Chapter 129: Airship Launch
〜Aun’s point of view〜
Two weeks have passed since the informal meeting. We were finally leaving for the Ibrudia Empire today.
For the past two weeks, Ruzark and the others have been busy with the maintenance of the airship, applying for entry into the Empire via airship, creating the ceremony programme for the Council of the Seven Sphin Nations, and selecting servers to support during the council. It seems As Princess Luna and Legenda also helped out with this, all three of them seemed a little emaciated.
Regarding the staff servers, a particularly thorough selection was made to prevent Imperial operatives from getting in. Resulting in all 15 elves of our clan being requested to take on the position. In that sense, [Star Supremacy]’s credibility seems to be quite high.
The elves, of course, accepted the request with a smile on their faces. They are probably happy to have a place where they can work. I’ve heard that since that decision was made, a male elf named Tyrion, who is the chief butler, had a detailed meeting with the royal castle’s server.
During that time, I entrusted Kinu and the others to pour mana into the magic stones, and had Mare teach me darkness magic. I’m still a little unfamiliar with it, but there are more things I can do now, such as [Shadow Movement].
When Mare accepted the contract, she was only attached to Drake and Shinku, but after she started working as an adventurer together with Cherry, she gradually became able to communicate with others. This is largely due to Cherry’s bright and energetic personality.
Well, they are both monster-like in both good and bad ways, or rather, they’re a bit strange. I know I’m strange myself, though…
I have given Mare and Cherry two red weapons that Kinu and the others obtained from the Ruins of Silence.
One is a type of steel fist called [Bullet Knuckle]. This is a good match with Cherry, who is good at close combat.
The second is a fairly unique weapon called [Magic Steel Thread]. You circulate mana through steel threads that are too thin to be seen with the naked eye to control it. The handling of this weapon is quite difficult. I tested it out, but I can affirm that I will never be able to master it.
With this weapon, you have to operate a total of 10 threads with both hands while simultaneously performing movement and magic. Thus it gets confusing after a while and the threads will get tangled if you let your mind wander even a little. However, Mare was quite fond of this weapon, and she even ignored teaching me the darkness magic and devoted herself to mastering this weapon. I’m just happy that she liked it.
Having made as much preparation as possible, we were currently gathered in the public square of Alraine.
That’s because the airship was being repaired in a corner of the city that had been destroyed during the war. It was just a simple matter of erecting a roof over the plaza after removing the rubble. The airship technology will be incorporated into Alraine moving forward, and it seems that they plan to build an airship shipyard at this location.
「This looks amazing, bro! The destroyed magic airship became almost like a new one in just 3 months!」
「Looks like they did their best! But looking at it again, it is really huge… You did well destroying 5 ships like this.」
「I’m sure you can do it much more easily, bro!」
「In my case, I’m guessing one ship will be my limit… In that sense, you truly are the [Emperor of Destruction] in your dragon form…」
While we were talking as such, Ruzark and Zen emerged from the airship.
「Everyone, please get on now. We are ready to depart. Aun, you guys are the last ones.」
「Oh damn. We’re coming.」
The airship was about 100m long, and it felt even more spacious inside. About 10 minutes after boarding, there was an announcement inside the ship. It looked like it would take off soon.
After a slight tremor, I felt a sensation of being pulled down. Even though I have seen this huge thing flying through the sky, I was still a little worried that it might fall from the sky halfway.
Looking out the window, we were so high up that I could see the tip of the spire of Alraine Castle. It was more stable than I thought. So stable that I wouldn’t even realize we were flying through the sky if I didn’t already know it
While I was thinking about such things, the airship steadily traversed through the sky, and in no time, Alrain Castle became a small thing in the distance.
「Aun! We’re flying! We’re seriously flying! This is amazing!」
But what surprised me the most was that the normally cool Nelfie was insanely excited. Her eyes were sparkling, and she was pretty much jumping up and down.
「I want to go out onto the deck! Let’s all go together!」
The sight of her grabbing Kinu’s arm and excited like a child was a far cry from the Nelfie who was worried whether she had a place in the party before the ranking battle. I was really happy about that.
As I stepped out onto the deck, the cloudless clear blue sky above and the green of the grassland below created a wonderful contrast, creating a breathtaking view that was beyond words.
I have to worry about the Council of the Seven Sphin Nations and the demons after this… but for now, I shall enjoy this peaceful and beautiful scenery together with my beloved friends.
Nelphie!?