Ch.242The Road to Cape Falcata (2)

Year of Extinction 1202, August 2.

Cape Falcata is not far now.

Of course, that’s to be expected since we chose a nearby location to begin with.

As the chief of staff said, having arrived in early August, we now have only thirty-six hours of waiting left.

Though Cape Falcata is just a day away, I can already see the coastline from high in the sky. As the deep blue color of the sea draws closer, my heart begins to pound like a child facing a sandbox.

“Ah… truly. Am I just an inevitable man of the sea? My heart always races when I see the ocean.”

I’ve loved looking at the sea since my time in Parsifal.

The ocean stretching beyond the horizon, and the ships coming and going across it were heralds of adventure.

“Hehehe… That’s probably because deep in your heart, there remains a yearning and curiosity for the unknown. Of course… this old man feels the same…”

I silently nodded at Simon’s words.

The coast is wonderful. Whether watching foam crumble from man-made spires or gazing at coastal rock piles from untouched cliffs, there’s no better landscape to fulfill the soul.

“There. I can see it. Cape Falcata.”

“Quite a bustling place. Honestly, I thought it would be more rural.”

“Try not to say such things when we get down there. You might get beaten up.”

“Oh my. I’ll pass on that.”

From the sky, it looks so close, but in reality, it would take a full day even by airship. I couldn’t even imagine how long it would take to travel on the ground below.

If we hadn’t acquired the Sky Warden, we’d probably be trudging through that forest covered in mud by now.

“Sigh… convenience always wins in the end? Just thinking about going to the ground now gives me a headache.”

“Humans are creatures of adaptation. No need to be so discouraged. It’s not like we obtained our vessel through trickery. And… if we had gone by land, we wouldn’t have enjoyed this scenery either.”

“Well, that’s true.”

I smiled slightly as I looked down at the ground from above the pure white clouds.

The world is beautiful. Some ignorant people say the world is rotten, but how could that be?

The world is simply the world. Saying the forest is beautiful or the quality of trees is good—aren’t these all values assigned by humanity?

Humanity, which arbitrarily assigns meaning and judges the world, is the source of all evil. No one hates the world. There are only those who despise society and rage against humanity’s evil deeds.

That is why I was chosen by the sun.

Am I not the perfect and righteous judge who, despite suffering at human hands, does not resent humanity?

This is truly proof that the sun has not abandoned humanity, and as His apostle, I shall spread His radiance from the heavens above.

Glory to the sun!

*

“Where did the dwarves go?”

“Them? They went to the training grounds to watch the soldiers train.”

“Really?”

I nodded vaguely while looking out the window.

The sun was gradually setting, and in the distant Cape Falcata, human-made lights were already rising.

Like droplets of light forming, the lights flickered one by one before becoming long lines, and those lines layered upon each other to become surfaces, brightly filling the entire Cape Falcata.

“Seeing that, I understand why monsters invade humans. When something shines so brilliantly, anyone would be jealous.”

“That’s why I love the night streets.”

“Were you always this sentimental?”

“Alcohol goes down better at night…”

“Oh, come on.”

It was my mistake to expect sentimentality from that bewitching elf woman.

Well, cities have many watching eyes, so no matter how thick-skinned she is, she’d probably feel self-conscious drinking during the day.

“Is there nothing else? No other reason you like the night streets…”

“Well… there are several things.”

“Oh? Like what?”

Lucia moistened her lips before speaking.

“At night, most people leave their workplaces and return home. But those who can’t bear the heat of the workplace or the chill of home either don’t go home or leave soon after. To enjoy the night streets. Streets filled with starlight and lanterns are filled with the smell of chicken skewers and roast chicken, and the aroma of beer and wine.”

“…So it’s about alcohol.”

“There’s more than that! People forget many things in the night. The hardships of the day blur in the whiteness of vodka… fears of tomorrow are stained in the brown of whiskey… and even frightening nightmares… can be chased away by the scent of brandy.”

“…So it’s alcohol, as I said…”

“…”

When I pressed her, Lucia closed her mouth tightly and covered her ears.

I couldn’t even tell if this woman making such a one-dimensional gesture of not wanting to hear anything I said was an elf or a human. How can I tell when she’s covering her ears!

