In the third week of the Revival Month, the Dragonborn from the northern regions stepped into Cecil Castle.

This was the first official and public visit of the Dragonborn to a human kingdom since the second pioneering, after humans established nations across the continent.

The empire’s blue and gold flags fluttered atop the spires of the towers, colorful ribbons floated through the streets and alleys, and the sound of horns came from the direction of the northern banks. Large magic projections on the streets broadcasted live the scenes of the Dragonborn entering the city. Excited children ran about by the roadside, scrambling for the falling ribbons and flower petals, while citizens gathered on the few streets permitted for viewing, watching curiously as the envoys seated in open-topped Magic-guided Vehicles proceeded along Pioneer Avenue toward the direction of the palace.

Elite Iron Cavalry, clad in black light armor, rode alongside the convoy on warhorses, their ceremonial lances pointed skyward, keeping the enthusiastic crowd at bay and maintaining orderly conduct.

Sir Golosh and Asharena sat together in the second Magic-guided Vehicle, looking at this vibrant and lively human city, full of seemingly incredible "Magic Guide Technology." He couldn’t help but reveal a hint of surprise on his face: "This is much... more prosperous than I imagined."

"... It’s also somewhat beyond my imagination," Asharena waved to a child cheering at her from the roadside, casually whispering, "You wouldn’t believe what this place was like when I left twenty years ago... back then, humans hardly inhabited the base of the Dark Mountain Range..."

"... I’m starting to worry about one thing now," Sir Golosh furrowed his brows slightly, his tone peculiar, "I’m concerned whether the experiences you accumulated from your travels in the human world years ago will still be useful in this newborn human empire..."

Asharena turned her head slightly to glance at Sir Golosh: "Sir, please do not doubt my ability as an advisor—human society may change rapidly, but many habitual and ceremonial things do not change within twenty years. Although this city has many new things, it doesn’t completely exceed my..."

The Dragonbranded Witch’s words were suddenly interrupted by a piercing whistling mixed with buzzing sounds from the sky. Both she and Sir Golosh looked up in surprise, seeing, under the near-noon sunlight and clear, cloudless skies, more than ten bizarre mechanical devices resembling winged steel cones flying in a neat triangular formation from west to east.

Beneath these buzzing machines hovered softly glowing circular ring equipment, with peculiar structures extending from their sides reminiscent of dragon wings. They were clearly man-made, with a stable flight posture and proficient coordination that was awe-inspiring. Just as this wondrous "flying formation" was about to reach directly above the delegation, some of the aircraft suddenly opened certain Magic-guided Devices suspended below them. Accompanied by streaks of light intertwining in the sky, an enormous magic projection appeared in Sir Golosh and Asharena’s view—

On the magic projection, welcoming words were written in both the common human language and Dragonborn script, floating above the city, larger than any illusionary fireworks a mage could create.

The creation of the magic projection was likely done using a device similar to the "Magic Web Broadcast Device" seen on the street, with the Cecil Clan having mounted them on aircraft, producing an especially stunning effect.

It took Sir Golosh a while to retract his gaze, looking at Asharena beside him: "Lady Asharena, did this exceed your expectations?"

"... I truly hadn’t thought of this..."

"Humans have already created such flying devices... and they appear to be mass-producible," Sir Golosh couldn’t help but look up again, "Is this also ’Magic Guide Technology’?"

"It seems like what we will gain here will far exceed our expectations," Asharena quietly said, "Also, I wonder if you noticed, Sir Golosh, the ’wings’ extending from both sides of those aircraft... bear a remarkable resemblance to dragon wings."

"I noticed." Sir Golosh nodded, yet somehow, an image of his daughter who had been away from home for many years suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Maji... should be in this city. I wonder how she’ll react to my arrival...

His expression inevitably became complex as he pondered.

...

