Sure enough, after hearing what Erwin had to say, a faint smile appeared on Lia's face, and he cast a meaningful gaze toward Erwin as he asked, "From the sounds of it, you're from the south, is that correct?"

Erwin nodded in response, then asked, "Does that affect anything?"

Lia shook his head with a smile, then looked into Erwin's eyes as he asked, "Were you a part of the Battle of the Marrod Plain?"

He knew that he was potentially bringing up a sensitive topic for Erwin, but in his mind, this was an important question to ask.

However, Erwin displayed virtually no reaction to the question as he replied, "I was."

A hint of admiration flashed through Lia's eyes upon hearing this.

"Back in Belama, even though I only saw you from afar, I could immediately tell that you were no ordinary person."

"Oh? How so?" Erwin asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"On the surface, you seem to be just a handsome traveling artist, but in your eyes, I could see a sense of scorching and restless ambition," Lia replied with a smile. "I don't have any particularly remarkable talents, but I would say I'm quite adept when it comes to judging character."

"I'm not the type of person who's coming to you to propose a collaboration with nothing but empty ambition," Erwin said with a smile.

"Is that right?...