Chapter 293 – Hover

Chapter 293 – Hover

“Well... we expected this, no?” I asked, looking at the drawing I recreated from memory, resting on my drawing table in my office.

“...”

None of my wives said anything, but I think I was the least anxious about the results. The sketch was none other than my recreation of the X-ray image of our twins that I memorized. Their bones were visibly decorated with hundreds of runes running along their spines, connecting them to their skull. Examining it, the whole thing looked like a secondary nervous system, one responsible for my children's magical capabilities. We also scanned ourselves, but neither Sasha, Mikan, Merlin, nor I had anything similar. And we looked. Everywhere. So... this was a ‘I have no idea of what is going on’ situation. I wasn't as bothered by it as I took it as a boon. Of course, I was well aware that such gifts can easily flip and turn into curses, but I'd like to think along the more optimistic route. Otherwise, every change will feel and look like something terrible.

“It is not deadly nor dangerous.” I tried to lift up the mood, but Sasha wasn’t having it.

“Our son is hearing voices of... creatures. It IS dangerous!”

“What if they are coming for him?” Mikan asked, amping up the fright Sasha was feeling, making me rub my forehead, muttering under my breath.

“Don’t... Don’t make it worse, my dear... please...”

“I agree with Leon.” Yuri cut in, looking at the others. It is not dangerous because nobody can take them away. It's simple. Anyone who tries dies.”

“I don’t like it... Not a bit!” Sasha murmured, taking the teacup from Luna, who was the smartest amongst us, and bringing them some calming brew.

“Well,” Luna said, placing the last cup before me, “it does give them extra power, no? And it isn’t like they become monsters!”

“Of course they won’t!” Sasha yelped out, coughing, breathing down half of her tea. Damn it, girl?! Are you trying to calm them down or amp them up? Which is it?

“What did Merlin say?” Mikan asked, rubbing Sasha's back, slapping it gently until she finally cleared out her airways.

“I quote: It has to be the Vasa bloodline.” I answered, telling them his exact words. I also thought of the same thing when the results were out, and I asked him to try to get as much information out of his past self as possible. “Turns out, the hunch of the previous Empress was correct.” I smiled, remembering when I visited the capital city and met with Luna... and that psycho. Looking back on it, I was lucky to be not beheaded then and there. Phew! That would have... sucked.

“So... you are a descendant of some ancient royalty?” Luna asked with a chuckle, noticing me gazing at her before her question made me shrug.

“My guess is on Sasha, as she is a witch, and I am not." I answered with a smile, "Or it could be both of us, but it is a moot point to argue about.”

“It has to be Sacchi.” Yuri agreed. “Lancelot was just as ordinary as me.”

“You are not ordinary.” Luna joked, making Yuri stick her tongue out. “And we can check on the fourth little one after she is born!”

“Hit it!” I yelled back, feeling my heartbeat rise, my palms sweat, and my stomach tighten as it was time to see if our plans had played out as we expected them to. Designing something is one thing... seeing it in action is the real deal.

Luckily... It went without any issues. The moment Merlin activated the primary formation, the monster core came to life, almost like roaring, releasing a definitive magical hum that everyone could hear in the cave, even if none of us were attuned to it. Then, with a soft, blueish hue, the body of the airship lifted up as if it were a feather caught in a breeze. Then, the landing claws, all six of them retreated, slotting into place in under a minute.

“All systems function as normal, My Sovereign!” Merlin yelled out to me, maintaining the spell with minimal effort. “I sense no issues nor any deviations from the expected function! I have full control over it.”

With that, he rereleased the claws, ordering the airship to touch down before turning the formation off. As it did so, gradually and surprisingly gently, the airship gave its weight back to the frame while we were looking for any deformations in its internal structure, waiting to hear something snap. Nothing broke, nor did it twist. It was a testament to my workforce and their mastery. What we managed to pull off here was just as magical as the spell itself. The airship was built at a pace I would not think possible, not even in my world, and it had no issues on its first live test. That fact is the most incredible about it, really.

“Estimates?” I asked after I climbed up, following Merlin as we checked on the formations and made sure none of the etched metal, the CC’s holding frame, or anything connected to it wasn't malformed after its weight returned.

“By winter, it will be done and operational. Of course, we will need a secondary flight test after we have installed the second monster core. We still don’t know if there will be interference or not, even if we tested the formations before. All of my trials in the training field show that they won’t cause any problem working at the same time, but... How did you say it?”

“What can go wrong, will go wrong?” I asked, shaking my head. “Please, prove me wrong.”

“I am working on it.” He chuckled as both of us were in an excellent mood. No matter where we looked, nothing showed cracks on the surface. “Well, My Sovereign... It just works!”

“Don’t.” I muttered, “Say it too many times, and something will bug out.”

“Bugs?” He asked, looking around. "What?"

“Not like that... hah, no matter!” I waved away my thoughts. We will continue. Let’s install the secondary core in the following weeks and conduct another test. Then, we can install the weaponry and main systems.”

“Speaking of that...” Merlin glanced at me while we continued our examination, “Are we going to go half and half?”

“No. Two-thirds of the weapons will be magic-powered.”

At first, I wanted to go half and half, using cannons that operated on gunpowder, but then I realized if magic gets disabled, the ship will go down anyway. Still, I wanted non-magical cannons onboard because enemy shields could dispel our attacks, but not a cannonball hurtling toward their battlements.

"About the–" I asked, but he nodded knowingly.

"I will install it myself. Don't worry."

I didn't ask more. The fact we were going to install a 'Death Ray' and do it in secrecy was something I would only reveal after it was done. And not too many people either. That weapon was best to stay as hidden as possible. For now...