Ch.382The Road to Meteor Crater (1)

Having seen everything there was to see in the city of Lorentina, it was time to depart.

Over the past week, the Sky Warden had regained its majestic appearance through the service of technicians and machines, while the soldiers had been able to heal their weary bodies and minds by fully enjoying Lorentina’s advanced culture.

“What a beautiful warship. Truly worthy of the sun’s majesty.”

“Thank you for saying so. It took quite a bit of effort to make it like this. It was originally a small transport vessel.”

“Oh? It wasn’t always like this?”

“No. It took on this form after extensive modifications to a transport ship. In a way, doesn’t the vessel suit Lorentina? It’s not only humans who can become better versions of themselves.”

As Victor spoke, the mayor, who had been quietly listening beside him, burst into laughter and nodded.

Human emotions are truly mysterious things. Even when it would be better to discard something and buy something new, people often become “attached” to their weapons, enhancing and modifying them until they’re worn to the bone.

Family heirlooms passed down as treasures are, objectively speaking, just well-maintained antiques hundreds of years old. Masterpiece watches crafted by artisans may be inferior in performance to factory-made ones, yet they sell for much higher prices—and no one finds this strange.

People consider heirlooms precious objects containing hundreds or thousands of years of history, and they become captivated by the title of “handcrafted by artisans who have honed their skills over a lifetime,” making everyone willing to pay a fortune for them.

“I suppose that means you’ve grown attached to it. Many citizens of Lorentina continue to use and modify the augmentations they’ve had since childhood. It’s like a kind of aged soy sauce. Even if the body becomes machine, isn’t it humanity’s virtue that the soul remains bound to flesh?”

“A virtue, you say. Perhaps you’re right.”

Victor muttered as he examined the Sky Warden.

While he had previously toured the interior, seeing the Sky Warden up close like this, he could only describe it as truly enormous.

Hundreds of ship cannons and anti-aircraft batteries packed tightly together. The menacing high-strength alloy armor plating. The 1,000 shuttles docked on the lower flight deck and ground bombardment batteries. And the missile launchers revealing their presence between the armor plates.

With perhaps some exaggeration, it possessed enough firepower to erase an entire nation without effort. As the mayor had said, it was a vessel with the dignity befitting its role as the flagship of the sun.

“Come to think of it, I believe this is the first time I’ve seen the ship from this close.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Until now, I’ve always… well, it’s hardly seeing it up close when I’ve just been entering and exiting through the main gate or flight deck. This is the first time I’ve taken in the whole view at once.”

“Then commit it to memory. That massive machine is more than worthy of receiving the sun’s blessing.”

“Worthy… indeed it is.”

Without the Sky Warden, it would have taken at least ten years to reach this tenth continent. When traveling by air, there was no need to worry about ground conditions, but moving on land inevitably entangled one in all sorts of situations.

Isn’t this world full of incidents like floods making the ground muddy, landslides blocking paths, or large groups of orcs or trolls migrating through an area?

The existence of an airship that could eliminate such delays had an enormous impact on the Iron Walker Party.

Two hundred thousand people may not sound like much. But imagine that many people marching on foot each time they needed to move to a new location. It wouldn’t be strange if some literally grew old and died during the march.

Moreover, the equipment needed to feed and shelter so many people… the hassle of keeping equipment dry when it rained, and the absolute horror of dealing with heat waves or cold snaps.

Thinking of it that way, the Sky Warden was truly fulfilling its purpose.

From its beginnings as a small transport vessel to its current state as a robust warship, the Sky Warden lived up to its name as the guardian of the skies. It was an excellent vessel serving as both the flagship of the Sun’s Army and the mothership of the Iron Walker Party.

“My lord, all soldiers have boarded the ship. The technicians say we can depart immediately.”

“What about the supplies?”

“All loaded, sir. The interior cleaning has also been completed. Shall we depart?”

“Just a moment.”

After the legion commander finished his report, Victor turned back to the mayor and said:

“It’s time for us to leave. The machines and people of this city have given me great inspiration. A civilization for humanity, was it? Your words have been engraved upon my soul. The day I arrive at Centrum, all will meet with ecstasy under one rule, above and below the thirteen.”

“I’m glad to have been of service to the Sun. Travel safely, Your Majesty.”

“Yes. Now go back to your family. You’ve been by my side for a week; it’s time you were with them.”

“I thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I shall take my leave now.”

Victor nodded, and the mayor bowed respectfully before withdrawing.

*

“Confirming all personnel aboard. Closing the main gate.”

“Checking air pressure… normal. Gradually increasing engine output.”

“Gas cell status normal. No abnormalities in volume expansion.”

“Sky Warden, taking off.”

On the bridge, soldiers were diligently reciting the takeoff procedures aloud as they lifted the ship, while the Iron Walker Party had gathered in the captain’s quarters, listening to the control communications through voice tubes while having a drinking party.

The Blue Hole cocktails and rose cookies were beginning to lose their flavor, so not only the Iron Walker Party but likely the soldiers as well were now opening supply boxes to enjoy the alcohol and snacks.

It might seem strange that alcohol could go bad, but because various fruits were added to enhance the flavor of the cocktails, they could certainly spoil. And the cookies were simply lumps of oil prone to rancidity, with clear limitations even when refrigerated.

“Ah, eating something delicious puts me in a good mood. This city of Lorentina wasn’t particularly known for its cuisine.”

“Well, fine dining is one form of pleasure, but compared to virtual reality games or electronic drugs, it’s probably just a minor indulgence…”

Advanced civilization always demands something in return, and in Lorentina’s case, it was culinary arts.

The food wasn’t terrible to the point of being inedible—it was ordinary fare that could be found anywhere—but should ordinary food be served at a divine table? Surely they hadn’t ordered delivery from some average restaurant. Even with the finest chefs using the best ingredients, the conclusion was that the taste was merely adequate.

Had they not been gods, it might have been a decent enough banquet, but for the Iron Walker Party, whose palates had been refined by receiving diplomatic treatment from various nations as deities, it was difficult to be satisfied.

Perhaps it was only natural that the food quality suffered when many of the citizens were so packed together that one wondered if they even had mouths to eat with.

For born adventurers like them, for whom the pleasure of eating was important, the past week had been quite dull. And as if to compensate for that, even the normally proper Simon was grabbing cookies with both hands, soothing his bored palate.

“It’s fortunate we still have this much left. Blue Hole’s support wasn’t in vain.”

If the citizens of Blue Hole knew that food suited to divine tastes was still being consumed, they would all raise their glasses in celebration.

Just as restaurants often display signs saying “Celebrity ○○○ visited this place,” having the title “Food Recognized by the Gods!” would make even the most frugal person’s eyes light up.

“We have red and blue, but it would be nice if we had green too.”

“Red is for cookies and blue is for alcohol, but what would green be?”

“How about seaweed soup?”

“Green seaweed soup sounds awesome.”

Perhaps beginning to get drunk, the Iron Walker Party exchanged trivial banter and burst into laughter.

As they say, servants resemble their masters. The soldiers too, drunk and with cookie crumbs on their lips, began boasting to their juniors about their specialties and how tough their military life had been.

And once the Sky Warden reached its normal orbit, even the bridge crew turned on the automatic navigation system and rushed to the dining hall, adding fuel to the dying embers of excitement. Thus, the 200,000 people aboard the Sky Warden gained the strength to tour the tenth continent through the power of alcohol and sugar.