"So... their city is in the sky?"
Mori Tsukisa's expression was very strange when she asked... It was as if she had brought band-aids and gone deep into an ancient castle with her friends, crossing numerous traps, defeating small monsters along the way, and finally finding the treasure after being covered in wounds—only for the treasure to be a band-aid.
'A band-aid? Why did we go through so much trouble to find a band-aid?' Mori Tsukisa pointed to her own first-aid kit: 'Don't I have plenty? Why take the risk to find it?'
'That's a band-aid!' a clever companion explained with a frown: 'What we're looking for is a Band-Aid brand adhesive bandage.'
—Now Mori Tsukisa felt like she had a clever companion.
"Laputa?"
"That name..." Imhotep furrowed his brows: "Your Excellency the Mage knows of the 'City of the Goddess and the Monsoon'? It was once an important city of the Children of the Wind Clan."
"I didn't, but I do now." Mori Tsukisa looked at Bastet expressionlessly: "Why didn't you tell me that the god box you're looking for is in a city in the sky?"
"Is it important..." Bastet yawned: "You didn't ask me."
"I know a Boy whose father once saw and photographed that last city hidden behind the clouds, within the storm."
"He said it's called Laputa."
"Where is that Child?!" The black cat trotted over with a start, its face full of astonishment. "Where is that Child now?! If I'm not mistaken, Laputa is their last city!"
"Why didn't you tell me this?!"
"Is it important..." Mori Tsukisa yawned. "You didn't ask me."
Bastet:... The black cat silently reminded the girl, "The dragon..."
"Let's go! Let's leave now!" Mori Tsukisa quickly sat up straight and gave the black cat a salute!
The girl and the cat, counteracting each other, stared into each other's eyes—
Until the news of the dragon's existence was truly confirmed by Imhotep.
"My Lord Bastet is right. If it is Laputa, Your Excellency the Mage, you will surely be able to get your dragon." Imhotep explained with a smile, "Laputa is the 'City of the Goddess and Monsoons,' and it is also the treasure hoard of the Children of the Wind Clan."
"They used technology to artificially create a storm and counter-current to block enemies—the name of the Storm Barrier is..."
"The Dragon's Nest."
So the warehouse is actually a giant city... "For the Children of the Wind Clan, this isn't considered an extravagance. There will bound to be vast amounts of gold, jewels, secret weapons, some lost recipes, the collections they cherish, and... the dragon."
Arrietty tugged at Mori Tsukisa's hair. "Gold! Jewels!"
Nagini cast a subtle glance at her Master, also harboring a wish: Recipes... to cook for her... I must learn.
Mori Tsukisa was even simpler.
Dragon, oh dragon!
"Very well, the Bandits' enthusiasm has been stirred up." Bastet gave Imhotep a disgruntled look. "We need to set off quickly."
Imhotep didn't respond, turning an inquiring gaze toward Mori Tsukisa.
He had already made up his mind; he would no longer listen to the orders of any creature other than the young girl, even if...
...the other party was a deity.
"Imhotep, can you hide Hamunaptra again?" Mori Tsukisa really liked the numerous gems here; the accumulation of many Pharaohs was all here.
She could buy many, many boots and embed small gems on them. She could also put some on her clothes and earrings; she could get a diamond table for Arrietty and carve a hairclip made of pure gems for Nagini.
Bastet felt that, given Mori Tsukisa's hobby, it wasn't surprising at all that she liked dragons—the girl indeed shared many similarities with them.
"Please rest assured, I will hide it beneath the yellow sands once more."
Bastet muttered and glared at Imhotep, but the man didn't care.
"Every single one of you is a bandit... What did our Ancient Egypt ever do to provoke you..."
"I need to go back and find Eve; they've likely returned to Fort Brydon by now." Thinking of the threat from those Black-Robed Figures, although Mori Tsukisa believed Evelyn would insist on staying to find her, O'Connell and Jonathan definitely wouldn't.
