"Don't dismiss this measure too quickly, Squire Quarrier," Martial commissioner Derun told him calmly. "We intend to compensate you accordingly. The details can be negotiated, yet the Martial Union is willing to go above and beyond to make this measure worth it."
She extracted a document from her desk, handing it to Rui.
"This..." Rui's eyes widened when he read through it. "It seems that the Martial Union must truly value the techniques of the G'ak'arkan Tribe to get to go this far to get me to undertake this role."
"Indeed we are," She smiled. "Do not look down this opportunity, young man. The standard offense, shadow, and hunter-class missions that you normally undertake regularly are a dime a dozen and will forever be that way for as long as Martial Art exists. You will never run out of them, and they will always be available whenever you seek them. They are not special nor unique experiences that can meaningfully nourish your experience and worldview of the Martial World. While it is true that you are extremely attractive as a prospective diplomat to us, it is also true that this is an opportunity that you will probably never ever receive again for the rest of your extended lifespan."
This was a much harder rationale to refuse for Rui. It was true that the monotony of the standard mission could get too boring for him, and it did not hurt to go for a change of pace every now and then. Furthermore, his love for Martial Art inevitably fueled a deep curiosity about the Martial tribes of Vilun Island. New experiences that diverged immensely from anything he had ever experienced ever before could greatly fuel his imagination and serve as fuel for new inspiration.
This new inspiration could potentially serve as fuel for new techniques. Individuality was not easy to generate, in order to exercise his imagination to come up with something new and original, he would do himself well by expanding his worldview on what is possible. It could potentially serve as a rather solid boost to his individuality in the meantime.
This alone was worth undertaking the mission as a diplomat. The exaggerated remuneration that the Martial Union was willing to give him in exchange for taking this measure was simply the cherry on top.
"...Alright," Rui sighed. "I accept the mission and the preparation it entails."
"Brilliant," She smiled. "That is quite relieving to hear."
"What I'm unclear about is the degree of preparation that will be necessary for me to serve as an adequate diplomat," Rui pointed out. "I'm also unclear on the negotiation capital that the Martial Union is willing to concede for this diplomatic endeavor."
"You will undergo basic training on the fundamentals of diplomacy, the Kandrian Empire, and the Martial Union. You should be competent enough to be able to quell any queries that the G'ak'arkan Tribe may pose to you if the negotiations go well. You will also receive instruction on the specifics and the limits of the diplomatic capital that the Martial Union has set aside for the endeavor." She explained. "Furthermore, you will need to thoroughly familiarize yourself with everything related to our diplomatic targets, directly on indirectly. That includes the known history, geography, and topography of Vilun island, its cultural profile as well as the details surrounding its demographics. Ultimately, you will be familiarized with their interests and issues intimately. This will allow you to know what they want, and what they don't, and you will be able to correspondingly navigate how to go about establishing a Martial Art trade by knowing what the Martial Union can and is willing to offer; Our negotiating capital."
Rui nodded.
He actually had a good understanding of the thought process of diplomats in a general and broad sense. Diplomats furthered the interests of the entity that they represented by accordingly persuading and negotiating with foreign parties to act or engage in a manner to further their own interests. In practice, this included trades and exchanges, offers and threats, and other transactions.
However, it was one thing to have a good qualitative understanding of the role of diplomats and how they fulfilled it, and another thing entirely to obtain the competencies required to do that successfully.
Of course, neither Rui nor commissioner Derun expected Rui to obtain the competencies on par with that of the actual professional diplomats of the Martial Union, not at all. That was an impossibility for the most part and would require many years of studying that Rui would not even consider doing even for the slightest millisecond. However, Rui was sure that he could reach a stage where he would at the very least abstain from making tremendous blunders like his predecessors did.
"All of these matters will be addressed once you sign the contract," Martial commissioner Derun told him. "We will specify all of the agreements we have made in the contract as clauses. In exchange for serving as a diplomat to engage in a diplomatic endeavor to obtain the long-range techniques of the G'ak'arkan Tribe, you will be given extensive remuneration in return as shown earlier."
Rui nodded as a tiny smile broke onto his face.
A small little world isolated from that of the rest of human civilization. Martial philosophies that he had never encountered before and Martial Art techniques that he had never seen before. There wasn't a single element of this experience that wouldn't be entirely brand-new to Rui. He probably would have experienced such a culture shock since he was reborn into this new world!
Rui couldn't wait to get going with this mission immediately. He intended to give the training and tutelage his very absolute best so he could immediately head over to Vilun Island and convince the tribal folks to trade techniques. He wasn't sure how he was going to go about it, but he was very confident that he would figure out some plan that would make things proceed in a desirable manner.
