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Chapter 31
Neptune fell silent for a moment.
He naturally understood exactly what Tian Chen was implying.
In truth, it was also a reminder!
The Ancient Weapon—Poseidon power— hidden inside Princess Shirahoshi was not known only to Tian Chen the Great Emperor.
Many others had already discovered this secret.
Under the temptation of such immense power, Fish-Man Island would not easily be able to protect Shirahoshi.
Snapping back to reality, what Neptune struggled with was this:
Even though that was true, leaving Shirahoshi in the care of Tian Chen the Great Emperor still made him deeply uneasy.
"Hmph!"
In the end, Neptune let out a cold snort.
In his heart he had to admit— the Emperor's political maneuvering had truly pinned him down.
"This King demands to see Shirahoshi first!"
"If even a single scale on her body is missing—if she has been bullied in any way— then there is no point in continuing this discussion between us."
For Shirahoshi's greater safety, Neptune had no choice but to take a step back in front of Tian Chen.
But the precondition was that he must see Shirahoshi safe and unharmed.
If she had suffered any harm or grievance in less than half a day after arriving in the Giant Empire, he would rather take Shirahoshi back to Fish-Man Island.
Even if it meant exhausting every ounce of strength, he would protect her.
Moreover, if truly pushed to the limit… the Sea King power within Shirahoshi was not something they couldn't borrow and wield.
And besides— the sea was the home field of the fish-man race.
"Rest assured."
"This Emperor understands your meaning."
Tian Chen gave a slight smile.
With a light snap of his fingers, golden light suddenly bloomed inside the grand hall.
Shirahoshi, who had been chatting happily with Imu in the guest room, appeared directly in the hall.
"Daughter—my daughter!"
"Don't be afraid, Father is here."
The moment Neptune saw Shirahoshi appear before him, regardless of anything else, he rushed forward with tears streaming down his face, overflowing with concern.
There was no helping it—as a father who had failed to protect his daughter, watching her get taken away left him filled with self-reproach, more heartbroken than anyone.
When Shirahoshi saw it was her father, her heart gave a sudden jolt.
For some reason… she suddenly couldn't feel happy.
She thought— Father isn't here to take her back to Fish-Man Island, is he?
Wuwuwu. So scary!
She didn't want that at all.
She had finally reached the surface world and hadn't even had the chance to properly enjoy it yet.
When Shirahoshi saw Tian Chen standing nearby, she immediately shook off her tearful father and hid behind Tian Chen.
"Tian Chen-sama, I don't want to go back to Fish-Man Island with Father."
"Could you… please talk to my father for me?"
Shirahoshi looked at Tian Chen with pitiful, pleading eyes.
She felt deeply wronged and afraid that Neptune would take her away.
Tian Chen gently stroked Shirahoshi's enormous fish tail, comforting her:
"Don't worry. With this Emperor here, as long as you still want to stay, your father won't take you back."
"Mm-hmm, thank you, Tian Chen-sama."
"You're so wonderful!"
"Ehehe, Shirahoshi likes you the most!"
Shirahoshi's face bloomed with an adorable, happy blush.
Neptune, standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded.
What the hell was going on?
This was his daughter!
In less than half a day, she was already afraid of her own old father and desperately clinging to this seemingly harmless Tian Chen the Great Emperor?
Neptune's gaze darkened. He spoke in a low, displeased voice:
"Shirahoshi, come here quickly."
"He's a bad person!"
Hearing her father actually call Tian Chen-sama bad, Shirahoshi immediately became stubborn. Gathering her courage, she retorted:
"Hmph, Father, you mustn't wrongly accuse Tian Chen-sama!"
"He's a good person."
"I've already become good friends with him."
"If you keep talking about Tian Chen-sama like that, I'm really going to get angry at you!"
Neptune's heart was starting to collapse.
His precious baby girl… was actually getting angry at her own old father for the sake of this bastard Tian Chen.
Oh dear. Had his daughter grown up? Was she already turning her elbow outward?
Pah pah.
But he hoped the relationship between them wasn't what he was imagining.
Shirahoshi absolutely could not marry a human and bear children.
"Ahem…"
"Daughter, listen to Father."
"It's not safe for you to stay here."
Neptune tried to remain calm and persuade her.
"Father, don't worry."
"Tian Chen-sama has already promised to protect me well."
"And Tian Chen-sama is so kind to me!"
"He even said I can treat this place like my new home."
Shirahoshi stubbornly looked at Neptune.
Hearing Shirahoshi say she already considered this place her new home, Neptune immediately turned suspicious eyes toward Tian Chen.
Well played, you bastard Tian Chen.
What exactly did you say to Shirahoshi?
Tian Chen looked gently at Shirahoshi.
"Shirahoshi, go back to your room for now."
"This Emperor needs to have a proper discussion with your father about your situation."
Shirahoshi understood instantly.
She nodded very seriously and said:
"Tian Chen-sama, you must convince my father."
"Make him allow me to stay here for a while, okay?"
"Don't worry—this matter is completely no problem."
Tian Chen gave a light nod.
"Ehehe, thank you, Tian Chen-sama!"
Shirahoshi thanked him sweetly.
Then she playfully stuck out her tongue at Neptune.
"Father, you don't have to worry about me."
"Also, I finally made a friend on the surface world."
"You mustn't offend him, okay!"
"Otherwise… I really will start crying again."
"Sigh…"
Neptune let out a heavy sigh.
"Shirahoshi, go back to your room first."
Tian Chen understood— Neptune had finally compromised.
With a snap of his fingers, he sent Shirahoshi back to her guest room.
Smiling, he looked at Neptune.
"So… how about it?"
"You've seen Shirahoshi with your own eyes."
"This Emperor hasn't harmed her, correct?"
"And you should have noticed as well—"
"Shirahoshi is very happy right now!"
"She enjoys staying here."
"If you insist on taking her back, she will probably continue living in fear, locked away in that Hard-Shell Tower again."
"That's something you don't want to see either, isn't it?"
Neptune took a deep breath.
What Tian Chen said had struck precisely at the guilt he felt toward Shirahoshi.
Ever since her mother passed away, Shirahoshi had been harassed by a certain individual.
All these years… she had been confined inside the Hard-Shell Tower.
As her father, he truly owed her so much.
He hoped this time… Shirahoshi could live happily and freely.
But this guy Tian Chen had somehow coaxed his daughter into becoming this obedient.
It was a direct slap to his old face!
Unable to hold back, he gave Tian Chen a light snort.
"Hmph… this King truly underestimated your abilities."
"However—as long as you do not harm Shirahoshi, this King can let bygones be bygones regarding your people abducting her."
"But this King knows your true purpose."
"You simply want to use Shirahoshi to threaten this King— force the entire Fish-Man Island race to join your Giant Empire."
"And furthermore, you intend to exploit the power within Shirahoshi to control all the Sea Kings and dominate the four seas."
Tian Chen smiled.
"You're exactly right."
"But there is one thing you can rest assured of—"
"No matter what this Emperor does, I will never harm Shirahoshi."
"So… how about it?"
"Can we now have a proper discussion about the Fish-Man Island race joining the Giant Empire?"
Tian Chen suppressed the anticipation in his heart.
He wanted Prestige Points—to enslave Imu. He wanted summoning quotas—to bring beauties from myriad worlds.
Now he only needed Neptune's agreement.
...
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