Chapter 842

The airship that landed in Landenburg took off into the sky again two days later, fully charged with mana, heading for the heavens. Along with it were the ten strongest members of the Ordos assault team.

Me, Damien, Milia, Joshua, Lacey.

Ja-han, Nigel, Leonor, Freide, and Adamante.

Though the number was only ten, even the weakest member was among the elite of elites, with skills that could be counted on one hand among masters.

Originally, Ophelia was also supposed to be part of the assault team… but unfortunately, it seemed she still needed more time to arrive in Landenburg, so we had no choice but to leave her behind.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. Unlike Damien or Milia, who only needed to bring themselves, Ophelia, being a magician, had way too much luggage to carry.

All sorts of experimental tools and equipment from the workshop. Various reagents and catalysts. And her sister, who was also her younger sister and a carpet, Claire van Sigmilus.

With all that to lug around, it was inevitable that her arrival would be delayed.

If she had flown in with the airship like Damien or Milia, it would’ve been easier, but with Lacey around, that wasn’t an option.

If Lacey discovered Claire’s true identity, or even if it wasn’t Claire but the research materials on soul extraction, Ophelia could end up being thrown out of the airship with holy flames engulfing her body.

Unlike other soul extractors, Ophelia didn’t use innocent souls as disposable tools… but would any cleric take that into consideration?

Even I, who know the original story, would have no choice but to execute her if she crossed the line.

Lacey wouldn’t even listen to excuses and would just light up the holy flames right away.

So, Ophelia had no choice but to take the carriage.

—

Heinrich, Yan, Hayden, and Michel were left behind in Hestela in case of unforeseen events.

If things went according to plan, this expedition could be wrapped up within a week, but there was no telling how long it would actually take.

To protect Hestela from potential threats during that time, we had to leave at least one hero and three masters as insurance.

The monsters that had been appearing lately were far more troublesome than those from two years ago, making it difficult for average knights to handle them.

Moreover, the dangerous elements weren’t just monsters.

If we threw all our core forces into the Ordos assault, all sorts of scoundrels might take advantage of the empty Landenburg to stir up trouble.

Ka`har like Targien, unrelated to the current Ordos, might attack the barrier, or suspicious insiders like Eleonora, Belnesia, or Ima-ra might finally reveal their true colors, seeing their chance.

For those reasons, as disappointing as it was, we had to leave behind at least a minimal defensive force.

—

Traveling through the clouds with flocks of birds as companions might sound like a romantic and enjoyable journey, but in reality, it was incredibly boring.

Admiring the vast natural scenery beyond the deck was only fun for an hour or two. After that, it was just endless fields of grass—nothing exciting.

Sparring might have been an option, but having masters spar on a flying ship would be like asking for the airship to crash, so even that was impossible.

If airships ever become a common mode of transportation, I should suggest installing a casino inside.

Even Freide and Adamante, who were initially thrilled by their first flight experience, lost interest after a couple of hours and returned to their cabins to laze around.

At least Damien and Milia seemed too busy to be bored.

When I assigned Milia a cabin far from the others, she grabbed Damien’s sleeve and dragged him inside, refusing to come out except for meals.

Damien’s genuinely embarrassed reactions made it impossible for her to resist.

“Hmm… what should I say… It’s a blessing that a couple gets along so well, but…”

Their affection—or rather, Milia’s blatant attitude—was so obvious that even Nigel gave a look as if they were about to start a whole army of children.

“Well, even you think it’s a bit much, right? I wasn’t planning to meddle in my friend’s love life, but if it’s becoming a problem, I might have to order them to tone it down for a while. Don’t you think?”

“Ah, no. It’s just… I’m not sure if it’s excessive or impressive…”

Nigel shook his head as if it wasn’t necessary.

“Huh? Impressive? That?”

“Ah, well… I mean… I’m sorry. I misspoke.”

