Chapter 295 Banquet
When dusk touches the cobblestone road, the street scenes along Lunorre seem to be dipped in a thin layer of blue.
The prop shop on the roadside has turned the sign at the door to the "Closed" side. When the warm yellow light flows through the window glass, you can see the busy figure of the owner in the store. The coffee shop on the corner is just waiting for its last order of business. Several magical girls walk out in twos and threes, holding coffee cups, chatting and laughing all the way, making it quite lively.
Sitting in the slowly moving fairy carriage, Delphinium was fiddling with a pair of gloves that made her feel a little uncomfortable.
The main body of the gloves was blue, and the white lace gloves on the wrists were neatly placed on her hands, with a few rays of starlight leaking through the gaps, and the pearl buttons occasionally reflected the lights passing by on the roadside. The hem of the princess dress almost fell to her heels, and the taffeta absorbed the twilight and flowed on the cherry wood seat like solidified milk.
Such an overly gorgeous outfit was obviously not Delphinium's style. She had originally intended to find a relatively close-fitting women's suit, but after she told Emerald about this idea, she rejected it and stubbornly chose the current outfit for her.
Since the other party has chosen this, then Delphinium will wear it.
She has her own way of choosing clothes, but that doesn't mean she sticks to it. Rather, Delphinium doesn't really care what she wears. Unless the clothes are too revealing and indecent, or too complicated and affect her movements, most clothes are the same to her.
The princess dress she was wearing just happened to not touch the bottom line of these two standards. Although the structure was a little complicated, it was still within the acceptable range of Delphinium. In addition, the "dinner party" she was going to attend was originally led by Emerald, and she was undoubtedly more familiar with the etiquette and regulations. So there shouldn't be any problem in following her wishes.
As for the instigator of all this, Emerald herself, she was wearing the same long skirt-like coat that she had worn when she first met Delphinium, sitting opposite her. Her head was tilted back slightly, leaning against the headrest of the chair, and her body was slightly tilted to the right, half leaning on the armrest. Her subtle and even breathing and slightly floating chest showed that she had fallen into a deep sleep.
Emerald did not give any explanation as to what the next destination would be like.
Even if Kusanagi asked, she would just roughly call it "a gathering of a few friends" and "a place to eat something and chat", without any description related to the other party's specific identity.
Therefore, at this moment, Delphinium still didn't know who she was going to meet, and necessary social etiquette also prevented her from interrupting Emerald's sleep. When all work communications had been handled through the phone, and there was no reason to open the phone, Delphinium could only turn her head to look outside the car and see the street scenes along the way.
The suspense left by Emerald continued until the carriage passed through the magic-free area and stopped at a secluded take-off point. When Delphinium looked at the take-off point from afar, the first thing she saw was an airship docked there.
"Ah... well, it looks like we've arrived."
Emerald, who had woken up at some point, yawned, held the car door to look at the scenery outside, then stood up and walked lazily and slowly to the grass at the take-off point.
"Get off the car, our destination is over there." After a while, she seemed to suddenly remember that there was someone following her, and turned back to say to Delphinium.
"Destination? Could this be it..."
After getting out of the car, Kuizi looked at the airship in front of him and didn't know what to say for a moment: "You mean, the so-called dinner is on this ship?"
"Yes, although I don't quite understand the twists and turns here, but it seems to be something that young people nowadays come up with."
Emerald rubbed her eyes, wiped away the tears that overflowed from yawning, and muttered, "It's called 'Flying Kitchen' or some chain restaurant. Anyway, there are just a few flying ships with a few chefs who claim to be from the royal court flying around, and then making some meals that are actually not that outstanding. It seems to be famous among some rich people, right? But it's just for novelty."
"A chef from the royal court?" Delphinium walked forward while trying to lift up her skirt to avoid tripping on the road. In between steps, she was attracted by the key words in Emerald's words: "That should be very expensive, right?"
"I think it's just an exaggeration. I've been invited here twice to eat here, and the food is nothing compared to the one at the Rose Palace."
Emerald walked forward, adjusting her collar which was slightly creased from sleeping. "As for whether it's expensive or not, it is indeed quite expensive. But since it's someone else's treat, we don't have to pay for it, so we don't need to worry about it."
"An ordinary gathering of friends inviting people to such a high-end restaurant?"
With an idea of the level of consumption of the airship in front of him, Kuei-Chrysanthemum couldn't help but ask again, "So who will I meet later?"
"Of course, I will fulfill my promise to you."
She walked slowly to the boarding gate of the airship, and only showed her face to the waiter at the door, who respectfully welcomed Emerald and Delphinium in. As she walked forward, Emerald also took care of her appearance, and walked forward with a somewhat majestic demeanor that was very unusual for Delphinium: "After all, when we made the deal, we agreed that in addition to helping you solve the problem of the heart gem, there is another condition."
“…Oh, I see.”
With just these words, Delphinium understood what Emerald wanted to say.
Similarly, when she learned the answer, she completely understood why Emerald wanted to display such a seemingly "majestic" posture and dress herself like this.
A few months ago, when she was using the Source of Beasts as a bargaining chip to trade with Emerald, the other party mentioned that she had some "friends" in the Magic Academy of the Magic Kingdom.
The so-called friend is naturally a euphemism. The position of the Sapphire Scepter has been vacant for many years, and the Magic Affairs Institute, which has no one in charge, has long been slowly divided up under the evolution of power. Although it is nominally directly under the Royal Court, it is under the joint control of a small number of Royal Court nobles and the sapphire scepters of the other four institutes.
Under the power struggle between each other, most members of the Magic Academy cannot remain immune. Whether actively or passively, they will inevitably stand under the side of one force in the end.
Well, as the chief of the institute, with the Emerald Scepter, Emerald must have a certain number of “connections” in the Institute of Magic.
Stepping into the airship, they walked through the corridor, which was more formal than substantial, and although it was decorated ornately, it was not actually very long. Delphinium and Emerald arrived in front of a big door together.
Although separated by a large door, one could still hear the laughter and joyful chatter behind. It was obvious that quite a few guests had gathered there.
Without any instructions, the waiters standing quietly on both sides bowed to the two obviously most distinguished guests, and then gently opened the door.
Inside the door, in the rather spacious "restaurant", there were a dozen magical girls of various appearances sitting there.
Unlike the concept of "dinner party" in the material world, none of the magical girls gathered here wore relatively solemn party clothes or evening gowns. Most of them wore gorgeous dresses in a girlish style, or casual clothes that were cute but not rude.
Until the door opened, they were still chatting and laughing there. The light atmosphere accompanied by the sweetness of the appetizers filled the entire room. If you didn't know the truth, you would probably think that the scene in front of you was some girls' evening salon.
However, when the door was opened and Emerald walked in, the group of magical girls quickly stopped communicating with each other, put away their slightly frivolous side, and stood up in an orderly manner.
When Emerald stood still and Delphinium walked into the restaurant leisurely, lifting her skirt, the last few noises fell into complete silence.
Delphinium looked at the magical girls, and they looked at Delphinium in return.
There was no need for any communication until a certain moment, when everyone left their seats, led by a taller magical girl standing closer to the front seat.
They performed a fairly standard skirt-lifting ceremony in the direction of the delphinium, and then extended this ceremony into a variation, not only bending over and bowing, but also gradually kneeling on the ground, with the hems of their skirts spread out on the wooden floor connected together, like a gorgeous bouquet of flowers.
No words or explanations needed.
This is the most solemn etiquette in the magic kingdom, representing the loyalty of subordinates to their superiors.
(End of this chapter)
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