I! Cleaner!-Chapter 767 - 702: Abnormality in the Thermal River

"Clink!"

With a crisp sound of a spoon hitting the table, the man scanning through documents paused momentarily, then cast a puzzled look at the attendant beside him.

"Where's my soup?"

"Your Ma... Majesty..."

Seeing the slightly displeased look in the blue-haired man's eyes, the pallid attendant couldn't help but kneel with a thud, hurriedly explaining with a face full of panic:

"I... I... Your soup was just here! I just turned around for a moment, and then... it was gone!"

Gone after just turning around?

After hearing the attendant's explanation, the burly man furrowed his brows, having a general idea about the whereabouts of that hearty beef soup.

"Alright, it's not your fault."

Gesturing for the attendant to rise, the blue-haired man with a stern face picked up a silk handkerchief beside him, wiped the soup from his bristly beard, and then ordered indifferently:

"Go and fetch another pot... no, make it three! Also, bring three more pots of the cold eel stew and cheese pot, and bring fifty cans of mackerel. Be quick."

"Yes!"

Seeing that His Majesty Harvey did not blame him, the attendant let out a sigh of relief and hurried off to the kitchen, while the blue-haired man cast aside the handkerchief, gazing steadily at the Dressed Elder standing before his table.

"Sir Isaac."

After calling the elder by name, the blue-haired man, having cleaned the soup off his beard, tapped the summary report on his table with a hint of displeasure inquiringly:

"Do you dare to hand this kind of thing to me, assuming that I will overlook it due to your past merits and not punish you?"

?!

Upon hearing the blue-haired man's blunt questioning, the Dressed Elder's spine stiffened, a few beads of clouded sweat appearing on his makeup-covered face.

"Your Majesty... I... I have really done my best..."

Seeing the blue-haired man tapping the table with dissatisfaction, the back of the Dressed Elder, already wet with sweat, pleaded anxiously:

"Upon receiving your order, I immediately contacted the engineering department and inspected almost all the pipeline furnaces in Rehe City, but all were operating normally, and there was no excessive water extraction from the underground hot river. The issue lies with the hot river itself.

Then I had my nephew lead twenty exploration teams into the underground hot river, and ten days in, they submerged over nine hundred sets of insulation armor, yet the cause of this year's overheating remains elusive, I..."

"Sir Isaac!"

Raising his voice to cut through the elder's complaints, the blue-haired man spoke with a hint of anger:

"You know I don't want to hear this! How hard you worked, how arduous it was, bears no relevance to the result I demand!

I only want to see the reasons for the unusual subterranean activity in your report this year! I'm asking for results, not processes. As long as you can ascertain the cause, I don't care about the means!"

"Your Majesty, I... I'll continue to investigate and try my best..."

"Sir Isaac."

Interrupting the Elder again, the blue-haired man said with dissatisfaction:

"I don't want your 'best effort,' I want certainty! Rehe City's foundation relies on extracting hot water from the underground hot river and distributing it through pipelines across the city!

Now, the water temperature in the hot river has risen unusually, and the city becomes hotter by the day, with more and more pipeline furnaces damaged by steam. This poses a significant threat that could lead to the destruction of the Royal Capital! 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Yet with all my backing, your investigation results show you can't identify the cause?"

Picking up the report from the table and tossing it onto the carpet at the Elder's feet, the blue-haired man toned down his anger, yet questioned with an icy coldness while gazing at the sweat-drenched elder:

"Sir Isaac, you don't really believe that if things go wrong, you—a minister of the department clueless about the situation—can resign with no consequences, do you?"

"Thud!"

Frightened by the blue-haired man's tone, the Elder knelt immediately, with sweat soaking through his cravat, almost lying prostrate on the carpet as he tremulously vowed to find the reason, then was half-dragged, half-supported by two attendants out of the room.

As the dragging sounds receded down the corridor, another simply dressed middle-aged man stepped forward in a hurry, handing over his documents.

"Your Majesty, the Foreign Ministry's note was rejected. According to their verbal message, it seems they wish to avoid excessive political elements at the wedding, hence refused entry to officials above foreign minister rank, what do you think..."

"Heh."

After skimming through the documents on the table, the blue-haired man let out a slight laugh, then commented with a detached gaze:

"It's just an excuse to buy time.

The Crolock Kingdom has suffered a big catastrophe, and all its territory was submerged by seawater, which was a huge gain for that cunning princess, and what she needs to do now is to fully digest Crolock's 'legacy' before other nations realize.

So, I have reason to suspect this so-called marriage is also her means to stall. Every week delayed allows her to absorb more of Crolock's essence and give new life to that decrepit Kingdom."

"Your Majesty, brilliant insight."

Speaking at the right moment, the simply dressed middle-aged man bowed and asked:

"So, do you think we should continue to array our troops at the border and conduct several large-scale exercises to pressure them into changing their stance?"

"Certainly!"

Glancing up at the man, the burly blue-haired man leaned back in his chair, confidently stating:

"From what I know about her, that scheming woman would never pass up the convenience of a wedding!

During the time our emissaries are barred from entry, she'll treat Crolock's legacy as bait, enticing neighboring kingdoms to join forces against us!

Thus we must not only continue our military presence at the border, but even initiate controlled skirmishes, forcing domestic forces to pressure her to accept emissaries!"

"Understood."

Nodding respectfully and noting the King of the North's words, the simply dressed middle-aged man tentatively asked:

"Your Majesty, will the envoy still be Her Highness Melly?"

"Yes."

At the mention of his sister's name, the blue-haired man's expression softened slightly, responding warmly:

"Though Melly isn't versed in governance, her status is prestigious enough to represent me in forging ties between our Kingdom and others. There's no concern over her safety—the role of envoy is hers by right... Where's my soup? Why hasn't it arrived?"

"Your Ma... Majesty..."

Upon hearing the blue-haired man's inquiry, the attendant who had just run to the kitchen returned, pushing an empty cart, trembling as he spoke:

"There's nothing left... There's only a pile of empty pots in the kitchen, not even... even the cooks are gone..."

"..."

(艹皿艹)?!!!