Pluvia took his list, then glanced at her nightclothes, pulling the slightly slipped garment back onto her shoulder. "I’ll consider these. Thank you for your hard work."
"It’s my duty, Your Majesty."
Kenji thought to himself: As long as you don’t pull any strange moves, I’ll be satisfied.
"Can’t sleep?" Pluvia only now noticed that Kenji was still wearing his day clothes, not his casual wear.
"Yes, I’m having some insomnia tonight."
Kenji didn’t deny it. He really was having trouble sleeping, not for any particular reason but because of work.
It couldn’t be helped. Although Pluvia was the emperor, he was responsible for planning much of this trip, which had increased his workload. His mind was still clear and hadn’t entered a resting state.
"If you can’t sleep, why not stay and chat with me a little?"
Pluvia said this while quickly taking her seal and stamping it on a water channel planning document.
"As you wish."
"Sit anywhere," she waved her hand, then paused, "Ah, just not on the bed."
"I wouldn’t dare."
Kenji certainly wasn’t bold enough to sit on the emperor’s bed. He sat on the sofa in the bedroom.
"Do you know why I brought you along this time?" Pluvia asked without looking at him, still focused on her documents.
"I don’t know."
"Because I believe your abilities are trustworthy."
She seemed to say this casually. But her next words made Kenji feel something was off:
"Look, even with both of us away from Luminara, it remains rock solid with your prior arrangements. Camelot is truly fortunate to have someone of your talent." The praise was quite direct.
But Kenji sensed something was wrong.
What? Have you thought of something again?
"I don’t possess such great abilities. Your Majesty flatters me."
"Modesty isn’t always a virtue," Pluvia smiled gently. "Now that we’re in a foreign country, I feel at ease knowing you’ve made arrangements back home. Here in the Western Empire, I believe you can also handle important tasks."
"I’m merely here to accompany you. What important task could there be?"
"No, this diplomatic mission is a perfect opportunity to secure Camelot’s interests," Pluvia sighed deeply. "To be honest, I’m feeling uncertain. You have a deeper understanding of the Western Empire and have previously communicated with them. I’m afraid I’ll need to rely on you for this."
"Whatever you need, Your Majesty, just say the word. I’ll assist you."
"Good," she finished, put down her pen, and stretched. "Are you planning to stay up all night?"
"No, I’ll go to sleep soon."
"Good, get some rest. We can’t afford any problems from your end right now." She lay on the desk, looking exhausted. "We brought some medicines for this trip, including sleep-inducing pills. I’ll have someone bring you some."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After expressing his gratitude, Kenji stood up, preparing to leave.
"Oh, by the way."
Pluvia remembered something: "That Duke is a hereditary duke, right?"
"Yes, he is."
"Arrange to send him some gifts tomorrow. Try to get some information about their emperor."
She gave the brief instruction.
Kenji immediately understood her meaning: "Understood. I’ll handle it tomorrow."
"Alright, go get your medicine."
Pluvia had a Dragon Guard escort Kenji to get the medicine, and their conversation ended there.
The Camelot delegation arrived at the Western Empire’s capital, Vitnan City.
Vitnan City sat at the center of the Central Avenue in the south-central part of the Western Empire. As the imperial capital, Vitnan had become the empire’s brightest jewel. Not only was it economically developed, but it also had particularly open foreign policies to stimulate the surrounding economy.
Whether Westerners, Hedians, or people from the Eastern Nation, anyone could become legal subjects of the Western Emperor after completing certain procedures. Beyond this, the Western Empire encouraged commercial trade and industrial development. They also invested heavily in magic. The empire’s core National Magic Academy had become a paradise for countless mages.
As the convoy moved through Vitnan, Kenji even spotted various non-human races. He could identify elves, demons, beast tribes, and many other races. This didn’t even count vampires and other races similar to humans.
Openness was good, but Kenji felt this degree of openness might be problematic. Opening up to different races wasn’t necessarily beneficial. While it brought various technologies and talents, it could easily cause internal issues. Many non-human individuals actually had higher combat capabilities than humans.
Outside the Luin Palace, officials waited in the square.
As the convoy arrived, Emperor Feit and the royal family members and officials all came forward to greet them.
Camelot’s carriage stopped in the square outside Luin Palace. Four sturdy black horses had completed their task. They lazily looked at the group of people approaching them, then casually lifted their hooves to stretch.
