People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

The Duke of Caesar glanced coldly at the man in the grey top hat, his tone already tinged with icy malice: "What do you mean? Have I lost the ability to command you, Sir [I Love Sherag]?"

No, it's just...

"Go open it!"

"Alas!" The man in the grey top hat sighed deeply, bowed, and said, "Your will."

He walked towards the gate, swallowed hard, and opened it.

"I can smell your stench even with the door closed. I knew I wasn't wrong." The tall, slender woman grinned, revealing a dangerous smile. She stepped inside, pushed aside the grey top hat in front of her, and her knuckles cracked as she rubbed them together. "Kester, let's settle the score."

The Duke of Custer suddenly jumped up from the sofa, his frail, inactive body leaping three feet high in a medical miracle, his tone filled with surprise and fear as if he had seen his nemesis!

"Wendermere, you woman! How did you get here!"

"What's there to settle? Didn't you already beat me up in the car that day?! We're even now! You agreed to that back then!"

"Oh? So I really said something like that?"

Duke Windermere paused, a look of surprise flashing across his face.

Of course she never said that; it was something Curst made up to buy time.

Because she had noticed that her loyal grey top hat had slipped out of the house amidst the chaos, probably to fetch reinforcements!

Hmm...you went to get reinforcements, right?

right?

Believe first!

All she needs to do is stall for time until the two members of the Storm Commando arrive, and then... stall for even longer!

That way, she would surely be able to wait for Ernst—the host would definitely not allow such a terrible bloodshed to occur during the grand event he had painstakingly prepared! And Duke Windermere did indeed give Ernst a lot of face!

Having made up his mind and drawn up a plan, the Duke of Cactus nodded with great certainty:

"Yes, you said it!"

“Alright then!” Duke Windermere didn’t dwell on it, simply nodding calmly.

So easy to please?

The Duke of Caesar hesitated for a moment, then said, "Then why don't you get out of my room right now!"

"why?"

Duke Windermere was taken aback. Instead of backing down, he stepped forward and raised his fist.

"If there are no accounts to settle, then there are no accounts to settle. So what?"

"You're a scholar, I'm a soldier. What, you think you can reason with me?"

"I can throw this punch whenever I want!"

Chapter 269 Vina: I'll give you a surprise.

Shelag, Tukarim, government office building.

Ernst knocked on the door of the Foreign Minister's office, and Vina's voice came from inside. Ernst pushed the door open and entered.

A young woman with fluffy blonde hair was sitting in her office chair. Upon seeing Ernst enter, she immediately stood up and reported:

"Prime Minister, the venue is ready, the staff are almost all present, and the final preparations are complete. Ms. Christensen has decided to personally attend the opening ceremony tomorrow."

"Still haven't been able to persuade her?"

Ernst sighed somewhat helplessly.

"Fine, she did build the aircraft after all. Since she has absolute confidence, let her do it herself."

While in Lateran, Ernst confessed to Ivangelist XI that he had set the theme of this World's Fair as "The Future".

Of course, Kjerag's influence was now minimal, and Ernst didn't insist that all the Terran nations include exhibits related to the theme of "the future" at this World's Fair. However, as the organizer, Kjerag was determined to carry this theme through to the end.

Ernst made ample preparations and prepared plenty of surprises. The first of these was a "flying performance" in collaboration with Christensen at the opening ceremony.

The Terrans have a long history of gazing at the heavens; stargazing, astrology, celestial phenomena, and prophecies are all related to the sky. However, their attempt to ascend to the heavens is remarkably short-lived.

Leaving aside the obscure history of the Protoss era, the closest the Terrans ever came to the sky was during a series of flight experiments and performances conducted in Colombia by Christensen's parents, the Wrights.

The brief aviation craze flourished in a country where "anything new was acceptable," but it ultimately came to an end with the Wrights' aircraft crash.

Now, Christensen wants to rekindle this flame, so she approached Ernst, and the two hit it off immediately.

The Dome Research Station is not only a research station for studying the "Star Pod" isolation layer, but also a flight test base. Under the protection of the erudite Yeragand, the skies above Sherag have been successfully transformed into a suitable area for flight, and with the persistent "assistance" of the Balrog Safar, Christen has finally created the aircraft she is most satisfied with to date.

The aircraft will fly over Kjerag tomorrow during the opening ceremony, performing three shows: high-altitude flight, low-altitude flight, and hovering flight, before finally landing on the helipad at the summit of the Matterhorn.