“How much do you love alcohol that your only memories are of it… Shouldn’t you be recalling memories of playing with your mom and dad at times like this?”

“But my mom and dad were busy! Being politicians and entrepreneurs, where would they find time to play with children!”

“Oh my… Then the reason for your alcoholism seems to be parental neglect… They provided material things but failed to nurture your spirit… How truly sad.”

I sincerely thought so.

Orphan trait) Places great importance on the role of parents.

“What right does an orphan have to criticize other people’s parents?!”

Lucia, having received a personal attack, flapped her arms and retorted, but her opponent was none other than me, Victor Walker, Apostle of the Sun.

“Being an orphan gives me the right. When someone with parents criticizes others’ parents, they ultimately tarnish their own, but I have no parents to tarnish. Hahaha!”

Ah… don’t you know?

This is the privilege of being an orphan… something you people with parents can never have.

If you’re jealous, go home and bury your parents alive.

*

After beating Lucia using my orphan status, thirty-six hours passed, and we finally arrived at Cape Falcata.

The sea lies directly ahead, and the city directly below.

[This is the Falcata Entry Management Bureau. Airship currently approaching, halt immediately and identify yourself.]

Before long, we received communication from the management bureau and stopped, and our communications officers revealed the ship’s name and affiliation.

“This is the Sky Warden. The flagship of the Solar Army led by Lord Victor Walker.”

[Solar…? Anyway. State your purpose.]

“Resupply. Recruitment. And we wish to purchase weapons.”

[Recruitment and weapons purchase… Please wait a moment. We’ll contact the relevant authorities.]

After about 10 minutes, the authorities contacted us again.

[We’ve received permission from the Ministry of Defense. The weapons purchase for the Sky Warden is hereby authorized as of this time.]

“We appreciate your courtesy. Where should we land?”

[Our country has no place for large airships to land. Moor in a suitable location and use shuttle vessels for transportation.]

“Understood.”

Unfortunately, as Cape Falcata wasn’t a very large place, the 230,000-ton Sky Warden had to simply hover without a mooring tower.

It was somewhat pitiful to have to rely on self-propulsion against the wind, but thanks to that, we got to experience descending to the ground via shuttle for the first time.

“This shuttle seems old, but we’re using it for the first time.”

“I bet the other shuttles are the same? We’ve always landed directly on the ground until now, so there was no need to use them…”

Speaking thus, we boarded the shuttle with its luxurious decorations and comfortable furniture.

Soon the pilot who would handle the controls entered, and after glancing at the instrument panel, he seemed unsure and began reading a manual tucked away in a corner.

This guy… a soldier without proper training daring to read a book. He’s no ordinary fellow.

“We’re descending. It might be a bit bumpy, so please be careful.”

The pilot then detached the shuttle from the hangar and descended toward the ground, and following us, the remaining 100 shuttles began to descend from the sky.

“Wow… I think I can already smell the fishy odor. What should I do?”

“You’ll have to endure it… If you really hate it, wear a gas mask.”

“Tsk.”

Ignoring Lucia’s sarcasm, we returned to the ground.

The sensation of sand under my feet after so long… I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d looked at a coastline.

“Simon. Take care of the resupply.”

“Will do.”

[Brigade Commander. Can you hear me?]

[Yes, my lord.]

[I’ll leave the recruitment to you. I’ll go purchase weapons.]

[Understood, my lord.]

“Alright. Let’s split up here, it’s free time. I’m going to purchase weapons, so the rest of you can wander around as you please. Just don’t forget to come back when called.”

“Yay.”

“Brother! Let’s go to the market! There are chemical substances you can get from the coast!”

“I wonder if they have mermaid scales too?”

When I declared free time, my companions scattered in an instant.

I then met with the waiting Falcata Defense Ministry official and discussed the weapons I wanted. The official quickly jotted down my requests and then spread his fingers wide.

“?”

“One week.”

“It takes a week for delivery?”

“Yes. Originally we could shorten it to three days, but you said you wanted training equipment, tactical manuals, spare parts, maintenance tools, and mountains of shells. So you’ll have to wait a week.”

“Hmm…”

I nodded and gave the Defense Ministry 200,000 gold coins.

If they try to cheat us, I’ll erase this Falcata with nuclear artillery shells.