Xu Jun cupped his hands and I did the same. "I hope the guards didn't harass you too much? I had told them that you had a demonic spell on you, and yet I hear they still held you up?"

"Well, no, it wasn't that big of an issue," I said reassuringly. "Don't worry about it."

His living quarters were rather smaller than what I would've expected for such an official, though at the same time, the size was likely constrained as it had to be kept within the embassy, and overall, I had seen that in terms of square footage the capital was far less generous than Arconia. Still, every part of it was richly decorated and there was the gentle aroma of an incense stick wafting through the place.

I recognized a good portion of the decorations and art pieces and what they were supposed to be depicting by now, though some were unfamiliar to me. Xu Jun introduced me to the rest of his family - his wife, two daughters, and son - as he led me to the dining area.

"Honestly, I had wanted to meet with you the moment I had heard of your exploits back in Arconia," Xu Jun said. "I have had to deal with the dryads multiple times before, but I have never heard of a combination technique of yours - though from the sound of it, it was extremely effective. I didn't know that you were going to be staying in the capital for some time - I had some business outside here, you see, but when word came to me that you were heading towards Hitutsa, I just felt that I had to extend an invitation to you."

"Ah - who exactly told you where I was planning to go?" I asked.

"Practically half the capital knows," Xu Jun said, chuckling. "Though it was through someone I knew at the guild that word of this got to me." Right, the guild knew where I was going - and so did quite a lot of other people given I hadn't exactly been trying to hide it. I wouldn't be surprised if Sun Jiao had opened his mouth a few times.

"Right," I said.

"Is this your first time visiting Hitutsa?" his wife asked as I sat down.

"Yes," I said. "I plan to stay at Hitutsa University for a while before eventually making my way towards Hansini." If they knew I was going to Hitutsa, there was no real drawback to telling them all of that.

"That's quite the journey you're going to embark upon," Xu Jun said. He frowned, imagining the distance I'd have to cover. "Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Just some things regarding Liberomancy before I return home," I said.

"Hmm…" he replied as he gestured for the servants to bring out the appetizers. As the food was placed down I couldn't help but wonder - what was the purpose of this dinner? Was this really just an attempt to get to know me better? Or did he have a deeper political motive? The only thing that I could think about was that he wanted to possibly 'steal' my future talent if he was also expecting me to be able to create a Rank Four grimoire, either that, or, given how often Hitutsa was endangered by the dryads, wanted me to lend a hand to them in the future.

Hitutsa and Chipker were quite friendly as nations, though that could've changed at any time. I didn't know what either country was planning for the future. A war would be quite costly for both sides and not worth the hassle, but behind-the-scenes maneuvering was always on the table.

Thinking about all of these political aspects was honestly quite exhausting - I had never been a fan of it back home, and even less so in this world. That was just a consequence of my fame though, back when I had been a nobody I hadn't even had to think of such things.

Xu Jun didn't start with anything regarding politics, however, instead telling me some history of his family and how he had come to work for the Hitutsian government. Apparently he had the rank of 'Viscount', though 'Viscount' might very well just be how the magic translating system interpreted it. I had no idea what that rank meant, such as how high or low it was on the hierarchy.

I had not heard of such a rank within Chipker. Someone like Drake might've known what it meant - I was really beginning to miss hanging out with that guy. Not only because he was surprisingly knowledgeable when it came to politics (I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised at it given his upbringing, I just kind of forgot about that when comparing him to his brother) and also all around a chill dude to be with.

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It wasn't just Drake - I had come to quite miss being woken up by Granny Qi, and the familiar sights around her home back in Arconia.

The capital just didn't have the same vibes as back there, and there were times I found myself wishing I was back home - not 'home' as in back on Earth, but 'home' as in Arconia. Even if it wasn't truly home and just the place I was most familiar with within Libraria; which is likely why I felt so attached to it.

