No strange things are allowed to evolve!

So you can imagine what kind of people were able to attend the meeting, and how difficult it must have been for Jiang Shu to get an invitation.

Although he had entered, Jiang Shu's seat was quite far back, right next to the exit. The only difference between him and the waiters at the entrance was that he was sitting down and would be served food soon.

Just as Jiang Shu was feeling utterly bored.

"Didn't expect you to be wearing this outfit today?"

Jiang Shu looked up and saw Duke Bailey, whom he hadn't seen for almost a month since they parted ways in the initial city, coming from the front.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Shu quickly stood up and said shyly, "I usually pay attention to self-cultivation and have several sets of armor for hunting magical beasts, but I don't have a suitable formal dress. After thinking it over, I think only the uniform of the Kingdom Knights is the most suitable, and in my opinion, it is also the most perfect formal dress."

Upon hearing this, Duke Bailey nodded approvingly: "Indeed, I admire your purity."

After saying that, he turned to the people around him who were looking at him curiously, wondering why a duke would show such favor to an ordinary knight, and said: "This is the young man I was talking about, who helped me, whose abilities and character are both excellent, and who will surely achieve great things in the future."

"I see."

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

Seeing that Duke Bailey was willing to give him a hand, no one refused to acknowledge him and all smiled and nodded to Jiang Shu.

Just then, the Grand Master of the Knights arrived.

Upon entering, one could see Jiang Shu wearing a uniform.

His usually serious and upright face showed a hint of surprise at first, then a smile appeared on his face: "Looks like we're wearing the same clothes today."

To Jiang Shu's surprise, the Grand Master was also wearing the Knights' uniform.

Jiang Shu had never met the commander-in-chief in social settings before, but by sheer chance, she had stumbled upon what the commander-in-chief wanted.

Jiang Shu seized the opportunity and scratched his head sheepishly, saying, "Because I think this is the most perfect and formal dress."

"Hmm, not bad."

The Grand Commander didn't say much, just nodded to Jiang Shu, and then returned to their seats with Duke Bailey.

"Why are you so late?" Duke Bailey asked curiously.

Because Duke Bailey is one of the few nobles in the kingdom who, despite his high position, would often hunt personally like a monster hunter, he was very close to the Kingdom's Knights and was friends with many renowned monster hunters.

For this reason, he was also known as "Duke of Warriors" or "Pele the Generous".

Therefore, he was naturally very familiar with the commander-in-chief and would ask him questions that are only said between friends.

Mentioning this made the commander-in-chief's mood somber again.

"There are clues that someone might cause some trouble at tonight's dinner."

Duke Bailey was shocked: "Who dares to be so bold?"

The Grand Commander looked at Duke Bailey with a complicated expression: "If nothing unexpected happens, it should be the group that planned to assassinate you."

"What?!" Duke Bailey's face immediately turned cold.

“We’ve been investigating ever since that incident.”

The commander explained:

"I thought it was just helping madmen, but I didn't expect the situation to be far more complicated than I imagined. It seems to be a huge organization. Their true purpose is still unclear, but what is certain is that they will spare no effort to create all kinds of disasters around the world."

Their desire to assassinate you seems to stem from a desire to sow a shadow in the hearts of all low-level monster hunters by killing you, the beloved city lord of the City of Beginning, thereby reducing the number of young people willing to become monster hunters.

Fortunately, their first step in the plan did not succeed.

Duke Bailey frowned, then relaxed after a long while. He subconsciously looked at Jiang Shu in the distance and sighed, "It's all thanks to him."

The commander-in-chief followed his gaze and nodded with approval in his eyes: "Although he is nominally still studying, I plan to keep him at headquarters after he finishes his studies."

"Oh?" Duke Bailey was somewhat surprised, and said jokingly, "It's not because of me, is it? Although I don't think I have that much influence over you, at least it's insignificant compared to your principles."

"of course not."

The head of the delegation didn't stand on ceremony either:

"It's because I valued his abilities. In fact, that organization did some things later, but they were all quickly suppressed, and he played a part in that."

He always notices details that ordinary people miss, and he has saved innocent civilians and colleagues from the dangerous elements of that organization. He is a trustworthy fellow, and given time, he will surely become an excellent knight.

Upon hearing this, Duke Bailey said with satisfaction that Jiang Shu had lived up to his expectations, "Then as his recommender, you should thank me properly."

"Let's talk about it later."

"You rascal..."

After the joke, the Duke of Bailey remembered the important matter and asked with concern:

"So, the trouble you mentioned tonight...?"

"Hard to say."

The commander-in-chief replied:

"They often spread false information, so I can't be sure if they will actually show up, but I tend to think it's false information."

After all, this is the royal palace, arguably the safest place in the world. Unless they had no intention of leaving alive, they wouldn't have shown up here.

"I think it's best not to let our guard down," Duke Bailey advised, though he shared the same opinion.

“Of course,” the commander said. “You know me. Even if there’s only a one in ten thousand chance, I won’t let my guard down. Don’t worry, I’m prepared.”

As he spoke, he looked up at the three figures high above.

"I just hope we don't alert them."

At the same time, the king announced: "The banquet shall now begin!"

Suddenly, the atmosphere inside the palace became lively.

As Jiang Shu picked at the Western food on her plate that she didn't like, she observed the completely different atmosphere outside from her spot near the door.

"Not a single leak!" Jiang Shu couldn't help but admire the commander-in-chief.

I had only made preparations and released the information shortly before the banquet, but before long, the head of the group had already laid a trap.

It seems that no matter where you sneak into this city within a city, you will be discovered immediately.

