After listening to the three people's stories, notary Bobby felt a little sweaty.
Although few foreign envoys visited the Graycast Corridor, he knew that this was already a diplomatic incident.
Three messengers who had overcome (non-existent) numerous hardships to reach the Graycast Corridor were imprisoned for several hours in the Great Labyrinth City's prison, and even angered the interrogator and were tortured.
Despite the three men's playful banter, Bobby, who was putting on a smile, knew that this matter was beyond his control.
At this moment, he was extremely grateful that the three envoys had made the plan to rest today and discuss the matter in detail later; otherwise, the higher-ups would probably have been in a panic upon learning of this.
With this in mind, the young notary decided to report the matter immediately after settling the three people's accommodations, as he was very particular about the non-stick pan.
The three players seemed unaware that they had been given a claim they could use flexibly, and simply continued chatting as they followed the notary to the place where they would be received.
The name "Great Labyrinth City" is indeed fitting; the extensive use of metal and otherworldly concrete makes the city's roads incredibly complex.
In streets and alleys inaccessible to any small fortress, steps leading in all directions can always be seen.
Some of the steps disappeared into the ground, while others turned towards the back of the building. The almost endless branches reminded the players of a puzzle game in the real world that used optical illusions as its theme.
Later, the three of them were taken to an official reception area in a Graycast Corridor.
Bobby booked a room for the three, handed a gilded Great Labyrinth City emblem to [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ], and instructed them:
"You are free to move around freely for the next two days. With this badge, you will be in no danger whatsoever."
"It's not a restriction to only allow you to move around in the vicinity, it's just... the Great Labyrinth City isn't very friendly to newcomers; it's quite easy to get lost..."
"Regarding the audience with the Grand Foundry Master and the detailed discussions with other important officials, I will send the documents I obtained over; you need not worry."
"Good."
The three players nodded, the door closed, and the notary's footsteps disappeared into the distance down the corridor.
After exchanging a glance, the three of them immediately pulled up a table and chairs and sat down together.
[ The Shit Appraisal Master ] looked at the two people beside him and said with a smile:
"So, how about it? My plan works, right?"
[ Traditional Eccentric Wheel ] Thumbs up:
"That's really skillful; making the other party make a mistake is a ruthless tactic."
The young "business tycoon" tossed his hair and said with a touch of confidence:
"Of course, that's called creating leverage even when there isn't one. We're making our statements vague precisely so we'll get this beating, and then we'll have more leverage when things get complicated later..."
[ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] He still didn't fully understand his companion's plan, but his previous behavior had also angered the interrogator assigned to him.
So what do we do now?
"Of course, we should report on the progress first."
[ Shit Appraisal Master ] took the gilded badge from his companion, took a few photos, and then uploaded it.
Ed, disguised as a game system, responded immediately, and the progress of the tasks in front of the three of them changed simultaneously:
Special Mission - " The Alliance of Order "
Mission Description: Act as an envoy of the Second Holy See to negotiate with the high-ranking officials of the Graycast Corridor. Negotiations will cover, but are not limited to: civilian trade, large-scale trade, arms imports and exports, land reclamation, military alliances, etc.
Mission Progress: Phase 1: Arrived at the capital city of Graycast Corridor, the Great Labyrinth City (Completed), Obtained the Second Holy See Envoy qualification certified by Graycast Corridor (In Progress), Currently achieved basic agreements (0), currently achieved intermediate agreements (0), currently achieved advanced agreements (0)
Task Reward: Significantly increases the trust level of the relevant NPC; no currency or material rewards.
The three read the contents displayed before them for a while, and [ with Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] asked:
"What should we do now?"
"Of course, we wait. I know you're a little impatient, but if you treat this world as a real place, many things will make much more sense."
The [ Traditional Eccentric Wheel ] practitioner, already possessing some social experience, patiently explained it to the young man:
"Any official business takes time to process, and our situation is rather unique. As you've probably noticed, they've hardly ever received envoys before, so it'll likely be a lengthy meeting before deciding to meet with us."
[ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] he asked with suspicion:
"With so many forces in this World of Disorder, why are there so few envoys here in the Graycast Corridor?"
[ Traditional Eccentric Wheel ] thought for a moment and counted on his fingers, saying:
"They're currently fighting the demons, so that's definitely out of the question. The relationship between the Eternal Domain and the Graycast Corridor is also tense. The Queen Bee over the Sea of Flowers is practically incapable of communication. The Wilderness of Chaos is filled with monsters and realms with bizarre rules. The Tree Worship Church is a backward, closed-off force... As for the empire and alliance over the sea, that's even less likely. We don't even know if there's anything sinister going on in the sea."
As [ Traditional Eccentric Wheel ] meticulously analyzed why the Graycast Corridor had no messengers, [ Lion Hidden in the Eyes ] suddenly had a flash of inspiration:
"Dude, based on your analysis, I think the Tree Worship Church is the transportation hub of this continent!"
Looking at the excited young man, [ Traditional Eccentric Wheel ] gave him a "You just realized that?" look and said:
"Yes, I think the shortsightedness of the Tree Worship Church lies here. The shape of this continent is so peculiar. If the Tree Worship Church can be properly managed, wouldn't it be a country stuck at a transportation hub? Of course, this may also be related to the rules of the World of Disorder. If we also experience culture shock here, it would explain why there is almost no mutual attack or exchange of envoys between the various forces."
The half-dragon nodded thoughtfully:
Are you feeling unwell right now?
The two shifted their bodies and said:
"Not yet. I heard Gray mention before that there's a phenomenon called ' Random Alienation ' in the Graycast Corridor, where someone might wake up in the morning and suddenly find that their body has a problem."
"Seriously? What happens after we log off? Will our bodies suffer any problems?"
Seeing the somewhat flustered half-dragon, [ Shit Appraisal Master ] took out several [cocoons] from his backpack and distributed them to the two:
"Hmph, luckily I was prepared."
After some planning and arrangements, as night fell, the three of them went offline by entering the [cocoon].