Chapter 154: The Levely
Meanwhile, on Fish-man Island, inside the Ryugu Palace.
The Minister of the Left of the Ryugu Kingdom was flipping through an ancient text belonging to Fish-man Island.
"Your Majesty Nereus, the last time the Ryugu Kingdom appeared at the Levely was over a century ago.
According to past logs, when a member nation participates in the Levely, they generally bring two guards to ensure their safety..."
The Minister of the Left was actually even more excited than Nereus. He hadn't sailed out to sea with Nereus in the past; he had remained on Fish-man Island and was an old minister from the previous era.
Because he was familiar with various administrative trivia and Nereus lacked personnel skilled in this area, Nereus simply allowed him to retain his official position.
In the eyes of such a person, being able to participate in the Levely was a massive step forward for the kingdom.
But as he spoke, he suddenly trailed off.
Ensure their safety?
If something truly happened, it would probably be Nereus ensuring their safety.
"Uh... we can skip this clause. Let me look further down... Aside from the King, other royal family members will also participate. The quota is generally one to five people...
The Levely will last for seven days. During this time, there will be a Social Plaza provided for others to mingle and interact..."
Reading up to this point, the Minister of the Left simply tossed the ancient text aside. This past experience was completely useless; Nereus's royal family couldn't be equated with the royal families of the past at all.
As for whether to bring royal family members...
Currently, the ones who fit the criteria were Nanamo and perhaps Amphelite. The Minister of the Left didn't want to interject on this matter; after all, this was Nereus's family affair.
"Nanamo, want to go take a look?"
"? Old man, are you planning to take me up there this time?"
"The situation is different. Last time, I went to negotiate terms, and now the terms have been settled. You aren't weak right now; ordinary people can't do much to you.
As long as my energy isn't focused on starting a war, keeping you safe is something I can definitely manage."
There were indeed quite a few brain-dead Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise, like Saint Charlos, who wouldn't care about the diplomatic impact of the Levely.
Even during the conference in the original timeline, Charlos tried to directly seize Shirahoshi as a slave.
But the Fish-man Island controlled by Nereus was not the Fish-man Island controlled by Neptune.
If they truly laid hands on Nanamo—putting aside whether they would succeed or not—even if they did capture her, rather than successfully blackmailing Nereus, the far greater likelihood was that he would just go completely mad.
And the direct consequence of Nereus going mad would be alerting Imu, which would then trigger a massive "downsizing" of personnel.
In his previous battles, Nereus had already proven he possessed this capability. Therefore, as long as the Five Elders still had even one person who hadn't lost their mind, they wouldn't do something where the risks so vastly outweighed the rewards.
Not only that, but they would proactively rein in those ordinary Celestial Dragons to prevent them from causing trouble at this time. This was precisely why Nereus dared to bring someone up.
"It doesn't feel like there'll be anything particularly interesting. Those guys won't just hand the money in their bags over to me... Will the people from Elegia be going?"
Pondering for a moment, Nanamo suddenly recalled a specific country—Elegia.
The famous Kingdom of Music. It gathered musicians from all over the world and regularly held music festivals.
"Maybe. I'm not entirely sure either."
"Hmm... then it wouldn't be bad to go take a look. If people from Elegia are there, I'd really like to exchange some thoughts on music with them."
"Then go prepare. As for the guards... although we don't need them for strength, we still need them for appearances. I happen to know someone familiar with kingdom guard duties."
A short while later, Brook arrived at the Ryugu Palace and learned of Nereus's request.
"Yohohoho, Your Majesty Nereus. To tell you the truth, in the past, I wasn't just a guard; I was the captain of a kingdom's royal guard. At that time, I also had the honor of attending a Levely. However... that is not a happy memory."
Upon hearing Nereus's request, Brook first demonstrated his professionalism in the field, then sighed emotionally.
That was a memory even older than his time as a pirate; some details he couldn't even remember clearly anymore.
"It's fine. Knowing how to put on a display of pageantry is enough. Hermes will be your partner. The two of you cooperate well this time."
Using a cloud and a skeleton—two individuals with extremely unique appearances—as guards wasn't Nereus trying to be overly eccentric, but rather to showcase the inclusiveness of the Ryugu Kingdom.
What this country could accept wasn't limited to just Fish-men and Merfolk.
As for Amphelite or Alber...
It wasn't that Nereus lacked the confidence to keep them safe, but rather he worried they wouldn't be able to control their emotions. When it came to hatred towards the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, these two had it much worse than anyone on Fish-man Island.
"It's been a while, Mr. Hermes. I look forward to working with you."
Hermes sized Brook up with an extremely dangerous gaze. Although it was just a normal colleague relationship, Hermes couldn't suppress the sense of crisis at the bottom of his heart.
He kept feeling that this wasn't an ordinary collaboration.
[Could it be that Lord Nereus discovered the 'advice' I gave Princess Nanamo recently? And he's using this method to warn me?]
Hermes began to let his imagination run wild, completely unaware that Nereus simply felt Hermes—a Homie that was very hard to kill—was just more convenient to bring along.
While Hermes was still overthinking things, a message arrived at the Ryugu Palace.
"Big Bro, Harald is here. But this time he represents the World Government, and he's already at the entry point. Do you have any thoughts on this?"
At the entry point, Sebastian gave a detailed report on the situation. There weren't many opponents he feared, but Harald was one of them.
Even in the deep sea, facing Harald gave Sebastian a sense of danger.
"Is it just him?"
"Besides Harald, there are some World Government personnel. Judging by their attire, they aren't agents. They said they came regarding the Levely."
"Then let them in."
The World Government sending Harald here slightly surprised Nereus, but it wasn't incomprehensible. After all, his strength was right there.
However, the attitude Harald displayed upon meeting was entirely beyond Nereus's expectations.
"King Nereus. I represent the World Government to invite you to participate in this Levely."
Outside the Ryugu Palace, Harald bowed a full ninety degrees, placing one hand respectfully in a formal salute.
Harald's voice was full of vigor, seemingly feeling very honored to represent this identity.
"Harald, we've known each other for a long time. This is the first time I've ever seen you so polite. How rare.
King Nereus... that's the first time I've been addressed like that. If you don't mind, come into my palace. I have a few things I'd like to chat with you about."
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