Human relationships were a rather fascinating thing.
The more unfamiliar two people were with each other, the more there was an invisible barrier between them. It was the polite reserve that needed time and shared experiences to wear away. But if they discovered they had a shared interest before even meeting, then becoming friends was all but certain.
That was exactly the situation between the sea elf prince Iverios Amastacia and Murphy.
Murphy himself wasn't much of an angler, but the elf prince before him was.
And his previous interactions with the angler players in Chardo Port had given him a favorable impression of the people of Transia. As everyone knew, Murphy had always treated the players as extensions of his own will. He liked to think of himself and the players as a faction of their own.
So being friendly with the players meant Murphy was also very receptive to him. "A friend of a friend is a friend" made little sense, but it could serve as an unspoken rule of social life in many situations.
And so, after a few exchanges, the two prominent figures who had just met didn't put on any false airs at all. By the time they entered the airship's reception room, the two equally handsome men were already chatting in an easy, familiar manner.
Well, it was entirely possible that the mutual admiration of one beautiful person for another was the foundation of such a quick rapport. After all, Murphy and Palanno had also hit it off at first sight.
Judging people by their looks wasn't ideal, but first impressions carried a great deal of weight in social situations. That was why the really handsome fellows always found it easier to make more friends.
The sea elf prince even let Murphy call him