13 The Slavic Adonis

The dragon began to flap its giant wings more intensely as it prepared for landing. We felt a sudden reduction in speed combined with a slight increase in turbulence as the dragon touched down on the mountaintop platform. Then the dragon settled, lowering its body into a lying position.

We had arrived.

The temporary gangways were lowered as the passengers prepared to leave the train and enter the Slavograd Dragon Train Station. However, the security officers held everyone back until the captured criminal ─ Davie ─ was escorted off the train. Davie was pulled out of the train car by two guards and forced to walk across the platform.

Over at the station, at least a dozen security officers had gathered, and they were all wearing red uniforms with white stripes along the sides. As I looked in the direction of the officers, I saw him again.

The man who looked like Todd was already at the station, and he was casually making his way around the officers.

"Hey, Briggo!" I said. "Look, that's him!"

"What?"

"Todd! He's right there, behind those guards."

Briggo looked, but it was too late for him to see the man's face. All Briggo would have seen by then was the back of the man's head as he disappeared amid a sea of people.

"How did he get off?" I asked. "They haven't let anyone off the train yet."

Briggo shrugged, and it was clear that he was more interested in Davie than the Todd lookalike.

Davie was resisting the officers who were escorting him, and he was shouting insults at them as they forced him over the gangway.

"Nux you… Nux you all, you nuxing fascists! You can't stop us! CHAOS IS COMING!"

"Yeah, nux you too, pal," one of the officers said as he pushed Davie forward. Moments later the officers from the station grabbed hold of Davie.

"Hey Briggo, what's the thing he was saying? Fux you?"

"No," Briggo answered. "Nux you. Here in Animakistan, the F word was officially replaced with the word Nux. Comparing someone to Nuxanor is the single greatest insult here, so you'll hear it a lot."

"Ah, I see. Animak and Nuxanor must really hate each other." Davie was whisked away by the guards, and soon the station was back to normal, with all the passengers going about their business like nothing happened. The passengers were finally invited to disembark, and we were given the honor of getting off the train first.

The passengers cheered and clapped as Truck-chan drove over the gangway and into the station itself. I was inside the cabin and pretending to drive, while Briggo, Blair, and Sophia rode on the roof. I couldn't help but smile and wave to the grateful crowd as we left the Dragon Train behind us.

It was only then that the reality of the situation dawned on me. I had just survived a trip aboard a giant flying dragon that included a fight against magic criminals ten thousand feet above ground. And what's more, I didn't just hide out in a corner until the battle was over. I actually risked my life by taking part in the battle!

I was no longer the same guy who came into this world just a few days ago.

Things were changing quickly, and I was changing with them.

As we left the station and started down the mountain, we were flagged down by another uniformed officer. He was a young man with dark eyes and curly hair, and he had a thin curved moustache that gave him a slightly comical appearance. He had been waiting for us on the side of the road in his own horseless carriage.

The man identified himself as Kenzen Mirai, and he claimed to be the Patrons of Twigoslavia representative whom Justin and Barry had told us about.

"Kenzen Mirai," I said. "Are you Japanese?"

"Uh, well, no," the man answered. "Before I got isekai'd here, my name was Greg, but that wasn't a very cool name, so I picked something that sounded cooler. That's how I got Kenzen Mirai."

"Oh, I see. Let me guess, you like Anime."

"OH YES!" he said. "Without Anime I never would have gotten the chance to come to this world. That's where I got the idea to find a truck on the street and…"

"OH GOD!" I cried. "Are you one of THEM?!

The man who called himself Kenzen was confused. "Huh? One of what?"

In the back of my mind I always knew that I might one day come across a sweaty Otaku in this fantasy world, but even so this revelation left me speechless. I didn't know what to say to this man, this guy whose name was GREG, not Kenzen Mirai. All I could think about was the poor truck driver, who was probably traumatized for life by this guy's sick desire to get isekai'd.

"Hey, Kenzen," Briggo jumped in, "no offense, but we need to see Animak as soon as possible. Maybe you can talk about Anime some other time?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Greg said and nodded. "My apologies, gentlemen. Please follow me, and I'll take you directly to the palace." He jumped into his carriage and hurried down the mountain, and Truck-chan followed.

