In the spacious and bright hatching room, the low resonance of the rune device echoed softly with the hum of the ventilation system, and these slight noises were not noisy, but seemed to be quieter and quieter.

This silence lasted for a short time before Enya gently broke the silence: "Really...... Looks like a lot has happened......"

"I don't know much," said Betty, a little embarrassed, "some of these things were told to me by my master or His Highness Rebecca, and some of these things were heard while listening to other people's conversations...... They said a lot of things, but I didn't quite understand most of them, I felt like those things were happening far away, and I didn't know why there was so much discussion. ”

"It's a lot of mortal pleasure to talk about what's happening in the distance—but it's no bad to focus on what's going on around you," Enya's tone was gentle, with a pleasant tremor coming from within the eggshell, "I can see that you're a very simple child, and I like it - we can be friends if we can." ”

"yes, I like new people!" Betty was immediately happy, but then remembered something and quickly corrected, "But I'm not a child anymore—I'm already an adult!" ”

“…… Adult," Enya's voice was silent for two seconds after Betty's voice fell, and then she whispered with a hint of emotion that Miss Maid couldn't understand, "You mentioned that the messengers from Tallund talked to your master about a lot of things, and they went to that meeting with your master, didn't you?" ”

"yes," Betty nodded, "I've heard my master mention it about it, saying 'dragons are returning to this world' or something, and he says it's far-reaching, but I don't know much about it. ”

"Are you going back into this world...... It's good," Enya's voice sounded smiling and seemed to have a hint of pride, "they took the first step, and it was earlier than I thought...... After more than a million years, something good has finally happened in this world. ”

Betty blinked, and she noticed that the "Lady Enya" would always say things she didn't understand, but she didn't feel anything uncomfortable about it - there were always many things in the world that she couldn't understand, and many of them she could explain in reading and asking her master for advice, and those that she couldn't understand...... Just let them go, Betty won't be affected by them.

So she quickly put aside those confusions, and a smile appeared on her face again, she picked up her beloved teapot from the side, and got up to the pale golden dome: "Ms. Enya, do you want some black tea?" ”

“…… You can do it a little more, thank you," Enya said after a moment's hesitation, "but the tea ends up running out - it adds a lot of burden to your cleanup." ”

"No, they're all down the groove next to the base - I'll just wipe them off later," Betty smiled happily, "I'm pretty good at scrubbing, and I could wipe down an entire floor and tables and chairs by myself when I didn't have a lot of hands here!" ”

As she spoke, she approached the Golden Dome, and while carefully pouring the hot tea on the surface of the eggshell, she was a little curious: "Ms. Enya, can you really 'drink' tea like this?" ”

"It's an amazing feeling, and I'm not sure if I've 'tasted' the taste and calories accurately...... But it feels good," Enya's voice seemed pleasant, "I really didn't expect that I would have such an incredible experience......

"But I think it's a little weird," Betty looked up at the eggshell in front of her, "I remember he didn't seem happy after pouring tea for Mr. Egg last time......"

"Really? That's a pity...... But I'm fine! ”

……

Outpost 112, night fell, and the lights set up throughout the town had been lit, the sky full of stars covered the border settlement established by the elves, the artificial fire and the starlight of the sky reflected each other, the buildings with alien characteristics were outlined in this staggered light and shadow, and the surge of visitors made this originally quiet town seem much more lively and prosperous, but beyond the outpost, there was still a dark and vast wilderness— The contrast between the dark ridges and the endless valley of the night reminds everyone who visits the place of what it means to be called "the frontier of the civilized world".

Located on the west side of the town, the Emerald Hall was built on a high ground so that from the room on the second floor of the hall could be seen directly over the barren wilderness outside the town—Matilda Augustus stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling window with a pointed arc of elven features, her eyes looking out of the window into the night, her gaze beyond the empty and even frightening darkness, to the hazy glow at the end of the dark horizon: it was the magnificent silhouette cast by the magnificent wall on the horizon, even at such a distance, The staggering size of the energy barrier can still be seen clearly by the naked eye.

After staring at it for a long time, Matilda finally retracted her gaze: "That's the border of human civilization...... I only remember looking at it from afar once when I was very young, but I didn't expect that until now we can only look at it from afar......"

Rosetta Augustus sat in a chair not far from him, and he looked up at his daughter: "How do you feel about watching from afar?" ”

"I felt like an abyss waiting to expand, a maw ready to devour the entire civilized world—a destructive force bound to that wasteland by a thin barrier, and countless mutated monsters that could sweep across the world, and that the human nations had been sleeping peacefully around such an abyss for hundreds of years, even ...... Unreasonable. ”

"That barrier is not thin - in fact, its energy focusing layer is half a kilometer thick, but you are right, in the face of such a vast Gondor wasteland and the wider Loren territory, such a thick energy barrier is actually as thin as paper," Rosetta nodded lightly, "We have been protected by this 'paper' for more than seven hundred years, but even such a piece of paper has exhausted the strength of the continent countries. ”

Matilda turned to look at her father, "...... Did Gawain Cecil place the meeting here as a reminder to countries that have been comfortable outside the barrier for too long? "The starting point

"A full-fledged ruler will always have more than one purpose in his arrangement, and it may be his purpose to use the desolate sight near the Great Wall to alert the world, but it is certainly only one of his purposes," Rosetta said, "but in any case, at least he was the first to try to bring all the mortal realms together, a path that none of us had ever conceived...... That alone warrants that we should take this meeting seriously. ”

