CHAPTER 1903: CHAPTER 1896: SHARING THE GOOD NEWS

"Mom, are you staying in the city for a while?" Luo’er asked.

"Why, not welcome?" Nina asked while gently stroking Luoya’s head and looking at Luo’er.

"It’s not like that," Luo’er shook his head and said, "Well, you know, I’m under a lot of responsibility now, busy with work, and I’m afraid..."

"It’s okay, you do your work, Mom just wants to see you." Nina smiled with her eyes bent.

"Mother, I’m going to sing on stage, come see me perform." Luoya said coquettishly.

"Uh-huh, you want to sing, huh?" Nina tilted her head and asked.

"Yeah, I want to be an idol, a star." Luoya replied.

"It’s for publicity." Luo’er added from the side.

"You sure have a lot going on?" Nina glanced at Luoya and then looked at Luo’er, saying.

"There’s a shortage of people everywhere now," Luo’er shrugged and said, "So Luoya was willing to help, which is great. Luoya here is quite popular on Earth, I guess she’ll be fine in Lipei too."

"That’s great," Nina said a bit nostalgically, "If everyone could like her, then life for mixed-heritage elves shouldn’t be so difficult, right?"

"The elves in Lipei seem to be doing quite well, this place doesn’t discriminate against half-elves like other places do." Luo’er said.

"You focus on your work, I’m visiting Lipei for both official business and to spare some time to see Luoya, so don’t worry about me, just take care of your own tasks." Nina waved her hand and said.

"That’s good," Luo’er nodded slightly, saying apologetically, "Sorry, even though we are reuniting as mother and son, I’m still hoping for you to return soon."

"No need to feel guilty, I’m not blaming you, as long as you miss Mom, she’ll come to see you. And it’s enough for Mom just knowing you’re not leaving home anymore." Nina said with a smile.

"Also, there’s one thing I forgot to mention..."

"What is it?"

"Well, this kind of thing should have your parents’ opinion first, forgive me for acting on my own..." Luo’er lowered his head and said.

"What kind of thing has you so nervous?" Nina asked puzzled.

"Well, I, I want to... after all this is over, I’m going to get married..." Luo’er said in a stuttering voice, avoiding eye contact.

"You’re getting married?"

The mother and daughter almost exclaimed simultaneously.

"No, is it not allowed?"

Luo’er seemed a bit out of it, dumbly asking such a question.

"When did this happen?" Luoya asked in surprise.

"It was before you came last time..." Luo’er explained.

"Oh, that girl, I remember her." Luoya suddenly understood.

"Who is it, is it Tangmo, or..." Nina asked excitedly.

"No, the one with white hair." Luoya corrected.

"Oh, Baiyue."

Nina was momentarily stunned, then smiled warmly again.

"I thought..."

She looked at Luo’er, pressing her lips together, ultimately leaving her sentence unfinished.

With a little thought, it wasn’t hard to understand Luo’er’s choice, so hearing this result, Nina only felt it was both reasonable and unexpected.

"And, the other..." Hesitating for a moment, she looked at Luo’er and asked.

"I’ll find time to explain it to her, I’m sure she’ll understand," Luo’er shook his head and said, "After all, she originally wished for me to do this."

"Ah, after all, Tangmo is a dwarf, and Baiyue is just a regular person..." Nina sighed and said.

Saying this, she patted Luoya’s back, signaling her to move away. She then stood up, smiling again and said, "Alright then, Mom will help you sort this out and solve these matters for you."

"Really, truly?" Luo’er asked in surprise.

"Of course, but," Nina raised a finger and said, "Next time, if Mom hasn’t arrived yet, you mustn’t rush to hold the wedding, okay?"

"That’s obvious, with you not here, how could I dare hold the wedding." Luo’er said, as if it were a matter of course.

"Let’s go, little Luoya, let’s go and meet your future sister-in-law." Nina grasped Luoya’s small hand and said while leading her away.

