{1}
'Did night shift last night, catching up on my sleep. Come again later. — Sheltis'
Stuck on the door was a piece of note written in messy handwriting.
The furniture in his room consist of only a bed, table, chair, and a dresser. To put it nicely, it was neat and refreshing; to put it bluntly, it lacked any features worthy of mentioning. In a corner of such a room-
A teenage boy was snoozing in regulated breaths.
His slender arms are a little too slim for a guy, and his face looks slightly androgynous. The slightly purplish tea-red colored hair is not neat, and gives off the impression that it was casually snipped. From his height, his age is probably somewhere around sixteen or seventeen. However, he does look one or two years younger, from the way he was sleeping.
"Fu......"
It was not known if that was him sleep-taking, or simply him breathing.
Next to the bed he was sleeping on, was a folded apron hanging on the back of his chair. On the floor was a piece of paper that had fallen down, on which was written 'Duty timetable, Sheltis'.
He had forgotten to switch off the light on the ceiling, under its illumination, only the clock next to the pillow was moving along with time. Just then-
"Shel-nii, Shel-nii!"
The door of the room opened suddenly, and a young girl peeked her head inside from the corridor.
She is a young and innocent girl roughly of the age of five to six, with a pair of eyes that is filled with happiness. Her shiny smooth black hair is tied to the back in twin tails, and there is a sky-blue scarf lightly wrapped around her neck. Her looks gives one a rather lasting impression.
After staring around the room, the girl suddenly locked her sight. The place she was looking at, was the teenage boy who was still sound asleep. After looking at that scene for some time-
"...... Ah!"
The young girl clapped her hands with a mischievous smile, and rushed into the tiny room.
"Shel-nii, Shel-nii—"
She ran towards the chair next to the bed, and used it as a platform to make a jump.
Next.
"Shel-nii, time. To. Wake. Up——!"
"-Ugh?"
A dull thud.
The young girl's jump kick landed directly on the teenage boy's head.
"...... Girls are not allowed to do jump kicks."
Grabbing onto his painful head, Sheltis lifted himself out of the bed.
"Waa- this bed is awesome. The body will actually sink down?"
"That is because the bed has a memory foam material beneath it...... Wait, Yuto? Are you listening to me?"
"Eh- But....."
The young girl named 'Yuto' stopped jumping on the bed, and lifted her head to look upwards.
"Eyri-nee said that if I do that, you will definitely wake up."
"...... I woke up in a shock. In my dream just now, the fine meadow was suddenly dyed blood-red."
"But, Shel-nii has finally woke up. Let us hurry to the plaza! Eyri-nee asked Shel-nii to go there quickly."
With his sleeves tugged endlessly, Sheltis climbed out of his bed unwillingly.
"The plaza? She's doing experiments again?"
"Mmm, the usual! Hurry hurry!"
Yuto waved her arms and urged on.
"Really, Eyriey just loves to bring me trouble......"
He took a short jacket and hung it on his shoulder. His white shirt and black shorts were what he was wearing while he was sleeping.
...... Really, there went his rest time, which was hard to come by.
After putting the fallen timetable back onto the table, Sheltis left the lounge.
Outdoor cafe 'The Two Swans <Albireo>' is located on the main street of the Second Residential Sector.
The so called 'cafe' was actually just a front, as the red tea served taste rather typical. It's a rather strange shop, as it is their hand-made cakes and the ever-changing daily set meals that are more popular with the customers.
"Chef, are you busy?"
After instructing Yuto to wait outside, Sheltis opened the backdoor of the kitchen. Together with the sounds of the automatic dishwashers working busily, came a certain scent of red tea.
"Ara, Sheltis, are you here to volunteer your help?"
In the kitchen which was rather relaxed due to being after-lunch hours, a lady with golden-hair tied up high on her head turned her head towards Sheltis.
Even then, the knife in her hand continued chopping the vegetables.
"How can that be? Oh right, can I go out for a while? Eyriey said that she will be doing some new machine testing in the plaza again."
"That's not good. If you don't go there quickly, someone will be suffering yet again. Since the machine will be out of control anyway."
The chef placed the knife on the chopping board, then crossed her arms while giving a troubled expression. Despite her being the shopkeeper of the cafe, due to her own personal interest, she preferred others to call her chef.
"Remember to come back before the break is over. The shop is lacking in manpower."
"...... You are already that busy, and yet you have time to try out new combinations?"
While watching the back of Chef, Sheltis sighed.
The kitchen was stacked with all sorts of ingredients. For the past two years being the errand-boy of the shop, Sheltis had never seen a single day with the same combination of ingredients that had been used before.
