CH 49

As Leone guided Inglis and Rafinha, they reached a mansion with a magnificent front gate. However, there wasn’t a single shrub of vegetation in the front yard, which frankly ‌made it look bleak.

「I feel bad for saying it, but it seems desolate—right?」 「You’re right Rani, it does.」 「An angry mob of citizens came over one day. They didn’t harm the building, but they burned the garden to cinders. I didn’t fix it, since they might just do it again. I’m sorry the place is like this. It’s tidy inside. Also, I’ve given the housekeepers a break, so there is only us.」 「It’s fine, it’s fine. I told you not to be reserved with us.」 「I’m happy if you think that way.」

As Leone said so while opening the gate—

VOoooommmm

A humming object flew overhead. When they looked up, they saw a vehicle that was best described as a small iron boat with wings.

As it was constructed of complex machinery, it was naturally impossible to be something built by anyone on the surface; it must be another gift from the Highland.

A vessel called Flygear.

Basically, it was a vehicle you stood 1 on to ride, with wings protruding on the left and the right of the hull. The hull itself was composed of an iron box and a control rod with handrails to better help climb on it. In terms of the hull’s size, it was ‌a two-person ride; a pilot and a passenger.

It was a new piece of equipment that had only been given to Midland recently, making it rare and valuable. At least, in the comparatively rural area of Ymir, Inglis had only seen a handful of these.

What was so groundbreaking about the Flygears was that, while a Knight must fuel it with their Rune, one didn’t need a Rune to operate it. Even those who had no Runes like a Squire—Apprentice Knight could pilot it.

The word “Knight” originally meant honored soldiers mounted on a horse, but for the Knights who soared the sky, what they rode was not a horse, but a Flygear steered by the squire. This would allow them to slay flying Magic Stone Beasts easier, and they could move their forces in a more maneuverable way than before.

Being able to deploy over a wider area in a shorter amount of time would definitely help them protect the people from Magic Stone beasts. That was a welcome development.

The Military Academy in the capital, which stood at the forefront of Knights’ war tactics and strategies had recently opened a course explicitly for squires, with the purpose of training those people how to handle and pilot the Flygear.

Knights with Runes could wield their Artifacts and fight, while the Apprentice Knights who possessed no Runes could pilot the Flygear for them so that the Knights could fully realize their potential.

Since the course Inglis would go to was the Squire program, she would handle this Flygear equipment a lot.

The base tactic was to have the Knight with a Rune ride on the back while the squire controlled the Flygear on the front, so, eventually, she would ride it with Rafinha.

「It is descending…」

The Flygear slowly descended onto Leone’s front yard as it was. There were two people riding on it. One of them was a chestnut-haired girl with a rather small but toned physique. She had a bright, curious look sparkling in her eyes, almost resembling Rafinha. There were beast ears and a tail on her, which told them ‌she was a beastman. A part of the minority. Were those dog’s ears and tail?

The other one was a tall young man with dark hair in his early twenties. He sported a gentle, but sharp and unperturbed look on his extremely well-defined face. He sure has grown into a fine young man. thought Inglis. It was Rafinha’s brother and Inglis Eux’s cousin, Raphael.

「T-that’s…! Big brother Rafa! Big brother!」

Recognizing Raphael’s appearance, Rafinha rushed over to him who just stepped down from the Flygear, then leaped to his chest.

「Wah…!? Hmm…!? Rani! Isn’t that you, Rani! I’m surprised to see you! Have you been well!?」 「Yeah, I’m doing great, big brother! We came here on our way to the capital to see Prisma’s corpse! Glis wanted to see it!」 「I see… then, Glis is with you?」 「I am, big brother. It’s been a while.」

Inglis who followed Rafinha from behind saluted Raphael with a bow.

「…! Y-, you’ve grown prettier… Really, I didn’t recognize you.」

Inglis was 15 years old, but her appearance suggested that she was 17-18 years old. 2 The age in which a woman would be called a lady. Raphael couldn’t help but be conscious of Inglis as someone of the opposite sex, making him ‌nervous speaking with her. Apparently, his pure innocence had not changed.

「Uwah, that’s rare! To think Raphael would praise a girl…! The world’s number one popular introvert, that Raphael…!」

The woman accompanying Raphael said with wide eyes.

「S-, stop it please, Lady Ripple…!」 「Thank you very much, big brother Rafa.」

While it was true that Inglis had grown into a peerless beauty, so she didn’t really mind being complimented, but… Rather than that, she would be happier if Raphael went 「It’s been a while, let’s fight」3 and came at her with his sword pulled. As Inglis smiled at him with that thought in her mind, Raphael smiled back.

「Yeah. It’s been a while. I’m glad we can meet again, Glis.」 「When you mention Miss Ripple, do you mean the Hyrule Menace?」 「Yeasies, that’s me. I’m Ripple. Nice to meet you.」

Ripple smiled charmingly.

「Big brother Rafa, are you here today to meet Leone?」 「Yeah. I ‌have a mission over here, so I thought that I’d drop in.」 「Ooooh? What mission do you speak of?」 「About that— Let’s see, are you hungry? Why don’t we talk over a meal?」 「We’re starving! Right, Glis?」 「Yeah.」 「Ah, then please come inside. I’ll make something fast—」

Raphael shook his head at Leone, who offered.

「No.」 「I’m sure——no, it’s definitely…」 「Not enough for us, right?」

Rafinha and Inglis followed suit.

「You can join us, Leone. We won’t stand out much if we reserve one private room for us alone.」

Led by Raphael, the group headed out to eat. 4