["This station is Tergesti Station, the final destination of the train bound for Tergesti from Lundane. All passengers are requested to disembark from the passenger cars. This station is..."]
The massive transfer station where the train station and the docks intersected was an antique building. Beyond the arches, bridges, and the overpass connecting the buildings, all decorated with statues of people engaged in various commercial activities, the sea could be seen down below from one side of the platform.
Arthur let out an exclamation. "Wow, this is amazing!"
Isiel lightly grabbed the young man who was leaning far over the railing. "Sir Arthur, it's dangerous. Please be careful." "Thanks, Isiel!" "You're not a child, what are you so happy about?" "I've never seen a sight like this in my life!"
Fran averted his gaze, turning his head away from the banter between Arthur and Cleo. He walked a step away as if he wouldn't join such a childish conversation. Listening to the 3rd Prince's undignified fuss, the kids retrieved their luggage and headed to the overpass connecting the train station and the port.
The view of Tergesti at sunset from up there was indeed a spectacle. The scenery of the port city formed around the indigo sea under the setting sun was breathtakingly beautiful. Lights turned on one by one in the windows of the square buildings with white frameworks and pale yellow walls, scattering vermilion light over the seawater. The sculptural decorations on the exterior walls were all delicate and gorgeous. Cargo ships were lined up in a row at the port. Steamboats bustled up and down the lower reaches of the river flowing through the center of the city. Porters swarmed tightly, busy transferring cargo from the freight ships to the steamboats. Gentlemen and ladies out for an evening stroll came and went on the pure white, straight paving stones of the coastal road.
As the kids were getting lost in the scenery, Lady Dione, holding a parasol, shouted loudly from across the bridge pier. "Young Master! Young Master Asser! Over here!"
Dione, standing on her tiptoes and hopping slightly, waved her right hand clad in a lace glove vigorously. Because the surroundings were so crowded, if she moved modestly like usual, they would have missed each other. Cleo, recognizing Dione, was about to wave back in response when someone abruptly cut in, blocking the line of sight between Dione and Cleo. Distinct strawberry blonde hair, a jacket tailored from silk with a calm gray luster, and a collar and cuffs that were crisp and clean as if just changed despite it being evening. A gentleman leaning on a top-quality cane.
It was Vlad Asser. There was no mistaking that man who, after taking charge of the Meridies trading post, went around in an even more obnoxiously neat attire.
"Lady Dione, it's been a while. I'm just grateful that you're welcoming me so enthusiastically. How have you been?"
Due to Vlad unexpectedly taking the initiative, Cleo ended up awkwardly lowering his raised hand. Since he was a bit shorter than Cleo but had a much larger build, Dione's slender figure was completely hidden. Just before Vlad blocked her, she made eye contact with Cleo. She was asking for his cooperation.
"Ah, Vice Representative Asser, you were here..." "To run into you like this, it's an amazing coincidence."
Cleo, who hastily pushed through the crowd and approached after entrusting his luggage to Arthur, clicked his tongue at the conversation he heard. What 'amazing coincidence'. It's a tiny coincidence. All cargo heading into Koneburg by sea must pass through Tergesti. Since it's the expo season, it was completely plausible to run into Vlad and his party who came straight from Meridies. Not that it was something he hoped for at all, though.
"However, it's been quite a while since I was called 'Young Master', so it feels fresh and affectionate." "That is, um, that is..." Dione, who was not one to trail off, unfolded her fan and covered her mouth to hide her predicament.
Vlad was a fairly perceptive man. Turning around with a refreshing attitude, he immediately discovered his 'younger brother'. "Oh my, the Lady was calling for you, Ray. I haven't heard any news from you lately, what brings you here?" Like an eldest son treating a younger sibling, Vlad was smiling affectionately, but the emotion that flashed in his grayish-blue eyes was hostility. There was no way there could be any good feelings since the last time they saw each other, they parted ways after exchanging banter with only fake smiles on their faces.
'To run right into that human out of all these overflowing people.' It wasn't a person he wanted to deal with while exhausted from a long train journey, but Cleo quickly regrouped and put on his usual flawless expression. "It's been a while, Brother. Have you been well? We were on our way to Brunnen to attend the expo."
. . .
Arthur, Fran, and Isiel tactfully stepped back and avoided the awkward situation of having to exchange introductions with Vlad. Using 'Promise's [Perception] to look closely, he saw the kids were giggling and chatting among themselves on the coast behind them. When Arthur pointed to a stall, Isiel and Fran also turned their heads that way. People gathered in small groups were buying and eating fish and chips. Arthur took the lead, guiding Fran and Isiel to the peddler. Then, buying freshly fried food and squeezing lemon over it seemed to bring him great joy. 'Ah, they're having fun by themselves, these guys...'
Only Cleo, separated from his friends, had to keep his seat between Vlad and Dione on the terrace of the first-class cabin waiting room. 'There is no cushion of thorns quite like this.' Asser Corporation and Graier Company happened to have reserved the same steamboat. Vlad volunteered to escort Dione, who was trying to slip away. Cleo couldn't ignore the help call Dione was sending. The result was this situation.
It was a terrace built using steel arches that extended out toward the bay where the river and the sea met. The terrace was surrounded by beautiful scenery, but it didn't even enter Cleo's eyes.
The conversation going back and forth between Dione and Vlad was quite a sight. Vlad's clumsy advances and Dione's defense skillfully deflecting them were exquisite. Since Vasco Graier was indebted to the Meridies trading post, where Vlad was the general manager, Dione couldn't readily chase Vlad away and put on a sociable expression.
