61-Episode 61: Broken Castle and Guard Knight

'Oh, I can fly!　We can fly!

Yes, we're going to fly again!

The knights were flying in the sky with a joyful shout.

We, who had fixed the knights' wings, were heading to the Celestial Castle, where their lord, the Celestial King, lived.

''Oh, so Lord Lex really can fly without wings!

We jumped up with flight magic, and the knight commander, Calm-san, shouted in surprise at us.

''Do Lex-dono and the others also possess some kind of magic item?''

No, we use flying magic.

Flying magic?　You mean, that lost magic?

While we were fixing everyone's wings, we were hearing a lot of stories from Calm and the others.

It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you can get a new job.

And it seems that they usually protect the sky island from demons that have the ability to fly.

''Even so, the feather you fixed is amazing!　It works amazingly like you wanted it to, compared to before it broke!

And your speed has increased dramatically, Commander!

The knights are overjoyed at the performance of the feather I repaired.

It looks like you've been using it for a long time without any maintenance. I fixed it and replaced the old mechanism with a new one. The performance is now about 30% better than before it broke down.

Thirty percent?　Thirty percent?

You're cashing in once your feathers are healed.

Liliera-san seems to be dismayed by the people of the Order who are frolicking with the feather fixed.

''Are you sure it was a good idea to fix it?　And they even made it better.

'It's too much,' Liliera's eyes told her.

'No, it's more like this.

I whispered softly to Liliella.

'The fact that I was able to fix their magic items is of utmost importance.

Is there anything Mr. Lex could have done to fix it?

Liliella frowns and tilts her head.　

'Yes, they can't fix it, but I can.

Oh, I see.

Liliella voiced that's what she meant.

'If they can't fix magic items, they won't be able to touch them carelessly if they know Lex-san can fix them.

I nodded with a smirk on my face.

Yes, if they know I can fix their magic item, they will not be able to act hostile to us.

That means that even if we can fight with all our might, they will always have to think twice before taking it easy.

If we get into a fight with the Celestial People in the future, this will be a huge advantage, and even if we don't, we can use it as a negotiation card.

''Lex-dono, our castle is in sight!

The shadow of a structure could indeed be seen ahead of the knight pointing ahead.

But that figure........

Is that a castle?

Seeing this, I nodded my head at the knights' words.

''Huh?　That one?

Liliera-san, who saw the same thing, was equally puzzled.

''Rather than a castle, is that... a ruin?''

Yes, what we saw ahead of us was a large, half-destroyed building.

'Is that more or less part of the fort?

Yes, it was more like a fortress protecting a key point than a castle.

"That is the castle where our king lives, the Celestial City!

The knights proudly declare.

Apparently, it really is a castle.

''That's........a castle?

You're not going to be able to do that.

'Is this using a broken fort as a first aid kit?

By coming close to the castle, we can see the details of the Castle of the Sky.

It seems that the Castle in the Sky is still using a half-destroyed fort, and the collapsed part was repaired with stones and building materials from the broken fort.

Its appearance is like a first aid measure during wartime.

''Lex-dono, Liliera-dono, please go down to the courtyard you see there.

When I followed Carm's guidance and went down to the courtyard, a group of feathered knights came out from inside the castle, just like the knights.

''Oh, Commander Carm!　Did you manage to capture the illegals safely!

The one who spoke to Mr. Carm was a knight in more ornate armor than the other knights.

If you look closely, the knights who emerged from inside the castle are all decorated.

Perhaps the Kingsguard?

"Captain Konoe, that's the thing...

I knew it was the Kingsguard.

Mr. Calm takes his gaze off the captain of the Kingsguard and glances at us.

"Well, these are the insolent illegals, aren't they? Hmm, they look lowly, as expected.

What does a lowly face look like?

Oh, no, I mean...

Mr. Carm stammered.

I wonder what he's going to tell the Captain of the Kingsguard about us.

It'll be a bit of fun.

'What's up, Commander Karm?

You see, he's a... well, he's a traveling magic item engineer!

What?

What's the Captain of the Kingsguard saying to this guy?　He looks at Mr. Calm with a look of "I'm sorry, but it's true.

'No, it's true. You know that our feathers have been showing performance problems after years of abuse, don't you?　But having him fix the feather for me solved that problem!

Repair?　You borrowed a feather from your highness and showed it to a stranger who doesn't know what horse's bones you are?

It's a good thing, because the wings of my subordinate were severely malfunctioning in the sortie just now. It was so obvious that they would soon be unable to use it at this rate.

....

The Konoe Commander frowns at Karm's words.

It's more like a half-belief, or rather a total lack of faith.

I told him that I thought that was the case. You'll be able to find out if it really can be fixed, then try to fix it. I said, 'If you can fix it, then I'll trust you. As a result, he successfully repaired the feather, and on top of that, his performance became one of the best in our feather.

When Mr. Carm looked behind him, one of his subordinates floated up in the sky and flew at high speed, performing complex aerial maneuvers.

"Look, are there any feathers left in your Kingsguard as well as in my Order that can fly like that?

Somehow, Mr. Carm's words contain a serious sound to them.

''How ... unbelievable, but it's certainly a different kind of movement.

With skills like these, I'm sure you'll agree that it's not an easy thing to pull something like this off.

The Captain of the Kingsguard shifts his gaze from Mr. Calm to you.

I understand that you are an engineer of magic items. But what do you want?　Let's see if you can tell me why.

Here I will say the reason why I have repeated so many times before.

