*Flap... Flap... Flap...*
The three Alps began their descent as violet twilight painted the sky in shades that still felt alien despite a month of living in this transford world.
Below them stretched sothing that absolutely shouldn’t exist.
"... What the hell is that?"
Nero couldn’t keep the shock out of his voice.
And honestly? It’s a reasonable question.
"..."
Below them, a massive city sprawled across the landscape, its architecture defying every law of urban planning he’d ever known.
Stone terraces rose in layered tiers like a wedding cake designed by soone who’d never heard of structural engineering.
Entire districts floated above the ground, suspended by glowing arcane chanisms that pulsed with energy that made his eyes hurt if he stared too long.
The architectural chaos was stunning in its impossibility.
Marble spires that belonged in ancient Greece stood beside squat dwarven forges belching smoke.
Delicate elven archways with their distinctive organic curves were cramd next to practical human marketplaces.
Crystalline towers that seed grown rather than built rose from clusters of wooden structures that looked like they’d been assembled yesterday.
It was beautiful.
It was insane.
It absolutely should not exist.
"Okay, serious question," Frila called out over the wind. "Wasn’t it just like... a month ago? Before everything went to complete shit...?"
She gestured exaggeratedly at the impossible city below.
"... How the fuck is there a city now?! With different races and districts and floating platforms and everything?!"
The other five girls were practically vibrating with the sa confusion.
"Y-Yeah!" Carn called out from the second Alp, her voice carrying genuine bewildernt. "This place looks like it’s been here for decades!"
"Centuries, even!" Zara added as blinked her eyes, "Look at the wear patterns on those lower structures! The infrastructure alone would take years to establish, even with modern construction equipnt!"
"And the population!" Nell pointed at the crowds visible below. "There are at least thousands of people down there! Where did they all co from?"
Isabell’s spatial manipulation gave her a unique perspective. "The dinsional anchoring required for those floating districts... that’s not sothing you just throw together!"
Dia, who’d been relatively quiet until now, finally spoke up as she looked at the fantastical structures. "... This doesn’t make any sense from an engineering or sociological standpoint."
"..."
Nero’s senses swept across the cityscape.
The way different architectural styles blended despite having no business being adjacent.
The flow of aerial traffic above them, dozens of flying creatures carrying passengers or cargo.
The sheer density of the population concentrated in what should be wilderness.
His eyes narrowed with calculation, identifying potential threats among the diverse crowds visible even from this altitude.
Different races mingling together.
So ard, so not.
Guards stationed at what appeared to be checkpoints or gate structures.
The organized chaos of a functioning society that sohow existed where there should be nothing.
"... It’s really a full-blown neutral city, huh." He comnted after a while, letting his guard down a bit.
Celis, who’d maintained her gentle smile throughout their flight, finally spoke up,
"With the aid of magic, ’tis entirely possible to construct a fortress within re days. A city such as this could be erected within weeks if sufficient mages and resources were dedicated to the task."
"..."
Everyone except Aurelia turned to stare at the Saintess.
"Weeks?" Frila repeated incredulously.
"Indeed."
Celis gestured toward the floating districts with graceful certainty.
"By shaping the earth, the ground was lifted; by spatial magic, the platforms were made steady; by transmutation, rough stone beca fine walls. With many skilled hands working together, what would take years was done in but a short while."
Aurelia nodded in confirmation. "... Celis speaks the truth. During the ancient wars, entire fortifications were raised overnight through combined magical efforts. Cities could be built, destroyed, and rebuilt multiple tis within a single campaign season."
"... Magic is really fucking convenient at this point." Nero muttered.
In fact, he’s planning to learn magic next, considering he’s now quite proficient with the way of western sword.
"..."
The casual profanity made Celis’s smile widen slightly, though she made no comnt on his language.
Nero couldn’t help but gaze in wonder at the fantasy environnt spread below them.
The impossible architecture.
The floating platforms that should have crashed but didn’t.
The way magic seed to make physics more of a suggestion than a law.
It’s really like he’s living in a fantasy setting.
’Nah, aren’t I actually in an apocalyptic fantasy setting right now?’
He chuckled as his eyes settled forward.
But more than any of those structures...
"..."
His eyes fixated on the diverse population visible even from altitude.
This ti with a different thought in mind.
... Different races.
Actual different races.
Not just humans with different skin tones or ethnic backgrounds.
But completely distinct species walking alongside each other like it was the most normal thing in the world.
’... Damn, this is basically a neutral town for all races of so sort, right?’
His otaku heart was racing.
Years of consuming fantasy dia, reading light novels, watching ani, playing gas – all of it featuring various fantasy races that he’d only ever experienced through screens and imagination.
And now they were real.
Walking, talking, actually existing in physical reality.
’Where are they... the cat girls?’
The thought made his pulse quicken with genuine excitent that had nothing to do with attraction and everything to do with pure weeb enthusiasm.
And then,
"!!!"
’There are actual... real-life cat girls down there! Elves, and dwarves too!’
His mind was already noting down all the other races he’d spotted during their descent.
Elves with their distinctive pointed ears and graceful movents.
Dwarves, stocky and broad, moving with purpose through the crowds.
What looked like lizard people near the forges, their scaled skin reflecting the firelight.
Beings with horns and tails that might be imp-halflings or tieflings or sothing else entirely.
The sheer variety was overwhelming in the best possible way.
"Lord Nero appears quite... enthusiastic," Aurelia observed with a faint smile in her usually stoic tone.
"Can you bla ?" Nero grinned unashadly. "Do you have any idea how many years I’ve spent consuming fantasy dia about this exact scenario? And now it’s actually real... it would be a sha if I let this opportunity pass by, you know?"
