Chapter 82: Saeorin (2)
Vigat.
That was the name of another junior member assigned to the mission alongside me.
The two junior members, a mix of male and female, stood stiffly in my presence, brimming with determination.
“We’ll make sure no one gets hurt!”
“We’ll do our best!”
Their attitudes felt unfamiliar to me. Even when I was a junior member, I’d never been this intense. Nor had I seen other members act this way toward their seniors.
‘Is this batch just unusual?’
Regardless, that wasn’t the important part. I led the two of them around the headquarters building.
Before setting out on the mission, we needed to gather supplies and complete some basic paperwork. I handled it all myself.
Back when I was a junior member, I’d learned by watching my seniors during missions, and now I was simply following their example.
This was in front of my juniors—I couldn’t afford to make mistakes. I put more effort into my handwriting than ever before.
Stroke by stroke, my meticulous penmanship filled the complex forms.
Once all the necessary tasks at headquarters were complete, the three of us naturally left the building.
Unlike the two juniors heading toward the relay station, I turned in a different direction.
Noticing this, Parna and Vigat hurriedly ran toward their small senior.
“Uh, where are you going?”
“There’s a place I need to stop by before we leave.”
I led my two juniors to a small bakery on a street lined with shops. When I’d been on a mission with Raynard, I’d tried their bread once, and it had been delicious.
I wanted my juniors to taste that delicious bread too. Just as I’d been moved by it, I hoped they’d feel the same.
Visiting this bakery had become a habit for me. On days I set out for a mission, I felt uneasy if I didn’t stop by. By now, I was completely accustomed to it.
As a mid-rank member now, I thought I understood a bit of what Raynard must have felt back then. Perhaps he’d bought bread for his tense juniors out of pity.
I purchased bread according to my taste and handed it to my juniors. No one would dare complain about bread bought by a sky-high senior like me. After a moment of hesitation, they eagerly took the freshly baked bread and ate it.
“Tasty, right?”
“Oh…”
“It’s, it’s delicious…!”
My gaze lifted to my two juniors. Their stiff expressions had softened a little.
Our next stop was the relay station. The large station, directly operated by the empire, had excellent steeds ready to ride at any moment.
“Prepare three horses. The biggest one for me,” I told the relay station worker. If I didn’t specify the size, they’d assign me the smallest horse due to my stature. And so, I was given a massive black steed, far larger than my own frame.
I didn’t need a separate step to mount it. With a light push off the ground, my form floated up smoothly and settled onto the horse. My flowing hair and fluttering cloak painted a picturesque scene.
Passersby stared at me as if entranced.
“Let’s head out.”
I’d grown used to these looks by now. It was only natural for people to feel awe when witnessing mythical beauty. The small girl gently brushed her hair back.
***
The destination this time, the Floating Island, was quite a distance from the empire’s directly governed territory where Azure Wings Headquarters was located.
Even though we switched horses at relay stations along the way, it took over eleven days of riding.
And yet, we still hadn’t arrived. Late in the evening, my party stopped our horses and prepared to camp. Alongside our campsite were a group of merchants we’d met during the journey.
All knights of Azure Wings were masters of the sword. Even junior members had the skill to cleave a thick log with a single stroke.
With the three of us working together, building a campsite with wood and preparing firewood was done in no time.
“Thank you so much for letting us join you. We’ll rest well thanks to you.”
In exchange for allowing the merchants to camp with us, my party received food and brief information about the Floating Island.
Forming a connection with imperial knights wasn’t easy, and though the merchants offered various things in hopes of deepening ties, I drew a line.
The crackling campfire and the wooden chairs arranged around it provided comfort. With the impressive might of imperial knights nearby, the merchants could relax as well.
The first to speak was the oldest merchant. Having lived a long life, he had seen and heard much, and he shared a variety of stories.
