Chapter 2

Feeling a wind that suddenly strokes my skin, I opened my eyes.

It looks like I’m lying down with my face up on the ground. There’s a feeling of short grass touching my hand.

With my both hands on the ground, I tried raising my upper body. I just opened my eyes and I can only see vaguely, but I can see some light shining. Apparently, I am currently in the shade right now.

Looking at my left and right, the large trees with thick trunk are growing at equal intervals. Looking up once again, I noticed that the branches and the bright green leaf of large trees were making a shade.

Standing up slowly, I shift my attention to the front.

Beyond the many trees lined up to make a path, a blue sky with several clouds floating was spreading out.

I started walking instinctively as if being pulled by something and I advance the path in between the many trees.

The moment where the trees filling the left and right stopped, a vast sky spreads out before my eyes.

It’s a vast sky spreading out endlessly in front of me. The clouds are in the same level of my line of sight, so I immediately recognize that I am above the ground, floating in the sky.

A moderate wind is blowing and I could hear a bird’s chirping from somewhere.

「…… how awesome」

Such impression only comes out to a very majestic scenery. Lowering my line of sight after looking at the sky for some time, there’s a stair-shaped garden like a terraced farm spreading out.

It’s a garden where a building in several places can be seen, but each steps are spacious. My intuition seems numbed, but it seems like there is a considerable extent for every one step.

And, I can see the sky further at the back of the garden. It will be pretty scary to stand on the edge as it looks like a steep cliff.

Turning around to the road I came from, I try looking at the gaps of the trees. Thereupon, I catch a sight of pure white buildings standing along the slope. There are a lot of them, you won’t be able to count the number of buildings at a glance.

I wonder if the place I will stay is the highest place?

I who thought so, goes back with *thud thud thud* to the path I came from. Maybe because the trees were too big even though there’s only a few, the path similar to a tree-lined road continued for a while.

Perhaps, this path is around two hundred meters if I have to guess.

After walking for a while, the tree-lined road finally came to an end and the scenery spreads before my eyes.

「Oh……!」

What appeared is a large castle with white wall. The roof color is a little tawny red. The wall is made of stone that the joint can be seen even from a distance, and there are many large vertical windows.

Maybe it isn’t a single roof, or maybe there were independent towers that is adjacent to it. Because apart from the large wide roof, there were several pointed roofs that can also be seen.

The castle is at the place even higher from where I’m standing. It can be viewed from the tree-lined road, though it seems like I still have to go up through a hill road that loops back several times.

There seems to be a distance, but my adrenaline is running high in anticipation.

「Yossha, let’s go」

Even the edge of my mouth curves naturally when I mutter that, I start walking toward the castle with high and proud spirit.

Finally, I finished climbing the slope of the hill road and stood in front of the castle, And I am amazed at the size of the castle once again.

The castle itself is big, but the gate is also big. It looks similar to a sturdy double door gate that seems to be made of steel. A splendid pattern adorned the gate and the edge is golden.

It’s a luxurious door that almost goes beyond extravagance, but the problem is that it is unlikely to be opened by a human strength.

I ponder for several seconds while looking up at the gate and shifted my eyes in the surroundings. The outer wall of the pure white castle which doesn’t even have a single stain is stretching out to the left and right. It is likely that the gate in the vicinity is no more than this one.

I observe the gate again, and suddenly, I noticed that there was an unusual object similar to a round handle. It’s a big handle made of metal.

「…… pull this, and……?」

I thought that It was impossible to move and when I try examining the handle, I noticed that it is not a handle.

It’s unexpectedly a door knocker.

I lift up the handle even while half-convinced and knock it on the metal plate that is attached on the gate.

A low and heavy sound echoed, and the vibration was transmitted to my hand.

「…… It’s not gonna open, huh」

The moment when I muttered that, the double door gate started opening slowly towards the inside of the castle.

When I step into the castle while looking at the steadily opening gate, the light keeps on turning on in sequence starting from the gate. It’s an oil lamp which attached to the walls, ceilings, pillars, and so on.

