Chapter 106: Guest

"Do you think you could stay at the royal palace for a month? The royal family will mobilize all its forces—"

"No need." Ethan cut him off.

He still had to hurry back to the Great Forest and build more greenhouses in preparation for next year’s farming. On top of that, he needed to build pastures for the flocks of sheep and herds of cattle he’d received from Leon.

There were simply too many things to do, how could he have time to waste sitting around here?

The flat refusal put Lahart in a somewhat awkward position. He had no choice but to cast a pleading look at Leon. But Leon seemed to support Ethan’s decision as well.

That left Lahart with nothing but a helpless sigh. "Since that is the case, please accept this."

He handed Ethan a small, golden, flower-shaped seal, he placed it in Ethan’s hand and carefully explained: "This is a royal seal, with it, you can travel freely through any territory without facing unnecessary harassment."

He detailed the various benefits the seal brought, watching Ethan with anticipation the entire time, hoping he would accept.

Ethan turned the seal over in his fingers, met Lahart’s expectant gaze, and gave a light shrug, avoiding unnecessary trouble was always a good thing, there was no harm in accepting.

He tucked it into his pocket with a smile. "Then thank you very much. I’ll keep it safe."

The next day, Ethan packed his belongings and boarded the carriage. Unlike when they first arrived with only Leon and Pearl, there was an extra person in the carriage this time.

"Oh hahaha, we meet again." It was Elara, waving enthusiastically from the seat.

Ethan turned to Leon with a questioning look. "Is Miss Elara coming along as well?"

"Hmm... shouldn’t be a problem," Leon said, his gaze sweeping out the window, Elara had brought along several guards of her own, so her addition wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

"Oh hahaha, if we encounter a battle, we’ll help out too." She patted her chest with absolute confidence.

Since she put it that way, what else could Ethan say?

"Everyone’s here, so let’s set off, meow," Pearl said from its perch on Ethan’s shoulder, gazing out the window.

Leon nodded and signaled to the driver. As the lead carriage rolled forward, Elara asked, "Where is our next stop?"

"The Ashwyn Territory," Ethan replied.

"The Ashwyn Territory? Isn’t that the place famous for glass products? What are we going there for?" Though the territory sat on the main route to the capital, bypassing it wasn’t impossible.

This time, Ethan answered before Leon could. "I’m going to meet someone, his name is Eric, and he lives in the Ashwyn Territory."

"Eric Ashwyn? I know him, a famous playboy in the Ashwyn Territory."

"You mean he used to be one, right?"

"What do you mean, used to be?" Elara raised an eyebrow.

"Not long ago, he was still causing trouble all day long, and his reputation in social circles was terrible, but recently it’s as if he’s become a completely different person — incredibly hardworking, everyone thinks it’s very strange."

"He suddenly changed?" Ethan asked with a flicker of concern, wondering if something had gone wrong.

Leon noticed the worry and explained with a smile. "To be precise, it started after he returned from his trip to the Great Forest. My guess is that meeting you and experiencing certain things there gave him quite a shock, which is why he’s now working and studying much harder than before."

"I see. That’s wonderful then." Ethan felt genuinely happy for Eric, it felt right to show some appreciation.

As he was thinking this, Elara spoke up again, wearing her signature grin. "The Ashwyn Territory is very famous in social circles, if we go now, we might just be in time to catch a banquet!"

"Is that so?"

"The glass products from the Ashwyn Territory are incredibly famous, many nobles want to get their hands on their glass, so they host banquets all the time."

"That’s not surprising, the glass they use for greenhouses is indeed exceptional." Ethan recalled the glass Eric had provided previously, it was said that artisans capable of producing transparent glass in this world were extremely rare, since the Ashwyn Territory possessed this craft, the nobility naturally came calling.

"Are we going to attend the banquet then, meow?" Pearl asked.

"What is an elven banquet like?" Ethan turned to Elara.

"Well... it’s no different from a regular social banquet."

"I don’t really have a concept of what a regular social banquet is."

"Aha, simply put — dancing, chatting, and enjoying fine wine and delicacies, of course, if you look deeper, there’s political maneuvering, cultural exchange, and so on, but you don’t need to worry about any of that, oh hahaha, if you’re interested, you can attend with me, I’ll explain everything."

"Haha... then thank you."

Delighted that Ethan had agreed, Elara launched into stories about every banquet she’d ever attended and her experiences navigating social circles. Ethan listened politely, but his gaze drifted to the window. He really couldn’t muster much interest in social events.

The journey to the Ashwyn Territory passed without incident, which left Ethan a bit disappointed, he had been hoping to encounter a few more Dark Elves carrying Fragments of Chaos, but unfortunately things didn’t go as he wished.

"We are about to arrive in the Ashwyn Territory," Leon’s voice rang out.

Ethan looked outside, the endless pastures had vanished, replaced by a stretch of sandy terrain.

"The quality of the sand in the Ashwyn Territory is excellent, which is why the glass they produce is so renowned," Leon explained.

Looking out, vast expanses of desert came into view. But this desert didn’t look desolate — quite a few oases and water sources were scattered throughout.

’I see... No wonder the quality of their glass is so good.’

After traveling through the desert for some time, the carriage came to a halt beside a massive lake.

"Lord Leon, what brings you here?" A familiar voice called out.

Ethan looked through the carriage window and spotted the newcomer — Rude, the young elf he had met previously in the Great Forest.

"I’ve brought an esteemed guest," Leon replied.

"An esteemed guest? Could it be..." Rude’s initially puzzled gaze turned to wide-eyed shock as he watched Ethan step down from the carriage.

"Mr. Ethan?!"

Ethan smiled and greeted him, Rude hurried over, a face full of pleasant surprise. "You actually traveled all the way here from the Great Forest? You are incredibly welcome."

"Long time no see. Have you been well recently?"

"Haha, I’ve been doing great, thanks to you, what brings you here?"

"I have some matters to discuss with the elven royal family, so I decided to make a trip."

"With the royal family? I see. Welcome."

Whatever the reason for his visit, Ethan was an honored guest, Rude welcomed him with warmth, then nodded a greeting to Elara as she stepped out after them, next, he raised a hand toward the soldiers behind him, signaling that Ethan’s group was not hostile, seeing the signal, the soldiers stood down at once.

Leon noticed the tension in the air and asked, "Did something happen? Why do I feel like the atmosphere is tenser than usual?"