Chapter 41 Mermaid Messenger Pearl Blanchet.
East held the juice that Cai Cai had prepared for him and drank it contentedly. Ah~ I wanted to slack off and not work, but unfortunately, I could only think about it.
The appointed time with the merfolk is fast approaching. Trying to slack off? No way.
Just as Easter finished his juice, the butler came to report that the merfolk envoy would arrive in an hour.
East put down his cup. "Understood. Make preparations for the reception."
The players who took over the kitchen received a system task to prepare delicious refreshments for the merfolk.
The preparations were all done by others, so there wasn't much for East to do. He went up to his room on the second floor, slowly changed into a more formal outfit, and thought about the words he would need to use later.
Easter went downstairs, his sleeves tucked in. Yunmu, Meimei, and Song Shangxue, along with four little fire people, followed.
East nodded slightly, and the four little firemen walked together toward the council hall.
Shortly after Easter and the four little fire men took their seats, five stunningly beautiful women with exotic features entered, led by the butler and servants. Their appearances could be described with the most ornate and extravagant words; they were like precious pearls nurtured by the sea, shining brightly. Three men and two women, regardless of gender, all had long, curly hair that reached their waists.
East's gaze lingered on their long, curly hair for a moment longer. He rose from his seat, shook hands with the man at the head of the group—though it was just a light touch of fingertips, not a firm grip—and said, "Good afternoon, Mr. Blanch."
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty King Felix," Pearl Blanchett replied, her voice still captivating even though she hadn't used any special abilities.
The greetings went back and forth, the atmosphere was very relaxed, and there was no sign that they were deliberately targeting Easter.
One by one they took their seats, and no one spoke; for a moment, the space was silent.
Easter broke the silence first, "Mr. Blanchett, you should know why I invited you here."
Pearl nodded indifferently, her long, wavy, golden hair swaying and shimmering with golden light, a truly beautiful sight.
Easter frowned imperceptibly. Pearl's attitude seemed off, but he continued, "You should also know how unreasonable the conditions you've proposed are."
Pearl nodded indifferently as usual. The four people following behind him didn't pay any attention to what East and Pearl were talking about. They were all watching the four little fire people behind East with curiosity and interest, their lively and expressive eyes communicating with each other.
East had considered all sorts of scenarios, but he never expected the situation to be this difficult.
"Why?" East and Pearl met each other's blue eyes. These three words contained too many questions. He wanted to ask about their current attitude, and also why they kept playing with people.
Pearl pondered for a moment, then said, "You should be able to guess that, right?"
Easter remained silent, neither stating nor explicitly denying, and the worst outcome had occurred.
"Isn't there any room for negotiation?" Easter asked, unwilling to give up.
Are you aware of the recent changes on the mainland?
Ister breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that he hadn't been directly rejected. After thinking for a moment, he uttered four words: "Demon Seal."
Pearl gave East an approving look. "Smart."
Easter said, "I don't want that kind of praise."
“There are a total of thirteen places where monsters are sealed, seven of which are in the ocean. Coincidentally, starting from Manhattan Port, we just barely grazed one of them. Nearly a hundred ‘small abysses’ have formed along the route. The ocean is too dangerous now. The contracts signed this year have increased by one to two percent compared to previous years.” Pearl said slowly, and his gentle pace made his voice even more captivating.
"I didn't refuse your terms?" Pearl's words provided an explanation for the price increase, but seemed to have little to do with what they were negotiating.
"In your human terms, we do things against our will, but..." Pearl stopped herself from saying, "As long as you can clear away the dangers along the route yourselves, we don't mind you traveling on the route, and the terms of the contract you sign can be half of what they were in previous years."
"This is too difficult, it's simply impossible." East's reaction speed was undeniably fast. If he had the strength to deal with nearly a hundred "small abysses," how could he still be so constrained in his actions as he was now?
“It’s only because it’s almost impossible that there’s room for it. I shouldn’t have said these words, but who told me to…” Pearl made a very “torturous” expression on his extravagantly luxurious face.
Easter's mind, which had been working, paused for a moment before reacting. "What if I had this?" Easter pulled out the necklace she was wearing around her neck.
Pearl was frowning and grimacing, with an incredulous look in her eyes that seemed to want to say something but couldn't. If it were a normal person here, they would want to beg him to stop "torturing" his face. How could such a beautiful woman give people a silly feeling at times?
Seeing Pearl's reaction, East thought, "Isn't this unnecessary? Why go to such lengths?" and hid the necklace under her clothes again.
