Chapter 1107: Chapter 1106: Behind the Scenes

In the vast and boundless shadow realm, the two former gods looked at each other; not far away, the Magic Web Terminal was still projecting the day’s exciting programs, yet at this moment, the attention of Amon and the Goddess of Magic was no longer on the program.

After a brief silence, the Goddess of Magic couldn’t help but break it: "How about... you scratch?"

Amon’s voice became even odder than before: "Are you serious?"

The Goddess of Magic stood still for two seconds, feeling a bit at a loss with the situation at hand (though she never really had hands or feet), as she had never encountered such a scenario in her long memories as a god: "Then how about... I help you scratch?"

"...Considering the times I’ve let you use the Magic Web Terminal these past days..." Amon’s voice even started to break, "I’m feeling more and more peculiar..."

"Alright then." The Goddess of Magic sighed helplessly and stepped toward the direction of the Holy Giant Stag, saying casually as she walked: "I suddenly became curious—the past three thousand years, haven’t you encountered similar situations?"

Amon’s voice was a bit muffled: "I have."

"How did you resolve them?"

"..."

"Alright, I understand."

The Goddess of Magic arrived beside Amon, looking at this former god pinned firmly to the shattered earth by the legacy of the Voyager—this huge and holy body was pierced through by fragmented metal and crystal structures, the shattered debris that went through even made gods feel horrified. Though considering gods are beings that exist between ’spirit’ and ’matter,’ in theory, such physical injuries would not cause pain once solidified. Yet, looking at them, the Goddess of Magic couldn’t help but feel somewhat solemn. Amon quickly noticed and couldn’t help but ask: "What’s wrong?"

While extending her hand, the Goddess of Magic asked casually: "These injuries look a bit frightening... is it here?"

"A bit higher, higher... ahh, much better..." Amon let out a slight sigh, "I can’t see what’s going on behind me, but these things only look scary now. The initial trauma is over—I am now in some kind of ’symbiotic’ state with these things, I don’t really feel anything."

Thoughtfully nodding, the Goddess of Magic then focused her gaze on an alloy fragment piercing the giant stag’s body. She stared at the fragment, seeing where its edge merged with the flesh, showing an illusory form. Her brief silence once again aroused Amon’s curiosity: "Did you discover something, Goddess of Magic?"

"...Can you really not move?" The Goddess of Magic slightly lifted her eyelids, looking in the direction of Amon’s eyes, "Not at all?"

"Of course, these things pin me to the shattered earth here; didn’t you notice?" Amon said, sighing at the same time, "So firmly pinned... to be honest, sometimes I regret it—shouldn’t have put in so much effort when crashing into the space station, nearly died for real. Hmm? Why aren’t you speaking again, Goddess of Magic?"

The Goddess of Magic, however, did not respond. She only lowered her head and stared at the legacy of the Voyager for a long time, pondering something unknown. After a long silence, she gently shook her head: "It’s nothing."

"Really? So strange..."

...

The much-anticipated 112th summit concluded successfully. The good news of the alliance’s formation spread quickly through all the information channels of the mortal nations, akin to waves on the sea continuously spreading towards the entire circle of mortal civilization. Before this world-altering event gradually sunk into the community, fermenting and influencing various professions and fields, the leaders and plenipotentiaries from all parties had already left the meeting venue at the edge of the wasteland, embarking on their long journey back to their countries.

Within the borders of Cecil, in the Southern Eastern Territory, the warm wind swept across the wilderness, bending the tall red pine cabbage and the unnamed tall grasses by the roadside. In the increasingly lush countryside, paths crisscrossed with caravans transporting goods and agricultural machinery speeding along the main roads. The towering Magic Nexus Tower pointed towards the blue sky at the edge of the farmland, its constant magic nourishing all the Magic-Guide Devices in the vast area. Under the tower, the Projection Crystal broadcasted real-time time, weather, magic radiation, and imperial decree updates. Meanwhile, a Magic Train sped along the charging tracks on the edge of the wilderness, the sound of its passing echoing far across the plains.

Gawain sat in his designated seat, watching the scene outside the window, feeling slightly relaxed—he was finally back on Cecil’s land, back in the country he built with his own hands, bringing him a sense of indescribable reassurance. Opposite him, the Silver Empress was gazing curiously out the window, while the high-ranking maid named "Yilian" sat beside the Silver Empress.

