[Blau Empire]

　A flurry of armor-clad soldiers ran and stood in front of the massive stone castle. He stood tall, sweat dripping from his forehead, his shoulders rising and falling heavily.

''What's going on?''

　When the soldier guarding the gate uttered this, he replied, breathing heavily.

''And now, a message. A mysterious object is flying in the sky, and it's coming this way...!

A mystery object? What's that?

Come on, tell your bosses. We're already in the town of Besh!

　The gatekeeper hurriedly turns away from the horrific swordsmanship of the soldiers.

　He jumps into the castle and goes stomping fast on the dark green carpet. As everyone looks back at the soldier at the sight of him, he goes upstairs and calls out when he sees a figure standing at the end of the passage.

''Master Riggan!''

　The man called Rigan turned around and raised an eyebrow at the panicked soldier.

　He was a well-fed man in his forties or so. He had a neatly shaped beard over his mouth, and his eyes were sharp.

　The soldier who moved in front of Rigan looked directly at him and opened his mouth.

'A message. There is a mysterious object flying over the town of Baesh in the south. It is coming towards us,''

A mystery object? It's not a big dragon, is it?

　The soldier averts his gaze when Rigan asks that back in a low voice.

''Wow, I don't know. It's just that, I'm afraid, if it's a dragon, you won't be able to mistake it for something else...

　When the soldier told him this, Riggan quietly narrowed his eyes and shushed him. A trickle of sweat ran down the soldier's cheek and fell as a drop from under his chin.

　Rigan, who had been silently pondering, looked up and nodded.

'Alright, retreat.'

Ha, ha!

　Turning his back on the answering soldiers, Riggan turned down the back passage and went up the stairs.

　At the top of the stairs, two soldiers were standing there.

'As you wish, sir.'

　As Rigan said that much, one of the soldiers walked quickly down the aisle and stopped in front of a large door.

　A moment after the soldier left, the soldier from before returned.

''Come in.''

　As soon as she heard the words, Riggan moved to the large door. The door was already open, with a woman in a maid's outfit holding one of the double-opened doors with both hands.

''Excuse me.''

　When Rigan said that, he walked in, he saw a large desk in a dimly lit room with thick carpeting, and behind it a man with long white hair.

　He was a man of about sixty years of age, with a face so thin that his cheeks were scraped off. His sunken, slightly drooping eyes reminded me of a skeleton.

　The man, seated in a plush chair with a large back, placed his hands on the desk and looked up.

'What's up?'

　A hoarse voice came from the man's mouth.

''I don't get the point, but we have received a message from the south that a flying object is coming towards us, so I'd like to report it just in case.

The flying object...

　The man's eyes narrowed at Rigan's report.

'....Any idea what it is?

No, not at all.

　The man fished the corners of his mouth up at Riggan's reply.

'Interesting ... you said they're on their way. I'd like to see it.'

　The man told him and stood up, and the maid in the corner of the room noiselessly leaned in close to him.

　The man placed a hand on the maid's shoulder and walked past the desk to Rigan.

　Rigan only moved her eyes and caught a glimpse of the man's left leg.

　The man's left leg was missing from the knee down, and he was wearing what looked like a prosthetic leg with a bar and a loop that wrapped around the leg.

'Where is it now?'

It's above the town of Baesh.

　At Rigan's words, the man silently looked at the large doorway of the doorway.

''Well you're far beyond the borders. It's not as if no one had noticed it before. If that's the case, then you're saying that the messenger couldn't make a difference even if he sent his horse flying and ran.

　Muttering, the man looks at Riggan.

'We'll be in the imperial capital today, or tomorrow at the latest. Probably because it is a flat area with only a well-maintained road from Besh to the imperial capital, the message was sent first. That's fast.'

　When he said that, Rigan's brow wrinkled.

The only way to counter this flying object is with a sorcerer. Even the Mechanical Great Bow can't shoot upwards.''

Gather every slow wizard you can find. Depending on how high they are, they can't do anything anyway.

Ha!

　The man laughed, his shoulders shaking, and grabbed the maid who was supporting herself.

'You still have things I haven't seen ... interesting.

　The man muttered and laughed again.






[Tiki]

　Eira looked around excitedly as I led her to the castle's control room.

''This........I've never seen a room like this before. Is this a room for the study of magic?''

　I manipulated the screen in front of Eira who said that.

　Then the view outside appeared on the screen. While laughing at Eira, who peels her eyes away in surprise, I point the camera to the ground.

　The forest continued for a while beyond the mountains, but it seems that we've come to a plain. The screen shows a grassy plain.

　And as I was explaining about the camera while looking at the screen, something appeared behind the screen.

''It's ... a city.''

　He muttered, and Eira turned her head to the screen.

　Then, she held her hand over her mouth, revealing her confusion.

''........no way, the city of Besh?''

Do you know?

　When I ask, Eira looks at the screen as if devouring it and replies.

'Ta, maybe, but those two big towers are a feature of the city of Baesh...'

　That being said, I looked at the screen and saw large towers on both sides of the city. It's hard to tell how tall the towers are because they are viewed from an angle, but they seem to be quite large.

'Which country is the city of Besh?'

It is a city in the middle of the Blau Empire. It's a great power that is hostile to the kingdom of Atul, where I lived.

　When I said that with an anxious face, Eira looked at me.

　No, I'm not going to drop you off here, okay?

　He looked at an anxious Eira and laughed to reassure her.