NOVPUBHikari and crew arrived at the edge of the floating city where the flying ships were docked. The ships were like large wooden blimps with propellers at the back, but they hovered in the air with some kind of steam magic.
The airships reminded the elf of some of the steam punk games she'd played. Each of the ships had a metal dock connecting them to the floating city.
Hikari followed several signs and found the one that was heading to Lindle. This one had way less passengers lining up than the others, but the wooden blimp was the same size.
People were filed through a line after checking in at a ticket counter. For Hikari, she'd seen similar scenes from being in the modern world, but it seemed like several people were awe stricken. Those who were travelers had rarely seen such a sight, so they basked in it.
There were also many people staring at the elf. Her wings remained on display, and she could hear the whispers of people talking to each other about them. Her ears twitched and honed in on one of the conversations.
"You don't think those are real, do you?"
"Nah, I've not seen an elf like that. She'd have to be a goddess. I've explored all of the lands, and I've never seen a flying race who looks like that." The man paused and rubbed his beard. "Though, It's possible she really is a goddess."
"Do gods really walk among men?"
"You'd be surprised. Best not to get involved…"
Kurayami wrapped her arms around Hikari's arm. "Master, you don't need to listen to those people."
Hikari grinned before standing on the tips of her toes to kiss Kurayami's forehead. "You don't need to worry about me. I just found it interesting. You should consider their perspective sometimes. It's like when children see a strange person, and they're the first to say something."
Ayase nodded and clung to Hikari's other arm. "That's for sure. Children always have the most brutal tongues because they're so innocent. They've not learned the ways of the world yet, but those are adults. They should really know better."
The elf shook her head. "This world is very different, and even on Earth there were people like this. Cultures are varied. In Japan it was normal for people to mind their own business, but it's not like that everywhere, even on Earth. Also, I might need my arms to buy the tickets."
Syndra stood in front of the group, waving her tail. "There's no need for you to buy them. I've plenty of gold stored up, so this will be nothing."
Mizuko didn't say anything, simply following behind them like a diligent maid. A maid with bat wings that is.
The more that Hikari thought about it, the more strange their group seemed. Though, maybe this is a normal sight in some places? Ultimately she shrugged and followed behind the cat girl. Either way, they arrived at the ticket counter.
"What kind of accommodations are you girls looking for?" The ticket man asked.
Syndra smiled and looked back at Hikari. "Is there a possibility we can all share one large room."
The man followed her eyes and looked at the winged elf. He seemed to make his mind up about something in that moment and nodded. "There is a room large enough to accommodate all of you. The price will be 2 gold coins for all of you."
"Only 2 gold coins?"
"Keep your voice down. Many would kill for this, so I'm doing you a favor."
Syndra pulled the coins out of her inventory and placed them on his desk. "Thanks for the service."
"Don't mention it. Just put a good word in for me if you meet the captain. Though, I'm sure that will happen anyway."
With that, the group walked ahead. They went down a large metal ramp that led towards the entrance of the ship. Hikari got even more excited as they entered the line. She'd flown on these ships in the game, but doing so in reality would surely be vastly different.
There was something freeing about flying around, yet flying in a giant wooden blimp had its own perks too. For one, this thing was the size of a modern stadium. It could easily fit thousands of people. However, there were only vastly less than capacity boarding, which meant that the elf would be able to enjoy the ship in all of its glory.
"Master looks excited. If you wanted to fly around on something, you could have just let me change forms."
"This and that are two very different things, Kurayami. While I do love riding around on you...In more ways than one, this airship is very different. It has rooms and service for us. Think about it, you'll be able to consume skewers while flying around in the sky."
"Oh...that does sound good when you put it like that."
Ayase smiled wryly at the dragon. "Of course, this foodie is only interested in something whenever it involves slabs of meat. I for one am very interested in the magic of the ship. There was nothing really like this in the other world. Even Earth didn't have technology like this. If you think about it, these are way better than airplanes. Those don't even have enough room for Hikari's small legs." She then looked pointedly at Kurayami's large thighs. "Let alone those monsters."
Their banter continued until they arrived at the entrance to the wooden blimp. A man in a more modern looking tuxedo greeted them, only he wasn't human. He was a short dwarven man.
This was the first time Hikari had ever seen a normal dwarf since she'd possessed this body. She remembered the last ones were made of crystals. The elf wasn't sure what she expected, but the man smiled as he saw them. And he spoke plainly without an accent.
"Please, produce your tickets."
Syndra handed him the golden tickets that were clearly different from the rest of the passengers.
Yet it didn't provoke a reaction from him. He stamped them and gestured towards the wooden ramp leading inside. "Your joined room will be on the top floor. I wish safe travels to you."
The group entered the flying ship up the wooden ramp, and only a few more passengers followed. Once they were all inside, the ramp lifted, and closed them off from the docks.
Smooth wood made up the walls, and the floors were polished. Each of the wooden planks were detailed by one of the ship's servants. The hallway they entered was enormous, and there were several paintings on the wall. On closer inspection, Hikari realized they weren't paintings.
They were images taken with some kind of magic, and then they were framed. Each of them was picture realistic and showed scenes of a landscape viewed from above.
One of the servants noticed the group looking around curiously and approached. "Do you require a tour of the ship? Otherwise, I can lead you to your rooms."
"How much is the tour?" Syndra asked.
"That would be complimentary with your tickets."
The cat girl's ears twitched and she looked at the other passengers around. Most of them had already started heading towards their rooms, especially the ones that had likely taken this trip multiple times. Others started roaming the halls and observing everything they could.
Syndra nodded. "Maybe we'll take you up on that tour later, but if you'll show us to our rooms first…"
The servant bowed and gestured with her hand. "Right this way."
Much like the person checking tickets outside, this girl was also a dwarf. In a way, it didn't come as much of a surprise to Hikari. Dwarves were known for their inventions in this world, so a steam ship powered by them was not much of a shock.
They followed the girl through the long winding hallway to the back of the blimp. There they were greeted by stairs. More incredibly, there was an elevator right next to them. It was completely made of wood with a pulley system guiding it to the higher floors.
The dwarven girl led them onto the elevator and pulled a heavy lever with her small body. Though her body was small, Hikari could see that the girl had sizable muscles for her small stature.
When the elevator began climbing, the floor beneath them shook, and steam propelled them upwards slowly. Hikari wondered how the whole thing worked.
Though, she was far less interested in it compared to the witch. The wide eyed Ayase looked around at the system and started taking notes.
There was no door system like traditional elevators. Each floor they passed, they could see inside of. The floors gradually became more extravagant as they climbed. The lower floors were basically the same, but the higher they went, the more each of them seemed to contain.
Eventually, all of the hallways were carpeted, and expensive paintings adorned the wall. There was no doubt in Hikari's mind that all of this would cost as much as a city on its own.
When the elevator finally stopped on their floor, it wasn't a hallway. Rather, it was a single enormous room to greet them.
