Chapter 60: Look Toward The Sky

After some time, the convoy finally reached the Free City. As the group entered the gates, they found that it was far different from what was described.

The homes in the residential area were far different from the setup in the Capital. Instead of many homes being placed next to each other, the ones in the Free City were stacked on top of each other and each floor was accessible via a wooden or metal staircase. It was a decision made by the city’s planners to save space, but it worked very well without appearing very crowded. The streets cutting through the districts were incredibly precise, but that was no surprise seeing as many architects who made their living in the Free City.

A large fountain sat in front of the entrance, with a statue of an empty block in the center and a metal plaque in front of it which read, “Build upon it what you will.” To those residents in the Free City, it was a message encouraging their ambitions. Artists, Musicians, Merchants, no matter who it was the only limit would be themselves in the end. In addition to the warm winds and energetic pedestrians, most buildings were decorated with vibrant cloth, adding more life to the city. The plazas that focused on smaller avenues of trade buzzed with activity as people advertised their goods.

Nearly everyone in the convoy looked at everything with bright eyes, some even decided to take up permanent residence in the city. Though that was easier said than done, obtaining citizenship in the Free City was expensive and usually required a long process of examination. Since the city was neutral to all outside powers, there was a worry on whether other countries would attempt to slip people in to slowly gain influence over the city’s policies. In fact, it had happened on numerous occasions, but they were within the Merchant’s Guild limit of tolerance. If a country were to overstep its boundaries, it would be banned from all areas of trade with the city.

A small group of envoys arrived to greet the convoy. Those who held less important roles such as renewing and establishing trade contracts were separated from the dignitaries who were present for diplomatic roles.

Then there were the Princes and a few elite nobles who were set to attend the summit. They, along with those in their inner circles, would attend the banquet set for the next day. At the time of the banquet, each country would be placed in the same ballroom, giving them a chance to interact before political talks. Of course, everyone would appear calm on the surface while attending, but they would be searching for any weakness they could find.

There was a thing all other countries could agree on which was the fact that the Grenitian Kingdom was the weakest. The Black Pillar, the attack on their military center, monsters running wild within the capital, the destruction of the Western Valley Fortress. It was hard to argue that the Kingdom was stable in the wake of those events.The only way for the Kingdom to gain some ground during the Summit was to either show amazing charisma at the banquet or to win in the Colosseum bout. Since many doubted any gains would be had at the banquet, all hope was placed within the Colosseum. More specifically, all hopes were placed on one candidate, Ira. There weren’t many who witnessed his abilities in combat, but through one way or another, they had heard rumors. They would be beyond disappointed once they found out Ira had no plans to participate.

After some time, the core group had arrived in a newly constructed diplomatic quarter. Each country had separate residences that were quite a distance away from each other to avoid potential conflict. It went without saying that the leaders of each country had separate lodgings from their subordinates. In the center of the semicircle formation of buildings was a magnificent banquet hall. It was clear that the Merchant’s Circle spared no expense in hosting the various countries. Still, without a doubt, the greatest structure was the diplomatic hall that sat in the background. It was that building that would be host to various events that could alter the course of history.

…

After being escorted to their destination and having their arrangements explained, the group split up in preparation for the banquet. Before Ira went to do anything, he would have to first meet with the Fourth Prince. Even though there were soldiers from the Grenitian Kingdom who were to guard the prince, if he wanted to venture into the city, Ira would have to personally escort him.

“Right this way, Sir Ira.” Irving approached Ira to bring him to the Fourth Prince.

Ira silently followed Irving, they navigated the hallways and stairways until they reached the top floor which was designated as the royal quarters. The Princes basically had the entire floor split into four sections each a few dozen feet apart.

Irving knocked and waited until Leonard’s voice resounded, “Enter.” He opened the door for Ira and then waited for him to enter before closing it, leaving Ira and the Fourth Prince alone.

Ira surveyed the room and found that it was filled with expensive things, though that was probably because of the Merchant’s Circle. The Prince was sitting at a desk going through hundreds of documents.

“Ira, I would like to apologize for the altercation that had taken place at the beginning of the trip.” Leonard said as he looked up at Ira with a sincere expression.

“Why’d you call me here?” Ira asked as he took a seat in front of Leonard without asking.

Leonard chuckled before speaking, “I see why my brothers didn’t want to hire you.”

“Yeah? Did you want me to ask for permission, Your Highness?” Ira said in a tone filled with mockery.

It was clear to Leonard that Ira held a dislike for royalty which actually made it beneficial to him.

“There’s no need for that at all. In fact, I quite dislike grandstanding. Feel free to act as you normally would while in this city, not that you needed me to tell you that.” Leonard said with a friendly smile before continuing. “As to why I called you here? Truthfully, I want to get on your good side, Ira. There are some...difficult matters that would become far easier to resolve if I had you as an ally.”

