A few minutes after his data was taken, Masa Ed—now dressed—and his group, led by Snow, emerged from the tower island’s underground. With him at the rear and the hatch door closing automatically behind them, they stepped onto the tower island’s mowed grass ground. Masa Ed moved a little closer, occupying the space between Sera and Plum, before taking Plum’s hand. The scene was barely bathed in the glow of cresset flames flickering at a fair distance away.

  “Master, our place is on Island 1B,” Snow remarked.

  She led them toward a slightly raised deck that held flying boats similar to the one that had brought them to the island from Queen Dawn, as well as the one they had boarded earlier in the tower basement. Taking the lead, she guided them into a flying boat, where they sat as they had before: Masa Ed seated between Snow and Plum, while Sera sat opposite him, facing his direction.

  Meanwhile, the boat rose gently from the deck, flying upward in the same manner toward the underside of the tower’s first sky pad. It paused briefly, then resumed in a straight path, heading toward the sky above the calm, clear sea. The water shimmered beneath the vibrant, starry night sky as the boat’s deck lights illuminated the surrounding air and distant horizon.

  Inside the boat, Masa Ed stood up from the seat he shared with Plum and Snow. Turning around, he knelt on the seat and placed his elbow on the window sill. Through the window glass pane, he peered at the sky above the clear sea, spotting a few flying boats in the island’s airspace, their shapes obscured by bright hull lights and deck lights.

  Unable to make them out clearly, Masa Ed shifted his focus to the island afar. His gaze skimmed over unusually tall buildings of familiar yet reimagined architecture, before settling on the tallest structure on the island—its architecture, unlike the others, closely resembling that of the tower itself.

  Thinking nothing more of the observation, Masa Ed returned to his seat, facing Sera. A moment later, his eyes began scrutinizing the boat’s interior, which was identical to the one they had entered in the tower basement. His gaze traveled from the center of its wooden ceiling—designed like a skylight that let in moonlight—to the glossy wooden floor, and finally to the wooden counters on his right and left, which had not been present in the tower basement boat.

  I guess this is where they expect refreshments, he concluded.

  He looked away from the cup set on the counter to his right and paused his gaze on Sera, who returned it unbothered. The two stared at each other for a while before Sera subtly scrunched her nose and looked away, snorting quietly. That was enough to make Masa Ed break into a smile, convinced he had won the staring contest.

  She is interesting, he concluded.

  As his gaze pierced through the glass pane above Sera, he heard Snow’s voice.

  “Master, of the twenty-four islands that belong exclusively to the tower, we have them grouped into three,” she explained. “The first group consists of the four closest to the tower, located to its north, south, west, and east. They are Islands 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D. The second group consists of eight islands—Islands 2A to 2H—they encircle the tower. Behind them is the third group: Islands 3A to 3L. There are twelve of them, and they also surround the tower.”

  “So all three are island chains that surround the tower?” Masa Ed inquired.

  “Yes, Master,” Snow answered. “The one we are going to right now is technically our island—Island 1B—and it is on the southern side of the tower.”

  “I see,” Masa Ed nodded faintly.

  He withdrew his gaze from outside the boat and turned to Plum, who was sitting very close on his right.

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  “Plumpy,” he called.

  When she turned to look at him, he smiled sweetly at her, beholding her soft, somewhat chubby face framed by blunt bangs and face-framing pieces of her plum-colored hair.

  Curious, he prodded her thigh with his finger. It sank into the flesh with ease before bouncing back as he withdrew it. Smiling, fascinated by the fullness and firmness of her skin, he glanced to the side and saw Sera looking at him with obvious yet restrained contempt in her eyes.

  “What?” he blurted out.

  In response, she looked away, snorting yet quietly again. Ignoring her as well, Masa Ed faced forward completely. Scratching his head, he yawned and covered his mouth with his other hand, after which he leaned back against the seat and rested his head on Plum’s shoulder.

  About half a minute later, they all heard a beep, followed by the sound of the boat’s door opening automatically, offering them an exit.

  “Master, we have arrived,” Snow said softly.

  Masa Ed lifted his head from Plum’s shoulder and nodded. With Snow taking the lead and Sera behind her, Masa Ed followed while holding Plum’s hand. They stepped onto a raised white marble platform that held several flying boats similar to the one they had just exited.

  “This is really magnificent,” Masa Ed blurted out.

  Revealed before the group was a pristine white structure accented with gold and brightly illuminated by moonlight. From the outside, it resembled a parthenon. As Masa Ed observed, the structure’s fa?ade was a colonnade of two-hundred-meter-tall pristine white columns, standing at intervals upon a flawless white ground. Its outer edge—matching the configuration of the columns’ golden bases—bulged outward slightly at the center, resembling the curve of a stadium.

  While Sera observed from one side and Plum stood beside him with her hand in his, Snow moved closer to Masa Ed’s other side.

  “Master, this is our residence—the White Star Mansion,” Snow said.

  “It’s grand,” Masa Ed replied with a faint smile.

  He looked around the expansive white platform holding several flying boats, then turned slowly and gestured.

  “Lead the way,” he instructed.

  “Okay, Master,” Snow replied.

  She led the group to the edge of the platform, down its cascading steps, and toward a group of white, engine-driven carriages packed beneath a shed not far from the platform’s base.

  The group entered one of the white carriages. Snow took the driver’s seat, grasped the steering wheel, and drove straight onto a white marble-paved avenue. She took a right turn and sped toward the White Star Mansion, half a kilometer away.

  Inside the carriage, Masa Ed raised his head slightly, reading the golden characters etched boldly into the entablature of the colonnade, repeated at intervals.

  House of the King.

  He chuckled internally before turning to examine the hedges bordering the avenue, illuminated by flame lamps embedded within them. Palm trees stood behind the hedges, lined at even intervals.

  Moments later, he turned to the other side, beyond Plum, and examined the illuminated hedges and palm trees there. His attention lingered on the spherical flame lamps made of transparent glass, nestled at intervals within the flower hedges.

  Astral flame is really convenient, he concluded.

  Facing forward again, he watched as the carriage reached the end of the avenue but continued along a white marble track that bisected a mowed grass field. A few seconds later, the carriage passed between the two central columns of the colonnade and entered the open space enclosed by the structure.

  “So this place is this big,” Masa Ed muttered.

  His gaze scanned the straight length of the structure’s side, roughly a thousand meters wide, confirming its stadium-like shape.

  As Snow steered the carriage along a gentle curve to the left, Masa Ed felt Plum tap his knee. Turning toward her, his eyes followed her pointed finger to a giant black statue of a cloaked figure standing atop a tall base, slowly receding behind them.

  The guy might be related to the tower founder. Maybe he owned this place in the past, Masa Ed surmised.

  Soon, Snow guided the carriage toward another shed where two coaches and two carriages similar to theirs were parked. A couple of seconds later, the carriage slowed to a halt beneath the shed, stopping behind another vehicle.

  “Master, we have arrived,” Snow announced.

  At the same time, Masa Ed opened the carriage door and stepped out. He turned around and helped Plum down by taking her hand, then he looked to Snow and gave her a meaningful glance followed by a nod. She understood immediately and led them out of the shed and onto a path between flower hedges, which led toward the front of a grand building, a hundred-and-twenty-meter-tall, identical to another one about a hundred meters away.

  Soon, they drew closer to the structure—a three-story, two-hundred-and-fifty-meter-wide building made of white marble. Its fa?ade curved smoothly at the edges, and its middle floor formed a jetty level, with an overhanging edge supported by columns spaced at wide intervals, including those of the grand portico whose cascading steps they were now ascending.