Half a day has passed; they are probably on the road.
"Are you coming with us?"
Imhotep pointed to his body. "I have completed the curse; I can travel with you."
"Then we shall—wait, Arrietty?"
Unless it was Mori Tsukisa's command, the Little Sprite basically never strayed far from her Queen. Most of the time, she would lie in Mori Tsukisa's fluffy hair or swing on her earrings when bored.
What's wrong today?
Her coral-colored long hair leaped and flashed among the gold coins. The usually greedy Little Sprite ignored the yellow luster beneath her feet, anxiously looking around as if searching for something.
"Arrietty?"
"Her Majesty the Queen! Do you remember?!" The Little Sprite stood on a massive sapphire, urgently pointing at the treasure rooms in the Place of Mourning. "I felt it! I really felt it! Perhaps... the chance for evolution is right before my eyes!"
Evolution?
Suddenly, Mori Tsukisa remembered the Little Sprites from the previous World who had just become Attendants.
At that time, there was a sentence in the profile... 'The Road of Gold lies beneath the yellow sands.'
Here?
"Imhotep," Mori Tsukisa called out.
To find something, the fastest way was to ask the Master of this place.
"I understand, Your Excellency the Mage." Imhotep listened for a moment and reached out. A large amount of sand gathered in his palm, then exploded and scattered, drifting in all directions.
"I will bring all the special items in my collection to you."
"Please do not worry, Miss Arrietty." Except for when dealing with Bastet, it seemed that no matter who Imhotep faced, he could maintain his noble and exceptionally elegant posture. Years of high-status living allowed this man to remain unperturbed at almost any time.
Except when talking about Anck-Su-Namun.
The sand carpets grew or shrank depending on the items they held. Under Arrietty's anxious gaze, Imhotep leisurely eliminated them one by one.
The useful and valuable ones were kept; the useless or ominous ones were discarded. The High Priest's past made him very sensitive to the word 'ominous.' This time, while helping his future companion find something, he could also filter through the treasures of previous Pharaohs.
To avoid bringing bad luck to Your Excellency the Mage.
Then, the Little Sprite had an objection.
"Even if it's a cursed diamond, it's still a diamond, Imhotep!" Arrietty stood with hands on hips in front of the sand carpet. "You can't throw it away! Keep it, keep it for Her Majesty the Queen!"
Imhotep felt that the 'Her Majesty the Queen' she spoke of was already wealthy enough.
Arrietty pointed at the man in grief and indignation. The palm-sized little creature jumped up and down in Imhotep's hand. "Wasteful! Do you know how little money Her Majesty the Queen has?! She can't even afford to buy a country!"
"She is a Planeswalker!"
"Wasteful, wasteful, wasteful!" Jumping off his palm, Arrietty wrapped her arms around the diamond that Imhotep claimed was unlucky. She didn't care; any diamond that could be sold for money was a good diamond.
"Pardon me, Mr. Baldy, if you have the mind to follow the Queen, please consider things more from her perspective, alright? These so-called 'ominous' things you're throwing away could buy how many..."
Arrietty glanced at Nagini.
"...how many maids even prettier than Nagini!"
Openly taking a dig at the little snake, Arrietty obsessively stroked the surface of the diamond. It was sharp-edged and translucent, and her small face pressed tightly against it was split into many facets by the inner layers.
Mori Tsukisa helplessly grabbed the clothes at the back of Arrietty's neck, lifting the greedy Little Sprite along with the diamond in her hands.
"Leave it to me. You continue."
The diamond was indeed very large in her hand. Mori Tsukisa could barely hold it in one palm.
"This piece is indeed very valuable." The young girl tossed the diamond upward and said indifferently, "Let's give it to Jonathan. He seems to like these things quite a bit."
"Her Majesty the Queen!"
"Alright, go on now, see what exactly is attracting you."
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