Leave a comment

“Ugghh…” Seletina woke up, feeling a bit groggy but with a clearer head than before. She blinked her lashes to clear her vision and found Vivicy’s flushed face in front of her.

“Whoa?!” Unexpectedly, a voice escaped her lips.

Startled, Vivicy recoiled with a cry that bordered on a scream.

“W-What’s wrong?!” Seletina’s eyes opened wide and she rushed over to Vivicy.

However, Vivicy didn’t accept the offered hand. She simply turned her flabbergasted, flushed face away.

“I-… It’s nothing!!!”
“……”

Vivicy’s slightly exaggerated denial couldn’t help but make Seletina curious, but the truth of the matter wasn’t hers to know.

As Vivicy quickly stood up, Seletina had no choice but to retract her outstretched hand.

“Are you hurt?” Seletina asked.
“I-I-I’m fine!”
“I see. Well, I’m relieved it’s nothing serious… Although your reaction sure was quite shocking.”

Seletina said with a smile, though Vivicy still couldn’t bring herself to face her.

◇◇◇

Afterward, Seletina left Elva’s Floating Ship with Vivicy.

As mentioned earlier, Seletina suggested that she could assist with some of the loading and unloading work.

Vivicy, naturally, insisted that Seletina didn’t have to do anything, but Seletina was a loyal person. Feeling responsible for the trouble caused earlier, she insisted on helping in some capacity.

As they made their way, a sense of unease crept over Seletina.

(Did I do something?)

It was a kind of anxiety that was difficult to describe.

The distance between Seletina and Vivicy, walking beside her, felt somehow distant. Moreover, every time Seletina attempted to engage her, Vivicy responded with a fearful or impatient gesture.

Seletina couldn’t help but wonder why Vivicy seemed to adopt a defensive posture whenever she tried to communicate, like a turtle retracting into its shell.

(I don’t get women… But then again, I’m a woman too now…)

Seletina mused silently as she ran her hand through her shortened hair.

(Do I smell?)

She pondered, releasing a small sigh. On the other hand, Vivicy wasn’t herself at all.
After all, the handsome man she had just shared a brief moment with was walking beside her.

(I can’t wrap my head around this…)

She admitted silently to herself. Vivicy was fully aware of her continued rudeness, but she couldn’t seem to change her demeanor. All she could do was try to somehow mend the situation.

Attempting to engage in conversation, she found herself overwhelmed by the sweet aroma emanating from Tieck, which caused her face to flush and rendered her unable to move or speak.

Vivicy’s mind went blank as they walked along the road.

However, when she finally noticed that, she seemed relieved to have finally found a topic of conversation.

“Sir Tieck! Look over there! It’s the ship!”

In the distance, the imposing silhouette of the Imitia ship became visible, its majesty felt even from afar.

◇◇◇

The Victoria.

The immense airship, rumored to have been hewn from a single colossal tree sourced from the elven forest of Algroo, loomed so large that it seemed to dominate the sky.

At first glance, the ship’s pristine white hull appeared to wash away any impurities, but upon closer inspection, one could discern numerous fine scratches, a testament to the vessel’s resilience and the challenges it had faced on its journey thus far.

Originally intended to serve as a fishing boat for the Gigantians, the ship appeared absurdly oversized from the perspective of the human race. It could accommodate so many people that it could easily house two or three entire small towns.

Embedded along the side of this massive hull were a series of enormous, gleaming jewels. They were so sizable that twenty adults could encircle them by holding hands. The jewels, known as Flying Jewels were integral to The Victoria functioning as an airship.

Even now, their power was evident as the ship’s fluffy hull lifted off the ground, gracefully drifting through the sky. The jewels emitted a soft, pale green light as they slumbered, contributing to the ship’s ethereal atmosphere.

Above all, attention was drawn to the ship’s bow. Tethered to reins thicker than the trunk of a large tree were two dragons.

The black rugged Godala, and the white, elegant Somme. Both dragons were currently asleep, their beautifully crafted scales covering every inch of their bodies, imbuing them with a lifelike appearance.

Somme slept peacefully, while Godala’s snoring reverberated like the rumbling of the earth.

Seletina gazed up at the ship and narrowed her eyes. Nothing had changed—not the ship she hadn’t seen in fourteen years, nor Somme and Godala.

A sense of inhuman warmth flooded Seletina’s heart as she realized that, like Imitia, these two remained unchanged. The ship wasn’t just big, it looked like a full blown mountain.

Seletina was escorted to the side of the ship’s bottom and, as was customary, received a warm but painful welcome from the women of the caravan.