「U, oh……」

I lost my words to the scenery inside the castle that was instantly illuminated.

The inside of the castle is far and wide, and the ceiling is high enough to look up to. On the circular arch-shaped ceiling, there are a drawings of people with white wings, people wearing an armor, animals resembled a lion, a dragons and so on, and it is bringing about a mysterious atmosphere.

Carved statues are also lining up on the thick and huge pillars. In addition, the ornaments using gold and silver are luxurious and gorgeous. The floor is made of beautiful stone which polished up as if the ceiling is reflecting and a red carpet was spreading out from the gate towards the innermost.

I feel like I got lost inside of a movie.

While looking around the inside of the castle and thinking such thoughts, I notice that there is something standing at the back of the opened gate.

「Uoh!?」

An object similar to a big humanoid machine was standing behind the gate. I wonder if its height is about 2 to 3 meters? It also looks like its tall and thin figure has a charm in some respect.

「Are you the one who opened it?」

I tried talking to it as a test, but there was no response.

「Thanks」

For now, I will just say that and decides to walk to explore inside the castle.

When I’m walking along the red carpet, there were three doors each on the left and right and a large round pillar in the front.

There was a rectangular line similar to a door on the round pillar that extended up to the ceiling, and it divided to the left and right by itself when I approach it.

「Oh, an automatic door」

Saying that words vaguely, I try stepping into the round pillar. It is a circular room composed by white wall and white floor.

I turn my back after walking towards the center and I notice that there is a particular panel on side of the automatic door. On the silver panel, there are white buttons numbered from 1 to 5.

This seems to be an elevator.

「I guess I should see first the top floor」

When I said that and press number five without hesitation, the automatic door closes and the elevator gradually rose.

As the elevator is rising without a sound, shortly the wall becomes transparent and the scenery outside can be seen.

Arriving to the next floor, a corridor similar to a high class hotel appeared with doors on the left and right side of the walls.

Next, in an excessively spacious dim space, an unusual floor can be seen where innumerable robots are standing in rows.

Moving up, there are many windows in all directions, it’s a floor with a bright hall wrapped up in sunlight.

And, the scenery of the floor moving down one by one continues for about ten-odd seconds before the elevator stopped in last floor.

When the automatic door opens, a floor a lot smaller than before appears. It’s dim and not really clear, but it seems to be a room that has various stuff mixed up.

When I got off from the elevator, the light filled inside the room automatically.

There are a total of four huge screens on the wall, under that are several strange instruments lining up. There are two rows of desk and chair in front of it and it looks like there are eight sets in total.

「…….Eh? This is different from what I imagined…」

Feeling puzzled, I decided to sit on the chair in front of me. The surface of the desk turns out to be a black screen.

A ringing ‘fon’ sound can be heard when it comes in contact with my finger and few letters in the black screen lined up.

I come across some letters I’m curious about amongst them.

「Lower bound camera…?」

My fingers trace the letters as I am reading out loud.

The next moment, all the four screen on the wall is dyed in blue.

Upon seeing that the blue colors seem to be moving, I came to understanding that it is showing the deep ocean.

The four screens seem to be showing their respective directions.

In short, this castle is floating right in the middle of the ocean.

「Above the sea, eh. There doesn’t seems to be anything interesting」

Immediately after I murmured such a statement, a black shadow appeared on the front screen.

No, it similar to the shape of the fish.

Judging from the occasional white birds appearing on the screen, I understand that the fish size is quite abnormal.

I have never seen anything like this before, but I wonder if this might be a whale or something similar?

While I’m observing it and thinking such thoughts, the fish shape becomes round and suddenly broke through the water surface with a splash.

I can see its sharp teeth that grew disorderly in its mouth and, frankly, its appearance looks disgusting.

That huge mouth, which spreading across the full screen, closed with ‘bakun’ in front of me.

The fish appearance with its mouth closed was similar to a monkfish with big round eyes.

「…… I don’t know what I’ve done to upset you but, I’m sorry」

Seeing the Monkfish got angry as if making an appeal to what I said earlier that there is nothing interesting around here, I apologized to it while facing the screen just in case.