“You said you’re heading to the Floating Island… It’s a strange place, that island. It floats on its own, defying gravity. A truly bizarre spot. Plus, it’s completely cut off from the outside, so it has its own unique ecosystem. Every time you go, new species are born, and old ones vanish. Not just anyone can enter, but… it’s worth visiting at least once, I’d say.”
“Have you been there yourself?”
“Of course. About ten years ago, I think… I was lucky enough to set foot there once. I suffered a bit after eating what I thought was a grape but turned out to be a coiled bug… but it was a fun place. The only shame was that you can’t take anything from the island outside.”
“Anything else stand out?”
“Oh, plenty. There are traces of ancient mages scattered around the island. I don’t know what they mean, but… I heard even modern mages have given up trying to decipher them. I don’t know about it now, though.”
Crackle—
The campfire popped as it burned. The merchants hesitated to speak to the small girl due to the cool aura she exuded. Only the old merchant spoke freely, as if chatting with an old friend.
“Are you going there for revenge?”
I looked up at the old merchant’s question. His gaze was clear, like that of tribal elders nearing the end of their days.
“Who knows.”
The next morning, early, my party left the campsite, leaving the lingering merchants behind.
Just as the meeting had been light, so was the parting. Only the old merchant’s voice lingered in my mind.
We reached our destination after three more days of hard riding.
The Floating Island. As its name suggested, it was an island suspended in the sky. Too high to reach by ordinary means, it required flight magic or an airship crafted by the Mage Tower to access.
Directly beneath the island was a large repair dock for airships and a small village.
A quiet village. I thought to myself as I approached, leading my horse.
It didn’t have a special name, they said. It had naturally formed when technicians maintaining the airships and a few mages dispatched for research built homes and settled there.
Since it wasn’t a tourist spot, there were no visitors either. As my party approached, a man who appeared to be a mage walked out slowly.
“Knights of Azure Wing? I’ve been expecting you. Call me Belov.”
For a mage, he had a sturdy build. The smell of oil clinging to him suggested he also handled airship maintenance.
I leapt off my horse and exchanged greetings with the mage.
“I’m Saeorin, mid-rank member of the Azure Wings Imperial Knights.”
Belov got straight to the point.
“I’d love to tell you to head to the Floating Island right now and deal with that reincarnator… but you’ll have to wait a bit.”
“Is there a problem…?”
“There’s an issue with the airship. The engine’s acting up.”
I turned my head to look at the massive airship. A giant vessel gleaming with a dull sheen exuded the scent of oil. Unlike typical wooden ships, its entire body was forged from metal.
Judging by the faint traces of mana I could sense, it seemed to be made of iron with high mana conductivity.
I turned my gaze upward again. My mana-enhanced vision caught sight of a colossal island beyond the clouds.
Even from this distance, its enormity was palpable. I shook my head.
“There’s no need to wait. Let’s head out now.”
“…Did you not hear me? The airship can’t—”
Belov couldn’t finish his sentence. A flow of mana released from the small girl’s body gently pushed him back.
A faint chill tinged the breeze. The moment that wind softly enveloped me and caressed the surroundings, the Black Dragon Sword I carried was drawn and rose into the air.
I had no qualms about displaying the Sword Sovereign’s techniques to others. I’d reported that I’d infiltrated the Sword Sovereign’s faction under a false identity and separately learned his martial arts.
Azure Wings Headquarters hadn’t taken issue with my report. They’d deemed it fine as long as I didn’t practice inner energy techniques from the central martial world.
Standing with my hands behind my back, I stepped onto the sword. Just as the Sword Sovereign had done. In this moment, I dominated the space.
“W-wait, are you a mage…?”
I closed my eyes at Belov’s question. The image of the Sword Sovereign, blending inner energy and mana to sharpen a brass cup into a blade, flashed vividly in my mind.
“I don’t know.”
With a small gesture from the girl, her cloak fluttered in the cold wind. In that instant, the swords at Parna’s and Vigat’s waists were drawn as well. I spoke.
“Get on. We’re leaving.”