Chapter 855: Chapter 854: The Major Project

Looking at the calm and serene Cecil Emperor in front of him, Sir Golosh felt a tinge of surprise rise in his heart.

He found that the attitude of this empire’s ruler was far calmer than he had imagined, as if he had already predicted the Dragonborn’s response today—or rather, no matter what answer the Dragonborn gave, he seemed to have fully prepared.

"Sir, although Cecil and the Sacred Dragon Kingdom are neighbors, over the past few centuries, our two countries have not had sufficient communication. Inevitably, there will be situations of misunderstanding or even misconceptions between us," Gawain noticed Golosh’s brief astonishment and merely smiled slightly. "Based on this, encountering some problems during our contact or overturning some plans is a normal situation. We should be fully prepared for this and always believe in our mutual desire for peace—shouldn’t we?"

Golosh lowered his head: "... I agree with this point."

Then, the Dragonborn expressed their views on the communication between the two countries, offering concrete responses to many of Gawain’s previous proposals regarding opening trade routes, study abroad programs, technological exchange, and various diplomatic initiatives. These were brought up one by one, reaching consensus, being temporarily shelved, or forming specific modification plans... Time passed by unconsciously.

Gawain eventually withdrew all plans involving resource development, basic engineering holdings, and educational exports, while the Sacred Dragon Kingdom agreed to most of the regular commercial projects and diplomatic undertakings. Importantly—they were willing to accept the Cecil New Currency as the settlement currency for transactions between the two countries within a certain scope.

Initially, this settlement is merely an experiment and observation, but taking this step forward left Gawain quite satisfied.

He could already announce: the Sacred Dragon Kingdom is now part of the Cecil Settlement.

Of course, today Gawain and Golosh were only holding a closed-door meeting. They would personally draft a large framework, and within this framework, there were countless details to be discussed and finalized. This content would be fully discussed in the subsequent larger meetings over several days, wherein Cecil’s diplomatic personnel, the think tank of the Administrative Office, and the Dragonborn advisory team would be the main participants.

However, at that time, Gawain would not personally oversee every detail—Aunt Heidi, as the Grand Governor in the imperial capital, would take over the subsequent matters.

This long and exceptionally exhausting meeting was gradually reaching its end.

The pre-prepared proposals had all been thoroughly communicated, the clerks’ desks piled high with thick documents and shorthand materials. The Magic Web Terminal used for recording images and sound had replaced crystals twice, and both the Dragonborn and Cecil Clan received relatively satisfactory answers.

After some proposals were directly canceled and both sides had shown maximum patience and sincerity, everything progressed faster than Gawain had anticipated.

Finally, as the great sun gradually approached the horizon, Sir Golosh exhaled lightly, then looked at Gawain and brought up today’s last topic—

"Your Majesty," the Dragonborn ambassador said solemnly, "I would like to talk to you... regarding the Wings of Steel."

"Ah, I was just about to bring up this topic," Gawain first looked surprised, then smiled, "What are your thoughts on this Cecil cutting-edge engineering product?"

"... It is an incredible creation. I think any Dragonborn must admit this; it truly allows us to connect with and understand the potential and prospects of so-called ’Magic Guide Technology,’ as well as the possible impacts on Dragonborn," Sir Golosh did not hold back his words of praise and straightforwardly expressed his high regard. However, he then changed his tone quickly, "But there is one point, I wonder if you are aware—In the Sacred Dragon Kingdom, laws and traditions prohibit Dragonborn from flying, and this taboo is very... important in Dragonborn society."

"We do not reach for the skies, not only because our wings are not as complete and strong as those of real dragons, but also because our traditions do not allow it—outsiders may find it hard to understand this taboo; you might even find it irrational, but one thing you must understand, at least from the Dragonborn’s perspective, it is an unchangeable fact."

Gawain listened calmly as Sir Golosh finished speaking before raising his eyebrows: "So, the Dragonborn will not accept this technology—not only will the government not accept it, but they will also prohibit anyone from bringing it into the Sacred Dragon Kingdom through any means."