Pearl's expression slowly returned to normal. "I just wanted to get some fresh air." He muttered to himself. He was just tired of killing monsters and happened to hear this interesting story. Who would have thought that he would be given such a big "surprise" instead of the real mermaid who was supposed to come?
East, "You two must have a very good relationship?" Otherwise, how could you behave so similarly in your words and actions?
“No, no, no, who’s on good terms with him?” Pearl looked at him with a look of disbelief. “He’s an arrogant and troublesome lunatic.”
East: "Mr. Blanchett, watch your words. Based on what you just said, I could throw a white glove at you."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Pearl said "I'm sorry" many times in a row. Really, all the elegance and class she brought with her when she made her entrance was completely shattered.
Easter was too embarrassed to argue with them, so he sighed and said, "Fine, you have your own way of getting along. Let's get back to business."
Pearl picked up her face from the ground and put on a serious expression again. "Even with Mi Lan, I can't go too far. It's fine with anyone else, but too many eyes are on you, which will really cause me trouble." She said the last sentence very softly.
East had never intended to use the necklace that Arip had given him. He only took it out because he saw a familiar way of doing things in Pearl and wanted to test her. When he heard Pearl's embarrassed words, he didn't feel much disappointment.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Easter said. “We’ll talk on the terms you proposed.”
Pearl, “Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?” But with his lips turned up in a sharp, upturned manner, how could one tell that he meant “it’s not appropriate”?
East turned his head away, unable to bear the sight. Randall and Pearl were both typical hypocrites; he really didn't know how such a group of people had gotten together, or what they were planning to do with each other.
Suppressing his intrusive curiosity that shouldn't have surfaced at this moment, Easter asked, "If it's feasible, shall we discuss the details?"
Pearl: "Okay, do as you say, as long as it's something that can barely get by."
East sighed helplessly. Did they really have to be so blunt? Why was it that these young people, who could be considered the most outstanding among their respective races in the same era, not only had no faith in the gods, but were also plotting against them? It was too strange.
But curiosity wasn't the important thing at this moment. "I haven't even suggested how to proceed, and you're just agreeing...?" Could things be any faster? Easter was completely speechless. How come things always turned out the way he expected?
“It’s all the same.” Pearl seemed indifferent. He should have offered help when Easter brought out the blue. Whether it was difficult or not was his business. Easter offered to reduce the difficulties for him. He didn’t care how much difficulty could be reduced. Every little bit counted. What more could he ask for?
Easter realized what was going on, rubbing his temples. How could he do it simply without giving anyone cause for gossip? Sure enough, there's never a perfect solution. Learning that Pearl and Arip were friends solved one problem, but created another.
"Shall we have afternoon tea first, and then talk more?" Easter asked. He needed to think it over. After all, they were practically friends. Taking a little time to relax with afternoon tea would also show his hospitality, wouldn't it?
Pearl: "Okay."
The group moved to the reception room, which was much more relaxing than the formal meeting room.
Cai Cai and the other little fire people served tea and snacks. The milk tea was made with black tea and milk, and the pastries were exquisite. All kinds of cute little animals were adorable and cuddly, the cupcakes were fluffy and soft, and there were also traditional oriental pastries, such as mung bean cake, red bean cake, and jujube paste cake...
Pearl and her companions had never seen such novel pastries before. The five beautiful women, each with their own unique charm, looked on with eager curiosity. Anyone who saw them would probably want to do as they wished.
East raised his hand in a gesture of respect, "No need to stand on ceremony with me."
Without further hesitation, Pearl and her companions picked the pastries that piqued their curiosity. They looked just like five bewildered little animals, so cute and adorable. The starry-eyed looks from the players proved that this description was absolutely accurate.
East picked up his teacup and took a sip. The rich aroma of milk blended perfectly with the unique fragrance of black tea. Adding or subtracting even a little bit would not have made it taste so good.
Easter's tense nerves relaxed in the warm milk tea. The system rabbit jumped to Easter's lap and obediently rubbed its head against his hand.
Easter casually ruffled the System Rabbit's head. This is the life a person should live: using their brain, plotting, and scheming to weigh the pros and cons. Perhaps only those who are born to stir up trouble can enjoy it.
Pearl took a sip of her milk tea and sighed, "It's delicious, a very unique way of making it. It seems that Felix's bloodline does indeed have its unique aspects." She was referring to the existence of the little fireman.
East felt that the words sounded familiar. "Do you guys often get together?" He had heard this sentence from Randall before, almost word for word.
Pearl savored the pastry in her mouth, marveling at its sweet and unique flavor, and simply nodded in response to Easter's question.
Easter, no longer oblivious to their cues, interrupted their enjoyment of the meal. He sorted through the information he had gathered, wondering where to begin.
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