American Comics: Something's Wrong with This Superhero World

Chapter 306 Arthur and Mera's Deal

The next morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the curtains. Atlanna slowly awoke to find herself in Xiao Xian's arms. She turned her head, saw Xiao Xian's handsome face, and couldn't resist planting a kiss on his lips.

Atlana looked around and noticed that Arthur was still curled up under the bed, which made her feel a little sorry for him.

"Bin," Atlana said softly, "I think we should get Arthur out from under the bed."

Xiao Xian thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Okay, let him come out."

Atlanna then sat up halfway, reached out to the bedside, and gently patted the bed: "Arthur, come out."

After a slight rustling sound, Arthur's voice came from under the bed. He slowly crawled out. Arthur had dark circles under his eyes, his gaze was somewhat unfocused, and his steps were unsteady and weak; he looked utterly exhausted. Clearly, he had overexerted himself last night and hadn't slept well at all.

Atlanna and Xiao Xian couldn't help but chuckle at Arthur's appearance. Atlanna, suppressing a laugh, asked, "Son, are you alright?"

Arthur exclaimed excitedly, "I'm great, Mom! Last night was fantastic!"

Xiao Xian patted Atlanna and said, "Looks like your son had a good night."

Atlana laughed and said, "Yes, it seems we need to 'train' him like this more often."

Xiao Xian put his arm around Atlana and said, "Honey, your son has important things to do today, right?"

Atlana nodded. "Yes, this morning I'll be summoning ministers to discuss state affairs, followed by the cooperation with the Wayne Group and the matter of Orichalcos."

Xiao Xian said, "Then we need to hurry. Let Arthur go and discuss state affairs with the ministers first, and then I have to attend a meeting with the Wayne Group."

Atlanna looked at Arthur. "Son, did you hear that? We need to get down to business soon. Go and discuss state affairs with the ministers."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Arthur's eyes upon hearing this. He looked at the two of them pleadingly and said, "I...I can wait for you here."

Atlana shook her head. "No, you still have to handle government affairs."

Xiao Xian chuckled and said, "Kid, I know you did well last night, but now's not the time. Go back to your work; we'll 'train' you again tonight."

"Kid?" Arthur glanced at the smug Xiao Xian, and for Atlanna's sake, barely refrained from smashing Xiao Xian's head in. He gritted his teeth, and finally nodded, "Yes, Master."

Atlanna affectionately patted Arthur's head. "Good boy. Go on, and do your work well."

Inside the council chamber, Arthur tried his best to concentrate on the ministers' reports. However, whenever he thought about what had happened the night before, images and sounds would flash through his mind, making it difficult for him to focus.

Queen Mera keenly sensed Arthur's unusual behavior and observed him discreetly. Mera naturally knew what had happened to Arthur the previous night, but she pretended not to know and suddenly interrupted the minister's report.

"Arthur, you don't seem to be feeling well? Did you not sleep well last night?"

Arthur, lost in his daydream, was startled by Mera's words and quickly composed himself. "Oh no, I'm alright, thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

Mera gave Arthur a meaningful look, then leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Did you go out fishing last night? What happened to you, you look like this?"

Arthur was immediately embarrassed and stammered, "What are you talking about? I... I didn't... I just had a little insomnia last night. I've changed. I don't talk to the fish anymore, and I even got rid of the pet octopus in my bedroom."

Mera nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, it would be best if you could change." After she finished speaking, she gave Arthur a meaningful look.

Arthur let out a long sigh and continued to focus on the minister's report. However, Mera's probing made him uneasy. If Mera knew his preferences, would she support him as much as Atlanna?

Shaking his head, Arthur dismissed the idea, feeling that the chances were slim no matter how he thought about it.

After the morning meeting ended, Arthur eagerly pulled Mera into the conference room. As soon as they entered, they saw Xiao Xian, Selena, Atlana, and many other people from relevant departments already waiting for them.

Arthur glanced around and noticed that his mother, Atlanna, was sitting next to Xiao Xian, and her expression seemed a little off. He approached his mother with a puzzled look, only to find that Atlanna was clearly trying to remain calm, and he could even vaguely hear some kind of buzzing sound coming from her.

