Chapter 850: Chapter 849: Father and Daughter

In the years spent in the human world, Maji had imagined more than once what it would be like to see her father again.

None of her imaginations matched the scene before her.

The Black Dragon, clad in mechanical armor, gazed at Sir Golosh standing in front of her. The magic crystal lamps around Maggie’s Landing illuminated the entire square. The subtle awkwardness between father and daughter was resolved by a small accident, and Maji found she wasn’t as anxious as she had imagined.

She even smiled again: "I’ll apply for repairs here tomorrow, Father— the pit you made is quite a problem."

Sir Golosh spread his hands: "At least it’s not entirely my fault."

Maji was taken aback. After two seconds of astonishment, she looked at her father in surprise: "You’re actually making jokes?"

"I learned quite a bit from Sir Keximir..." Golosh said with a hint of embarrassment, "After you left... I thought that when you come home, you wouldn’t complain that your father is as dull as a stone, unable to understand even a joke..."

The Black Dragon’s long giant tail unconsciously swayed once on the ground, sparking a string of bright sparks on the solid ground.

"It seems you are doing well in the human world," Sir Golosh coughed lightly, looking up at his daughter, "The Cecil Clan made you an amazing piece of armor, more astonishing than any king or knight’s armor, manufacturing it surely was not easy."

"This is the Wings of Steel, it allows dragonkin with innate defects to fly freely," Maji slightly swayed her neck, the surface of the armor plate on her upper body floated with layers of streaming light, "You’re right, creating it consumed an incredible amount of manpower and resources, but it’s not just for me— it is only the first set of the Wings of Steel."

"The first set..." Sir Golosh immediately heard the hidden meaning in Maji’s words, his eyes widened, "You mean, the Cecil Clan designed this armor for all the Dragonborn, it is... a mass-produced product?"

Having just been exposed to Gawain Cecil’s investment plans and trade schemes, the knight’s thoughts immediately turned to the direction of "merchandise".

"You could think of it that way," Maji nodded slightly, "but it’s not in the regular trade lists. His Majesty Gawain Cecil is aware of some constraints of the Sacred Dragon Kingdom, so this set of armor currently belongs only to me as a ’gift’. I show it to you in this manner to let you decide whether it can appear before Duke Balogar. If it can, Wings of Steel will begin mass production; if it cannot, then the world will forever have only this one set of Wings of Steel."

Sir Golosh listened to his daughter’s words in surprise and thought. After a lengthy silence lasting dozens of seconds, he finally broke the silence: "... Maji, the Cecil Clan has given me too many surprises and impacts, and now this surprise tops them all.

"I’m afraid I can’t give you an immediate answer... This thing is too astonishing, and as you know, it’s flagrantly challenging the traditional order of the Sacred Dragon Kingdom. If this thing indeed can be mass-produced, you and I can both imagine the scene— young Dragonborn may go to any lengths to possess it and then wantonly fly in the sacred northern mountains. The kingdom is indeed undergoing some changes; we are even actively engaging with the human world, conducting trade with the south, but that doesn’t mean we’re ready to break all traditions yet."

This response didn’t surprise Maji, but she felt regret and sighed with regret: "I knew it would be like this. The Sacred Dragon Kingdom has countless traditions and taboos, but over the centuries, some traditions have changed, except for the taboo about the skies... it has never changed. Father, I’m really curious, what is it about the sky that even us born with wings creatures have such an aversion to it?"

"... When I was young, I was curious like you," Sir Golosh shook his head after a silence, "However, His Majesty Balogar and the Dragon Blood Council will tell you, the highest taboo is the highest taboo, including asking about the reason for the taboo itself is also forbidden. Maji, as His Majesty Balogar’s Court Official and your father, I can only tell you the only ’leniency’ behind this taboo is at least south of the Arctic Mountains, you are allowed to fly."

"South of the Arctic Mountains...?" Maji noticed this peculiar limitation and couldn’t help but repeat it in a low voice, "Why south of the Arctic Mountains? Is there something up north?"

Sir Golosh sighed and revealed a secret known only to some upper-level Dragonborn: "That is the direction of Talronde."

Maji was stunned, temporarily at a loss for words.

Sir Golosh shook his head: "In any case, I will still inform Duke Balogar about the Wings of Steel. For whatever reason, this matter must be known to the Grand Duke of Dragonblood and the Dragon Blood Council. Additionally, I will also express gratitude to His Majesty Gawain Cecil— for gifting you this present, and for considering the Sacred Dragon Kingdom’s traditional taboos. Human beings have mastered the technology to manufacture such Wings of Steel, yet they did not immediately profit from it directly, but instead asked your opinion, as two races that originally had no contact, I think this is a considerable amount of respect."

Sir Golosh’s response made the atmosphere between the father and daughter somewhat stiff, both remained silent, lost in their thoughts, but soon, Maji asked another question: "Father, if a part of the young Dragonborn are willing to accept a certain degree of supervision and restraint, only operate in the southern human territories, and use the Wings of Steel within the prescribed range, do you think the Dragon Blood Council and the Grand Duke would allow it?"

Sir Golosh had clearly never thought in this direction before, and at this moment, he looked a bit stunned. After a brief reaction, he furrowed his brows: "You mean let young Dragonborn come to the Cecil Clan, just to use these mechanical armors to experience flight? This..."

