A pot of hot water, two porcelain cups.

In the ashram, Jacques and François sat opposite each other.

"Count, this is the third time you've saved me!" François poured a line of yellow-green tea from the pot and filled the cup in front of Jacques.

"When you say that, I should be proud for a moment. ”

Jacques is a pity for the good tea in the pot, if the black master comes, he will definitely beat people, the tea is not brewed like this!

"I didn't know that I was going to hide in this cave for a few days, but the Grand Duke always felt that it was too dangerous outside to let me show up. ”

Picking up the cup, Jacques took a sip of tea: "It's a pity that I don't have time to continue to delay, and I plan to leave for the imperial capital today." ”

"Oh, go to the Foreign and Imperial Office and talk to those old men? By the way, maybe my eldest brother Charles will negotiate with you at the same table. ”

"I actually brought a professional with me, he has been waiting for me in the imperial capital for a month, but my main envoy has not arrived, and as a deputy envoy, he does not dare to act without permission. ”

"It's really not for you to do this kind of torturous diplomatic work, otherwise, come and help me. ”

"How many times have you wooed me in?"

"The third time? It doesn't matter, but this time my situation is more special, although there are some twists and turns, whether it is assassination or smearing, as long as you resist the past, it will be a sea and a wide sky. I mean, my father will make me the crown prince and the rightful heir to the empire. When I inherit the throne, I can make you a nobleman. ”

François stared at Jacques closely, and seeing that he did not react in particular to the word noble, he added: "Or make you rich! I can give you whatever the Kingdom of Light can give you, and more, you don't have to bear the infamy of a traitor." ”

François thought he had seen through Jacques, didn't he cooperate with Marianne just for money? Didn't he take up the official position of the Kingdom of Light for power? I have all of these. But talent, I am lacking!

Jacques saved François three times, the first time to save Claudia and the second time because the two were comrades-in-arms, on the same wall, and they were watching each other.

But this time, only Jacques himself knew, and half of the reason was because of the feathered arrow in his own will world.

Since his awakening, Jacques has been reluctant to use other source skills other than summoning war horses in public, and keeping a low profile is what Paul often tells him.

Jacques just wanted to intercept the feathered arrow in the world of will, but he didn't expect his body to use teleportation to block the arrow.

He yelled at the time to be careful, maybe it would have the same effect, teleportation was too high-profile.

Although he explained to François that it was a quick move, there were not many of the grandmasters in the banquet hall at that time, if not eighty, but a hundred, and few of them had eyesight.

Jacques still used the excuse that he was already serving in the Kingdom of Light and turned away François's invitation.

François was slightly displeased, and took his tea and drank it slowly to hide his emotions.

After hesitating for a while, François finally said: "I heard that Jacques you are already at the peak of the plastic, but I didn't expect to be caught up by you!"

"It's just a fluke. ”

"Then have you considered becoming a second attribute for the Grandmaster's elective?"

"I haven't thought about it yet. ”

"I know a place where there are many ancients who have left their cultivation experience, and if they are lucky, they can even obtain rare source energy technology inheritance. It may be helpful for you to choose a second attribute. ”

"It's a good place, but I don't want to break through to become a grandmaster for the time being. Jacques thought to himself, this can't be the ruins near the Medis, right?

François continued: "It's a secret place where only the royal family knows how to enter, and there are special requirements for the time and number of places to enter. I am very grateful to you for your many rescues, but now that you are an official of the Kingdom of Light, and I will become the crown prince of the Empire, you can't accept the goods I have gifted, and I don't know how to thank you.

Therefore, I hereby cordially invite you to come with me when that mysterious place is opened again, and all the benefits obtained there shall be yours personally. Don't underestimate it, it is said that it was there that my ancestor Cesara the Great received the true legend of antiquity. ”

"Your Highness, how dare I occupy a place in such an important treasure land. Jacques immediately refused.

François soothed: "I have thought about it for a long time, and only this plan can make me feel comfortable, otherwise I owe you too much and I can't repay it." ”

Jacques didn't dare to agree immediately, so he had to put it off and think about it, and after greeting François again, he finally left, and took Lily to the imperial capital that day.