Ira looked at Leonard with a scrutinizing gaze, looking for any hint of a falsehood, but after a few moments, it was obvious he was being genuine.

“What would I get in return?” Ira asked.

“Forgive me if I’m too presumptuous, but you don’t seem like the type that would move for conventional benefits.” Leonard answered.

“Exactly and your Kingdom doesn’t have anything I want, so why would I help?” Ira smiled.

“Hmm...Originally, I wanted to gain your attention by showing you the resources I have at my command, but as you said you probably wouldn’t want it. So I want to show you something instead if you don’t mind?” Leonard figured his original preparations wouldn’t even get Ira to look twice, let alone convince him to become an ally.

“How long is it gonna take?” Ira asked as he stood up. He planned on searching the city for pastries with Avery, though she probably wouldn't be interested in sweets at all.

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“It’s just a short trip to the gates and back.” Leonard smiled.

…

Ira followed Leonard through the streets of the Free City. It was clear that it wasn’t his first time being in the city as he skillfully navigated the streets and quickly arrived at the gates.

“Your Highness, please be more cautious.” Irving spoke as he tried to catch up to them. Along the way, Ira’s appearance had caused numerous gazes to focus on them, making them stand out.

“It’s fine Irving.” Leonard said. Ira didn’t seem to mind the gazes, so he made no plans to find a secluded route.

Ira stayed silent a majority of the way, to him, Leonard was someone to be wary of. The fact that the Prince was regarded as a wastrel but clearly was competent was the biggest sign that he shouldn’t trust him completely. It was also the only sign, Ira had no way of knowing if what Leonard said was true or not. Even if he were to listen out for Leonard’s heartbeat he would find it didn’t change at all. That either meant Leonard was being honest, or he was an incredibly skilled liar.

“Just a few moments, Ira. I guarantee that what you see next will at least get a reaction out of you.” Leonard showed a gold medallion that served as his proof to the guardsmen and stepped outside of the gates.

Ira and Irving did the same before continuing to move a little ways off from the city. There was a large field of tall grass stretching quite far before it reached thick woodlands.

Ira looked at Leonard but only saw him with his head tilted toward the clouds. So Ira looked toward the clouds and even with his extraordinary eyesight he only saw clouds.

“A few minutes more.” Leonard spoke unhurriedly. According to the reports he received, the Tel’vian Empire would be making its entrance around the current time.

“Alright, Prince.” Ira said.

Irving moved to stand next to the Prince and tilted his head toward the clouds. If anyone were to walk past they would think that the three were crazy unless they looked themselves.

“What…” Ira trailed off in a daze as he stared at the sky. The clouds slightly parted and only Ira could see a hulking mass of metal floating from an unimaginable altitude.

Leonard’s eyes widened in surprise as he realized Ira could see something. His knowledge of Ira’s abilities extended only to his strength, his spatial magic, and his ability to teleport. He barely knew anything about Ira’s senses until that moment. Putting his thoughts away, he turned his head toward the sky. The Airship had come into view and although Leonard heard of it, seeing it first hand caused him to be greatly surprised. He peeked over at only to see that Ira had an excited smile on his face.

...

Inside the Free City, the feeling of shock from seeing the huge airship was amplified beyond comparison. A panic almost erupted as the massive 800ft metal object descended and a garrison of hundreds of guards rushed out on horseback. The huge Airship softly landed in the massive field of tall grass, bringing dust clouds with it. After the dust settled, the details of the ship could be seen quite clearly. It was covered in dark blue banners and tapestry depicting a tiger. A cannon was stuck on the front of the airship, but it was far from ordinary. The barrel was so wide that four grown men could stand side by side and still have space. If one were to peer inside they would find that it was completely dark, and the total length of the barrel was close to the size of the ship’s body.

There was a construction on the underside of the Airship that contained the passengers. The doors opened up and deployed a ramp. A pale man dressed in a dark blue uniform, with short blonde hair and a curly mustache stood at the top of the ramp and looked down at the garrison that stood in complete shock. He took a deep breath as if wanting to revel in tension and fear. His identity was the leader of the Tel’vian Empire, High Chancellor Victor Orlov.

“I’m assuming you’re here to escort me?” Victor said as he looked at the hundreds of guards in disdain. He inwardly thought of the mana cannon on the front of the ship. They were still unable to find a balance between its mana consumption and firepower, but it could easily destroy a group of soldiers at its current stage.

Mouths were agape, but the only response Victor received was silence. He waved his hands and a small group of guards came to his side with loud footsteps, waking the Free City soldiers from their trance.

“I’ll...send someone to contact those in charge of welcoming you.” The Soldier in charge said. He finally took his eyes off the airship and sent someone to deliver the message.

He gulped loudly and took a step forward, “May I ask what that...thing is?” The Soldier questioned.

Victor gave a haughty laugh before responding loudly, “It’s the future.”

…

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