Arthur lowered his voice and asked, "Mom, what's wrong?"

Atlana looked up, pursed her lips, and said, "Ah, no... nothing, son."

Seeing this, Xiao Xian smiled and said, "Arthur, you've come at the right time. Your mother is trying out a 'little toy' from the land, and she's finding it very enjoyable."

Arthur was completely baffled. "What? A small toy?"

Selena, standing nearby, explained, "It's a little gadget used to add entertainment; you might have seen it in some movies."

Upon hearing this, Arthur felt a surge of excitement. He looked at Atlanna, "Mom, you...you put that..."

Atlana blushed and nodded. "Yes, Bin insisted that I try it."

"You didn't even ask for my opinion before letting my mom try this? I feel like you've gone a bit too far! What do you take me for, the King of Atlantis?"

While Arthur was excited, he was also somewhat dissatisfied. He vaguely felt that things were getting out of his control, so he looked at Xiao Xian and questioned him.

"Environmental enthusiast, what's wrong?" Xiao Xian asked Arthur calmly.

Speechless after being rebuked by Xiao Xian's words, Arthur remained silent for a moment before asking, "Then what do you take my mother for?"

"You're a fellow card player," Xiao Xian said bluntly. "Even your mother has no objections, so why are you in such a hurry?"

Upon hearing this, Arthur looked at Atlanna, who blushed and nodded somewhat shyly. For a moment, Arthur didn't know how to respond.

Xiao Xian chuckled lightly, "What's wrong, Arthur? You seem unhappy."

Arthur bit his lip. "I...I'm not unhappy, it's just that everything has its limits. Aren't you going a bit too far? We didn't even discuss it."

"You just need to accept it, isn't this what you expected?" Xiao Xian looked at Arthur and smiled slightly. "Last night you had us go through your browser history, right? Based on your browser history, we set up a series of games. Of course, if you can't accept it, you can choose to end the game."

Arthur was stunned; he hadn't expected Xiao Xian to say that. He recalled the happy memories of last night and was unwilling to give up so easily.

Xiao Xian continued, "However, if you want to stay, you must accept my arrangements. This includes having your wife, Mera, play games with me."

"Mera!" Arthur's breathing became heavier upon hearing this. He looked at Xiao Xian and said, "If you can win Mera over, of course I'm willing. But the problem is, what method is there to get Mera to accept you? She hates land people so much, and we've tried so many methods before without success."

Xiao Xian and Atlana exchanged a glance. Atlana spoke up, "For now, we have an idea. Let Mera play cards with your Uncle Bin. Trust me, with your Uncle Bin's amazing skills in bed, he'll definitely win Mera's heart."

Arthur remained silent for a long time before finally nodding. "Alright, I must say Uncle Bin is quite capable in this regard. I'll give it a try. But how do we get Mera to agree? She hates land-dwelling humans so much."

Xiao Xian stroked his chin. "How about this: you relinquish some of the king's power in exchange? Mera is a political animal; perhaps she'll agree."

Arthur's eyes widened. "Give up power? My mother and Mera already divided up most of my real power; if they divide it again, I really won't have much left."

Atlana nodded beside her, saying, "Don't worry, son. This is good for you too. Think about it, if Mera accepts your Uncle Abin, she'll have to accept your fetishes. Then we can enjoy even more exciting games together."

Arthur hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "Okay, I'll give it a try."

Xiao Xian patted Arthur on the shoulder. "Go ahead, I believe you can handle it. Then we can play even more fun games together."

Arthur returned to Mera's side. She stood gracefully by the window, her long red hair gleaming under the lamplight. Mera's features were exquisite and defined, her eyes like deep pools, radiating a mysterious charm.

The thought of giving away such a beautiful wife, whom he had never even touched, to Xiao Xian filled Arthur with inexplicable excitement.

Arthur swallowed hard, mustered his courage, and said, "Mera, I have something I want to talk to you about."

Mera turned around, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said feigning ignorance, "What is it? If it's something trivial, don't waste my time."