After the 112th summit, the Silver Empress did not return south with the Elven Delegation; instead, she accompanied Gawain to Cecil. She naturally responded to the special "invitation," but in the publicly announced news, her visit aimed at "engaging in further exchanges regarding technology sharing with the Cecil Empire" as a state visit.

"What a beautiful view... though it doesn’t have the dense vitality and utmost abundance of our great forest, it emits a different kind of vibrant energy from this land... I can even feel the deep emotions accumulated by those who built this land," Belsetia finally withdrew her gaze from the window, her tone tinged with amazement, "This feeling reminds me of those pioneering cities from centuries ago... in recent centuries, I have rarely felt similar auras."

Gawain couldn’t help but laugh. He knew Belsetia wasn’t merely offering compliments nor poetically describing things; she was straightforwardly expressing her genuine feelings—elves possess a different sensory method and neural structure compared to humans, allowing them to "see" or "hear" things other races can’t perceive. In their sensory system, collective emotions and memories left by life on the land are as evident and natural as colors and smells. If the Silver Empress says she senses these things on this land, then they undoubtedly exist.

He said: "After the war, many regions experienced arduous reconstruction. The Southern Eastern Territory’s line isn’t even the one with the most reconstruction projects. The one with the most drastic change would be the eastern wing of the Plains of the Holy Spirits—a complete transformation. Soldrin once said that the entire land seems to ’glow with a bright, vibrant light.’ Although I can’t see what kind of light that is, I can certainly feel it."

"I’m eagerly looking forward to the trip to the Plains of the Holy Spirits. I have long yearned for the legendary ’Sorin Giant Tree,’" Belsetia said earnestly, "Is it like here, with those tall Magic-Guide Devices visible everywhere?"

"...If you follow the railroad lines or riverbanks, you’ll see many of them. But in reality, most of the empire’s other lands are still relatively underdeveloped," Gawain thought for a moment and then spoke frankly, "Although we have advanced Magic Guide Technology, construction has to proceed step by step. The places where modern transportation can reach are relatively prosperous, while other areas still need considerable effort."

"...In most countries, the cities directly connected to the main roads being prosperous and wealthy is sufficient," Belsetia said lightly. Outside the window beside her, a newly built village was slowly receding into the distance, the sunlight reflecting off its new rooftops, glinting vivaciously, "Even Typhon isn’t an exception in this regard... You seem intent on extending the Magic Web and Magic-Guide Machinery to every village and town, quite an ambition."

"It’s not so much an ambition as I consider it a reasonable goal to lift all people out of poverty and ignorance," Gawain said, then casually shifted the topic, "Speaking of the Magic Guide Technology’s proliferation... I am a bit curious about the application of the ’Magic Web’ and rune logic in the Silver Empire... I’ve heard you’ve succeeded in repairing the anti-gravity engine of the Sacred Stars Temple?"

"We haven’t fully repaired the engine yet, but with the help of the Magic Web, we restored the core power of the Sacred Stars Temple to at least its state a thousand years ago, which has already excited countless Master Mages," Belsetia smiled, "Our next goal is to truly work on those ancient engines... it’s a bold restoration plan. For many years, no elf dared attempt it. Fortunately, my chief astrologer Vilanya stands on the side of the supporters."

"...Vilaniya, I have an impression of that name," Gawain recalled the memories he inherited, a peculiar smile couldn’t help but surface at the corners of his mouth, "Ah, I still remember how Anthony bravely confessed his love to Lady Vilaniya after one serious bout of drunkenness... That was truly the biggest embarrassment of the ’Night of the Sacred Alliance,’ in the end, Charlie and I even had to join forces to tie up that bull-headed fellow with a rope."

"An even greater embarrassment actually happened after that meeting ended," Belsetia’s expression turned subtle as well, "The Grand Astrologer only realized it was a ’confession’ after returning to the Silver Empire — she had never been confessed to by anyone or any humanoid creature, so when she realized that, in her panic, the arcane bullet she cast casually was actually knocked over by an admirer, she was distressingly troubled for many, many years... Of course, very, very few people know about this, not even Lady Vilaniya’s chief disciple."