Dinner, thankfully, did not involve fish too much. I mean, it was there as a side dish, but it was clear that Xu Jun preferred cuisine more similar to how it was back in Hitutsa, which involved a larger emphasis on rice and vegetables and occasionally meat (that was usually not fish) depending on how wealthy you were.

I had basically been eating some variation of fish every single day kudos to training Sun Jiao, and had quickly gotten sick of it despite the huge variety he was able to cook and the improvements he had made with many of the recipes. Even before this, fish was a staple of this country. It was nice to have a meal with minimal seafood.

"When will you be heading out?" Xu Jun asked. "Have you thought of where you will go on your journey to the University?"

"I was thinking of going to Tarsus near the border first," I said. "And then finding my way towards the University on the road to the capital."

Xu Jun nodded. "Actually - my brother-in-law is in Tarsus."

"Yes- would you like me to send word to him? I'm sure that he would be happy to host someone like you on your journey," his wife added.

"Ah, thank you - but I would hate to impose on you-"

Xu Jun shook his hand. "It is nothing at all. I would have said that you should stay in our home back in the capital on your way, but that still leaves you with nowhere to go once you cross the border. And I'm sure he would love to hear your stories of your little spider trick."

Talk then shifted to my little maneuver, and I got the feeling that that was really why I had been invited. Xu Jun was either very interested in the combo for his own knowledge, or because he wanted to know if it could be replicated somehow for Hitutsa to use. I could understand why - after all, Hitutsa was constantly under threat of the dryads, and so if they had a combo like this and were able to disseminate it to a large portion of their Rank Three Liberomancers it would make their problem far easier to deal with in the future.

The issue with such a thing - as I subtly reminded him - was that the grimoire in question was written in English. I didn't know if Zeke had managed to perfect a translated copy, but that would be in the lizardman language, not something that the people of Hitutsa could use. So every single copy would have to be handwritten by me, something I was definitely not keen on.

Well, perhaps if they had something very useful to me, like a grimoire that could help me fly… yes, in that case, I might be wiling to make two or even three copies in exchange for one of those!

But, although I brought up the topic of grimoires that might help one fly to Xu Jun, he admitted that he had no real way of finding one himself.

"Ah, it's just you know, a lot easier to travel if you can fly," I said. "Otherwise, I have to go through the large corridor to get to Hitutsa."

"If you don't mind me interrupting, may I say something?" a voice called out when I said this. I turned my head to see that it had come from one of the servants - I had not been introduced to them. This was a man who looked to be in his early fifties.

"Ah, yes?" Xu Jun said, basically giving him permission to speak.

"I couldn't help but overhear the young master speaking about taking the large corridor to get to Hitutsa?" he asked. The corridor was a large valley that was the most commonly used pathway to get to Hitutsa, and had been cleared of most obstacles and was relatively safe - the chances of finding yourself facing a dangerous magical beast or the like were virtually nil. "Well, I recently tried to come along that path, but unfortunately, there are too many dryads in the area as of late. It would be quite dangerous for a lone travel to journey along that route. I would most definitely not recommend it. It is better to take a detour if you intend to cross the border."

Xu Jun frowned.

"Ah, sorry - but I didn't catch your name?" I asked.

"I am the head butler, young master," he replied. "It is a path slightly westward to the large corridor, and passes through a network of caves. The lack of sunlight means the dryads do not want to wander near there."

"Which path is this?" Xu Jun asked.

The head butler told me that it had used to be used for smuggling in the past, but was now so well-known that it was an established route to Hitutsa, though in normal times the corridor was far preferable.

"It ends in a tunnel, at the other end of which is an outpost where you can register yourself," he added. "I would recommend going through there instead."

"Hmm… well, I wish you luck during your journey, regardless of what route you take," Xu Jun said. "I wish that I could return back to my homeland, though as you can understand, I have work to do here." He said so wistfully. "Oh - before I forget, I had something for you, Master Stefan."

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