Arthur took a deep breath. "Regarding the issue of power distribution, perhaps you could try to help oversee the palace guards and the appointment and dismissal of some ministers?"

Mera immediately became interested and said, "Tell me more details."

Arthur hesitated for a moment. "There are too many people here. Can we go somewhere else?"

Mera thought for a moment and then nodded, saying, "Interesting. Then let's go to the room next door to talk."

Arthur and Mera went to the next room. Mera sat down on the sofa without any ceremony, crossed her legs, and stared sharply at Arthur. "Speak," she said, "I know you won't give me these powers for no reason. What do you need from me?"

Arthur stood awkwardly to the side, his face flushed. "I...I might have some rather unique hobbies. If you could understand and help me, I would be extremely grateful."

Mera raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Tell me about it."

Arthur took a deep breath. "Well... well, I won't use that to make fun of you."

Mera raised an eyebrow. "What else?"

Arthur's voice was barely audible; the words were on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't say them. "It's something else. I'd like you to play cards with Bin once."

Mera pretended not to hear her. "What? I didn't hear you. Say it again?"

Arthur's face turned even redder, and he said loudly, "I hope you can play cards with Ah Bin!" Although he spoke louder this time, he couldn't help but lower his voice when he said Ah Bin's name.

Mera pretended not to hear and deliberately said

"Oh? You want to play cards with me? Well, you haven't touched me since we got married. Looks like I can play with you for the first time, but only once."

Arthur was very excited when he heard this. "Really?" He thought Mera would refuse, but he didn't expect his wife to agree because of power.

In other words, Mera could play cards with Arthur if he agreed, something Arthur never even dared to dream of before.

However, Arthur thought about what happened last night, and his environmental interests told him that if Mera's first time was with Xiao Xian, then Arthur would be very happy.

"It wasn't me! It was Ah Bin! Ah Bin who came with Selena!" Gritting his teeth, Arthur finally couldn't resist the joy brought by his environmental hobby and chose to let Xiao Xian complete the transaction.

Mera's smile faded after hearing Arthur's words, replaced by a cold expression. She suddenly stood up and slapped Arthur hard across the face.

With a sharp "smack!", Arthur covered his burning cheek and looked at Mera.

Mera forced back her laughter, feigning fury, her red hair swaying in the water.

"You environmentalist! You actually want me, the Queen of Atlantis, your wife, to play cards with a landman? Are you out of your mind?!"

Arthur, intimidated by Mera's imposing presence, took a few steps back, but still insisted, "Honey, I'm sorry, but... but Bin is really amazing... and besides, this is also for the sake of communication between Atlantis and the land-dwelling humans."

Mera sneered, "For the sake of communication between Atlantis and land-dwelling humans?! I think you're just a hopeless environmentalist!"

Arthur said urgently, "Honey, I know this is hard to accept. But if you agree, I'm willing to give you more power!"

Mera scoffed, "Power? You think you can buy me my virginity with that little bit of power? Dream on!"

Seeing Mera's resolute attitude, Arthur had no choice but to resort to his last trump card: "Then I'll give you the right to use the Golden Trident too!"

Mera stopped in her tracks upon hearing this. She turned around, looking down at Arthur. "What did you say?"

Arthur knelt on the ground, hugging Mera's leg. "Wife, I'll give you the right to use the Golden Trident! Please, just this once!"

Mera looked at Arthur kneeling on the ground, squatted down, lifted Arthur's chin with her hand, and forced him to look into her eyes.

"Looks like you've really gone mad. You'd even let me use the Golden Trident to satisfy your bizarre hobby."

Arthur nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, wife, please say yes."

Mera's smile widened. "I never imagined that the King of Atlantis would be willing to give me his golden trident just to satisfy his bizarre hobby. Do you have any dignity left as a man?"

Arthur was filled with shame, but he also felt happier. His initial slight regret suddenly felt worthwhile. "Wife, please, for me to find true happiness..."

Mera chuckled inwardly at Arthur's expression. She deliberately sighed, feigning helplessness, "Well, since you insist, I guess I'll have to reluctantly agree. Ah Bin, right? I'll give it a try with him,, I suppose."

(End of this chapter)