After traveling day and night for two days, the magical carriage finally climbed to the summit of a certain mountain along the winding roads of the northern kingdoms.
When the carriage rounded the final bend and the view suddenly opened up, even Frieren, who had been absorbed in her book, couldn't help sitting up slightly and gazing out the window.
As for Fern, there was no need to mention her. She had already been waiting by the floor-to-ceiling window and couldn't help letting out a soft gasp.
"Ah—!"
"Have we finally arrived?"
Because she had seen it. Ahead of them, in the center of a vast basin surrounded by mountains, a clear and expansive lake like a blue sapphire lay quietly spread out. On an island in the middle of the lake, a magnificent city was embedded like a pearl.
That's right!
That was their destination this time—the magical city of Oisasst.
Seen from afar, most of the city's main buildings were constructed from white or light-gray stone. Towering spires stood densely packed like a forest, and the tops of many of them were wreathed in visible magical radiance that shifted like the aurora. Glittering beneath the winter sunlight, they shrouded the entire city in a mysterious atmosphere.
What amazed Fern most was the city's layout. It had been built entirely in the middle of that enormous lake, connected to the roads along the shore by only one long underwater stone bridge resembling a belt of white jade. Its terrain was incredibly treacherous, easy to defend and difficult to attack.
With terrain like that, combined with the large number of magic users inside, Fern felt that even an army of hundreds of thousands of demons probably couldn't break in.
"Look over there!"
"There!"
"There are several little towers floating in