"Whoa, we’re actually flying...!"
"It really is incredible, after all."
Having boarded Konron 3 for the first time, Beena and Earl Kuzuma were in a constant state of amazement as they soared through the sky.
Today was August 17th. For their visit to the Kingdom of Egerea, the group had first stopped at Blue Land to rendezvous with the Earl and his wife, and they were now collectively heading toward the capital, Asunt.
"We’ll be arriving soon," Jin said.
"It’s so fast. I wonder exactly how much speed we’re making?" Beena asked, sounding impressed by Jin’s words.
"About a hundred kilometers per hour this time, I’d say... I’ve heard that horses manage around forty to sixty kilometers per hour," Jin replied.
Because they had flown a circuitous route around Mount Galat rather than a straight line, the journey still took a little under an hour, yet the speed was nonetheless remarkable.
"One hundred kilometers! That’s amazing..."
Achieving a hundred kilometers per hour was impossible for ordinary vehicles. Even the fastest horse could only reach about sixty kilometers per hour, and even then, only for a short sprint.
"Oh, I can see the Royal Palace."
"The security hot air balloons are ascending too."
As Konron 3 approached Asunt, two hot air balloons rose to meet them.
Judging by their ascent and maneuvering speeds, the pilots clearly possessed a high level of proficiency. They were likely very well-trained soldiers.
Escorted by the hot air balloons, Konron 3 touched down in the courtyard of the Egerea Royal Palace.
"Welcome, Jin!"
Greeting them was the Third Prince, Ernest.
Naturally, he was accompanied by his personal maid, Lyla Solyus, and his favorite golem, Lotte.
Also present were the Chancellor, Marquis Boyd Norus Galueri, Minister of Magic Kelichdore, and a contingent of guard knights.
"Earl Kuzuma, and Countess, thank you for escorting the Lord of Kunlun," the Chancellor said, acknowledging the couple. He then turned to Jin and offered a formal greeting befitting a state guest. "Lord of Kunlun, welcome to the Kingdom of Egerea."
"Today is the Eve Festival. Tomorrow is the main event, and the day after is the Post-festival."
The Chancellor explained the itinerary as if confirming the schedule.
(...So it really is three days after all.)
Jin had harbored a faint hope that perhaps it might conclude in two days, but that hope was shattered within the first minute of the briefing.
"The banquet itself will be on a very small scale, so I do not believe it will be overly taxing," the Chancellor added.
It would apparently be smaller than the Golem Party. That made sense, given that the previous event had included invited guests from abroad.
"Well then, we shall come to escort you at four o'clock this afternoon. Please make yourselves comfortable until then."
Leaving them with those words, the Chancellor hurried away.
Left behind were Jin, Elsa, Reiko, and the Kuzumas.
"...Phew."
Now that they were among friends, Jin let out a long, unreserved sigh.
"Hehe, so even you have things you’re not good at, Jin," Beena said with a wry smile.
"Of course. I was originally just a commoner, after all... In that sense, Beena, you’re the impressive one. You’ve become quite the fine Countess."
"...It's the power of love," Elsa chimed in—a rare quip from her.
"E-Err..." Beena blushed slightly.
In this manner, time passed peacefully... until 4:00 PM arrived.
"The Kingdom of Egerea hereby offers its congratulations on the marriage of Lord Jin Nidou—the Lord of Kunlun and the Magi Craft Meister—and Lady Elsa."
King Harold Luan Autocrace was the first to offer his congratulatory address.
He was followed by Queen Catherine Liina Sphare, Chancellor Boyd Norus Galueri, and others, all of whom kept their blessings brief.
(...That's a relief.)
Jin, who was not fond of listening to long-winded speeches, felt a secret sense of ease.
Once the congratulations from about ten people concluded, the band began to play.
(Come to think of it, music in this world still seems to be in its infancy...)
Although Jin didn't have a particularly deep interest in musical performance, he noticed now more than ever how few types of instruments there were.
While singing was reasonably well-developed and widespread, there seemed to be a lack of wind instruments.
There were string instruments similar to guitars or harps, as well as percussion instruments like xylophones, cymbals, and drums.
However, brass and woodwinds—such as piccolos, flutes, clarinets, oboes, horns, trumpets, and tubas—were quite rudimentary. The extent of it was a trumpet-like instrument that had evolved from a bugle and a vertical flute resembling a recorder.
(Though it’s not like I could make them myself...)
Even for Jin, crafting wind instruments seemed beyond his current expertise.
As Jin was pondering this, four golems—similar to Yaruidare’s Zingel series—stepped forward and began to sing.
It was apparently a traditional Egerean song celebrating marriage. The four units appeared to be assigned to soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts, and their four-part vocalization created a beautiful harmony.
When the song ended, the attendees broke into applause. Jin and Elsa joined in with generous praise.
"The performance you just heard was a chorus by Mr. Yaruidare’s Zingel No. 2 through No. 5," the master of ceremonies announced.
As Jin had suspected, they were indeed Yaruidare's golems.
Following them, two more golems appeared. These were female-type units dressed in elegant gowns. The pair began to dance gracefully to slow-tempo music.
At this point, Jin and Elsa realized that this was a sequence of golem-based entertainments.
When the music shifted to an up-tempo beat, two golems dressed as knights appeared and performed a sword dance. The two units swung their blades—sometimes independently, sometimes in perfect synchronization—and clashed their swords together. It was quite a pleasing sight to behold.
Thereafter, various other performances followed to the music, including acrobatic dances and something akin to a line dance.
Finally, humans appeared instead of golems. There were about twenty children in total, boys and girls aged roughly eight to twelve.
The boys wore light blue and the girls wore peach, but they all wore clothes of the same design. Once they lined up, they began to sing along with the music.
While the golems' voices were in some ways too perfect, giving them an inhuman quality, the children’s voices possessed a certain unrefined charm that was quite heartwarming. After performing three songs, the children bowed and departed.
This appeared to be the end of the Eve Festival's festivities. Applause echoed throughout the Great Hall.
"They gather children who are good at singing and have them perform at events like this," Earl Kuzuma explained.
"What a lovely song."
Elsa smiled while clapping her hands.
As Jin joined the applause, the term "children's choir" came to his mind.