Big Brother Andre, since you don’t want to handle hosting duties anyway, how about I take over tomorrow?"

You’ll take over?

Hearing this, Prince Andre frowned and turned to warn her:

“Atphi, this human is unpredictable. I don’t know if he might harm you. Your body was only just completed—don’t let him damage it.”

“It’s fine. If it breaks, I’ll just make another!”

The girl blinked her emerald eyes and cheerfully counted on her fingers:

“Making a human isn’t hard—about sixty-five percent oxygen, eighteen percent carbon, three percent nitrogen, one point five percent calcium…”

“Some materials are hard to extract, but once you understand human composition, and combine it with those peculiar abnormal objects, making a body becomes simple.”

“...”

“By the way, this body was made so quickly thanks to the weight brought by the Aquarius Director. Without the knowledge inside that weight, I might still be waiting to get a physical form~”

Stretching slightly, the girl rose from the lounge chair and walked to the window, gazing toward District 3 with emerald eyes full of anticipation:

“The Aquarius Director mentioned that the knowledge inside that weight was provided by this Prince Leon. So I’ve wanted to meet him since long, long ago.”