"Unit One has completed the projection task, shutting down projection in twenty seconds, and preparing to cruise back. All other units, maintain follow," came the consistent responses from the support aircraft in the communication device. Sitting in the co-pilot seat of the lead aircraft, Maji breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn’t resist glancing down through the transparent observation window at the delegation convoy smoothly passing through the street below.

Jinna, the Air Force Commander and a first-phase Dragon Cavalry cadet, sat in the main pilot’s seat next to her. This young lady from the Gryphon Knight Family took a deep breath to calm her slightly nervous emotions. Her face turned slightly red with excitement from executing such a special task for the first time. After confirming that the task was mostly completed without any mistakes, she turned to Maji: "Miss Maji, this time you’ve worked hard too... Miss Maji? Is something wrong?"

"Ah? Oh, no, nothing," Maji quickly snapped out of it and waved her hand, "Just thinking about something."

"That’s rare," Jinna shook her head, "that you’d be absent-minded during a task."

Maji forced a somewhat stiff smile, her eyes again fleeting to the observation window below, her expression inevitably complex.

She only learned during the morning flight preparations that her father was among the envoy team this time, but such information should indeed have reached Emperor His Majesty’s desk many days ago. The news had been withheld for so long before being disclosed to her... It was hard for Maji not to suspect it was a prank by the emperor out of some mischievous amusement.

But Maji quickly shook her head hard, casting away this unreliable thought from her mind—His Majesty Gawain Cecil is a dignified and wise person, bearing the burden of the entire empire, and would not indulge in such mischievousness. If no one came to inform her of the delegation details in advance, it was either due to confidentiality needs or the emperor’s usual busyness, which overlooked these details.

The Dragonborn young lady who ran away from home soon convinced herself and continued to worry about the potential developments.

...

The place to entertain the envoys was still the banquet hall in the Autumn Palace.

After concluding the journey from Pioneer Avenue to Autumn Palace, Sir Golosh finally met the ruler of this new human empire in a brightly lit and rather grand hall—Gawain, along with Aunt Heidi and several Administrative Office officials, stood before the steps of the Autumn Palace banquet hall, watching as the Dragonborns, dressed in attire from another race, approached them. When the attendant responsible for announcements loudly read out the envoy’s names, the stern-looking middle-aged man, accompanied by a red-haired lady, stepped forward and presented a personal letter from Archduke Balogar.

"Greetings to you, Emperor of the Cecil, greetings to you, knight among knights, pioneer among pioneers... the founder of the old nation Anzu and the new nation Cecil," Sir Golosh looked at the "pioneer" before him who had legendary tales in the human world, and even created the miracle of coming back to life, without showing the slightest bit of excessive curiosity or intrigue. He spoke solemnly, adhering to the norms of etiquette with an opening line that was a long list of titles and standard phrases. "I bring greetings from His Majesty Balogar, the Archduke of Dragonblood, ruler of the Arctic Mountains, the guardian of the Dragonborn realm, the lord of rocks and snow... and a gesture of goodwill from the Sacred Dragon Kingdom."

"Welcome to Cecil," Gawain’s response was much simpler and more direct, "Cecil and the Sacred Dragon Kingdom have always been friendly neighbors, and we always welcome visitors from the Arctic Mountains."

At the same time, he was a bit surprised—it’s been a long time since he heard such a standard opening with a long string of honorary titles and flattering words. This dragon envoy came from a world isolated from the human realms for years, yet his choice of words was surprisingly rooted in ancient human style.

It seems that in the distant north, many of the Dragonborn still hold impressions of humans from the past Anzu era.

—To prevent any cultural conflicts and to ensure the protocol is followed, the envoys had already familiarized themselves with some of Cecil’s protocols at Bitter Winter Castle in the northern parts, with Victoria’s assistance, they adapted to the audience procedures in advance, although the phrases for the audience were drafted by the Sacred Dragon Kingdom (Duchess Victoria merely confirmed there were no taboo breaches).

And now, some words in those quite classical phrases even made Gawain feel slightly amused.

Of course, outwardly he remained calm and composed, showing no sign of it.

