Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

"Just asking, will you be showing me around?"

Saria scratched her head. The company's office staff probably wouldn't have any free time until the tech expo ended.

"If nothing unexpected happens, it will be me again."

"Never mind then, I refuse."

Wayne waved his hand firmly. Saria blinked, looking somewhat aggrieved.

"Although I am not familiar with the local customs and culture of Victoria, as a native Colombian, I am capable of being a guide."

"Really? I don't believe it. I think you're going to take me to the cemetery and bury me in a hole."

"Vayne said meaningfully," Saria could only awkwardly turn her face away.

There was nothing she could do; her opening line to Wayne an hour earlier was:

"Excuse me, sir, I thought you lived in a noble cemetery."

After explaining things to Wayne, she knew that this would become a laughing stock for the young shareholder for a short time.

Having laughed, Wayne frankly stated:

"To be honest, I still have some things to take care of in Victoria, but I assure you that I will arrive in Colombia before the expo begins and attend the shareholders' meeting you mentioned, so please rest assured."

"But...flight permission?"

"That's simple. To be honest, I have some insignificant connections in the palace, so getting a flight permit is quite easy."

Wayne waved his hand confidently. Saria hesitated for a moment before nodding, taking out her mission log, and uploading the information.

Shortly after, news came from the headquarters.

Wayne leaned forward for a look, and his first sentence was...

"You're disturbing my beauty sleep so late. Do you know how tiring it is to always have a sour face for the shareholders?"

Saria blushed slightly, moved the log aside, and explained:

"This is a matter of personal privacy..."

Now, let's get to the main point.

After inquiring about the specifics and confirming that the shareholders were indeed unwilling to go to Colombia now, the commander sent a message with considerable reluctance.

[Approval granted. Saria, discuss this with the shareholders and set a specific time so the company can send someone to pick you up from the airport. You should come back first; the defense work also needs your guidance. Be sure to propose hiring more people at the shareholders' meeting. Rhine Life is a large company, after all, and we're always short-staffed at times like this.]

"Okay, I understand. I'll make the suggestion."

Wayne smiled and nodded, then withdrew his head from the window.

Is this the "commander-in-chief"?

Looking at Saria's skin description, I thought someone who could fight Saria to a standstill would be a very fierce person, but I didn't expect her to look like a typical office worker.

It has to be said, this is quite realistic. Those who work for capitalists are all destined to be exploited and toil away. Especially in Colombia, a purely capitalist country, when unrestrained capital is linked to power, Wayne wouldn't be surprised by what might happen.

"Then it's decided."

Wayne patted Saria on the shoulder. Then he picked up his coat from the coat rack, put it on, and walked towards the entryway.

"Then I should be going too. I have some things to take care of. Would you like me to give you a ride, Ms. Seria?"

Saria subconsciously shook her head, but then, remembering her meager funds, she nodded:

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Shareholder."

She was also planning to have dinner to appease her rumbling stomach. She didn't know how the food in Victoria was, but she figured she'd save some money on transportation if she could.

Chapter 118 The Personnel to Go to Colombia (Final Update Before the College Entrance Examination)

When Wayne returned to the Iron Palace, it was already past 11 p.m.

Normally, driving Saria to the airport wouldn't have taken this long, but Saria suggested going to the city center halfway through. Without much thought, Wayne took her there, only to see her head straight for the most prominent Victorian specialty restaurant as soon as she got out of the car. He immediately got out and stopped her, and sure enough, she wanted to find a place to sample some Victorian "food".

Does Victoria have good food? Wayne's answer is definitely yes. At least the classic Victorian dishes made by the royal chefs are indeed delicious once you get used to them. You can even get a kind of stargazing pie that makes you feel like you're actually there and have a kind of star-phobia.

But if you were to ask if there's any good food in Victoria, Wayne wouldn't dare give a guarantee. Perhaps there is, after all, the saying "talented people are often found among the common folk" is everywhere, not just in Yan Kingdom. But at least the restaurant that Saria was going to definitely didn't fall into that category.