"...How did you know that?"

"I sneaked into her laboratory to drink honey and heard her mumbling behind a cabinet — don’t make that face, I was very young at that time."

The atmosphere in the carriage was somewhat subtle for a time, Gawain wasn’t sure why the topic had veered in such an odd direction, he glanced subconsciously at the high-ranking maid sitting next to the Silver Empress, just about to say something when he heard Belsetia suddenly say: "Right, Yilian, forget what you just heard."

The high-ranking maid nodded without changing expression: "Yes, Your Majesty, it’s already forgotten."

Gawain: "..."

Is it really that casual?

At the moment he kind of wanted to call out Amber to make her forget what just happened too, but was afraid that if she appeared she might be jotting everything down in a little notebook, so he had to awkwardly end the current topic: "We really shouldn’t discuss a lady behind her back, especially since she’s your chief Grand Astrologer."

"You were the one who initiated the ’private topic.’"

"...Alright, we should probably avoid discussing these matters in front of Vilaniya in the future," Gawain scratched his cheek a bit awkwardly, but then noticed the expression on Belsetia’s face was different from before, she looked over merrily relaxed, her eyes seemed to sparkle, "What’s the matter? Why are you suddenly so happy."

"Now I’m getting a bit of a sense of chatting with ’the old’ Uncle Gawain from back then." Belsetia said with a smile.

...

In the Silver Empire, inside the Sacred Stars Temple, in a deep magic laboratory, the Grand Astrologer Vilaniya, who was controlling the complex and grand array of magic symbols from a high platform, suddenly sneezed a big sneeze, followed by several more in succession.

One of the mage apprentices standing by the monitoring array nearby was immediately alarmed, and he ran over to Vilaniya: "Teacher, are you feeling unwell?"

The Grand Astrologer, wearing a light purple gown-style magic robe, with her golden hair tied high, shook her head, still beautiful with a hint of confusion on her face: "Don’t worry, just a few sneezes... More importantly, what are the observation results?"

"Still exposed by noise waves, Teacher," the apprentice showed a regrettable expression, summoning a metal plate made of inert Magi-metal as the base, its surface coated with a special absorptive solidification layer from a nearby device platform. On the metal plate’s surface, one could see large spreading patches of color and completely irregular noise traces, "The new purification field doesn’t seem to be effective, the patterns formed by the Magic Power flow in the dark chamber are completely covered by these interference patterns, and there’s not even enough time to observe them."

Vilaniya frowned slightly, her gaze lingering on the now worthless metal plate for a long time, a noticeable disappointment gradually surfacing on her face.

The apprentice couldn’t help but show a slightly worried expression: "Teacher..."

"Almost half a century ago, I theorized the essence of Magic Power fluctuations... yet to this day, I’ve found no evidence to prove it," Vilaniya smiled self-deprecatingly but then quickly waved her hand, "Don’t let my emotions affect you, I was just being a bit emotional. Pack up the devices, shut them off for now, we’ll summarize our experience later and design a new experiment plan."

"Yes, Teacher."

"By the way," before the apprentice left, Vilaniya suddenly remembered something, "When’s the scheduled contact time with Master Kamel?"

"In two hours," the apprentice glanced at the clock not far away, "Do you want to take a break first? Mr. Soukville came by earlier, he invited you for afternoon tea at the Golden Leaf Pavilion..."

"Is it Mr. Soukveron from the Artificial Intelligence group?"

"No, the head of the Artificial Intelligence group is Mr. Soukveron, Mr. Soukville is in charge of the East District of the palace..."

Vilaniya waved her hand, floating gracefully off the high platform, and while walking towards the door, she said: "Oh, then I won’t go. I thought there was some progress from the Artificial Intelligence group... I’ll head to the library to find some materials, two hours should be enough."

"And Mr. Soukville..."

"Help me tell him that the lunch discount at the Golden Leaf Pavilion doesn’t necessarily need two people to attend, he can certainly go himself."

The Grand Astrologer had already disappeared beyond the door, and the apprentice stood surrounded by the now automatically operating arrays of magic symbols, looking at the direction in which his teacher had vanished for a long time before letting out a helpless sigh: "...Yes, Teacher."

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