Since I don't know where the meeting is going to be held, I head to Almort's office. He is not there, but when she sees me his secretary runs off to find him. I only have to wait a couple of minutes before Almort shows up and leads me to a meeting room.

When I enter the room I see that the ambassador and her guards are already inside. The ambassador is quite a surprise, not only is she female but she is young and beautiful. She isn't quite at Lin's level, but she could easily have been an idol in my old world.

She has long blonde hair and a body on the thinner side with decent curves. She looks to be in her early twenties at the most, way too young to be an ambassador. To have such an important job, I am guessing she has some special circumstances.

Ambassador Shiro says "Greetings, King Ash. My name is Shiro and I have the honor of being the southern empire's ambassador. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you. So, what can I do for your empire?"

Ambassador Shiro says "Straight to the point, I like that. We want you to help us with a problem. You see, we built our imperial palace out of the same stone as the wall."

"If you already know about the wall, I have to say that your spies are really good at their jobs."

Ambassador Shiro says "Yes, they are. Now, we can evacuate the palace easily enough, but we can't evacuate the capital. So, we need your help in getting rid of the palace without destroying the city. According to our spies you have already figured out how to do so, right?"

"In theory, yes. However, as you can see from the fact that the wall is still there, it hasn't been tested yet."

Ambassador Shiro says "I am aware of that. However, we need this to be dealt with before the northern empire settles its internal matters. Otherwise, they might take advantage of our situation."

"I'm guessing your emperor isn't too happy with me about that."

Ambassador Shiro says "True, but he also understands that it was simply a transaction for you. As long as you are willing to make a transaction with us as well, then it is all good."

"Alright. So, do you want to wait and see what happens with the wall? Or do you want me to go destroy your palace first?"

Ambassador Shiro says "We want you to come as soon as possible. The palace is already completely cleared out and we have plans ready for the new one. We just need the old palace destroyed safely. We also want an item to detect demons, like the staff. In exchange, we have gathered over five hundred elves as payment."

"Five hundred? How did you gather so many?!"

Ambassador Shiro says "You traveled up the east coast and then went across the north. We have trade relations with all of the kingdoms along the southern coast."

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"How long until they are all gathered?"

Ambassador Shiro says "They already are. They are in the capital waiting for your arrival."

"We only discovered the secret of the wall recently. How could you gather so many so quickly?"

Ambassador Shiro says "Our empress ordered us to start collecting elves by any means necessary back when you first told the northern empire that you wanted them."

"Why?!"

Ambassador Shiro says "At the time, we had no idea. It turns out that even then, she knew that we would need some help from you."

"Your empress sounds very wise, and if she is, then your emperor is a lucky man."

Ambassador Shiro says "Yes, she is, and the emperor is aware of how lucky he is. So, do you agree to our terms?"

"Yes, I agree. However, in order for me to make a staff like the one I made for the council, you will need to find me an exceptional piece of magical wood."

Ambassador Shiro says "Understood. That won't be a problem. When will you leave?"

"I will leave tomorrow morning. Oh, since I haven't been to the southern coast, I will need a map showing the capital."

Ambassador Shiro says "No problem. Here, you can take my map."

The map she hands me is very detailed and looks to be of high quality. It shows the southern half of the continent and has all the different terrains marked. Combined with what I already have, I have a pretty good map of the entire continent, minus the center.

"Looking at the map, it might take me until the day after tomorrow to arrive."

Ambassador Shiro says "That is fast. It will take me over a week to return. Is there anything else you need?"

"Nope. I'm sure that your spies already told you my conditions for visiting the northern empire."

Ambassador Shiro says "They did. I can guarantee that your visit to our capital will go much smoother."

"Honestly, I am surprised that you aren't asking me to fix your emperor's age as well."

Ambassador Shiro says "If the previous emperor was still alive we would be. The current emperor is only in his thirties, so it isn't needed. Although, our spies reported that you did something to the northern emperor before restoring his age?"

"I am not surprised that you have a spy in their court. Yes, I revitalized the old emperor's health first to make sure that he could survive the shock of getting younger."

Ambassador Shiro says "This isn't part of my instructions, but if possible could you revitalize the emperor and empress?"

"Sure. For the amount of elves you have found for me, that is no trouble."

Ambassador Shiro says "Great! Well, if there is nothing else you need from me, I should let you get back to what you need to do. I will be beginning my return trip immediately."

"Nope. Safe journey."

Shiro gets up and her guards follow her out of the room, so I get up and leave as well. Instead of leaving straight away, I head back to Almort's office to talk to him. I tell him what the southern empire wanted and what they offered in exchange.

Almort says "I am assuming from the number of elves offered that you agreed?"

"Of course. I will be leaving in the morning. Since the council still hasn't made up its mind, you can tell them to wait and see what happens with the palace."

Almort says "Actually, that will help a lot. The council members have been arguing about this non-stop. I am really sick of trying to stop the fights and get a consensus out of them."

"Better you than me. I probably would have lost my patience long ago and just killed them all."

Almort says "Don't tempt me. So, how long do you think you will be gone?"

"Should be just two days. Lin will be here and knows the spell if an emergency comes up."