The Regressor asked into the empty air, but only Peru could answer this question. Naturally, all eyes turned to Peru.
"...Probably."
Receiving their gazes, Peru slowly walked to the window.
The Golden Ship had small windows, but even those were covered by thick curtains due to Tir's strong will. Peru slightly pulled back the curtains and looked at the scenery outside.
And then, she murmured softly.
"...We're close."
Peru was usually a woman of few words, but this time, there was no need to explain what she meant. In Yeolguk, there was only one place they could be getting closer to.
The Golden Mirror, undoubtedly.
As if having made a pact, we stepped out of the cabin. After climbing the narrow stairs and stepping onto the deck, we frowned at the pouring sunlight and looked around.
On one side of the cramped deck, Aurea was snorting in excitement. While Peru tended to Aurea, I slowly approached the bow. The scenery that had been hidden by the horizon of the Golden Ship gradually revealed itself.
"I didn't know because I was cooped up in the cabin until now. The scenery has changed quite a bit, hasn't it?"
Upon reaching the bow, I muttered as I looked at the scenery unfolding before my eyes.
On one side of our field of vision, there was an endlessly stretching cornfield. Corn tall enough to submerge a person up to the crown of their head filled the view.
Perhaps they had tried to harvest it, the cornfield at the edges was dug up, but compared to the overall size, it was merely a fraction. If all this corn were gathered, Yeolguk wouldn't have to worry about food for several years.
The sea of corn, which seemed like it would continue endlessly, abruptly cut off at some point.
Crossing a small stone wall, a city center unfolded inside. It was a beautiful city made entirely of pure white stone, from the flagstones to the rooftops. From the aqueducts running across the buildings to the winding roads. And the massive, majestic palace visible in the distance. It was undoubtedly a historical city left behind by a great civilization....
"This isn't the Golden Palace, is it?"
"...No."
"Then the Golden Mirror must have made it. Both this field and that city."
...If only this place wasn't Yeolguk.
Looking at it again, I felt a sense of alienation. There was no need to search for what it was. The cornfield existing right next to the city was alienating enough.
"A city with absolutely no planning. Building a field of that size right next to such a huge city, without even a water source? In just a few weeks, the field will wither, and the city will become a hotbed of disease and insects. What a waste of a city."
As I muttered, Hilde, who had been carefully observing the city, chimed in.
"Well~? The city doesn't look like much of a waste either? It looks glamorous and majestic on the outside, but the aesthetic sense is completely zero, zero. Gunguk would be more beautiful!"
"I don't know much about art, but it's hard to imagine it being worse than Gunguk. Isn't this better than a country built with square blocks?"
"Father's aesthetic sense is completely zero too! Can't you feel this unpleasantness?"
Aesthetic sense? Isn't it stranger to feel uncomfortable about something you can't even eat? Beauty is such a subjective concept that I, who can read minds, rather lack that standard. Unless it's universal enough for everyone to nod in agreement.
"I'll give you a hint. Look at the pillars. Then you'll know!"
I focused on the pillars in the city, just as Hilde said.
Temple pillars. Bridge pillars. And building pillars. If what they support is different, the people who make them are bound to be different, and naturally, the way they are made changes. There may be popular styles, but even those are bound to differ. Because the process of human reproduction is all different, even when looking at the same thing.
But this city was not like that.
Identical. Bridge pillars, temple pillars. Building pillars. Even the pillars placed to decorate the roadside were all similar.
There were differences in size, thickness, and minor patterns... but it didn't seem like they had the same root, rather like they branched out from the same bough.
"It was fine before I heard it, but now that you mention it, it bothers me a bit."
"That's not all. The patterns of the bricks. The way they are stacked. The arrangement of the buildings. The shape of the blocks. It's all the same. It's a repetition of the same pattern. It's not just trite, it's bizarre to the point of grotesqueness."
Was this person looking at such things from the start? While others were looking at the city and the cornfield, she was alone scrutinizing the pillars and patterns of the city one by one. Should I say she has good observation skills, or should I say she's a bit gloomy?
