"Flight 38 will begin departure in 10 minutes…"
The melodic voice of the loudspeakers echoed throughout the entire port, while the division adjusted themselves as they gazed at the sight before them.
They had reached a place that they had rarely been to, and especially the first for someone like Haruo and Isaac. Although Haruo knew the basic function of a port, experiencing it firsthand was another story.
He had set multiple expectations before his arrival, but one he didn't account for was how calm the altitude was. The familiar soft breeze grazed his skin, feeling no different from the one he would bathe in on the surface of the earth.
Aside from that, the scenery was equally surprising.
Towering structures that easily weighed dozens of tons stood on the port despite lacking the needed foundation. Then, finally, the main spectacle of the whole floating island was its dazzling airships that came and went on multiple docks.
If put into words, it was rather "cozier than I expected."
Haruo mumbled until a sharp pain invaded his abdomen, making him instinctively clutch his stomach while squatting down.
The division, seeing his sudden action, felt slightly taken aback.
"What's wrong with you…?" Tatiana asked.
"Oh! Wait, I know this!" Leo pointed out. "He's probably receiving backlash from the teleporter. Since you know, it uses your own mana to send you up here."
Hearing his words, Tatiana didn't need more details to realize it too. "Do you have a mana disability or something?"
"I'd rather not talk right now…" Haruo glared at the division.
"Okay, so who wants to carry him?" Leo asked. "It's clear that he probably can't reach the entrance like this."
Ena was about to speak until another voice pushed her words back down her throat.
"I'll do it!" Isaac exclaimed, raising his hand to be noticed.
"…" Unable to throw her words out, Ena could only glare at the awkward boy before letting out a scoff and turning to the walking snake. "Why can't you do it?"
"My ability acts up whenever I feel an unfamiliar presence. And since I just met you two, it'll be wise not to interact with you guys that much yet."
"There are way too many things going on with you…" Ena scoffed before crossing her arms.
Before they had realized it, their chatter slowly consumed their time. The many stares of the passersby became as obvious as if they were still below the surface.
Normally, a person would remind them of their objective; however, that same person was currently slumped on Isaac's shoulder, unable to speak or focus at all. Tatiana felt rather disappointed in herself for nearly forgetting their objective, something that was unlike her.
So, as the first to realize their setback, she decided to take Haruo's role for the time being—pointing ahead at the large gate.
While they moved through the crowd, Isaac fixated on the entire island. Dozens of docks seemed to stretch out in every direction with no fences to prevent accidents. He was quite skeptical.
Skeptical enough to ask, "Are you sure we won't fall off?"
"Who said we won't?" Leo replied. "Get too close, and you might actually fall."
"What?!" Isaac exclaimed, striding closer to the division. Before he could say another word, Tatiana interrupted him.
"Don't bother asking. He's just messing with you. At this height, there's no way there isn't a safety protocol. Take a closer look at the edges."
At her advice, Isaac shot a glare at the far end of the floating port; there he saw a kid running along the near edge. His heart spiked immediately.
Seeing the kid about to fall, he prepared to run towards him, but Haruo, who remained slumped on his shoulder, clenched his shirt, ultimately stopping him.
"Just watch," Haruo whispered, his head still paralyzed.
Unable to disobey the slumped man, he reluctantly observed the kid with unease.
Then, with little expectation, a large transparent wall halted the kid from continuing. The wall also seemed to have a strange buoyancy that slowed the kid's sprint.
Soon, the two parents who accompanied the kid quickly made their way to her side. Without batting an eye, they held her hands before calmly continuing towards the entrance.
"See, who would approve an island like this, hundreds of meters above ground, to exist without considering things like that?" Tatiana said.
It was only after this experience that Isaac had the heart to calm himself.
***
After a short while, they had finally made it through the entrance. And likewise, the inside of the port differed vastly from the outside.
Dozens of buildings that exuded thin smoke occupied every corner of the port. Adding to the smoke were the pestering whistles that came from the airships and nearby stands.
And for scent, it was rather stiff.
"Finally… We're only just one step away from leaving the city. The only thing left to do is verify our leave and book a flight."
"Split into two groups…" A hoarse voice sounded from behind, and it was none other than Haruo. "There was no need for all of us to go together to book a flight. Two or three people go, while the rest wait here and rest."
"And I'm guessing you'll be resting?" Leo asked.
"Do I have to say it myself?" Haruo glared. "You three—the siblings and Leo—since you've already been here dozens of times, I'm sure you two know where to book one."
After a few minutes of conversation, they decided to follow Haruo's advice. So, without spending too much time, the two groups scattered from each other at a spot under a grand tree in the center of multiple buildings.
This simple landmark was easy enough for everyone to remember—and also because there were benches around.
"Place me on the bench," Haruo said.
Isaac, hearing his order, immediately sat Haruo down on the bench to rest. As he sat down, Haruo clutched his throbbing head, carefully rubbing it to ease the tension above.
Isaac fidgeted awkwardly as all three of them remained silent.
In contrast to before, when they were first grouped, the atmosphere seemed more suffocating.
'Maybe it was because we had something to prioritize; that awkwardness became foreign…' Isaac thought.
But now that there was no longer a simple goal to focus on, it put quite a chokehold on the three of them—especially during Haruo's crisis. He wanted to strike up a conversation, but the piercing glare in Ena's eyes felt like a brick in his throat.
'Did I do something wrong?' he thought.
