Inside the cabin of the giant airship.
Several heads were pressed against the glass, watching the castle gradually recede.
The seemingly solid polyhedral crystal was actually similar to soft jade. After Sheeta recited the destruction incantation, spider-web-like cracks appeared in the crystal core.
The massive city began to tremble and disintegrate. The machinery of the inner and outer rings detached from the joints, and gears and those robots used for combat all fell towards the sea below.
Like dumping trash.
Bastet also reclaimed her divine power as she wished.
The ancient, lush giant trees had long since rooted themselves and merged with this unchanging city; they discarded the weapons and machinery created by Mortals, throwing off burdens and encumbrances, becoming instead more light and ethereal.
The greenery slowly flew towards the higher sky... "So beautiful." Baru pressed against the glass window, his face stuck to it as he stared at the receding city. The intense disintegration caused a hurricane, making this giant military airship sway violently, let alone the severed limbs of the Soldiers on the deck.
They, along with the man-made weapons and ambition, all fell toward the sea.
"I told you before, you can't go to the deck to watch—" Bastet, who had turned back into a black cat, was much more energetic. Compared to just now, the black cat was a whole size larger. Perhaps because she had recovered her divine power, her movements were more human-like and her tone was more mature.
"An unbelievable miracle," Nagini whispered, holding the dragon egg. She had followed Mori Tsukisa all this way and seen many things she could never have imagined. Compared to the original wizarding World, the scenery before her eyes could make even this usually cold snake woman sigh in admiration.
"We should have used the violent demolition method. Your Majesty, those dragon eggs are a pity." Arrietty sat on a stool made of three shiny gold coins. Having moved all the treasures of Laputa, the Little Sprite was now so extravagant that she could use gold to make a chair.
"Dragons... one is enough." Mori Tsukisa thought of the Queen who wrote the notebook and shook her head. "I'm going to see my treasure, Arrietty."
The Little Sprite jumped onto Mori Tsukisa's shoulder and stuck out her tongue; she thought her Queen was acting up again—anyway, she liked things one moment and disliked them the next.
It was normal.
As long as she was happy, it was fine; she had no interest in dragons herself, so one or a whole group made no difference.
Besides, she and that snake woman were enough to protect her; this dragon would probably only serve as a mascot.
Baru and Sheeta went to the cockpit hand in hand. This military airship was much more complex to operate than the aircraft the group had first piloted. Arrietty had been playing too happily at the time and killed all the guarding Soldiers and pilots on the airship... Fortunately, they had Baru; otherwise, Mori Tsukisa would have had to operate it herself.
That would have been a disaster... The airship's storage capacity was very powerful. Perhaps that Vice King, Mr. Muska, had already anticipated returning with a full load; when building this airship, besides the firepower system and the luxurious upper lounge, the largest area was the warehouse used for storage.
Black walls, air colder than the upper level, and an open space.
Of course, there was no open space now. Opening the warehouse door, everything that met the eye was gold.
On the left were hills made of circular gold coins piled up; when Mori Tsukisa stood there, the peaks were as high as the girl's head. On the right were cubes made of rectangular, thin gold bricks, stacks upon stacks extending far away.
One had to say the scene was so shocking that even the girl, who had seen the treasure room of Hamunaptra, was a bit stunned.
"We... no, they," Mori Tsukisa stammered, pointing at the gold, "how much gold did they actually store..."
"It's how much we stored." Arrietty crossed her arms behind her head proudly, her legs swinging as she claimed credit. "Later, I'll have the little ones put all of this into the Wabi-Sabi Courtyard, and then we can slowly settle the accounts."
Mori Tsukisa smacked her lips, marveling as she walked further in. This warehouse was very deep—imagine how long the airship was; this warehouse wouldn't be much shorter.
Muska had indeed calculated very accurately.
Passing the middle section, the gold gradually became scarce, replaced by countless pieces of jewelry and gems. Gemstones, floor-to-ceiling mirrors inlaid with gold and emeralds, chandeliers decorated with rubies, and various small crowns.
From here, the girl seemed to enter a beautifully described wonderland; she felt as if she were traveling through a forest of gems and a stream of jade. Dazzled, the girl unconsciously opened her mouth, her eyes sparkling.
Arrietty was very satisfied with Mori Tsukisa's reaction; it meant their efforts were rewarded.
At least the Queen liked it, and that was enough.
"This section consists of pure, uncrafted raw gemstones. Further ahead is the end of the middle section, where the lamps, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, ornaments, and some daily necessities that Your Majesty saw are placed."
The middle part was mostly that sort of thing. Mori Tsukisa actually quite liked that hand-veil—probably something worn by royalty: two silver rings fitted around the wrist and the bend of the forearm respectively, with silver threads connecting the rings bit by bit, forming something like an arm sleeve.
The two rings were inlaid with very cool-toned sapphires, uniformly cut and exquisitely crafted in a circle around the silver rings.
It was absolutely beautiful.
Of course, it was also extremely expensive.
"Handmade items are even more collectible than those gemstones."
At the very end, there was a wooden box. The body of the box was corroded beyond recognition, and its mottled metal surface was still stained with spots of green moss. The girl could tell that this was already the state after the Little Sprites had cleaned it.
The Little Sprite raised an eyebrow, beckoned to Mori Tsukisa, and said like she was presenting a treasure, "Heehee... Your Majesty, this was found in the innermost tomb."
"I bet it's something good."
She lifted the box; it was very heavy.
Opening it, a tiny silver bell lay in a groove in the center of the box. Intricate patterns were carved on the surface of the bell. Mori Tsukisa noticed that the style of these patterns was quite different from that of the Children of the Wind Clan.
—The Children of the Wind Clan favored a tough and simple style. Whether it was the mechanical arrays driven by the flying stones or the light paths carved on the porches, they were almost all right angles and sharp angles: a sharp aesthetic.
This included the warehouse for storing dragon eggs and the dragon patterns on the outside of the castle.
But this bell... the patterns were very soft, like spreading branches and vines, wrapping around the small silver ball in layers. It didn't seem like something from the Children of the Wind Clan, yet it appeared in their warehouse?
"It looks a bit like that bald guy's stuff," Arrietty chimed in. "Does Your Majesty remember the patterns on the left wall of the Place of Mourning in Hamunaptra?"
"It's somewhat similar."
Mori Tsukisa, lost in thought, pinched the handle of the bell and shook it by her ear.
Ting-ting-ting, a very crisp sound.
Her Profiler turned hot.
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