Chapter 411 – In the Sky of the Underground City

The next morning… Forset and the others were apparently busy again from the morning, as they had another meeting with the elders planned.

So we decided to go ahead and take care of what we could with Sion and the others. We introduced Lindwurm, Saphir, Corulis, Alpha and the others to Sigritta, and went out gathering in the forest. We were taking care of the things we’d decided during yesterday’s dinner.

Meanwhile, we also handled communications and reports with Termwills using the communication device.

When I immediately brought Lindwurm and the others to Halvaronis… as expected, it was Corulis who got excited. It seemed somewhat restless as it compared the scenery of Halvaronis with Princess Stephania.

“Please don’t break anything,” said Princess Stephania with a wry smile.

Corulis then urged Sion and the others to ride on its back, took off from the high ground that served as the entrance, and began flying leisurely over the underground lake surrounding Halvaronis. A flying mole in an underground city certainly had a strange ring to it.

“This feels somewhat strange,” said Sion.

“Ahaha!”

“…This is quite novel,” the others chimed in, clearly enjoying themselves.

“They said you can take turns having your pictures drawn, so Lindwurm and the others should go ahead too. It must have been cramped inside the Sirius after all. But no hunting in this area, please.”

I wanted to literally let them spread their wings. At my words, Lindwurm and the others nodded and took off one after another from the high ground. Charlotte seemed perfectly content, petting Ramriya who was perched on her shoulder rather than riding any of them.

As Lindwurm and Saphir flew in formation bathed in magical light, and the rare sight of Sion and the others flying through the air on a mole unfolded, the residents of Halvaronis began gathering to watch.

Perhaps Forset had spoken to them, or maybe their wariness toward us had diminished somewhat. Lindwurm and the others crossed paths in the air and performed corkscrew dives where everyone could see them, putting on what looked like an impromptu air show before our eyes. That was probably the result of their training with the Demon-Slaying Knight Order.

I’d told them they could go play… but for the wyverns, this might be what they considered playing. When it comes to wyverns, I get the impression they’re quite social creatures.

Before long, the people of Halvaronis began applauding every time the wyverns performed some aerial stunt.

Corulis was also enjoying itself, waving to the spectators and flying just above the water surface while holding hands with both Sigritta and Marceska with Sion still on its back. As expected, Corulis seemed popular with small children, probably because of its charming nature.

Perhaps drawn by the commotion, Forset and the elders appeared on the upper floors of the Blue Tower, getting excited about the spectacle below.

Hmm… Though it’s impromptu, I’ll add some magical effects. For goodwill and entertainment.

I sent fragments of light and bubbles chasing after the wyverns, created water rings for them to fly through, and lit up the performing wyverns with lights to enhance the show. The people of Halvaronis responded with enthusiastic applause.

“Hmm…”

After the impromptu air show ended… I first had Corulis go to the first floor of the tower, to the large room with the magic array drawn on it.

Sigritta gripped her art supplies and began transferring Corulis’s form onto paper. Meanwhile, Corulis remained quietly seated on the floor.

It seemed to have been instructed by Princess Stephania to move as little as possible until Sigritta finished her work. Using Earth Magic, it had created a chair-like structure to support its back and hips, making itself comfortable for long periods of immobility. As always, it was quite dexterous.

“Can Sigritta only replenish her paintings here?”

“Not at all. Preparing the magic array doesn’t take much time, and she should be able to prepare painted beasts without a magic array too.”

“Sigritta’s paintings become disposable if she can’t return them to her book without a magic array,” explained Sion and Marceska about Sigritta’s paintings.

I see. So drawing within the magic array like this is necessary to fix them in place. Then we should prepare magic arrays in Termwills or inside the Sirius. She could probably draw on the spot to quickly replenish combat forces. For scouting and such, it might be a surprisingly versatile technique.

I’d seen a bit of it earlier, but the previously blank pages in her book had been reasonably filled, with paintings of animals like birds and dogs increasing, so Sigritta’s production speed seemed fairly quick.

…Considering she can procure various monsters, it might work well with labyrinths too.

“…Sion, I plan to do various drawings all day today. I might not be able to move.”

“Understood. Then we’ll go out to help with hunting and gathering.”

That part seemed to be going according to plan. Rosemary, who had been waiting for this, hid her expression with her feather fan and closed her eyes, but the corners of her mouth might have been smiling.

“What will you two do?”

“Shall we go help with gathering too? We haven’t seen much of the forest.”

“That’s right. Since we came all this way. We might get to see various rare things.”

So Princess Stephania and Princess Adriana would join the gathering… and Princess Elham and Auria also seemed planning to go gathering.

“Then we’ll take turns resting and looking after Corulis and the others in town.”

“We’ll leave it to you, Sir Elliot.”

“Yes!”

Elliot saluted properly.

“Okay. Then I’ll guide you,” said Marceska with a carefree, bright smile.

“The roots of those yellow flowers, when washed well and crushed, become painkillers. They say it can also prevent festering.”

“That’s wonderful. So it has analgesic and disinfectant effects,” said Rosemary cheerfully as she used Earth Magic to dig up the flowers without damaging the roots. She seemed to be putting various things like coconuts and mushrooms into her magic bag.

The gathering proceeded quite easily, much like during our exploration of Halvaronis, with a wind field wrapped around us for insect repellent and heatstroke prevention, and Auria’s ability clearing away the undergrowth.

Thanks to the protective charms we received for entering and leaving town, we were also excluded from the effects of the people-repelling barrier. Our sense of direction had returned to normal too, so there was no discomfort and it felt quite easy to be active.

“That blue mushroom over there is edible. It looks flashy but it’s delicious.”

“This one?”

“Yep.”

Marceska seemed to be gathering various things with Sheila. Somehow, I got the impression that after fighting Sheila one-on-one, Marceska had grown attached to her.

“I see, I see. Of course.”

“Here it is. I found it.”

“Then I’ll gather it with Earth Magic.”

Thus Princess Stephania, Princess Adriana, Princess Elham, and Auria were cheerfully gathering while referring to Sion and Marceska’s advice.

“What’s that? It’s an unusually shaped plant.”

“Ah. This is also thanks to the Moon King’s mercy. Since it can be grown outside Halvaronis too, it’s planted here and there inconspicuously.”

Sion answered Grace’s question. I recognized that plant – tough-looking spiky leaves with distinctively shaped fruits. This was… a pineapple.

This too must have been something the Moon King gave them during their exile. It really seemed like he had obtained various crops from many different regions above ground.

“If you cut off the top part and plant it, it will grow… Well, perhaps it would be best to take the whole fruit back with you.”

Sion cut two, three pineapples, which Marlene received.

When handed the pineapples with a beaming expression, Rosemary also smiled.

“Thank you, Marlene… Hmm. This isn’t limited to this fruit, but if it grows in this forest’s climate, Termwills would be too cold. A greenhouse… or we’d need to plant it indoors with temperature control.”

“If we take everything to the Barony of Silun, management would be difficult and space would become tight… Should we build another greenhouse at home?”

They decided to differentiate from the Barony of Silun’s greenhouse by placing medicinal herbs and similar items on the Termwills side rather than ordinary crops.

“That sounds good. Florian and Harvesta would probably be happy,” said Ashley with a happy smile.

“Yes. Florian and the others would definitely be pleased.”

And Florian would be perfect as a greenhouse manager. Rosemary would likely make good use of the greenhouse too, and there’s Harvesta and the others.

We’ll also have to think about rice paddies… but well, that can wait until we return.