"... Y-You’re like a kid in a candy store." Carn noted with her own smile.
"Damn, right I am."
Their Alps joined the aerial traffic circling the city, falling into what appeared to be an organized pattern despite the chaos.
Dozens of flying creatures moved through designated paths, each one carrying passengers or cargo.
No wyverns or dragons or griffins though.
Most were C-tier summons at best, with maybe a handful of B-tier mounts scattered throughout.
Their three A-rank Alps actually stood out as unusually high-quality transport, drawing occasional glances from other aerial travelers.
Nero noticed several flying platforms that moved through chanical ans rather than biological, their arcane engines humming with contained energy.
The infrastructure for managing this much aerial traffic must be incredible.
Landing zones marked with glowing symbols.
Traffic patterns enforced through so kind of magical signaling.
Guard patrols on flying mounts keeping watch for violations or threats.
It was organized chaos at its finest.
"Let’s follow the flow," Aurelia instructed, her mind imdiately grasping the traffic patterns. "There appears to be a designated landing area ahead."
Sure enough, a large platform ca into view, marked with symbols that probably indicated its purpose even if Nero couldn’t read the script.
Other flying creatures were descending toward it in orderly fashion, disgorging passengers before taking off again to clear space for new arrivals.
Their Alps touched down with surprising grace for creatures of their size, their massive clawed feet finding purchase on the stone platform without difficulty.
*Thud... thud... thud...*
The sound of their landing drew so attention from nearby travelers, though most seed more interested in going about their business than gawking at newcors.
"Stoneveil Quarter," a sign proclaid in multiple languages, including one that Nero could actually read. "Landing Platform 7. Please secure all mounts and declare any restricted cargo to customs officials."
"Well, at least they have signs," he muttered, dismounting from the Alp with significantly less grace than Aurelia or Celis by jumping straight down on his feet.
*Boom!*
His landing caused a loud boom that attracted so attention but was imdiately dispelled upon noticing that it’s just a normal human.
The six forr wives followed with varying degrees of success, so stumbling as they adjusted to solid ground after hours of aerial travel.
The mont Nero’s feet touched the platform, sensory overload hit like a physical force.
The bustling marketplace sprawled before them in every direction, an explosion of sights and sounds and slls that made his brain struggle to process everything at once.
Dozens of languages mixed together in an incomprehensible cacophony.
rchants calling out their wares in dialects he’d never heard.
Custors haggling in tongues that sounded like music or grinding stones or chirping birds.
The linguistic chaos alone was enough to make his head spin.
Exotic goods from rged dinsions displayed openly on every stall.
Weapons that glowed with obvious enchantnts.
Fabrics that shifted colors as he watched.
Foods that slled incredible or terrible or both simultaneously.
Artifacts whose purpose he couldn’t even begin to guess.
And the slls.
Dear gods, the slls.
Different racial cuisines creating an overwhelming atmospheric assault on his nose.
Sothing sweet and spicy from what looked like an elven food stall.
Rich aty scents from the dwarven district nearby.
Exotic spices he couldn’t identify wafting from a vendor whose species he didn’t recognize.
The mixture was both appetizing and nauseating depending on which particular scent his brain focused on at any given mont.
"T-This is..." Frila trailed off, clearly as overwheld as he was.
"Incredible," Nell finished.
"Terrifying," Carn added.
"Both," Zara decided.
Nero was about to suggest they find soone to ask for directions when movent caught his attention.
A figure approached from the crowd with confident, feline grace.
Cat ears.
Actual cat ears perched atop a head of auburn hair that swayed with each step.
A tail, fluffy and expressive, swishing behind her with obvious contentnt.
Amber eyes that held friendly intelligence and just a hint of predatory awareness.
She wore practical leather armor that sohow managed to be both functional and distinctly feminine, with modifications that accommodated her non-human anatomy.
A real cat girl.
An actual, genuine, walking-talking cat girl approaching them directly.
Nero felt his heart skip several beats.
’Stay cool, stay cool, don’t let your otaku blood take over...’
"Nya~! Welco to Eidralis, nya!"
The greeting ca with a cheerful wave and the kind of enthusiasm that suggested she’d done this introduction hundreds of tis.
"I’m Niya, one of the official guides for newcors to our fair city! You folks look like this is your first ti visiting, nya?"
"..."
The casual ’nya’ at the end of her sentence nearly broke Nero’s brain.
She actually said it.
She actually ended her sentence with ’nya’ like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Every stereotype, every cliché, every ani trope he’d ever consud was happening in real life right before his eyes.
"I can tell you’re travelers from the way you’re staring at everything, nya!" Nyx continued with a knowing smile.
"Don’t worry, that’s totally normal! Eidralis can be pretty overwhelming for first-ti visitors, nya!"
She gestured broadly at the chaotic marketplace around them.
"We’re a neutral city, founded just after the dinsional rge began accelerating, nya! All races welco, all faiths tolerated, all goods legal as long as they’re properly registered, nya!"
"..."
Aurelia was watching the cat girl with interest more so to the content of her words rather than the way she speaks.
Celis maintained her gentle smile as she listened silently.
The six forr wives were split between being amazed at both the content of her words, her typical isekai appearance and way of speech.
And for Nero himself...
His otaku soul was screaming with joy.
A real cat girl, saying ’nya’ naturally, offering to guide them through a fantasy city.
This was it!
This was the mont every fantasy nerd dread of!
And there was only one appropriate response!
Nero cleared his throat, composed himself, and with a nasty grin...
"Thanks for the welco, nya! We’d love a guide, nya!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
When in Ro, do as the Romans do!
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