CH 40

“Good day, Your Majesty.”

In the study, Flavin Lavender saluted Clarice respectfully and then was about to tentatively ask why the appointment originally scheduled for next week was suddenly brought forward so many days.

He was a little worried about whether that little bastard Bernie had gotten into something while he didn’t know; after all, he came home yesterday to find Bernie getting beaten up by Bernard again.

Since Bernie turned sixteen, his eldest son has been trying to restrain his fists, except for giving the kid a little lesson on the training ground.

In the evening, when Bernard went to his study to report on his recent work, he asked about it. Bernard hesitated for a moment before telling him that the person Bernie provoked recently might be related to His Majesty Clarice and asking him to inquire about it if he got the chance so that he could give Bernie the right information.

Bernard is now just a small minister in the Ministry of Finance and has not yet had the opportunity to meet His Majesty Clarice alone.

Flavin readily agreed, and if what Bernard said was true, he was also curious about the mysterious man who could stay by the side of the always aloof and uncaring emperor.

Then, just as he had thrown this matter into next week’s to-do list, a special notification sounded on his communicator belonging to the Chief Steward of the Palace, informing him that the appointment was advanced and that he would be ready to see His Majesty tomorrow morning.

Because they have a good personal relationship, the old chief, who is much younger at heart, also sent him an emoji at the end.

Surprised or not surprised. jpg

Flavin: …

Thank you. I didn’t feel happy at all, but I was almost shocked to death.

If it weren’t for the fact that it was already late at night, he would have really almost dragged Bernie out of the room and beat him up!

“Sit down.”

Flavin pulled the chair behind him worriedly after hearing Clarice’s voice. While feeling worried and confused, he could tell that His Majesty’s condition was much better today…

Then, when he looked up with a heart full of doubt, he was shocked by the image in front of him, and all the questions were blocked in his throat.

It’s only been a week, but how did His Majesty’s study change so much?

The shelves that had been placed next to Clarice’s desk and the desk of that old guy Rowlett were moved to the other side, and the bookcase in the back was put next to it. The vacant space was replaced by a huge, water-filled, waterproof, bullet-proof, and explosion-proof… fish tank.

If it was just a fish tank, he wouldn’t be so shocked. After all, there was no law in the empire stipulating that the emperor could not raise an ornamental fish in his study to adjust his mood.

But the problem is… this is a mermaid!

Flavin’s breath was stagnant; looking at the mermaid gracefully wagging his tail in the fish tank, even the wrinkles on his slightly aged face trembled a little. It was the light coughing sound deliberately made by Clarice that made him return to his senses.

But even in the ensuing conversation, his peripheral vision would involuntarily catch a glimpse of the translucent, pale blue tail fin, which had the texture of tulle.

Fortunately, this was just a weekly financial report, and even if he was absent-minded, Flavin, who was very familiar with his work, summarized the completion status of the day’s work every day and smoothly muddled through this conversation.

Before leaving, he saw Clarice standing up and walking to the side of the fish tank. He no longer had the usual indifferent look but gently lowered his head and talked to the mermaid. The hair that was hanging down inadvertently fell into the water and was then pushed back to his coat by the mermaid with a disgusted expression, leaving a water stain on the black clothes.

Are you not angry at all? !

Flavin, who had witnessed His Majesty’s thunderous methods with his own eyes, shook his eyebrows. For a moment, he didn’t know whether he should be surprised at Clarice’s rare indulgence or whether he should be surprised that there’s a mermaid who’s not afraid of Clarice and even shows emotions of closeness and trust.

cough.

After all, the glorious deeds of His Majesty scaring and crying a group of little mermaids every year are actually widely circulated in upper-class circles.

“Let’s go, Mr. Lavender.” After confirming that Ji Mingjiang had perfectly reproduced the mental waves of Flavin Lavender, Leiden used the cover of his body to give the mental power container to Ji Mingjiang. Then he calmly spoke to Flavin, who was already standing at the door.

After sending the person out of the study and walking in the quiet corridor, he felt that Flavin’s restless mental power had calmed down, and then Leiden asked, “Is there anything you wanted to ask me at the beginning?”