Eventually the rocky terrain unfolded into a long and luscious valley. At first we saw a patchwork of farms and forests which were full of life and color, and then in the distance we could see the looming majesty of Slavograd.

Even from afar it was clear that this was a big and prosperous city with impressive buildings and a sprawling population. As we got closer I noticed that many of the buildings were white with colorful rooftops, and nearly every building beamed with ornate designs.

"Wow," Truck-chan whispered as we approached the gates of the city. The gate itself looked a lot like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, although there was one clear difference. I've never been to France but I had seen the Arc de Triomphe many times in pictures and on TV, and I was certain that the Arc in Paris didn't feature a large statue of Animak at the very top. The stone figure of Animak looked out proudly over the countryside as six statues of curvy, voluptuous women ─ three to his left and three to his right ─ looked up at him with admiration and reverence.

As we emerged from beneath the Arc, the marvels of the city came into full view. Slavograd was bursting with life, with many carriages rattling across the busy roads, some drawn by horses and others completely horseless. The streets were brimming with people, shops and markets were on every corner, and the air rang out with the sounds of people talking and haggling and laughing. I could smell the exotic spices from the outdoor markets, and I could feel the energy of the city all around me. For the first time since I arrived in this world, I was reminded of the lively atmosphere of a modern city like Tokyo.

But this city was something different; something in between a medieval capital and a modern metropolis. The architecture of the many intricate buildings across the city was an interesting combination of eastern and western European styles, Baroque meets Gothic with a healthy dose of Byzantine. The closest thing that I could compare it to was the architecture of Imperial Russia, although I was by no means an expert on the subject. I based my assessment on the documentaries I'd seen and the images I'd found online and in books back when I had taken some courses on European history in university.

The sun was already setting as we drove through the city. Up ahead, we could see a magnificent palace rising above the rest of the buildings. The walls of the palace were white, and they were decorated with detailed patterns of red and blue. The rooftops of the shining towers and turrets of the palace were a bright shade of red, and large flags of Animakistan soared proudly atop every summit.

And beyond the palace, I saw something strange. There was a gigantic wall there, a wall nearly as tall as the palace itself. This wall seemed to stretch throughout the entire valley, and I wondered what its purpose was. What was on the other side?

A river divided the palace from the rest of the city, and we had to cross a long golden bridge before we arrived at the palace gates. As soon as we reached the entrance, we were stopped by guards in distinct uniforms. The palace guards had the three vertical lines that ran along the sides of their uniforms like all the other officers, but the color of their uniforms was royal blue, not red. The caps on their heads were larger and more intricate, and they wore long red cloaks over their uniforms.

The guards spoke to Greg first, and then they approached Truck-chan and asked for all of our documents. I didn't have any documents, so Briggo vouched for me and told the guards that I was a close personal friend. After some back and forth between the guards, one of them signaled for the gates to be opened. He waved us through, and then we drove across the long boulevard that led up to the palace.

Lush gardens appeared on either side of us, dozens of ornate statues and water fountains surrounded by beautiful flowers and trees. It was almost dusk by the time we reached the palace, and bright orbs of light suddenly came to life all around us. This was not electric lighting; it was some type of magic.

"Wow, Birito-kun," Truck-chan said quietly. "This place is beautiful! And it's so romantic… uwu."

"Yeah," I said, and I didn't even bother to complain about the "uwu". This really was an incredible place, unlike anything that I had ever seen before.

Greg led us into one of the garages so that we could park Truck-chan.

"Hey," I said to Greg once we entered the garage. "What's the deal with that giant wall?"

"Well, what do you think? It protects us from the titans!" Greg exclaimed and laughed out loud. "NA-NA-NA NA-NA-NA NA-NA YEAGER!"

"Hilarious," I replied. Freaking Otaku.

"On the other side of the wall is Nuxturia," Briggo said. "They built the wall after the Great Incident." Briggo then asked Greg to bring us some women's clothes quickly. Greg was confused, but he obliged, and he ran off to find what we asked for.

As we waited, Briggo and the cat-girls unloaded all of their baggage from the roof and I stepped out of the vehicle. I had no idea what would happen if Truck-chan transformed while I was still inside her, but I wasn't about to find out. For all I knew, it could kill us both.

"It's going to happen soon," Truck-chan said. "I can feel it."

