Floating Island No. 28, the city of Grumugal.
This was a part of the floating continent somewhat closer to the center, making it more prosperous than the military bases along the outer edges.
Because it sat along a major transportation route, airships bustled through the harbor, ferrying passengers and workers while transporting supplies back and forth.
"Mm..."
Chtholly wore a gray coat with her hat pulled low as she made her way through the streets.
Street vendors and shops lined both sides of the road, while beastfolk, lizardfolk, and members of various other races came and went.
She looked left, then right.
She lingered in front of a cake shop for quite a while, checked the prices, then reluctantly walked away.
Passing through the marketplace and avoiding the crowds, she carefully made her way toward the highest point in the city.
She spent most of her time training at the warehouse and military base on Floating Island No. 68, so she rarely had a chance to come out and wander around.
The girl greedily drank in the scenery around her while keeping one hand firmly over her hood to conceal her hair and face.
"So beautiful..."
Suddenly.
"Ah—"
The dense crowd jostled her, and a blue brooch pinned to her chest fell to the ground with a clatter.
She was just about to bend down and pick it up.
Meow—
A black cat darted out from who knew where, snatched the brooch in its mouth, and ran.
"Hey!!—"
Chtholly immediately gave chase, running and leaping through the marketplace after the cat.
The brooch swung from the black cat's mouth as it nimbly bounded between stalls, skirted a bamboo basket overflowing with pumpkins, slipped beneath hanging bolts of cloth, and sprang onto the faded wooden sign of a tavern.
The sounds of miscellaneous objects being knocked over and merchants cursing rang out all around them.
"Stop running!"
Ignoring everything around her, the girl stumbled onward in relentless pursuit.
She chased it from the market streets into an alley, then followed the black cat onto the rooftops, sprinting high above the city along wooden walkways.
"Haah, haah, haah—"
After what felt like forever, she finally cornered the black cat at a dead end.
"Hehe, surrender yourself to your fate!"
She advanced one step at a time and was just about to reclaim her brooch from its mouth when—
Rumble!—
A deep humming sound came from overhead.
She looked up.
A small spacecraft pierced through the sky and slowly descended from between the clouds.
Its design was completely unlike the models commonly seen here. Its entire body was silver-white, sleek, futuristic, and extraordinarily advanced.
"Huh?"
The crowd involuntarily looked up at the starship.
Even Chtholly became distracted.
"Is that an airship belonging to the Winged Guard or a salvage team? It doesn't really look like one..."
Meow!!—
As though frightened, the cat suddenly lunged forward, crashing into her face and clawing wildly.
"Hey! Stop it! That's dangerous! Let go of me!!—"
Chtholly cried out in alarm.
She stumbled backward.
Crack—
Still struggling with the cat, she took several steps back.
Her foot suddenly met empty air, and she was about to fall from high above the ground.
"Ah!"
"There's no time to use magic!—"
Chtholly squeezed her eyes shut.
Whoosh—
Before anyone could react.
A pink figure flashed through the sky as a gentle breeze brushed past her ears.
Someone lightly caught her falling body.
When she opened her eyes, Elysia was holding her easily as they landed on the ground.
"Commander, I found her."
"Chtholly Nota Seniorious. Oh, what an adorable girl. Remember to watch where you're going when you leave home. Be careful~"
"Huh?"
Chtholly stared at her blankly.
"May I ask who you are?..."
"I'm Elysia. And since you're a fairy too, aren't you? You can call me Miss Pink Elf~"
Elysia lightly tapped Chtholly on the forehead.
Everyone around them immediately turned to stare.
"Hey, hey, Mom, those two big sisters..."
A horned beastfolk child pointed at them.
"Hey, don't keep staring."
"Look at those two. Why are there people without fur on the island?..."
"Ah..."
Only then did Chtholly realize that her hat had disappeared somewhere during the chase, leaving her long blue hair flowing freely down her back.