Whatever the shapeshifter's observation skills may be, the discomfort grows every time I hear it. The 'knowledge' itself generated from reading Hilde's mind does not move my heart. However, every time I notice the parts Hilde pointed out, my senses report discomfort.
I can't explain it in words, but there's just something I don't like. This city was like that. It's flashy, splendid, and majestic, but every time I look at it, a mosaic appears in one corner of my vision. It's hard to distinguish left from right. A small block looks the same as a large building. It's like looking at a forest where all the leaves are made of mosaics.
In fact, aesthetic sense must be an extension of this kind of instinct. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Well, it can't be helped, can it? This city was made by the Golden Mirror alone."
The Golden Mirror's power is divine, but the world he created is ultimately only within the range of what he could imagine. Because even if the Golden Mirror could create all things in the world, he did not know all things in the world.
In other words, the problems visible in this city are proof that the Golden Mirror is not perfect. Hilde discovered that fact and rejoiced like a child.
"The Golden Mirror may be a great alchemist, but it seems he couldn't become a great artist~. No matter how great he is, it looks like he can't do 'everything', huh? Hehe."
Where in the world is there someone who can do everything alone? The Golden Mirror is only human, after all.
However, Hilde's mocking attitude offended Peru. Peru approached with a slight frown.
"...So. What are you going to do?"
"Do what? We have to go to the Golden Palace... Ah."
Why did we come outside again? We came out to find out what was going on because the Golden Ship suddenly stopped, right? I forgot while sightseeing.
"...Look below."
Peru said, pointing below the stern. They say it's darkest beneath the lamp. We, who hadn't paid attention to our feet because we were looking at the scenery, finally looked down.
The Golden Ship was idling with its bow raised.
On both sides were lifts with massive pistons attached. They were digging into the bottom of the Golden Ship and pushing it up. With its wheels off the ground, the infinite tracks pathetically scraped at the air.
No matter how advanced the displacement movement method is, it's a type that moves by stepping on the ground. If it's floating in the air, it can't move. So lifting a Juggernaut stops a Juggernaut.... That's within the realm of common sense.
However. The subject is extraordinary.
"They lifted this huge lump of iron?"
Why is a Juggernaut a Juggernaut? Because it's an ultra-large lump of iron that looks down on most buildings. Inside is a mechanical device that only the Golden Mirror can design and create, and to protect it, it's surrounded by ultra-heavy, ultra-strong alchemical steel that the Golden Mirror personally alchemized.
It's naturally heavy, and even its strength is incomparable to anything in the world, so even the most powerful lift would not be able to lift it, but would rather sink down.
That lift, its strength is one thing, but... the force generated by the pistons is also astonishing. It's impossible with mediocre abilities. Could that be it too.
"...Atlas Wini. It's the Suppression Lord's equipment."
Peru answered that question.
"...Stopped the Golden Ship. Perhaps because they were afraid the city would be destroyed?"
Looking around, jackals riding vehicles were watching us from the side of the Golden Ship. I wondered why there were no people in the city, but it seemed they had already fled after seeing the Golden Ship.
"Well, from their perspective, some crazy lump of iron must have looked like it was running amok and trying to ram into the city. Should we apologize and detour?"
"...No. We've arrived."
Peru stopped the Golden Ship. As she withdrew her ability, the ship's bell rang softly, announcing the engine's stop. The infinite tracks, which had been idling fiercely, stopped moving. Not long after, the Golden Ship lost power and cooled down.
Pusshhh.
As if responding, the sound of air releasing was heard from the pistons below. I felt my body become lighter for a moment, then the Golden Ship tilted greatly and thudded down. The lift had also stopped operating.
The clash of the steel giants ended there. It felt like the world had quieted down for a moment. In the empty silence, Peru spoke.
"...The Suppression Lord is the Golden Palace's closest aide. The Golden Palace is near him. We've arrived."
The Golden Ship's hatch lowered. When we went outside, an old man wearing a straw hat was waiting for us right in front. We lost our words for a moment when we saw him.
Because he was standing with nothing below his knees, looking up at us.
It's scary, but it's so sudden that it's a bit bewildering. I'm not sure if he's trying to appeal to our pity or trying to look scary. Before we could react.