Golosh gently nodded: "Exactly—It will soon be listed as a prohibited item; importing, selling, and using it will be banned, and our Dragon Blood Council will soon enact clear laws."

Foreseen, yet regrettable.

Even the few officials from the Administrative Office on site, including Gawain himself, did not hide the disappointment on their faces.

However, Aunt Heidi sitting beside Gawain quickly read some content from Sir Golosh’s expression—as a careful and perceptive individual, she noticed a hint of hesitation at the bottom of Sir Golosh’s eyes, as if he had more to say.

"Sir," Aunt Heidi spoke, "regarding the Wings of Steel, shouldn’t you have more to say?"

"There’s no hiding from your eyes, madam," Golosh smiled and slowly said, "The laws and taboos I mentioned do indeed exist, but... the laws of the Dragonborn can only be enforced on Dragonborn lands. The gates of the Sacred Dragon Kingdom are about to open, and we find it difficult to restrain the actions of Dragonborn who step outside the gates, nor can we prevent things happening within other countries..."

Aunt Heidi couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows: "So..."

"If those Dragonborn who come to Cecil for study or business take an interest in the ’Wings of Steel,’ and they have the financial means to purchase them, then the Dragon Blood Council cannot control it, nor will they retrospectively pursue matters after those Dragonborn return home," Sir Golosh said slowly, although his tone was somewhat strange, as if this wasn’t entirely his idea, "I’m just saying, as long as they don’t bring the Wings of Steel to the north..."

Gawain froze for a moment; he understood the implications but was still somewhat surprised—he was aware that these Dragonborn emissaries definitely had ways to communicate with their homeland, as the magic detection devices in Cecil Castle had captured several unidentified magic power fluctuations pointing toward the extreme north last night, evidence of ultra-long-range communication. Thus, he could be sure that regardless of who originally came up with Sir Golosh’s words, they were certainly spoken with the tacit approval of the Grand Duke of Dragonblood and even the Dragon Blood Council.

Because Golosh here represents the entire Dragonborn as an ’ambassador.’ Every word he says here is, in fact, equivalent to the Sacred Dragon Kingdom expressing its intentions.

This was interesting.

Theoretically, the Dragon Blood Council and the Grand Duke of Dragonblood, who should be the most stringent and strict, are theoretically supposed to protect Dragonborn traditions and laws, yet they tacitly allowed the Dragonborn to exploit this loophole.

In such circumstances, when it comes to the issue of "flight," tacit consent almost equates to encouragement.

They actually don’t mind the Dragonborn flying—they only forbid the Dragonborn from flying in the Sacred Dragon Kingdom, or more precisely, they forbid the Dragonborn from flying over the northernmost part of this continent...

The reason behind this is likely a secret for now, but Gawain naturally is pleased with this matter itself.

He only needs the Dragonborn to be able to use the Wings of Steel south of the Sacred Dragon Kingdom, to fly freely without having to worry about the opinions from the Sacred Dragon Kingdom; as for whether they can fly in the north... as the ruler of Cecil, he doesn’t concern himself with it.

"I think I understand what you mean," Gawain nodded, "Then we will control the flow of the Wings of Steel—it will not flow towards the Sacred Dragon Kingdom; we can even legislate to prohibit this, and you can crack down on those smuggling the Wings of Steel, both countries can cooperate on this front."

"That would be best—of course, we still need to have a proper discussion on the details of restricting the use of the Wings of Steel in the northern regions, because there will surely be some overly ’brave’ Dragonborn scheming to challenge tradition further," Sir Golosh said, with a touch of helplessness in his tone, "You should understand, young people... and young Dragonborn, somewhat have... rebellion."

"I completely understand," Gawain smiled at these words, then suddenly changed the subject with a solemn expression, "Since we are on this topic, I would like to say a few more words."

"Please go ahead."

"The Wings of Steel can allow the Dragonborn to fly like dragons—and flying dragons themselves signify a powerful force," Gawain said extra seriously, "regarding this matter..."

