Yu Xiaoxiao was fascinated by the pocket watch in her hand. She had wanted to buy it at a high price before, but the old man had refused to sell it. Now, he had given it to her for free.
The old man said, "This was a gift from the priest to me and my old partner on our wedding day."
So, doesn't this mean it's equivalent to a ring? Yu Xiaoxiao wanted to return the watch, but the old man waved his hand.
A few people came to the vendor's stand, looking at the other items. He said, "My old partner has been gone for many years, and I will soon follow her. It's just that I hope this pocket watch can have a new life."
The magic team had already walked far along the street. The vendors nearby were crowded with people. As had already stood outside the crowd, one hand holding a clown mask, and half of his body hiding in the shadows.
Finally, Yu Xiaoxiao thanked the old man. She walked towards As and handed him the watch. "I'm giving this to you."
Slime interjected, "That old man said the watch was for his true love, Xiaoxiao, do you like this guy?"
Yu Xiaoxiao: "…"
"As is the one destined for this watch." She handed the watch to As.
He did nothing tonight, just kept staring at the watch, now his wish had come true.
The young man's body tensed slightly. He felt the metal in his hand, thought of what Slime had said, and then returned the watch to Yu Xiaoxiao. "I don't want it."
Yu Xiaoxiao was puzzled. She looked at the person who had already left and followed after him. "Why?" she asked.
As did not answer.
Slime was still eating cotton candy, his mouth full of white stickiness. It discovered that Xiaoxiao was unusually indulgent towards this mysterious As.
The three of them walked towards the direction of the underground city together. The streetlights were bright, shining on them. Slime finished its own cotton candy and looked greedily at the stick in Yu Xiaoxiao's hand.
The girl's lips turned up slightly; she handed the untouched cotton candy to Slime, and its eyes lit up as it took it happily.
There were a lot of people on the weekend. No one paid too much attention to them. It was just that As was dragging the tail of his black cloak, which was quite comical.
After returning to the underground city, As and Slime went to a small restaurant, while Yu Xiaoxiao returned to her own home. Opening the cupboard, she found the orange cat lying on the bed, constantly meowing pitifully. Yu Xiaoxiao only then noticed that the cat food had run out. She quickly poured a large bowl for her pet and, to please it, opened a can of fish. The fat orange cat twisted its body a few times before finally lowering its head to eat this belated feast.
"Cream, I will take you to get vaccinated in a few days." Yu Xiaoxiao squatted behind it, using a fine comb to clean its back, gently removing some loose fur.
The summer was getting hotter, and she could bring out the small cool mat from earlier. Lately, she had been spending more and more time in the underground city, and she couldn't help feeling guilty about leaving Cream alone at home.
"I'll ask the Third Prince if I can bring you with me." Cream responded with a meow, as if in acknowledgment.
Eating the fragrant fish from the can in front of it, its body made a purring sound, like a vibrating engine.
As long as there was food, it was content. Yu Xiaoxiao went to take a shower, thinking about the spells she had learned before, and used one on the cleanser on the wash basin.
The cleanser instantly shrank. Victor had said that Earth was a non-magic plane. This meant that although there was no magic now, it didn't mean there wouldn't be in the future. She put on her clean pajamas and restored the cleanser to its original state. The girl left the bathroom, picked up her notebook, and sat on the bed.
The drama she had been waiting for was officially starting today. It was now ten o'clock at night, and she could still watch an episode. However, when she opened the video website, she found a notice about an unexpected withdrawal.
Yu Xiao Xiao: "......"
The next day, Yu Xiao Xiao went to the underground city at five in the morning.
The slimes were still half-asleep.
She decided to go to the royal capital by herself.
Boarding the train, Yu Xiao Xiao sat nervously in her seat with the application document in hand.
She needed to pick up her clothes from the store. By the time she arrived, it was exactly six o'clock.
There was only one girl in the store, she was busy cleaning, but lifted her head to glance when she heard the sound of the wind chimes.
"The one in the box is the custom-made outfit you ordered."
Yu Xiao Xiao walked over, she opened the black box and saw a white long-sleeved uniform dress. It had golden buttons, split into two rows, and came with a small cape. It was dignified and elegant. The hem of the dress was above the knee, and the black boots reached the calf, all of which accentuated her figure.
The girl stood in front of the mirror, looking at the exquisitely crafted uniform, her face blushed slightly.
Yu Xiao Xiao had never worn this style of clothing before.
Her slightly curled hair fell on her shoulders, and her long legs looked even straighter in the boots.
There was a moment when she suddenly felt that the 350,000 gold coins were worth it.
Holding the document, Yu Xiao Xiao said, "Thank you, I really like it."
"Ok." Bingling came to the counter and took out a letter, "Help me deliver this to Minister Luo for me."
"Alright." Yu Xiao Xiao took the letter.
The letter was quite ordinary, but it was sealed with magic, which only the recipient could open.
Yu Xiao Xiao carefully put away the envelope.
She left and went to a nearby breakfast shop and ordered a meal.