''We came to investigate the ancient Sky Continent, and we heard from the Sky People we met on this Sky Island that this Sky Island is a remnant of the former Sky Continent. And from the celestial people we met on this sky island, we heard that this sky island is a remnant of the former sky continent. So we would like to hear from someone who has some information about what happened to it, and how it happened.

Yeah, there's a good chance that the top brass of this country would know about that area.

To be honest, I don't plan to get involved in the country, but as expected, the fact that one continent is missing is not just a bit concerning.

I hope we can make a good deal on repairing the magic item.

The sky continent of fairy tales, huh? It's a story I used to hear when I was a kid. But what does that have to do with you being a magic item engineer?

Well, I don't have it.

I'm not a magic item engineer to begin with.

I'm not a magic item engineer to begin with, and I'm more of a magic item developer.

I just wanted to see the Celestial Continent. I just wanted to see the Celestial Continent.

'You think I'm going to get through to you on such vague grounds!　I knew it was too suspicious of you people. They're going to lock you up and make you tell me why you're really here.

Wait a minute, Captain Konoe!　They have some useful technology. Don't be too rough on them!

The Captain of the Konoe Guard snickered at Mr. Carm's plea.

''What a tepid thing to say. In the first place, even if he is a useful engineer, what kind of a man would he be, to bring him here without restraint!　If they can use it, then we can throw them in jail and chain them up so they can't escape!

The Captain of the Kingsguard waves his hand, and the knights of the Kingsguard surround us.

'Capture those two!

""Ha!"

The knights of the Kingsguard have drawn their swords and are coming at us.

It's really quite selfish of you to say that.

"We're going to beat them, right?

Liliella asks with her spear at the ready.

Yes, if I hurt you badly, I can fix you up.

Okay.

Yes, we responded in a friendly manner, but they offered to lock us up and make us do what they said.

Yeah, I don't think we need to go easy on them on this one.

Just, no, we're going to hurt you a lot.

"Hmm, you're not gonna stand up to us!　We are the knights of the Kingsguard, the chosen knights, the strongest knights in the Holy Sky Kingdom who will protect you, Your Majesty!

Buh!

I shouldn't, I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that embarrassing name.

'You!　You insult us!

I'm sorry. But that name is obviously two years old.

I mean, two years before the prehistoric age.

"Huh!

The swords of the knights of the Kingsguard, tinged with light, are attacking us.

It seems that these swords are like magic items too.

"Well.

I half turn my body to evade the sword and cut off the kinsman knight's sword from its base.

''Ridiculous!　My sword?!''

The Konoe knight is astonished to see his sword destroyed, his pride and joy.

That's not enough for me.

I cut off the wings on their backs and then cut off the joints in their armor, stripping them bare.

I cut the falling armor in half to stop it from losing its support.

''Ugh, my wings!

''Yo, my armor, aaaaah!

The knights in the Kingsguard screamed as their equipment was destroyed.

""Sparkcloud!"

""Gahhhhhh?"

And the bodies of the kinsmen knights, who had lost all their equipment, were swallowed by a small thundercloud, and at the moment when the lightning flashed, their entire bodies were electrocuted and fell down.

''Se-‼‼!''

Liliera-san uses the difference in reach to control the knights, and seeing an opening, she thrusts her spear into their thighs, making them unable to move.

Liliera's fighting style is a reluctant but steady way to reduce the opponent's mobility.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're in the market for a new product.

''Tei!''

I dive into the midst of the kinsmen knights, cleaving them with my sword as I slip through them and blasting them with my magic.

'You!'

Wait! Don't attack me without thinking!　It's going to be a friendly fire!

I knew it, or rather, what can I say, just like the knights just now, the knights of the Kingsguard seem to have little experience in actual battles.

The moment it became a melee, their movements were lackluster.

Well, even before it became a melee, their movements were not very good.

I wonder if they hadn't had much of a chance to fight since they had been guarding the king in the castle all along?

'Yeah, what are you doing?　There's only two of them!

The captain of the Kingsguard shouts in anger, but the Kingsguard knights are not able to keep up with our movements, which have been enhanced with body-enhancing magic.

You can't use body-enhancing magic, I mean, can't these people use body-enhancing magic?

Come to think of it, they couldn't even use flying magic, and I don't feel that these people's fighting techniques are sophisticated enough to begin with.

If you're a descendant of knights from when the Celestial Continent existed, I'm sure the fighting techniques of those days were passed down to you.

But you know what?

Does this also have something to do with the collapse of the Celestial Continent that I don't know about?

In the end, the kinsmen knights were wiped out in less than a few minutes.

''Oh, you!''

The captain of the Kingsguard raises his sword and attacks me, but it's easy to avoid the bloody attack on my head.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of this one.

''Wah, my sword ah!

''It's not just my sword.''

I point out with my fingers the feather that has fallen at my feet.

The captain of the Kingsguard looks at the feather, then turns his head and looks at the feather that should be growing out of his back.

But the feather is not there, and he begins to search for it with his hands, flapping them around.

Then you touch your hand between the shoulder blades on your back and touch the base of the severed feather.

My wings...

The Captain of the Konoe Guard turns pale and slumps down.

''Well, Captain Konoe,''

I smile at the slumped Captain of the Konoe Guard.

'How would you like to repair your magic item?'

....

The Captain of the Konoe Guard with a bright blue face looks at Mr. Karm.

Then Mr. Karm smiles very gently.

Seeing this, the Captain of the Konoe team, as if he had figured it all out, slumped his shoulders widely and hung down his head.

Then, shaking his shoulders, he said

''........Oh, please.