At that time, Ernst will also deliver his first speech, "From the Future".

The humans of Terra boast that their civilization and nations have conquered every corner of this land.

When we take it for granted that we are dividing up the country's spheres of influence, using our rapidly developing technology and flourishing national power to fill our insatiable greed, leaving every inch of our soil stained with our blood.

I ask all of us to listen together.

Listen to this voice from the future. She is passing overhead, whistling sharply, speaking to everyone who still harbors ambition.

"Our future is not with each other, but with the sky and the sea. Our future lies in each other, and it belongs to unity and cooperation."

This was the beginning of the World's Fair, and I hope it will be the beginning of the future.

Our journey is to the stars and the sea!

Ernst didn't expect a simple appeal to have much of an impact, but coupled with Christensen's aerial performance, Ernst believed that the speech would at least plant a seed in the hearts of the leaders of the Terran nations.

We can conquer not only the earth, but also the sky.

Of course, most importantly, this speech will be combined with Ernst's "Trans-Star Pod" experiment at the very end of the exposition.

When the speech "We Choose to Go to the Moon!" resonated in Columbia and Sheraton, the theme of "the future" was truly highlighted, achieving a synergistic effect greater than the sum of its parts!

After finalizing the details, Ernst entrusted the task to Vina, his most trusted subordinate. Vina lived up to expectations, consistently delivering satisfactory results whenever Ernst contacted her.

This time, however, Ernst was not simply there to inspect the results.

His gaze fell on Vina, and after a moment of silence, under Vina's somewhat nervous gaze, he finally spoke, voicing the question that had worried her the most:

"Vina, what are you afraid of?"

"As the Foreign Minister, you refused to receive foreign visitors, but volunteered to take charge of liaising with Christensen. Although you did a good job, this is not your job."

Ernst initially did not intend to entrust the task of coordinating with Christensen to Vina.

She initially intended to give it to Lola. Firstly, Miss Polar Bear had the most interaction with Rhine Labs, and in the daily work of cleaning ash, she had even become friends with Miss Nastie, the head of the engineering department at Rhine Labs. Secondly, Lola had the highest level of education. As a properly trained professional, she could at least understand the professional terms that Christen occasionally used. Even if she didn't understand them, her learning threshold was the lowest among the group of people in Sherag.

But Vina volunteered.

Without any excuse, she even started with "please," half pleading and half threatening, to get the project from Ernst.

Ernst did not doubt Vina's loyalty. As a seasoned political fighter, he had not noticed any signs of factionalism or infighting among his subordinates. Besides, Vina was a foreign minister, and Lola was in the same engineering department. Their areas of expertise were not even related. Even if Ernst granted her such a project, it would only damage her image.

There must be a reason why Vina is wearing leather pants over cotton pants!

Ernst had intended to investigate secretly, but Vina didn't even give him the chance before revealing her true intentions.

"I'm very busy, and I apologize, but I may find it difficult to find the time to receive foreign guests..."

This is so abnormal.

The Foreign Minister is too busy coordinating with scientists on project engineering issues to conduct his own diplomatic work.

If Vina hadn't brought this up with him in person, Ernst would have suspected that Vina and Lola had swapped souls.

Analyzing this matter doesn't actually require much thought; the answer is quite obvious.

“Vina, if you refused to go to Victoria, I could turn a blind eye. But this is Shelag, and no one can harm you here. This is not only Yeragand's guarantee, but also my promise!”

Ernst frowned.

"So, if I may, I'd like to know what exactly you're worried about. Who are you afraid of?"

Vina had already met with Duke Windermere, but there had been no conflict or disagreement between them. Although Duke Windermere's attitude toward Vina was somewhat intriguing, it was not hostile.

The person who made Vina want to escape was probably one of the other dukes.

Although Ernst was a little embarrassed to often tease her, his first thought was indeed the Duke of Kester. But Ernst really couldn't figure out what relationship the Duke of Kester and Vina could have. Could it be that, like himself, he had gone around in circles and found out that they were related by blood?

Wow—having the Duke of Caesar as a relative is indeed quite frightening. But Ernst wanted to tell Vina that even if you and your family had any conflicts with the Duke of Caesar in the past, that's all in the past.

You are now a Sherag, my subordinate. Even the Duke of Caesar can't do anything to you here!

Otherwise, I'll ask the Duke of Windermere to beat her up, and then I'll make the great god Jeragand bang on the Duke of Caesar's window every day so he'll have nightmares!