"Mom, if I get married, will you come to my wedding too?" Luoya hugged her arm, leaning on her shoulder, and asked.

Maybe hearing Luo’er calling her ’Mom’, Luoya got used to it too and instinctively switched terms.

"Have you found your Mr. Right yet?" Nina asked.

"Uh, not yet...."

Luoya felt embarrassed, quickly lowering her head and deflecting the question.

"Focus on your work, don’t be swayed by personal emotions," once reaching the door, Nina turned back and said to Luo’er, "if there’s anything difficult privately, tell Mom and she’ll handle it for you."

"Okay, understood."

Luo’er obediently nodded.

He watched Nina and Luoya leave the office, and when they walked out, Nina lovingly patted Feng’s head, who was guarding the door. He squinted his eyes like a cat while being petted, and finally, waved goodbye to them with satisfaction.

Luo’er sat back in his chair, feeling the familiar air lingering around, taking a deep breath, straightened himself up, and called to the air, "Xiao Fula!"

"Here!"

Fulajie’er popped out of thin air, with her hands on her back, tilting her head at him.

"Go tell Hu Daoke to arrange some personnel to protect Princess Nina, she’s an envoy from Ilanadale, can’t be neglected." Luo’er said earnestly.

"Understood," Fulajie’er nodded, suddenly thought of something, so she asked, "In a while, Princess Melia will also come to Lipei, want to meet her?"

"No," Luo’er replied decisively, "I’ll consider meeting her after I finish the inauguration speech. This isn’t a marketplace here; I can’t meet every acquaintance here."

"Is that how you really think?" Fulajie’er squinted her eyes, asked softly.

"Stop overthinking, just execute the orders." Luo’er waved his hand and said.

"Understood."

Fulajie’er shrugged and disappeared into the air.

The office became quiet again, Feng tiptoed in, and then sat back down on the sofa by the door, picking up a book to read.

Seeing this, Luo’er also took the speech script from the drawer and started jotting down the points he needed to address.

The closer it got to the speech time, the livelier Lipei became, with people from nearby villages and towns arriving in the outer city of Lipei, all eager to witness the new supreme leader of Lipei.

As people increased, the security pressure mounted. Hu Daoke was very busy, not having a chance to eat all day.

Lipei’s defense force was quite limited, resulting in immense security pressure. The Commander’s Office nearly employed all the active local military forces of Lipei to ensure venue security.

Thanks to the reputation of the headquarters in the Otherworld, many mercenaries and their agents came hoping to be hired by Lipei, supplementing the military strength.

The benefits of being hired by Lipei as mercenaries are undeniable.

First, due to Lipei banning civilian possession of weapons, mercenaries must enter the country unarmed. Once hired, they’re provided with complete equipment by Lipei.

When the contract period ends, apart from weapons and some essential gear, Lipei allows mercenaries to take home all distributed equipment, akin to ’getting something for nothing’.

Most importantly, Lipei offers a considerable salary; a month’s pay rivals nearly a year’s income for them.

Major rewards attract brave men, so whenever Lipei encountered chaos or trouble, mercenaries would proactively recommend themselves, hoping to be employed by Lipei, turning it into an industry.

For better management of these people, Lipei requires every mercenary to undergo a background check and have their records filed in Lipei.

Once the background check is complete, and registered, they only need to wait to be hired.

Lipei periodically rechecks and requires the registered mercenaries to update their resumes every two years. Concerned that their resume might be tarnished and lead to removal, many mercenaries began mindful behavior and actively reported their peers’ bad deeds.

Consequently, this policy led to the mercenary industry gradually shedding its negative image and occasionally even becoming positive.

Previously, mercenaries were regarded as a vile profession involving licking blood off the blade; anything vile humans could conceive was within the realm of these people.

However, in order to protect their lucrative career, these daredevils started self-criticism and correction, so they could present their resumes nicely.