"Okay," I said. "Okay, well, Truck-chan, if you have to transform, you have to transform. We'll all look away."

Briggo nodded. "You can go over there, in the corner." He pointed to a section of the garage where the light was dimmer.

"Okay," Truck-chan said and we heard her rolling forward as the rest of us looked away. Then, suddenly, we felt a warm breeze.

"It happened," Truck-chan said. "I'll just wait over here."

Moments later, Greg returned with the clothes.

"Here you are," he said to Briggo and handed him several folded articles of clothing, including shoes. "It's all I could find on such short notice. I couldn't find underwear, either. I'm sure you'll be able to find whatever you need once you get into the palace proper."

"Thank you, Kenzen," Briggo said. "We appreciate it."

"My pleasure, Sir Briggo. I'll stay in the capital for as long as you need me, and if anything comes up with the Patrons, I'll get a message to you right away."

"Perfect, thanks again."

"Yeah, thanks Greg," I said as the Otaku bowed and took his leave. Briggo then handed the clothes to me, and I made my way to the section of the garage where the naked Truck-chan was hiding. I held the clothes out to her without looking, and seconds later she emerged from the shadows.

"All done," she proclaimed, and we turned to look at her. Along with her usual Spamazon hat, she was wearing a pink tracksuit with those same white lines along the sides. The double-headed white dragon – the symbol of Animakistan – was embroidered on the left side of her chest.

"You look great, Truck-chan!" Briggo said.

"Oh, you think so, Sir Briggo? It feels so comfy, I love it!"

"I'm sure it does, Truck-chan, especially since you're going commando."

"Oh? What does that mean?"

Briggo smirked. "Nothing, my dear. Let's go everybody, they're expecting us upstairs."

We followed Briggo up the stairs and onto the main floor of the palace. Two guards met us there and escorted us through a long, shiny corridor full of priceless art pieces and lavish decorations. We saw a lot of strange things as we walked: flames that appeared to have human eyes, books flying through the air on their own, and magical paintings that seemed to be alive. It was all quite shocking and unbelievable for Truck-chan, the cat-women, and myself, but Briggo didn't seem surprised at all. He was clearly familiar with this palace.

Eventually, the long corridor gave way to a great hall, a massive open space beaming with magical lights and swarming with people. There was a strong scent in the air, as if many expensive perfumes were fighting for supremacy in our noses. As we entered, the people dropped their conversations and looked at us. They quickly moved aside to let us pass through the center of the room. I was confused, and so were Truck-chan and the cat-women. We didn't know whether to stop and say hello to all of those staring faces, or whether to just keep walking. Since Briggo kept going and he wasn't acknowledging anyone, we simply followed his lead.

At the very end of the great hall stood a wide marble staircase. The staircase was so long that we couldn't see where it led to, but four men dressed in fancy purple robes were standing at the bottom of the stairs and they looked like they were waiting for us.

As we came upon the men in purple, Briggo finally stopped walking and the rest of us followed suit. The guards who escorted us here bowed and stepped aside, and then one of the men in robes came towards us and smiled.

"Greetings, Lor D. Briggo and friends! I am Sir Jojo of the Men of Culture, and it is my honor to welcome you to Slavograd."

The four men in robes bowed, and then everyone else in the great hall bowed to us as well. It was a strange feeling. We didn't know what to do, so we all bowed as well.

"Thank you, Sir Jojo. Is Animak expecting us?"

"Yes, of course. We received a telegram from the border as soon as you entered the country. Please, excuse me for a moment," Jojo said, and then he cleared his throat. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he called out, loud enough for everyone inside the great hall to hear, "we are honored this day by the presence of Sir Lor D. Briggo, one of the founders of Twigoslavia and a close personal friend of His Excellency Emperor Animak."

The crowd clapped loudly, and their applause echoed throughout the hall.

"Now it is my honor and my privilege to introduce His Imperial Highness Emperor Animak, the Slavic Adonis, the Father of Dragons, and the Lover of Mothers!"

Suddenly, trumpets blared from somewhere above us as everyone inside the hall dropped down to one knee and bowed their heads in the direction of the staircase. The girls and I didn't know what else to do, so we also got down on one knee and bowed. The only one in the room who was still standing was Briggo.

We heard footsteps descending the great marble staircase, and moments later we saw him.

Emperor Animak.