After dealing with miscellaneous matters, Aoko and Artoria bought first-class tickets to Chile. The two of them spent over thirty hours on the plane, alternating between playing games and sleeping, before finally arriving at King George Island, with a two-hour layover in Punta Arenas. Even as a Magician and the reincarnated King Arthur, they couldn't help but feel a bit dizzy and groggy after getting off the plane.
Since they had been sitting on the plane for so long, Aoko and Artoria decided, after some discussion, to take a luxury cruise ship for the last leg of their journey. This way, they could also enjoy the Antarctic scenery along the way; otherwise, being cooped up on the plane would be far too torturous.
They boarded a cruise ship operated by the American Quark Expeditions. There were about two hundred passengers on board, but young travelers like them were few and far between—most were middle-aged or elderly white people, probably those who, having established themselves financially, wanted to see the world in their later years. Indeed, the price of the plane and cruise tickets for this trip was not low.
Thus, Aoko and Artoria eventually landed with the cruise landing group at a central port on the Antarctic Peninsula. For comfort, the cruise ship had even bypassed the Drake Passage, making the journey relatively calm and uneventful.
Unlike the other travelers, who were bundled up tightly, Aoko and Artoria wore ordinary autumn clothes. At first glance, it didn't seem out of place, but in the icy and snowy surroundings, it looked quite odd.
Because of this, Aoko had activated her bounded field while still on the ship, causing the other passengers to not notice anything unusual about them. So, when the two of them quietly slipped away from the small town at the landing point, they didn't cause any commotion.
"Finis Chaldea is roughly located on a mountain near the South Pole," Aoko said, looking at the map in her hand. "Should we head straight there, or take in some Antarctic sights first, Artoria?"
"I heard there's an animal called a penguin," Artoria said, eager with anticipation. "Can we go see them first, and then head to Chaldea?"
"Sure," Aoko said, pulling a camera from her backpack. "I've only seen them in zoos before. It's rare to observe them up close—after all, who would specifically travel to Antarctica just for this?"
This was truly how Aoko felt. Her longest ranged teleportation spell could only cover a little over 400 kilometers, and the distance from Misaki Town in Japan to Antarctica was simply too great. If she relied solely on teleportation, it would be a hassle. Even if she just flew over directly, the time and comfort would be unacceptable. So, the best choice was still to travel step by step via planes and ships.
Aoko took out an Antarctic travel guide, carefully confirmed the locations of penguin colonies, and then took Artoria into the air, heading toward their target.
...
"Wow, this feels so...soft..." Artoria was holding a plump emperor penguin, her emerald eyes shining with light quite different from her usual serious self. Surprisingly, the emperor penguin didn't struggle; it just tilted its head, quietly observing this strange creature with golden hair. "Aoko, hurry and take a picture for me!"
Laughing, Aoko aimed the camera at Artoria, who was happily rubbing the penguin's belly and snapped several photos. As they took pictures, other emperor penguins from the colony waddled over, encircling Artoria in the middle of this group of flightless, chubby birds.
[Scene Break]
"Teacher, how long until Miss Blue arrives at Chaldea?" Kirschtaria Wodime, looking a bit sleep-deprived, entered Marisbury's office to ask. "Should we start the spiritron transfer experiment in advance?"
"No," Marisbury shook his head decisively. "As the largest shareholder of Chaldea, and as the Fourth Magician, I can't allow us to conduct the spiritron transfer experiment without Miss Blue. Besides, she's bringing a critical element this time."
"A critical element?" Kirschtaria thought for a moment before realizing what Marisbury meant. "You mean... the Knight King?"
"That's right," Marisbury closed the laptop on his desk, maneuvered his electric wheelchair, and walked with Kirschtaria down Chaldea's circular corridor. "To be honest, I'm not confident about this spiritron transfer experiment, which is why I insisted on bringing Miss Blue here."
"Our target is Britain in the 7th century, and the spiritron fixed point we want to observe and confirm is the so-called end of the Age of Gods," Marisbury continued. "As I've said before, transferring spiritrons to coordinates in the Age of Gods and to those after the Age of Gods are two completely different situations."
"...You want to use that King of Knights as a marker for the Age of Gods coordinate?" Kirschtaria asked. "But that king has already fully incarnated again. I'm worried if something unexpected happens during the experiment, Miss Blue will..."
"Don't worry," Marisbury grinned. "As long as Miss Blue is here, no matter what happens, it won't be irreversible. That's another reason I wanted her to witness the experiment."
"How is that possible?" Kirschtaria frowned. "Spiritron transfer is essentially a form of time travel, which falls under the Second Magic. The Fifth Magician shouldn't have any way to interfere with spiritron transfer, right?"
"You don't understand the essence of the Fifth Magic, Kirsch," Marisbilly's expression, under the corridor lights, was hard to read. "If Aozaki Aoko wills it, she can deny—no, she can break any established fact, completely overturning the order of causality itself. That's why I say, as long as she's here, she can reverse any accident in the experiment."
...
After saying goodbye to the emperor penguin colony, Artoria reluctantly flew back into the sky with Aoko, heading toward Finis Chaldea at the center of Antarctica. After flying at full speed for over an hour, Aoko finally located the nearly complete ring-shaped building. By then, she thought she might be developing snow blindness (though this was just an illusion—Aoko doesn't get sick).
They landed in front of Chaldea's main gate. The moment they touched down, the security cameras activated, obviously alerting those inside to their arrival.
"Welcome to Finis Chaldea," Marisbury's voice came from the intercom at the gate. "We've been expecting you."
With Marisbury's words, Chaldea's gate slowly opened under the servomotor's drive, and warm indoor air greeted them. Without a word, Aoko stepped forward without hesitation, entering this not-yet-completed institution for the preservation of humanity.