Wilfred’s mount was violently shaken by the gusting wind that switched between strong and weak with irregularity.
The clouds floating ahead in the vast blue sky tilted sharply.
“Uwaaahhhhh…!”
Wilfred, wearing brass-colored flight goggles akin to a helmet, felt the pressure of the harness and clung desperately to the broad back of the hippogriff, almost lying flat.
The wind-buffeted hippogriff, however, quickly corrected its posture with a graceful glide.
“Are you alright, bodyguard?”
“I-I-I-I’m fine!”
A seductive female voice came from directly in front of him. It was Asoko, a skyrider from the Khenis Empire, who was tandem-riding the hippogriff with Wilfred.
Wilfred, Catherine, Dairei, and a few escort skyriders had left Saktamburg, heading south on skydogs and hippogriffs brought by the people of the empire. With their speed, no high-speed carriage could catch up, but looking at the scenery flowing far below, Wilfred couldn’t help but fear falling and felt far from alive. His samurai pride sustained him.
“Your body won’t hold up at this rate, bodyguard.”
Dairei’s slightly amused voice came through the magical communication. He was riding a skydog alone since it wasn’t big enough for two. Dairei’s imperial-style helmet, a magical item, allowed direct conversation with those nearby.
“Do all Khenis Empire people do this kind of thing?”
‘I am special, having been accustomed to it.’
“And you, Administrator?”
Next to Wilfred’s hippogriff, Catherine, also wearing matching goggles, was riding with another skyrider.
“I was allowed to ride a hippogriff by a palace knight when I was a child… but that’s all, and maybe I’m naturally unafraid.”
Catherine seemed completely unfazed.
The hippogriff carrying Wilfred and Catherine was calm and used to carrying people, with a skilled rider.
Still, fear was fear, and Wilfred thought it was normal. His samurai pride sustained him.
“If you’re scared, you can cling to me, bodyguard.”
“No, that’s…”
Asoko’s silhouette alone was enticing, and she whispered teasingly. Not heading to a battlefield, she wore light armor, revealing her form.
“A samurai must maintain propriety with ladies…”
“Yes, your companion might get jealous.”
Wilfred felt toyed with. He was paired with this troublesome female skyrider purely for weight distribution. With a long-distance flight, weight was a critical issue, so the lighter Catherine was paired with another heavy-set skyrider.
‘You’ll get used to it in two or three days. We must endure until we reach the Republic of Faraiya, where we’ll take a sea route.’
“Y-yes…”
The Khenis Empire was in a tense state with the Holy Kingdom of Diletta and the Kingdom of Noacurio, making it difficult for Dairei and the escort skyriders to fly over their territories. Therefore, they had to take a large detour south to head east to the empire. Despite the detour, flying was still faster.
The skyfarers pressed south, south, like midday shooting stars.
* * *
Day 3
The group, having entered the Republic of Faraiya, faced their greatest hardship.
“Uwaaah! Whoaaa! Ugh… urghhh!”
Wilfred’s goggles were pounded by rain so heavy he couldn’t see ahead. The wind tossed them like leaves in a storm, and his breakfast churned in his stomach.
“Is this really safe?!”
Wilfred shouted.
Since they knew from the morning that they would be flying through rain, both the riders and the knights were equipped with rain gear, but that didn’t mean they could withstand the wind and rain.
It was a completely amateur judgment, but Wilfred thought that if they continued like this, someone might crash.
“Signs that the weather is worsening further have been observed. Let’s take shelter from the rain in the town ahead. Everyone, descend to the landing path.”
“I-I’m saved…”
When Dairei’s voice echoed in his ears, he felt truly relieved.
As the leading knight tilted diagonally and descended, all the following cavalrymen followed suit and descended.
Through the rain-misted ground, he saw stone walls encircling a group of buildings.
They had luckily arrived close to the town, so it seemed they decided to call it there.
The sky knights headed for a spot far from the town to descend. Flying directly over the town or its vicinity was an act that, even with prior contact and permission, should be avoided as it was akin to drawing a sword in public, especially for military personnel in a foreign country.
The town walls, which looked like small buckets, quickly became towering structures as they approached.
And when he finally set foot on the rain-soaked ground, Wilfred could feel that he was alive.
“Ugh, my shoes are all soggy. Are you okay, Administrator? I’m fine since I have good rain gear, but…”
Despite flying through the heavy rain, Wilfred was mostly unscathed except for his shoes. Instead, he was sweating from wearing the rain gear, which had poor ventilation, in the muggy summer of this republic.
Catherine, dressed in a neat white rain cloak that resembled a robe, showed no signs of fatigue or irritation. He didn’t know how she felt internally, but at least she had the skill to not show it on the surface.
Wilfred thought that this was something akin to the essence of martial arts. Even if one were about to collapse, they must not let the opponent see it, lest they find a gap to exploit.
Being a former noble, she must have learned the art of dealing with people from a young age, even if it wasn’t through swordplay.
“I’m fine, thank you. Um, Wilfred, I’ve been meaning to say this, but I’m no longer an administrator, so calling me ‘Administrator’ is…”
“Uh…sure. How should I call you then?”