Time passed too slowly for its own good. The situation made Isaac feel rather uncomfortable standing between the two people he was grouped with.
Unable to bear it any longer, he made an excuse. "I need to go to the restroom!"
Haruo only hummed at his request, his eyes completely shut, his pale forearm. And with permission, he blitzed away from the duo and directly asked a passerby where the nearest restroom was.
Leaving the two alone.
"Do we really have to accompany them for the next twelve years? They're quite annoying—especially that snake," Ena retorted.
"…"
No words came out of Haruo's mouth.
"You know, it was really annoying cleaning after you and Glasses left me alone in the test, and we didn't even make it to the top ten!"
"…"
Still nothing. The silence was louder than usual. Although Haruo was someone who cheered whenever there was silence, he would never outright ignore them completely without saying a few words as tribute.
And sure, he wasn't a fan of unnecessary chatter, considering he was also ill; it was still very unlike him to do this.
As much as Ena wanted to complain about his lack of participation, seeing him rather tired and pseudo-paralyzed, she held back for the time being. In the end, she could only sigh.
"Semi-pures are usually people obsessed with their own culture, since it's one of their primary reasons for their power—representing their past and nationality at its peak…"
Haruo spoke, his eyes closed, head turned toward the foggy sky. Ena, who had originally turned her head away to spectate the neighbouring buildings, redirected her focus back to Haruo.
"… However, when I first entered your manor, everything already seemed out of character. It was something I originally wanted to ask, but wasn't in a position to. But the crucial question I ultimately wanted to ask was why your father had a foreign name, despite it being an unchangeable aspect of a semi-pure."
Ena contemplated his question carefully, digging into her memories for an answer she could give him. Then it hit her.
"He told me a story once. I was about eight at that time. I asked the same question, and he said that his name derived from a special colleague his father had. That colleague risked his life to save him, and as a tribute to his dying friend, he named his firstborn after him."
"…"
"Of course, my family fought with my grandfather for being unreasonable and risking their standing within the empire. My father… he was raised harshly by my distant relatives, and maybe because of that, he decided that he would abandon those traditions."
"What happened after that?"
"Of course, because of that, the majority of our echelons ridiculed his decision. It was only after he received an honorary title that the matter slowly faded; after that, the ties that should've been passed down to me naturally disappeared…
But that doesn't mean we don't do our traditions from time to time!"
Haruo sighed. With his shaking hand, he subconsciously scratched the back of his head.
"You should be thankful. A house of a semi-pure is no less than hell itself. Everything must be perfect. Otherwise, you'll be regarded as a… failure."
"The hell does it matter now? It'll take more than five decades until I can restore the name of Hyakagures, and that's without considering the reputation. Knowing him, he'll probably tell me to live normally without the burden of that name."
"I see…"
Feeling the solemn mood, Ena decided to change the subject. "Speaking of semi-pures, where is that son of bitch?! He's taken long enough to process everything!"
"You called?" A familiar voice appeared behind them. "It was only less than fifteen minutes. Why so impatient?"
As they expected, it was none other than Leo. And behind him were the siblings and, for some reason, Isaac.
"We ran into him as we returned," Tatiana added.
"The procession should've taken at least half an hour to finish. What happened?" Haruo asked.
Leo twitched slightly. "Well, it seems like we wasted more time than needed. Our flight was already processed by Kilian. The only thing we need to do is go there."
Haruo raised a brow at his sudden eye twitch. "What's wrong with you?"
"Although it was already booked, Kilian didn't bother paying for our flight and return fee. So he felt rather disappointed that he still had to pay for it either way," Tatiana said.
"Didn't we already pay for our flight?" Isaac said.
"That was an exaggeration; that fee was for our luggage and entry into the port," Haruo answered.
Haruo steadily stood up from his seat. The weight that had casually pressed him down the entire time was finally easing, finally allowing him to walk once more.
"Let's go."
***
Upon arrival, Leo kept his eyes on his ticket, then back to their assigned airship before placing it back on the ticket.
"Port 23, PN 3," Leo mumbled.
They had arrived at the correct port and place number. However, their designated airship seemed to differ from the other airships. In all cases, they weren't disappointed; instead, they were surprised.
It was a private airship, a large one at that. While not as large as the other ships, its worth far surpasses that of regular ones.
"You people are the 'Artifact Restoration Division,' right?" A voice resounded at the near edge of the dock beside them.
In unison, they all turned to catch sight of the voice. What met them was a person lying down on a folding chair, his face bathed in sunlight.
Both Ena and Haruo recognized the man in just a glance.
"Yo."
"So, uhm… You are?"
"Ren, I'll be your conductor for this ride, and many more in the future." He said before lifting his eyelid slightly and catching a glimpse of his previous rival, not too long ago.
The situation was rather awkward for Ena, but that didn't mean she had to show it. She kept a stern face directed at her conductor before a quiet hum escaped his lips.
After a few more seconds bathing in the sun, he soon reached out a hand to the division. "Your IDs and tickets for verification."
Following his words, each member walked towards the lying sloth as he quickly took a glance at each one before saying:
"Get on board. We'll leave in ten…"
The division nodded their heads in satisfaction. Of course, Ena was the first to enter the ship, trying to avoid Ren as much as possible, remembering her previous experience.
One after the other, each of them disappeared into the ship. Finally, it was Haruo's turn.
Before setting off, he glanced at the ship's captain, then at the distant buildings hundreds of meters below.
And so, he entered.