Soon after Jacques left, there was another Odoka in addition to François in the chamber.

"Your Highness, that Jacques didn't agree?"

"No, he was alert, unmoved by the ruins I had described, and didn't even ask where they were. ”

"Could it be that he already knows about the ruins, and don't the gutter rats be able to enter the ruins?"

"I'm also wondering if he's from the Mithril Society, the informant we have doesn't know about him, but my gut tells me that Jacques might have something to do with Mithril. He's a mysterious guy, and it's better not to be our enemy. François sighed.

Odoka said: "A few days ago, several high-ranking members of the Mithril Society went to the South Carolina Federation, and Jacques came from the South Carolina Federation this time, could there be some connection between them?"

"After observing for a while, if he were a member of the Mithril Society, there would be no reason for him to save me, and I even suspect that this assassination had something to do with the Mithril Society. ”

"It's not that the Charites have been identified......

"Master, how can Charles have the ability to find a grandmaster who has mastered magical items to help? Either the Mithril Society, or the Grand Duke of Amun, only they have this strength. Charles's megalomania was just being used by them, just find someone to hint at him, and he would find his gang of sycophants to find a killer to kill me, and then recommend the master they had prepared to Charles's sycophants, and it would be easy to operate. ”

"And Jacques ......?"

"I'm observing for a while, master, there are still two years to go anyway, and it doesn't have to be that he can't do it. ”

......

Jacques came to the imperial capital, found Wang Qing'an, relayed Fat Tang's instructions on negotiation to him, and then left the imperial capital.

It's really that Jacques has no interest in diplomatic nonsense, and he knows how long to talk about it!

And isn't the purpose of the negotiation to delay? Since the attitude of the Bright Divine Kingdom has been made clear to the emperor, the matter of follow-up negotiations will be handed over to Wang Qing'an.

After the handover, Jacques and Lily disguised themselves and returned to Port Mousse, where they would return to the New World aboard the Marianne family's merchant ship.

After coming into contact with Marianne's men who remained in Port Mousse, Jacques discovered that Robert had not stopped the cooperation plan he had agreed with him. Write a book

That is, after killing Ovilla, Robert's attitude towards himself did not change.

Even so, Jacques did not dare to risk meeting Robert for the time being.

Upon returning to Port Mousse, Jacques and Lily did not look for an inn to live in, nor did they accept the accommodation arranged by Marianne's men, but quietly sneaked back to Lily's old home.

Mrs. Darling, the butler, had long since been dismissed by Mr. Naselli, and the house had been uninhabited for a long time, and there was a layer of dust everywhere.

In the past, Lily could clean the room with just a blow of the wind, but now Lily can't use the air-based wind source energy technique according to the agreement with Lei.

So the two of them had to take a rag and start cleaning the room, at least one bedroom to facilitate the two of them to spend the night.

Jacques was cleaning the bedside and countertop, and Lily came over with a new set of bedspreads and called Jacques to make the bed together.

After laying it out, Jacques pulled it and fell on the bed with Lily.

The two of them looked at the ceiling quietly, and Lily whispered, "I have lived in this room for twenty-four years, and I am so familiar with the direction of every fine line on the ceiling. ”

With that, he turned his shoulders and stared at Jacques beside him with big watery eyes, Jacques was still wandering, studying the fine lines on the white roof, what kind of pattern would they become when all of them were connected?

"Humph!" Lily pouted, sat up from her bed, and spun around the room, stopping in front of her bookcase.

Suddenly there was a tightening of her waist, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, Jacques rested his chin on her shoulder, and whispered in her ear, "Come, let's see what Teacher Lily was reading when she was in school." ”

Jacques' exhaled breath tickled Lily's earlobe.

"The Illustrated Guide to Strange Beasts", "The Conquest of the New World", "I Am the Wind", "Prince Luben", Huh...... This book is so weird!"

Lily twisted the back of Jacques' hand and said, "That's it!"

