"Woah… I can see the clouds! And they're underneath us!" cheered Illuna.
"That cloud looks tasty!" said Shii.
"Mhm… Like cotton candy," agreed Enne.
"Yuki, I wish to be presented with a meal of cotton candy," said Lefi.
"Fine… here."
I grabbed a stick of cotton candy out of my inventory and presented it to the dragon girl as I continued to speak.
"Damn it, Lefi. You're supposed to be an adult. I swear you fit in better with the kids sometimes…"
"Wow, Lefi! I'm so jealous," said Illuna.
"Don't worry, I've got enough for everyone. Come on, line up."
"Yay!" cheered the kids.
I started distributing the sweets as soon as everyone got in line.
Even the wraith girls were given treats, albeit of a different variety. They weren't able to eat normal food, so I fed them the gumball-like orbs of mana that Leila and I had worked together to make.
"Make sure you don't touch anything if your hands are dirty, okay?" chided Nell. "You have to be extra careful since we're not at home."
All kids acknowledged the warning in turn before digging right into their snacks. I had to give it to Nell for operating on the assumption that the kids were going to be getting their hands dirty, regardless of whether they were warned or not. She knew them too well to make that mistake.
We were in one of the rooms that the captain had prepared for us, of which there were two. The rooms weren't exactly spacious given the nature of the craft, but it was furnished nicely. The beds themselves were also nice and fluffy. Must be the VIP suites or something. At least they feel like it. Really is a passenger ship, huh?
"Alright, so that's them taken care of. How's… she doing?" I said, as I turned to Leila.
"She should feel a bit better if we keep casting healing spells on her, but I don't think we'll be able to solve the problem in its entirety," replied the ever-reliable maid, with a bit of an awkward smile.
The sheep-horned demon was in the middle of nursing her coworker, who happened to be lying in one of the beds. Note to self: One shaking boat thing + one rumbling engine = one sick doggo.
"I dunno how y'all can feel right as rain when we're it's wobblin' like this," said Lyuu, with a sickened groan.
The warwolf's lineage was a major contributor to her current state. Apparently, her senses were too sharp for her own good.
"You are in that state because you continue to resist the ship's sway," said Lefi. "Do not be so nervous. Relinquish control to it and you shall recover."
"I know what you're sayin' but it just ain't happenin'…"
"Don't worry, Lyuu! I'll heel you right up!" said the resident healing slime.
"Thanks Shii…" groaned the beastkin.
She seemed like she was in low spirits, so I decided that it was time to step in.
"Alright, Lyuu, how about we go next door and unwind? I think you might feel better if you take a bit of a nap."
"It's okay, Master. You can go 'n have fun with everyone else."
"Hanging out with you doesn't sound too bad either. Alright Lefi, you're in charge while I'm out, 'kay?"
"Very well. I shall accept this responsibility."
I placed one arm behind Lyuu's back and the other underneath her knees and picked her up as one would a princess.
"Sometimes, I think bein' sick might not be too bad after all," she said.
"Maybe, but you'll definitely have more fun if you're feeling better. Anyway, like Lefi said, you're probably just sick because you're too tense. Taking a nap will help you relax."
Placing her down on the bed, I laid down next to her, and coaxed her into a nap.
***
In the meantime, Lefi and the gang were headed to the ship's rear, so that they could look through the observation deck.
"Look, it's a soldier!" she said, as she raised a hand to her brow. "Attention!"
Shii and Enne emulated her and also greeted the men with a military salute. The soldier, who had just happened to be passing by, laughed upon seeing the three girls standing at attention in a line before returning the salute with a smile.
Yuki had taught them that such was standard procedure when greeting a soldier, so they met every single one they had come across with a well-practiced one-count movement.
The other adults had thought that it may not have been the best idea to get in the way of their work, but decided against admonishing the girls upon seeing the way that the Elren troops would always smile, or at least find their cheeks twitching. By all means, they seemed not to mind.
"Oh! I don't think I ever asked, but how did Yuki help these guys out anyway?" asked Illuna.
"It was during our journey to Drakenstead," answered Lefi. "We lent our aid, as they were under assault."
"Mhm." Enne nodded. "There was a big bug party."
"Woooow… a bug party? I wish I could've been there! That sounds really fun!"
"Baaahhhh!"
Shii randomly made a noise akin to that of a sheep before mimicking one, an action that the wraith girls soon began to emulate.
"Wow, that's adorable!" said Nell. "Though I think I have mixed feelings about the… insect party. I'm not quite sure if that's something I'd really like to see."
"Indeed… it is not as adorable as described, for while there were a number of them, it was not an event that I would denote a party," said the dragon. "I remain not as averse to them as Yuki, but even I found the sight a disturbing one."
"Yuki has a bit of an abnormal fear of them," agreed Nell. "He screamed when he accidentally touched a few maggots. I did think it was gross, but certainly not bad enough to give anyone a panic attack."
"Mhm… When we go to the forest, Master always screams if he sees black bugs."
"Indeed. He possesses far too many weaknesses. What say you, Leila? …Leila?"
Lefi nodded before turning around to find a certain familiar demon completely engrossed in everything but the conversation. Her eyes were practically sparkling as she looked around the ship.
"I see… so that's how the contraption's interior functions. Taking the theory to such an extreme, and executing on it in such a practical manner is certainly a feat to be praised. This is certainly no small step forward, I have no doubts that it's a revolutionary idea, an incredible technological advancement to say the least."
"…I suppose this is your own manner of deriving relaxation and joy. I shall refrain from intervention."
After a few minutes of gradually walking through the area, they finally arrived at the deck that was their destination. It was a wide open area with all the walls and a part of the floor made out of glass.
"Woah! I can see so far down! And everything's so clear!" said Illuna.
"Pretty!" cheered Shii.
"Mhm… The view is wonderful," said Enne.
A sea of clouds was spread beneath their feet. Through the gaps, they could see endless fields of green, gently lit by the sun.
They had been able to see the outside even through the room's windows, but being able to see so much provided a completely different impression. The kids were practically stuck to one of the window-walls already.
"So this is what the winged races see on a regular basis. It certainly is a rather thought provoking sight," said Leila.
"O-oh wow… This… might actually be a little frightening," said Nell. "It feels like I'm going to fall."
"Worry not. I shall retrieve you even if it so comes to occur."
"I'd really rather have it not happen in the first place."
Seeing Nell behaving so differently from usual, Lefi couldn't help but let loose a hearty laugh.