Sir Golosh immediately understood Gawain’s implication and promptly said, "The Dragonborn in Cecil will naturally abide by Cecil’s laws, I believe since you can create the Wings of Steel, you must also have the ability to control those Dragonborn equipped with the Wings of Steel, otherwise your country wouldn’t have marketed this kind of thing."

Gawain gently nodded: "I have two points to make; and the one you mentioned is indeed one of them."

"Oh?" Sir Golosh displayed a curious expression, "Then your second point is..."

"I just want to confirm something," Gawain smiled slightly, "As far as I know, the laws of the Sacred Dragon Kingdom should not prohibit Dragonborn from becoming mercenaries in other countries..."

Golosh and several advisors present all coincidentally turned their gaze towards Asharena, who shrugged and said helplessly: "That is a personal act."

"Our laws indeed do not prohibit this," Sir Golosh turned back with a serious expression, "but the main reason is that until today the Sacred Dragon Kingdom hasn’t officially opened its doors to the outside, just as Lady Asharena said—even if there have been Dragonborn leaving to become mercenaries, that was just personal behavior.

"If your intention is for Cecil to establish an official foreign legion in the name of the state, and wish to make this part of the agreement between the Cecil Empire and the Sacred Dragon Kingdom... then we would need to arrange a dedicated meeting to seriously discuss this."

Gawain’s lips already slightly curled up.

The ambassador in front of him was very cautious and did not directly acknowledge or concede anything.

But he expressed that the matter could be discussed—and that was enough.

The rest is just bargaining.

...

The giant sun had gradually dipped below the horizon, with only a faint red afterglow left on the edge of the sky, this slight glow spreading from the direction of the western plains, illuminating the tall iron towers and construction machinery, and also casting its light on the grand and imposing pyramid-shaped building.

The unique structure standing on the earth faced the remnant glow of the sunset, streams of magical light slowly flowed through certain cracks in its walls, while faint magical symbols emerged from the building’s base, making it appear ever more silent and mysterious.

"What a beautiful building," Grand Architect Gordon stood beside a piece of construction machinery in the open field, gazing at the pyramid-shaped facility not far off, a tone of pride and admiration in his voice, "I can hardly believe it... in the old days, a craftsman could build such a structure in a lifetime and consider it a family honor, even a point of pride for descendants, and we built it in just a month..."

"Just erected the structure itself," Nicholas Egg floated beside Gordon, a humming sound emanating from within the sphere, "the internal equipment still needs quite a long period of adjustment and testing."

Hearing the other’s words, Gordon immediately thought of those "newcomers" who recently appeared here and busied themselves around this "computing center" every day, he instinctively frowned: "You mean those newly arrived ’network and sensory technology experts’? They’ve been busy inside lately... but honestly, I really can’t see the shadow of a technology expert in them, those people can’t even use the generic Magic Transmission Terminals, they’re worse than my workers at operating machines..."

"Ah, they indeed ’need some tutoring’ in this regard," Nicholas Egg said with a hum, "so the task of adjusting the equipment has mainly been entrusted to the technical personnel sent over by the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute, as for those ’newcomers’... they are primarily responsible for testing the equipment."

Gordon evidently had some doubts about this: "Can they really handle it?"

"Don’t underestimate them, they’re surprisingly professional when testing those things, and seem to have plenty of experience with various unexpected accidents," Nicholas Egg’s tone carried admiration, "if they encounter a connection failure, ordinary people would be dizzy for at least half an hour; I witnessed them merely climbing out of the Immersion Capsule to throw up once, only to go right back in to continue testing, looking unfazed, and ordinary people can only test in the Immersion Capsule for a maximum of six hours before needing a break, yet it seems they could be inside forever—I’m really beginning to suspect if the issues of eating and such were resolved, they might just stay in there for their whole life, who knows how they’ve trained."

"Who knows," Gordon shrugged, "anyway, His Majesty brought these people in, so they must have their strengths..."

(Slightly modified Chapters about Hadrian from a long time ago... though probably most people haven’t noticed.)