"It is not a new combination, but a 'new dish'. Fufu, please look forward to it."
Without shifting her sight, her hands began cutting the decorative fruits. In actual fact, a majority of the customers love her dishes, so that could not be helped.
"Then again, chef. What's for dinner?"
"Mumu-shellfish's Piping Hot Steak, and Jirususu-plant's Shrieking Condensed Soup."
"Putting the names of the dishes aside, ain't those ingredients a little too disgusting?"
Those huge pink spiral shells on the chopping board were Mumu-shellfish, while the bright red plants with spikes on their stems were probably Jirususu-plant.
"Ara, you can't judge a book by its cover. They are all really tasty."
Chef covered her mouth and laughed.
"Mumu-shellfish and Jirususu-plant both contain lethal poison...... but on the account of that they are cheap."
"Chef-! Did you just say something?"
"Don't worry, I have cleared all toxins cleanly. They are absolutely safe."
"...... That dangerous smile of yours is hardly convincing."
"Also, it does not matter since the one to test for the poison is you, Sheltis."
"Me?"
Sheltis took a step back in shock. Just then, Chef had already turned her eyes towards the pot in front of her.
"Alright, stop talking about such silly stuff. Hurry up and get Eyriey back. I cannot handle everything without the help from you both."
"And here I go...... before I am forced to test for any poison."
Bidding goodbye to Chef, who was waving her hands, Sheltis left the kitchen.
{2}
—The winds were very comfortable.
A gust of wind rustled his tea-red hair, as though it was trying to give him a push from behind.
"...... Has it been two years since I have came to the living sector, away from Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>?"
Sheltis, who was standing at the side of the main street with a sense of loss, lifted his head up.
The cotton-like clouds were blown into pieces by the blowing winds, then they each flew in their own directions. Regardless of rain or shine, or even snow, there was never a single day where the streets do not have winds blowing.
That is the trait of the city- no, the continent where all humans live in.
Floating continent - Orbie Clar.
That is the name of the continent beneath their feet, and at the same time, the name of the world.
The continent floating in the skies ten-thousand meters above the everlasting frozen seas - that is what Orbie Clar, the only land where humans can live on.
No one knows how, or why, the continent floats in the sky. However, according to legends, this continent has been floating above the frozen world ever since a thousand years ago.
Since history has begun to be recorded down, humans has always been living on this piece of floating continent.
Countless floating islands around Orbie Clar have huge windmills installed on them, to harness on the endless wind energy to produce electricity.
The electricity will then be sent to Orbie Clar via electric cables from the island to the main continent.
Thus, the civilization has naturally moved itself towards the age of machinery. The bikes and cars travelling along the roads are mostly electric-powered floating vehicles, that moves while floating a few centimeters above the ground. Lifting his head towards the sky, one can see the streamlined aircraft gliding through the sky gracefully.
"...... Right, where did Yuto go?"
Hearing the sounds of footsteps behind him, Sheltis turned to his back, and saw a young girl running towards him in stumbling steps.
"Shel-nii, are you ready?"
"Mmmm, we can leave now."
Yuto firmly attached herself to Sheltis the moment he nodded.
"Shel-nii, I want that!"
The young girl was hopping about, while stretching her arms out at the same time. What did she mean? She wished to walk while holding hands at the same time? Just when Sheltis was about to ask, Yuto lifted her head and smiled.
"Yuto wants a ride."
"Ah- I see."
He knelt down, placed the girl onto his shoulders, then stood up once again.
"Waa- this is high! I am taller than Shel-nii!"
"W-Wait Yuto! Don't move about, or I can't stand steadily."
After calming down the excited girl on his shoulders, Sheltis began to walk towards the northern end of the main street.
The roads on the floating continent are nearly all paved with light greyish-green bricks. It is said that the surface, which shines in a bright silver under the rays of the sun, is being regulated by some thermostat, which gives it the ability to maintain a comfortable temperature despite the seasonal changes.
"Shel-nii, look behind you. The weather is great, and we can see the tower clearly!"
"Hmm......?"
Hearing Yuto's words, he turned his body backwards.
At a considerable distance apart from the Second Residential Sector, in the center of the floating continent-
Stood a huge white tower that goes into the into the sky.
Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>.
Built in the center of the Orbie Clar, it is the largest structure on the continent.
It is two thousand meters tall, with a total of two hundred and ninety one stories. It is a tower that stretches past the heights of the birds and the clouds, extending straight towards the skies.
"Yuto still remembers what Shel-nii had said to me. Queen-sama is at the highest story of the tower, while the level below are the five Priestess-sama!"