She waited until 9 o'clock in the morning and then went to the Calia Alliance Department.
The guard at the door hesitated and stopped her. The uniform she was wearing looked like that of a diplomat from a public country, but she was too unfamiliar.
Yu Xiao Xiao calmly said, "Hello, I am an official from the underground city, and I am here to submit an application document today."
"The underground city?" The guard was stunned.
This might be the first time someone from the underground city had come since the establishment of the alliance department.
He said, "Can you provide some identification?"
"Sure."
Yu Xiao Xiao opened her personal chip and connected it to the sensor in the guard's hand. Her information quickly displayed on his screen.
Only eighteen years old.
She might be the youngest official.
The guard opened the door.
"I'll take you there." He wasn't going to, but decided to personally escort her since she looked so cute.
"There are a few diplomats from the public countries here today, and they are having a meeting on territorial division. It may go on late."
The guard led Yu Xiao Xiao into the building. After taking the elevator, they arrived at a resting room on a certain floor.
He said, "I need to remind you of something."
"Please go ahead."
"Our minister is very picky, and many public country applications have been rejected by him. Moreover, the underground city..." The guard hesitated.
He finally said, "Although the underground city is an inseparable part of the royal capital, it has been abandoned for over ten thousand years, so it might be very difficult to establish a public country. I hope I'm not making you angry by saying this."
"I'm not angry. Thank you for telling me these."
"Then you wait here, I've informed the minister's secretary."
"Okay."
Yu Xiao Xiao sat alone in the large reception room. During this time, a young lady brought her a cup of tea.
From nine in the morning until twelve noon. From twelve noon until six in the evening.
Yu Xiao Xiao had not eaten, so she had to quell her hunger with water.
At nine in the evening, the lights in the reception room were still on, with only she in the room.
She was still waiting.
Although in her heart, she was also guessing that she might have been forgotten or perhaps the minister simply didn't care to see an intern official.
It wasn't until late at night, around eleven o'clock, that the secretary arrived.
She said coldly, "The minister has gone for business, come again tomorrow.
After saying that, she left without looking back.
Yu Xiaoxiao sat in the chair, her hands touching her belly, which was making a "gurgling" sound.
Because this was the Alliance Department, she paid extra attention to her posture whether sitting or standing, not wanting to embarrass the Third Prince, so now her back was slightly sore.
After hearing the secretary's words, she sighed.
She left silently, the guards had been changed, and after they opened the door for her, the girl walked alone on the street, her expression calm.
She had prepared for the worst before coming here.
She would not give up.
The next day, Yu Xiaoxiao arrived at nine o'clock as usual.
This time she was smarter, bringing a leather bag with her containing several rice balls.
She still couldn't meet the Minister of the Alliance Department today.
The third day, the fourth day...
By the fifth day, Yu Xiaoxiao looked at the leaves outside the window, feeling that she might never see the Minister in her lifetime.
She wasn't very sad, just feeling...
Unwilling.
If the public country couldn't be applied for, the underground city would always be an empty shell.
She no longer cared about her appearance on the first day, instead standing at the window and eating the rice balls heartily.
However, the taste of the rice balls was a bit bitter.
The guard next to the door looked at the girl on the second floor, her cheeks bulging as she ate, a hint of helplessness showing on his face.
There was no way, the Minister had been avoiding seeing her all along, without giving any explanation, just making her wait in vain. In fact, from the beginning, he had known that the people in the Alliance Department didn't respect the steward officials of the underground city.
Even for the one who had been living in the underground city for years, they looked down on her.
How could they agree to their application for a public country?
The man was thinking, when he received a phone call.
"Hello, this is the Alliance Department of the Calia Empire, I am Jason, the Chief Guard."
"Hello, I am the Commander of the Underground City Legion, Victor."
The slime cleared its throat and asked in a deliberately indifferent tone, "Is our steward still with you?"
"Yes."
The slime stood outside the stone door, glanced at the man sitting opposite to it and said, "Well, I'm going to ask you a few questions next, please answer truthfully."
"The first question, in the past five days, has the Minister of the Alliance Department never appeared?"
"That's right."
"The second question, up to now, have none of the senior officials in your place reviewed the document in her hands?"
"That's right." The guard inexplicably became nervous.
How could that be seen this way? The secretary hadn't even received her document, and so far, none of the senior staff at the Alliance Department had respected the girl's arrival.
The slime's voice contained a hint of anger as it continued to ask, "The last question, has our steward been starving for these five days waiting for an answer?!"
"..."
Jason coughed lightly, "Yes, on the first day. For the next few days, Miss Steward prepared her own food."
"Hmph!" The slime snorted heavily and hung up.
"Master, those people just made Lady Xiaoxiao wait like that! They didn't even offer the most basic courtesy!"
When diplomats from public countries came, they would at least be offered tea and food service.
As the ruler of the Asstar planet, the Calia Empire had countless subjugated public countries, and in terms of receiving guests, it was impeccable.
Even the smallest public country that came to the capital could feel the grandeur of the Calia Empire.
But, they deliberately made things difficult for Xiaoxiao!