Perhaps Gawain's answer was so straightforward that the two well-informed senior agents fell into a daze within a few seconds. The first one to react was Melita, who blinked. Blinking, he asked with some uncertainty: "Did you mean 'not going'?"
"Yes, I won't go," Gawain said casually, "Is there anything wrong with my answer?" "
"...It's just a little unexpected," Melita said in a weird tone, "Your reaction was so unlike an ordinary person that we didn't react for a while."
p>This answer made Gawain curious: "Oh? What should ordinary people be like?"
"Faced with the invitation from the gods, ordinary people should either be ecstatic or overjoyed. We are in awe. Of course, you may have a stronger spirit and be calmer than ordinary people - but your level of calmness is still beyond our expectations."
"This is because you told me personally. ——I can refuse," Gawain smiled and said relaxedly, "Frankly speaking, I am indeed very curious about Tallond, but as the ruler of this country, I can't just talk about it casually. A quick trip, the empire is on the right track, countless projects are waiting for me to decide, there are still many things I have to do, and meeting a god is not in my plan. Please convey my message to your god. Sorry - at least now, I can't accept her invitation."
What Gawain said was not an excuse - but it was just one of the reasons.
To be honest, this unexpected invitation really shocked him. He had imagined how he should advance his relationship with the Dragon Clan, but he never imagined that one day it would be in this way. Let's move forward - there is actually a god in the world in Tallond, and it sounds like that god has been in the world many years before this season of civilization. Gawain doesn't know where such a god comes from. For some reason, he suddenly wants to see himself as a "mortal", but he can be sure of one thing: he must deal with everything related to God carefully.
Judging from the reactions of Melita and Noretta, the relationship between the dragons and their gods seems to be quite subtle, but the "Dragon God" is at least certainly not crazy.
A mad god is scary, but a sane god does not mean safety.
Does He know about the disobedient plan? Does He know that Cecil has restarted the disobedient plan? Has He experienced the ancient age of gods? Does he know the God-killing fleet and the secrets behind it? Does He mean well? Or is it malicious? All of this is unknown, and Gawain... is not yet blindly confident to the point where he is not afraid of anything.
He did prevent two divine disasters and defeated two "gods" directly or indirectly, but he knew very well how much luck and luck he had in the two divine disasters. Coincidental advantage - Even though his "satellite spirit" seems to be able to suppress and immunize the power of certain gods, it does not mean that he himself really has the power to fight against the gods., at least not a force that can stably fight against gods. If you feel confident that you are a "god slayer" because of your achievements in challenging divine disasters twice... then you should not be far away from being buried again.
Therefore, with the most basic vigilance against the Dragon God, and because I really cannot leave the empire casually to go on a "long trip" to the distant Tallond ”, Gawain had to reject the Dragon Clan’s “invitation” this time.
After rejecting this invitation that was actually very tempting to him, Gawain could not help but let out a long sigh of relief and felt that his thoughts were clear...
" You are indeed not an ordinary person," Melita looked at Gawain deeply, and after two seconds of silence, she lowered her head and said solemnly, "Then, we will bring your response to our gods."
Then Noretta on the side spoke again: "In addition, I want to confirm - from what you just said, you are unable to go to Tallond 'right now', and you are not completely rejecting it. Is this an invitation?"
Gawain looked at the other party, and after a few seconds of pondering, he nodded slightly: "If that 'god' is really magnanimous enough to tolerate mortals. If you are willful, then I may accept His invitation one day in the future."
Noretta and Melita looked at each other, and the latter suddenly showed a wry smile and said softly: "... Our God is very tolerant most of the time."
Gawain was just about to ask what the other person meant when Noretta suddenly stepped forward and bent towards him: " Our mission has been completed, it’s time to say goodbye and leave.”
It seems that this is an unanswerable question.
Gawain understood clearly and did not ask further questions. He nodded slightly and saw Noretta put away the large suitcase used to hold the "Guardian's Shield" again. And saluted here again: "Thank you very much for your cooperation with our work. The answer you just gave is very important to us."
"Wait a minute," Gao Wen said. Suddenly, she remembered something, and said quickly before the other party left, "About the signal last time..."
