CH 11

Another ko-fi bonus!

At 5:10 p.m. capital time, Oddo parked the hovercar at the gate of the palace and walked towards the meeting hall under the guidance of the Chief Steward, Rowlett.

After bringing the person to the meeting hall, Rowlett bowed slightly and then retreated, leaving only Leiden Clarice, who was sitting at the head, and Oddo, who was standing there at the same place.

“Sit down. Rowlett said you have something very important to report to me about the mermaid?” Leiden pointed to the seat beside him, signaling for Oddo not to be so restrained.

He’s much more casual outside of work hours than at work, and the day’s meetings and various documents didn’t involve any idiots that make his blood pressure soar. Oddo doesn’t usually bother except urging him to match with a mermaid once a year. His trouble and this year’s urging quota have already been used up.

All in all, Leiden was in a pretty good mood right now.

Then he saw Oddo looking at him with a solemn expression.

Leiden’s originally relaxed expression instantly froze on his face. No way, something really happened? His golden eyes were fixed on Oddo, who was organizing his words.

“What’s going on?” Oddo came to him only because of the mermaid’s affairs, but the mermaid center is supposed to be safe from accidents, and the patrol layout there is arranged by him personally, so if something goes wrong, then he should just quit his job.

“Your Majesty, it’s like this.” Oddo looked into his sharp eyes, and a few drops of cold sweat broke out from the forehead at some point, “Our keeper accidentally discovered a very unusual mermaid in the sea today. He would take the initiative to provide spiritual counseling to people. He has a very gentle personality and would actively cooperate with our inspection.”

“Isn’t that good?” Listening to his description, Leiden had a rare change of heart toward mermaids. When he was forced to match with mermaids before, he was really fed up with the group of fish who could easily tear people’s eardrums apart with their crying.

“However, we haven’t found a gene that can match this mermaid in the gene pool, plus he’s acting like he’s been trained…” Oddo said hesitantly, “I have some suspicions that this is a Federation-trained mermaid who was released into the Empire Sea, although no abnormalities have been detected so far.”

After finishing speaking, with the sound of Leiden tapping the table lightly, Oddo took out the medical examination report and the storage device containing the test results from the space button and handed them over.

“The results are all here. I have placed this mermaid alone in Area D. Do you have any follow-up arrangements?”

The storage device can be directly connected to the optical computer for viewing. Leiden glanced at it and then grabbed the paper physical examination report.

As soon as he read the first line, he was stunned.

“16 years old?” Leiden felt a little surprised when he saw this: “He’s still underage?”

Has the Federation gone to this level of inhumane hysteria? Sending a precious mermaid who was not yet an adult as a tool against the Empire.

And being able to produce results in training shows that this mermaid’s IQ isn’t low. Obviously, he can be matched with some generals to help them with spiritual counseling, and the effect will definitely not be bad.

It’s not worth sending out such a precious and intelligent mermaid as a tool.

After roughly explaining his analysis of the pros and cons to Oddo, Leiden confirmed: “Are you sure you can’t find a matching gene in the gene pool, nor can you find his previous activity track?”

Oddo firmly shook his head.

Seeing this, Leiden pondered for a moment before his palm gently exerted force, and the storage device and the medical examination report in his hand were instantly turned into crumbs. He turned his head and asked, “Did you disconnect from the Internet while using the machine?”

After seeing Oddo nod, he explained: “Observe alone for a period of time first. If there’s no problem, let him live with a few other mermaids for a period of time and then observe again. If there’s no abnormal behavior,…”

“Then give him an ID code according to the normal discovery process, get his ID information ready for matching, and I’ll arrange for a few people to attend then.”

It’s best if there’s no problem. Otherwise, he will have to contact their key figures before he can discover their intentions.

“Did you remember the process of identity registration?”

In recent years, fewer and fewer wild mermaids have been discovered, and it’s only because this mermaid is somewhat abnormal that they are alerted. In the past, there would be mermaids that were either found on their own or discovered by the keepers every three to five days. At that time, the mermaid center had a complete identity registration process.

“No problem.” After receiving instructions from his superior and knowing that the underage little mermaid could be treated normally, Oddo felt his shoulders lighten instantly. He stroked his beard and agreed with a smile.

“By the way, Your Majesty, although I have already reminded you this year, since we are here today, then…”

Leiden’s mental state became more unstable year by year, and manic episodes became much more frequent than before. This made Oddo can’t help but start talking again.

“…Impossible; my situation is not that bad.”

Leiden frowned coldly and stiffly, but seeing the worried little old man across the room, he still said helplessly, “Besides, it’s not like you don’t know how the little group of mermaids react when they see me every time I go to the matching center.”

