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The door shimmered and a thin film of dense mana appeared by itself.

The man in the room hardly bothered about the occurrence as he half-hung from the majestic chair’s armrest, ready to fall to the ground any time now if he moved his center of gravity just a bit more.

His graceful appearance matched with the luxurious room he inhabited, gold and silk everywhere to speak of the wealth behind the host, and many girls would blush and not dare to meet his gaze if he casually strolled down the street.

Unfortunately, this man ruined his graceful bearing by waving one of his legs in greeting when another guest stepped through the newly formed portal and snorted at the childish display.

“Greetings, Lord Niruth.”

Flinging away the empty cup in his hands, unfazed by the shattering crystal sounds, he greeted his guest in his upside down position.

“Aiya, how nice must it be to unravel the mysteries of space. I really wish I could gain insights in it someday. Hi, Hayze.”

By his inaction, the dragon ambassador apparently did not plan to further elaborate on the greeting or correct his posture.

“You are flattering me, it happened just by chance. Hopefully I am not intruding?”

Although they knew each other for many turns already, these two rarely got the chance to interact with each other.

On one side, a powerful figure hailing from the most mysterious region on the continent, [Dragon’s Teeth], the country of dragons, with a playful and childish personality and the other the servant of two godlike characters, which can influence life and death of countless creatures, living in the depths of the Wilderness. Additionally their prowess reached similar levels, it was just the stiff and formal personality of the second which did not mix well with the ambassador.

“Not at all, what can possibly hold my attention in this little place? If it wasn’t for the old goat’s instructions, would I even come here in the first place?”

Casually throwing around a big name, Hayze winced at the familiar nickname. While his two mistresses had the right to speak about the Dragon God in that way, it did seem slightly uncouth to have one of the dragon’s in his direct line of descent to speak of his grandeur in that way.

“Ahaha, don’t look like that, the old man knows what I really think of him, no need to pay attention to the small details. Tell me, why did you come looking for me?

To teleport inside the castle, no matter how run down it is, it still is not easy to avoid the eyes of those old kids.”

True to his nature as a uninhibited and frivolous master, Lord Niruth casually slandered the owner of the place he stayed at.

“You flatter me, it is not a feat at all. While the Leandar line certainly installed protection and maintains a barrier to shield the palace, it is a matter of seniority. Before their ancestor even knew of this place, I already set my foot here in service of my ladies.

If you want to know, the trick is not to break their barriers or look for a way to outdo them, the space inside is not under their domain. I opened up a portal into the castle to come looking for you, and did not invade from the outside. Naturally only a few individuals have a similar disposition and the ability to traverse space and their status prevents them from coming here and causing trouble.

After all, the local families count as the regional influences, even the elders of the Leandar line have to step down at a certain point and can’t exceed their limit.

Compared to the barrier the esteemed Dragon God maintains over the continent, there is basically no need to talk about the venerable personages of similar ranking as my two mistresses to come here. In a way, the local influences benefit from the stance the Dragon God takes in their regard.”

As he came here to look for the dragon ambassador in regard to a favor, Hayze elaborately explained his technique and flattered the man at the same time. Only the dragon king and a few elders exceeded his status and praising the Dragon God and their domain cast a good light at the relaxed evildoer at the same time.

“Your words make sense, it’s for a reason I call them old kids. Truthfully, their conflicts usually are beneath my notice, even calling them regional influences is a bit much. Well, maybe the Terus Empire girl can have the honor and stands out from the others, but overall their antics largely have no influence on our home.

I have no idea what the old goat wants me to do by coming here in the first place, he had me promise him to not interfere with the little princess besides looking out for her so she doesn’t die.

Who knows what’s going on in his mind.”

At the mention of the young heiress all the skin on his back suddenly experienced a cold shiver, especially the casual way Lord Niruth handled her.

The servant had interacted with the girl before under orders of his ladies and had formed a similar opinion to his conversation partner. Hayze admitted she was somewhat unusual and certainly lived up to the standards of a dragon even with her current metamorphosed form, yet the interest coming from both the Dragon God and his own Goddesses stopped him from felling a quick judgement.

To dispatch Niruth, his direct servant, and have him take charge of the local powers to supervise the young one in addition to forbidding him to make direct contact already hinted at secret dealings behind the scenes or a big secret.

Clearing his voice to shake off dangerous thoughts, Hayze cut at his current objective.

“It is above me to fathom the thoughts of the venerable lord. However, my instructions this time around are somewhat related, the ladies Gabriel and Bael wish to offer a gift to the young heiress in their name and are currently preparing to send it off.

In order to not clash with the will of the Dragon God, I have come here to ask of you a favor. Please inform me of the political climate the different powers are currently engaged in, the ladies have not come into contact with any of them for more than hundreds of turns now and only are knowledgeable about the Wilderness side.

If there are no problems, their gift will not interfere much with the human side either, but it’s better to make sure beforehand. I hope you can understand my visit.”

As a matter of fact, these two had spoken in quite different words previously. Neither side had the ability to claim with absolute certainty that they could crush the other side in a fight and have greater prowess.

They had fought over their interests before and exchanged blows with deadly intent. Their current bearing was born out of a sense of duty to their respective masters.

If those concerns changed or their orders shifted, neither side would hesitate to fight it out again.

“Indeed, that makes sense. How sensible, especially if you consider the temperament of Mistress Bael. To see her show subtlety is shocking, really.

Anyway, your request is not considered much. Let me outline the different regional characters.”

Willing a map made out of pure mana into existence into the air, Niruth displayed his astonishing control over magic as a pure dragon.

