Is the Council State a Good Ally? Renner's Assessment

Coiled Inn.

This is a hotel whose name and decor are sure to arouse suspicion in outsiders, and the owner is a snake man.

Princess Renner and her companions wanted to change hotels, but they had no choice, as this was the only hotel in the city.

The most spacious room on the third floor.

The room was filled with luxurious and stately furniture, somewhat barbaric in style, and the walls were decorated with fangs and hides of wild beasts and monsters.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~

Steaming hot air billowed from the spout.

The fragrant black tea is poured into the exquisite teacups in front of me.

Climb carried the teapot with practiced and efficient movements; he had no time to judge whether the hotel was worthy of the princess.

Because two teams that could be called "Hero" had Silent Shot infiltrated the hotel and entered the rooms.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone."

With a stern face, Climb carried cups of black tea to the guests in the room.

He knew his expression was a bit stiff, and as the princess's servant, it was indeed inappropriate, but the more nervous he was, the more likely he was to put on a stern face.

Climb tried to force a smile, but what he ended up with was a tense and awkward expression.

"... Oh, it's tea brewed by the young virgin."

Gagaran looked at the teacup placed in front of him, let out a hearty laugh, and deliberately sized up Climb in front of him:

"I'm going to have to really appreciate it."

Climb felt extremely uncomfortable, but forced himself to remain calm and continued serving tea.

Tina and Tia smiled, their lips curving into a smile.

Klein walked to the opposite side of the sofa, where a lazy man was sitting, legs spread apart, arms bare, lying on the sofa.

He was yawning and looking lazy.

Click!

After gently setting down the teacup, Climb carefully retreated behind Princess Renner, standing ramrod straight.

Ah, the taste of home.

The lazy man casually picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked at Climb:

"Your tea-brewing technique is a bit stiff; you need more practice."

"I heard you're a virgin? Want me to introduce you? The Demi-Human women here are quite charming."

"Yes!" Climb responded immediately, then, realizing what was happening, hurriedly raised his hands and waved them in front of his chest, stammering:

"No... no..."

Everyone present was a big shot.

Apart from Her Highness the Princess and her guards, Lainas and Gazef, the rest of the people were divided into two groups.

They are all Hero figures!

They are also two of the Kingdom's three "Adamantite Rank" adventurer teams: [Blue Roses] and [Red Drop].

"Lord Azis"

"Climb has already tried his best, please don't be too harsh on him in this regard." Princess Renner gently placed her hands on her knees and spoke softly:

"Moreover, this child is very innocent."

Princess...

Climb's eyes instantly reddened, and a surge of emotions welled up inside him.

Princesses are never without maids when they travel, but the situation inside the house is special and not suitable for ordinary maids to know.

As a guard, Climb temporarily took on the role of a servant.

"--uncle."

A wisp of slightly curled golden hair swayed gently across Lakyus spoke, his voice becoming more forceful.

He was reminding Azis not to be disrespectful; after all, Climb was, after all, the princess's guard.

Azis shrugged, his gaze sweeping over everyone present before settling on Lainas, a look of appreciation on his face:

"You must be Miss Lainas. Just as the rumors say, you are indeed an outstanding woman."

Lainas gave the seemingly frivolous guy a cold glance, then looked away and ignored him completely.

This scene.

In the eyes of everyone present, apart from Princess Renner, there were more or less slight changes in their emotions.

Even Evileye glanced at Lakyus unconsciously at this moment, then lowered his head slightly, as if deep in thought.

That's really unexpected.

This guy is actually the leader of Adamantite Rank adventurer team, or a relative of the Devil Captain?

"It's quite surprising that the two of you are here."

Princess Renner spoke, causing a pause in the delicate atmosphere. "Could you please clarify my doubts?"

[Red Drop] was originally stationed in the Council State, so its appearance here is not unexpected, but [Blue Roses] appeared at the same time.

That's really surprising!

"Of course, it's because the two princes are worried about your safety." Azis casually put one arm behind his head, shifting into a more comfortable position.

"My two elder brothers?"

Princess Renner looked surprised.

"It truly deserves the name 'gold'."

Azis remained nonchalant, but his gaze held a more serious expression. "Truly remarkable, Princess Renner."