"Strictly speaking, I’m an exchange student, Father," Maji immediately corrected Sir Golosh, "The channels for civilian and official exchange students between the Cecil Clan and the Sacred Dragon Kingdom are about to open, aren’t they? So the Dragonborn coming to Cecil naturally leave the ’no-fly zone’ of the Arctic Mountains behind, just like me. Flying with the Wings of Steel clearly doesn’t violate traditional taboos—ah, it doesn’t even involve ’trade’ for the two countries. Cecil is just producing these devices on its own land, not selling them to the north, while the Dragonborn are simply experiencing some ’local projects’ on Cecil’s land..."

The quick string of words spoken by Maji made Sir Golosh’s eyes widen progressively. By the end, he was somewhat speechless, until Maji finished speaking and the knight, with a peculiar expression, looked at his daughter: "Maji, where... did you learn such strange... ideas? You never used to..."

Maji opened her mouth: "I..."

"My child, you’ve learned too much in the human world, including their cunning. In this regard, you’re somewhat like Lady Asharena," Golosh said with a tone both amused and helpless, "Your way of thinking is practically human now!"

Not far away, Asharena, maintaining an isolation barrier, immediately protested, "Hey! I’m just standing here listening!"

Maji winked at Golosh: "Father, regardless of how my thinking is, at least what I say is logical, isn’t it?"

"I..." Golosh hesitated, shrugged helplessly with a bitter smile, "Alright, from a certain angle, it is indeed so. I will think about it properly and then relay it to the Grand Duke."

He then frowned at Maji and said, "Child, we haven’t seen each other for many years. Aside from these topics, don’t you want to say something else to me? Do you... really not want to go home?"

Maji was silent for a few seconds, her massive head drooped slightly, and she uttered words that Sir Golosh never thought he would hear: "Father, my actions back then were impulsive."

The knight was stunned, standing like a sculpture for a full minute, sporting a look of surprise, until Asharena coughed from afar, and the middle-aged Dragonborn came to his senses, instinctively saying, "So, you mean..."

Maji gently shook her head, "Father, my departure years ago was impulsive, but my time in the human world for all these years was not. Father, I’m no longer a child. I have my identity and responsibilities here, whether in front of His Majesty Gawain Cecil or Grand Duchess Victoria Wilder, I can’t simply leave. Moreover... returning to the Sacred Dragon Kingdom now would place me in an awkward position, which you should know. After all, unlike Lady Asharena, I’m not a Dragonbranded Witch, and besides being your daughter, I don’t have any other unique bloodline.

"The Dragon Blood Council will inevitably pursue my violation of the taboo back then."

In her calm narration, memories from many years ago flashed through Maji’s mind.

Years ago, when she jumped off Dragon Leap Cliff, she was still a very young child, protected by her family, shielded by the mountains. Many of her thoughts back then now seem somewhat ridiculous—the longing for the sky and the pursuit of so-called "freedom," those unmistakably pure and intense thoughts could stir a young Dragonborn’s heart, yet years later, they inevitably appear naive and reckless.

Having faced the storms of these years, she increasingly felt that the "ambitions" she harbored when leaping from Dragon Leap Cliff were utterly insignificant in this complex and dangerous world, which is far from safe, rife with wars, death, deadly struggles between dark sects and gods, as well as the tumultuous waves of era changes. A Dragonborn dreaming of the sky leaps from a high cliff into this chaotic world, and becomes as small as an insect, with no time to care about dreams.

"The outside world" isn’t all romance and epic tales as imagined. Most often, it’s the hunger and cold after crashing at the foot of the northern mountains, the despair and predicament facing the Crystal Cluster Legion, and the helplessness when facing the succession of another race’s dynasties.

But precisely because these storms have washed away the impulsiveness and recklessness of youth, the Dragonborn who once leaped off Dragon Leap Cliff cannot now leave this "new home" as rashly as she once left her old one.

"I am now the Air Force Instructor of the Cecil Empire, a senior consultant for several aircraft projects at the Empire’s Magic Guide Technology Research Institute, and also Grand Governor Victoria’s assistant and Gawain Cecil’s royal consultant. This position is equivalent to yours before His Majesty Balogar. I indeed left home in a hurry back then, but when I came to my senses, I had already rooted too deeply in the human world. I have to stay here—be it out of responsibility, affection, or for the glory of the Dragonborn, I must stay."

Sir Golosh was silent for a long time, ultimately turning all his words into a bitter smile: "I... understand, you’re right.

"But Maji, even with these reasons, you can still visit home, just as I, a court official, have the opportunity to come here to meet you.

"The Sacred Dragon Kingdom is establishing regular diplomacy with the Cecil Empire, the doors to the northern mountains are about to open, we will exchange ambassadors with humans, open civilian channels, establish long-term trade routes. Maji, once these paths are cleared, the kingdom will no longer be a closed place, and you will no longer be subject to traditional taboo sanctions—even the Dragon Blood Council won’t pursue your ’escape abroad’ from Dragon Leap Cliff, because you’re the only Dragonborn holding a significant position in the Cecil Empire, serving as a valuable link."

Maji quietly looked at her father, before gently lowering her head after a long pause: "Indeed as you say... that will be when I visit."