Altair was led to an extravagant cruiser that was waiting outside the mansion. Its engine hummed slightly as it was idle a meter off the ground. There was a portable staircase before the door that was open. Everything had obviously been prepared ahead of time.
Sarah stepped elegantly into the cruiser first and Altair followed with near perfect steps that were only slightly inferior by comparison. When she got into the cruiser, Sarah was already sitting with perfect posture and legs together right next to the door. On the opposite side of the cruiser, Joshua sat in a suit that would have made him look like quite the youth if Altair hadn't already labeled him as a brat.
Joshua looked up at Altair when she entered and his eyes widened slightly. He didn't expect her to be able to look that so good with just a slight change. He had only ever seen her in casual wear before and he felt his heart thump loudly at the sight of her. He quickly dismissed the feeling and turned to judging her every move. It was why he was going to this party after all. Since he wouldn't be able to match her in martial prowess he had to find some other way to tear her down and prevent her from being named the heir. His pride wouldn't let him bow before Altair just because she was stronger than him.
Altair paid Joshua no attention as she went and sat next to Sarah. She demonstrated her training her she sat with near perfect posture: he back straight, legs together, and hands on her thighs. She then stared out the window to the side.
This was the first time Altair would ride in a cruiser without being restrained. She wanted to explore it more to see if it had any secret functions but her circumstances wouldn't allow that. She figured there would be time for her to investigate this strange flying carriage at a later time anyway so she sat in silence instead.
Sarah talked with Joshua throughout the entire trip. She also tried to engage Altair as well but Altair only responded with perfunctory answers and Sarah gave up her questions due to the awkward silences that would follow. So Joshua and Sarah discussed things about Joshua's school and his friends for most of the trip.
After almost an hour, a massive mansion that wasn't any less impressive than the Marnithok mansion came into view in the distance. The cruiser slowed its speed as dozens of other cruisers came into view, all heading to the same location. The mansion had cleared a huge area where seven cruisers would come down at a time and drop off the people riding within before they flew off to another section of the mansion that was designated for the cruisers to idle.
Scattered around the mansion and the cruiser lot were hundreds of giant metal men that Altair had seen once before. She still didn't know exactly what these were still but her guess was some kind of weapon that this world had. She also thought it was horribly inefficient by design but since she had yet to see how they performed their duty she couldn't make any final judgments.
"They sure are going all out on this party," Joshua said while looking out the other side of the cruiser. It had been a while since he had attended a noble party but this was the first time he had seen so much security before. He knew that it was standard to have Mecha around as a display of power but the amount that the Lothan family was showing off seemed excessive to him.
The smile on Sarah's face was a familiar warm smile she often had when she said, "They have a big announcement planned. Just wait until you see it. I'm sure you'll enjoy it." Sarah knew what the Lothan family was up to. She had been close with the new head of the family since they were kids. She even helped him secure his inheritance as the new head when the time came. The reason for them to show off so much was because she had sent word that she would be coming with her new daughter and she expected them to impress her. She did do her best to make her daughter as attractive as she could to show off to the other nobles. The only thing she wasn't sure of was if Altair would be capable of acting like a noble when needed.
Joshua knew his mother was close to the Lothan family. He also knew that the Lothan family had a son. He then looked at Altair with a thoughtful expression as he considered her words and how his mother had chosen Altair's clothes herself. The way that Altair looked now showed off her innocence and youth. It was very attractive to certain types of individuals and he wondered if his mother had chosen it to suit the Lothan family's tastes.
After a short delay in the air it was finally their turn as the cruiser automatically started descending to the same point that the others went down to. Once it was low enough, several servants placed portable stairs at the door to their cruiser, along with the other cruisers that were down with them. The door opened and Joshua got off first, turning around to offer his mother his hand. Sarah took it and went down first, followed closely by Altair who ignored the servant who offered his hand to her.
It wasn't required etiquette to take a hand that was offered to you if you didn't believe you needed their help. Altair simply lifted the front of her dress as she walked down the stairs instead. To everyone who was around, she seemed like a willful child.
Sarah waited for Altair to step down before she extended her hand towards Altair's with the same smile on her face. Altair maintained a neutral expression as she took Sarah's hand in hers and fell into step next to her. Sarah then escorted Altair towards to the front of the mansion while Joshua walked on the opposite side of Sarah.
