Published: September 9, 2025
※Correction of typos made on 6/2.
This is Satou. I love the fields of blue lotus flowers that bloom just before the rice planting season begins. In my hometown, we planted edamame instead of blue lotus, so I’ve only ever seen such elegant scenery through train windows.
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“Wow, this is amazing.”
“So beautiful.”
“A field~?”
“There are lots of tiny blue flowers, so many of them!”
I heard the view after crossing the difficult terrain was incredible, so I brought everyone to the observation deck.
As expected, it was crowded, but the younger ones in our group slipped through gaps and under people’s legs to reach the window.
“Hey there, Sir Pendragon. We’ve had our fill, so we’ll take a break now.”
“Let these young ladies see it too. It’s a rare sight.”
The male explorers who helped with dance practice yesterday made room for us.
I thanked them and let Lulu and the others move forward.
“This is amazing.”
“So beautiful. Is that a grassland?”
“I’d guess it’s farmland. That vast blue is the blue lotus flowers, according to reports.”
“Pretty~”
“Wow!”
Liza and Nana remained calm, but the others voiced their amazement at the view. Even Crow, unusually, had a childlike, innocent reaction.
The vast expanse visible from the airship was covered entirely in blue flowers.
Of course, there were scattered forests and villages, but they only served as decorations on the carpet of blue.
This scene stretches all the way to the Royal Capital. I knew this was the kingdom’s largest granary region, but I hadn’t realized how different it would look with the flowers in bloom.
When I first flashstrided over it, the land was brown and fallow, so it’s even more striking now.
As if for effect, a band on the stage by the wall of the observation room began playing a solemn tune.
We listened to the music and enjoyed this breathtaking view that could only be seen at this time of year.
Before I knew it, dreamy Lulu had leaned her head on my arm.
Miss Karina and her guard maid were busy struggling to dress Karina, so they weren’t here.
This scenery will last a while, so there’s no risk of missing it.
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“Shiny~?”
While quenching our thirst in the observation room’s café corner, Tama murmured something like that.
“Is something wrong?”
“Over there, it was ‘shiny’~!”
I looked where Tama pointed, but there was only the stabilizer wing and the large magic power engine for propulsion extending from the hull.
It could have just been a reflection, but it bothered me that Tama was the one who said it.
I checked the map in the direction Tama pointed.
Several magicians and technicians were stationed at the large magic power engine, but that was as usual.
What wasn’t usual was the narrow passage inside the stabilizer wing.
— For some reason, there was a retainer of Duke Bistal there.
“This time, it flashed over there!”
“Master, I saw it too. It might just be a coincidence, but I sense a troubling atmosphere.”
Not only Tama but also Pochi and Liza had noticed it this time.
Though their directions were completely different.
The two were looking toward the airship’s forward direction.
I checked the direction the beast girls pointed to on the map.
The other girls who were with them didn’t see anything and shaded their eyes with their hands as they peered out the window.
The windows of this ship are transparent like glass, but made of a mysterious translucent material from monster materials, so even I don’t fully understand their composition.
It’s not suitable for armor, but it’s surprisingly durable and doesn’t create sharp shards when broken, so we chose it for building the airship.
Where the beast girls pointed stood a building that looked like a cross between a French château and a fortress.
Checking the details revealed it was Lord Lloyd’s Hunting Lodge. Seeing his name reminded me of the tempura we ate together in the Duke's Capital.
Oh, but more than that, something strange was going on.
It’s odd that there’s a hunting lodge right in the middle of the rural area, but what’s stranger is who’s staying there.