It's so bad that not even a fly can get in.

Unfortunately, I didn't have to fly in; I came in by invitation.

Hmm? Why did I say I was a fly...?

Am I really a rotten apple?

Lost in thought, the banquet quickly progressed to the dance segment.

"Go, my daughter, my little princess, go and choose your first dance partner," the king said to the princess with a look of doting affection.

The little princess stood up, blinked her eyes, and looked past all the noble young men who were eagerly waiting, the noble young ladies with envy and longing on their faces, the elders who had watched her grow up with loving faces, and all the powerful ministers outside the nobility who were respectful and slightly obsequious.

Finally, it stopped in a corner.

It landed on the melancholy man she had been observing for a long time, a man with a unique aura.

"You are the one."

The little princess pointed directly at Jiang Shu.

Jiang Shu, who was preoccupied with important matters and whose attention was not at all here, only realized that the princess was calling him after being reminded by someone.

"Me?" Jiang Shu pointed to himself in confusion.

To everyone's astonishment, the little princess nodded firmly: "Yes, it's you."

What stunned everyone even more was that Jiang Shu actually shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Princess, I'm not suitable to be your dance partner."

He... refused?!

The princess was incredulous.

What an honor this is! How dare this guy do it?

But then the princess couldn't help but wonder, could it be because of the huge difference in their status that he was overwhelmed by the favor and worried about defiling her?

So she asked, "Because I'm a princess, you don't dare?"

But what I didn't expect was...

“No.” Jiang Shu shook his head and said seriously, “I dare not because you are a minor.”

Chapter 239 The Mysterious Quartet Arrives! The Resurrection of the King of Warcraft?!

"Under...minor?"

The princess was taken aback.

Indeed, although today is her coming-of-age ceremony, she will not officially become a sixteen-year-old adult until the clock strikes twelve and a new day begins.

But what exactly is the difference between these few hours?

The princess always felt that Jiang Shu was just making up an excuse to reject her.

This was unbearable for the princess, who had never known how to refuse since childhood and whose every request was always fulfilled.

Moreover, with so many people watching, the princess felt utterly humiliated.

But she was, after all, a princess. From a young age, she received court etiquette that ordinary people could not access, and under the influence of her parents, she was not unfamiliar with political intrigue.

In order not to ruin this wonderful banquet, and also to save face, she ultimately did not make a scene. Instead, she smiled and said to the guests, "I see. It seems that this is a knight of good character. No wonder he was invited to attend tonight's banquet."

After saying that, she smiled and looked at Jiang Shu: "But I'm already an adult. Although there are still a few hours left, it doesn't really make any difference."

Seeing that she wasn't as willful as she usually was in private, the King and Queen, who were initially somewhat angry and planning to pursue Jiang Shu, were surprised and delighted that she hadn't caused any mess to clean up. They nodded slowly, silently praising their daughter for growing up.

However, Jiang Shu did not take the opportunity to back down when the princess offered him a way out.

"Please forgive my insistence, Princess. However, in my hometown, a remote village, only those who are eighteen years old are considered adults. When interacting with minors, especially if they are of the opposite sex, one must maintain a polite and safe distance, or one will be executed."

Not only because she really doesn't feel like dancing right now, but also because Jiang Shu is indeed an old-fashioned person. Even after arriving in another world, she still stubbornly believes that eighteen years old is the age of adulthood.

This has nothing to do with whether Jiang Shu is interested or not. He believes that if the princess really becomes his dance partner, she might have some strange thoughts about him, which would be a bad situation.

This feeling is probably like a teacher receiving a love letter from a student—not a funny story, but a terrible one, as if their teaching certificate is waving goodbye.

Meanwhile, the princess was already convinced that Jiang Shu was talking nonsense.

She had never heard of any place with such strict regulations.

Even in the great opera "Romy and Julie", the beautiful Julie was only thirteen years old, while he was three years older than her.

And as soon as the princess thought of this, a new idea popped into her head uncontrollably.

Do they think I'm too old?

This conjecture, ironically, made the princess think it was more likely.

Because the other person didn't seem like the type that girls would like, probably because he had too many ordinary interactions and was more interested in novel types.

Damn it, is it really this disgusting?

Although her impression of Jiang Shu was already extremely poor, in front of so many people, for the sake of the royal family's reputation, she could only patiently say:

"Is that so? Then I'll respect your decision and won't press you any further."

And so, Jiang Shu escaped a tragic fate that was destined to happen.

However, this move clearly aroused dissatisfaction among others at the banquet.

Apart from Duke Bailey and the Grand Master, who were mostly helpless and puzzled by Jiang Shu, the others, including the King and Queen, seemed to be angry about Jiang Shu's behavior.

If the princess hadn't been so knowledgeable and reasonable, and hadn't so lightly let the matter pass, there might have been some people who would have launched a verbal attack on Jiang Shu.

However, while the shrewd old foxes who knew the ropes didn't show any particular emotion, the young masters and ladies didn't have such a good temper.

Without exception, they all expressed undisguised hostility towards Jiang Shu.

Whether it was because he had longed for something but Jiang Shu had rejected it like trash, or because he felt indignant on behalf of the princess, Jiang Shu became the public enemy of the younger generation at this moment.

Finally, the princess chose a minister's son as her dance partner, and the turmoil caused by Jiang Shu subsided quietly.

But many people know that this matter is far from over.

This young man, who was qualified to attend a royal banquet at such a young age and should have had a bright future, has probably reached the end of his career.

Duke Bailey was extremely disappointed, and the Grand Master was also quite helpless.