The Queen and the five Priestess. There is not one who lives in Orbie Clar that does not know them. That toweringTenketsu Palace <Sophia>, is a tower built specially for them.
That's right. That is because they are in charge of the 'barriers' which protects this floating continent-
"Mmm......"
"Eh? Shel-nii hates that tower? Yuto likes it a lot - its glittering look is really pretty."
"I don't hate it...... It's just that I had strong memories of there."
—Ymy, how are you doing?
Under the glaring sunlight, Sheltis narrowed his eyes and looked at the peak of the tower.
—Ever since I have came to the living sector, I understand even more strongly about the fact that humans can only live such a peaceful life on the floating continents due to the relentless hard work of Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>.
"Memories? Shel-nii had been to that tower before?"
{3}
The shining stars looked like jewels that were embedded in the night sky.
After the sun had set, when people on the streets became scarce, 'The Two Swans <Alberio>' was about to close down as well. The shop does not have a fixed time to close down. Instead, they would only do so when there are no more customers visiting them.
"No matter how mechanized we are, in the end, it is only us humans that can carry out tasks like these."
He wiped the tables on the street one by one, then proceeded to gather the fold-able chairs before shifting the tables back into the shop. It was rather time consuming, as they made up quite a number.
"Alright, it's done!"
Sheltis stopped and took a brief look at his surroundings, before lifting his head to look into the sky.
—The stars were very bright.
{4}
The white rays unique to the early mornings were shining softly on the turf below their feet.
The mist that lingered on the plaza was probably formed from the water vapors of rain from the previous night. The scent of the grass accompanied the damp cool air.
Len's Plaza. Despite being there only two days ago, unlike then, there was barely anyone around.
"As expected of the early mornings."
Sheltis stretched his arms and took a deep breath, then lifted his head and looked at the clock-tower located at the side of the plaza.
They were to meet at seven in the morning at the plaza. As both Yuto and Eyriey are normally punctual, both of them should be about to arrive soon- just when he was thinking of that.
A sounds of fast-paced steps echoed in the plaza.
"Shel-nii, I've made you wait!"
It was the familiar face of a girl in the age of five or six. Her neck has her usual sky blue scarf, while her clothes were a light red one-piece dress and a pair of white shoes. It looked like they were her outdoor clothes, since the colors were brighter than usual.
"Right right, where is Eyri-nee?"
Yuto raised her arms and jump about.
"I think she should be here soon...... There, here she comes."
A huge object was approaching them, together with the sharp sounds of the winds. From afar, it looked like a metallic-grey block of thing, but upon getting closer, its shape grew more apparent as well.
It was a huge electric powered vehicle.
Looking at its front, Yuto could not help but exclaimed,
"Wow...... what a huge bike!"
It was a three-wheeled electric powered vehicle, with a front wheel and two back wheels. The body of the vehicle is painted with a heavy metallic paint. Its width is wide enough to allow three grown man to sit along it side-by-side. Its height is roughly around Sheltis' shoulders.
"Sorry for making you guys wait- Good morning!"
Eyriey jumped down from the driving seat without waiting for the wheels to stop. She was still wearing that greasy overalls, but for that girl, that was the attire most suitable for her.
"Eyriey, you made this whole thing by yourself?"
"That's right! I had bought parts from the junk store, and assembled it by myself. It's really cheap!"
She proudly patted on the seats of the the vehicle. If not for him being used to the robots that Eyriey had made, Sheltis would definitely question about how complete the vehicle was.
"Then again, where are we going in that huge thing?"
"Eh? Ah, it seemed like I had forgotten to tell you about it. It's the natural park at the outskirts of the nature sector. There should not be any dangerous creatures there, no matter what happens."
From the middle of the floating continent, it is divided into three sectors in this sequence.
Firstly is the center of the continent, the huge tower that stretched straight into the skies - Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>.
Surrounding it, is the first sector, or the so called 'living sectors', where humans lived. The living sector is then again divided into the First Area, the Second Area and the Third Area, from the closest to the furthest away from the center. Though that is just something for easily locating the specific locations in the living sectors.
The next is the second sector, which is named as the 'nature sector', where the environments are controlled. Simply put, it is a man-made nature park. People will normally visit there for sight-seeing or a holiday.
Even further away, are the areas encircling the borders of the floating continent, the third sector which is named as the 'ecosystem-conservation sector <biotope>'. As people rarely set foot on there, it still retains the original state of the ecosystem. Due to the presence of many wild and dangerous creatures, one must obtain permission fromTenketsu Palace <Sophia> before they are allowed to enter the area.
—That's great. There would be no problems if it was the nature sector.
