Having learned his lesson the hard way, Gray became extra wary of mud pits. The sudden downpour late last night not only wasted almost half a day of his time but also cost him ten silver coins.
Whenever he thought of this, he became even more cautious, often driving around a small puddle to prevent a repeat of the accident.
Finally, as the morning was drawing to a close, the mobile fortress arrived at an open space a few dozen meters from the ancient castle and came to rest there.
Gray always showed more respect and goodwill to civilized people.
Just as he would set up a plank on the wall in Dragonborn Village, he did not drive his mobile fortress directly into this area near the castle where no wall had been built yet. This was both a sign of respect for the other party and a way to protect himself.
[ Dawn Ah ] points towards the castle:
"Let's go report this to... the lord here."
Essentially, it's about completing a task.
Gray naturally had no objection to this. After waving goodbye to the three, he began setting up his stall, specifically by transporting samples of goods he wanted to sell out of the fortress to ensure that he could do business without letting strangers into his fortress.
Most businesses are done this way when there's no precedent.
However, force is also an essential part of getting the other party to sit down and seriously discuss business.
[ Dawn Ah ] The three met Ed again and gave him a brief report.
The moment the other party nodded to indicate that they understood, a notification appeared in front of the three of them indicating that the mission was complete.
The silver coin reward was clearly just a bonus. As young people who had played some games, [ Dawn Ah ] and [ Backstabbing Expert ] knew that the real value lay in the merchant's goodwill and the 20% discount per transaction.
But thinking about discounts makes me think about shopping, and thinking about shopping makes me realize I haven't finished the beginner quests yet.
After the report, the three resumed their hunt, deliberately avoiding the direction Gray had come from, as the monsters there had already been mostly wiped out.
Seeing the sharply defined mobile fortress through the window, Ed called Duolin over the local network:
"Get ready, come with me to see that merchant."
Duolin is currently in instructor mode, with three players standing in front of him practicing how to Alienation into fruit knives.
"You all continue practicing. I need to go protect His Excellency the Bishop."
Guardian bishop? That's way more fun than repetitive practice!
After reaching a consensus in a very short time, the three of them said almost in unison:
We'd like to go too.
Duolin was now in a dilemma. Objectively speaking, these Soul Returner couldn't even withstand a single heavy blow from him, so there was no point in going together.
The problem is that their bodies contain the souls of Saint, and no amount of respect is too much for Saint.
So Duolin ultimately chose to report it. Let the Son of God ponder the matter of the Saint; what did it have to do with him, a mere guard who aspired to become Saint?
Ed, who had received the report, initially didn't want to bring so many people, but he quickly noticed the ID of one of the three players: [Zhong Lele].
It's that cyber stalker!
Ed was initially somewhat resistant to the idea of having screenshots containing his image uploaded to the website and receiving a huge number of views.
But upon closer reflection, this is actually a form of promotion. While mindless filming isn't ideal, with proper guidance, [ Zhong Lele ] can be steered towards becoming a cyberpunk historian.
This greatly helps players remember major events in the game and allows them to watch their camp grow and thrive, which is beneficial for boosting confidence and team cohesion.
Ed finally agreed to the three's request, and together with himself and Duolin, the five of them quickly reunited and headed towards the mobile fortress.
Gray wasn't surprised by Ed's arrival. It's impossible to do business in a settlement without contacting the settlement's administrators. Some administrators even force their subordinates to make purchases, and then return a percentage of those purchases to him.
I wonder what kind of leader this tall, imposing man in front of me is...
But Gray soon miscalculated, because the tall, burly man was not the leader at all; rather, the one-eyed young man beside him was the real boss here.
Ed used the same trick again, letting the vines sprout from the ground to form simple tables and chairs, and he and Gray sat down on either side of each other.
"Have the Tree Worship Church's techniques for Alienation become so diverse now?"
Gray marveled at the soft wicker chair beneath him.
Ed was unmoved by such superficial flattery. He looked at the formally dressed, bearded man in a top hat and said:
"Since this is our first meeting, why don't we introduce ourselves first?"
The man in the top hat removed his hat and bowed slightly.
"The traveling merchant Gray, from the ' Graycast Corridor,' travels through the northern part of the Aduolin Province every two months."
Another place name I've never heard of before...
" Duolin, have you ever heard of this place?"
Ed asked the guard beside him in his mind, Duolin replied in the local area network:
No, the Tree Worship Church is generally very closed off and rarely has any active contact with the outside world.
"Furthermore, since there is no urgent need for food, few merchants do business with the Tree Worship Church."
The silly child thought it was a food problem...
Ed couldn't help but complain inwardly. No one would be happy to see their goods exchanged for a huge pile of seeds. Although he didn't know who came up with the brilliant idea, from the moment they decided to use tree seeds for distribution, the Tree Worship Church's business was destined to have a hard time developing.
Ed memorized the name Graycast Corridor and introduced it in the same manner:
" Ed Adrian, lord and bishop of this place."
He shamelessly stole the bishopric that belonged to Duolin, but the victim didn't care at all. Duolin was just focused on the bearded merchant, ready to behead him with a single sword strike if the man showed the slightest weakness.
Actually, Aoda could have been called upon to help with the guard duties, but this nominal tax official had been sent out by Duolin early this morning to deliver last night's secret letter to the White Wax Town Church, and was not near the castle at the moment.
Upon hearing that the young man before him was both the lord and bishop of this place, Gray's expression visibly showed surprise, as if he were quite interested in it.
"To have achieved so much at such a young age? It seems I should befriend you."
"You are also the first person I've ever known who holds both the titles of bishop and lord."
Ed's expression was slightly arrogant, as if he was somewhat pleased with the flattery:
"There are some problems in the White Wax Town Parish, and I'm here to solve them."