It was a wonderful and interesting journey.
At least, it was still so.
Mathilda sat on the comfortable and spacious seat in an impeccable dignified manner, quietly watching the mountains of the Cecil Empire gradually receding outside the window. The snowstorm had weakened a lot, and the scenery outside began to become open and vivid. The inside of the carriage was surrounded by soothing music released by some kind of magical device. The beautiful scenery, the music, the perfect temperature environment, and the abundant food stored on the train together made this long journey in winter particularly comfortable.
It was so comfortable that it made people forget that they were sitting in a steel behemoth, and that they were galloping in the cold winter wilderness of the Cecil Empire at a speed far faster than a galloping horse.
A young man with short blond hair, a young face, and an extraordinarily mature temperament sat opposite Mathilda. He noticed that the foreign princess in front of him seemed to be in a good mood, so he showed a faint smile and said with a little pride, "How was the experience of riding the magic train?"
Mathilda withdrew her gaze from the window and looked at the young man opposite her.
This young man named Philip had a surprising identity. He was so young, but in fact, he was already one of the military commanders of the Cecil Empire. He commanded the most powerful ground army of the Cecil Empire, and the main force of this army … was now at the Longwind Defense Line.
For such an important military commander to welcome and 'escort' the delegation led by Princess Typhon, it was completely in accordance with etiquette standards of equal status.
Mathilda showed a trace of a smile.
"It was a great experience," she said with a smile, "and we also saw the best scenery."
Philip also smiled.
Under the arrangements of the reliable General Maryland and the efforts of various units in the Longwind area, the princess in front of him had indeed only seen the scenery from the moment she entered the territory of Cecil Empire until now.
"To be honest, this level of travel experience is not new to me," Mathilda continued, "The new thing is that all of this is achieved by relying on the magical device. In the past, relying on the power of mages, it wouldn't have been difficult to make such a gigantic transportation tool quickly traverse the wilderness, or maintain a comfortable traveling environment in a harsh environment. However, magical engineering technology was able to use lifeless steel to realize the power that should have been controlled by mages. This was something that I had never imagined possible.
"In Typhon, most of the nobles recognize the power of the magical device and are very welcoming of the new magic train and various kinds of factories. But there are still some conservative mages who do not like these things. They always say that the operation of the machine lacks a soul."
"This is different from us," Philip laughed, "We think that the machine contains another kind of soul, it is hidden in the rotating gears and moving pistons. It only needs lubricating grease and surging magic, it is a loyal friend to us."
"… So magical technology first appeared in Cecil, and it is also the fastest development in this land," Mathilda said with a hint of emotion, "I have always been interested in magical technology, I love it even more than traditional spells. But unfortunately, Typhon still has a long way to go in this aspect."
This was a polite speech, Philip knew it very well, so he just smiled faintly and did not directly respond.
After all, commercial flattery was not his field of expertise …
A black-haired middle-aged male noble sitting next to Mathilda also joined in the conversation, "I am also interested in magical technology. To be honest, I am even investing in it myself and studying it. This is really a costly undertaking. From this point, I admire the people of Cecil very much. You are people who dare to pay the price to gain benefits, full of adventurous spirit."
Mathilda glanced at the male noble. Count Dulles was one of the 'progressive nobles' who was most enthusiastic about magical technology in Oldenheim. He owned the largest plantation in the north and also invested in several large-scale textile and spinning factories. His role in the diplomatic mission was actually, to some extent, representing the nobles in Oldenheim who were interested in magical technology and trying to explore more commercial value from it.
Thinking of this, Princess Typhon nodded in agreement, "Building factories and developing machines is indeed costly, but the returns are also amazing. So it can attract more and more nobles and merchants to become investors. Is this the same in Cecil? "
"… Of course." Philip smiled and nodded.
The train sped through the wilderness. Outside the window, the undulating ridge line was almost at the end, and the front seemed to be about to enter the plains.
Mathilda could not help but recall Philip's' of course 'at the end. For some reason, she felt that there was more to this word, but she could not grasp the root of it.
At this moment, the train finally rushed out of the cover of the mountains. After the huge rock wall flashed past, there was an endless plain ahead, and the scenery outside the window suddenly opened up.
At the junction of the plain and the mountains, on a natural high ground, a huge stone monument stood beside the railway line. There seemed to be a wall around the monument, and it seemed to be a maintenance and monitoring station for the railway line nearby.
Mathilda had just noticed the unusual building and was about to wonder why such an eye-catching thing was set up in the wilderness when she suddenly heard a loud and high-pitched flute sound coming from the top of the carriage, echoing across the vast plains.
This stunned her. Why was there a whistle? Was there a stop or a staggered train here?
Just as she was perplexed, she and the surrounding Typhon envoys were surprised to see the Cecil soldiers in the carriage stand up at the same time, including the young army commander. These noble knights and generals all turned to look out of the carriage window at the same time, gazing at the huge stone tablet at the end of the mountain range. They were solemn and respectful, as though they were paying their respects.
The Typhon messengers were shocked when the surrounding Cecil people stood up at the same time. They were even nervous, but now they were only at a loss. Those solemn faces made them not know whether to ask or not, so they could only wait in confusion for a dozen seconds. After Philip and the rest sat down, Mathilda could not help but ask, "General Philip, may I ask what this is …"
"You noticed the monument, right?" Philip looked at Mathilda and asked calmly.
"Yes, I noticed it, and I was just about to ask."
