Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 431 - Sky City Skypia

“What do you mean by that…?”

The bird-folk warriors continued to examine Ditrinir closely.

Ditrinir just looked down at the bird-folk warrior with a solemn expression.

“I have an illness. I heard there’s someone in this sky city who can cure it.”

“Here in our Skypia?”

“Mhmm.”

At the mention of illness, the bird-folk warriors looked at Ethan.

Behind his sturdy appearance, a hint of frailty was visible. However, they couldn’t carelessly open the doors.

“The truth is…”

Whoosh-.

At that moment, Ditrinir exhaled through its nostrils.

Jet-black flames flickered precisely above their heads.

“Eek!”

The startled bird-folk warrior hastily shook his head. But Ditrinir’s control was perfect.

However, it was an incredibly frightening action for them, so the bird-folk warriors were about to let Ethan in as he was.

“I’m sorry to say this, but due to a serious situation currently occurring within the sky city, we cannot accept outsiders.”

But then someone inside shouted loudly.

Among the frightened bird-folk warriors, one wearing an ornate helmet and holding a long spear came out and blocked Ethan.

“I am the captain of the guard in charge of security here. As I just mentioned, due to an unseemly incident currently taking place within Skypia, we are restricting the entry of outsiders. I understand you’ve come a long way, but I’m sorry. It’s His Majesty’s order.”

‘Something must have happened inside. Well, with the 1st and 2nd Apostles, and even the Saintess inside, it would be stranger if they weren’t discovered.’

Thinking the conversation might drag on, Ethan first dismounted from Ditrinir’s back.

As he gently landed on the clouds, a notification window immediately popped up.

-You have arrived at the sky city Skypia!

-Achievement unlocked!

-You have earned likes for achieving the [Even Without Wings] achievement!

-You have gained ‘5’ likes!

‘As difficult as it was to get here, I’ve immediately achieved an achievement.’

The bird-folk guard captain twitched his eyebrows as he watched Ethan gently descend onto the clouds.

“You’ve been here before, I see.”

The floor of Skypia is made of clouds.

This cloud floor is what other races find most challenging when visiting Skypia.

For the bird-folk, clouds feel both solid and soft at the same time. For other races, however, clouds are just clouds.

It feels like if you press down, your foot would sink in and get stuck.

That’s why other races don’t dare to step onto Skypia’s floor carelessly.

But Ethan stepped on the cloud floor very lightly. In other words, this wasn’t his first visit to Skypia.

“It’s not my first time.”

Of course, it was the first time for Ethan Whiskers.

“What happened inside to cause this lockdown?”

The guard captain hesitated for a moment at Ethan’s question, then opened his mouth.

“Since you’ve been here before, I assume you know the history of our Skypia.”

“Yes, I do.”

“The land of the gods, which we hold sacred, is currently being invaded by outsiders. Because of this, His Majesty, in his anger, has forbidden the entry of all outsiders.”

There’s a legend passed down among the bird-folk.

That the gods descended to the sky island where ordinary humans lived, gifted them wings, and gave them this land in the sky.

The place where these gods descended was named the City of the Gods, and the vast city formed around this City of the Gods became the sky city Skypia.

“But there isn’t really a City of the Gods there, is there? I understand that it’s an empty land closed off due to tradition.”

“Yes, it is indeed an empty land. But that doesn’t mean outsiders can enter it carelessly. Whatever is there, we call it the City of the Gods and hold it sacred.”

The City of the Gods was like a legend passed down in Skypia, so there was no actual substance to it.

‘They say it’s definitely there, but you can’t see it with your eyes.’

That’s what Ethan had heard when he visited Skypia in MePan. Even when Ethan went in to check for himself, there was nothing there.

‘Moreover, that City of the Gods itself is so large.’

It was so large that it seemed a waste to leave it as empty land, but there was no reason to get involved in the affairs of the sky city, so he just left.

“So intruders have entered that land.”

Outsiders had invaded the land they held sacred.

“Yes, because of that, Skypia is in a state of turmoil. Even the outsiders who were already here are currently restricted in their movements and cannot leave.”

This meant they couldn’t enjoy the natural scenery unique to the sky city that couldn’t be seen on the ground, or things like the herbs that only grow here and the sky veins.

‘A situation where you can neither enter nor leave, huh.’

Ditrinir looked at Ethan. Its expression seemed to suggest using force to push their way in if necessary.

‘That would be a bad move.’

What’s important now isn’t force.

‘We’ll go with reputation.’

“Captain, I am a person named Ethan Whiskers.”

“…Pardon?”

The guard captain blinked twice at Ethan’s self-introduction.

Then his eyes widened to the point of tearing, and his mouth fell open.

“Oh, oh! Are you really the Ethan Whiskers?”

“Yes, I’m Ethan Whiskers, a teacher at Ivecar Academy.”

Ethan’s reputation had spread even to the sky city.

‘I thought they might only know my name. But judging by the reaction, it seems they know exactly who I am?’

