"Me?"
Hera's mouth kept curving upward, a smile spreading across her face. Xia Nan's words had clearly pleased her.
"You really do think rather highly of me."
"If we're being honest, I did indeed receive an invitation from them many years ago, but you know me. I couldn't possibly attend."
"And ever since then, I've been removed from their Moon Tide Feast guest list."
Hera's identity was the tavern owner of the Three-Legged Sea Dog, one of Barracuda Bay's biggest intelligence brokers. With the channels left behind by her father, plus the effort she had poured into running them over the years, she had established certain ties with many powers in the Southern Islands.
Under those circumstances, what happened in secret was one thing, but openly, the tangled relationships between those powers required her to maintain absolute neutrality.
Once she showed even the slightest bias, some of her channels could easily be cut off, or she might even sour relations with the forces behind them.
The Moon Tide Feast that Algae Scale Dodd had attended might have been grand enough in scale, but to be frank, even a wanted criminal of the kingdom like him could be invited. One could imagine how complicated the guest list was.
If Hera attended the feast, she would certainly be able to further expand her channels in the Southern Islands, but it would also carry considerable risk and affect the network she had already built in Barracuda Bay.
Although she had no shortage of ambition, after weighing the pros and cons back then, she had still made the safer choice.
"However..."
Hera suddenly changed the subject.
Her emerald eyes blinked, a meaningful glint flashing through them.
After spending some time with him, she knew the black-haired youth before her kept his emotions restrained and