Time flew, and the day before the Festival arrived.
It was the last Friday of October, the night of the festival's eve celebration.
By late afternoon, as preparations for the evening events began, waves of tourists from outside the island surged in, flooding Itogami Island to the brim.
The airport, train stations, and the roads connecting them were packed shoulder to shoulder with travelers dragging suitcases, clogging sidewalks until not even a trickle of space was left.
Amid this crush, a long luxury limousine rolled down one of the city's main thoroughfares toward the East District.
Inside, Kaiser sat by the window, watching the throngs outside.
"Feels like the Festa," he remarked.
It brought back memories of another man-made island—the Academy City of Asterisk—where he had seen the same scene during the Phoenix Festa. Visitors had poured in just like this, crowding the city to bursting. Back then, if he wanted to see a match, he had to jostle and sweat his way through the masses under the scorching sun.
Those days… he'd only just become a librarian of the Fantasy Library, had barely gained some Genestella power, and swaggered around with nothing but his Serveresta to lean on. Compared to the man who could now slay gods, he had been painfully green.
But that world was where he'd first escaped the shackles of his former life, found the strength to show his true nature, and begun the path that led him here.
The nostalgia in his eyes deepened, and without realizing it, his hand brushed his chest.
Vmm…
Inside him, the Ser-Veresta, slumbering in its installed form, gave a faint vibration, as if in response.
Unfortunately, no one else in the car understood his sentiment.
"Festa? What kind of festival is that?" asked La Folia, seated across from him, curiosity in her tone.
"It doesn't sound like an Itogami Island celebration," said Kanon Kanase, sitting beside her with perfect posture and a gentle voice, though her gaze toward Kaiser carried a trace of fondness.
"It's not," Kaiser replied, pulling himself from his thoughts to look at the two beautiful girls across from him—like sisters in bloom. "I've only been to it once. Not sure if I'll ever get the chance again."
It had been decades ago, and while his mindset hadn't changed much, the comment was just a passing reflection. He had no intention of lingering on it, so he switched topics entirely.
"Anyway, you're going to meet your family—that's fine. But why do I have to come along?"
The group was on their way to the airport.
For a floating island in the middle of the Pacific, planes were vital transport. Itogami City had six airports—one central airport capable of handling large planes, and five small, privately-run airstrips barely meeting the minimum requirements, with runways under 800 meters, no landing guidance systems, and not even night lighting.
Naturally, they were heading for the central airport—to receive the royal family of Aldegyr.
It should have been La Folia and Kanon's job alone, but Kaiser had been dragged along, leaving Nagisa—the one he was supposed to be keeping an eye on—behind.
La Folia's reasoning had been simple:
"You're the owner of the house we're living in now—our temporary guardian, so to speak. Father and Mother said they wanted to meet you, and you agreed. So let's start with the welcome."
"…I agreed to meet them, not to roll out the red carpet," Kaiser grumbled. "I'm an outsider. This isn't like we're greeting my relatives."
The whole trip felt uncomfortably like he was going to meet his in-laws, and it set his teeth on edge.
"You're not scared, are you?" La Folia teased. "Relax—it's only my father and mother this time. Grandfather and Grandmother didn't come. Even if I've already told them how Kanon sometimes falls asleep in your bed, you should be able to handle their… questions."
…You've already told them?
Of course you did, you black-hearted princess.
The Ser-Veresta pulsed harder inside him, making his hand itch to draw it and cut something—anything—just to take the edge off.
"I'm sorry… it's my fault," Kanon said, thinking La Folia's words were aimed at her.
"It's not you," Kaiser said quickly. "The guilty party is a certain princess whose insides are as black as her heart."
"Lies," La Folia shot back without shame. "They're pink, as you very well know."
Kaiser nearly coughed up blood.
"For the love of—can you not? What kind of royal princess says things like that?"
The limousine rolled into the central airport's VIP arrival area.
Naturally, the place was packed—people, cars, greeters everywhere. But Kaiser's group bypassed the chaos, entering a spacious, empty reception hall through the VIP corridor.
The Special Ward's security unit stood in formation, while knights in uniforms matching La Folia's stood at precise intervals, flanking a wide red carpet.
"We're here?" Kaiser asked, glancing toward the far end of the carpet.
There, instead of a plane, a vessel awaited—powder-blue armor gleaming like glacial ice, edged with gold trim, its hull bearing the image of a sword-wielding Valkyrie. The spindle-shaped main body stretched over 150 meters—twice the length of a jumbo jet—bristling with autocannons.
It wasn't an aircraft—it was a flying fortress, a military-grade armored airship of Aldegyr's royal fleet.
From its hatch, a figure emerged—broad-shouldered, thick-muscled, with wild red hair like a lion's mane, a silver serpent cloak draped across his back. His arms, legs, and chest were like sculpted stone, exuding raw dominance.
In his left hand, a round shield; in his right, a battle-axe over a meter long, etched with intricate magical runes that radiated power.
"La Folia!"
The moment he appeared, he bellowed, his voice like a beast's roar.
"La Folia! You're here, aren't you?!"
He hadn't even reached the carpet before shouting for her, urgency and anger in his tone—so much so it was hard to believe he wasn't here to kill someone. And judging by his fully armed state, maybe he was.
Kaiser turned his head slowly toward La Folia.
"…So, this would be…?"
"That's right." La Folia was calm as ever. "Lucas Rihavein, my father—King of Aldegyr."
Before the words had fully left her lips—
"La Folia! Get over here if you can hear me!"
The King of Aldegyr was currently acting less like a monarch and more like an irate barbarian.
"Explain yourself! 'Found a suitable husband in a foreign land'—what in the blazes is that supposed to mean?!"
Kaiser gave her another silent look.
La Folia turned her head away, refusing eye contact.
His mouth twitched. Then his eyes twitched. Then his eyebrows.
You conniving…
Before he could finish the thought, Lucas spotted them—La Folia, Kanon, and the infuriatingly conspicuous young man standing between them.
Crack.
The haft of the battle-axe creaked in Lucas's grip.
A vein bulged on his temple.
"So it's YOUUUUUUU—!"
The old man's instincts lit up, burning his reason to ash. He launched himself into the air like a rocket, then plummeted like a meteor toward the "blond brat" between his daughter and Kanon, battle-axe swinging down without mercy.
BOOM!
The sound was both his massive frame slamming into the floor and the axe's impact.
The shockwave tore up the ground, blasting tiles into the air and shaking the hall.
"Father!" La Folia grabbed Kanon and retreated from the impact zone under the gale-force wind.
As for Kaiser…
He hadn't moved. One hand extended, palm open, he caught the descending axe head-on—utterly unscathed.
"…You…" Lucas's eyes shifted, a flicker of surprise breaking through the rage.