Even the people of the Empire probably didn't expect that those high and mighty Dragon Lords would be persuaded by you.

"I'm really curious how you did it?"

Princess Renner, with natural and elegant bearing, gave a slight bow. "You flatter me, Your Excellency Azis."

Clearly, she had no intention of explaining.

"That's right, Renner."

Lakyus began speaking, and given their close friendship, her words were much more concise and relaxed:

"We are here because His Highness the First Prince and the Second Prince, in the name of the Adventurer's Guild, issued a request for us to protect you on your way back to the Kingdom."

"The success of this meeting exceeded everyone's expectations; the two princes were worried that the Empire might take some crazy actions."

Lakyus paused here.

Thinking back to the attack on His Highness the Crown Prince some time ago, she suspected that the attack had nothing to do with the Empire.

only.

The mud has already been thrown at the other party; it's pointless to dwell on who the mastermind is.

"You're really amazing, Renner."

Lakyus looked at Princess Renner with shining eyes and made no attempt to hide his admiration.

To be honest!

From the very beginning, no one thought Princess Renner would succeed. Why would those high and mighty Dragon Lords care about or interfere in matters between humans?

Thank you~

Princess Renner blushed, looking embarrassed.

"You're amazing too, Lakyus. I haven't even congratulated you on becoming Adamantite Rank adventurer yet."

yawn~

Azis opened his mouth and let out a long yawn. "Could you talk about compliments later?"

"--uncle!"

A vein bulged on Lakyus's forehead. "Stop staring around like that!"

"Ah?"

"So this is how you see me, my dear niece?" Azis replied.

"Shut up!"

Lakyus immediately spoke up to stop it:

"Don't say such disgusting things. By the way, you provided Renner with the information about the Dragon Lords, didn't you?"

"So, you must know the Platinum Dragon Lord? After all, you've already established the adventurer's party's base in the Council State."

Azis raised an eyebrow. "Well, I guess so."

"Aha!"

Lakyus's voice held a hint of anger. "You actually concealed such an important matter! Do you know that Renner has been neglected here for a month?"

Lakyus saw that the blame was being shifted onto him.

"You can't just say things carelessly,"

Azis stepped in to correct, "Knowing someone is knowing them, being familiar with them is being familiar with them; these are two different things."

"Our 'Golden' Princess is known to everyone in the Royal Capital. If she were to appear on the street, many people would recognize her."

"However..."

Azis raised his arm and shook a finger. "Even Her Highness the Princess wouldn't get to know everyone who greets her."

"I have seen the Platinum Dragon Lord, but that doesn't mean the Platinum Dragon Lord has seen me."

Faced with this series of rebuttals.

Lakyus's emerald green eyes widened in surprise, leaving him speechless.

Excuse me.

Suddenly, a neutral voice, devoid of any discernible emotion or gender, rang out.

Everyone looked in the direction from which the sound came.

Evileye up straight, her crimson eyes behind the white mask looking at everyone present, especially Princess Renner was always smiling:

"Is the Council State truly a good ally?"

"Placing a venomous snake coiled atop a scepter, while intimidating, also makes it more susceptible to backlash."

The air fell silent at that moment.

Princess Renner's face showed a sad expression, as if she had made this choice out of utter helplessness.

However.

Deep within Princess Renner's gaze lay a detached indifference; the Kingdom's losses were insignificant to her.

--Important!

It was the first thing Tang had asked her to do, and she accomplished it.

The Earth Month, December 15th.

Princess Renner's delegation encountered several attacks on their return journey, but fortunately, they were protected by two teams of Adamantite Rank adventurers, as well as Lainas and Gazef.

They returned to the Royal Capital safely, albeit with some close calls.

Abelion Hills.

"It's like trying to get something from a tiger." Tang Zheng sighed sincerely.

This is not an evaluation of himself, but an evaluation of the alliance formed between the Kingdom and the Council State!

The so-called "allies".

It is an alliance formed by two sides with roughly equal strength. The gap between the Kingdom and the Council State within their respective countries is so large that it cannot be assessed.

Even if it was Tang Zheng who pushed this forward!

to be honest.