Her unusually hesitant demeanor. Her wandering eyes, avoiding my gaze, briefly glanced at the back of a man inspecting the blade of his sword.

Her slightly furrowed brows. The trembling corners of her eyes and flushed cheeks. Her slightly bitten lips and the subtle movement of her throat as she swallowed. Her twitching shoulders and restless fingers.

Nigel’s unconscious reactions vividly revealed her emotions.

Longing, hesitation, self-loathing, shame, regret, and faint resentment.

“Hmm…”

You didn’t need to be a psychologist to see what she was thinking. Her reactions were that obvious.

You’re pent up, huh.

Well, there are people who’ve never done it, but no one who’s only done it once. Once you’ve torn the ticket to ride the Cascador, it’s only natural for desires to build up.

When you think about it, it’s more unusual for someone in their early twenties to completely wall themselves off from that kind of thing.

Unless you’re a devout cleric, no normal person could do that.

Even though their first night was more of an accident, the way Nigel’s eyes lingered on Ja-han’s back made it clear she wasn’t holding any grudges about that day.

So, I pointed at Ja-han with my thumb and whispered with a sly grin.

“Our Nigel seems to envy Milia… How about I get you a room with Ja-han?”

“Wha?! Ah, heh, uh, no, that’s not it! It’s a misunder—no, not a misunder—uh, I mean, that’s not it, I’ll handle—no, I’ll manage it myself!”

Ah, Nigel’s broken.

Her face turned bright red, and she jumped up like a cat seeing a cucumber. I burst out laughing so hard I almost dropped my cigarette.

If the others had been around, the deck might have caught fire from Nigel’s embarrassment.

And that night, four bottles of liquor disappeared from the ship’s dining room.

According to the cook, a short-haired female knight had ordered all four bottles and taken them away in the middle of the night.

The next morning, Nigel’s room was empty. Ja-han’s room, unusually, was tightly locked.

Only the heavens knew what happened that night—

“…Miss, could you please issue an order? Something like banning indecent behavior on the airship.”

“Yaaawn… I couldn’t sleep a wink because of the noise. Change my room. To the one next to yours. I can’t sleep over there.”

“O almighty Elpinel, protect my ears with eternal light, O almighty Elpinel, protect my ears with eternal light, O almighty Elpinel, protect my ears with eternal light…”

“Ahem, it’s good that Sir Nigel has found someone to rely on… I never thought she’d choose a Ka`har, but… at least he’s not a bad person…”

“…Lady Astika. Could you allow me to camp on the deck from today…? It feels like Astraea is testing me…”

…They all found out.

Well, Ja-han’s room isn’t as soundproof as you’d think. And Nigel’s voice was pretty loud.

—

And so, we traveled for three days straight.

Aside from the incident where Nigel, sobered up, tried to jump off the deck upon realizing everyone knew about her actions, the flight was relatively peaceful.

We occasionally encountered patrols of cavalry, but the arrows they shot lost their power and fell before even reaching the airship.

They probably didn’t even realize who we were. The concept of an airship was unknown to them, and from the ground, we must have looked like tiny birds.

They probably thought we were some kind of giant eagle and shot arrows at us.

It wasn’t worth wasting magical cannon ammunition on a few warriors, so we ignored them and continued on to Ordos.

If there had been a few hundred of them, we might have blasted them away, but using precious cannon rounds on a dozen warriors just didn’t make sense.

Stopping to descend and hunt them down one by one would have been a waste of time.

And so, around noon on the third day, we finally reached the outskirts of a massive city by the Barun River.

The capital of Ai-shan, Ordos.

Hersela’s hometown.

The sight of the city, unchanged after all these years, brought back memories that flashed through my mind.

Back when I left this place, I was just a rookie who hadn’t even awakened the Power of Feats. Now, I’m the strongest human alive, looking down on the entire city.

I guess this is what they call a triumphant return.

Though from their perspective, it’s more like the return of a troublemaker.