“Leandar is situated in the outermost western position on the continent. As the corn chamber of the west, as some coin it, it’s a centre of agriculture, fishing and produce. While there are some other products, the overall status is quite stable.

To the south, there are the twin kingdoms, which are stuck in their eternal struggle. All turn around hot water flows out of their dungeon and creates a unique terrain. They rear silkworms and similar specialities and are the experts on textiles and related trade.

None of the rascals living there has stepped into the third realm though, so it’s not that troublesome to deal with them.”

Two bright spots on the map appeared, outlining the aforementioned areas. Hayze nodded in agreement and remembered the most sufficient details.

“Aside from them, there are only the barbarians in the frozen lands even more south. They produce some furs to trade them for supplies, but the overall situation there is not completely clear.

Without a central leader or fixed area to rule over, it’s hard to keep track of them. Maybe on of them already reached the level of a king, yet you hardly have to worry about them. If you do not give them a good cause, the barbarians are happy to stay in their domain.

In a similar vein there are tribes in the north, roaming the desert. They sometimes raid the borders and villages where the sands end, however they don't really leave their lands either unless you provoke them.

Nonetheless, I do know they have not a single fighter or magician in the third realm, I have personally spent some time on an assignment recently there. Their hit and run warfare also results from this lack of powerhouses.

My advice is that your mistresses do not need to worry about their present if it does not concern their land.”

Mana wove through the air, amending the map and outlining both the south and north with borders. The diamond shaped continent only had the centre and east left to be lit up.

“As for the Terus empire, there is one kid, the empress, which should have barely stepped into the king level.

She is not associated with a faction though, maybe that girl inherited an older legacy to reach her position.

Overall, the empire focuses on science and advance in medical technology. The universitas system welcomes countless numbers of students every turn, which in turn make up the upper strata of other kingdoms and cities. For now they stopped their expansion, so they are fairly happy to stay in their own domain.”

A mountain marked with a symbol for another dungeon rose in the center of the continent. The empire grew like a shroom in rings around it.

“About the [Dragon’s Fang] mountains, the dwarves and city states scattered between them, you are better informed about them than me.”

Niruth refrained from giving an accurate map regarding his home place.

The man sent by the two goddesses possessed enough tact to not ask either. Not a single nation on the continent had complete information regarding the dragon’s residence and refuge. As for the other two, they had some contacts with Hayze and the Wilderness, hence he did have an idea about them.

“As for the relations between the local powers, they are in a constant confrontation. Taking over some border towns or leading campaigns to plunder each other are common practice.

However the regents respect each other enough to not slaughter the population not part of the army or hired troops. Since they can recover as long as there are residents left.

The empire is on the best way to become the center of the continent and they act more and more like overseers. Overall they won’t interfere with the internal matters of other countries and only extend help in the face of crises and natural disasters. Their legions are famous for keeping the Wilderness at bay.

Opposite to that are the twin kingdoms, which have an isolation policy. Outsiders are viewed with contempt and generally considered as undesired. Even trade follows strict measures and is very hard to get into as foreign merchants.

Similarly the barbarians and tribes occasionally gather to do trade with other nations, but they refuse to acknowledge their raiding activities. Their society follows the law of the strongest and often change leaders whenever they are defeated in combat.

That’s about it. There are several smaller schools and kingdoms scattered throughout the Wilderness between the major players, however you can ignore those, they do not have much influence on the overall political landscape.”

Floating in the air, the map gained more details as natural landmarks, the dungeons of each country and trade routes appeared.

A regular human might have trouble remembering all of it, yet Hayze had long broken through the limit of his spirit and had no issue imprinting it into his memory.

He nodded and motioned the ambassador to put it away.

“That does answer most of my questions. The present is still being put together by my mistresses, so it will depend on the details at the time if there is an issue with the current arrangement.

Still, I have no idea why the esteemed Dragon God and your venerable masters favor the young heiress so much. She is still in the first realm, after all.”

He thoughtfully pondered and revealed some of his personal thoughts towards the end. It was rare for the man to be in company of similarly skilled cultivators.

“You do not have all the details, Hayze, so it is understandable. Trust me, I have not been convinced either and invited trouble for that girl in court several times and met her despite the non-interference order by the old goat.

Wait for her to show results, you will gradually change your mind. I’m still on the fence, but generally I am inclined to rethink some of my convictions.”

Mysteriously smirking, Niruth finally put strength into his muscles and flipped on his hand, completing a full circle before standing on his feet. The acrobatic act did not raise a brow by his guest, such small moves were par for the course to any warrior at their realm.

“I have to excuse myself now, there is a servant on the way to call me. I reckon court is about to conjourn again. Do you need someone to see you off?”

He produced a robe out of thin air and hid his features before an illusion sprouted scales and a tail to complete his draconic image.

Hayze similarly did not bat an eye, such parlor tricks were a piece of cake for him too.

“No, I already took up too much of your valuable time. Thank you for entertaining me, Lord Niruth.”

The servant sent by the two goddesses did not doubt the ambassador’s senses. He bowed a last time before he headed towards the door, where a thin film of mana opened a door.

Niruth shook his head, at last shocked. He did not sense anything either. Even when the barriers failed to prevent him from coming, the dragon expected to be above that.

While he stared at the place where the man vanished, the door opened and a palace boy entered, scared and nervous under the gaze of the powerful dragon ambassador.

“Lord, it .. is time for court to commence. Will you attend?”

“Underssstood, I will come with you.”

With his disguise in place, the raspy and lisping voice from beneath the hood inspired a tepid fear in the boy who led the way.