Sitting on the smoothly moving magic car, Matilda's eyes looked out the window.

The wide, paved road stretched along the line of sight, the wide avenue that could barely accommodate eight or nine large carriages, apparently specially designed to cope with the pressures of modern traffic, lined with a staggered and beautiful cluster of buildings that were different from Typhon's, but different from the old Ansu—retaining the classical elegance of the Northern Kingdom, but with a certain pleasing neatness and regularity.

Between these buildings and the road, you can see neatly arranged street lamps, magic projections at intersections or open spaces, stop signs designed for magic guide cars to stop, and welcoming crowds of people in bright and thick winter clothes pouring into the streets during this winter season.

On those magic projections, on the large color paintings of those stops, there are all kinds of welcome words or images, and even real-time images of the motorcade being driven.

This is the modern magic capital, Cecil City......

Matilda withdrew her gaze, but still retained the sense of the transcendent, paying attention to the movement on the road outside, and she looked at Philip, who was in the same car as her, and saw almost undisguised pride on the young army commander's face.

This is normal, and it is natural for a nobleman of such status to show such pride in front of a foreign ambassador.

But it is not so unusual for Cecil people on both sides of the road outside, who are said to be just "ordinary citizens", with a similar sense of pride on their faces, such as curiosity and excitement.

"We hope you are happy with the welcome process we have arranged," Philip said with a smile on his face, looking into the eyes of Princess Typhon in front of him, "Cecil and Typhon have many differences in customs, but we have a common root, which can be the bond that can bring the two countries closer together. ”

"I sincerely hope for a longer peace," Matilda said with a smile, "and it will be good for all of us." ”

The caravan of Typhon's envoys drove through the straight "Pathfinder Avenue" of Cecil City, welcoming the citizens and escorted by the vigilantes and the Steel Rangers towards the royal quarter, and they gradually left the outlying city and entered the center of the city, as a large square appeared outside the car window, all the Typhon messengers, including Matilda, suddenly heard a loud popping sound -

It was as if the thunder had exploded, and the distance was not very far, and there was more than one popping sound, but more than thirty times in a row.

Someone in the messenger team looked suspicious, and even Matilda couldn't help but look at Philip opposite, who only smiled at her: "No need to be nervous, just a salute."

"It is Cecil's rule to greet guests from afar with a cannon salute."

Matilda blinked, surprised to remember some of the information she had gathered earlier, and couldn't help but have some strange thoughts flashing through her heart—

The Cecil people do seem to like to welcome their guests with these loud cannons, but sometimes they hit the heavens, sometimes on the heads of their guests......

"Interesting rules," she smiled, "and in the new era, there will indeed be some new customs." ”

As the clock approached noon and the sun was rising overhead, Matilda's delegation of Typhon arrived in front of Gawain.

After a welcome ceremony that was not extravagant, but grand enough to be solemn enough to be unique to the people of Typhon, Gawain stood in front of the steps of the "Autumn Palace" and looked at the "Flower of Kaolin" with a smile on his face.

Standing next to him stood Hetty and Rebecca, several government department executives, and Veronica, who was holding a platinum scepter.

Amber was nowhere to be seen, but those who knew it knew that the head of the military intelligence must be there - just not yet.

Dressed in an intricate and classical black court dress, her long black hair was dotted with thin gold chains and hung down to her waist, Matilda slowly walked in front of Gawain with an impeccable posture and bowed her head slightly: "Salute you, Your Majesty the great Gawain Cecil."

"On behalf of the House of Augustus, I am here to bring a friendly will from Typhon.

"May you be healthy and long, and may your deeds be passed on from generation to generation."

"In a sense, your last words are not a blessing, they can only be statements," Gawain said with a slight jokingness, stepping forward, "Welcome to Cecil." ”

What followed was a boring but inevitable session of official rhetoric, with both sides smiling and saying pre-prepared compliments, but everyone had to keep the appearance of solemnity and try to make this unnutritious business exchange look more sincere.

Rebecca felt bored in a few seconds, and secretly yawned, she looked at Matilda Augustus, who was talking and laughing with her ancestors, and couldn't help muttering a little in her heart, looking left and right, Aunt Hetty on one side, Veronica on the other, and chatting with the former might be beaten, so she turned to the latter: "Hey, you said she is also a princess, and I am also a princess, why can't I break up a flattering sentence into three paragraphs like her?" ”

It's a hard question to answer - after all, while the Ansu dynasty was still alive, Veronica could have broken down the same flattering sentence into four paragraphs.

Therefore, the "Holy Maiden", who was surrounded by a faint holy light, remained silent, only shook her head slightly, and then her gaze fell on the Matilda, and she did not look away for a long time.

Matilda looked up with a sense of emotion, and met a pair of gentle, tranquil eyes, but lacking the texture of a living person, only carved into crystal.

There seemed to be some kind of profound scrutiny in those eyes, which made Matilda's heart move slightly, but when she looked closely, she found that those eyes seemed to simply sweep over her, and the strange sense of scrutiny before was gone.

The reception ceremony was followed by a grand luncheon.

