The reception hall of the border fortress welcomed a guest who had visited once before. The guest's attitude was not particularly friendly, especially the piercing gaze that had been emanating since a moment ago became even more uncomfortable.
The guest was naturally the White Bear, and he was staring at Wang Xiaole with a sharp look, who at the moment was gazing up at the high ceiling. "Hmm, the top section of the ceiling is already fading in color; it's time to find an opportunity to redecorate this place," said Wang Xiaole while looking at the ceiling.
Sister Glasses, standing by Wang Xiaole's side, responded, "His Highness should personally address this matter. Those of us who work here don't have much say in front of His Majesty."
"Alright, I'll inform my disciple to allocate some extra funds for the border at the right time," Wang Xiaole replied.
"Great, His Highness is indeed generous... could you do me a favor and put in a good word for my bonus this month?" Sister Glasses asked.
"Enough from both of you!" The White Bear, having endured prolonged neglect, finally reached his limit and slammed the table abruptly.
Poor table, which hadn't done anything wrong, shattered in an instant under the forceful big paw. "Oh no, this table is expensive!" Sister Glasses lamented as she rushed to salvage the wooden debris.
Sister Glasses' intense reaction was understandable; according to the rules, once the table was damaged, she would be the one to buy a new table.
"Old man, why are you so agitated? I'm not intentionally ignoring you. Can't I spend some time dealing with internal matters first?" Wang Xiaole started babbling.
To be honest, if it weren't for the White Bear suddenly exploding, showing that his anger had reached its limit, Wang Xiaole would have continued pretending not to see him. The reason Wang Xiaole willfully ignored the White Bear could be summed up in two words: feeling guilty.
If Wang Xiaole shifted his gaze back to the White Bear and focused on the half-covered face with bandages, those emotions would endlessly intensify.
"Hmph." The White Bear raised his right hand, but since there was nothing to smash beneath his palm, he hesitated and ended up just pointing at Wang Xiaole. "Kid, be straight with me: how are you going to deal with this injury on my face?"
The White Bear truly held back his temper. If it wasn't for his daughter being present, he wouldn't have stopped the warlord himself and come to this place to banter with the young man across from him.
Meanwhile, Mewo White, worried about her father and not wanting to leave her big brother, also came to the scene. As long as Mewo White was present, the White Bear couldn't easily resort to violence and could only try to engage in a verbal dispute with Wang Xiaole through the "civilized orc" way.
At the moment, the first point of contention between the two sides revolved around the injury on the White Bear's face stamped by Wang Xiaole's heavy foot. "Kid, I don't want to make things difficult for you on this matter."
The polar bear put on a magnanimous appearance, but soon changed the subject to reveal his true intentions:
"Aren't you the prince consort of this country? Take a hundred thousand gold coins from the treasury as medical expenses, and I won't argue with you anymore."
A sum of tens of thousands of gold coins is not merely the extent of medical expenses; it is sufficient to serve as war reparations.
Wang Xiaole thought to himself:
This old man is trying to scam me with a huge demand! Too bad the polar bear has miscalculated.
Being from the Celestial Empire, Wang Xiaole had honed his skill of maneuvering through tight spots to avoid being taken advantage of by the elderly when crossing the road.
Wang Xiaole immediately responded:
"Uncle, you are mistaken. Before, we were enemies in battle, so a bit of skirmish between us was quite normal, wasn't it?"
"Hmph, that was before my daughter appeared. Since she intervened between us, I have no intention of resorting to violence."
Emphasizing the key point forcefully, the polar bear stated:
"After losing my will to fight, I am no longer an enemy of Dibiles but the sovereign of a nation. You, knowing that your kick was aimed at a king of a nation, still exerted your full strength!"
"Well, you can't put it like that: when I kicked, you were the you during wartime! What does that have to do with the you after laying down your weapons?"
Wang Xiaole employed a sophistry akin to the classic saying:
"If you're looking for Zhou Shuren, what does that have to do with Lu Xun?"
The polar bear began to realize:
This young fellow not only can fight but also has a way with words and, most importantly, a thick skin!
"Even if we don't discuss my identity as a king, how do you explain kicking me in the face in front of my daughter after she appeared?"
"I plead ignorance at that time. I didn't know you were Mewo White's father. If you had disclosed your identity sooner, why hurt each other?"
"So, you kicked me in the face, and it ends up being my fault in the end?"
"Thus, Uncle, you are truly magnanimous. Not only do you not hold grudges against me, the younger generation, but you willingly take the blame upon yourself. Your generosity is truly admirable!"
The strategy of words was simple, focusing on three key points:
Firstly, speak quickly enough to make the other party unclear about what you are saying.
