Chapter 282: Off We Go!
The two had been stuck together for quite a while when Elia finally asked Yuliya about her time in the Desert Realm.
Yuliya spilled the beans, generally being quite straightforward, except when it came to the secrets of the Golden City and Golden Kingdom.
Although Elia had heard some news from Isaac before, it was kind of old news and not nearly as detailed as what Yuliya just shared.
“Outsiders and even adventurers from other countries are gathering there? Can you handle it all by yourself?”
“Don’t worry, big sister! No one knows Outsiders and adventurers better than I do!”
After chit-chatting about the Golden City for a bit, Elia finally released Yuliya, and they switched to sitting face-to-face.
“Alright, since you’re back, does that mean you’ve had your fun?”
“No… Um, wait! I thought of something I can actually do to help you, big sister!”
Elia raised an eyebrow, giving Yuliya a funny look. “What is it?”
“I can go as an ambassador to our allied countries! It’ll strengthen our friendship and facilitate information exchange. It’s a necessary task! But since both you and big brother are busy, naturally, I have to take on this big responsibility!”
“Did Isaac tell you this?”
“Nope, it’s something I figured out myself.”
Elia squinted her eyes. “I need to think about this.”
“I already discussed it with big brother, and he agreed.”
“His agreement doesn’t count.”
“Then I’ll just go with the teacher.”
“…”
Now, the ambassador thing wasn’t urgent; waiting a bit wouldn’t hurt.
But let’s be real—it’s usually better to get on it sooner rather than later.
Thinking about it, Yuliya really was the most suitable choice for this new ambassador role.
The only worry was what kind of mischief she was cooking up this time.
Last time she sneaked off to the northern border without saying a word; if someone hadn’t recognized her, she’d have possibly made a stealthy entrance into the Desert Realm!
Her sudden eagerness to go as an ambassador made it hard for Elia not to suspect that Yuliya might’ve discovered something.
It’s not like she couldn’t change her plans halfway through and dash off who knows where.
But this time, Yuliya was proposing they take the uncle along, and having him around unlikely meant she could cause trouble.
“Yuliya, I’ll allow you to go, but you must promise me this time you won’t go off-course. You have to stick strictly to the itinerary. Otherwise…”
“Big sister, I absolutely promise! This time I won’t go anywhere!”
“Let me finish!” Elia pinched Yuliya’s lips together so she could only squeak.
“Otherwise, I’ll lock you in the royal palace and you won’t get to go anywhere. Got it?!”
“Mmm-mmm.”
Elia released her grasp, and Yuliya nodded obediently, “Got it.”
Provided that big sister can actually keep me locked down.
Honestly, trying to manage Yuliya is not an easy task, unless you’re a legendary powerhouse like Elia or Edward, keeping a watchful eye on her.
But this time, Yuliya really just wanted to go as an ambassador with no ulterior motives.
“Okay, I’ll start preparing personnel and gifts to arrange our travel plans. You go talk to the uncle. When do you want to set out?”
“The sooner, the better! Tomorrow would be perfect!”
“Alright, we’ll leave three days from now.”
“Big sister~,” Yuliya started her usual arm-shaking routine with Elia.
“Stop being adorable. What’s this? Little Yuliya doesn’t want to spend more time with her big sister? That makes me a bit sad.”
“…” Yuliya immediately shifted from pitiful to excited, “Haha, of course, I want to spend more time with you! Three days from now, it is!”
With that said, Yuliya bounced away.
Watching her leave, Amelia finally relaxed and chuckled loudly.
Elia chuckled as well.
“Your Majesty, little Yuliya really is… a handful.”
“Yeah, she’s quite the headache.”
“A headache, sure, but it’s hard to truly get angry at her.”
“Sigh, she knows just how to navigate that fine line. Even her seemingly reckless actions have her own thorough plan behind them.”
Even this adventure to the Desert Realm wasn’t some whim; there was a calculated risk and reward assessment going on—how daring was the adventure supposed to be?
“Your Majesty, why not let her go? It might just surprise us.”
“No way! I have to set a boundary for her, even if it’s just verbally.”
“Understood.”
After that, the two stopped chatting and got back to their usual duties.
Three days later, a group of several dozen set off from the royal city, heading east through the teleportation array.
From Yuliya’s perspective, traveling to the Golden City and using the players’ teleportation array to hop to various countries was the fastest route.
Before leaving the Golden City, she asked Steven to test it out, but unfortunately, it didn’t work.
NPCs couldn’t teleport, and this array was quite different from regular ones.
If she tried to sneak over alone, it would be nearly impossible without any proof, just wandering around like a normal player, taking in the scenery.
Yuliya and Edward sat in the carriage, with Steven as the driver while the other attendants rode horses alongside.
Yuliya pulled out a map and looked at it, questioning Edward, “Teacher, our itinerary looks like this, right?”
She drew an imaginary circle on the map.
“Correct.”
“But this is just going in circles!” Yuliya pointed at the map.
“Look, the Verdant Empire is in our southeast direction; it’s our first stop. Why are we heading straight east?”
Yuliya had done her homework and had a rough idea of the geography surrounding the Jade Emperor Kingdom.
To the east of the Jade Emperor Kingdom lay the Sea of Waves, predominantly ocean with a few land patches, and beyond that were islands.
Descending diagonally from the Sea of Waves were high mountains and forests, right at the edge of the Verdant Empire.
To the west of the Verdant Empire was a chaotic area of mixed-race warfare, beyond which lay the Crimson Empire.
Lastly, the Desert Empire was to the west of the Jade Emperor Kingdom, separated by vast, dense forests.
The geographical differences between nations were enormous and chaotic.
Take the Desert Empire and Jade Emperor Kingdom, for instance: the plains and deserts were separated by a massive forest. How weird is that?
If it weren’t for the solid barriers between them, such terrain would have collapsed ages ago.
Over long periods, either the desert would devour the forest, or the forest would douse the desert.
Is this what a fantastical world is like?
“You know, this issue you brought up wasn’t a problem in the past,” Edward chuckled while looking at the map. “Back when the Ice Wave Empire still existed, it was right to our east.”
“At that time, our five-nation alliance formed a circle, and our diplomacy would follow that route. Over time, this route became familiar and safe, allowing us to use the teleportation arrays along the way to speed up travel. So, even now, we still choose this road.”