"At the same time, be cautious about the possible 'appetites' of the Cecil Empire, right?" Matilda turned around with an extremely serious expression on her face, "What do you think Gawain Cecil will talk to us about tonight?" ”

“…… Neither he nor I are time-wasting people," Rosetta said after a brief mutter, "there will be two meetings here, a formal contract between Cecil and Typhon, and an alliance of mortal nations—it is clear to him and I that the first meeting cannot be wasted too much time and too much energy compared to the second. Tonight we are going to finalize the framework and bottom line of the contract in the form of a closed-door meeting, and he will not let this matter drag on until the next day, and neither will I, so he will probably just throw out his conditions...... Then, it's a simple bargain. ”

Matilda pondered, and just as she was lost in thought, footsteps and knocks came from outside the door, and then a high-ranking attendant entered the room and bowed at the door: "Your Majesty Gawain Cecil has arrived. ”

"Come in, please," said Rosetta at once—he didn't need to get his manners in order, for he was always ready for what was to come, "Matilda, you sit next to me. ”

When Gawain entered the reception room, he saw an elegant coffee table in the center of the room, the light from the chandelier shining on the top of the coffee table, the kyanite polished top shining, Rosetta Augustus already sitting on the sofa on one side of the coffee table, and the "Pearl of the Empire" who had visited Cecil sitting next to Rosetta—no one else was seen in the room.

It was a closed-door meeting, a summit meeting that preceded formal, open negotiations, which was not quite in line with the convention of the two countries' interactions, but here – Gawain and Rosetta – are the "conventions".

Rosetta had only the Princess Matilda with him, and Gawain didn't bring any more men: he only had Amber, his trusted Minister of Intelligence.

The sound of "click" came from behind, the door of the reception room closed behind him, Gawain walked forward with Amber, and Rosetta Augustus got up to greet them before they approached - the middle-aged man who always had a gloomy face showed a smile at this moment, and his original gloomy and negative temperament seemed to have weakened a lot, this obvious change certainly did not hide from Gawain's eyes, Gawain showed a smile: "Good evening, Rosetta, your complexion is much better than the last time we met." ”

Rosetta's smile is even more pronounced, and he even jokes: "A good night's sleep is very important for a middle-aged person like me – thankfully, I've been sleeping really well lately." ”

Gawain clearly knew what the other side was referring to, and it was a good starter – an experience that could be considered a side-by-side experience could be an effective way to bring the two sides closer together, while it could also make some of the less "friendly" conditions more difficult to say, and while this level of human exchange may not have much effect on people like him and Rosetta, it could at least make the mood better.

"Looks like it's just the four of us here today," Gawain nodded to Matilda not far away, "There are no idlers waiting for us, so it looks like we can have a good conversation." ”

"Miss Amber," Rosetta also looked at Amber beside Gawain, his expression became solemn for a moment, but quickly returned to normal, "I heard that you are a Shadow Master who has no way to judge your strength, and you are also an expert in the field of intelligence, and your appearance in front of people in public means that Gawain Cecil's greatest sincerity." ”

Frankly speaking, at this moment, Gawain was really worried suddenly, he only thought that Amber's brain might be able to help in this meeting, but ignored whether this guy's out-of-the-box personality would be able to do a good job in such a serious occasion - but when he turned his head to look at the half-elf beside him, he was shocked to see that this guy who had always been big and unruly in the past actually showed an extremely professional and extremely polite appearance, she faced Rosetta's praise with just the right smile, from the tone to the demeanor There was almost nothing wrong with it:" You've won the prize - I'm here just to fulfill my duties, as for sincerity...... I believe that since you are standing here, the sincerity of you and our Majesty is naturally full. ”

“…… Of course," Rosetta nodded slightly, and then said as if casually, "Diana once praised Cecil's intelligence agency to me, and she even told me directly, 'The agents personally trained by Cecil's intelligence chief may be the most outstanding intelligence agent in the world', I used to be quite skeptical of this, but the situation in Aldennan has stabilized recently, and I have indeed seen the excellence of their methods in my little leisure." ”

Amber suddenly smiled brightly, "You've still won the prize - in my opinion, the wanderers and agents in your country are just as good, especially the ones who do 'business' in Tamdull." ”

Rosetta's expression didn't change in the slightest, he just leaned over slightly, motioned for Gawain and Amber to sit down, and said very casually, "This needs to be reduced in the future, isn't it?" We've wasted too much energy asking about our neighbors' secrets. ”

"Of course, we're here today to build trust." Amber's smile was still bright, and her tone was so sincere that Gawain was even a little surprised.

But it is unknown how much weight this "sincerity" has, and Gawain and Rosetta are obviously not on this matter.

"Let's talk about the real concerns," Rosetta took the initiative to lead the conversation after both sides were seated, "A war broke out between Typhon and Cecil based on misunderstanding, deliberately led by the enemy, and now it's time for it to be over, isn't it?" ”

"Of course, and in fact this war is over," Gawain nodded and said calmly, "We have signed a long-term ceasefire agreement on the border, and the general-level talks between the two sides are going very well, and then we will undoubtedly make a joint peace statement and explain the truth to the public, and this matter will end peacefully, trade will resume, and exchanges at the national and people-to-people levels will be reopened, and we should have a consensus on this point." ”

"I have no doubt in this matter," Rosetta said with a serious expression, a taper aura finally spreading around him, "Whether it is the resumption of diplomacy or the reopening of trade routes, diplomats will naturally negotiate later, but there is one thing - I want to get a direct answer from you."

"How long will Cecil's army be stationed in Winterwolf Castle?"