NOVGO.NET Chapter 402
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 402: Higher Than the Clouds (4)
“Woooow…….”
One child looked up at the enormous building with sparkling eyes.
The sleek silver structure glittered dazzlingly beneath the midday sunlight.
“Leo, come over here. There are too many people.”
“Ah! Yes, Mother.”
The child hurried over, grabbed his mother’s hand, and passed through the airport entrance.
“Wow.”
The interior of the airport that filled his vision felt so open it almost cleared his chest.
The reason was the overwhelmingly high ceiling, but even more astonishing was the complete absence of pillars.
“Huh, there aren’t even any pillars, so how does a building this tall not collapse?”
“I heard dwarves designed the structure.”
“I should come back someday just to look around the airport itself. It’s basically a work of art.”
The child listened to the adults talking while continuously taking in the scenery with shining eyes.
Magic-engineering guide boards all around constantly displayed new information, and hundreds of people busily moved throughout the endlessly sprawling terminal.
Short advertisements even played across the massive screens attached to the walls.
Ocean, mountain ranges, deserts.
Every road began with someone’s first step.
The Sky is the Next Road.
Now, it is the sky’s turn.
Soon after, a glamorous woman appeared slicing through the sky and passionately sang in an incredibly high pitch.
Fly all the way to the edge of that sky~
♪~♬~♩
Several passengers stood blankly before the screen, repeatedly watching the advertisement with its addictive rhythm.
“That’s Marin Maria. I heard her appearance fees are insanely expensive these days. Looks like she even filmed an airship commercial.”
“Her tone is seriously…… unreal.”
“I’m definitely going to her solo concert next time.”
The entrepreneur couple holding their child’s hand swallowed dryly as they walked.
They were business owners operating a cosmetics company in Luang, known as the heart of the Eastern Continent, but they could confidently say they had never seen a building like this before.
Unlike the imperial palace, it overwhelmed people from the very moment they stepped inside.
“Dad, it smells nice here.”
“Smells?”
At the child’s sudden words, the man sniffed the air.
There certainly was a scent he had never smelled before, but it was the kind difficult to describe as, ‘It smells exactly like this!’
Because it was a complex fragrance mixed from the unique scent of a brand-new building and the perfumes of countless different people.
“It smells like the excitement of travelers.”
“The excitement of travelers…… that’s a wonderful way to put it.”
The man patted his son’s head and searched through his coat.
“Let’s see. I heard we first have to do something called check-in. Ah, let’s go to that desk over there.”
Guided by an employee, they easily finished checking in and headed toward the inspection area.
Soldiers from the city hall and soldiers bearing the imperial emblem guarded the place.
“Please place all your belongings into that box and set it on top of the inspection platform.”
“Wait a moment. You’re confiscating our belongings?”
“Please don’t worry. We’ll only determine whether dangerous items are present through magical detection and return everything afterward.”
Magical detection?
This machine?
The three of them placed all their belongings into the box and waited.
Their luggage moved along the rail and was thoroughly inspected through devices registered with the 『Scan』 spell.
“Now then, please come over one at a time. We’ll conduct a body inspection.”
“A body inspection? Do we need to take off our clothes?”
“No. Just raise your hands as they are. And please wear this bracelet.”
“What is this?”
“It’s a mana suppression bracelet. For the safety of all passengers, the use of mana by anyone other than authorized personnel is strictly prohibited within the airport. You may return the bracelet at the inspection area of your arrival airport.”
At those words, the man’s eyes widened.
‘They go this far for safety?’
It didn’t matter much to him personally, but for some people, resistance was inevitable.
In fact, someone in another line immediately raised his voice.
“You dare seal my mana? Do you know who I am!?”
“My apologies, but searches and mana restrictions within airport inspection areas were authorized by His Majesty the Emperor himself. Refusal may result in punishment for defying an imperial order in court. If you truly dislike it, submit a request beforehand to the White Tower for limited mana usage permission. After reviewing your reason, approval may be granted if deemed appropriate.”
“H-His Majesty the Emperor? C-Cough.”
In this place, even the authority of nobles holding high-ranking positions in massive cities like Luang meant nothing.
Most passengers who witnessed the scene felt not fear, but relief.
‘If they care this much about safety, nothing dangerous should happen.’
‘Well, if terrorism broke out inside an airship, it’d be horrifying.’
What greeted the passengers after passing through the intense inspection area was a luxurious shopping district.
There, they sold travel supplies and items suitable as gifts.
“W-Wait a second. Why are the prices so cheap? Airport-exclusive discounts?”
“Oh my! I’m going to go look at that coat for just a moment.”
“If you miss the airship because of that…… huh? They even sell fishing rods over there?”
It looked as though the airport itself had been turned into a gigantic shopping mall.
People had to pass by countless stores in order to reach the gate where they would board the airship.
“Huff, we’re already exhausted before even seeing the airship.”
“Seriously.”
The couple finally arrived at the gate and sat down to catch their breath.
At that moment, the child spotted something and ran toward the window.
“Wow! It’s the airship!”
At those words, everyone turned toward the window as if by prior agreement.
“Oh…….”
“Waaah…….”
An enormous ship large enough to leave their jaws hanging slowly moved along the runway toward them.
At its elegant appearance, the hearts of both adults and children alike began pounding.
Because they would soon fly through the sky aboard that very airship.
