This bird is really fat.
Standing by the balcony of the royal palace, overlooking the garden where giant snow chickens pecked at grains, the blue-haired youth with a firm and heroic countenance couldn't help but curl his lips with satisfaction.
When Melly first caught these snow chickens from the Hexagonal Snow Mountain and insisted on keeping them in the garden, he found the pets she chose to be quite annoying, wishing he could throw out all these fat chickens that clucked all day.
But recently, when she was away on a mission, he had the cook catch two and stew them, and found that Melly's eye was indeed keen; the flavor of these fat chickens she brought back was extraordinarily good.
Thinking of the rich flavor of those two pots of stewed chicken, the current King of the Northern Kingdom, Harvey, couldn't help but slightly move his throat, subconsciously swallowing a little.
And upon hearing the strange noise coming from the blue-haired young man, who stood with his back turned towards him, a newly arrived dressed elder at the door immediately broke out in a sweat on his forehead.
His Majesty Harvey had previously given him a stern order to find the source of the underground river anomaly; if he couldn't, he would be "dealt with".
Considering His Majesty Harvey's methods, which were no less intense than the old king's, his "dealing with" was definitely not just a bluff. The best outcome for him, as the Chief Minister of the Pipeline Department, was resignation due to culpability; at worst, he might be strangled for dereliction of duty.
However, even after taking people to crawl down the pipeline furnace and soaking in the underground river of the shallow stratum for a week, they hadn't found a single clue. That damned underground river was still swelling daily, seemingly on the brink of flooding back into the city through the pipeline furnace.
Yet, at this critical moment, His Majesty Harvey suddenly had someone summon him, then stood on the balcony with his back turned, gazing past him at the steaming pipeline furnace within the royal palace. His intentions were unsaid but clear.
"Your Majesty!"
Understanding that he would have to face the consequences regardless, the dressed elder, whose legs couldn't stop shaking, stumbled a few steps forward into the room and took the initiative to admit his fault in anguish:
"Your Majesty! I... I have failed your trust!"
"Hmm?"
Upon hearing the mournful cry of the dressed elder, the blue-haired young man on the balcony, who was watching the chickens, was slightly startled, then reluctantly drew his gaze away from the plump snow chickens, turned around, and smiled:
"Sir Isaac, you're exaggerating."
I'm exaggerating? What does "you're exaggerating" mean? Does it mean this matter doesn't qualify as "failing the trust," or... am I just not worthy of that "trust"?
With a heart full of unease, he looked up at the blue-haired young man, whose gaze was more aggressive than before (craving chicken), and his face turned pale in an instant.
This is it; he's speaking in opposites!
"Your Majesty! This old servant truly tried to investigate!"
For this young yet exceptionally shrewd majesty, recalling the fates of those who failed their duties and lied in the past, the dressed elder dared not deceive, raising his water-soaked pale hands in a pleading tone:
"Your Majesty! This old servant has been in the underground river these past few days, getting less than three hours of sleep a day, having searched almost every place possible. Though I couldn't find the reason for the rising underground river, but... but..."
But you've done your best, and according to the old man's saying, this matter involves the Clean-up Bureau's enemies; it's not something an ordinary person like you can figure out... Must you be this scared? Am I such an unreasonable person?
Seeing the dressed elder rendered incoherent by fear of his attitude, the blue-haired youth couldn't help but let out an awkward cough, then while reflecting on whether he's too harsh on his officials normally, he walked over to help him up, forcing out a smile of encouragement:
"Sir Isaac, you've misunderstood, I have no intention of blaming you."
You have no intention of blaming me... Could it be you've decided it's no longer necessary?
Hearing the comfort from the "cold-blooded Harvey the Majesty," facing the blue-haired youth, whose smile didn't reach his eyes, the dressed elder not only didn't relax, but even grew even paler.
The style of this Northern Kingdom King was tougher than the storms of the Northern Ice Plains and harsher than the glaciers of the Hexagonal Snow Mountain. Although he was generous with rewards for capable subordinates, he was equally ruthless when punishing the incompetent or erring ones.
And even for minor mistakes, he would call people to reprimand them, yet facing such a situation severe enough to bring disaster to the entire Rehe City, he unexpectedly comforted him this time, indicating it wasn't his fault...
How is that possible!
The prerequisite for such an occurrence, either I've gone mad, or he has... No! He's gone mad already! He must be driven insane with rage already!
Although this series of speculations seemed logically flawed on careful thought, tension and fear had utterly filled his mind, leading the wildly churning heart of the dressed elder to bizarrely disregard all the implausibility and have directly drawn this final conclusion.
I'm doomed!
"Sir Isaac, this matter is beyond your capability; you indeed can't do it."
Failing twice to lift the trembling dressed elder from the carpet, reminiscent of a sieve shaking, the blue-haired youth couldn't help but frown in confusion, then gave up supporting him, stood up, and explained:
"The situation with the underground river is somewhat special; I've already found others specialized in handling these kinds of things to take care of it. You just need to wait, meanwhile thinking about how to handle it if the pipeline furnace really gets blown out... You are dismissed!"
Seeing the bewildering expression of the terrified dressed elder, the always cold and stern blue-haired youth uncharacteristically showed rare gentleness.
Yet, with blood steaming in his mind, making him feel dizzy, and his ears ringing constantly, the auditory world of the dressed elder became bizarrely warped, picking up only snippets of the blue-haired youth's words.
"Isaac... you can't do... I... find... other... people, wait... think... go!"
I... why? Why!
Clenching his teeth while crawling on the ground, the dressed elder then raised his head, gave a glance at the blue-haired man who coldly announced his execution, and suddenly yelled, diving straight at him.
In the blue-haired young man's astonished eyes, the dressed elder's two withered hands, pale from being soaked in water vapor, suddenly burst with an unimaginably incredible strength, grasping at his neck with such force that his fingernails dug into the skin of his nape.
"To let me die... then you'll die along with me!"
"???"
Bewildered by this sudden turn of events, and struggling to breathe, the blue-haired youth instinctively tried prying the hands gripping his throat, while bulging his eyes wide open in a strenuous attempt to inquire:
"You... mad? Who... said you'd die?"
Yet, strangely, within the dressed elder's eyes, even as he gripped the neck tightly, the blue-haired young man remained glaring in a ghastly manner, and venomously vowed to have his entire family hanged!
"Then I'll kill you first!"
As the dressed elder exerted more force in his grip, the garden of the balcony below echoed a mixture of panic and fury. A flock of snow chickens, moments ago peacefully pecking at grains, suddenly engaged in exceptionally fierce fighting.
And those fat chickens, with eyes empty and unfocused, seemingly unable to even locate opponents, yet with beaks and claws tearing relentlessly, sending feathers flying, blood splattering, and combs rupturing, appeared with the exact insanity as the frenzied dressed elder.