"It has nothing to do with Tallond," Melita shook her head, she seemed to have more to think about. He said something, but after a brief hesitation he still shook his head, "We can't find its source."
Gao Wen looked at the two humanoid dragons quietly for a few seconds, and finally nodded slowly : "I understand."
The two senior agents nodded, then said goodbye and left. Their breath quickly disappeared, and in just a few minutes, Gawain lost his perception of them.
Gawain stood there for a while. After the various thoughts in his heart gradually subsided and the chaotic speculations and thoughts stopped surging, he exhaled, returned to his large desk, and put the The heavy and simple Guardian Shield was placed on the table.
Under the sunlight streaming in from the window, the surface of this ancient shield glowed with a faint glow. The former pioneer comrades were standing on it.The additional accessories added to the surface are all rusted and tattered, but the metal plate that is the main body of the shield shines as brightly as ever under the rusty coverings.
Gawain recalled that the blacksmiths in the expeditionary force had tried various methods but could not smelt the metal. With the materials and tools extremely scarce, they could not even smelt the metal. Several holes were drilled into the surface for mounting handles, so the craftsmen had to take the most direct and rudimentary approach - using a large amount of additional alloy castings to almost cover the entire piece of metal.
Now that centuries have passed, these traces that have been poured into countless people's efforts and carried countless people's hopes have finally decayed to this extent.
Gawain rang the call bell next to the table. A moment later, the patter of footsteps sounded from the corridor, and Betty opened the door and walked in: "Your Majesty, did you call me?"
"Is Hetty here?"
Betty thought for a while and nodded: "She is here, but she will go to the Government Affairs Office in a while!"
" Let her come to my place first."
...
Outside Cecil City, beside the woods in a deserted suburb, the figures of Melita and Noretta appeared. Appeared in the clearing accompanied by a gust of wind.
The two senior agents took a few steps forward and confirmed that there were no idle people around. Then Noretta let go of her hand, and the gorgeous metal box she had been carrying fell to the ground. She and Melita next to her looked at each other. For a brief moment, the two seemed to have completed a silent communication. The next second, they stumbled forward two steps at the same time, half-kneeling on the ground unable to support themselves.
Tearing pain came from the depths of her soul, and her strong body quickly appeared in various abnormalities as if it could not bear it. Large scorching lines suddenly appeared on Noretta's skin. Faint dragon scales instantly spread from her cheeks to her whole body. Behind Melita, a layer of illusory shadow rose into the sky. Huge illusory dragon wings spread out to cover the sky and the sun. A large number of things that did not belong to them seemed to be there. Self-aware shadows rushed out from the two of them, rushing into the air as if trying to break free.
This terrible process lasted for a full ten minutes, and the backlash from the soul level finally stopped. Noretta gasped, fine beads of sweat dripping from her cheeks, and she finally regained control of her body. He stood up little by little and reached out his hand to help Melita, who seemed to be in a worse situation.
Melita raised her head and glanced at her. She was about to stand up with all her strength, but then she swayed and spat out with a "wow" sound.
Her insides were still convulsing.
Seeing her friend in such pain, Noretta had an expression on her face that she couldn't bear to witness, so she calmly took half a step aside and turned her face away.
Half a minute later, this even more terrifying process finally calmed down. Noretta turned back and looked Melita up and down: "Are you okay?"
Meili Ta: "...I am nowDon't want to talk. "
Noretta looked at her friend sympathetically: "Will you still wear this stupid-looking veil in the future? ”
Melita: “…(Tallond swears a lot)”
Noretta was intimidated by her friend’s momentum and reluctantly took a half step back and surrendered. She raised her hands as if, and Melita took a breath at this time. After she calmed down a little, she lowered her head, frowned hard, opened her mouth and spit out a dazzling flame - the burning dragon's breath in an instant Then she burned the evidence that was not decent and elegant.
Then she looked up at Noretta and felt deeply regretful that she could not silence her.
As if she didn't feel any real resentment coming from Melita, she just took a few deep breaths to further calm down and repair the damage she suffered. After a moment, she said with lingering fear: "You often Dealing with that Gawain Cecil... is it so dangerous to talk to him? "
"...Almost every time he shows the attitude of 'wanting to talk', he is risking his life," Melita said with dull eyes, "You know that every time he expresses that he wants to talk, he is risking his life. How nervous am I when asked a question? I even sketched out the style of my own tomb in my mind..."
