Chapter 204: This Trip Was Totally Worth It
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As Baiyi had stated before, Gouve was a place to experience, but it was not a place to stay.
It was dangerous to stay in Gouve. This was not because of the appearance of wild animals or enemy tribes—which are all problems that can be solved with a certain degree of Fist Diplomacy—It was because of the danger that the natural disasters there posed; one could not solve natural disasters with their fists, after all. Natural threats were always more mysterious and complicated than threats that had identifiable causes.
The floating islands at the lowest altitudes always had to brace themselves for tsunamis and tropical storms, while the islands way above had to brace themselves for polar winds and skin-biting winters—such a beautiful realm... not! These were the struggles that the inhabitants of Gouve had to go through all the time.
According to social science experts, places like this city would not be able to play host to a civilization 1 , but the people here had firm hearts; they bonded, they stayed put, and they endured it all. With magic and their own hands, the pioneers built their own dazzling civilization in this schizophrenic realm.
That was the reason why Baiyi's chose to travel to this location. He wanted the girls to enjoy the scenery but understand the hardships of this place. Additionally, he wanted to show them the drive that human had for endurance, and their continued optimism despite all odds.
"An immeasurable amount of time and hard work was used to build this city, you see. They had to build the city while bracing for sudden tidal wave, like the one from before. That required them to exert more than just patience and mettle," Baiyi explained, taking the opportunity of the girls' current shock to start a parable. "They were only able to complete their city after getting some help from the Isythre's sorcerers. It was the sorcerers that erected a more sturdy barrier against the waves. I can't imagine how many times the tidal waves rendered their efforts into ruins before the sorcerers came to help. This city here is the amalgamation of many blacksmiths and workers throughout the centuries."
"Why were they so adamant on building a city on a land this close to the sea? Couldn't they just have built it on the islands which are more higher up?" Attie asked.
"No one would like to stay in a cave forever," Baiyi answered briefly. "Besides, just because you're high up doesn't mean you're safe from other kinds of natural disasters. When storms and lightning roll, you would find yourself warming up more to tidal waves, instead. There's also the fact that they didn't want resources to go to waste. This is the largest island in the realm, after all. Naturally, people would not want it to remain deserted."
"Oh, I just realized that our realm is so much safer. We gotta protect her even better 2 ," Mia muttered under her breath.
If the kids were able to learn more values from this trip, Baiyi would consider it a job well done, even if it had cost him quite a fortune to come here.
He took the girls sightseeing around the capital city, and he bought many souvenirs and local cuisines. When they found a hotel that looked pretty welcoming, they decided to lodge there.
The girls had a seafood buffet for dinner. Afterward, they retired to their separate rooms, leaving Baiyi alone to map out plans for the next few days.
'A visit to the dragon knights would be good… Then, an exploration of a beautiful island? Sounds like a pretty solid plan geared for great experiences!'
As he was planned, a loud roar and a resounding crash boomed above the city barrier; it was similar to the racket made earlier on when the enormous wave hit the city's protective barrier. But this time, in the silence of the night, the racket sounded even more jarring and frightening.
Not long after, Little Mia, who was dressed in her sleeping gown and held her hammerhead shark plushie in her arm, crept into the Soul Armature's room.
"Mm…" Mia nodded feeling embarrassed; she hugged the plushie even harder and blushed. It was fortunate that the dark night masked her face, making it harder to notice her expression.
"Come over here," Baiyi waved her over to a spot on the bed, just beside where he sat on the bed.
Mia ran into his embrace like a cat and snuggled against him. "Does this feel better?" Baiyi gently rubbed her forehead with his face armor and ruffled her head lightly.
"Everything is better when Mr. Hope is around," Mia nodded and closed her eyes. Baiyi always emanated a warm sense of security to her…
Ever since the duo began living in Tisdale's mansion, Baiyi hadn't been watching the girl to sleep. This sudden gesture brought back memories—enough to make a happy smile grace Mia's face.
Before Mia could doze off, however—Tisdale, who was dressed in an unintentionally suggestive black silky nightgown, also came to Baiyi's room.
"You, too?" Baiyi stifled his laughter.
Tisdale nodded in embarrassment.
"Alright," Baiyi sighed, beckoning the girl over to sleep next to Mia. He rubbed his face armor on her forehead as well.
Mia opened her eyes when he did that, and when her gaze met Tisdale's, they both smiled.
"Alright, go to sleep now. We have a big day ahead of us," Baiyi said as he covered the girls with two blankets.
He pulled a chair next to the bed, sat on it, and without trying to hide it, he began watching the supple, lean bodies of his daugh--er, students as they fell asleep.
After they had finally fallen asleep, he used his psychic power to locate Attie and Laeticia. He was pleased to note that both were already asleep. One of them was sleeping more deeply than the other, but both of them had easily ignored the thunderous roar of the last tidal wave…
Conclusion? This trip was totally worth it.
When both girls woke up the next morning, the first thing they did was greet Baiyi a sheepish "good morning".