Elysia stood out even more. Her slightly curled pink hair was tied into a ponytail, her skin was fair, and her features were so exquisite that she seemed to have stepped straight out of a painting.
Amid a crowd filled with tusks, horns, animal ears, rabbitfolk, pigfolk, goat-headed beastfolk, and all manner of other beastfolk, the two of them stood out especially conspicuously.
"They're Disfeatured!"
"Get out of here!!"
"Yeah, get out, Disfeatured!!!"
The surrounding beastfolk began jeering one after another.
The floating continents were a world ruled by beastfolk. Races without tusks, horns, or fur were called Disfeatured and were targets of discrimination.
"I know..."
Chtholly was just about to quietly slip away.
"Oh—"
Elysia swept her gaze over the crowd and gave a small snort.
"The people here don't just look a little strange. They don't seem very friendly either, do they?"
"Ganging up to bully a girl isn't a very good habit, you know?"
Whoosh—
Countless Angeloids descended from the spacecraft in an instant, suppressing the entire city.
The clamoring beastfolk were immediately surrounded by fully armed angels.
"Who are you?!"
Even though they normally looked down on the Disfeatured, the angels appeared far too sacred and eye-catching.
The sight involuntarily filled them with fear.
"Hmph!"
Jibril surveyed the situation and clicked her tongue.
"Commander, are all the indigenous inhabitants of this world Werebeasts? They're so ugly. Even uglier than the actual Werebeasts over there."
"Still, they do look like excellent candidates for reform through labor in the underground mines..."
...
Ten minutes later.
Chtholly timidly boarded the spacecraft.
After crossing the boarding bridge, she arrived on the bridge and met Setsuna.
"May I ask... where is this?..."
"Here."
Setsuna smiled and tossed the brooch to her, and the girl hurriedly caught it.
"Thank you!"
"May I ask if you've come from another island?..."
She looked around but saw none of the insignias belonging to the Winged Guard or any trading company. The emblem of the Starsea Empire was unlike that of any faction on the floating continents.
"This is the Starsea Empire. We're pioneers from another world who crossed the distant universe to reach this one."
He briefly introduced their origins.
"Ah!"
Chtholly listened in complete confusion and remained stunned for quite a while before finally recovering.
"Are you... aliens?..."
"Mm. Come here."
Setsuna nodded and beckoned Chtholly over.
She obediently stepped forward.
Setsuna took her hand, closed his eyes, and spent a moment sensing her condition and pondering.
"Mm... More or less what I expected. The buildup of magic and the erosion from your previous life are both relatively mild."
"You haven't been an adult fairy soldier for very long, and you haven't fought much yet, have you? Looks like we arrived at a good time."
"Ah—"
Chtholly's face flushed bright red as she jumped in fright.
"H-How did you know?!"
On the surface, she appeared to be a human girl, but her true identity was that of a "Leprechaun."
They were a race created from fragments of a Visitor's soul, forming individual beings by inhabiting the bodies of the Disfeatured.
Leprechauns generally appeared in the form of young girls. Most were quite young, with short and unstable lifespans, and their physiological aging accelerated as they expended magic.
The Winged Guard and merchant nations used them as weapons and expendable resources against the "Beasts," cultivating Leprechauns in batches before sending them into battle wielding Dug Weapons.
"I came here specifically for you. Why do you think I know?"
Setsuna laughed.
"Mm—Me?"
The girl's face turned even redder, and she immediately became flustered.
"Um, I'm very grateful for your help..."
"Someone will come looking for me soon. I don't want to cause you any trouble, so I should go back."
Chtholly spoke softly.
Down below, Sophon detected a small squad of Winged Guard soldiers searching throughout the city.
Adult fairy soldiers were valuable assets to them and important tools for fighting the Beasts, so naturally they could not allow one to simply disappear.
Even when they were occasionally allowed out for some fresh air, they were never permitted to remain away for long.
"Heh—"
Setsuna rose to his feet and smiled as he rubbed Chtholly's head.
"It's fine. We came here to save this world. And more importantly, we came to save all of you."