Secondly, praise the other party on the surface but aim to trap them in a tough spot.
Lastly, declare a conclusion before the other party can rebut, leaving them no chance for a counterattack.
In Wang Xiaole's recent speech, he undoubtedly demonstrated all these verbal skills.
This sly debate did not deceive Lucia and Cai, nor the polar bear. At most, it left the orc king speechless but unable to refute.
Even more importantly, this seemingly reasonable statement succeeded in fooling Mewo White!
After seeing her father being kicked, Mewo White had doubts about whether the big brother who kicked him had done a good deed or a bad one.
Now, upon hearing this, Mewo White realized she had misunderstood her big brother!
Although Mewo White did not fully comprehend the string of conversations, she gathered two key messages from them:
First of all, Dad was the one who made a mistake, but thankfully he later admitted his error voluntarily and also took up the responsibility.
Secondly, the older brother didn't do anything wrong. They weren't really fighting with Dad, otherwise they wouldn't be compromising now.
Setting aside Mewo White's self-centered understanding, no matter how absurd the mistake was, it ultimately cleared her doubts.
As long as the older brother and Dad didn't truly become enemies, Mewo White could put her heart at ease.
On the other side, the Polar Bear, at this moment, gradually realized the terrifying nature of the human opponent in front of him.
Having lived for a long time, he had seen many shameless acts in his life, but had never seen someone as shameless as this...
When he was young, though he had a bit of the charisma that Wang Xiaole now possessed, when faced with a real comparison, he was still a whole level below.
In terms of eloquence and shamelessness, the Polar Bear could only reluctantly accept the reality of defeat, and from the next moment, he threw out a very pointed question:
"I won't nitpick about the face incident anymore, but is it possible that my daughter ended up in Dibiles and didn't come home for several days because of your instigation, kid?"
Whether Wang Xiaole brought Mewo White to his house as an individual or as the husband of Dibiles, it would pose a very serious diplomatic issue.
The Polar Bear believed:
Once he brought up the matter of his daughter, the other party would have no way to defend themselves.
"Kid, explain to me, why is my daughter with you?"
"Well..."
Wang Xiaole struggled to find words, and this reaction was not feigned.
Regardless, the Polar Bear had the status of Mewo White's father;
Once he questioned about his daughter, Wang Xiaole, as an outsider, would indeed have a hard time defending himself.
"Speak, tell me!"
Seizing the opportunity, the Polar Bear immediately displayed a domineering side of his character, relentlessly pressing for answers at that moment.
Just as Wang Xiaole was about to avoid the topic by turning his head, Mewo White came to stand before her father.
"I wanted to stay at my big brother's house!"
This was not the first thing Mewo White said today, but it was definitely the most crucial thing she uttered.
When Mewo White took the initiative to speak up in her big brother's favor, Wang Xiaole, as a party involved, was shocked;
Lucia and Cai, not far away, were also in a state of partial bewilderment.
The one who reacted most strongly and felt the most unacceptable, just seconds ago had his own daughter turn against him, was the Polar Bear.
He never imagined:
The good situation he had worked hard to create would be ruthlessly destroyed by his daughter's actions in an instant.
For a moment, the Polar Bear couldn't comprehend the situation, but soon he understood:
"Daughter, did that kid coerce you into saying this?"
The Polar Bear thought:
If there was a reason Mewo White had turned against him, if there was some leverage that the wily human kid held over her, then everything would make sense.
"Daughter, you don't need to be afraid, Dad is right here! No one can threaten you, you can freely speak the truth."
Now, the polar bear eagerly anticipated the arrival of his sheltered daughter, only to have her attitude make a complete 180-degree turn later on, as she pointed to the human boy as the root of all evil.
"Big brother is very good, and I wanted to live in his house on my own."
Splurt!
Suddenly, the polar bear felt a stabbing pain in his heart as the colour drained from his face.
Voluntary?
It shouldn't be voluntary!
How could this be?
This is not possible!
The polar bear placed his hands on Mewo White's head, appearing to comfort his daughter, but in reality, he was consoling his stubborn self;
Due to the significant size difference between the father and daughter, the current polar bear seemed as though he could cradle Mewo White's entire head in his embrace.
"Lies, that frivolous and casual-looking boy could treat you well?"
"......"
Mewo White had spoken too much today, and regardless of who she faced next, she had no intentions to continue, choosing to remain in her usual silence.
Sisters Glasses and Lucia were both quite curious:
Why are this father and daughter pair so strange?
His Royal Highness (beloved) is clearly a full-fledged girl, so why does the daughter call her "big brother" and the father "that boy"?
