After a brief exchange, Lady Cornelia left first.

To be honest, the atmosphere overall was quite pleasant. Lady Cornelia had an air of "ask and you shall be told," even enthusiastically giving Jones directions. But progress seemed a far-off dream—one could even describe the situation as utterly clueless.

"This is the first time I've encountered such negotiations," Belle said helplessly. "We're simply here begging, while they seem to want absolutely nothing. They're a downright terrible negotiation partner. Not only do we have to eliminate their concerns, but we also need to figure out something they might need to make a trade. Honestly... I've never dealt with such business before. They're like a stone without even the tiniest crack."

Everyone had gathered in Jones' room. The small room felt exceptionally cramped, with not even a place to sit. Jones could only sit on his coffin, a melancholy look on his face.

The only remaining chair was taken by Belle.

"It's impossible that they don't want anything. If that were the case, why bother letting us come in the first place? They could've just refused us outright," Jones said. "Perhaps we haven't officially entered the process yet."

"Or maybe they already intended to refuse from the start?" Belle retorted.

Jones hesitated at Belle's remark. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." Belle hesitated as she answered, "We spent six months negotiating to secure a meeting. And the pretense wasn't about purchasing ore—it was... it was because you freed the elf slaves. Logically speaking, as a friend of the Blood Elves, they shouldn't reject you coming to Luo Ge Xian Ni. At least regarding the liberation of elf slaves, they need your cooperation. But it seems that's about as far as it goes. They truly don't seem to have any further plans."

"Then should we continue leveraging the elf slave liberation to negotiate with them?"

"But you've already freed nearly all the elf slaves on the Kolin Peninsula."

"So what you're saying is, this negotiation was doomed from the start?"

"I think... I wouldn't say it's certain, but the odds are indeed not looking good." Belle shrugged.

"If the odds are so slim, why bother having us come at all?" Dora muttered softly.

"A slim chance is better than no chance at all, isn't it?" Belle turned her head to reply. "And besides, you heard earlier. This type of ore only exists here. No matter how difficult it is, we have no choice but to negotiate with them."

"But the odds are still abysmal. Coming here is just a waste of time." Dora puffed her cheeks in frustration.

"As long as there's even the faintest of hope, it's not called wasting time."

"If we fail in the end, it's still wasting time."

"How would you know it won't succeed if you don't try?"

"We already tried, and it clearly didn't work!"

The two were nearly arguing, while William stood quietly to the side, clutching his staff and looking like mere decoration.

"Alright, enough," Jones said helplessly. "We knew beforehand that this would be challenging, just not to this extent. Regardless, we must proceed anyway. We must, understand?"

Dora frowned so deeply it seemed she could wring water out of it.

Belle, on the other hand, had a look of smug satisfaction. "That's what I'm saying too—at least give it a shot, right?"

...

Meanwhile, Lady Cornelia and Dariana were leisurely riding unicorns along the streets of Cartier, passing by pedestrians.

"Lady Cornelia," Dariana asked softly, "what's the next step? It didn't seem like your negotiation went particularly well."

"Indeed." Lady Cornelia puffed up her chest slightly, gazing at the end of the street. "He doesn't have what we need... or perhaps he does, but someone else has already given it to us first. This makes his position far less significant. If this had been a few years ago, the negotiation would've played out very differently. Had he been willing to negotiate back then, we might have sent the Queen herself. But now, everything is different."

Saying this, Lady Cornelia glanced at Dariana with a faint smirk.

"I... don't quite follow," Dariana said blankly, shaking her head.

"You don't need to understand; this matter is outside your purview. Anyway, as a friend of the Blood Elves, we can't refuse their arrival outright. But beyond that? No guarantees. Just make sure you don't offend him—do everything perfectly, so he has no grounds for complaint. Beyond that, it's not your concern."

"Understood," Dariana bowed slightly.

The two slightly quickened their pace.

Countless pedestrians passed them by.

Oh, and there was Angel—a Blood Elf walking home. Compared to when he went out, the only things unchanged seemed to be his longbow and quiver.

To appear somewhat less haggard, he had cleaned himself up a bit in the Magic Academy's restroom. Thus, he now appeared as a bald elf without eyebrows. His clothes were tattered and scorched in large patches, drawing considerable attention as he walked down the road.

As he passed by, Dariana couldn't help but glance back at him twice.

"What's the matter?" Lady Cornelia asked.

"Oh, nothing. I saw a bald elf. He even seemed to have no eyebrows..."

"Could he be a Wood Elf? Wood Elves have distinct hair colors compared to us. Perhaps he's trying to cover up his identity." Saying this, Lady Cornelia also turned to take a distant look at Angel in the crowd.

The demon followed silently behind Angel, unseen to anyone.

At this moment, Angel was entirely unaware that he had already caught the attention of others. "What should I do? How can I explain when I return?"

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