Looking at Ernst's serious face, Vina opened her mouth several times, and finally gritted her teeth and said:

"Ernst, do you promise to protect me for the rest of your life?"

What you said is rather ambiguous, but the atmosphere has been built up to this point, so it seems like we can't refuse.

Ernst nodded: "As long as you do not betray Sherag and do not resign from your post, you will be a Sherag citizen and under the protection of Jeragand."

“I need your assurance!” Vina said earnestly, her eyes even glistening with tears. “You were the one who brought me out of Victoria, not Yeragand. So… I only trust you!”

Ernst took a deep breath and nodded heavily: "I promise!"

As if letting out a huge sigh of relief, Vina's tense face suddenly softened. She stepped forward, ignoring Ernst's astonished gaze, reached out, wrapped her arms around his waist, and buried her face in his embrace, making muffled sounds:

"grateful."

"Wait until the expo starts, I'll give you a surprise!"

Chapter 270 Airship!

Shelag, Tukarim, the site of the World's Fair.

The newly built streets are smooth and wide, with colorful flags and ribbons hanging from the streetlights—items that were previously only displayed during the harvest festival. The shops on both sides are also adorned with many large red lanterns and knots in the style of Yan Kingdom. This is all thanks to Tornster. If he hadn't introduced Yan Kingdom-style celebrations such as paper-cutting, window decorations, and fireworks to the harvest festival, Enciodis would not have realized the business opportunity. In addition to the business scope of Kallan Trade, which, like Rhodes Island, was "not just about trade (medical)," he added the fireworks business.

Of course, Mr. Nohis Edwis, the Chief Technology Officer of Kalan Trading who wished to remain anonymous and had some inside knowledge, commented on this:

"Hahahaha! What business opportunity? Ensiodis just lost face over the fireworks incident and is trying to make amends!"

We still do not know where Nohis Edwis is now.

"He's sick today and can't come."

Faced with the doubts of others, Mr. Enciodis, President of Kalan Trade, made a statement that was no different from a middle school homeroom teacher claiming that the physical education teacher was sick and on leave.

There is no doubt about its authenticity, nor is there any doubt about its reliability.

The word "want" is used with great subtlety. It contains a sense of desolation, hardship, unspeakable emotions, and human agency.

Having taken his seat in the main hall of the World's Fair ahead of time, Enciodes glanced at the leaders who had already arrived.

Representatives from various countries mostly sat in one area. Even the Casimir Certified Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce, who disliked each other, maintained a great deal of polite formality in this setting. However, the Duke of Caesar and the Duke of Windermere were seated quite far apart, and Ensioudis vaguely overheard some rumors...

"The significant improvement in Sherag's medical standards is inseparable from the help of the two of them."

Some of the hellish beings told a joke, and Enciodes looked at the makeshift stage.

That was Ernst's stage.

There was a time when he thought his younger brother was somewhat naive and adorable, genuinely believing that his immature diplomatic skills could protect Sherag from the increasingly fierce competition of the world.

But when those people who even Ensiodes found astonishing and shocking, people he had only ever heard of and rarely saw, actually appeared before him, sitting in the same area as him, and even ranked after him, he had to admit, no matter how stubborn he was, that Ernst had done a good job.

Even though interactions between nations are based on strength, Ernst skillfully leveraged power time and again, enabling the seemingly insignificant small country of Shelag to exert an influence far exceeding its own size when needed.

Ernst had also revealed the World Summit plan to him. If this plan could be realized, then Sherag's leverage would reach its peak.

A Sherag without a single high-speed warship might be vulnerable to bullying. A Sherag without a single high-speed warship plus the Duke of Windermere would be enough to raise alarm. A Sherag without a single high-speed warship plus the Duke of Windermere, plus the Duke of Castle, the Duke of Wellington, and Columbia, would be enough to awe Terra and make its words carry immense weight.

We're really awesome!

Ensioudis recalled Ernst's frequent grumblings: "Danzig or war? Humph, a diplomatic victory!" "Let them fight, and you, glorious Habsburg, go get married!" "I really want a god-like figure, even if his surname is Ottoman-Olu, I'll just believe in him!" and other such nonsense. But now, he wondered if these were fragments of his unspoken but undeniably useful thoughts.

It's truly moving.

When did I start to not understand this younger brother? He used to follow me around and call me "brother," just like Enya.

I really want to... I really want to...