Chapter 497

Over at the Execution King Assembly, they had quickly set the tone and decided that whoever was found responsible would be eliminated. Meanwhile, under the guidance of the Third Prince, Leon had already arrived at the conference hall in Administrative Zone Three.

Upon seeing Leon enter, a neatly dressed middle-aged man, who looked sharp and capable, sitting behind the oval meeting table facing the door, first nodded in greeting. He then gestured toward the empty seat opposite him, inviting Leon to sit.

“Please take your seat. Next, regarding the matters of our airship being hijacked in your country, the boarding tower rented to you being burned down, and the loss of important cargo, these issues will be resolved through negotiation between you and me.”

Additionally, other members of your delegation have no right to listen in. Please follow Prince Andre’s attendant and leave for the waiting room around the corner.”

There wasn’t any small talk or pleasantries, not even an attempt at communication—everything was arranged with authority from the start. The Diplomatic Minister then lowered his head and opened the document book placed before him, speaking sternly: “Your Royal Highness, the first issue we need to discuss is the law and order situation in your country.

How could organized armed rebels appear in such critical locations near the capital city? They even easily crossed your country’s guard posts to attack facilities belonging to us… Give me and the Crocodile Kingdom a reasonable explanation as to why such absurd situations occur.”

“Huh…”

Explain what? That I borrowed Isabelle’s uniform and credentials, then led the rebels to attack the boarding tower and burn the airship? Watching the diplomatic minister who couldn’t wait for him to sit down before launching his ‘offensive,’ Leon’s lips twitched slightly. It felt like he was encountering some freckled prince again, and his right hand instinctively itched.

Although he had heard beforehand that due to their advanced technology and national strength, along with their advantageous position in international exchanges, the Crocodile Kingdom always adopted a very aggressive stance. Even so, within just two hours since disembarking from the airship, Leon had already faced three embarrassing situations, which made him quite annoyed.

Especially this diplomatic minister with his grim expression; although he didn’t use harsh words or say anything provocative, there was always an undeniable sense of authority in his actions and speech.

Though face-saving matters were never something Leon cared about, as the envoy of the Thrush Kingdom, he now represented the kingdom’s dignity. Being treated so lightly was indeed hard to bear.

“Your Royal Highness?”

After waiting for a while without receiving a response, the diplomatic minister looked up again. Seeing Leon neither sitting down nor speaking but instead narrowing his eyes and staring at him intently, his eyebrows furrowed into a “川” shape. With an unpleasant expression, he urged, “I still have to meet with the Ambassador of Aleson in this conference room later, so please cooperate and don’t waste my time.”

“Hmm…”

Ah… Veronica, you really need to step up your game.

Hearing the almost scolding reminder from the middle-aged man and seeing the undisguised dissatisfaction on his face, Leon couldn’t help but shake his head slightly.

The relationship between countries is much wilder than that between individuals and follows the jungle rule more strictly. Only when one has enough power can one stand tall.

And the current state of the kingdom, aside from having a large population, decent energy industry, and industrial foundation, is really lacking in many aspects. As a result, they weren’t taken seriously by others, and even he, the prince, was looked down upon.

“The matter of the boarding tower is not my responsibility.”

As the serious-looking man’s frown deepened, Leon sat down, calmly responding according to his prepared statement: “Our delegation is divided into two groups. The group handling this issue is another one. When they arrive, you can discuss it with the other ambassador. I’m here to buy technology.”

？？？

Completely unexpected, the diplomatic minister of the Crocodile Kingdom was momentarily stunned, subconsciously looking down at the agenda book in his hand, then raising his head and frowning, saying:

“I haven’t received any similar notifications, and there are no such arrangements in the agenda book.”

Before boarding the airship, Leon didn’t want to cause any waves that might lead to sanctions against the kingdom by the Crocodile Kingdom, so he planned to play along temporarily.

However, after experiencing a ridiculous hijacking and hearing the story of the bandit siblings, learning about the situation in several floating crystal mines, he had already decided to make some big moves, so there was no need to suppress his anger anymore.

“Hand it over!”

In the diplomatic minister’s stunned expression, Leon leaned forward, directly snatching the agenda book from his hands. Then he grabbed the pen on the table, scribbled a few changes following the original format, and casually wrote a few notes, tossing the agenda book back afterward.

“I’ve added the procurement of long-distance communication technology. If you have any questions, ask them quickly. I also want to go outside for a walk later, don’t waste my time!”

“You… You…”

Faced with the prince’s operation that could only be described as arrogant, the serious-looking man immediately turned pale, stammering twice before slamming his hand on the table.

“Absurd! Rude! Do you even know what you’re doing? This is blatant provocation! You will…”

“It’s because you provoked us first.”

Leon, who had been suppressing his anger throughout the journey, crossed his arms and sneered, counter-questioning: “Do you know how long I’ve endured you guys?

From the moment I got off the airship, you’ve been causing trouble for me! Even the identity card took forever to process, and now you’re arranging this and that, showing off your authority all the time… Sure, your Crocodile Kingdom is powerful, but do you think others have no temper?”

“You!”

Seeing Leon kick the chair, stand up, and look at him with apparent hostility, feeling like he might actually hit someone, the diplomatic minister of the Crocodile Kingdom lost some of his confidence, trying to argue: “This is a diplomatic meeting between countries! Not a street brawl. What you’re doing is unprofessional!”

“And it’s you who started being unprofessional!”

Slamming his hand on the table, Leon shouted angrily: “Except for sending a prince who doesn’t have inheritance rights, you skipped the entire reception process. Is that professional? Can’t even prepare a few identification cards, yet you nag me endlessly. Is that how professional you are?

And you, pretending to be grandiose is second nature to you, but you don’t even know why I came or what we should discuss. Is that how fucking professional you are as a diplomatic minister?”

“…”

Ah, could it really be our fault? Not only did we fail to prepare the ID cards, but we also didn’t understand why they came…

Looking at Leon’s angry face, the diplomatic minister, intimidated by his aura, involuntarily shrank back a little, then tried to argue stubbornly: “What you said are problems related to the reception process and agenda arrangement, which can be discussed later, but they cannot justify your rude behavior! I am the Diplomatic Minister of the Crocodile Kingdom, and you must show me basic respect! At least… don’t swear!”

“I didn’t swear!”

“…”

(End of Chapter)