The Demonic Federation has no capital. The Floating Castle serves a similar role, but there are many inconvenient aspects to making a city drifting 30,000 meters above ground the capital.
The biggest problem is, as expected, accessibility.
Only the 'Chosen' who can use anti-gravity magic can board the Floating Castle by observing its trajectory and casting precise spells. There are at least three Gates of Life and Death, and if one makes even a single mistake, they become a lost soul of the world.
Above and below the clouds. An immense chasm felt beyond the point of severance.
Far from taking responsibility and ruling, it is a castle in the sky that merely looks down and reigns from its lofty heights.
Even so, the Demonic Federation cannot abandon the Floating Castle. No, it must strive not to be abandoned by the Floating Castle.
They must enjoy the knowledge and magic that flows from the Demon King's Tower, Babylon, and the five towers under its command.
[Descent is complete! All Chosen of the Floating Castle can visit the landing site after going through a very simple procedure! This time, the landing site is the Celsius Territory, and the territory's Rule is a freezing and boiling point anomaly! For details, please refer to the Rule Book, and please check the temperature before drinking water!]
The 'Descent' had ended.
Nothing special happened. Although the Floating Castle changed its orbit and descended close to the surface, the 'Chosen' living inside only realized it when the announcement came on. And after showing a moment of obligatory interest, they dove back into their own tasks.
Even though the Descent occurs only once a year, the Chosen of the Floating Castle have no reason to go out. Encased in a shell, the Floating Castle experiences neither cold winds nor blinding light shining down. There are no threats of disease or wild animals, nor even the need to worry about falling. The Floating Castle, where the Five Towers and the Demon King reside, is a far better environment than the Celsius Territory, which at best has a single prominent magical family.
And the same was true for the people outside the Floating Castle.
"Waaaaaaaah!!"
A fierce roar loud enough to deafen the ears.
The moment I stepped outside the Floating Castle, I heard cheers. Down there, the ordinary citizens of the Demonic Federation cheered toward the descended Floating Castle.
Gazes full of envy. Cheers aimed at leaving even a fleeting impression. A resolve to climb aboard no matter what.
All those emotions mixed into a fierce outcry, born purely of their own volition.
Even an emperor or a king would be welcomed less than this. If they cheered because authority forced them to, the emotion contained within wouldn't be ecstasy.
But the Demonic Federation's Floating Castle evoked genuine emotion. People gazed with longing at the magic that did not belong to this earth, at the castle in the sky that drifted through the distant heavens before descending.
In Babylon, the giant tower at the center of the Floating Castle, the Descent Festival was held. The Demon King and the five Tower Masters revealed themselves, and the Five Towers stretched their legs toward the ground. The towers, gradually extending downward, descended to a height where they seemed as if they would touch the ground, then stopped.
They were not planted into the ground; rather, they flew at the exact same speed as the earth's surface while maintaining a fixed altitude. It was a maneuver bordering on a miracle.
The lofty Floating Castle forged a bridge connecting it to the lowly Lower Realm, and the people flocked there.
The magicians of the prominent magical families who came to have an audience with the Demon King prepared a grand event to welcome the Floating Castle. Magical light and mist rose up in the shadow of the Floating Castle, and self-playing instruments sounded a fanfare.
The Descent Festival. It was a festival thrown in joy by the territory chosen by the Floating Castle this year.
And a little distance away from that. I, having been exiled from the Floating Castle, stumbled upon unexpected information while preparing to descend.
"Excuse me? Shey. What did you say?"
"I'm staying here."
I haven't seen you in a while, and what? You're staying here? What does that mean?
When I asked again, Shey revealed the pentagram badge on his chest and answered.
"I became a Chosen."
"What?"
"To repay your trust, I decided to do my best too. I sold the information I acquired before the regression to obtain Chosen status, and I've already made contact with the Demon God Hall. There is a lot of information I need to gather, so I'll be staying in touch with them for the time being."
"What?"
"You can climb the Dragon Gate, right? I'll be waiting!"
While I was studying to climb the Dragon Gate, Shey seemed to have progressed something on his own. It was decided that I alone would fall to the Lower World.
Tch. Just wait. I'll return to the Floating Castle with flying colors when the Dragon Gate opens.
Abangarde tried to come down to the surface to see me off, but as a member of the Crystal Tower, he had a lot of work to do for the Descent Festival. Taking only a crystal orb for communication, I descended to the surface alone.
They say you come empty-handed and leave empty-handed. I was treated like a king on the inside, but now that it's time to leave, not a single soul is seeing me off.
Will I be okay? Can I, a mere outsider, survive in this harsh world? Will I die of loneliness?
I was worrying about all sorts of things as I rode the tower's elevator down, right around the time I dejectedly opened the door and stepped out.
"It's a Chosen of the Floating Castle!"
"A Chosen has come down from the Floating Castle!"
"Excuse me! Hey, wait a moment...! Please teach us!"
A massive crowd of people was waiting to greet me.
No one saw me off, but so many came to welcome me. I feel a bit proud.
***
Both Abangarde and the Blue Tower Master worried about whether I could climb the Dragon Gate, but they didn't particularly worry about how I would fare among the commoners when I went down to the Lower World.
To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. They should have at least given some travel money to a disciple falling to the Lower Realm, but instead they just gave me a pile of grimoires I couldn't even eat. I wondered what they would do if I starved to death in an unfamiliar environment.
"Teacher! Are there any inconveniences?"
It seemed my worries were unfounded.
The Floating Castle was an object of envy, and a magician who came down from there was truly a fairy from heaven, or a Chosen. I was treated with the utmost hospitality for the sole reason that I came from the Floating Castle.
What? Am I not also a commoner and just a candidate preparing for the Dragon Gate? What does it matter? The other party doesn't know that fact.
