Chapter 730: Touring Central City [Bonus - ]

Chapter 730: Touring Central City [Bonus Chapter]

"I’ll keep that under advisement, Cutie." Silas murmured back with his eyes glinting in quiet humor as Morwenna shrunk back.

’C-cutie...?’

Valerius smoothed down the front of his azure silk coat, fixed his belt clasps and tossed his hair back into its usual effortless arrangement then he clapped his hands together with a crack that echoed through the empty chamber.

"Alright, everyone!" His golden eyes swept over the party with boundless theatrical enthusiasm. "The blood is pumping, the warm-up is concluded, and the cobwebs have been beaten out of our systems... Let’s continue the tour!"

Aeliana tilted her head and lifted the small camera Eluned had given her by its leather strap.

"Do you have a plan, Lord Valerius? Central City looks very big."

"Leave the logistics to me, Lady Aeliana!" Valerius declared. "Central City isn’t only bureaucratic posturing and trade disputes... It’s a premier tourist destination for Lords! We have the artisan pavilions, the sculpture gardens of the upper promenade, the sweet-wine cellars of the southern terrace and botanical conservatories that hang right over the cloud sea! I’ll show you the finest sights this city has to offer!"

"Will there be more of that cold berry cream?" Rika asked, blinking at him with earnestness as she stroked the sleeping phoenix at her collar.

Valerius laughed heartily.

"Lady Rika, I promise you, by the time this afternoon is over you’ll have tasted confections so magnificent that ordinary frozen cream will taste like chalk! Now follow me! The grand sights await!"

They made their way back to the heavy brass elevator doors. Valerius swiped his mythril keycard against the reader, and the car chimed open to receive them.

The ride up was loud.

Solenne spent three straight minutes explaining to an amused Valerius how the opposing wind vectors of his Crosswind Weave could be adapted to stabilize the balance cores of high-pressure drills.

She used both hands to show the counter-rotating currents, and her caramel tail wagged against Silas’s leg the whole time.

Morwenna listened with a skeptical smirk and chimed in whenever she liked to point out that any mechanism that couldn’t survive three weeks soaked in salt water was garbage, which sent Solenne into a passionate defense of the waterproofing runes she had etched into the Blessed Titan schematics herself.

Mia busied herself trying to snatch the camera dangling from Aeliana’s wrist.

She jumped at it again and again like a frog. Aeliana, perfectly calm, held the camera high over her head with one hand and lectured her on patience the whole way.

"Grand-Aunt," Aeliana said at last, as Mia leaped at her elbow for the fifth time. "Lady Eluned set this camera herself... If your sugary fingers smudge the lens, I will take away your snacks for the rest of the afternoon."

"Stingy!" Mia crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue. "Aeli is the stingiest niece in all of the realms!"

...But she stopped jumping.

DING!

The elevator reached the ground floor with a soft hydraulic hiss.

The brass doors parted and the party stepped out into the sunlit lobby as the armored clerks behind the quartz counters barely looked up.

They were used to high-ranking Lords coming up from the lower levels with ruffled clothes and glowing mana signatures.

The group pushed through the heavy revolving doors and stepped out of the cool conditioned air onto the sun-drenched flagstones of the avenue.

The afternoon warmth hit them at once, along with the bustling roar of Central City.

The sky overhead was a cloudless azure framed by spires of polished granite and dark basalt as carriages with bronze wheels rattled over the cobbles beside sleek low-slung vehicles whose mana cores hummed with a quiet musical note.

’So cars and carriages exist...?’ Aeliana blinked, she needed to tell the girls in Blessed Land about this.

HONK-HONK!

A sharp polite double tap of a horn sounded from the curb and Silas looked over.

A long black automobile was gliding to a stop beside the raised stone walkway.

It looked like an armored executive coach, with a seamless body of dark obsidian-tinted alloy that gleamed under the sun, razor-thin lines of polished silver running along the wheel wells and door frames, wide tires and windows tinted a deep reflective sapphire.

The unmistakable aegis crest of Sterling Enterprises was embossed in silver on the front grille as the driver’s door opened with a clean well-oiled click.

An older gentleman stepped out in an immaculate dark gray three-piece livery suit with polished silver buttons and spotless white cotton gloves.

His iron-gray hair was parted crisply to the side, his hazel eyes were sharp and attentive, and his posture was so straight that he looked like a retired garrison commander who had traded his saber for an ignition key.

He walked around the front of the vehicle with brisk measured steps and bowed deeply from the waist before Valerius.

