Accompanied by the subtle sound of a knob turning into a slot on the dashboard, above the docking area of the Crolock Kingdom’s airfield, twelve pairs of massive panels quickly slid open to the sides, revealing the densely packed docking stations below.
Immediately, the Sky Clipper, with a length exceeding four hundred meters and a passenger section suspended beneath measuring over a hundred and fifty meters, slowly docked into Airport No. 7 under the guidance of one of the docking stations.
When the hatch of the VIP cabin opened and a gust of fresh air rushed in, Leon glanced at the airfield filled with various steel constructions, then slightly bent his waist and stepped out of the cabin door, expressionless as he stepped onto the red plush carpeted escalator.
"Welcome, Your Highness!"
Although due to time constraints, the kingdom’s diplomatic mission did not take the special airship of the secret port, but instead, the nearest passenger Sky Clipper, the reception standards from the Crolock Kingdom side were still adequately presented on the surface.
Even before Leon had completely disembarked from the Sky Clipper, two teams of people were already waiting on either side of the escalator. At the moment he appeared, they greeted him in unison.
Standing foremost in the honor guard, a youth in lavishly ornate clothes embroidered with half of a mechanical clock on his chest, walked up briskly with a smile, extending his right hand towards Leon.
"Lord Leon, I am Andre, the third prince of the Crolock Kingdom, representing the entirety of the Crolock royal family to welcome your visit."
Without even reaching the tiger’s mouth, merely grasping half of Leon’s palm in a light handshake, the youth who claimed to be the third prince politely but somewhat assertively arranged:
"Due to the rather tight schedule this time, and considering you are surely eager to attend to affairs, I’ve instructed to skip the overly complicated welcoming ceremonies. Please lead the members of your mission to the cars, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is already awaiting you in Administrative District No. 3."
If it was a genuine diplomatic envoy, faced with such somewhat impolite "informative" reception, they would likely not have a pleasant expression even if they didn’t act up immediately. But Leon said nothing, merely nodded slightly, then led a few other members of his delegation toward the arranged vehicles.
It seems this Prince Leon might be someone easy to handle.
From Leon’s reaction, the youth simply judged his character, and the smile that was barely considered cordial on his face was instantly tinged with a hint of perfunctoriness. He even skipped any further introductions, merely gesturing towards the open hovercar door with an inviting gesture.
Could it be that this third prince is actually someone with a rather proud nature?
Similarly assessing the character of the youth in extravagant clothing, Leon, who didn’t care about the increasingly perfunctory reception, was happy to avoid false pretenses with others, merely glancing at him before boarding the vehicle and seating himself, beginning to close his eyes to rest.
However, after both were seated for a while, the hovercar still did not take off.
Subsequently, a close aide holding a thick book hurried over from where the other mission members were undergoing identity verification, first bowing respectfully toward the young man with his eyes closed, then frowning slightly as he addressed Leon:
"Your Highness, may I ask why your delegation has two more people than reported?"
Faced with the aide’s question, which, though phrased respectfully, was evidently lacking in courtesy, Leon’s eyebrows raised slightly before he responded:
"The extra ones are my maid and bodyguard who attend to my needs. These two individuals are not official members of the mission and were therefore not reported along with the others... Is there a problem?"
"There is indeed a bit of a problem."
Though appearing respectful, the aide’s tone was far from polite as he said:
"The Crolock Kingdom differs from your country; we are much more meticulous here. All travel requires records, and identity verification cards must be used. Your mission underreported two people, so we have two fewer identification cards prepared, which may cause you inconvenience."
Upon hearing this, Leon turned to look at him and calmly stated:
"First, give them my ID card for use. I can use Andre’s Highness’s ID card, then also take out your ID card, this way, your lack of preparation won’t inconvenience us."
"Do you have any more questions?"
Seeing Leon solve the issue with just a few words and even shift the blame, along with the third prince’s now open eyes looking over with dissatisfaction, the aide’s face reddened with displeasure as he argued:
"Your Highness, you were the ones who underreported the numbers, it’s not my..."
"I’m not in a good mood right now."
After glancing at the pair of siblings who had changed clothes in the distance, Leon interrupted the aide, and with a face tinged with coldness, he announced:
"So, let’s leave it at that; don’t force me to slap you."
Confronted with Leon’s reminder, which completely lacked the elegance expected of nobility and was blunt to the extreme, the aide, already slightly red, turned purple with indignation and said:
Seeing that he still wouldn’t take a hint, Leon, whose mood had been ruined after hearing about the siblings’ plight, simply raised his hand and delivered a slap, promptly knocking the clearly provocative aide to the ground, then turned his gaze to the youth seated opposite him in the compartment.
"Your Highness Andre, is there a problem with how I handled this?"
Casting a glance at the aide on the floor clutching his face, clearly slapped senseless, the lavishly dressed youth impatiently instructed:
"Don’t waste time; quickly do as His Highness said! The minister is still waiting!"
Seeing that the third prince had no intention of seeking justice for him, the aide could only pick up the book dropped on the ground, clutch his face, and return to his tasks, while the two inside the compartment once again closed their eyes to rest, reassessing each other mentally.
This Prince Leon seems not only not soft at all but potentially astonishingly tough...?
The aide wasn’t enraged after being slapped, so it seems this third prince isn’t naturally proud but... simply afraid of trouble?
"Everyone, the reason I’ve gathered you here this time is that I’ve discovered two very dangerous pieces of intelligence."
Just as Leon and the third prince sat silently with their eyes closed, proceeding toward Administrative District No. 3, around a long table made from unknown biological bones, a group of mysterious masked figures all stared at the head of the table, listening intently to the person sitting there.
"The first piece of intelligence is that following the failed operation targeting ’Pride’ last time, all twelve Zodiac Branch Offices of the Clean-up Bureau have started self-examinations, and our existence as the Slaughter King Association may have been completely exposed."
Upon hearing the host’s announcement, the masked figures couldn’t help but express their shock, and the Dongya mask, who had previously clashed with the Aquarius Director, angrily said:
"I told you long ago, that Aquarius Director cannot be trusted!"
Meanwhile, the woman with the black cat mask said hesitantly:
"I also think he’s very suspicious, should we reconsider our collaboration with the Aquarius Director?"
"But this opportunity is indeed very good; it would be a pity to let it go."
"The opportunity is good, but the cost of failure is also great!"
"Enough, let’s discuss further collaboration with the Aquarius Director later! There are more important matters at hand now!"
After knocking on the table, making everyone quiet down, the individual seated at the head turned to the girl wearing a white owl mask next to them, and with a steady voice announced:
"Xue Xiao, while others’ situations are unclear, the ’Sloth’ you are responsible for monitoring has been completely exposed, and the Clean-up Bureau’s investigators have most likely already arrived."