He remembered that the expression on Flavin’s face when he first entered the study room was still a little apprehensive and hesitant. It looked like he had something to report or ask, but after being distracted by Ji Mingjiang’s existence, he seemed to forget about it.

Hearing this sentence, Flavin suddenly remembered what his eldest son had entrusted to him, tried his best to organize his words, and asked, “It’s like this, Bernard said that he was very fond of a person he met in the game. He was interested and checked his IP, but he didn’t expect to offend Your Majesty, so he wanted me to apologize on his behalf.”

After saying this, seeing that Clarice just slightly raised his eyebrows, showing no signs of anger, Flavin pretended to ask casually: “I have already taught that child a lesson, but your Majesty, where did you find such a talented person? There was no news at all before; are you planning to send him to the military department?”

Not a person, but a mermaid.

Hearing the temptation in Flavin’s words, Leiden didn’t pay much attention to it. He was willing to be tolerant of such a reform where the new head of the family led the offspring to handle the work seriously and assist the royal family.

Rather than being angry because of this temptation, he paid more attention to Flavin’s last sentence.

After walking out of the corridor, some dazzling sunlight came head-on, and Leiden lowered his eyes thoughtfully.

With Ji Mingjiang’s strength, it would be such a waste of his talents if he didn’t join the military. If he can break through the defense layer of the mecha with one punch in the game, he might be able to tear it apart directly on the battlefield.

How can such a strong person grow a tail!

Thinking of this, Leiden sighed heavily, feeling very depressed.

After Flavin finished those two sentences, he waited for Clarice’s answer. Although he was prepared to be dismissed, when he heard a soft sigh from the man beside him, he still paused.

Under the bright sun, a trace of cold sweat broke out of his temples, bringing a burst of coolness under the blowing of the autumn wind.

Damn, is this a sensitive question that he shouldn’t ask?

“I apologize—”

“It’s okay, I didn’t take that matter to heart—”

“?”

The two voices sounded at the same time, and Leiden looked at Flavin Lavender, who suddenly stopped in his tracks, closed his eyes, and began to apologize in astonishment, feeling completely confused.

The doubtful mood did not delay him from finishing his speech.

“——As for who has such strong talent and physical fitness, if he’s willing, you will know later.”

“Ah…” A gust of cool wind rolled up the white hair on top of Flavin’s head. The little old man, who was ready to be forcefully asked to leave by the guards, opened his eyes after hearing this, looked at Clarice with a puzzled expression on his face, and dryly said, “I thought my question was out of bounds.”

“It’s indeed a bit out of bounds.” Leiden glanced at him, his tone unchanged. “But it’s not that serious.”

“I understood.” The two of them had arrived at the gate of the palace at some point, and the hover car with the Lavender family crest had already stopped outside the cordon. Leiden stopped in his tracks and nodded at Flavin, saying, “Your car has arrived. You can go now.”

After getting into the car, Flavin looked up at the driver’s seat and found that it was Bernard who had driven to pick him up.

After he was seated, the hover car slowly rose into the air. Bernard took the initiative to explain: “I’m a little worried, so I asked for leave to pick you up. How is it? Nothing happened, right?”

But seeing the way the two were talking at the door, this conversation should have gone smoothly. Bernard let go of the heart that had been hanging since the morning, and he threw the quick-acting heart-rescuing pills in his hand back into the storage space in his car.

“His Majesty’s temper is surprisingly good today. He was quite easy to talk to.”

“…?” Hearing his father muttering behind him, Bernard’s hands on the steering wheel shook slightly, and a question mark slowly appeared above his head.

Although he knew that His Majesty was not as cruel and arbitrary as the outside world had always claimed when dealing with obedient nobles and officials, the personality that can freeze people to death and the mental power that floats around all the time to radiate threats were not bluffs. When was he associated with the term “easy to talk to”?

After a moment of silence, Bernard, who couldn’t figure it out, decided to change the subject: “How about that mysterious person? Did his majesty reveal his identity?”