“My younger sibling attends the academy! They participated in the recent exchange program. My sibling’s name is Eichipi, from Vogue Academy…”

‘Oh ho.’

Along with his reputation, he could now use another power.

‘Connections.’

Ethan recalled his memories from the exchange program.

‘I do know. Not exact information, but still.’

If he remembered correctly, they looked quite unique. That unique appearance was probably because they were bird-folk.

‘Their malice was considerable.’

“Ah! You’re Eichipi student’s family member. Nice to meet you. I saw the students from Vogue Academy for the first time during the exchange program, and they were all excellent. It truly showed the quality of Vogue Academy, known for its difficult entrance exams.”

The guard captain beamed at Ethan’s praise.

“Vogue Academy performed excellently despite it being their first participation in the exchange program. It would have been difficult to achieve such results without Student Eichipi’s contributions. Along with the representative students, they showed a truly admirable performance. I’m sure your support as their older sibling gave them strength.”

Tears welled up in the guard captain’s eyes at Ethan’s words.

“We siblings are bird-folk hybrids, but unlike me, my younger sibling doesn’t have wings, so they had quite a hard time here. That’s why we sent them to Vogue Academy… sniff I thought they were struggling to adapt because they showed signs of having a hard time, but it turns out they were doing well.”

When Ethan fell silent for a moment, the guard captain opened the door.

“I can open it with my authority. I’ll just have to face the consequences later.”

Seeing this, Ditrinir slightly wagged its tail. It seemed impressed by Ethan’s skill.

“No, there’s no need for that. Could you possibly relay a message for me?”

Ethan’s goal wasn’t simply to open the door and enter.

“To whom should I deliver the message?”

“Please convey it to His Majesty.”

Taikan, the king of the bird-folk who rule Skypia.

“Tell him that I think I can help with this situation.”

***

“Call me again.”

After sending Ditrinir away, Ethan received an official invitation from Taikan, the king of the bird-folk, and was formally allowed to enter Skypia.

Skypia was a city that became more beautiful the more you looked at it.

The place closest to the sky.

No, it was the sky itself.

The buildings in the unique bird-folk style, visible among the floating white clouds, were incredibly beautiful.

‘The pointed roofs really stand out. And there are clouds interspersed between the buildings.’

It looked as if the buildings were constructed among the clouds.

Among them, the most beautiful was, of course, the royal palace where the king lived.

The massive cloud tinted with the light of the setting sun was particularly impressive.

“This way, please.”

Ethan followed the guard captain’s guidance into the palace.

As Ethan arrived at the reception room after passing through the interior, several bird-folk warriors turned their gaze towards him.

Given that they were already dealing with headaches caused by outsiders, it was inevitable that the presence of another outsider would be met with unfavorable glances.

“His Majesty is waiting.”

As the massive doors opened, loud voices could be heard.

Inside, various bird-folk were engaged in a heated debate.

“We must deploy the army right now and capture those intruders to kill them!”

“How can we bring armed individuals into the sacred land? We should prioritize searching with minimal personnel!”

“The situation is different now! How can you underestimate the importance of finding those who defile our sacred land!”

“Even so, we cannot stoop to their level!”

“So you’re saying we should send only minimal personnel to find intruders whose whereabouts we don’t even know?”

“That’s right.”

“Then we’ll only find them after they’ve defiled all of our land!”

“All of you, be quiet!”

Amidst the arguing ministers, Taikan, the king of the bird-folk, was shaking his head.

Then Taikan noticed Ethan.

“A nobleman from the ground has arrived. Lord Ethan Whiskers! Welcome!”

Taikan looked at Ethan as if seeing a ray of hope.

“Welcome to Skypia!”

Ethan bowed slightly.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Despite the chaotic atmosphere, as soon as Ethan, an outsider, entered, the previously quarreling bird-folk ministers all turned to glare at him.

There was truly a diverse range of bird-folk appearances.

From bird-folk who looked exactly like humans but with wings, to those resembling owls, tiny ones looking like sparrows, and even massive bird-folk.

Taikan, the king of the bird-folk, appeared to be the largest among them.

‘He’s probably a pelican-like bird, I guess.’

“I’m sure my visit isn’t welcome in this tumultuous situation. I’ve come to help Skypia. Please soften your expressions.”

After saying this, Ethan made his way through the bird-folk towards Taikan.

“Thank you for the welcome, Your Majesty.”

“Lord Ethan Whiskers, I hear you’re looking for someone. Moreover, they say you can be of great help in capturing the humans who have invaded our sacred land?”

Taikan looked at Ethan with interest.

The bird-folk ministers who had been showing hostility towards Ethan now kept their mouths shut at his words.

It was because of the aura emanating from Ethan.

This aura was precisely directed only at the ministers, so King Taikan couldn’t feel it at all.

In other words, he had struck a perfect balance between courtesy and rudeness.

“Yes, I believe I can be of assistance. However, I haven’t heard the details yet. If you could tell me more about the situation, I might be able to speak more confidently.”

“Then I’ll start from the beginning. We’ll need to rewind quite a bit.”

Taikan began his explanation.