The Reelabras mountain range which is located at the south of the world is dividing the three countries. Among them is a small country of Tzino located at the southwest seen from the mountain range. Next is a small country of Azul Kingdom located at the southeast.
And, it seems that the other one is a great country located at the north, it's a country called the Blau Empire.
Ayla seems to have been living in the village of Azul Kingdom, but it seems that the two countries didn't get along. Ayla thinks of Blau as the enemy.
「That country had about the same strength as Azul Kingdom before I was born. However, the current emperor, Emperor Konigs Blau attacked the neighboring small countries, and turned them into a vassal state and allowing the Empire to grow rapidly.」
Hearing her explanation with such emotion, I tilt my head.
「I really thought that you lived in the Royal capital or something, but, Ayla, did you perhaps live in a village close to the border within the empire?」
I asked that as I felt her strong hatred towards Blau Empire, but Ayla looked downwards after avoiding my line of sight.
I wonder if I said something I shouldn't have?
As I became uneasy, I was desperately trying to change the topic of our conversation.
[Emperor Konigs]
That man stood up while leaning against the maid's shoulder and was looking at the sky without rest.
He is the emperor of the Blau Empire, Konigs Blau. Konigs stares far away without any care even when the wind sometimes blows his long white hair which tickles his face, he just keeps looking at the sky silently.
There is a chair placed behind Konigs who is standing on the balcony of the castle and another maid who is supporting his luxurious robe with her hands closely, but Konigs was ignoring all that.
「It's here, it's here…..!」
Shouting that to no one in particular, Konigs lifted his head. The maid puts her strength in her arms to support his body leaning forward.
「O, ooh... what is that...? Certainly, it isn't a dragon …」
While murmuring with 'butsu butsu', Konigs narrowed his eyes.
「What? Impossible, the mountain is floating? No, something seems to be on top of it … …」
Shortly, Riggan shows up leading a large number of people.
「I've called and gathered the magicians.」
Riggan and the magicians looked up at the sky and raised their voices.
「Im, impossible!」
「The, the island is flying?!」
Looking at everyone who raises their surprised voices in unison, Konigs snorted.
「That's too high and beyond our reach. However, I'm curious about what resides up there.」
Saying that, he looks at the man with long ears who is standing right behind Riggan.
「Aifa, choose five people who are good at flight magic.」
「Yes, my lord.」
The man called Aifa turns his back. His long blond hair swings as he does so, and immediately he selects five people with him.
「Aifa will be the lead. I will sit in this chair. The rest of you will follow Aifa, while carrying the chair.」
「Ha, Hah!」
Hearing Konigs' words, the five chosen people replied nervously.
Sitting with 'dokkari' in the chair, the magicians lined up around it.
「Go, fly me now.」
「Please be careful.」
Hearing Konigs is ready to go, Riggan lowered his head and asked him to be careful.
「Hurry up, go.」
Following the instruction, the magicians mutter with 'butsu butsu' and Aifa flew up ahead. As if being pulled by the force, the magicians who stood around Konigs also floated and flew up to the sky together with the chair where Konigs sits.
While sitting and holding onto his chair, Konigs ascended at high speeds as if stretching higher and higher. He raised the edge of his mouth to the scenery of the cloud and trees that look small from above.
However, the magicians' speed drops and they slowly ascend.
Maybe the height is about a thousand meters from the ground. Aifa who was still continuing to rise without dropping his speed noticed their sudden loss of momentum and comes flying back.
「It would be better not to push them too much. The flight magic uses a lot of concentration. If they go beyond their limit, their consumption of magical power will increase and the acceleration will slow down considerably.」
「This is good enough. I can see from here.」
Konigs looks above the sky diagonally, the flying island came into his sight, the castle roof can be seen.
「A flying island...」
「A, a building can be seen.」
「It's a castle.」
Konigs corrected the words said by one of the magicians.
Looking at Konigs' face, which gradually distorts in pleasure, the magician becomes startled.
Konigs's body trembles all over, he laughed loudly as if exploding out.
「HA, HAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAH! How could that happen? An island that dances in the sky, and a castle built on the island... No, it's a Heavenly Castle, huh!?」
After laughing for a while, he looks up at Aifa without hiding his excitement.
「Go as far as you can go! Look at the scenery of the Heavenly Castle and report back to me!」
「Yes, my lord.」
When Aifa replies shortly, he raised his altitude in one go. Taking his eyes off from Aifa and back to the castle, Konigs looks fondly at the island.
「I didn't think my heart will shake so much at this age. What a magnificent figure! Surely, it's an island where God lives, a castle where the God lives!」
Shouting that as he spreads out both his hands, Konigs stares with a look of envy at the Heavenly Castle.
「I want it….. I have to obtain that in exchange for anything...! If I can obtain that, I will not need anything else!」
Saying that, Konigs kept laughing like crazy.
[Aifa]
Flying high to the sky, Aifa raised his altitude safely and has reached almost 200 meters below the island.
Stopping his advance, Aifa opens his eyes wide to the majestic appearance of the island above him.
At the lower part of the island where the rock surface is exposed, a man-made wall and some sort of equipment are visible. There are massive gardens and countless white houses that could be seen above. And, the figure of the splendid castle rising above the hill.
「Do the castle and the castle town flies on their own… ..?」
At the moment when Aifa muttered that dumbfoundedly, something black and small appears one after another from the lower part of the island.
「... What? No way, is this an attack?」
Aifa observed the flying black object for a while, but immediately remembered the emperor who is still below and began to descend at high speed.
「... This is bad. If this is an attack, the empire will not be able to do anything...」
Aifa analyzed the situation calmly, but his expression was grim.