"The railway line under your feet was urgently extended and built on the basis of the original White Sand Mining Railway line after the end of the Crystal War," Philip said slowly. "In order to send food and security forces to the Eastern Region in time, and to prevent the aftermath of the Crystal War from causing large-scale famine and chaos in the Eastern Region, the construction of this railway line had to be shortened to the end of winter.
"In order to quickly pass through the Bethel Mountains, which had the most complicated terrain, the Third Construction Army used a large-scale geological formation spell, including the Sorcerer Group that was urgently transferred from the old king's city, and the large-scale construction machines that could cast Stone to Mud.
"When breaking through the Carlin Pass, a hidden focus of magic caused the spell to go out of control, and the mountain wall collapsed.
"Thirty-seven people were buried below, including seven mages and twenty workers."
Mathilda's eyes widened slightly. Count Dulles subconsciously said, "So, it is to commemorate the mages who sacrificed themselves …"
"It is to commemorate all the people who sacrificed themselves." Philip looked into Count Dulles' eyes. "The collapsed rock wall swallowed the victims, and the aftermath of the spell caused the flesh and blood of the people to fuse with the rocks, making it impossible to distinguish them. We moved the rocks that had fused with the flesh and blood out of the pass and built a monument, placing it at the end of the Carlin Pass where they tried to break through but failed. The monument faces the Bethel Mountains and looks at the Eastern Plain.
"After the train passes the Carlin Pass, the soldiers salute the monument when they pass by. It is a habit on this line."
Mathilda listened quietly and carefully. Her expression did not seem to change much.
The messengers from Typhon listened quietly. Some seemed to be confused, and some seemed to be thinking.
The black-haired and black-bearded Count Dulles, a great investment noble from Oldenheim, could not help but look out of the window. Looking in the direction where the monument was already far away, he could not help but mutter in the midst of the sound of the car horn that seemed to still linger in his ears.
He could not help but mutter, "Such a large monument … Even if a mage were to help, it would not be easy to build it."
Perhaps, it would be enough to build another textile factory.
Mathilda listened to Count Dulles muttering to himself and watched the plains of Cecil rapidly retreating outside the train.
'A foreign country …'
…
The wind from the Far North Sea blew through the towering mountains, rolling up the snow between the mountains. The flag of the Dragonborn fluttered high on the thick spire of the Dragon's Arrival Castle. The end of the flag faced the south and fluttered endlessly.
"The candidates for the emissary group have been decided. They will depart in a few days." The Dragonblood Archduke, Balogel, stood on the wide stone terrace of the Dragon's Arrival Castle and looked down at the snow-covered country. He said to the courtier beside him, "Sir Golos, with you leading the team, I think it will be foolproof."
"I will definitely complete the mission, Your Majesty," Sir Golos lowered his head and said in a deep voice.
Balogel nodded and said in a leisurely tone, "We have indeed been sealed in these bitter cold mountains for too long. The world outside the mountains is also worth seeing.
"You can be the eyes of the duchy and observe the Cecil Empire carefully. See what is so special about them.
"At least, we, the 'exiles,' have not failed Tarlonde's kindness."
"Tarlonde …" Sir Golos's eyes changed slightly. "How long do we have to wait …"
"From the beginning, this has been an almost eternal wait," Archduke Balogel said unhurriedly. "Only by maintaining hope with a hopeless mentality can our patience last."
"… Yes, Your Majesty."
Balogel was silent for a moment. He withdrew his gaze and looked at the trusted courtier beside him. Suddenly, he smiled slightly and said, "Speaking of which, you haven't seen your daughter for a long time, right?"
"… I saw her once from afar five years ago," Sir Golos said with some helplessness and embarrassment in his tone. "She's a mischievous child … She's messing around in the human world. It's really against the rules."
"It's normal for young people to be reckless and rebellious. Didn't you also jump over the Dragon Jump Cliff when you were young?" Archduke Balogel shook his head with a smile. "Just treat it as a short trip in the human world. She'll probably come back when she's had enough fun."
Sir Golos was silent for a moment. He sighed and said, "… I hope so."
…
A cold wind blew. Maggie, who was walking beside the flight test field, could not help but sneeze loudly. She felt a strange chill in her heart.
Rebecca, who was walking beside her, suddenly looked at her dragon friend curiously. "Hey? What's wrong? Did you catch a cold? "
"No … I don't think so." Maggie rubbed her nose hard and felt a little strange. "I just suddenly felt a little cold and couldn't help but sneeze."
"You really didn't catch a cold because it's too cold?"
"Definitely not." Maggie shook her head with certainty. "The dragon's body is very strong, especially not afraid of the cold. I grew up in a place colder than here. During the coldest winter, we would even wear unlined clothes and play 'Ice Race'. It's a cold sport. "
Rebecca's eyes suddenly lit up, and she became very interested. "Ice Race? What's that? "
"Ah, it's a popular game among the dragon's children." Maggie could not help but laugh, probably because she remembered something interesting in her childhood. "The main game is to stuff yourself into a strong bucket and roll down the pre-dug ice path from the top of the mountain. When you reach the foot of the mountain, you'll see who's the first to stand up. By the way, if you throw up, you'll be disqualified, even if you're the first to stand up."
Rebecca: "… Wow!"
Sonia, who was walking on the other side, stared at Maggie with a strange look. "You people from the Dukedom of Holy Dragon … play this kind of game since you were young?"
Maggie thought for a moment and shook her head. "Of course not all children play this way."
Sonia heaved a sigh of relief. "I knew it …"
"Girls play the way I'm talking about — boys don't use buckets."
Sonia: "?"
This is really a foreign custom … It's hard to imagine.
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