Chapter 495: Snowy Owl
Chapter 495: Snowy Owl
"Ding~"
As the knob on the dashboard slid into the slot, emitting a faint sound, twelve pairs of massive cover panels above the Korok Kingdom's Aerodrome Access Zone swiftly slid open, revealing the dense array of escort platforms below.
Following this, a lifter with airbag lengths exceeding four hundred meters and a passenger area suspended over one hundred and fifty meters, guided by one of the escort platforms, slowly docked at Aerodrome 7.
Finally, they had arrived.
When a gust of fresh air entered the cabin after the hatch of the guest cabin opened, Lyon glanced at the aerodrome filled with various steel creations, then stepped out of the cabin with a slight bend in his waist, his expressionless face stepping onto the red velvet carpet.
"Welcome, Your Highness, Prince Lyon, to our kingdom!"
Although the kingdom's ambassadorial party was not traveling on a special airship from the Secret Port due to time constraints, but instead on a regular passenger airship, the Korok Kingdom still provided a seemingly grand reception.
Even before Lyon had fully disembarked from the airship, two teams were already waiting on either side of the boarding ramp. As soon as Lyon appeared, they greeted him in unison.
Standing at the forefront of the honor guard was a young man with elaborate and intricate clothing, with half of a mechanical clock embroidered on his chest. He took a few strides forward, smiling as he extended his right hand towards Lyon.
"Your Highness, Prince Lyon, I am Prince Andre, the third prince of the Korok Kingdom. On behalf of the entire Korok Royal Family, I welcome you."
Without even touching Lyon's palm, the self-proclaimed third prince shook Lyon's hand briefly and politely, but with a hint of assertiveness, he began making arrangements:
"Due to the time constraints and your eagerness to proceed, I've omitted the more elaborate welcoming ceremonies. Please proceed with your embassy, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs is already waiting for you in Sector 3."
If this were a genuine diplomatic envoy, facing such an impolite "informative" reception might not provoke an immediate reaction, but their expressions would likely be unpleasant. However, Lyon remained silent, merely nodding slightly before leading the rest of the embassy towards the prepared vehicles.
It seemed that Prince Lyon had a rather easy-going and pliable personality.
From Lyon's reaction, the young man who had initially forced a somewhat sincere smile now added a hint of insincerity, not even bothering to introduce himself before gesturing towards the open door of the lifter and inviting Lyon in with a wave of his hand.
However, the lifter remained stationary for some time after they took their seats.
Soon, an attendant carrying a thick notebook hurried over from where the other embassy members were undergoing identity verification. He bowed respectfully towards the young man, who was meditating with his eyes closed, before addressing Lyon with a slightly furrowed brow:
"Your Highness, Prince Lyon, may I inquire as to why your embassy has two more members than reported?"
The attendant's question, though phrased with courtesy, lacked politeness. Lyon's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he replied:
"The additional members are my personal attendant and bodyguard. They are not official members of the embassy, so they were not included in the report. Is there an issue with that?"
"There is, indeed."
The attendant, appearing respectful but actually quite blunt, explained:
"The Korok Kingdom is different from your country, and we are much more meticulous. Everything is recorded, and identity verification cards are required. Since your embassy reported two fewer members, we have prepared two fewer identity cards, which may cause inconvenience for you."
"Is that so."
Lyon turned his head upon hearing this, his expression calm as he said, "Give them my identification card first. I can use Prince Andre’s identification card. Also, take out your identification card. This way, the mistake of being under-prepared won’t inconvenience us."
"???"
"Do you have any other questions?"
Nonsense! Of course, I do!
Seeing that Lyon had “resolved” the issue in a few words and even shifted the blame onto him, the attendant couldn’t help but turn red in the face, displeased as he argued, "Your Highness, it was your side that underreported the number of people, not me…"
"My mood isn’t very good right now."
After casting a glance at the bandit brother who had changed his clothes in the distance, Lyon cut off the attendant’s words, his expression slightly cold as he informed, "So, let’s wrap this up. Don’t make me hit you."
"!!?"
Confronted with Lyon’s utterly unaristocratic and rough warning, the attendant’s already flushed face turned even redder, his complexion faintly purpling as he stammered, "You…"
"Slap!"
Seeing that the attendant was still not listening, and after hearing the story of the bandit brother and sister, Lyon, whose mood had already plummeted to the lowest, cleanly and decisively raised his hand and slapped the attendant, who was clearly looking for trouble, to the ground. He then turned his head to look at the young man sitting across from him in the carriage.
"Prince Andre, is my handling of this acceptable?"
"Pretty good."
After casting a glance at the attendant on the ground, who was clearly dazed from the slap, the young man in elaborate attire impatiently ordered, "Don’t waste time. Hurry and do as the Prince has said! The ministers are waiting!"
"Yes… yes…"
Seeing that the Third Prince had no intention of defending him, the attendant could only pick up the fallen folder, hold his face, and go back to work. The two people in the carriage, however, closed their eyes again, reassessing the other person in their minds.
It seems that Prince Lyon’s personality is not just not soft, it’s even astonishingly hard…
The attendant hadn’t lashed out after being slapped, so this Third Prince isn’t prideful, but… simply lazy?
"Everyone, the reason I’ve called you here today is because we’ve discovered two very dangerous pieces of information."
While Lyon and the Third Prince were sitting opposite each other, meditating silently as they headed towards Administrative Zone 3, a group of mysterious people wearing various masks were all looking at the main seat of a long table made from unknown animal bones, their expressions solemn as they listened to the person in the main seat.
"The first piece of information is that after the last operation against ‘Lazy’ failed, the 12 Zodiac Districts of the Purification Bureau have all started self-inspections. Our Lius Wang Society’s existence may have been completely exposed."
What?!!
Upon hearing the leader’s announcement, the masked people couldn’t help but burst into an uproar. The thrush crow mask, who had had conflicts with the Aquarius Director, said with evident anger, "I told you before, that Aquarius Director can’t be trusted!"
The woman wearing a black cat mask across from him also hesitated and said, "I also find him very suspicious. Shouldn’t we reconsider our cooperation with the Aquarius Director?"
"But this opportunity is indeed good, and it would be a pity to let it pass."
"The opportunity is good, but the cost of failure is also great."
"Alright, let’s discuss our cooperation with the Aquarius Director later. I have something more important to talk about now."
Knocking on the table forcefully to quiet everyone down, the person in the main seat, whose face was obscured, turned his head to look at the girl beside him wearing a white owl mask, speaking calmly, "Snowy Owl, the situation of others is unclear, but ‘Lazy,’ which you are responsible for monitoring, has been completely exposed. The Purification Bureau’s investigators are likely already on their way."
(End of Chapter)
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