A Commonplace Story Of Overpowered Sorcerer

Rio and the others headed for the temple's front gate. They were about to embark on their journey to the kingdom below. As they walked through the grand triumphal arcs that comprised the main gate of the temple, they were greeted by an endless sea of clouds. Rio was aware that they were in high altitude, but the rest didn't. Because no one had suffered from altitude sickness, they hadn't realized they'd been up so high up.

They all, Rio included, stood in wonder as they stared at the clear blue sky and the waves of clouds sparkling in the sunlight. It was only natural for them to gawk like that. It was an amazing sight and a novel experience for everyone.

As they made their way forward, they came upon a massive white circular pedestal that was surrounded by a fence. They walked through a lavish hallway made of the same white stone as the cathedral and stepped up onto the pedestal. Engraved within the stone of the pedestal was a large magic circle. On the other side of the fence lay a steep drop to the clouds below, so everyone huddled close to the center of the pedestal. But they were unable to restrain their curiosity, and timidly glanced around their surroundings despite their fear. As they were looking around, Ishtar began to chant,

"{Faith is the key that opens the road to heaven — Celestial Path.}"

The magic circle began emitting a blinding light as he finished chanting. The entire pedestal began gliding down toward the ground as if attached to some invisible cable. It appeared that Ishtar's chant had been an activation signal of sorts. It functioned exactly like a fantasy cable car. The students all started clamoring excitedly as they saw their first display of magic. There was quite the ruckus when they passed through the sea of clouds too. Meanwhile, Rio tried to maintain his indifference, but he found that it was very hard to stay aloof. He kept glancing around with eyes full of amazement.

Once on the other side, they could finally make out the ground below. Directly below them was a huge city, or rather a small kingdom. A huge castle that looked as if it were jutting out of the mountainside lay at its center, with the rest of the city spreading outward in a circle. The capital city of Heiligh. The magical cable car seemingly ran from the Holy Church down to the roof of one of the castle's towers via some aerial pathway.

As the outline of the capital grew more detailed, Rio finally discovered the uneasiness in the face of Hajime who had been standing next to him. He had an idea as to why the protagonist was this uneasy. But, he decided to put his mind to the rest after a few moments.

The moment they landed atop the royal palace, Rio and the others were escorted to the throne room. The hallways they passed on their way were every bit as ostentatious as the temple had been. Along the way, they passed by knights, servants, maids, and government officials. Everyone who passed gazed at them with a mixture of awe and wonder. It seemed that most people were aware of who they were. The Apostles of God.

Before long, with Ishtar leading them, they finally found themselves standing before a pair of massive double doors, into which numerous beautiful designs had been engraved. Two guards were standing at attention on either side of the door, and they loudly announced the group's arrival to the royal family who was waiting within. Then, without waiting for a reply, they swung the doors open.

Ishtar leisurely passed through the entrance, clearly at ease. All of the students timidly followed behind him, with the exception of Kouki and his friends, as well as Rio at the furthest back of the procession, who were seemingly unaffected by the splendor surrounding them.

Within the room stretched a long red carpet that ended at the far wall. At its end lay a magnificent chair — or rather throne. Standing in front of the throne was a middle-aged man who radiated an aura of solemn dignity. He looked like an old Caucasian doing a play as a king, but he was actually the king of this kingdom. Next to him was the queen, and next to her were a boy and a girl, both with blond hair and striking blue eyes. The boy, who was the younger of the two, seemed no more than ten years old, while the girl must have been around fifteen. On the left side of the carpet was a line of soldiers, all clad in armor and uniform. On the right, a line of civil officers. Altogether, there were probably around thirty people waiting in the room.

Once they were directly before the throne, Ishtar left the students and went to stand beside the king. He then proffered his hand to the king, who took it reverently and kissed it with the slightest brush of his lips. It looked like the pope was even more important than the king. A flurry of self-introductions followed after that. The king's name was Eliheid S. B. Heiligh, and his wife the queen was called Luluaria. The blond boy was the prince Lundel, and the girl; Princess Liliana.

After the introduction of the knight captain, the introductions finished, and a huge feast was laid out and they were able to enjoy the dishes of another world. Though, for the most part, it wasn't very different from western food back on two different Earth's Iterations of Rio and the students.

After they finished their meal, Rio and the others were introduced to the instructors they would be training with in return for being clothed and fed by the palace. Their instructors had been chosen from the ranks of active duty knights and court magicians. The king probably wanted to strengthen the relationship between the students and his kingdom for the inevitable war to come.

Once dinner and introductions were finished, everyone was led to their own individual rooms. Rio was certain he wasn't the only one who was dumbstruck by the huge canopy bed he found in his room. The room was so luxurious that he couldn't fully relax despite he'd already experienced quite the hectic day, more than the summoned students and a teacher.

Since he couldn't sleep, Rio decided to try out sensing his mana, or at least, finding a way to sense it.