The coachman and Dragon Guards folded back the curtains and opened the door. Kenji stepped out first. After jumping down, he quickly stretched his back after sitting in the carriage for several hours. Then he turned and extended his hand, "Your Majesty, please."
Pluvia nodded, placed her hand on his, and stepped down from the carriage.
"I’ve long heard that the Camelot Emperor has an extraordinary appearance that ordinary people can’t match. Seeing you today is truly my great fortune," Emperor Feit III smiled, imitating the Camelot greeting protocol for people of equal status.
"You flatter me. It’s just others’ exaggeration, not worth mentioning," Pluvia smiled.
"This must be your important minister. Duke Anos truly has an impressive presence and looks talented."
Kenji nodded, barely holding back a smile. He glanced at Pluvia’s swallow it back expression and immediately improved his facial control.
It wasn’t that he was deliberately causing trouble, but Emperor Feit III had just been speaking in the Camelot language...
Probably to show his sincerity in meeting Pluvia, the Emperor had specially learned some Camelot language, using their official dialect for these few sentences. But expecting a foreigner to quickly learn Camelot’s official language was quite challenging. While he could imitate the pronunciation, he hadn’t quite mastered the tones.
For instance, the phrase "truly my great fortune" came out sounding like "stone comes loose rope lucky," which nearly made Kenji lose his composure.
However, despite the comical pronunciation, it was still understandable, which was enough to demonstrate the other side’s sincerity.
After the pleasantries, Emperor Feit finally switched back to Western language, and Kenji breathed a sigh of relief—he no longer had to keep a straight face.
"Today we’ve specially prepared our Western specialties for everyone. Please do try them. Also, if you don’t mind, I hope you and Duke Anos will stay at our Thelia Palace. I’m sure you’ll be very satisfied."
The Emperor’s words were very polite but didn’t give any sense of pandering. Despite wearing that complicated ceremonial outfit, he still gave an impression of efficiency. Pluvia thought right away that this guy wasn’t going to be a pushover.
"Thank you for your hospitality. I also hope for friendly relations between our empires," Pluvia said, then glanced at Kenji.
Kenji understood—it was about time for him to speak.
"Your Majesty Feit," he said respectfully, "may I ask if there are any arrangements for tomorrow? If so, I should prepare carefully for our Emperor."
"Oh, tomorrow you’ll definitely find interesting, Duke Anos," the Emperor smiled genuinely, with a look of confidence. "Tomorrow will be a military parade to welcome the Camelot Central Empire’s Emperor. Duke Anos, do you see that platform over there?"
Kenji looked where the Emperor was pointing. There stood a raised platform with what looked like an altar-like structure. There were no buildings around the platform; it appeared to be an open space.
"I see it."
"That’s where we’ll go tomorrow. We’ll review the troops there. At that time, the Emperor and you will receive the respects of our country’s soldiers."
"Oh? I’m quite interested in that."
Reviewing troops—this diplomatic approach indicated a certain level of importance. The military was the most crucial part of a country. If they were willing to show their army to Pluvia and himself, it meant they genuinely wanted to demonstrate their sincerity.
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Of course, how much of this was muscle-flexing remained unclear. At any rate, the two empire had no direct disputes so far, so let them flex if they wanted.
"The talents from your empire who came to study with us are truly outstanding. In the future, if possible, I hope our two empires can strengthen exchanges and let our young people learn more as well."
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"Of course," Pluvia smiled.
…
…..
In a corner of Vitnan City in the Western Empire, several street vendors leaned against a wall, apparently discussing something.
"They’re holding a review ceremony here tomorrow," one vendor said quietly while pretending to count his earnings.
"Really? Is the information reliable?" asked another vendor with a hat covering his face, pretending to be asleep against the wall.
"Reliable. The military movements can be verified, and insiders have provided the information."
"Good."
The vendor counting money didn’t even look up.
"What exactly are you planning to do? Let me be clear, I’m only responsible for intelligence work. Don’t push anything else onto me," said the vendor with the hat covering his face.
"I know, the boss has already instructed us. However, at the appropriate time, if there’s anything you can help with, you’ll need to assist."
"Understood. So, the original plan remains unchanged, right?"
"No problem."
After saying this, the vendors returned to their normal activities.