The cabin door opened, and a black leather combat boot stepped out first.
Xiang Nan emerged from within the aircraft.
He looked up at the bright, clear sky and smiled faintly.
Then, he descended the boarding steps, heading toward the greeting party from the Kakin Empire.
From above, when he was still in the air, he'd already seen the kind of grand welcome the Kakin royal family had arranged.
He also knew that the one coming to receive him was the First Prince, Benjamin Hui Guo Rou.
What a pity… Because of the "story character" status, the two of them couldn't directly "interact."
Walking in front, behind Xiang Nan was a group of soldiers from the Republic of Padokea, all in plainclothes—also a few dozen of them.
Their number certainly didn't match Kakin's side.
Meanwhile, off to the other side, as he took in the target figure, Prince Benjamin's pupils contracted slightly.
He was certainly aware of these people called "The Nameless Land."
Certain individuals, at certain times, were protected by some powerful force.
That would cause one's perception to become confused.
Their members hail from all corners of the world, from various countries—a rather mysterious bunch.
But whether to call it a force or an organization, it was more akin to some kind of "faith," a religion, so to speak, which, for a national government, posed no real threat.
After all, their numbers remained small, and… most of them came from ordinary backgrounds.
There hadn't been any large-scale mobilization of these people, nor did they band together to build an uprising, so they were relatively scattered.
Even so, many among them were quite keen on obtaining Hunter licenses.
A good number of them were Nen users… but there were also ordinary people.
V5 had once attempted to arrest and study the "Nameless Land," but never uncovered any meaningful intel or data. Over time, they concluded these people merely possessed some knowledge regarding Nen and how to become Nen users—nothing that warranted concern.
Because there were so few of them, and the truly outstanding Nen experts among them were even fewer.
The Kakin Empire, likewise, had conducted its own research on them but found nothing.
In short, except for a few special traits, that group or "religion" was just so-so.
However, not many were capable of recognizing a Nameless Land member by sight. Prince Benjamin happened to be one of the few.
That odd "state" of subconsciously dispersing attention and wanting to ignore their existence—two years ago, he had felt it once before.
Were it not for his curiosity about Xiang Nan, he likely wouldn't have recognized which person in that approaching crowd was the actual "guest."
The majority of Nameless Land's members, if they don't proactively expose their identities, simply cannot be recognized.
Those with such a strange "status" in the Nameless Land are quite rare.
"Apologies, Your Highness Prince. Our chief, for personal reasons, cannot communicate with you."
When Xiang Nan and his party met Benjamin, the soldier next to Xiang Nan looked at the prince and offered a polite explanation.
"Can you see his appearance?"
Benjamin folded his arms and asked the subordinate at his side.
That man glanced at the group's central figure and nodded.
"Mm… He has short brown hair, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, dressed in a black windbreaker—his features look somewhat scholarly, but his bearing is very firm. At first glance, you can tell he's also from a military background."
Benjamin heard this, gave a cold snort:
"Huh… to think that as a soldier, he'd still subscribe to some sort of religious group."
His tone carried obvious disappointment.
He spun on his heels and left.
"Let's go—to the royal palace."
Indeed, he'd already seen photos of Xiang Nan.
But a photo is a photo, and the real person is the real person.
He was unclear about the system's "masking," which prevented the so-called "story characters" from properly perceiving a new-player-level "Nameless Land" figure's presence. For the story characters, there'd only be a kind of fuzzy sense of the player's figure, yet that alone did not prevent them from receiving other forms of information.
It was purely a system-based measure to protect (and limit) the player, not granting the story character any symmetrical "masking."
A subordinate soldier then relayed Benjamin's attitude and words to Xiang Nan.
Xiang Nan just shrugged it off.
The group climbed into cars and left the airport, heading to their destination.
Eventually, they arrived at the royal palace.
Xiang Nan was arranged to stay inside a reception hall.
Several beautiful attendants waited on him, always ready to serve.
Though Kakin's origins were ancient—an old royal lineage—the capital itself was modern and bustling. But once entering the palatial compound, all the architecture, with its ornate carvings, beams, and foreign styling, exuded an exotic, antique flair.
Even the attendants fanning him used giant palm fronds reminiscent of a plantain leaf.
Seated inside the hall, Xiang Nan sipped his tea with a relaxed expression, waiting quietly.
Aside from him and a few attendants, no one else was present in the palace hall.
Not even the Padokean soldiers who had accompanied him.
Because it was the king, Nasubi Hui Guo Rou, who'd demanded that he come here alone.
Naturally, the motive was obvious.
Xiang Nan took a sip of tea, checking the time and flashing a faint grin.
King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou had not appeared; he was presumably verifying a few matters with the first prince's retinue.
Likewise, he would also question Xiang Nan's subordinates to glean more about Xiang Nan's temperament and personality.
Though in the manga, King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou looked comical at first glance, like a chubby clown, one shouldn't underestimate him.
He had led the Kakin Empire to its present greatness, used Beyond Netero, or cooperated with him, so that in the future, even V5 had to give way. And in the later events, he planned to sacrifice everyone aboard the Black Whale in order to choose a new successor.
All of which spoke to his ruthless cunning.
Now that the ants had been exposed to the Republic of Padokea, it was wholly beyond his expectation.
In order to ensure Kakin's grand plan could keep advancing, King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou had no choice but to be very cautious.
Xiang Nan was just pondering this when footsteps sounded outside the hall's entrance.
At last, the main figure arrived.
Only two people came. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel⸺fire.net
One was a story character, his form masked, obviously the king, Nasubi Hui Guo Rou himself.
The other was the liaison officer in charge of the "mission" when Xiang Nan first arrived.
But at this moment, that liaison wore a pallid expression, looking very ill-at-ease.
When Xiang Nan saw them, he rose from his seat.
Since players cannot directly "interact" with story characters, the existence of these intermediaries, especially the liaison, was necessary for them to speak. The two men's words would have to be relayed through a "third party," bridging that system-imposed gap.
Hence, no pleasantries were needed.
The king entered and immediately took his seat on the throne, waving away the palace attendants.
"I never imagined that a senior military figure from the Republic of Padokea would visit our Kakin Empire… Let alone personally undertake a private 'commissioned' assignment?"
Once both sides were seated, the liaison—standing at the throne's side, perspiring heavily—spoke up straight away.
Evidently, this was not his own statement but the King's words.
"Ah, I was just out to amuse myself, traveling around out of boredom. Who'd have thought I'd unwittingly discover the Kakin Empire's secret?"
Catching the sarcastic inflection in Nasubi's tone, Xiang Nan smiled in response.
"The Kakin Empire's secret? What secret, exactly?"
Via the liaison, the King feigned a clueless, lighthearted expression.
"You've seen it for yourself, haven't you?"
Their conversation had only just begun, yet the two men—Xiang Nan and King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou—already exchanged barbs and subtle hostility in their remarks.
The liaison's forehead was slick with sweat, even though he'd barely stood there for a minute.
Xiang Nan narrowed his eyes, emphasizing his words.
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