Ten minutes later, in a new private room Riley had booked at the restaurant, he listened to the middle-aged man's introduction and froze in surprise.
The middle-aged man who had shown an interest in highways was neither some knowledgeable noble official from the Candel Empire nor, as Riley had guessed, a representative of an imperial merchant guild that had caught wind of the news and smelled profit in highway construction.
The man wasn't even from the Candel Empire!
"The Nozdormu Commercial United Kingdom?" Riley frowned, searching his memory for quite some time, yet still couldn't recall ever hearing the country's name.
With such a distinctive name, surely hearing it even once should have left an impression.
"It's perfectly normal that you haven't heard of us." The middle-aged man grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "Our Nozdormu Commercial United Kingdom was officially founded less than a year ago, and it's very small. Naturally, it hasn't attracted much attention, so it's hardly surprising that we're unknown on this continent."
"Less than a year ago?" Riley looked doubtfully at the middle-aged man, who had introduced himself as Jia Sha. "Forgive my asking, but does your country's name... mean something?"
Jia Sha laughed. "The name really says it all. Our Nozdormu Commercial United Kingdom isn't a kingdom in the traditional sense, but one jointly established by thirteen merchant guilds
."
"Huh?" Riley was dumbfounded. "Merchant guilds joining together to establish a kingdom? How is that possible?"
Jia Sha waved a hand with a smile. "Vice President Riley, a country is really just a name for a power capable of exercising territorial rights, independence, and self-government. Our thirteen merchant guilds now jointly control enough land and possess full independence and self-governing rights. There's nothing inappropriate about calling ourselves a kingdom."
Riley remained stunned for