"Ah- I feel relieved. I thought we are going to the ecosystem-conservation sector <biotope>."
"That is part of the plan as well."
"...... Stop joking. There are the nests of Earth Dragons at the ecosystem-conservation sector."
***
In front of their eyes, laid a green world.
Different from the turfs of the plaza, various different plants of all shapes and sizes took up each and every inch of view. A forest of trees extended endlessly on their right.
From the sky came the invigorating cries of birds. On the meadows, cute animals were running about in a small groups.
—The southern side of the nature sector, Park Number Four.
"This is probably my first time here."
Grabbing onto the baggage on the back of the vehicle with one of his hands, Sheltis glanced through the surroundings.
Despite being named as a nature's park, the atmosphere there is still quite similar to that of the third sector'secosystem-conservation sector <biotope>. The only difference is that there are no beasts there that would attack humans.
"Well, I have tried my best to go as deep as I can. We will probably not be of disturbance to anyone if we are to do our barbecue here."
"Eyri-nee, please~ let~ me~ go~?"
Eyriey had caught Yuto, who was about to run off happily.
"Yuto will have to help too. I have been driving since the morning, and my stomach's now grumbling. It's dead tiring to be driving for four consecutive hours."
"...... Out of which, three of them were us being chased by the patrols."
Sheltis opened the hand carrier while complaining.
He began to fix up the black barbecue pit, then proceeded to put in two to three items called 'fuel stones'. What was left was for him to press the fire button.
"Where's the ingredients for the barbecue?"
"All in the cooler box. Yuto, open it."
Yuto opened the blue box. Its interiors were divided into two parts, the top refrigerating cabinet for the vegetables, while the bottom was the freezer for the fishes or meat.
"Well then, since Sheltis had prepared for us some top quality meat, let us hurry up and barbecue them-"
"...... I'll say this first. I have already spent this month's pay on the things here today. Also, shouldn't we start barbecuing the vegetables first, since they take longer to cook?"
Sheltis had already half given up on whether he would get to eat anything, so instead he chose to take the initiative by placing the vegetables on the barbecue rack. If not, there would definitely be a heap of vegetables left over after that.
"Is the meat ready—?"
"Yuto, don't eat those half-cooked meat. Here, I'll give you some vegetables."
He stopped Yuto from trying to eat the meat in secret, and handed some vegetables over.
...... Weird, why did it feel so nostalgic?
Upon facing that scene, his heart was filled with an indescribable feeling for a short instant.
That's right. A long time ago, something similar had happened as well.
—Ymy, Leon and me, we had barbecued together before.
—Both of them are probably holding the highest positions in Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>...... I will have to work harder in the living sector as well.
"Ah- Shel-nii had stopped."
Upon regaining his senses-
With her left hand grabbing her plate, and her right grabbing her fork, Yuto was standing by his side waiting, and was puffing her cheeks unhappily.
"Ah, sorry. I was dazed for a moment."
He hurriedly placed the pieces of meat and vegetables onto the barbecue rack.
"Is Sheltis tired? You do go blank suddenly sometimes."
"No, nothing of that sort-"
Just when he was shaking his head at the worried Eyriey.
—*thud*!
"!"
Sheltis suddenly dropped the utensils and plate that he was holding, and quickly turned his body to face the forest behind them.
"Wa...... Wait a second! Why did you throw the vegetables and meat away!"
"Quiet."
He stared intensely into the forest, while holding Eyriey back.
—From his neck down to his spine, he felt an intense chill, as though he was stabbed by an icicle.
Could it be......
"Eyriey, there should be an electric spear on the vehicle for defensive use, right? Those assembly ones."
"Well...... There is."
"Lend me that."
After receiving the silver colored rod-shaped item, Sheltis extended it to about his own height.
Despite being called a 'spear', the front end of the rod is of a round shape, which will discharge a strong jolt of electricity at the press of a button. It is made out of a metal alloy, and are both light and tough at the same time. It is typically used by women as a defensive weapon.
...... Though it will not be of much use, it was still better than nothing.
"Ho...... Hold on Sheltis, where are you going? It's the forest over there!"
"You two wait here. I'll be right back."
Step by step, he slowly inched towards the forest.
He got past the boundary of the forest, and was walking on a path leading slightly leftwards. After advancing a few meters, he made another turn, and finally stopped in front of a huge tree.
...... This is-
Just then, came the sound of two pairs of footsteps, stepping on the dried branches.
"Hey— Sheltis, stop running off by yourself!"
Eyriey pried away the branches and walked towards him, while grabbing on to Yuto's hand.
"Wait, Eyriey. It is better if you do not get close to here."
