Half a day's walk from Magic City Sharia, not even an hour by horse, there lies a city ruin.
Or rather, what remains of a castle.
Great columns lie flat on the ground, stone slates scatter about.
This must be how the Parthenon would look after further deterioration.
It must have been a sight to behold once upon a time.
It gives the impression of a relic of history.
"What's left of the Scotts Castle, a relic from when mankind battled Laplace. It was said that thousands came to defend against the Demon invasion. In the end, all was for naught, and it was captured."
Explains the beautiful girl with golden braided hair besides me.
Graceful exterior, clad in expensive travel wear, a charismatic figure obvious even from afar.
Indeed, the one and only Ariel Anemoi Asura.
"..."
Was that explanation for me?
With that in mind, I glanced around me.
Luke and Sylphy stand not far behind.
A little further back, Roxy, Zanoba, Cliff and Elinalise.
Nanahoshi ahead.
Ariel looks towards me, there's no one between us.
"Ariel-sama sure knows her stuff."
It would be rude to ignore her.
With that in mind I answered. Ariel gently smiled in response.
"Folktales of this area often mention this topic."
"Are you interested in folktales?"
"To develop relationships with the aristocracy of the area, that is also necessary."
Ariel explains as a matter of fact.
Memorize local history in order to befriend the local aristocracy.
She has it tough.
"But coming to a place like this, can we really reach Perugius-sama from here?"
"To be honest, I don't really know what we do next, but..."
I look towards Nanahoshi in front of us.
Carrying a heavy backpack, moving unimpeded by the rubble around us, she leads looking straight ahead.
She told us to just follow along, but can we really get there from here?
From what I can recall, her notes don't feature a Teleport Magic Circle in this location.
"I'm more worried that having so many people tagging along would be a bother."
Hearing what I said, Ariel laughs out loud.
"Rudeus-sama sure worries over the strangest things. Even if he isn't the king of a country, he's still called [King], a true hero! A few guests like us shouldn't be a bother."
"If you say so..."
I glance behind us.
Me, Nanahoshi, Ariel, Sylphy, Luke, Roxy, Zanoba, Cliff, and Elinalise.
9 in total.
I thought it's a bit too much, but from a royal perspective, that should be nothing.
For royalty, guests come in tens, just us few can't count for much.
By the way, Norn refused politely because of school work.
Maybe she's worried about her promise to not slack off on her sword training and studies after joining the student council.
Well, if I really brought her along, then I'd have to bring Aisha too. This works just as well.
"Perugius-sama may be living the quiet life, but after the Laplace campaign he spent some time as a guest of Asura Kingdom, as an equal of King Asura. He would bring an entourage numbering in the tens or hundreds to the royal palace. Someone of his stature won't be troubled by a mere 9 guests."
"Ah, I see."
Ariel's charismatic voice is pleasing to the ear.
Anyone would be bothered to have guests arrive unannounced, but hearing this from Ariel, maybe it isn't that big of a deal.
"... If he got tired of the court life, maybe he got tired of guests too."
"Maybe. But if that's really the case, then Nanahoshi-sama probably won't allow me to come along."
"I don't think Nanahoshi is the kind of person that worries over these things."
Speaking of that, I recall how Ariel ended up coming along.
Back then, hearing Nanahoshi mention Perugius, I couldn't contain my excitement.
The Armored Dragon King Perugius.
Even I have heard of that name before.
Not long after I came to this world, I read about him in a book.
400 years ago, a hero of the Laplace Campaign.
In it writes that he controls 12 familiars, rebuilt the ancient sky castle, and challenged Laplace with his companions.
After Laplace was sealed, as tribute to his exploits, the new era is named "Armored Dragon era" in his honor.
Armored Dragon King Perugius did not become head of a country, rather he sits afloat Sky Castle [Chaos Breaker] and travels the world.