“Wind direction normal, wind speed normal.”
After checking the simple anemometer made of a few metal round spoons, Otto made an “all ready” gesture toward Vester.
Having just discussed the matter of friends shortly before, Otto had also expressed his desire to make new friends.
Sure enough, this was probably what they called fate; before meeting Kallen, Otto definitely would have still hoped to have more friends.
However, Vester was not in a rush to take Otto over to the Kaslana side; instead, she turned back and continued researching the flying machine with him.
That way would still be too deliberate after all, and the blonde girl preferred to let nature take its course—ideally running into Kallen by chance one day rather than actively seeking her out herself.
It was definitely not because she wanted to experience the feeling of freely gliding in the air first.
“Permission to take off!”
With a grand wave of her hand, the blonde girl decided their next course of action.
At this moment, the two of them were standing on a cliff in the outskirts of Kolosten, with a huge flying machine parked right behind them.
After their adjustments and modifications, this small model aircraft that used to be able to be held in one hand and would even flip over in the air from a gust of breeze had now turned into wings capable of gliding with people in the air.
It had shed its snakeskin and transformed into a dragon!
“Otto, we are going to be among the first people in Europe to take to the skies!” The blonde girl patted Otto on the shoulder.
“Remember to hold onto me tightly when you are in the bag later.”
In order to carry Otto along, this flying machine had undergone ballast adjustments.
After the adjustment, Otto staying in the bag at its rear would actually improve the flying posture of the machine.
Following Vester all the way to the edge of the cliff, Otto climbed into the bag looking slightly nervous.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. Didn’t we already test-fly it in the yard before? It won’t fall apart~”
‘That time was only a dozen meters high or so, right?
Besides, that kind of phrasing was already deeply problematic to begin with!’
Looking out at the bottomless cliff, Otto swallowed hard.
“O-Okay, I, I know.”
But since Vester had no intention of turning back, Otto naturally had to accompany her at the risk of his life.
At least dying together wouldn’t be too bad either.
Holding such heavy thoughts, as the blonde girl kicked off the ground with both feet, Otto only felt the flying machine lift upward first, then leap into the air.
After an initial drop, it actually began to fly steadily.
Farmlands, rivers, cities, and bustling crowds…
Up in the air, the panoramic view of Kolosten was unobstructed.
“This is… the scenery above the sky.”
Even though he had lost his obsession with flying, seeing this shocking scene, Otto couldn’t help but widen his mouth.
This feeling of breaking free from gravity, floating in the firmament and looking down at the earth, was truly a novel experience.
“Vester, can this flying machine fly above the clouds?”
“That’s way too high. Do you want to go up there, Otto?”
Vester wore a peculiar expression.
She recalled the scene when she had first arrived in this world; back then, she had even fallen from an even higher place.
“No, I was just asking.”
Noticing that the blonde girl seemed somewhat resistant, Otto immediately corrected himself.
Flying?
What’s that?
He really wasn’t familiar with it, let’s never contact each other again—he was afraid Vester would misunderstand.
“It’s fine, Otto. I was just thinking about other things. If you really want to go up, we can try it in a bit.”
“Actually, I’m just a bit curious: if those deities really exist, do they live above the clouds?”
“Gods? I’m not sure where they are either, but they definitely aren’t above the clouds.”
“Do you think deities really exist in this world?”
“There probably are.”
Even transmigrating had already happened, so deities or things similar to deities probably existed as well.
“So you believe in these things too, Vester.”
Otto was somewhat surprised.
“Yeah, believing in them isn’t a bad thing anyway. It’s not like it costs anything.”
“Is that so? Then, Vester…”
Just as Otto wanted to say something more, a dark shadow flashed by and slammed fiercely into the frame of the flying machine.
One end of the flying machine tilted high up, spinning nearly half a circle in the air before suddenly plunging downward and rapidly falling toward the ground.
“What’s wrong?!”
“It looks like we hit a bird.”
Vester tried hard to control the balance of the flying machine, and in the end could only barely keep it in a normal posture to continue gliding.
Probably something on the flying machine got broken from the impact.
“Otto, hand me the telescope. We can only land first.”
The two of them hadn’t started flying on a whim; prior to this, they had taken the lead in planning a detailed procedure and establishing a flight route.
According to the plan, they should have glided all the way to the airspace above the Apocalypse Family, then circled down onto a cleared open space in advance.
“Then where should we land?”
“We can only find some open place at random.”
Freeing up one hand to grab the telescope hanging around her neck, Vester set her sights on a sizable complex of buildings.
‘This should be the ancestral grounds of another family, right?’
Judging so in her heart, Vester maneuvered the flying machine to circle toward a large lawn above it.
Meanwhile, inside the building complex on the ground.