Obviously, this was not the main hall; it was only about a hundred square meters. A middle-aged man with a thin, bearded face was sitting at the table, waiting for him.

Gaia raised his right hand to his chest and performed a courtesy commonly used among nobles: “Lord of Greenland, Gaia, extends sincere greetings to President Laughton.”

“You’re the lord?” Laughton frowned slightly, seemingly surprised to meet a noble in such an audience.

“I am the new lord of Greenland.” Gaia replied with neither arrogance nor servility: “I have come to visit you, hoping to obtain a permit for an adventurers’ office, and to request that you assign staff to be permanently stationed at the Greenland office.”

Laughton knew what kind of place Greenland was; everyone in the Adventurers’ Guild knew what kind of place Greenland was. Once an Adventurers’ Guild office was established in Greenland, someone would have to be stationed there year-round. That was a tough job—absolutely no one wanted to go.

So when Strong came to Mein City to request the permit, he was told that the lord had to apply in person. In fact, the people at the Adventurers’ Guild knew that nobles disdained to meet a branch president in person—they were trying to sabotage the whole thing.

Strong certainly knew this too, which was why he had been so nervous along the way. But he couldn’t explain all this to Gaia, so he simply pretended not to know.

No one expected Gaia to actually come.

Laughton frowned again, feeling this was a tricky matter. No matter who he sent, they would definitely be unwilling. He was about to refuse, but suddenly thought of two people.

A cold smile appeared on Laughton’s face: “A place like Greenland can have an adventurers’ office? What a waste!” Gaia had already anticipated this outcome, so he replied confidently, “How about this: please give me three months. During these three months, I will pay the salaries of the office staff. If after three months you still think Greenland is unworthy of having an office, then please withdraw them. If you think Greenland deserves an office, then the office in my territory will become an official branch of the Adventurers’ Guild. What do you think?”

Laughton smiled slightly: “I still think the town of Greenland doesn’t need an office at all… just an adventurers’ tavern would be enough. My lord, I will assign you two people, under the conditions you mentioned.”

Gaia once again pressed his hand to his chest, bowed slightly, and withdrew.

“Thank you for your generosity, my lord. Gaia takes his leave.”

As soon as Gaia left, a trusted aide walked in: “Sir, do you really want to set up an office in a godforsaken place like Greenland?” Laughton sneered coldly: “There aren’t even ten groups of adventurers passing through Greenland in a year. Why would such a place need an office? But the other party is a noble, after all. He came in person, so I can’t completely refuse him. This is also a good opportunity to get rid of those two thorns in my side!”

The aide immediately flattered him with a thumbs-up: “Sir, you are truly wise! Sir, to have a noble visit you in person is something you can boast about for a lifetime…” Laughton stroked his beard and smiled smugly.

……

A crowd was gathered in front of the branch’s notice board. What caught Gaia’s attention was that many of these people were not dressed as adventurers—they were merchants.

Gaia walked over curiously. On the huge magical notice board, blue flames formed magical words that scrolled continuously, displaying one task after another. At the very top of the board were three lines of red magical text that did not scroll—these required an extra fee.

The very top line read: Competition for First-Level Distributor of the House of Magic Arms.

The House of Magic Arms was the largest weapons manufacturer in the northern empire. A first-level distributor was responsible for an entire region. For Mein City, the area covered by the first-level distributor included the surrounding towns of Modo and Greenland.

Gaia’s heart stirred. He was about to head to the branch office to register when a commotion broke out at the back of the crowd. An arrogant, domineering voice shouted loudly, “Make way, make way, Young Master Cristiano is here, everyone move aside…”

Suddenly, a force came from behind. Caught off guard, Gaia and Strong were jostled by the crowd and stumbled. Then he saw a group of people escorting the so-called Young Master Cristiano, pushing their way into the branch office.

Gaia found it odd. Normally, these adventurers loved nothing more than chaos—why were they so tolerant of such an arrogant rich kid?

He quietly asked the person next to him, “Excuse me, who is this Young Master Cristiano?” Before the person could answer, the “young master’s” attendant overheard. One of the attendants laughed loudly: “You’re asking who our young master is? Kid, you must be an adventurer, right? Let me tell you, in Mein City, no adventurer who’s crossed our young master has ever had a good ending!” The attendant gave him a shove: “Move! Don’t block our young master’s way.”

Gaia shifted his shoulder, causing the man to push at empty air. Gaia casually flicked his hand, and the attendant tumbled headfirst into the crowd.