Having submitted the national letter and completed the necessary audience ceremony and mutual introductions, having gone through all the agreed processes, Gawain did not let the distant guests endure more formalities, but moved directly into the main session of Cecil-style hospitality—the announcement of the banquet.

As a dazzling array of food was presented before the guests, and a light and melodious tune resonated in the hall, the attendants began guiding the guests to their seats. Sir Golosh leaned towards Asharena and couldn’t help but speak in a low voice: "Though I had learned in advance, the etiquette of the ’Cecil Empire’ seems simpler than I imagined... it doesn’t seem as full of complex rules and elaborate rituals as the human realms mentioned in the documents."

Asharena turned her head slightly to glance at Sir Golosh: "So do you prefer simpler procedures or more complex rules?"

Sir Golosh smiled slightly at this: "Personally, I certainly prefer this—straightforward exchanges are more to my taste."

Asharena laughed but said no more.

In her impression, humans liked to use elaborate and complex etiquette and rules to show their "orthodoxy" and "heritage", which is very different from the Dragonborn. While Dragonborn also respect traditions and adhere to rules, it is more about respect for tradition and adherence to ancient teachings. In the eyes of the Dragonborn, humans’ insistence on etiquette and rules seems like unnecessary "external adornment", more about decoration for decoration’s sake, rather than for any practical significance.

It is precisely because of this understanding that the Dragonborn have long held prejudices against the human world: they viewed humans, a race with such short lifespans, as overly pursuing "orthodoxy" and "heritage", which seemed somewhat inconsistent.

Asharena never imagined that in just twenty years, humans have already undergone changes in this regard.

A young, valiant, yet casual mercenary leader appeared in her mind, and then this figure transformed into a general with unkempt facial hair, decorated with medals and ribbons on his body.

It has only been twenty years.

Humans... truly are an interesting species.

The banquet began. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

As the session of free activity and interaction commenced, the guests began to move around the table, taking food and engaging in conversation. Sir Golosh naturally went to approach the Cecil Emperor first, while Asharena, with a tinge of curiosity, roamed around the hall leisurely.

As an "advisor", her role was to analyze the information afterwards, but now she was free.

During the process of tasting various familiar and unfamiliar human delicacies and casually chatting with those passing by, a small figure suddenly ran past nearby.

It was a girl in a light yellow long dress, who didn’t seem to have reached adulthood. She was carrying a large plate full of food, with a happy smile on her face, happily running from one food-laden long table to another.

Asharena instinctively frowned slightly—a child?

She was curious why a child would be here, but quickly realized this must be a member of the royal family or the child of someone high up in the empire. The way she carried a plate full of food and rushed around was quite different from the "atmosphere" in the hall, which made Asharena involuntarily smile.

At that moment, she saw the joyful girl suddenly slip, seemingly losing her balance while running, looking to fall clumsily to the ground.

Asharena calmly lifted her finger slightly, and an invisible force supported the girl’s body, allowing her to stand upright quickly.

This was just a casual act of help and should have gone unnoticed. Asharena shook her head with a smile and was ready to turn away, but to her surprise, the girl in the light yellow dress immediately looked over and walked in her direction.

This child’s sensitivity to magic is so keen!

Just as this thought arose in Asharena’s mind, the girl had already reached her. She bowed politely, and without opening her mouth, a voice with a slightly mechanical tone came from somewhere behind her neck: "Thank you, miss~"

"You’re... welcome," Asharena looked at the girl in surprise, convinced she hadn’t seen her open her mouth to speak, "You... were you the one speaking?"

"Yes! But I’m using ’it’ to speak~!" the girl said happily while turning around to show the strange metal device behind her neck. It looked like a flattened, silver spine, neatly fitting the back of her neck, "This is called a Neural Thorn. By the way, miss, are you Dragonborn? I heard that today this place is hosting guests from the Sacred Dragon Kingdom. I know a sister named Maji, she’s also Dragonborn... oh, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m called Pea..."

Asharena: "...?!"