"Welcome to the Wildfire Territory!" After Andrew spoke, he stood still, not saying anything further.

He looked curiously at the team from the Warm Fire Commerce Association in front of him.

As soon as he detected the newcomers through "Water Spirit Sensing," Andrew rushed over to greet them.

On one hand, it was a matter of etiquette.

On the other hand, he was also genuinely excited, curious, and couldn't hide his enthusiasm.

"——Finally, I can interact with more people from this Flame Realm beyond the desert!"

Ever since crossing over, staying in the Wildfire Territory, Andrew felt almost like crying!

"Hey, who are you?" Havier briefly influenced by Andrew's "gentle as water" voice, frowned, "What's with 'take a closer look' and 'welcome to Wildfire Territory'... hey, I'm telling you——"

Looking down at Andrew with his usual arrogant attitude, he planned to give Andrew a show of force.

However, just as he was halfway through his sentence, Leia suddenly let out a scream of surprise and joy: "Barbara sister!!"

A strong wave of magic pulsed from around Leia, causing Havier to momentarily lose his breath, unable to finish his sentence, "I'm telling you."

Leia suddenly disappeared from horseback, reappearing in a flash beside Andrew.

And embraced Barbara, who had just stepped out from behind Andrew!

"Oh dear, how many times have I told you, a girl should be more reserved."

Barbara, who didn't look much older than Leia, still somewhat had the demeanor of an older sister in front of Leia.

After smiling and "chiding" Leia, she turned and introduced, "This is Leia, my best friend!"

"Miss Leia," Andrew respectfully greeted, "I'm Andrew, the Chief Mage of the Wildfire Territory."

"Oh, oh, h-hello!" Leia quickly returned the greeting.

Looking at Leia up close, Andrew kept his gaze steady, involuntarily recalling Leia's movement style from just a moment ago.

"That's really impressive, it must be a movement, body technique magic from the Warm Fire Magic, right?"

Andrew thought, "Comparing it to my 'Water-Traveling Boots,' the movement speed might not be faster, but in terms of instantaneous burst speed, it definitely has an advantage!"

Just from that brief moment, seeing the prowess Leia displayed, Andrew realized: this somewhat "unruly looking" girl is definitely as powerful as Barbara, one of the outstanding talents among the younger generation of the Flame Realm.

Undoubtedly, she's a Tier Three Warm Fire Mage.

"However, even among Warm Fire Mages, the aura can vary quite a bit between individuals." Andrew observed closely, "Barbara specializes in the 'Heart Fire Series' of Warm Fire Magic. I wonder which series this Leia specializes in?"

Of course, now wasn't the time for in-depth research.

And staring at a girl isn't very polite either.

People who don't know might even think he's interested in her size…

Andrew nodded slightly at Leia, then looked over at the other side, nodding curtly at the knights first.

When the knights first saw Andrew appear suddenly, even with Andrew's "gentle as water" voice that sounded pleasant, based on their duties, they immediately tensed up and became more alert.

They only truly relaxed when they saw Barbara appear.

Andrew's gaze landed on Havier, who, despite his knightly appearance, seemed oddly out of place in the Inner Sea Desert.

The other immediately lifted his chin.

Yet Andrew's eyes had already moved past Havier.

Finally, they rested on the seemingly ordinary carriage at the back of the team.

There, an elderly man in a pale blue robe was slowly alighting from the carriage with the protection of two knights.

Andrew understood that this old man was the real decision-maker in the team coming to take Barbara and himself to Warm Fire City.

The reason was simple: "Water Spirit Sensing" showed nothing from the old man, it was completely blank!

In stark contrast was that guy (Havier) who seemed to have his nostrils perpetually in the air, who appeared as a flamboyant flame in the Water Spirit Sensing.

But Andrew could sense that in terms of actual combat power, this guy was probably the weakest in the group.

"Hello."

Andrew respectfully performed the customary gesture of a junior mage to a senior in this Flame Realm toward the old man.

Since reading the formal invitation letter from the head of the Warm Fire Commerce Association, Andrew had consciously learned some magical etiquette of the Flame Realm from Barbara over the past three days.

After all, if it was just him alone, a bit casual and willful wouldn't be a big problem.

But now he represented the Wildfire Lord, representing everyone in the Wildfire Territory.

The necessary etiquette must be observed.

And it wasn't very difficult.

The old man returned the gesture, then with a slight calm smile on his face, said, "Miss Barbara's letter mentioned that the new Chief Mage of Wildfire Forest is a young but promising kid. Indeed, very young."

Barbara blushed briefly, then resumed her usual expression, saying, "This is Grandpa Falk, my father's teacher."

A simple introduction, yet very grand.

The teacher of the head of the Warm Fire Commerce Association! Such a position is obviously very high.

"Didn't expect that the Warm Fire Commerce Association would send someone of this level? Is it out of concern for Barbara's safe return? Hmm... I wonder how this person compares in strength to that Humboldt old mage before he was injured..."

Andrew's mind raced, "By the way, why is he wearing a pale blue magic robe? I see Barbara and Leia are both wearing red magic attire representing flames..."

In this Flame Realm, there's no rule saying that a Flame Mage must wear certain types of magical attire.

Nor are clothing styles, colors, design details matched to a mage's tier.

Generally speaking though, Flame Mages—whether Warm Fire or Earth Fire—naturally prefer red.

The difference is that Warm Fire Mages' attire is generally softer, brighter, and cleaner in color.

Earth Fire Mages' clothing often has dark red or red-black mixed characteristics.

Having someone like Falk, who doesn't have a touch of red in his entire outfit, is quite rare.

At this moment, Andrew didn't put much thought into it, just letting the thought pass and quickly dismissing this minor curiosity.

After greeting, "Hello, Grandpa Falk," Andrew turned slightly, gesturing with his hand, "Please come in and sit, let's not just stand here talking."

Although the team was here to take Barbara home, they weren't here to take her away immediately.

From Falk's gaze, Andrew could subtly catch a hint of scrutiny.

"So they're not just here to pick someone up, but to 'inspect' as well?" Andrew was well aware.

On one hand, the head of the Warm Fire Commerce Association would obviously want to know what kind of place his daughter has been living, training, and fighting in over the past month or so.

On the other hand, although Barbara strongly recommended in her letters home to "ally with Andrew," the Commerce Association wouldn't blindly comply just because she said so.

The Commerce Association would still need to make its own judgment.

"Originally, I planned to go to Warm Fire City with Barbara to investigate the situation of the Warm Fire Commerce Association before considering later business cooperation." Andrew chuckled inwardly, "Now it looks like it's them who came to inspect us first!"

Which means whether the two sides can happily cooperate in the future, and how they will fight against the Magic Guild together… and a series of other questions, essentially starts from now!

"That's good! I quite like this style." Andrew thought.

He then said with balanced confidence, "Please."

Falk maintained his calm demeanor, seemingly unmoved by anything, and said, "Thank you."

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