CH 372

Chapter 372 – Landing

“He looked kind of pale.”

“I guess so. I don’t think you need to worry too much.”

Driada-san, who is smiling, seems to be in a very good mood. For some reason, she and Count Delisans, who rules Windes, watched me build a large stone plaza for the magic airship to dock, and apparently, the conversation with Count Delisans was quite pleasant. I was struck by the fact that Count Delisans’ complexion was getting worse and worse while Driada-san’s was getting better and better. I wonder what they were talking about.

“This is Kosuke. The landing site is secure.”

“We have confirmation. We are in the landing position. Evacuate.”

I took a short-range golem communicator from my inventory and contacted the prototype magic airship, and soon received a reply from Isla. If we stay here, we will be crushed under the magic airship, so I will leave the landing site together with Driada-san. The airboat is already stored in my inventory, so all I have to do now is wait patiently for the magic airship to come down.

“Speaking of which, you seemed to be having a good time, anything interesting to talk about?”

“No, I was just talking about how the airship flew in from Merinesburg within six hours while Kosuke-kun was working and how the airship could easily burn down an entire city.”

“That’s very disturbing, isn’t it?”

It’s almost a threat, isn’t it? Why would she say such a thing?

“This is a long way from Merinesburg, isn’t it?”

“…Yes, isn’t it?”

It’s certainly true. The speed of a magic airship is faster than that of an air board. At cruising speed, it can go over 100 kilometers per hour. It takes about six hours, so the straight line distance from Merinesburg to Windes here is about 600 km. If one were to travel by land, it would actually be a longer distance, as the road meanders in places, avoiding mountains, hills, valleys, and rivers. Even with a moving horse-drawn carriage, the overland journey would easily take a week.

“There have always been a lot of western lords who are connected to the small western states and are up to all sorts of schemes. Well, to put it another way, they are full of independent and self-reliant spirit.”

“I see. But aren’t the current Western Lords all right?”

As far as the pacification of the West is concerned, it should be rather quiet since Mrs. Zamir wields a mighty arm or rather a strong spear, and the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom stares back at them.

“It is not unusual that they are in the same boat. However, considering the disappointments of the past twenty years, I feel it is not my place to say anything about it.”

“I guess that’s the way it is.”

After saying that, Driada-san makes a gesture as if she were stroking her neck quickly with the tip of her own hand. Please don’t do that with a smile on your face, because it’s really scary.

“Today, the Count is inviting us to his mansion. I can’t wait to see what kind of hospitality he will show us.”

“Do you really think so? Don’t tease him too much, okay?”

“Of course. If he treats us well, I’ll treat him well. If not, I’ll deal with him accordingly.”

“I see. So if he starts threatening me, does that mean you have to do something rude to him out of the blue?”

I had no idea what to expect. I just greeted him normally and got right to work.

“That’s right. First of all, it was out of the question for him to greet us while standing up. When royalty comes to visit, it is only natural that he kneels down to greet us.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. It is natural to show vassalage on that basis. But he greeted us standing up, and he had armed men with him. That was a sign that he would not bow to the power of the royal family. It was a sign that he would not hesitate to use force, depending on the situation.”

“Seriously?”

My vocabulary disappears at Driada-san’s super-interpretation. No, I mean, that’s all it is? I feel that way but for me? I think you could loosen up a bit.

“I don’t care if it’s wartime; it’s an unthinkable reaction in peacetime. If he had treated the royal family like that 20 years ago under the rule of the Merinard Kingdom, it would have been taken as a sign that he had changed his mind.”

“Wow, that’s scary. Nobility, or rather a royalty, is scary!”

To me, it sounds like an irrational objection, but Driada-san’s eyes are serious.

“Kosuke-kun is also a member of that scary royal family, you know. You didn’t seem to care much about it until now, but from now on, you should behave properly.”

“I’m not very good at such things, you know.”

“You have to be very clear about the hierarchy in this kind of thing. After all, it is the soldiers who fight on the battlefield and the people who get caught up in the war who really cry when there is a rebellion by the local lords.”

“If you put it that way, I can’t say anything.

While we were talking about such things, the magic airship approached us from the sky. After much trial and error, we finally equipped it with six golem arms as landing gear to stabilize the hull during landing. Since there was no point in being stingy with safety equipment, we decided to go with an insanely fine one made of mithril-silver alloy. Well, splendid, but they are quite thin and look rather poor to the eye.

The descending magic airship touched the ground, and the folded golem arm landing stabilizer extended from the port side of the magic airship to hold the ship in place. This would prevent the ship from swaying or tipping over in the slightest breeze.

Meanwhile, the front part of the ship, the part that corresponds to the bulbous bow―the red part of a certain space battleship that does not have a wave cannon, if I may say so. Anyway, the overhanging part near the bottom opened, and the crew came out. Even though it had only been six hours, the relief of being released from air travel was evident in the sight of the civilian crew members collapsing on the stone floor I had made, feeling the ground.

“It seems they were unexpectedly frightened…”

“Even though they were given fall control bracelets, I’m sure many of them are scared at the thought of being thrown headlong out of the sky if something should happen to them.”

Driada-san smiled bitterly as she said this. I wonder if she thinks that the personnel who have the important role of escorting the royal family would look pathetic. As expected, with such an important role, I wonder if that’s the case.

In any case, I should do what I have to do as the captain. There was no point in just staring at them.

“Yes, pay attention. I have informed you in advance, but as originally planned, we will wait here for about two days. We will receive a pick up from the Dragonis Mountain Kingdom. Until they arrive, we will rest for a while. The R&D staff should continue to maintain the ship. The magic riflemen will take turns guarding the ship. All other personnel should basically stay on the landing site. If you want to go out, you have to ask me through Ted, Darko, or Isla. Anyway, it’s time to take a break for today. Except for the night watchmen on duty, you may have up to two drinks with your dinner.

The crew cheers. Those who are not cheering are probably those who are on duty tonight. We can’t have a drunk on the night watch. I’m sorry, but please accept this with tears in your eyes.