Inside-Outside-In

Melo

There was a reason Melo had wanted to rush to leave. His cousin wasn’t going anywhere, but their means of travel was. They only had eight days to work with, so they were going to be cutting it close.

They first needed to get to the capital city, which would take nearly an entire week by carriage. Melo used what had been described as his real Skill, the ability to find and create money-making opportunities, and got them an escort mission.

His teammates often seemed impressed by how he was able to do it so frequently, but it wasn’t difficult. He just had to be a little friendly and ask if someone would like a mercenary escort to their destination.

Many carriages had people aboard who were capable of fighting the common monsters they might encounter as they traveled, but they weren’t necessarily mercenaries. They saw fighting as a dangerous chore and weren’t all that interested in doing it for a living.

So all Melo had to do was walk up and ask. He would negotiate for higher pay, but it still didn’t amount to much usually. Mercenary escorts were really only a thing in more dangerous areas of the world, so they didn’t want to pay much for an unnecessary amount of protection.

Basically, if they were going to be traveling, then they might as well earn some money doing it, even if it wasn’t much.

Shae made a joke about how he earned a lot of money using one simple trick, but was sad when nobody got it.

It took them seven boring days of travel before the capital was finally within sight. The buildings and aesthetics were generally the same as Marlonn’s, but it wasn’t the trade hub that Marlonn was, so things had a more unified appearance to them.

Important offices and the like were mostly within one area of the city, rather than interspersed throughout. The same was true for other buildings or needs people might have.

In comparison, Marlonn was a mess and was easy to get lost in if you weren’t careful. Everything was kind of all over the place. It did have main streets and dedicated signs, but they were the same bright neon as the rest of the signs everywhere else.

After finding a place to stay for the night, Melo went off on his own, and returned an hour and a half later with a smile on his face.

Konial asked, “You look smug. You finally going to tell us what the big secret is?”

“Hah, you wish!”

Shae was also looking smug for some reason. “Think, Konial. He’s good at getting us transport. You didn’t pay attention to what was going on around the city at all?”

Ugh, she figured it out!

Melo interrupted, “Don’t say it, Shae! I was hoping to keep it a surprise.”

She smiled and shrugged. “Alright.”

It’s the common sense of this world that what’s going to happen tomorrow isn’t quite normal for average people, but she’s not from this world. I should’ve kept that in mind.

 

———

 

The following morning, Melo led his four teammates to a special location. It was in the more well-off portion of the capital and was surrounded by a high wall, blocking the view within. Instead of entering the normal way, however, he led them to a back entrance used by workers.

Shae had been obviously excited, as she knew what was coming, but still stopped and stood there with her mouth open once she finally laid her eyes on it.

Smiling grandly with his arms wide, Melo said, “Friends and teammates, I present to you…” He bowed. “Our ride.”

Tria’s fists shot up into the air. “YES!”

Unfortunately, he had to put a damper on the good mood that was forming before their expectations got too high. “We won’t be riding on the deck, though. We will be in the hold, doing labor.”

Everyone seemed to deflate a little, but this was still a rare thing that most people were unlikely to ever experience, so it wasn’t too bad.

A massive stone tower, a skyship, was in front of them. It was long and vertical in shape, with enormous fan blades spread out from the top of it. Additional smaller propellers were placed along the sides at key points. These could be controlled individually from within. There were also jets for wind magic that could be activated for even finer control.

The whole thing was a gentle red color, with a large soewan¹Tall, fuzzy lizard-like monster generally used for pulling carriages. emblazoned in black. Those were the colors and insignia of the Arvace Kingdom’s royal family.

Unlike the smaller type of vehicle that people had been trying to invent for probably as long as people had been around, a larger vehicle like this one worked, but only under very specific conditions.

The weather had to be just right, and these few weeks of the year were the only time when those requirements were met. The eastern winds didn’t blow as strongly during this time, meaning the worst they might encounter would be a minor storm.

The migration patterns of the various monsters that inhabited the sky also put them in different parts of the world this time of year, so they weren’t as much of an issue, either. Embrasures on the several floors of the building allowed guards to deal with them.

The enchantments and mana crystals that made the whole thing work had to be spaced out quite a bit to not interfere with each other, but that also placed a greater strain on all the materials between them. Like pulling a rope tauter and tauter, too much stress on the materials and they would break.