The owner of that restaurant, Wayne, knew him. He was a former subordinate of Ernest, an old acquaintance of Arthur, the current municipal official, and they even seemed to be related. That's why Wayne bought the land in that location and built that restaurant. Their business philosophy was very clear: rip off tourists visiting Victoria. Whether the food was good or not didn't matter; the price had to be high. They were marketed as offering food that might not make you feel angina, but would definitely make you feel bad about the cost.

They were just after quick, one-off profits, not caring about reputation. Most tourists who ate there and could afford it were there for the prestige, with taste being secondary. It was a mutually agreeable arrangement. Furthermore, the taxes reported to the city hall were split 30/70 – the common people got their money back in full, while the wealthy got their share split 30/70 – making them incredibly conscientious among Victorian merchants. Therefore, Wayne tacitly approved of the shop's existence.

He knew perfectly well what was going on in his mind. Of course, it was one thing if he didn't see it himself, but now that he had, he definitely couldn't let Saria, who was practically his "employee," step into it. After much persuasion, he managed to convince Saria to come back. Then, he spent some time driving her to Victoria's real food street, to a Yan Kingdom restaurant that he often ate at.

The restaurant owner didn't know Wayne's identity, but since he saw that Wayne had brought him, he enthusiastically assured him that the ingredients would be plentiful. Wayne then left Saria there without worry.

During this time, there was a conversation that Wayne still finds somewhat amusing when he thinks back on it.

Seria wanted to eat Victoria's cuisine, but Wayne warned her:

"After eating Yan cuisine, you will feel refreshed and want another bowl."

"After eating Ursus food, you will feel full of energy and want to immediately pick up a bottle of soju."

"But if you eat Victorian cuisine (specifically referring to the so-called signature restaurants on the market), you'll want to eat Yan cuisine and Ursus cuisine."

After going back and forth like this, Wayne helped pay the bill and ran errands to solve Ms. Seria's problem of eating in a foreign country. Later, because he did not receive a timely thank you from the taciturn and straightforward woman, he submitted a reimbursement request to the Chief Administrator via email.

Ms. Seria's salary has probably already been reduced by a certain amount.

In short, it took quite a bit of time to get back to the palace.

Vina's room was dark; she seemed to have finished dealing with things and was asleep. Wayne thought for a moment, figuring she was probably still angry, so he didn't open the door to say hello.

A faint light was still on in Theresa's bedroom, and soft rustling sounds could be heard from inside. Wayne knocked curiously on the door, and Theresa's puzzled voice came from within:

"Mr. Bruce?"

"it's me."

Wayne pushed open the door and went in. Unexpectedly, the room not only contained Theresa, who was sitting on the bed in a white dress nightgown, but also Vina, who was dozing off with her head resting on Theresa's shoulder.

Upon seeing Wayne return, Vina's sleepiness vanished instantly. She puffed out her cheeks, pouted, and turned her head away. Theresa, watching from the side, gave a helpless smile.

She held up the book in her hand. Wayne nodded knowingly.

"Bedtime stories?"

"more or less."

"What are you looking at?"

"The Prince".

Wayne paused in his steps, a chill running down his spine. What do you read as a bedtime story at night?

Is it possible that the world actually has a "The Monarchy"? As a history game enthusiast, Wayne had also read this work by the Italian politician and thinker Niccolò Machiavelli in his previous life. Especially after playing Arknights, he went back and reread the book because he couldn't understand the incredibly profound chat logs of a certain Letta organization member.

I originally thought this book didn't exist in this world, but it turns out it does.

Slightly intrigued, Wayne said:

"When you're done watching it, can I borrow it to take a look?"

Theresa nodded slightly: "Okay."

Then, Wayne looked at Vina, who was pouting and turning her head away. To be honest, he wasn't surprised by Vina's reaction. If it were him, asking for help from his closest and most trusted person and getting scolded instead of receiving assistance would also make him feel bad.