That same experience was occurring simultaneously all across the continent.
* * *
A spacious room warmly lit by sunlight thanks to its excellent lighting.
A man sipping smooth tea picked up a communication device.
“…….”
The device emitted a brief beep before connecting somewhere.
-It is Owl. Please forgive me for being unable to personally greet the First Finger.
“I shall generously forgive you. How are the preparations proceeding?”
-They are perfectly complete. If you simply give the signal at any time…….
After taking a brief breath, the man beyond the communication device spoke.
-The Imperial Family and the White Tower will realize today that what falls also has wings.
Satisfied by the reliable answer, the man nodded.
“Proceed.”
He looked up at the blue sky outside the window and muttered,
“So that people will never trust the sky again.”
* * *
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
The entrepreneur couple who boarded the airship sat in their seats with their seatbelts already fastened.
The man stared at the walls painted white and muttered,
“Everything’s nice, but it feels more cramped than I expected.”
He turned toward his wife sitting beside him.
“Don’t you think so?”
“It definitely feels a little strange. The interior is dark too.”
There wasn’t a single window inside the airship, making it impossible to see outside at all.
“When I thought of an airship, I imagined something much more open and refreshing…… but apparently not.”
“They said we can move around freely once we take off, so let’s go up to the deck together then.”
Chiiiik!
At that moment, the speakers inside the cabin crackled and the captain’s voice echoed out.
-Attention passengers, the airship will soon take off. Until additional announcements are made, please refrain from unfastening your seatbelts or moving around.
Chiiik.
-Your first flight begins now.
And with those words.
The entire wall of the airship transformed into one seamless pane of glass.
Reflected in everyone’s eyes was a refreshing runway stretching endlessly into the distance.
“O-Oh! It’s moving!”
Woooooong!
The gigantic airship began moving forward alongside a low vibration.
At first, it was slower than expected.
The scenery around them and the airport slowly passed by, to the point it barely seemed different from riding in a carriage.
‘Can something really fly through the sky at this speed?’
‘We did see it ourselves during the White Night Festival…… but is it actually possible?’
‘Surely it won’t crash while taking off, right?’
The mixture of excitement and anxiety shook their hearts only briefly.
The airship gradually began accelerating, naturally pressing the passengers’ bodies against their seats.
“O-Ohhh!”
“Ugh……!”
The airship surpassed 300 kilometers per hour in an instant, giving a sensation of speed far greater than riding in an automobile.
And just as everyone’s hearts began pounding at the fact such a massive ship was moving at terrifying speed—
Thunk!
Alongside a small impact, the sensation of the entire airship lifting spread through them.
A strange feeling of floating accompanied the sensation of their organs, including their hearts, being pulled backward.
The passengers unconsciously gripped the armrests tightly and swallowed hard.
The runway rapidly grew distant, and the airport that had seemed enormous shrank to the size of a palm.
After ascending for quite some time in that state, the airship finally began moving horizontally only after piercing through the clouds.
-Passengers are now free to move around. We wish you a pleasant flight.
At the same time as the announcement, sounds of people finally releasing held breaths echoed throughout the cabin.
“H-Haah! Good heavens.”
“We’re really flying through the sky?”
“No way. Look outside.”
“……That’s the city we lived in?”
“The airship is flying higher than the clouds.”
Soon after, a brief silence spread among everyone without exception.
Buildings that now felt like toys, mountain ranges that once looked so tall, long silver rivers sparkling brilliantly.
The places that had been their entire world only moments ago now felt unbelievably tiny.
“Was our world always that small?”
“Somehow…… I feel like a frog trapped in a well.”
The people lost in their own thoughts began unfastening their seatbelts and standing one by one.
“Let’s go see the deck too!”
The people climbed the stairs in order and stepped onto the deck, only to gasp in surprise.
Because the cleanest air they had ever experienced in their lives filled their lungs.
“Huaaah! It’s refreshing!”
“I-Isn’t it dangerous?”
When several passengers hesitated out of fear and couldn’t come up, those already on the deck shook their heads.
“It’s completely fine. I don’t know the details, but I think there’s magic cast here.”
“In that case…….”
Those who carefully stepped onto the deck continuously let out exclamations of admiration.
A wind blowing at exactly the most pleasant intensity brushed against their faces.
And for the first time, they could finally look down upon the entire world.
“Please do not lean too heavily against the railing. It is dangerous.”
The soldiers on the deck wandered around like safety personnel, protecting the passengers.
While everyone was enjoying a moment of happiness, the captain inside the cockpit was extremely tense.
“Huuuk, huuuk.”
He had practiced countless times for today.
But when he thought about how hundreds of lives depended on him, there was no way he couldn’t be nervous.
The first officer sitting beside him spoke.
“Relax a little. What are you so worried about?”
“……It’s our first flight carrying passengers.”
“Dangerous people get filtered out at the inspection area anyway. The only people capable of using mana on this airship are us, the crew members, and the soldiers.”
The extremely optimistic first officer let out a laugh.
At that very moment—
Beep! Beep!
The airship’s detection magic suddenly began blaring loudly.
“What is it?”
“Wait a moment. I’ll check.”
The first officer hurriedly examined the crystal orb for a moment.
The smile completely vanished from his face as he spoke.
“……Captain, multiple mana reactions are approaching the airship.”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]