"Good afternoon, Lord Valerius," He said in a deep gravelly voice. "I trust your private training session was satisfactory."

Valerius grinned and clapped his hands together. "Sebas! Perfect timing as always! Not a single scratch on the chassis, I see!"

"Naturally, my Lord." Sebas straightened and adjusted the cuffs of his white gloves. "The Second Ring was somewhat congested by a trade convoy from the eastern provinces, but I took the elevated bypass..."

Then he turned his gaze to Silas and the four disguised women behind him.

He showed no hesitation or surprise at their varied colorful appearances as he just inclined his head in a deep respectful greeting.

"My Lord Valerius informed the motor pool of your requirements earlier today," Sebas announced. "I am Sebas... I shall have the privilege of serving as your driver and guide through the premier sectors of Central City for the rest of your excursion. The vehicle is prepared with climate control, chilled refreshments and panoramic shielding for your comfort."

Morwenna eyed the sleek black machine with suspicion and grudging naval appreciation, tapping the toe of her boot against the curb.

"Another black metal box on wheels... Does it handle in a gale, old man?"

’Are you sure you’re supposed to be calling people old?’ Silas thought with a sweatdrop.

Sebas met her stormy gaze without flinching with a faint professional smile touched the corner of his mouth.

"She has dual-stage kinetic dampeners and four independent traction treads, my lady... I assure you, even in a full gale the cabin will not spill a drop of vintage tea."

"Hah! We’ll see about that if the blondie gives you bad directions," Morwenna chuckled, clearly pleased.

Sebas walked to the rear of the vehicle, took hold of the heavy silver handle and swung the wide double doors open.

The inside looked less like a carriage and more like a private salon on wheels.

Deep bench seats of cream-colored leather faced each other across a low walnut table set with crystal carafes of cold water and fruit juice. Soft mana lanterns glowed along the ceiling trim, and wide panoramic windows gave an open view of the streets beyond.

Valerius turned back to Silas, Morwenna, Aeliana, Rika, Solenne and Mia, sweeping an arm toward the open cabin with an enormous triumphant grin.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" His golden eyes sparkled. "Get in!"

The black automobile soon glided across the dark basalt avenues of Central City, its tires eating the road with barely a whisper.

Inside the cabin the heavy dampening wards in the floorboards muted the engine completely as cool scented air drifted from hidden brass vents and carried a trace of mountain mint through the warm afternoon.

Silas sat back against the cream cushions near the middle of the bench and watched the city unfold through the sapphire windows.

To his left Solenne had both hands pressed flat to the glass, her ears angled forward and her tail thumping an eager rhythm on the seat.

Across the walnut table Valerius leaned forward on his elbows with a self-satisfied grin, and Mia had climbed onto the corner seat to sit on her shins and peer over the sill.

"First stop on the grand excursion," Valerius announced, sweeping a hand toward the glass as the car banked onto an ascending ramp. "The high-altitude panorama terraces... Most travelers spend their whole trip down in the commercial flues haggling over scraps so they never look at the horizon."

The car climbed a wide spiral viaduct of white stone that curved around the outer edge of the upper district.

The residential rooftops dropped away beneath them and the dense streets shrank to a map as Sebas finally brought the car to a gentle halt along a broad open-air viewing terrace.

The doors clicked open and the group stepped out into crisp high-altitude wind.

The whole landscape opened in every direction.

There were no giant monuments or ancient towers crowding the overlook, only a sweeping run of white stone balustrades perched right on the edge of the plateau.

Below them, Central City spread out like an intricate circuit board of terracotta tiles, slate roofs and gleaming copper domes, cut through by the bright silver threads of the canals.

Beyond the city limits the land fell away into an endless sea of rolling green basins, jagged mountain crags and distant mist-shrouded valleys where sunlight broke through the clouds in long golden shafts.

"Oh..." Solenne breathed.

The mountain breeze caught her floppy dog ears and made them flutter wildly.

She stepped up to the stone rail, hugging her tool satchel to her chest, her golden eyes wide and shimmering. "It is so vast... From down in the workshops you only see pipes and chimney smoke. I didn’t know the world outside reached this far."

"Mmm," Morwenna muttered, leaning her forearms on the wide stone coping.

Her gray eyes tracked the way the highland currents sheared against the ridges.

"Reminds me of the crow’s nest on a clear run through the northern archipelagos... You see the weather coming two hours before it hits your sails."

’Real air,’ she thought, while the cold wind washed the last of the soap smell out of her hair. ’Toss a man off this ledge and he’d have half a minute to regret his life choices before he reached the rocks.’