But with the good weather during this time of year, sunlight itself could work as solar power. Sky monsters above a certain altitude didn’t follow the same migration patterns as the others, so they couldn’t just fly above the clouds all the time.

Gravity mana crystals would be the main controller of altitude. Wind mana crystals would help to stabilize the skyship and keep it steady, while also providing movement and helping make it more aerodynamic. Light magic crystals would provide additional power.

There were many more types of crystals and enchantments within. Some were just for controlling the various mechanisms, while others were for keeping the passengers comfortable and happy.

The distance from the ground also meant there was less ambient mana interference. That interference was the reason why even larger ground vehicles didn’t exist.

All in all, the skyship was a miraculous vehicle that could only function during extremely lucky and specific circumstances. It was also a novelty, and something rich people rode for fun. The average person would never be able to afford a ticket.

Melo looked at Shae, “Was there anything like in your world?”

The woman replied, “Sort of. There were flying vehicles, but not massive, flying fortresses like this. I like this so much more. Probably more legroom, too.”

Ignoring whatever her comment about legroom might mean, Melo smiled and said, “Well, let’s stop gawking. We’ve got to get to work.” He gestured to all the cargo being sorted and loaded.

Konial laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.

 

———

 

Tria

Melo had worked his magic once again, and this time, gotten everyone temporary jobs aboard a skyship of all things. He says all he has to do is ask people if they will hire their team, but he doesn’t seem to be aware of just how amazing what he does really is. He somehow always says exactly the right thing to convince them.

Whatever it is he does, I’m so grateful for it right now. I could never talk like that.

But I get to ride a skyship! SKYSHIP SKYSHIP SKYSHIP!!!

They wouldn’t be riding on the deck or any of the nice parts of the ship, however. That was for rich people. They would all be crammed into a tiny room together, but that was fine. Their estimated arrival in the Gortrand Empire’s capital city was 5 or 6 days from now, so it wouldn’t be for a long time.

As long as I can look out the arrowslit²Those narrow, vertical windows castles have., I’ll be happy.

All the cabins had an embrasure built into them so the inhabitants could help defend on a moment’s notice. Of their team members, only Tria and Konial would be able to help deal with any threats before they got too close. She had light, and he had lightning. Melo could technically be included in that as well, but it would be difficult to retrieve his knives.

Besides loading cargo, they would be doing other labor aboard the ship as it traveled. It wouldn’t be any of the complex stuff, since they weren’t actual crew members. It was just moving things around when needed, turning a handle or level when instructed, and so on.

After several hours of working, a railway surrounding the upper levels of the ship became busy.

The rich people are finally boarding. That means we can leave soon!

Everyone was expected to continue working as the ship took off, but Tria’s teammates covered for her so she could watch from the embrasure as the capital became smaller and smaller.

Becoming a mercenary was the right decision. The idiots back home didn’t understand me, but my teammates do. Maybe I can get wings when I unlock my next Skill?

The skyship began moving southward as it ascended. Despite it now being nighttime, certain sections of the city were still bright. Streetlights and neon signage were mesmerizing little specks when viewed from so far above like this.

A voice spoke from behind her. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

Tria turned around, seeing Shae. “Yes! It’s so pretty! I can’t wait to finally sit down and paint it!”

Shae chuckled. “Yeah. It’s a bit nostalgic. I’ve seen this kind of view before.”

Tria gaped at her. “That is so not fair!”

“I guess,” she shrugged. “Anyway, I wanted to see how it compared. Even with all the lights, the light pollution is still so much less here. And the architecture is different, so it’s not quite the same kind of view. This city isn’t arranged into neat grids, either, but that makes the effect better.”

“’Light pollution’?” Tria repeated.

“It’s when there’s so much light that you can’t see the night sky. It can even affect wildlife if it gets bad enough, but this world isn’t even remotely close to being that bad.”

“Oh. I didn’t know there was a term for that.” She had seen it a few times when walking the busier streets at night. Most places were closed during those hours, but some places were the opposite, being open only during those hours.

“It’s an Earth term, but there might be something different for it here.”

They returned to work after that, with Tria excited to paint once she finally had the time to do so. The room was cramped, so she would have to do it on her narrow bed. She had painted in more uncomfortable conditions before, though.

Nothing could stop her, not even the slight swaying and tilting of the ship as it traversed the sky. It felt similar to a sea ship, actually.

She smiled.

Different ship, different sea.