“I call you ‘Wilfred-san’, so why don’t you call me ‘Catherine-san’?”
“G-got it…Catherine-san.”
The temperature around Wilfred suddenly rose.
Catherine was no longer “the administrator in charge of him” to Wilfred.
While he could still justify her as the client he was protecting, that was beside the point. Guild staff (since adventurers didn’t necessarily have last names) uniformly called adventurers by their first names, and Catherine had been calling Wilfred by his first name as well. The meaning of that was changing.
Yes, now they were just “Catherine” and “Wilfred” to each other…
“…I apologize for interrupting, but may I have a word?”
“Whoa!”
Dairei called out, sounding exasperated, and Wilfred finally remembered that there were other people around.
“W-what is it?”
“There seems to be something strange about the town.”
“Eh?”
At Dairei’s words, Wilfred looked at the town wall and finally noticed that something was off.
“There are no lights…?”
Despite the dimness caused by the heavy rain, there were no lights visible on the town walls.
During bad weather or at night, town walls would normally have conspicuous lights.
This was to detect approaching monsters early and to signal the town’s location to travelers. However, no lights were visible. Despite being close enough to observe the arrow slits in the walls through the rain, there were no lights to be seen. Additionally, despite being a sizeable town, there were no sentries or gatekeepers in sight. This might just be because Wilfred couldn’t see them from his position, though.
“I have sent my most skilled scout, Asoko, to check the situation. I instructed her to return immediately if there is any danger…”
The female sky knight who had been tandem with Wilfred had disappeared at some point, likely sent to scout the area.
Through the pouring rain, a gate stood, seemingly standing still. The gate was closed. The side gate might be open, but…
The rain continued to fall. If they waited a little longer, Asoko, who had gone to check, might return…
Wilfred kept staring at the gate, thinking that “just a little longer” was betrayed multiple times.
Before they knew it, everyone fell silent.
Before they realized it, too much time had passed to keep waiting while standing.
“Dairei-sama, the rain…”
“It doesn’t seem like it will let up.”
The downpour grew heavier, making even the previously visible scenery blurry.
Even in the warm and muggy summer of the Republic of Faraiya, the weight and cold of the rain gradually sapped their strength.
“I will go.”
Impatient, Wilfred spoke up.
He took a katana bag from the luggage strapped to his hippogriff and fastened it to his waist.
“There’s a high possibility that something unusual is happening, but it doesn’t seem like monsters are roaming around… At worst, if we can secure safety just under the town gate, we can take shelter from the rain.”
“That’s true… Meanwhile, we could try contacting the communication station in the neighboring town. However, we should not stray too far.”
“Stay close enough that you can escape if something happens. Don’t lose sight of me.”
Listening to Dairei’s words, Wilfred had a foolish thought.
He imagined that the moment they lost sight of each other, they would be spirited away to another world, never to meet again.
Through the torrential rain, Wilfred proceeded cautiously.
There were no signs of danger.
That, in itself, was eerie.
—There should be people here. What’s going on?
There were no lights, and as he had feared from a distance, there were no people either.
The gate was closed, but it seemed possible to enter the town from the gate tower’s guardhouse.
However, the gatekeeper who should have been there was absent.
There were no corpses or traces of blood either.
Wilfred turned around after scouting the surroundings. Catherine and Dairei were still there.
When he beckoned lightly, they slowly approached, using the cavalrymen as shields.
“As expected, there is no one here…”
“But maybe we can get a rest here for a while. It might be a bit unpleasant for the Hippogriffs who can’t get in.”
“There is no sign of monsters, but please be as quiet as possible. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Is it okay to light a fire?”
“Then there’s a fireplace there…”
In any case, they needed to dry themselves off first. Having grown up in the snowy north, Wilfred knew well how deadly it could be to stay wet, and even though he understood this was a warmer region, he still felt uneasy.
As Wilfred approached the fireplace in the back of the guardhouse, he noticed a sharp, cold smell.
—This is… the scent of snow? That’s impossible. This is the Republic of Faraiya, and it’s summer.
For Wilfred, it was the scent of his homeland, from which he had once been forced to flee.
It felt like a tightening around his chest.
—The cold, clear winter wind of Ciel-Terra… and the scent of blood…
Whoosh.
A gust of wind blew in, not of summer nor of the southern lands.
Thinking it was impossible, Wilfred opened the door at the back of the guardhouse, through which the cold draft was blowing.
“The rain has stopped…”
“Yes, it seems the rain has indeed stopped.”
Beyond the door was darkness.
It wasn’t the darkness caused by rain clouds blocking the sun, but the darkness of night.
The stone city illuminated by scattered bonfires was covered in thick white makeup. What sparkled and fell in the darkness was snow.
It was nothing but snow.
The northern wind chilled their wet bodies.
The snow-covered stone cityscape looked remarkably similar to Wilfred’s hometown.
On the third day, already within the Republic of Faraiya, the group faced their greatest hardship of the journey.