She nearly wanted to toss Eluned off of here and see her expression, that thought made her smirk.

Aeliana didn’t waste a second.

She lifted Eluned’s camera and turned the knurled focus ring with slender precise fingers.

Her shortened ears twitched with calm concentration as she brought the viewfinder to her eye.

CLICK-WHIRRR!

The mechanism snapped and hummed as the print crystal fixed the light onto treated parchment.

"Grand-Aunt," Aeliana called, her voice carrying easily over the draft. "Stand next to Lord Valerius and stop fidgeting... The light is good right now."

"Who’s fidgeting?!" Mia squawked.

She hopped up on a low stone bollard and threw both arms in the air, puffing out her chest under the ragged cloak in a ridiculous pose like an aggressive frog about to leap into a pond. "Capture the majestic visage of the ancient conqueror, my Aeli! And get my ears from the heroic angle!"

CLICK-WHIRRR!

’She has the manners of an overgrown swamp nymph,’ Aeliana thought, narrowing her silver-green eyes behind the lens as she wound the roll. ’But her blond hair looks striking against the sky... Lady Eluned will find this amusing.’

"Now Silas!" Mia leaped off the bollard with a light thud and seized his wrist in both hands.

She dragged him toward the edge of the balustrade, planted herself against his waist and hooked an arm through his belt.

"Stand straight, student! Show the world your venerable teacher trained you in magic!"

Valerius stepped in on the other side and threw an arm over Silas’s shoulder with a dazzling aristocratic smile aimed at the brass lens.

"Make sure you catch the embroidery on my lapels, Lady Aeliana! The tailoring in this light is breathtaking!"

Silas couldn’t help laughing as Mia tugged at his jacket to make him stand taller.

"...Aeli, take the picture before Val starts charging us for his profile, He is a noble after all. I’m not sure we can afford it~"

"I am already adjusting the focus," Aeliana said smoothly.

CLICK-WHIRRR!

They spent another twenty minutes walking along the terrace and letting the mountain draft clear their heads.

Rika stood quietly at the edge of the stone and held the sleeping phoenix hatchling up to the sun so the warmth could settle over its downy feathers.

The little bird gave a sleepy contented chirp and puffed a tiny ring of white smoke that vanished in the breeze.

From the panorama terrace Sebas drove them along the upper residential rim to the grand botanical overlooks.

Here the edge of the plateau was lined with huge open-air hanging terraces overflowing with highland flora.

Long violet creepers tumbled down the sheer rock walls and their thick blossoms poured a sweet honeyed scent into the air as terraced pools of crystal mountain runoff cascaded from one stone basin to the next and splashed over moss-covered granite steps.

"Look at those petals!" Solenne gasped, and bolted to a stone basin where wide golden water lilies floated on the surface.

Her tail wagged so hard that it knocked against Silas’s knee with every step.

"Lord Silas, look! The mana in this water is so pure the stems are translucent! You could draw enough conductive sap from three leaves to stabilize a whole sensory array!"

"You see a flower and think about circuit grease, don’t you?" Silas chuckled.

He walked over and set a hand on top of her soft floppy ear to give it an affectionate scratch.

Solenne melted on the spot.

Her eyes drifted half shut, she let out a soft embarrassed squeak and her tail beat a frantic rhythm on the flagstones.

"I... I am an artificer, my Lord! Everything can be improved with proper engineering!"

CLICK-WHIRRR!

Aeliana lowered the camera and nodded in approval. "That is a good candid picture, Solenne... Everyone can see how much you love machines."

"Lady Aeliana! Please don’t show that to anyone else!" Solenne wailed and clapped both hands over her bright red face.

Valerius watched from the promenade steps, leaning on a carved stone post with a broad amused grin.

’Look at them,’ he thought, as Silas laughed with Mia climbing up his back and Morwenna threatening to push a stone urn off the ledge just to hear it smash. ’Everyone’s having fun... what a wonderful day...’

"Alright, tour group!" He clapped his hands with a sharp snap. "The sights on this ide have been properly appreciated and you’ve taken pictures too... I did as well for my status so why don’t we head back into the car before going elsewhere? I know a spot that will test your fortitude..."

"Food?" Morwenna perked up and her gray eyes narrowed with sharp interest. "Real food, or more of those tiny pastries that dissolve before you can chew them...?"

Luxurious food that they served in the hotel was a bit too small for how much they were being sold.

"Real food." Valerius grinned wickedly. "Hot broth, thick noodles and enough spice to make your ears sweat."