"Oh, "Fundamentals of Alchemy", oops, I almost failed this course. ”

"That's when I said hello to Lady Ruth, otherwise you would have failed according to your grades. ”

"Don't blame me, my written test is a perfect score, and when I practiced, Mrs. Ruth said that my formula was wrong!

"You still said that the exam relied on Fat Orange to help you, so I always thought you were a genius. ”

"I don't need Fat Tangerine's help, with my strength, I can pass the test. ”

"Humph!"

"Hey, this book is so strange!" Jacques found a blue-covered book hidden in the corner of the shelf.

What caught Jacques' attention was that the book had a handwritten title on the spine, but Jacques didn't recognize those two words, not even words, but two square patterns!

Raising his hand to remove the blue book, Jacques still wrapped one arm around Lily's waist, and Lily took the book, still with four strange patterns on the cover.

"Why don't I remember this book? Lily said.

"It's because you have too many books, and it's normal to forget one, maybe it's your father's, but do you know these strange words?"

"How could I know each other!"

The two opened the book together, and Jacques casually turned a page, and the pattern that greeted them made them suspicious.

A thick breadstick with a round head and a round head, with two triangular brackets inserted on both sides, and a thing like a shark's fin at the end of the tail, just looking at this shape, the two of them couldn't guess what it was drawing, but under the pattern, in addition to the dense and strange square words, there were also a few lines of small characters, which Jacques and Lily could read.

"An airplane, which uses an engine as a power plant to produce a forward thrust or pull, a heavier-than-air aircraft that flies through the atmosphere by generating lift from the fixed wings of the fuselage. Jacques whispered.

"Engine, refer to page 6 of this book, and the principle of flight refers to physics. Lily continued.

Jacques let go of Lily with his other hand and worked together to turn the book to page six.

There are also several pictures on this page, one of which is the steam engine that the two men are familiar with, and the other three pictures are written separately, the internal combustion engine, the jet engine, and the gas turbine.

Each diagram has small print describing their function and purpose.

The steam engine that Jacques and Lily are most familiar with describes it this way:

A steam engine is a reciprocating power machine that converts the energy of steam into mechanical work. A steam engine has a boiler that boils water to produce high-pressure steam, which can use wood, coal, oil, or natural gas as a heat source. The steam expansion pushes the piston to do work. Principle Reference: Physics. Detailed design drawings: summary of mechanical drawings.

After flipping through many pages in a row, the two found several familiar things, such as trains, large sail ships, telegraphs, steel-making furnaces, woollen spinning machines, lathes, and even artillery!

When they saw the artillery, the two looked at each other, how could this book be in Lily's room!

"It's like a general outline of a series of books, everything is briefly introduced, but the details have to be found in other books. Fat Tangerine analyzed.

I don't know when Fat Orange quietly rushed over.

But the most valuable thing about this book is that he compares the square words with our words, and if you study them carefully, you can analyze the true meaning of those square words.

The Emperor probably knows where your book came from, Lily. Fat Orange said.

Jacques hurriedly asked, "What do you say, tell me quickly." ”

Lily clapped her hands and said, "I remember a little too, this is what I borrowed from Robert's study when I went to his house when I was a kid." Later, I forgot about it for so long, so I kept it in the corner of the bookcase. ”

"Well, the emperor was also in the earl's study, the one in the bamboo forest, and saw a book that was basically full of this kind of writing, but he couldn't understand it at the time, so he threw it back. Now if we have to let the emperor study this book for a few months, the emperor should be able to decipher this kind of text, and the next time he sees this strange square word, the emperor will be able to understand it. ”

"This kind of writing is probably the famous Lee Baptiste code!" Jacques remembered the legends he had heard.

Lily had heard similar rumors: "That code! is what the original Earl Baptiste said, an invention that could change the world!"

Fat Orange nodded in agreement as he flipped to the last page of the book, which was densely filled with words, leaving aside the strange square words, and the square words were familiar words as opposed to them.

"I never expected that I, Li Haole, would have crossed over! From today onwards, I will be a big man!"