Then, as part of their greeting, they proceeded to rub their cheeks against Baiyi's chest armor. Whatever bashfulness that they had before was gone after that, seeing as they began to change right in front of him, without any reservations. They even made comments about each other's bodies in the presence of the Soul Armature.
Baiyi raced out of the room in a hurry 3 , and met face-to-face with a blurry-faced, eyes-rubbing Attie, who also greeted him with a 'good morning'. To his surprise, she stood on tiptoes and also rubbed her face on his chest armor.
'Who started this trend? Is Laeticia gonna pick it up next?' Baiyi touched the spot where the three beauties had rubbed their cheeks against and his thoughts wandered.
After packing quickly, Baiyi and the girls were once again touring the streets of the Rodrithelian capital city. Biayi was looking for another carriage service that was recommended by the hotel receptionist, and this time, he had no plans to use the ever-so-slow skycruising rays.
When the girls saw their means of transportation for the day, they cried out in unison, "Is this... a griffin?"
They were right. The day's ride would be atop the unique creature known as the griffin. It had head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. Two distinctly different beasts, the lion and the eagle—One had command over the sky and other controlled the lands—merged together into a majestic beast with its own disposition. Its lean body and snowy white feathers easily and instantly won over the four girls' hearts.
It was not as if there were no griffins in Isythre, but they were only a few which are bred for the wealthy aristocrats who loved the beast's perfect blend of grace and power. However, only the griffins in Gouve had been tamed well enough to be used as mounts. perhaps due to being different breeds, The griffins in Isythre were proud and was not known to submit this much to humans. It could perhaps be because they were of a different breed than the griffins in Gouve.
It's not cheap to ride on a griffin, but Baiyi had gotten himself some pretty deep pockets. Plus, the owner's compliment, "Your daughters are so beautiful, sir!" had really hacked open his paying hand.
How so? Well, an average griffin would have no trouble handling the girls' dandy weight, so two adult griffins would have sufficed for the group, but Baiyi was so pleased that he rented five griffins straight away so that everyone would get to ride on their own griffin.
The Soul Armature and the girls soared into the sky atop their mounts.
"What a generous man. He must be a very generous father as well." The owner fidgeted with the gold coins in his hand and uttered a heartfelt comment about the Soul Armature.
One of the differences between the griffins and the skycrusing rays was in flight speed; the griffins were extremely fast. Even with Baiyi's precautionary wind-shielding barrier, the girls still felt very anxious atop their mounts. They gripped the griffin's back tightly throughout the journey, only opening their eyes for short intervals to observe the scenery that seemed like blurs because of their speed.
It didn't take long before they reached the headquarter of the Brotherhood of Fire Wyverns. After the girls bade goodbye to their griffins, they turned their attentions to the unique floating island.
The entire island was like an enormous castle. The outermost border was guarded by sturdy castle walls, and one could see the towering mountains blanketed by clouds in the distance. It was easy to mistake the island for a fort built in the middle of tall mountains.
Baiyi led the girls to the entrance. On top of a gigantic door, which was a few hundred feet tall, hung an emblem of a fire-breathing dragon—the emblem of the Brotherhood.
"Sightseeing tourists?" A fully-armored guard approached the group. The same fire-breathing dragon emblem was on his brigandine.
He did not seem to find the presence of tourists surprising. In fact, it seemed like he was used to it.
"Yes. Taking the kids for a spin," The Soul Armature replied, handing him a bag of gold coins.
The guard examined the bag, and after a quick count, he nodded in satisfaction. "Gosh, if only there were more of you generous kinds visiting us!"
It was as though the compliment was a line to trigger his transformation because right after he had said that, the guard turned into an enthusiastic tour-guide, bringing his customers in through the door and into the castle. Judging from how practiced his introduction and actions were, one could guess he had been doing this part-time job for a while.
One of the main differences between a dragon knights' camp and other military camps was that the dragon knights actively encouraged the public to visit them. If one could afford the tour, they would be in for a warm and enthusiastic treatment.
The real reason behind this, however, was less savory; the dragon knights always had the need for more monetary resources.
As it turned out, taking care of a dragon was leaps and bounds more difficult than having a doggo as a pet. Even the smallest costs for their maintenance could veer into the millions. Thus, it would be unsurprising if a kingdom filed for bankruptcy because they tried to maintain dragon knights.
To make matter worse, Gouve was not even a financial or resource powerhouse. The costs that they incurred in their bid to own dragon knights were painfully expensive.
That was why tourists were welcome. In fact, if they were wealthy enough, one could even employ the knights as mercenaries…
"My esteemed visitors! May I say a few words before we start out tour?" The guard-turned-tour guide started briefing them about the rules along the way. They had restricted areas that no one was allowed to venture into; they forbade loud noises; they forbade tourists from making some odd huffing sounds to the dragons; they forbade tourists from trying to feed the dragons, etc.
There were about a dozen rules to follow. Some of them were made to protect the military secrets of the dragon knights, while some were enacted to ensure visitors' safety.
When Baiyi and the girls finally reached the depths of castle, they were treated to a large, wide, grassy plain.
"Welcome… To the Brotherhood of Fire Wyverns!" The tour guide declared theatrically.