Without another word, I wrap one arm around her back, then float us up into the air a few hundred feet and apply full flight spells. I look around, then start accelerating us west. Ilina looks out to the side of my chest, and I feel her grasp on me tighten. She seems nervous, but she's also excited.
"Mizuki, this is amazing! Alto was right about how beautiful it is. Did you say that I'll be able to do this too with gravity magic?" (Ilina)
"That's right, though I'm not sure how useful it will be for you. For us to fly this fast and this high without issue, I'm also using magic to split the wind around us and make sure we don't freeze to death. If I can teach you those spells, you can fly like this, too. It may take longer than learning gravity magic, though. How fast you can fly will depend on your power." (Mizuki)
"Oh, I didn't realize it required all those additional spells, that's a bit disappointing. I guess it wouldn't be so easy, though. Out of curiosity, just how fast can you fly?" (Ilina)
"Oh, that depends, it gets much slower the more people I carry. With just the two of us, and you holding on to me like this, I could fly us at over 1000 kph for several hours." (Mizuki)
Ilina is silent for a moment.
"Mizuki…I don't know what that means. Can you put it in terms of time? Like, how long would it take you to fly us both to the Elven Kingdom at max speed?" (Ilina)
"Oh…right, that's my bad. I forgot for a moment that this world doesn't measure speed like that. Let's see, with just the two of us I could probably make it there in two hours or less!" (Mizuki)
Ilina looks up at me in shock.
"Two hours!? Mizuki, that's insane! Wait…can I ask a question then?" (Ilina)
"Yeah, I know, it's pretty cool! Sure, ask away." (Mizuki)
"Why didn't you just fly yourself to the Elven Kingdom border in under two hours, teleport back here, then teleport us all back to where you flew later?" (Ilina)
That…is actually a good idea…and it didn't occur to me. I guess I never thought about how fast I could get there by full speed alone. Should I tell Ilina that, though?
"Fufufu…that's a good idea, it honestly just didn't occur to me since I don't know where the eastern entrance to the country is located. We have nothing to do for the next few hours, though, do you want to just go there with me now and guide me to the entrance? That would be a nice surprise for the elves tomorrow." (Mizuki)
Ilina gives me a conflicted look for a while, then smiles and nods her head.
"Yeah, let's do it. Besides, I like being up here together, and I want to see how fast you can go." (Ilina)
"Fufufu…be careful what you wish for. Now, I know the general direction, but let me know when we need to alter course later!" (Mizuki)
With that, I accelerate as quickly as I can in the west-northwest direction, and Ilina lets out a squeal. Before I know it, we're at top speed and Ilina is squeezing me tightly. I chuckle and she gives me a menacing glare, then smiles and starts enjoying the view of forest whipping by below.
After about 15 minutes at top speed, the terrain below transitions to mountain ranges. I see mainly just exposed rock and snow caps around the mountains, but there's some greenery in the valleys.
Ilina and I pass the next hour admiring the terrain changes below us and making idle small talk about the things we both like. It's not very important stuff, but it feels like a good bonding experience for us.
Ilina interrupts our friendly chat with an unexpected remark.
"Woah, that was even faster than you said Mizuki! You need to turn that direction now, and it doesn't seem like it will take us long to reach the entrance to my country. There is only one major valley in the mountains that passes through my country's eastern border, so a massive defensive wall was built there. You should see it soon if we continue in that direction." (Ilina)
Ilina gestures for me to make a slight course-correction to the left. I do, and after another ten or so minutes I can see a massive stone wall blocking the whole width of the valley below. I enable stealth flight, and I begin lowering us towards the wall.
"Ilina, I've made it so we're invisible to others, but we still make sound. So, remain quiet while I try and locate a safe spot for teleportation tomorrow." (Mizuki)
Ilina nods her agreement. I look around, and there doesn't seem to be much cover. Hmm…I guess it doesn't matter if one of the soldiers notices us teleporting later, so long as I can blame it on Nina. Plus, I could teleport us all while using a concealment spell, then deactivate it while the soldiers aren't looking.
I bring us closer to the wall and scout out where the guards are located, and I pick a decent blind spot near the border wall on its eastern side. I set Ilina and I down, and I take note of the surrounding environment for teleportation later.
After, I nod to Ilina that I'm ready, and she grabs onto me again. I lift us way back up into the air with flight spells, then tell her what I'm thinking.
"Okay, that should take care of it! I was thinking, though, the Elven Kingdom is massive. If the royal capital is towards the center, it'd take Nina a whole day to fly us there from this entrance. Also, a dragon flying through your country is probably not ideal. If you want, you could direct me to the entrance of the capital city, and I can find a discreet place to teleport us to? We could still teleport to this entrance first, but it'd save us some time after that. What do you think?" (Mizuki)
Ilina thinks it over for a while.
"Hmm…I'm not sure if that's the best approach, but I think we should at least do what you suggested and find a place to teleport near the royal capital while we're already so close. Head that direction, and it's about halfway across my country. Based on how fast we got here, I'd guess maybe half an hour at your top speed?" (Ilina)
I nod my acknowledgement to her, then take off at top speed due west, where she's pointing.
I see a few large villages scattered over the next half hour, and lots of agricultural development, but no major cities like Elmesia. About half an hour after we entered the country, with a few course-corrections from Ilina along the way, I start to make out the shape of a city on the horizon. As we get closer, I realize that's an understatement.
It's probably five times as wide across as Elmesia, if not more, and a fifteen-meter wall made of white marble-like mineral encircles the entire city. Several entrance gates can be seen around the wall from our eastern vantage point – east, north, and south gates, presumably.
Inside the walls, there is a massive building towards the center of the city. It's probably five or six floors in some areas and is made largely of the same white mineral. I'm guessing that's the palace.
The rest of the city inside is beautiful and heavily developed, and it's fair to say that nothing I've seen in this world so far compares. I'm so entranced by it that I let out an audible gasp, and Ilina turns to me with a proud smile on her face.
"Beautiful, right? Especially from up here. I'm glad I'm getting to see it with you alone first, Mizuki. Welcome to Avalon, the royal capital of the Elven Kingdom – my home." (Ilina)
"It's incredible, Ilina, thanks for letting me come here. Your people's engineering skills are marvelous. To think that you made something this grand with what I've seen in this world…the builders have my deepest respect." (Mizuki)
I pick out a spot midway between the east and south gates, where there seems to be minimal activity, and set us down beside the wall. I take note of the surroundings, and it seems to be a good spot to teleport into. I cast a silencing spell, then speak to Ilina.
"Okay, Ilina, I think we're all good here. It's almost sunset, so are you ready to go back to Elmesia?" (Mizuki)
Ilina is looking around with a blissful smile on her face, and she maintains it as she looks back to meet my gaze and respond.
"Yeah, thanks so much for this Mizuki. I didn't think I'd be seeing my home again for several days, so this little trip with you has been great. You can teleport us back whenever you're ready." (Ilina)
Ilina steps in for a hug, and she rests her face on my shoulder. I grab her, then teleport us back to the clearing.
When we arrive, Alto notices us and starts jogging over. Ilina steps away and waves at Alto as she approaches. Alto is wearing a puzzled expression.
"Where have you two been all this time since I saw you fly off!? It's almost sunset!" (Alto)
Ilina and I glance at one another with stupid grins on our faces, then I turn back to Alto.
"Oh, nothing much, just a little joy flight." (Mizuki)