"It's very scary, really. "Noretta sighed with personal experience, and couldn't help but think of what happened at the Mithril Treasury headquarters in Tallond not long ago - even Speaker Andal who was present at that time was stared at by the gods, and that The terrifying gaze... seems to be caused by a signal brought back from Gawain Cecil.
"I suddenly had a premonition," the white dragon lady frowned, "If I continue to follow. If you run around in this human empire, sooner or later I will be killed by some careless words from that pioneering hero. It’s really hard to imagine that I would be so bold as to talk about gods with outsiders casually, and even take the initiative to approach forbidden knowledge..."
"Put away your worries. After this time, you can return to the rear to support me. "I'm on duty," Melita glanced at her friend, and then her eyes moved along the way and landed on the box made of various precious magic materials that was thrown on the ground by her friend. "As for now, It's time for us to collect some reward for this extremely risky mission..."
As she spoke, she came to the box and began to disassemble the gems and crystals from the box with her fingers. While tearing it apart, he said, "Come here and do me a favor. I'll melt its skeleton later." "Tsk, it's a pity that this thing is too conspicuous to be sold directly, otherwise selling it whole will definitely be worth more than taking it apart..."
White Dragon Noretta came to her friend hesitantly, with a trace of tangle: "Is this really good? This box was actually intended to be..."
"Hey, who knows if you don't tell me - I also sold that box last time. Let me tell you, being on duty outside is not the same as staying in Tallond as a support staff. You can’t have a good rest in such a risky and harsh environment, so you can’t find a way to make up for it on your own.Help, I can’t even survive..."
The corners of White Dragon Noretta’s eyes trembled twice, and she wanted to rebuke loudly (omitted later)... She came to Melita’s side and started to join in the fun. .
......
"Ancestor, are you looking for me? "
Hetty came to Gawain's study and asked curiously. The next second, her eyes were attracted by the conspicuous things on the desk.
" Ancestor, this is..."
Hetty's eyes opened wider and wider. She pointed at the Guardian Shield on the table, and finally her tone started to tremble——
< p>As a member of the Cecil family, she will never mistake what it is. She has seen it countless times in the collection of books passed down by the family and in the portraits passed down by the elders. This thing was lost a century ago. The Guardian Shield was once considered the beginning of the family's humiliation, and was even a heavy burden for each generation of Cecil's heirs. Generations of Cecil's descendants have vowed to recover this treasure, but no one has ever succeeded. She never imagined that one day this shield would suddenly appear in front of her - on the desk of her ancestors."Ansu Shield of the Kingdom Guardian," Gawain was very satisfied with Hetty. With that surprised expression, he smiled and said lightly, "Today is a day worth celebrating. This shield has been recovered - the Dragon Clan helped to find it. "
"Dragon clan..." Hetty felt that she had finally recovered from the dizzy feeling. She took a breath and couldn't help but take two steps forward and looked at the table carefully. 's shield, "Really it...really it?" "
"Of course, I can never mistake my own things," Gawain said with a smile, "Why do you look more excited than me? "
"Ancestor, I'm afraid you can't understand...this lost shield has extraordinary significance to us descendants," Hetty said with excitement, "The Cecil family has been covered in dust. It started when this shield was lost. Generations of descendants want to restore the glory of their ancestors. Rebecca and I also swore in front of your portrait to find this shield..."
“Ahem,” Gawain suddenly coughed twice, “Do you still have such a rule? "
Hetty quickly calmed down from the excitement, and also felt the strange atmosphere at this moment. She glanced at her ancestor who had come to reality from the portrait, and lowered her head in embarrassment: "This... …This is a normal noble habit. We will ask you to witness many things in front of your portrait, including important family decisions, vows of adulthood, major changes within the family..."
"Okay, you don't need to say it," Gao Vin felt that this topic was too weird, so he quickly interrupted Hetty, "I guess Grumman must have greeted me when he took the shield away from my tomb - he might have even knocked on my shield. Coffin boards. Although this sentence is not appropriate for me to say, it is completely fooling people, so I'd better stop this topic here. ”
Hetty: "...Yes, ancestor."