"Kukuku! Seeing dumbfounded expressions is always a pleasure!"
The old man laughed playfully and took a deep breath.
Chiiiik. The sound of air filling was heard, and his body suddenly rose. The old man, who was now at eye level with me, laughed heartily.
It wasn't below his knees that were missing. His entire lower body below the waist was missing. Instead, he walked around with pistons attached to his legs.
Suppression Lord Hekto. The Lord of Yeolguk, who used pistons as if they were his own body, walked up with pshh sounds from his joints, greeting us.
"It's been a while, Jarnok. I'm sorry for stopping you aggressively. I was working, so I received the report late. But I trust you understand."
"Is saying sorry enough? You suddenly stopped me and I spilled all my tea."
While everyone else reacted, I was the only one who showed my annoyance. How are you going to compensate for my mental damage? As I grumbled, Hekto shrugged as if to say "what can I do".
"Then what? When a Gold-Shattering Ship that crushes rocks and steel as it races is about to trample the farmland. Saying sorry was just a formality I didn't even mean; if you had trampled the cornfield, I would have flipped it over entirely."
The answer was so magnanimous that I momentarily doubted my ears.
The Yeolguk natives I had talked to so far were all gear enthusiasts, hot-tempered, and had communication disorders. By inductive reasoning, I had subconsciously thought the next Lord would also be abnormal.
He even suddenly lifted the Golden Ship with a lift, so I thought he was an enemy or a madman. He speaks better than I thought?
"What. Why are you like a normal person."
Oops. My true feelings.
"Kukuku! In this country, I'm on the weird side! There should be at least one normal person like me for the country to function, right!"
He's really weird. Just dismissing my words as a joke and laughing it off? Is this a Yeolguk person?
This is why you shouldn't judge people by their appearance. A person with no legs has such a good personality.
Hekto, who had kindly answered, took out a cane, extended it long, and leaned it on the ground. Balancing himself, he asked Peru with sharp eyes.
"Now. Anyway. If you had no business, you could have just detoured, but seeing that you disembarked, it seems you have another purpose. I'm old, so it's hard for me to stand for long, so would you slowly tell me what your business is?"
The Regressor stepped forward, pushing past Peru, and said.
"We are a peace envoy from Gunguk. We want to talk to the Golden Mirror about stopping the war and forming an alliance."
It was a fastball right down the middle. So straightforward that there was no room for misunderstanding, and thus, a statement that was hard to believe.
Suppression Lord Hekto also couldn't accept it for a moment and blinked. He looked at the Regressor with suspicion, as if he couldn't believe it. The fortunate thing was that Peru was there to vouch for our identities.
"Is that true, Jarnok?"
"...Yes."
"Do you have anything to prove your identity?"
It was a standard procedure, but the Regressor didn't have anything to prove his identity. As the Regressor hesitated, Hilde stepped forward.
"We have something to prove our identity, but would you like to know what it is? As a substitute, I could even tell you the reason why Maximilian couldn't become a Lord?"
"Enough. It seems true that you came from Gunguk. In the first place, what fool would ride on Lord Jarnok's Juggernaut and cross Yeolguk unless they had business with the Golden Mirror."
Convinced, Hekto creased his brow and stroked his beard.
"Hmm. A peace envoy. I didn't expect Gunguk to send one first."
That makes sense. Gunguk didn't know either. If it weren't for the Regressor, they would have sent an army instead of a peace envoy.
Such a major matter cannot be easily concluded. Hekto scratched his straw hat, looked at the jackals surrounding the area, and said.
"This isn't a good place to bring up political opinions. Let's go inside and talk for a bit."
"Alright. Lead the way."
As the Regressor readily nodded, Hekto paused.
"Stepping so readily into a land that might be a trap. Aren't you feeling a sense of crisis? If you, the peace envoys, disappear, peace itself might go up in smoke."
"Try it."
Wow. So cool. When will I be able to say something like that.
Even with the ability to read minds, I can't say things like that. Because there are cases where people will suddenly take offense and actually act on it without much thought. You have to be confident you can survive right in the middle of an explosion, like the Regressor.