He walked around to Vina's front, but she angrily turned her head away again. Wayne wasn't in a hurry and followed her. Finally, Vina's head bumped into Theresa's face, and she pursed her lips, meeting Wayne's eyes directly.

"So, are you still angry?"

Wayne shrugged.

"If you're still angry, I'll be more considerate and sleep on the sofa tonight."

“I’m not angry,” Vina sighed.

To be honest, she didn't understand why she had suddenly felt a surge of anxiety. This anxiety reached its peak when Wayne and Theresa sat together and sternly refused her request, to the point that she unusually slammed the door and stormed out, even feeling so wronged that she wanted to cry. It subsided slightly when Wayne asked Theresa to come back and help her. But it rekindled when she saw Wayne come home so late, without knocking on her door or greeting her, and instead went straight to Theresa's room.

Was she really angry? Vina didn't think so. She knew what anger felt like. Back in Glasgow, when she saw Indra or Gawain being beaten up and bullied, she would get really angry—it was a feeling like her whole body was on fire. This feeling wasn't anger, because it was sour, and with a little... no, a lot of saltiness, like the vinegar condiment from Yan.

But both Theresa and Wayne were very important to her. Wayne was her only family, and as the last of the Aslan royal family, there was no way Wayne would leave her. So why did she feel like her prey had escaped?

Vina couldn't understand, so when Wayne asked her, she could only keep quiet and keep her mouth shut.

That's awful! I'm going to glare at you!

Seeing that Vina was still stubborn and sulking, Wayne knew he probably wouldn't be able to appease the head of the household tonight. But he still had to get down to business, so he could only endure Vina's gaze and say:

“Vina, Theresa, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

"I plan to go to Colombia in a few days."

"You're not allowed to go..." "I'll go with you."

Vina and Theresa's voices rang out almost simultaneously. Upon hearing Theresa's reply, Vina paused for a moment, then immediately added, "You're not allowed to go... unless you take me with you."

Wayne smiled helplessly.

Logically speaking, bringing a family member to such a grand event shouldn't be a problem. However, given Theresa and Vina's identities, Vina had just given a televised speech recently. While there were countless people in Terra who didn't know Wayne, there were very few who didn't recognize Queen Victoria, who had been appointed to the position in a time of crisis. Bringing her along would ruin Wayne's idea of ​​transforming into Joseph Pulitzer.

The reason why Theresa couldn't be taken along was simple, yet also frustrating—she was a demon.

Colombia prides itself on being a free nation and does not persecute demons, but everyone knows that so-called non-persecution is absolutely not the same as "equality." A demon dressed in fine clothes, clearly of high status, appearing at a technology expo with a shareholder of Rhine Lab, would probably receive second only to the Queen's presence.

This is why Wayne doesn't want to accept the throne or reveal his identity. Often, identity represents power and status, but also constraints and troubles.

Neither of them could be taken along, but Wayne knew that Theresa and Vina wouldn't feel at ease without him by their side; they wouldn't trust him in any way. So he could only persuade them to settle for second best and send an attendant, as a guard, servant, or something else, to accompany him.

Theresa didn't hesitate much and naturally sent one of her most trusted people—Kal'tsit.

Vina, however, was stumped by this problem.

Neither Indra nor Gawain, nor even the entire Glasgow gang, are suitable to accompany their brother to this occasion. The Unicorns are even worse; they can protect him covertly, but they absolutely cannot appear in public, otherwise it would be seen as a provocation against Colombia. So, who should be chosen?

Vina fell into thought.

PS: Dear readers, the author is about to head to the college entrance examination front lines, and I sincerely apologize for needing to take a break. The leave notice will be posted tomorrow. I ask for your understanding and am very sorry.

I'm actually quite nervous because I can't see your replies since there are no separate posts. After all, this invitation will last for several days, and I'm afraid all the readers will leave...

But there's nothing I can do; it's beyond my control. I hope readers can understand my predicament. Best of luck to myself on the college entrance exam!