I! Cleaner!

On the way back from the Northern Kingdom, should I bring something local for Veronica?

Because of his own reasons, he had to interrupt the wedding midway, and as Queen Veronica rarely asked for something, Leon naturally took her small request very seriously.

From hastily leaving the banquet hall, to rushing with the female cleaner to the Boarding Tower, and finally boarding the Sky Clipper heading to the Northern Kingdom, Leon was still pondering this question.

As the human kingdom that is the northernmost on the continent, with even a small part bordering the polar region, the Northern Kingdom Ashito, though extremely vast, is at least seventy percent ice plains, thus being referred to as the Ice Plains Nation.

Or rather, it could be said that due to those ice plains unsuitable for human habitation, "The Frost Plains Country Ashito" is the official name of the Northern Kingdom, while "Northern" Kingdom is just a colloquial name given due to its geographic location.

And as for what distinctive local products this kingdom at the northernmost edge of humanity has… it seems there really aren't any notable ones.

Recalling what he had read about some natural conditions of the Northern Kingdom in William's geography book, Leon couldn't help but scratch the back of his head in worry.

According to the book's records, the climate and environment of the Northern Kingdom are extremely harsh, with more than half of its territory almost perpetually covered in ice and snow.

The winters there are severe and long, and the summers are chilly and short, with nearly thirty percent of the territory permanently frozen; even in the hottest summer, the average temperature stays below 0°C, and there is very little rainfall...

Or to put it more bluntly, the word "rainfall" is almost redundant in the Northern Kingdom; during the hottest seven or eight days of summer, there might occasionally be some scattered rain that's so sparse it's not even worth calculating.

Apart from low temperatures and snowfall, due to the vast region of open flat ice plains, the Northern Kingdom often experiences terrifying storms sweeping across the entire country from west to east, at least fourteen or fifteen times a year.

The average wind speed of these super-large storms is basically around twenty to thirty meters per second, but in very special circumstances, it can sweep over a hundred meters in a second. If a heavy snowfall coincides, the resulting snowstorm is truly destructive, destroying almost everything it encounters.

Even the unique, giant mammoths of the Northern Kingdom, averaging close to ten tons, would be flipped head over heels in the snow when encountering such a scale of snowstorm, as for the ordinary people of the Northern Kingdom… 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The people of the Northern Kingdom are not fools, how could they possibly live on such a deadly ice plain?

Although the region there is extremely vast and the resources and minerals are not scarce, the areas suitable for human habitation are actually quite limited, even digging ice cellars underground won't work.

Because with the extraordinarily harsh climate of the Northern Kingdom, if a snowstorm blew through the night, there could be a three to five-meter-thick layer of snow directly piled on the ice cellar's door by the next morning, risking suffocation before even digging out.

And such brainless Northerners had already been wiped out clean by snowstorms eight hundred years ago, as for the remaining sensible Northerners, like the Royal Capital Rehe City of the Northern Kingdom, the majority chose to live by the mountain.

Even though living by the mountain has its own risks, with occasional disasters of varying sizes, it's still better than waking up to find the entire family has ascended to heaven, with all possessions, be they humans, horses, cattle, sheep, or tents, swirling in the wind together...

...

In short, such a wild climate makes normal living quite difficult, naturally pushing everything towards practicality, making it hard to have exquisite and unique local specialties.

Liquor, smoked meat, sweets, sausages, biscuits… feel slightly famous, basically all sorts of food and drink, and a range of high-calorie foods, and Veronica surely isn't short of these, making it not worth bringing them back from such a distance.

Even though he felt that whatever he brought back for her, she would happily accept it, since she made a request, he should surely give something more meaningful...

Hmm... Strong liquor could be something to bring for the Director, she'd definitely like it.

Taking out a small notebook and charcoal pencil he carried, after writing "liquor" on it, Leon, sitting by the window of the Sky Clipper, couldn't help but turn his head towards the female cleaner next to him.

To really get some local specialties, directly asking her, a local from the North, would naturally be the most convenient way. It's just that after Veronica made a fuss over her issue, what if she really took a fancy to him, or started having other thoughts?

"Why are you always looking at me?"

Noticing Leon's gaze, the female cleaner, who was eating her onboard meal, couldn't help but tense up, instinctively guarding the fruit pizza on her small table.

But soon, as if remembering something, she hesitantly put down her hand, then gritting her teeth, picked up her dining knife, and firmly cut a small piece of pizza, putting it on Leon's plate with a fork.

"That's all! I haven't had my fill!"

"..."

Veronica, you're really overthinking this time...

Looking at her giant pizza, bigger than a pot lid and needing to be folded into three layers to fit, and then glancing at the tiny piece of pizza on his own plate, Leon's face darkened.

Honestly, there's no way she'd fancy me! I bet in her eyes, I'm less appealing than a piece of pizza… and it's even pineapple pizza!

"Have it yourself."

Pushing back the pizza with at least thrice the cheese, pulling stringy threads, Leon looked at her ridiculously large lunch and couldn't help but sarcastically ask:

"Where on earth did you get this thing? My tablecloth isn't even as big as this pizza!"

"Of course, I brought it myself!"

Stabbing the piece of pizza Leon returned and putting it into her mouth, the female cleaner said with a face full of bliss:

"Your kingdom's stuff might be exquisite and delicious, but when it comes to filling the stomach, Northern things are the best!"

Indeed, there's no arguing with that… just this cheese thicker than the table board, I really haven't seen anyone besides you who can swallow it.

Unable to hold back a few internal complaints about Northern culinary culture, Leon glanced at the three deputy directors on the other side of the aisle resting with closed eyes, then asked the female cleaner:

"Melly, does the North have any specialties?"

"Of course, there are many!"

Nodding in response, the female cleaner swallowed the pizza in her mouth and enthusiastically started counting on her fingers:

"There are many types of jerky alone, but I only remember the most famous ones, like Snow Mammoth Jerky, Ice Cave Rhino Dried Meat, Barbed Elephant Smoked Rib, Thick Hoof Donkey Palm, Saber-toothed Tiger Whip…"