Tang Zheng was equally surprised. He hadn't expected Princess Renner to actually succeed, since the rulers of the Council State were the five Dragon Lords and the Platinum Dragon Lord.

The other party is not human!

Rather, they are the most powerful race on the continent and a race with longevity.

My thoughts and reflections.

It was beyond the comprehension of the human species; even Tang Zheng could not fathom the mind of that Platinum Dragon Lord.

The only way to test or guide the course of events is through the simplest means: "Interests" and "pressure"!

"Speaking of which..."

"The real purpose of sending Renner to the Council State this time is not to forge any alliances."

Tang Zheng's eyes gleamed slightly as he looked at the map he had just retrieved from Princess Renner:

"That's the real purpose!"

The entire map took up the size of a rectangular table that was more than three meters long.

The map provided a detailed description of the terrain of the Council State and the locations of various cities. What attracted Tang Zheng's attention the most were the three locations circled in red on the map.

"Renner... she's been a huge help."

Tang Zheng muttered to himself, "Even though I overestimated you, I still realize I underestimated you a bit."

That's right!

The real purpose of sending Princess Renner to the Council State was to use Renner to obtain intelligence about the Council State.

As the most powerful country in the northwest corner of the continent.

The countries' understanding of the Council State is negligible.

The Platinum Dragon Lord is there.

Tang Zheng would naturally not go to Council State to investigate without authorization, and he didn't have many people at his disposal, so he wanted to conduct the investigation without the Dragon Lords's perception.

--Absolutely impossible!

The total human population in the entire Council State is not large, so any outsiders would be easily detected!

so.

Tang Zheng had an idea: to use the affairs of the Kingdom as a pretext for his scheme.

Princess Renner's delegation was thus formed, and they went to the Council State openly and legitimately to gather intelligence about the Council of Council State.

Along the way.

All the intelligence actively gathered by Lainas, Gazef, Climb, and the other members of the delegation was compiled.

Princess Renner herself relied on her innocent and cute appearance to easily obtain a lot of information and put people at ease.

And this intelligence!

All of this has been transformed into the astonishingly detailed Council State map before us.

"So... according to Princess Renner's deduction, the Platinum Dragon Lord is hiding in these three places?"

Tang Zheng's eyes were fixed on the three highlighted red circles on the map:

"Hmm... there are still three places to check, that's enough, it's saved us a lot of trouble."

Tang Zheng once again praised Princess Renner's wisdom.

Tap~ Tap~

The ears twitched slightly.

Upon hearing the familiar yet hesitant footsteps, Tang Zheng withdrew his thoughts, carefully folded the map on the table, and stored it in his World Item.

With a "click".

The door was pushed open.

"Huh~" Zesshi Zetsumei leaned against the doorframe and greeted him with a grin:

Why did you suddenly call me over?

The "Four Elements" stood respectfully at the back, having used Teleportation magic to bring Lord Zesshi Zetsumei over.

Seeing that Zesshi Zetsumei waved to him, the "Four Elements" looked at Tang Zheng in the house.

"You should go back first," Tang Zheng said calmly.

"Yes."

The "Four Elements" immediately bowed respectfully before activating Teleportation spell and disappearing.

"That guy." Zesshi Zetsumei curled his lip slightly in displeasure.

"How is it? Did you notice anything unusual?"

Tang Zheng, unconcerned about the Zesshi Zetsumei, deliberately feigned slight dissatisfaction. "At the current pace of implementation, the military should have already completed one round of verification."

Zesshi Zetsumei crossed her arms over her chest, shook her head, and the white braid tied behind her head swayed with her movements.

"Aren't there any in the military?"

"The inspection wasn't thorough enough, or perhaps it has already infiltrated the Slane Theocracy through some means." Tang Zheng frowned.

He had been paying close attention to Sky City's actions ever since he discovered them.

"Looks interesting!"

Seeing Tang Zheng's concerned expression, Zesshi Zetsumei licked his lips and said with burning eyes, "A guy I can imitate."

"Alright, let's not rush this."

Tang Zheng waved his hand. "It's time to put the matter of improving your strength on the agenda. How are you doing with the profession I asked you to train for?"

Zesshi Zetsumei's heterochromatic eyes gleamed, his face filled with eager anticipation. "When do we start!"

(End of this chapter)