Sheltis raised his hands up high to stop both of them from moving closer.
"......."
"Sh......Sheltis! Why have you been keeping quiet since just——!"
Having reached behind him, Eyriey lifted her head, and made an inaudible cry.
"...... What...... What is this?"
The trunk of a huge tree of over hundred years old had rotted into a purple color, and it was dead just like that.
At the tip of a thin branch was a leaf.
All of them had been dyed in a strange purple color, and were already rotten.
Not just that, the fallen leaves, the dried branches and even the soil - they were all giving off a purple mist. The decay had continued eroding into the neighboring trees.
"Purple mist...... could it be...... the work of 'that'......?"
A pale Eyriey stood rooted on the ground.
"......"
Sheltis knelt down in an attempt to touch the soil, which was gradually corroding to a purple-
"——Sheltis!"
But Eyriey had pulled him back by his shoulder.
"What are you thinking! You do know that you will get infected once you come into contact with that!"
"...... That's right, sorry."
He retracted his hand from the ground, and stared into the decaying scene. The traces on the ground were fresh. That thing appeared there probably an hour ago...... no, perhaps even closer. It may had just been a few minutes ago.
"Yuto, Eyriey. I think it is best if we leave here immediately. At a situation like this, it is much better if we leave it to the experts."
He stood up, and faced the two girls behind him.
"Experts...... People of Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>?"
"Yup. Commoners who have discovered traces of 'that' should inform Tenketsu Palace <Sophia> immediately, and evacuate from the scene - Eyriey should know that well, right?"
That was the rule that everyone of the floating continent knows. Even then, there will not be any punishment should one does not plan to follow. However, no one can then guarantee their safety if they choose to do so.
"That's how it is. Alright, move quickly!"
Urging on the two frightened girls, Sheltis followed them closely from behind.
...... It should be fine doing this, right?
Currently, he does not belong to Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>, and is just a commoner, so there is no need for him to interfere with 'that'. He just need to leave the scene like everyone else.
"Come here, we should be safe for now."
Walking out of the forest and into the plains, the barbecue stand was there by itself, smoldering in smoke.
"What about the barbecue stand......?"
"It's fine leaving it there. The guards from Tenketsu Palace <Sophia> will recover it. Moreover, any items that could have been contaminated will need to be purified as well- What's wrong, Eyriey?"
Eyriey had suddenly stopped in her tracks, and was looking at Sheltis in admiration.
"No, it's just that Sheltis is quite manly sometimes."
"...... So I am just undependable normally......"
The Yuugenshu, with its core destroyed, ceased its movements, and gradually evaporated off after turning into mist.
"Sheltis, are you alright!"
"Hmm? Ahh, I am slightly hurt by its claws. Just a small scratch-"
"I'm not talking about that!"
Eyriey was pointing to the spot where the Yuugenshu had disappeared. At that place, all plants growing there had already withered, and the soil had turned purple from corruption.
"You had came into contact with Yuugenshu...... and had exposed yourself to mateki in order to protect me! We have to get to the purification center of Tenkeusu Palace <Sophia> right now! If we do not hurry, it will be too late if the contamination is to spread!"
"It is fine, there is no need to purify. What matters is that Eyriey and Yuto are alright."
"Idiot, what are you talking about-"
"No. I had said it before, Yuugenshu's mateki has no effects on my body."
At the shoulder where it was scratched by the Yuugenshu's claws, was the skin turning slightly red, but other than that, there was not a single thing to suggest that he had been contaminated.
"Your body...... no way, I have never heard anything like that. I do hear people saying, that if you have powers similar to those of the Queen and the Priestess of Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>, then you will be able to resist mateki."
"I don't belong to that group, but I am really fine. Don't worry."
Pressing onto his slightly bleeding shoulder, Sheltis gave Eyriey a smile.
That smile was not to make her feel at ease. Rather, it was due to Eyriey worrying about him.
"...... But."
"It's really great that you both are safe. There's nothing more important than that."
That's right. That was his heartfelt truth.
Because he had successfully saved his only friends at the living sector.
—Ymy. Perhaps, returning back to your side is just an unattainable dream.
—However, I am living fine at here, so at the very least, you do not have to worry for me over at Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>.
"Urm......"
Eyriey asked in her rare hesitant tone,
"I have never taken the initiative and asked you that...... could it be, that Sheltis had fought with Yuugenshu before?"
"Well...... it's not a pleasant topic, you know."
Evading the stares of Eyriey that suggested that she wanted to press on further, Sheltis began to walk.
"Alright, in any case, let us go back first. It will be dangerous to continue staying here."
Sponsored Content