"The floor is warm, and the room is spacious. I'm satisfied. Is this an empty building? The facilities look good, though."
"The facilities are fine, right? It's an academy that teaches the children of the territory. Since we also need to teach magic, the people of the school district chipped in to prepare it. It's not the best, but it's sufficient to teach children."
"An academy? What about the person who used to teach here?"
"Oh my, they went on a temporary vacation. A Chosen from the Floating Castle is here, so what's the big deal about a local schoolmaster?"
A neatly dressed middle-aged woman answered amiably. Yeah, right. When I'm here, some local schoolmaster is... Huh?
"Excuse me? No. Why are you kicking out a schoolmaster who was teaching well?"
Don't tell me you want me to take the schoolmaster's place? I'm busy enough taking care of my own future.
When I asked, the lady panicked and waved both her hands.
"Oh my, please don't misunderstand! We're not hosting you to ask you to teach a class. We just brought you in so the children can receive good energy by your side. They say if it's a Chosen of the Floating Castle, just being near them allows one to absorb magic power!"
"Certainly, there are research results saying that people who frequently come into contact with magic power feel it more sensitively. But does that have to be a magician? From what I see, there are a lot of magic tools here too, isn't this level of magic power enough?"
"More is better, and if possible, the best! How can magic tools compare to a Chosen of the Floating Castle!"
'Just bring him nearby first! This is when you cast the line! That guy seems ignorant of the ways of the world even though he lived in the Floating Castle, so if we treat him well and butter him up, he might feel good and give us a grimoire or something!'
So that was their ulterior motive.
The Demonic Federation is a society where class is determined by magic. Receiving better teachings is the shortcut to rising in status. Rising to the Floating Castle is a tremendous qualification in itself, so the lady running the academy must have thought she needed to grab hold of me first.
To coax me gently and receive teachings. What does she take me for...
"You must be hungry, right? Oh my, look at my mind. I should have served you a meal first to someone who came from far away."
As the lady clapped her hands, the door opened and a lavish feast that looked like it would bend the table legs was brought in. At the savory smell that wafted through the air, saliva pooled in my mouth without me realizing.
"Ahem. I didn't expect this. Should I pay you or something."
"Oh my, what are you saying! I have no intention of receiving anything, so stop worrying and please eat up!"
"Well then, I won't decline."
I hadn't eaten proper meals in the Floating Castle, using studying as an excuse. My eyes rolled back at my first proper meal in a long time, and I quickly picked up my spoon and chopsticks.
I roughly cut a large piece of meat with a spoon and put it in my mouth. As I tried to chew the meat while exhaling hot steam, I felt a slightly crispy texture at the same time an explosive savory taste filled my mouth instead. I swallowed the meat down my throat without realizing and purely admired it.
"It's delicious...!"
"It's delicious, right? This place, the Celsius Territory, is famous for its cuisine. I prepared a lot, so please eat to your heart's content."
"How did you make this? It feels different from the meat texture I know."
To be able to cook meat so tenderly in such a short time? Was it fried? But it didn't feel greasy if it was fried? When I asked out of pure curiosity, the lady answered with a smile all over her face.
"It's nothing special. I just seasoned it a bit, brushed it with oil, and simmered it thoroughly. Here in the Celsius Territory, meat cooks quickly and deliciously."
"There must be a secret recipe."
"It's not a secret recipe, it's because of the Celsius Territory's Rule. Inside the Celsius Territory, the boiling point and freezing point are high."
"Rule...?"
Come to think of it, the announcement did say to familiarize ourselves with the territory's Rule? A freezing and boiling point anomaly. At the time, I just skimmed over it like reading a notice. Could it be?
"Does this mean that on this land, ice freezes easily, and water boils with more difficulty?"
"Of course. I tell you, it cooks even better than pan-frying in oil? Not just meat, stews and broths also steep quickly. And ice sculptures don't melt easily!"
How fascinating. It's not as much as the Floating Castle which had a gravity anomaly, but this means even such ordinary land goes against the laws of nature? Is the entire Demonic Federation like this?
"What about the Rules of other territories?"
"Let's see. The neighboring Pascal Territory has wind blowing in only one direction, and the Decibel Territory has sound spreading further... It's difficult magic, so I don't know well. Wouldn't you know more about that, Teacher?"
Did I press too hard? The lady looked at me with suspicious eyes. I feigned ignorance, putting food in my mouth, and answered.
"Is there any need for me to know? I'm going back to the Floating Castle anyway."
Acting humble here would only breed suspicion. As I held my head high and put food in my mouth as if I wasn't interested, the lady, who finally grasped the situation, quickly relaxed her expression.
"Of course, you must go back! Still, there's no other place with as good a Rule as this Celsius Territory! The land is warm, there's a lot to see, and the food is delicious, so it's great for taking a rest before you go! Please rest up fully before you leave!"
"Well, it does seem good for resting. I'll admit that."
I nodded and enjoyed my meal in silence. At my attitude, as if I had nothing more to say, the lady gave an awkward smile and left her seat.
Clatter, the door closed, and the lady's whisper was heard from beyond the threshold.
'Dear, how is it? Is he going to stay?'
'From the way he's eating deliciously, it seems like he'll stay?'
'Did you get a confirmation?'
'No. But if he has any decency, he wouldn't eat all that and just keep his mouth shut, right?'
'You don't know anything! Magicians are shameless creatures. If the words don't come out of his own mouth, it doesn't count!'
'Then what do we do?'
'We have to make him say it! Whether we have to give him money or set him up with women! For now, call the people of the school district!'
In the Floating Castle, I was nothing but a commoner, but here, I was a Chosen receiving royal treatment.
I had never agreed with the saying that it's better to be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon, but experiencing firsthand that power is relative... maybe this isn't so bad after all?