As Altair walked along the colored stone ground she swept her eyes across the mansion. She really couldn't tell if it was bigger or smaller than the Marnithok mansion. Off the path were several Holodisplay's that portrayed people Altair had never met before. They all wore impressive military uniforms and had dozens of awards on their vests. Their ages didn't vary by much but they all shared similar features on their faces. They also all looked stern and stoic as they stared at the guests who walked up to the doors.
They walked up to the doors which were held open for them by the servants standing next to them and were greeted to a sight that left Altair briefly stunned. There were people walking on the air where the second floor should have been. There were some who were sitting on air up there as well while eating from plates that floated with them.
Altair had seen flight magic before and she had flown on the vehicles of this world as well but she had never seen anyone walk on air as if it was solid ground before. The people she was watching were completely stable and didn't move up or down in any way. She was completely baffled as to what was happening. She had no frame of reference for what she saw above her and the people around paid no attention to it at all as if it was completely normal.
Joshua's brows rose slightly when he saw the people on the second floor. "So they're using A.R. today?" He knew exactly what was happening up there. The floor was actually invisible due to the influence of Augmented Reality technology. This told him that there would probably be some other events that the Lothan family had in store for the party later. He personally preferred V.R. tech but A.R. tech wasn't so bad every now and then. It just hurt more sometimes.
Sarah paid his comment no attention and continued to walk into the mansion. There was a handsome man with stoic features that resembled the Holodisplay's outside ahead of them. He was greeting the people that came with a broad smile and a deep voice. When he saw Sarah his smile seemed to brighten and he quickly excused himself from the couple he was talking with.
Sarah gave him her usual smile as he quickly approached them with his beaming smile and said, "Good afternoon, Walter."
Walter bowed respectfully to Sarah before he stood at his full height of 205 cm and said, "Good afternoon, Sarah. It has been a long time since you've visited. You look as lovely as ever." He looked at Joshua and added, "I see that your son is growing into a fine young man." He then turned his attention to Altair and paused briefly as his eyes widened slightly. "I heard that you had adopted a daughter Sarah but this…" He turned his head back to Sarah to add, "Is a bit too brilliant, don't you think?"
Sarah's smile deepened as a dark light slipped through her eyes, "What do you mean by that?"
Altair was led to an extravagant cruiser that was waiting outside the mansion. Its engine hummed slightly as it was idle a meter off the ground. There was a portable staircase before the door that was open. Everything had obviously been prepared ahead of time.
Sarah stepped elegantly into the cruiser first and Altair followed with near perfect steps that were only slightly inferior by comparison. When she got into the cruiser, Sarah was already sitting with perfect posture and legs together right next to the door. On the opposite side of the cruiser, Joshua sat in a suit that would have made him look like quite the youth if Altair hadn't already labeled him as a brat.
Joshua looked up at Altair when she entered and his eyes widened slightly. He didn't expect her to be able to look that so good with just a slight change. He had only ever seen her in casual wear before and he felt his heart thump loudly at the sight of her. He quickly dismissed the feeling and turned to judging her every move. It was why he was going to this party after all. Since he wouldn't be able to match her in martial prowess he had to find some other way to tear her down and prevent her from being named the heir. His pride wouldn't let him bow before Altair just because she was stronger than him.
Altair paid Joshua no attention as she went and sat next to Sarah. She demonstrated her training her she sat with near perfect posture: he back straight, legs together, and hands on her thighs. She then stared out the window to the side.
This was the first time Altair would ride in a cruiser without being restrained. She wanted to explore it more to see if it had any secret functions but her circumstances wouldn't allow that. She figured there would be time for her to investigate this strange flying carriage at a later time anyway so she sat in silence instead.
Sarah talked with Joshua throughout the entire trip. She also tried to engage Altair as well but Altair only responded with perfunctory answers and Sarah gave up her questions due to the awkward silences that would follow. So Joshua and Sarah discussed things about Joshua's school and his friends for most of the trip.
After almost an hour, a massive mansion that wasn't any less impressive than the Marnithok mansion came into view in the distance. The cruiser slowed its speed as dozens of other cruisers came into view, all heading to the same location. The mansion had cleared a huge area where seven cruisers would come down at a time and drop off the people riding within before they flew off to another section of the mansion that was designated for the cruisers to idle.
