Talia’s mind was spinning.
She couldn’t figure out why that Kidney-Deficient gentleman was staring at her with such a complicated expression.
Nor could she understand why the vampire Vivian, who had been talking to her just fine a second ago, suddenly grabbed that gentleman and carried him away.
She left in such a hurry and with such hostility, as if some deep, bloody grudge had suddenly appeared between them.
Talia was certain she had never met Vivian before, let alone that Kidney-Deficient gentleman.
What exactly had she done to offend them?
Maybe she had accidentally broken some of their taboos…
People from Valorion were such a hassle.
Talia pressed her forehead and let out a low sigh.
‘I hope they don’t come after me. I really don’t want to lose this job.’
‘It took forever to beg this position from my older sister. If I mess this up, she’ll definitely think I’m just a freeloader.’
‘For now, I should talk to the priest in front of me. Getting into the city would be the best outcome.’
‘If not, I’ll at least grab some supplies before hitting the road.’
After some thought, the ratwoman Talia managed to adjust her mindset.
She forced a friendly smile onto her face and used her gentlest tone as she said:
“Hello, honorable Priest~”
Ugh—
That voice was so syrupy it even scared her…
Derek was also startled by her tone and even took half a step back instinctively.
‘Alright… better keep it professional. We’re not close anyway.’
After a few seconds of silence, he barely managed to keep his expression straight and waved his hand:
“Skip the introductions. I’ve already learned about you.”
Talia deflated like a punctured balloon, the expression she had worked so hard to put on crumbling instantly.
Derek’s face was serious as he cut her off, openly looking Talia up and down from her gray fur to the short rod embedded with an ice-blue gem at her waist.
Thunder rumbled among the clouds.
The giant beside Talia let out a dissatisfied growl, deep like thunder.
The orc warrior on the ice lizard’s back also pulled tight on the reins and gripped his great axe.
Though the two sides didn’t share a language, even a giant with a brain no bigger than a walnut could read the unfriendly attitude.
“State your purpose, outsider.”
“That will determine your stance and position in my eyes.”
Derek said in a deep voice.
“What are you doing?! Derek!”
Feilin whispered in shock.
She was scared by the other party’s reaction and quickly tucked her big tail behind Derek, leaving only a pair of round, darting eyes visible.
“They’re a well-equipped elite force, and Ma’en City behind us only has nine ragtag militiamen.”
“And you’re walking up to provoke them? Are you afraid you won’t die fast enough?”
As a steadfast member of the surrender faction, Feilin was terrified.
Right now, she had barely any strength.
If a fight broke out, she’d be turned into fox pancake by these thugs!
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
Derek glanced at the timid fox and said.
On the other side, Talia turned around and pressed her hands downward, signaling her people to calm down.
Then she stood on tiptoe, had the giant lower his head, and whispered a few inaudible words into his ear.
After hearing them, the giant grunted and stepped back a few paces with his club, but his huge eyes still stared fixedly at Derek.
“We’re a caravan from the Cold Claw Alliance, on our way to the Valorian capital, Rohn, to open a trade route between the two kingdoms.”
Talia patted the dust off her coat after calming her subordinates, then turned to Derek and said.
“But our ship had an accident at sea and we were forced to dock.”
“We came here just to resupply, repair the ship, and then set off again.”
“I see.”
Derek nodded after listening.
“Your journey must have been tough. After all, you’re still half a duchy away from the nearest coastline.”
This statement eased Derek’s attitude somewhat, but it didn’t easily dispel his wariness.
He paused, then continued:
“In that case, please provide proof that you outsiders are not villains.”
Though the Valorian Kingdom was famously open and friendly to outsiders, he still had to be on guard when faced with a group from a foreign race.
After some consideration, he didn’t say the word “heathens.”
Behind him were the people of Ma’en City.
He had to live up to this responsibility.
“Of course.”
Talia ordered an orc warrior to go to the carriage and bring out an ice box.
A chilling cold seeped out like white mist.
She opened the box, took out a black parchment scroll, and handed it to Derek.
Derek unrolled the parchment, and a faint floral fragrance filled the air.
The black background was stamped with long lines of gold-embossed text, and three seals at the bottom shimmered faintly.
He frowned, turned the document over, looked left and right, but couldn’t figure it out.
He turned around, bent down to Feilin’s ear, and whispered:
“I can’t read this script. Tell me if what’s written here is correct.”
Feilin shot Derek a glare, took the document, and scanned it quickly.
After reading just nine lines, she suddenly widened her eyes, her mouth slightly open, as if she had seen something unbelievable.
“Holy cow…”
She muttered instinctively.
“What’s wrong?” Derek asked.
“They’re officials from the Cold Claw Alliance. This is Queen Iron-Tail’s greeting to Ericson IV.”
Feilin said.
Then she paused, took a deep breath, and her tone became respectful.
“The seals of the royal family and the Twin Gods are at the bottom.”
The ratwoman Talia in front of them was not only a member of the Iron-Tail royal family but also a divine chosen of both true gods of the Cold Claw Alliance.
This might be the strongest person Feilin had ever met, aside from their own guild leader.
‘I wonder if she’d beat Vivian…’
That thought suddenly popped into her mind, followed by the memory of the hostile look Vivian had given before she left.
She had a strange feeling.
Those two…
Would eventually come to blows.
‘Please don’t drag me into it.’
‘I still have squid jerky at home that I haven’t finished.’
“Alright.”
Derek replied flatly, then walked through the crowd to the city gate.
A young man was standing guard there.
Not long ago, he had been the one to turn Talia’s group away.
“Hello, Priest Derek!”
He held a wooden spear, stood straight as a ramrod, and greeted loudly with a clear voice.
Derek approached the young man and patted him on the shoulder.
“Good work, lad.”
After praising the dutiful guard, he lowered his voice and gave him a few more instructions.
The young man paused for a moment, then nodded firmly.
Derek returned to Talia, and in a calm but firm tone, said:
“Unfortunately, you still cannot enter the city for now. Your appearance as non-humans would cause panic among the residents.”
“But I will allow you to camp outside the city for a while, trade, and replenish supplies.”
“Alright…”
Talia replied helplessly.