Two days had passed since they left the Kingdom of Aoolis and set up their first camp, talking things through and coming to understand the situation unfolding in Azuryth; however, their thoughts were no longer on it, but on Midmidir.
Irene's innocent, high-pitched laughter sweetened the ears of her companions. She rode back and forth around the carriage, mounted on one of the three horses they had brought with them.
"This is so fun! I've always wanted to ride one!"
Rynelle told her she could enjoy herself as long as she didn't wander too far. Hanami sat beside the elf, watching Irene's excitement, completely hunched over, both elbows resting on her thighs and her chin propped in her hands.
"Irene, come here for a moment," Rynelle said while studying the map.
"Coming!"
Irene guided the horse and brought it alongside Rynelle, matching the carriage's pace.
"Yes?" the kitsune asked.
"I'm going to teach you how to read a map. You need to start learning these things; you can't always depend on someone else. Here."
Irene obeyed and took the map with both hands. Rynelle began explaining every detail of navigating through the country. She also tasked Irene with directing the route for a long stretch, just for practice, since she herself had already memorized the path; she would simply be checking Irene's focus and performance.
After traveling about five kilometers, they reached a narrow road that began winding through the mountains. Near the entrance, they saw a crowd gathered, moving the fallen trunk of a massive tree.
As they approached, one of the locals stepped forward and explained:
"You'll have to wait a bit while we clear it. A few hours ago, there was a fight between the two most hostile monsters that usually roam this area."
"Monsters?" Irene asked.
"Yes. It's very rare for them to cross paths; their habitats are far apart, but maybe they were searching for food or something like that."
Rynelle listened carefully. When the young man finished speaking, she said:
"Hanami, could you move it?"
The vampire, who had been listening with a relaxed, indifferent expression, sighed.
"Just when I was getting comfortable…"
Reluctantly, she straightened up. She had maintained the same hunched posture for hours.
She lifted into the air, flying toward the fallen trees. Irene's eyes lit up like stars, and her tail swished rapidly when she saw her. The young man stared in surprise and muttered:
"A-adventurers? Lucky us."
Hanami hovered above the crowd of men and women working to clear the path. She extended her left hand, protected by fine black gloves, and made the trunks and branches levitate.
The crowd gasped in shock and then erupted into cheers of gratitude. Hanami thought:
'Telekinesis is a very basic form of magic among mages, though it can only move inanimate objects.'
Once the path was cleared, they resumed their journey with words of thanks trailing behind them. Irene was the one who clapped enthusiastically for Hanami, saying:
"That was amazing! You looked so powerful and imposing!"
Hanami let out a quiet chuckle, returned to her hunched posture, and replied:
"It's nothing special. Even a child could do it."
"That's not true! I can't do it, so you're amazing to me!" she declared, pointing at herself while her tail kept swaying.
Hanami closed her eyes gently.
"Then I appreciate your praise."
As they entered the rocky, narrow mountain path, Rynelle began to worry about landslides. Seeing Irene riding back and forth cheerfully, she said:
"Irene, come back to the carriage and put the horse back in place."
"Huh? But I'm being really careful; I'm actually the first one to get scared being this close to the edge."
"I just want to protect you. I'd worry if something happened to you."
"But…," she said, lowering her ears.
"Let her be. I'll watch over her," Hanami said calmly.
She levitated toward Irene and settled onto the back of the horse. Both of her legs pointed in the same direction as she leaned her body against Irene's back.
Irene's eyes widened when she felt the added weight. Her heart fluttered slightly. Her nerves spiked, and she lowered her head a little, grateful for her hood.
'W-why am I getting so nervous? Is it because… since that happened, we never talked about it again? I haven't forgotten, but I've chosen not to think about it too much, or I'll end up going crazy. Maybe she wants to forget it.'
The horse's pace slowed, and they now moved alongside the carriage, slightly ahead of it.
◇◆◇
The carriage creaked softly as the dirt road began to slope downward. Until that moment, Midmidir had only been a name spoken by Rynelle. But then, the path opened… and the world seemed to unfold before them.
Irene was the first to lean forward, her face lighting up with a smile. She knelt inside the carriage.
Before them, the city rose like an impossible accumulation of centuries. Towers upon towers, arches supported by other arches, bridges born from stone only to vanish into the air. Midmidir did not spread outward—it ascended.
The river snaked far below, reflecting the sky's light like a living fracture, while hot air balloons floated with an almost reverent calm, as if even the wind knew the rules of the kingdom.
Irene's ears perked forward, and her tail began to swish rapidly from side to side. She kept it hidden beneath her cloak, yet the fabric still wrinkled with the movement.
"What a place! It's like a real RPG!"
'I can't believe I'm genuinely in a fantasy world! This is beautiful—I can't even describe how I feel! I've been saying this for eighteen years, but I'm truly inside a fantasy game!'
Seated at the front beside Rynelle, the vampire witch observed the city like someone greeting an old acquaintance. Her gloved fingers toyed with the edge of her robe while her crimson eyes followed the slow movement of the sky.
"A kingdom that doesn't fear the void," she remarked. "I wonder if its people even know vertigo."
"I imagine those who suffer from it are marginalized," Rynelle replied.
The road turned into carved stone and then into a wide bridge that curved toward the city's lower entrance. As they ascended, Midmidir's scale became more tangible: distant voices, deep tolling bells, the constant murmur of a place that never fully slept.
Irene felt insignificant. It was the first time the world wasn't shaped for her. The first time she truly understood how small a princess could be.
Her innocent, elegant face watched with excitement as carriages and riders passed by, entering and leaving the kingdom. People talked about countless things, and she didn't even notice the ascent until they were already much higher.
They hadn't yet reached the lower level of Midmidir, and they were already ten meters above the ground. The kingdom's structure was supported purely by human engineering.
Midmidir's central district lay within the towering structure that brushed the clouds, surrounded by countless bridges. Irene gazed up at it all from below, her neck tilted back.
"We'll be spending the next three days here," Rynelle said. "I'll guide you through several places so you can start learning what we'll be working on in the future, Irene."
"Yes! I can't wait to see everything!"