“He didn’t say the specifics, but he didn’t plan to pursue the previous behavior of you and Bernie, so you can do whatever you want in the future.”

Unlike Bernard, who had just worked in the Ministry of Finance for a few years, the old Flavin had worked under Clarice for so many years without incident. On the one hand, it’s because he led the Lavender family to choose the right path. On the other hand, he has a good grasp of Clarice’s mentality when it comes to business.

As long as His Majesty did not clearly express his objection, everything could go on as usual. Even if he does not receive much favor, it will not suddenly displease him.

Although it’s not needed now, Flavin taught the way of getting along with Clarice that he had summed up to the promising Bernard in advance. The man in the driver’s seat nodded very seriously.

…

When Leiden returned to the study, the mental power container that was originally handed over to Ji Mingjiang had been properly placed at the corner of the table, and there was a continuous string of water stains between the table and the fish tank.

He stared at the water stains on the ground in silence for a moment, leaned over, and turned on the cleaning robot nestled in the corner before looking at Ji Mingjiang’s location.

The mermaid, who had been in the fish tank for a whole morning, laid half of his body on the edge of the tank, the fish tail swaying lazily in the water.

He was responding to the message from that annoying little young master with his light brain.

8:00

“Bernie: Big boss, big boss, where are you? I’m already at the gate of the mecha hall, but I didn’t see you!”

8:20

“Bernie: Boss, did you oversleep? Morning practice was over an hour ago at the military academy!”

9:00

“Bernie: You didn’t forget our appointment, did you?”

Probably because he feels like he’ll never receive a message back from the opposite side in his life, from nine o’clock to now, Bernie has been treating the chat box with Ji Mingjiang as a trash can, frantically complaining that his brother beat him up yesterday because of that outrageous post, luckily there’s no pain in the holographic world, etc.

As soon as Ji Mingjiang pulled him out of the blocking list, he was bombarded by this series of messages, and the chat was a bit stuck. The corner of his mouth twitched, trying to suppress the urge to block him again. After all, it was his fault for not saying the time clearly.

“Yuquanquanquan: Not everyone is as free as you; I have a job.”

“Yuquanquanquan: It was my fault that I forgot to mention the specific time yesterday. See you at the entrance of the Mecha Hall at 2:30 this afternoon.”

After sending, after the first emoticon package was sent from the opposite side, Ji Mingjiang quickly threw the person into the blocking list again.

The light brain, which had been vibrating endlessly since it was turned on, finally calmed down. Only then did Ji Mingjiang notice that Clarice seemed a little too quiet after returning.

He looked over suspiciously and said, “Why, something happened on the way to send that old gentleman back?”

After realizing that Clarice didn’t answer his question but was still staring at his tail with a weird look, Ji Mingjiang also followed his gaze and looked down.

Then he heard Clarice say in a hesitant and complicated tone, “Did you just jump out of the fish tank and jump to the table with your tail?” ? ? ?

Ji Mingjiang, who briefly gave himself a three-minute human transformation, had question marks all over his head.

Seeing Clarice’s sincere and admonishing expression that didn’t seem to be fake, Ji Mingjiang also asked with equal caution and concern: “Did I hurt that black dragon when I gave you spiritual counseling yesterday?”

After getting a negative answer, he stretched out his hand and patted Clarice on the shoulder, saying, “You and Marshal Chen Yuanchuan must have a lot in common.”

After finishing speaking, without waiting for Clarice to react, Ji Mingjiang put his other hand on his shoulder, pressing a crease out of Clarice’s originally straight military jacket. Then, with both hands and waist force, he threw himself precisely into the hand that Clarice raised reflexively.

The wet fishtail and hair were hung on the outside of his arms, but they still added a lot of moisture to the dry and refreshing Clarice.

“Let’s go, go back to eat.” Ji Mingjiang sneered, as if in revenge and as if to prove it, at Clarice, who hadn’t realized what had happened.

The author has something to say:

Ji Mingjiang: You’re the one bouncing around with your tail! Why don’t you say that your black dragon is walking with the tips of his wings!