บท 65: Welcome to Tidas
"Wow..."
Sebastian looked at the airship in unconcealed awe. He knew that the airship was large enough to carry thousands of people but he didn't realize that it was much, much more.
After all, he had never laid eyes on the airship once. Even royalty seldom used it to travel to other countries as the cost is astronomical.
Simply put, it was a flying ship. But, it didn't look like any wooden ship, it was made of a sleek white. There were wings on the side and there were propellers on the top and back.
The figurehead was a bird-like creature with four legs. A griffin.
The airship was an invention way ahead of its time. Sebastian finally understood why the saying was made.
"Welcome aboard the Griffin, Lord Sol, Lady Luna."
A woman wearing work clothes greeted them with a bow.
"The luggage have been put down where they've been requested. Please follow me to your room."
"Thank you."
Amy was the one to respond since Sebastian was still stunned. She turned back and held Sebastian's hand in attempt to make him follow.
"This is the airship's kitchen. We've a variety of meals from many countries so please name anything that you want to eat so the kitchen can prepare ahead of time. There will be a button in the room to be pressed to call for an assistant. Please relay your preferences to the assistant at least a few hours before the meal."
Though the woman was polite, she also wasn't giving them any special service. Many influential figures had walked on this airship before, she was used to it.
From there, the woman showed them the various parts of the airship and what they had to do if they had any questions.
When they arrived in their room, Sebastian was once again awed. The size, the colors, the ornaments, it was one you'd see in a royal bedroom.
"Will that be all for now?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Then, once again, welcome to the Griffin. We thank you for using our services."
The woman bowed and left the room accompanied by the couple of servants that were with Amy and Sebastian. The servants were going to stay in a different place that was accessible but couldn't be seen from the master bedroom.
Shortly after, the two of them felt some small tremors and muffled sounds. The airship was launching.
"Then, I'll go first—"
"Wait."
Sebastian was about to step out of the room to explore but was stopped.
"What is it?"
"Where do you plan on going?"
"I'm going to explore the ship for a little bit. Not like we have anything to do. Want to come with me?"
"..."
Amy wordlessly took one of the bags they had packed and took out a stack of books.
"Nothing to do, I see. It will take approximately five days for us to travel from here to the capital of Tidas. Please, remind me of what we're supposed to be doing over there."
"...Be exchange students."
"I see. And, what do students do?"
"Study..."
"Then, what are you going to do?"
"I was going to study..."
Sebastian gave up and laid down on the bed after taking a book. It wasn't a book commonly used in Aurora Academy, it was one for Tidas.
"It's fine if you only read the first three chapters of each book for now. Once you finish, I'll accompany you outside too."
"Yaaay..."
Sebastian gave a lackluster response. He liked books a lot, but needing to read academic books and reading them by leisure were different.
So far, he had been interested in all of their contents and read them. It was the path that led him to become a top scorer.
After reading two pages, Sebastian blinked twice. Then, he skipped pages until he reached the next chapter and then the next.
After he looked over the third chapter, Sebastian's expression became strange.
"Is something wrong?"
Amy was still arranging some of their luggage and saw Sebastian blankly staring into the book.
"Uhh... I've read this book before. No, I've already finished this several times."
Sebastian stood up and looked over at the covers of the books. He didn't take a good look at them but now that he looked closely, they were all very familiar. He took one book, skimmed it, and then closed it.
Sebastian repeated it until he looked at each book at least once.
"Mmm..."
Sebastian didn't know what to say and neither did Amy.
Amy took a random book and went to a random page, "what's Lua's theory about the origin of『Inheritors』?"
"That 『Inheritors』 weren't granted powers by a God at all. His theory states that 『Primogenitors』 dwelled in witchcraft and alchemy. Because of several variables, witchcraft and alchemy were fused together and used by 『Primogenitors』 and inherited by their offspring.
"He was considered absolutely crazy."
Amy dropped the book and picked up another—repeating the same movements as before.
"...then, what was the reason for the Tower of Tidas' construction despite the famine during those times?"
"It was believed by the king during the time, that the famine that was occurring due to the plague, was a trial sent down by the God who had created the 『Primogenitors』 and the tower was built to challenge said God."
"...plague?"
"If you turn a few pages, you should be able to find it."
Amy did as she was told and sure enough, a plague was the cause of the famine.
Not giving up, Amy took a few more books and the pattern repeated itself. Sebastian even added information that wasn't written in any of the books.
"Haa... I give up."
Amy sat beside Sebastian on the bed and kissed his forehead.
"A reward for my genius."
"..."
'Am I your kid?'
Sebastian wanted to retort but held himself back. He enjoyed the reward anyway.
"Well, I'll go and look around now. You coming?"
"I still have some things to do. Before you leave, what do you want to eat?"
It was morning but they had already eaten breakfast. It was about three hours before lunchtime.
"Then, I want something meaty and foreign, I guess?"
"Alright, I'll take care of it. Don't cause any trouble!"
"I won't..."
Just like that, Sebastian was sent off with a bit of distrust.
Though Sebastian said he was going to look around, the attendant earlier had already showed them around. He just wanted to take in the sight as he would most likely only ride the airship twice in his life.
Amazingly, there wasn't a single employee in sight. When he peeked into the kitchen, he saw the chefs working with their helpers but other than that, it was completely barren.
"...a hot bath?"
"Yes, sir. This bath is at just the right temperature for anyone to feel their fatigue disappear."
Sebastian looked at the entrances. Men's side, and women's side.
Perhaps reading his thoughts, the attendant smiled and spoke.
"Since Lord Sol is the only person here along with Lady Luna attending formally, then it's possible for you two to share the bath."
It was a good opportunity, or so Sebastian thought. Unfortunately for him, he was immediately denied as soon as he spoke to Amy about it.
...
"..."
They had arrived a day ahead of schedule. The airship truly was fast.
Sebastian took in the sight from the sides of the Griffin.
If he had to use one word to describe it, he would say 'blue'. Even at a distance, all he could see was the color blue.
"Tidas is a country that rely on sea trades and fishing. The number of 『Inheritors』 that have water-related abilities are also the majority."
Amy explained from beside him.
"So that's why they're blue?"
"Blue is their national color for good luck. It's rare to see other colors plastered around their structures."
Of course, the plants and trees were still green. The buildings were a mix of light blue, white, and pastel. It looked normal when looked at from the ground but in the sky, it looked like a giant berry.
When they got close enough, Amy pulled on his sleeve and pointed to one of the large buildings.
"That's one of the churches. They control a good number of healers in the entire country."
It wasn't to say that Aurora didn't have a church. It was that although there were churches that worshipped the God of 『Inheritors』, they didn't have any major influence on the country.
Amy continued pointing at various buildings while telling Sebastian about them. Whenever she saw something that would catch his attention, she would pull on his glove or his sleeve.
"So cute..."
"?"
Amy raised her brow in confusion. Which of the buildings were cute?
Of course, Sebastian was talking about Amy's gesture. Pulling on his sleeve like that made it seem like she was a very timid girl.
When they landed, there was a crowd building up around the airship. It was rare for the airship to arrive and it naturally caught the attention of everyone.
Sebastian stepped down first and held Amy's hand all the way down. He was guiding her though it wasn't very necessary as she could jump even if it was in the sky and land safely.
The two servants that had accompanied them followed behind them.
"Welcome to Tidas," the woman who had first appeared to guide them on board was also the first to greet them when they got off.
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