As long as the two are in the same room, those little guys will start crying as if they’re about to pass out, and the keepers will break in and take him to watch the surveillance, zooming in frame by frame from start to finish to see if he’s threatening or intimidating them.

In the end, without exception, the surveillance clearly captured that he was standing in military posture ten meters away from the mermaid every time. Then the keeper would send him out with an embarrassing apology and gently remind him that he can put away the battlefield-specific gunpowder smell when he comes to the match next time.

“…”

Oddo also fell silent when he thought of the troubles he had caused repeatedly before.

“How nice it would be if…” if that new mermaid had no problem. That kid just doesn’t look like he’s going to be afraid of His Majesty.

“No if.” Leiden saw what he was thinking and interrupted him directly. He doesn’t think he can take good care of the pampered mermaid, and he doesn’t think there will be any mermaid who can get close to him and accept him from the bottom of his heart.

Forcing a mermaid to match up with someone he doesn’t like is an act of abuse, and the emperor of the Empire wouldn’t do such a thing for his own selfishness.

“Well, if you insist.” The determination and resistance in Leiden’s eyes didn’t seem to be fake. Oddo sighed and planned to get up and leave, saying, “But at least accept the spiritual counseling from other primary beastmen. The Empire cannot do without you.”

After the brief period of peace between the Empire and the Federation, the rumor that His Majesty Leiden was brutal and warlike began to spread on the Internet, and it was widely spread. Many residents of the Empire believed this statement. They were in awe, but at the same time, there was no trust or dependence from the heart.

But only those who have had real contact with him will know how much His Majesty usually cares about his people.

“I will.”  Leiden nodded and called Rowlett in.

“Lead him out.”

Five minutes later, Rowlett returned to the meeting hall.

He turned on the automatic cleaning robot in the corner of the room and walked towards the door with Leiden.

The noise of the robot cleaning up the dust echoed in the empty conference hall. The chief steward in the butler uniform looked at the pale-faced Leiden and asked, “Does Your Majesty want to go to dinner first or go straight back to the bedchamber to rest? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”

Looking at the chief steward who brought him up from a young age, Leiden sighed, “Go and eat; everything is ready; it would be a waste not to eat.”

The sound of leather shoes landing on the floor was clearly visible in the empty corridor as Leiden told Rowlett what Oddo said about the mermaid: “Do you think this could be a scheme of the Federation?”

Could it be that the group of shrewd and treacherous federal people can’t tell how much benefit a mermaid with unlimited growth potential can bring? Or is it that his impact on the empire far exceeds the value he can bring through spiritual counseling…

Rowlett looked at His Majesty, who rarely showed such emotion of confusion, and smiled, “If Your Majesty is so worried, why didn’t you personally become the match for that mermaid instead of choosing to let one of your men go? If this is really a conspiracy from the Federation, is there anyone in the entire empire who is more familiar with their methods and stronger than Your Majesty?”

“I knew you were going to say this again… “I wonder if you talked about it with Oddo behind my back at an old party.” Leiden spoke after a moment of silence.

“Ah, is it because the previous few experiences were too embarrassing, so you don’t want to step into the gate of the Mermaid Center again? Or does Your Majesty feel that your several years of military service have made you incompatible with those delicate Miss and Mr. Mermaid? Or perhaps it is that…

Rowlett paused for a moment and then continued: “Or is it that although Our Majesty has led troops to win several battles, he’s still a middle-aged youth who wants to save face in the depths of his heart, imagining that he can overcome genetic diseases and achieve self-healing achievements and then be included in the top ten medical wonders of the interstellar world for generations to come?”

Since he avoided talking about this topic, Rowlett began to expose his black history, speaking faster and faster, in order to provoke him to go find a match.

Just because His Majesty can fool that old fellow Oddo doesn’t mean that he can also fool him.

At the beginning of the bestialization, because of the mutation in the direction of the black dragon, it was difficult for him to suppress the restlessness of the spiritual sea. After several years of war with the Federation, his spiritual sea is full of wounds.

The steward still had a kind smile on his face, but Leiden was already cursing in his heart.

Of course he could see what the steward meant, but that didn’t prevent him from feeling embarrassed, “Grandpa Rowlett! I’m going to eat first! If you are not hungry, you can walk slowly at the back by yourself!”

After finishing speaking, the Emperor of the Empire, who always had a cold face and a calm posture, walked towards the dining room with big strides. The heels of his military boots frequently knocked on the floor, and he tore off the obstructive cloak behind him and put it in the crook of his arm.

The older manager followed him slowly at his own pace, not thinking at all that there was anything wrong with what he said just now.

Now that the average lifespan is 200 years, His Majesty, who is 24 years old, is certainly still a young man. He’s already being considerate enough that he didn’t call him a teenager.

Rowlett thought confidently.

Hua: The update will be every Sunday from next week on.