Formal talks on the establishment of embassies, the exchange of ambassadors, the exchange of students, and many other matters are scheduled for tomorrow, but before the formal talks, the high-level officials of the two sides can use events such as banquets to carry out some "attitude exchanges" in advance, surrounded by food, music, and other elements, this kind of attitude exchange can be carried out relatively easily, and on the premise that both sides of the negotiation are more likely to want things to be negotiated, such preliminary negotiations often yield very good results.

Matilda tasted the delicate food that was different from Typhon's, cutting the roast meat sprinkled with various spices with a dinner knife, but at the same time maintaining a dignified and elegant demeanor, and did not show too much affection for any kind of food, her eyes swept over the waiters walking through the banquet hall, the magical images set up around the hall, and the "Princess Cecil" who didn't seem to be very good at table manners not far away, and finally fell on Gawain: "I have heard that the Ansu people are very good at grilling meat, So much so that Typhon's court chefs were keen to learn how the Ansu used spices, but now that I actually tasted them, I realized that their imitation was just imitation after all, and the original product was something completely different. ”

"Then I'm afraid you're going to blame your court cook," Gawain said with a smile, "The few foods in front of you are not the traditional 'Ansu cuisine', but the ones I came up with in the last two years when I was bored—they seem to suit your taste?" ”

"You invented it?" Matilda looked at the desserts on the table and the roast meat on the plate, stunned, and then praised from the bottom of her heart, "It's incredible, I just thought you were a powerful knight and a wise monarch, but I didn't expect you to be a gourmand who can create delicious dishes - they are really delicious, and it is my honor to eat them." ”

Gawain smiled and didn't say much.

When the coffin was first unveiled a few years ago, he still thought about using the food in his mind to improve the food life in another world, and he also seriously tinkered with several foods that were not available locally, but in the end, there was no "take out a plate of barbecue and let the natives bow down", after all, the foodies in this world did not grow up eating soil, and he himself ...... In his previous life, he was an ordinary diner, even if there was more food in the Celestial Empire, he would not be able to eat it himself.

The few foods he came up with are now highly praised as "delicious", and they were quickly overwhelmed by local chefs in terms of variety and quantity, and now he has left a few barbecued meats and Jiangnan dim sum as decorations for the "state banquet", which is the last achievement he left in the world catering industry as a traveler.

Gawain was slightly distracted, Matilda swallowed the food in her mouth again, and looked at the small plate of thinly sliced fruit in front of her with a little curiosity, and she asked curiously, "This fruit tastes amazing, I have never eaten it...... Is it Cecil's specialty? ”

Gawain glanced at the plate of fruits, his expression almost strange, but he still maintained his indifference at the last moment: "This is the Thorin Tree Fruit, which is indeed a specialty of the Cecil Empire." ”

He controlled the expression on his face, but he couldn't control the thoughts in his heart.

It was the fruit of Bertila Augustus, the vast majority of which was used to alleviate the food crisis in the Plains of the Whitsundays, and a small portion was sent to Cecil as a sample.

Now, he entertains the descendants of the people with the fruit of the ancestors of Augustus.

People have to say thank you after eating.

If you think about the whole process, it seems to be quite devilish......

On the other hand, Matilda doesn't know what she's eating (and it's nothing, after all, Cecil's thousands of people eat it), and after a polite compliment, she brings up a more formal topic.

"In addition to the official diplomatic visit and preparation for the follow-up international student program, I also brought a personal greeting from my father," she put away her knife and fork and smiled faintly, "He admires the new order you have created, and the magic technology you have brought with you, which can change the world......

"Order wasn't created by me alone, and magic technology wasn't created by me," Gawain said casually, "but I'll admit it—they do change the world." ”

Matilda glanced at Gawain and said solemnly, "My father...... Guessed you'd give a similar answer. ”

"Oh?" Gao Wen raised his eyebrows, "Then what else did he say?" ”

"He says that you are similar to him, and that you are concerned with things that go beyond a generation in one city and one country," Matilda said earnestly, "and he also wants me to convey to you a word: in the face of national interests, we are Cecil and Typhon, and in front of this world, we are all human beings, and this world is not safe, at least you understand that." ”

Gawain's movements paused slightly.

After a moment, he smiled and said faintly, "Together, we have built a magnificent wall, and on the borders of the Gondor wasteland, I spoke briefly with your father.

"So I can feel that he has a longer vision than most people in this era.

"I'm glad he asked you to bring this phrase, and you can tell him that the fate of all of us is on this continent, and on this premise, Cecil is happy to work with Typhon to create a new era of peace and prosperity."

As the words fell, Gawain had already raised the wine glass in his hand.

Matilda smiled, raising her glass in her hand as well.

"Then celebrate this era of peace and prosperity in advance." She said.

……

After a lavish luncheon, the envoys were arranged to rest in the corresponding area of the Autumn Palace, and Gawain returned to his residence.

He did not go to rest, but went to the study.

Veronica has been waiting here for a long time.

"Wright said you had something to do with me," Gawain sat down behind his desk, looking at the "Holy Maiden" with a platinum scepter in front of him, the former leader of the Gondor Rebels, "and I noticed that you looked at the Princess Matilda several times during your previous greetings and at the banquet—something to do with her?" ”

"Yes," Veronica nodded, straight to the point, "I feel a little bit of a god in her, faint, but it's there. ”