Becky's instincts as a citizen of Horleta made her extremely nervous when facing the few bigwigs she had heard about since childhood. Hao Ren, however, felt no such pressure. He had even been to the Demon King's City, and which of Izax's ministers wasn't more intimidating than the people before him? The Demon King's several chief guardians were all figures capable of stabilizing a nation with nothing but their faces. Hao Ren's nerves had been tempered to the point of becoming impervious to fire and water around them...
So he merely nodded slightly to His Majesty Moron in greeting. "A pleasure to meet you. I've heard so much about you."
His Majesty Moron wasn't the least bit displeased by the boldness of the man before him. He simply smiled like an ordinary, honest elder. "Please, sit. There's no need to stand on ceremony. This is a very special meeting, and I hope everyone can speak openly."
The group then took their seats around the long table. Vivian was quite practiced at exchanging a few words with the ministers in a reserved and elegant manner. Then Ofra began spouting some meaningless pleasantries to her king. Of course, she might have been reporting on official business; Hao Ren couldn't understand a word of it anyway. The Pope and the king then raised their heads, preparing to ask about the eldest son, but before either of them could speak, Lily, seated beside Hao Ren, could no longer hold herself back. She leaned forward with an agonized, restless expression. "Wasn't dinner supposed to be served? ...When can we start eating?"
His Majesty Moron immediately choked and began coughing. Even the stern old Pope beside him stared blankly at Lily. Clearly, neither of them—or any of the ministers present—had expected this. They had treated this