"You've become even more beautiful in the meantime, Lady Dione." "Oh my, I'm at an age where I should be called an old maid, you flatter me too much." "Who would dare utter such an absurd remark to a Lady like a flower blooming at dawn?" "My, if you say such heart-fluttering things, a bashful young lady might misunderstand." "Misunderstand? It's my true feelings with no room for misunderstanding. Ah! The champagne has arrived, I'll bring it to you."
Cleo, who was sitting like a borrowed sack of barley listening to Vlad's nonsense, completely crumpled his expression as soon as he stood up. Dione must have felt the same, as her brow distorted behind the white fan she unfolded again. She whispered in a very small voice. "Your brother is super annoying." "I agree. His level of flirting is vulgar." "When I worked in Colpos before, he didn't even greet me, but look at him change his attitude immediately now that I'm making some fun selling magic tools. I wish he wouldn't make it so obvious that he only sees people as numbers for a dowry." "He seems to think he's hiding it." "He's not hiding it at all." "That's true." "Ah... I wish they would load the luggage quickly."
Right now was the peak of the expo season. Because of the shipping cargo sent to Koneburg from all over the world, loading the luggage took a long time. That meant this uncomfortable situation was expected to drag on crazily long. "It would be nice if things went our way. Is there any method..."
Cleo, about to offer consolation to Dione, couldn't even finish his sentence and just opened his mouth blankly. Beyond the crowded port, at the end of the curved bay, a shallowly wavering light seemed to be stirring up high waves. It was by no means a natural phenomenon. From the completely darkened sky, an aurora of white light draped down like inner curtains fluttering, covering the port.
'Promise' spat out a sudden warning. [The Octavo of Submergence — Classification: Demonic Beast — Level: 7]
Cleo jumped up. 'No! I said I wanted an escape button, who asked to press the detonate button!'
The Octavo was a beast that didn't look like a beast at all. An eight-layered fluttering canopy approached this side gently, neither too fast nor very slow. Bringing with it an increasingly high wave. People whose eyes were captivated by the elegant figure embroidering the sky gathered around the railing of the terrace, letting out exclamations of admiration. 'What is that?' 'Draping over the sky after sunset, it looks like an untimely auspicious light. What could it be?'
Cleo, who was looking for the beast's weakness, was startled by the lack of tension around him and shouted loudly. "That is a demonic beast! Everyone, evacuate to the land. It's an aquatic beast, so it can't follow us onto land!" However, there was no way such words coming from a frail-looking young master would work immediately. People merely murmured and didn't evacuate. When Cleo panicked, the quick-witted Dione moved first. She indiscriminately swung her parasol and opened a circle to the maximum size of level 3.
"[Pull the sun to the time of stars and lay it out!]"
What rose from the floor was the sparkling magic formula of [Light Source]. Wizards are rare beings. It was not a very impressive magic, but it could instantly focus people's attention. Dione snatched a magnification magic tool from a guide staff member who was standing dumbfoundedly by the door and shouted the same warning even louder.
"I am Dione Graier of the Graier Company, a wizard. I am warning you. What has appeared right now is a demonic beast! Evacuate to the land! [I am a wizard. It's a demonic beast, go to the land!]"
Swaaaash— Swaaaah— The beast came even closer. As it fluttered like silk fabric waving, a terrifying spray of water rose. Several steamboats floated up like falling autumn leaves and were smashed upside down onto the water's surface. The beast, which moved by overturning a ferry it couldn't avoid in time, eventually began to shake even the cargo ships docked inside the port. People who finally grasped the situation started screaming. "Aaaargh!" "Kyaaah!"
The balcony, which had been packed with industrialists and merchants from various countries, emptied in an instant. Churning the sea that had turned dark blue as the sun went over the horizon, the massive beast was approaching like a disaster. Cleo stiffened his neck. Aided by [Perception], his field of vision expanded. Looking closely, the beast was like curtains draped by folding auroras neatly layer by layer. What he had mistaken for a high wave was actually the beast's body, and even the faint light of a lighthouse shone through the eight translucent layers. A beast with no head, no eyes, and no heart, which had appeared only once in history. 'It's the one recorded in the "Encyclopedia of Demonic Beasts"!'
[Memory] rewound at a terrifying speed. But that was all. Just because he knew it didn't mean a method to defeat it came to mind immediately. If he couldn't cut the core with a single deadly strike, those layered, limp folds would unfold all at once and cause a fierce storm. With enough power to obliterate an entire port.
Vwooom! Fran, separated from Arthur's group, was calmly evacuating people. The ringing, somewhat high-pitched voice for an adult man contained the aura of a stigmata and calmed people's confusion. Even in this situation, Cleo, who had turned on [Separation], thought, 'Wow, he's crazy, making an announcement in 3 languages,' and completely turned off his worry about Fran. He quickly tracked the presence of Isiel and Arthur. Finally, Arthur and Isiel's ether were detected by Cleo's sensitized [Perception]. The two, who leaped from the dock and effortlessly landed on a nearby steamboat, were positioned as close to the beast as Cleo was.
It was clear they intended to block the beast somehow. However, the two knight cadets looked exceedingly small in front of the beast that was like a natural disaster.
Swaaaaash— Swaaaah. The entire Gulf of Tergesti was overturning as if responding to the delicate movements of the beast.