There was a desk in the plane, but neither Lacius nor I went there. Instead, he lounged on the sofa, and I lay on a silk cushion spread on the soft carpet and checked everything one by one. There’s no music playing, but the sound of our breathing sounds like one.
Flap. The sound of documents turning in his hand was pleasing. I narrowed my eyes and tilted my head to the side. Then, as if it were natural, Lacius’s arm supported me. That made me smile, because I was happy.
A peaceful yet somewhat naughty day. We glanced at each other, trying to gauge when it would end. I finished work earlier than Lacius, who had an overwhelming amount of work.
After looking at his face as he was concentrating on work for a while, I started to doze off. I fell into a deep sleep, vaguely feeling Lacius’ hand stroking my hair.
* * *
Makarten!
The city of luxury and indulgence. A place where the joys and sorrows of those who win and those who lose are divided. For some, it is a place of endless dreaming and fantasy, but for others, it’s a place of utter despair.
Money! Everything here starts and ends with money.
When we arrived in Makarten, I couldn’t tell if my head was spinning because of the splendor of this place or if I was just dizzy from being exhausted by Lacius—as soon as the documents were roughly organized, he made love with me again.
“It’s incredibly lavish, even though this is a hotel, not a casino…”
I touched my forehead and looked up at the building. At first, I thought it was a casino. This is probably what the hotels in Las Vegas that I haven’t been to look like. But this was a different world, so I knew it had to be more glamorous than that.
At the entrance to the floating hotel. Although it was called a hotel, it wasn’t just a single building like I had imagined. It was an eight-story mansion.
The inside of the ornate iron gates was flanked by animal-shaped topiaries almost as tall as Lacius. The topiaries must have been enchanted; as if the unicorn were alive, they stamped their feet and made whinnying sounds.
“Wow, that’s really amazing.”
When I stretched out my hand, a unicorn made of grass, moss, and flowers lowered its head and brushed its nose against my hand. Just by looking at it, it seemed like a very high level of magic.
“It must have been because of the flower festival that the hotel was decorated very beautifully!”
“Indeed. It will be more beautiful inside the city.”
“Great, I’m so excited!”
Let’s see, let’s look around!
The hotel’s gardens were already filled with guests strolling around and exploring. Judging by their lack of greeting and acknowledgment of Lacius, they were probably from foreign countries. And it actually felt more comfortable that way.
“So rich people from all over the world come here in planes?”
“Yes. And because of the large number of foreigners, Makarten has special laws.”
“A law where you can’t assert your national status? So you can’t oppress others with your status while playing games?”
“That’s right. And you must wear a mask when you enter the casino.”
“Aha.”
I nodded and looked at the arch of pale pink roses. The glass doors to the hotel were wedged into a revolving door under that arch.
“Revolving doors are rarely seen, which is why this hotel is so popular.”
Lacius gave a brief explanation. Well, that’s understandable here. As we went inside, I found a lobby that felt like it had been lavished with money. When I noticed that the black floor didn’t look like marble, I took a closer look, and once again, Lacius gave an explanation.
“It’s a floor made of obsidian that’s been magically processed. The sparkling bits are diamonds.”
“Wow, is it a representation of the night sky?”
“Yes, they say that when they have parties at this hotel, they turn the lights down, and the diamonds glow in the shape of constellations.”
“I want to see that sight too.”
While Lacius and I were having a conversation, the hotel staff quickly brought us our check-in documents.
“Welcome, dear guest! Please write your name here, and we will have your key ready in a moment!”
The employee had a perfect business smile that seemed to have been drawn and glued on. Lacius received the room key and gave a tip.
In the meantime, I went to the window to take a look outside. From here, you can see the entire city of Makarten, and a rain of pale pink flower petals was gently falling from the hotel itself.
“Will these flower petals fall all the way to the ground?”
“That’s right. That’s why the ground around luxury hotels is covered in these falling petals.”
“What a festive city.”
I can’t help but feel admiration. It would have been nice to just stand and watch, doing nothing. After gazing down at the colorful buildings for what seemed like an eternity, I noticed that Lacius was clutching a fistful of papers.
“What is that?”
“Oh, they said it’s pamphlets and maps.”
“I want to see it too.”
The only way to get to the bedroom was on a magic carpet. All you had to do was step on the dark gold carpet and tell your floor. It wasn’t difficult to navigate, as the rooms were arranged in a circle with a completely open center.
As I was flipping through pamphlets and flyers, my fingers stopped on the last one.
“Oh, Lacius! Look at this. There’s a new game development competition!”
“It seems like a king from some country is hosting it, but their location is anonymous.”
“Well, it reminds me of someone we both know… Is it a coincidence?”
Lacius fell silent at my words. He, too, has the same thought.
“Could it be… The Emperor’s Palace has been suspicious for some time now.”
“It could not be, but as the saying goes, ‘The unexpected always happens’….”
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