Scattered around the mansion and the cruiser lot were hundreds of giant metal men that Altair had seen once before. She still didn't know exactly what these were still but her guess was some kind of weapon that this world had. She also thought it was horribly inefficient by design but since she had yet to see how they performed their duty she couldn't make any final judgments.
"They sure are going all out on this party," Joshua said while looking out the other side of the cruiser. It had been a while since he had attended a noble party but this was the first time he had seen so much security before. He knew that it was standard to have Mecha around as a display of power but the amount that the Lothan family was showing off seemed excessive to him.
The smile on Sarah's face was a familiar warm smile she often had when she said, "They have a big announcement planned. Just wait until you see it. I'm sure you'll enjoy it." Sarah knew what the Lothan family was up to. She had been close with the new head of the family since they were kids. She even helped him secure his inheritance as the new head when the time came. The reason for them to show off so much was because she had sent word that she would be coming with her new daughter and she expected them to impress her. She did do her best to make her daughter as attractive as she could to show off to the other nobles. The only thing she wasn't sure of was if Altair would be capable of acting like a noble when needed.
Joshua knew his mother was close to the Lothan family. He also knew that the Lothan family had a son. He then looked at Altair with a thoughtful expression as he considered her words and how his mother had chosen Altair's clothes herself. The way that Altair looked now showed off her innocence and youth. It was very attractive to certain types of individuals and he wondered if his mother had chosen it to suit the Lothan family's tastes.
After a short delay in the air it was finally their turn as the cruiser automatically started descending to the same point that the others went down to. Once it was low enough, several servants placed portable stairs at the door to their cruiser, along with the other cruisers that were down with them. The door opened and Joshua got off first, turning around to offer his mother his hand. Sarah took it and went down first, followed closely by Altair who ignored the servant who offered his hand to her.
It wasn't required etiquette to take a hand that was offered to you if you didn't believe you needed their help. Altair simply lifted the front of her dress as she walked down the stairs instead. To everyone who was around, she seemed like a willful child.
Sarah waited for Altair to step down before she extended her hand towards Altair's with the same smile on her face. Altair maintained a neutral expression as she took Sarah's hand in hers and fell into step next to her. Sarah then escorted Altair towards to the front of the mansion while Joshua walked on the opposite side of Sarah.
As Altair walked along the colored stone ground she swept her eyes across the mansion. She really couldn't tell if it was bigger or smaller than the Marnithok mansion. Off the path were several Holodisplay's that portrayed people Altair had never met before. They all wore impressive military uniforms and had dozens of awards on their vests. Their ages didn't vary by much but they all shared similar features on their faces. They also all looked stern and stoic as they stared at the guests who walked up to the doors.
They walked up to the doors which were held open for them by the servants standing next to them and were greeted to a sight that left Altair briefly stunned. There were people walking on the air where the second floor should have been. There were some who were sitting on air up there as well while eating from plates that floated with them.
Altair had seen flight magic before and she had flown on the vehicles of this world as well but she had never seen anyone walk on air as if it was solid ground before. The people she was watching were completely stable and didn't move up or down in any way. She was completely baffled as to what was happening. She had no frame of reference for what she saw above her and the people around paid no attention to it at all as if it was completely normal.
Joshua's brows rose slightly when he saw the people on the second floor. "So they're using A.R. today?" He knew exactly what was happening up there. The floor was actually invisible due to the influence of Augmented Reality technology. This told him that there would probably be some other events that the Lothan family had in store for the party later. He personally preferred V.R. tech but A.R. tech wasn't so bad every now and then. It just hurt more sometimes.
Sarah paid his comment no attention and continued to walk into the mansion. There was a handsome man with stoic features that resembled the Holodisplay's outside ahead of them. He was greeting the people that came with a broad smile and a deep voice. When he saw Sarah his smile seemed to brighten and he quickly excused himself from the couple he was talking with.
Sarah gave him her usual smile as he quickly approached them with his beaming smile and said, "Good afternoon, Walter."
Walter bowed respectfully to Sarah before he stood at his full height of 205 cm and said, "Good afternoon, Sarah. It has been a long time since you've visited. You look as lovely as ever." He looked at Joshua and added, "I see that your son is growing into a fine young man." He then turned his attention to Altair and paused briefly as his eyes widened slightly. "I heard that you had adopted a daughter Sarah but this…" He turned his head back to Sarah to add, "Is a bit too brilliant, don't you think?"
Sarah's smile deepened as a dark light slipped through her eyes, "What do you mean by that?"
