"That was incredible!"
Pasmo's face was alight with excitent as she let the wind sweep over her atop the airship.
The ghost that grabbed the skeletal horse at the end had been a heteromorphic alchemy spirit she created.
Observing the whole incident from start to finish, hidden in Luca's cloud, Pasmo was unable to contain her excitent.
"This is sothing you only read in novels! No, not even in novels have I read anything like this!"
"Well, given your position, it's rare for you to get into a real chase."
Watching her so exhilarated, Luca let out a wry chuckle.
Folding his arms, he continued.
"But this isn't over yet. We may have cleared one hurdle, but we can't let our guard down until we've completely crossed into the Hernan Empire. Those people won't be ordinary."
"Of course! But..."
Pasmo twisted a lock of her hair with her finger as she spoke.
"Luca, do you know exactly who the people trying to kill are?"
"Of course."
"Can you explain it to ?"
At her question, Luca hesitated for a mont.
Then, with an indifferent tone, he answered.
"You'll probably find it hard to believe."
"I'll believe it anyway."
Pasmo replied firmly.
Luca let out a faint laugh at that.
"Alright."
From there, Luca briefly shared what he knew about the Demonz.
That they were hiding in various places across the continent.
That they even influenced the royal families of both empires.
And that their goal was to fully resurrect devils.
After hearing all of this, Pasmo slowly nodded.
"To think there are people like that—how astonishing."
Though the story could have sounded absurd, Pasmo readily accepted it.
Not only did she trust Luca, but Odrima's recent actions also defied normal logic.
After all, she and Odrima were not engaged or in any proper relationship.
Yet, when she left the party, not only did he deploy his personal unit, the Grey Wolf troop, but also sent his closest aide, Gasmor, to chase her down?
There was no valid reason for Odrima, now the crown prince, to act that way.
'Either he's gone mad, or so power is controlling him.'
Since he didn't seem insane just monts ago, it made more sense to assu the latter.
"But if they're everywhere, does that an they're in Hernan Academy as well?"
"I handled all of that. That's why the academy had to go on a temporary break."
"Handled... Ah, I see."
At the word "handled", Pasmo exclaid in admiration.
"So, the terrorist incident was related to the Demonz, and you dealt with that too?"
"That's right."
"You truly are amazing!"
Luca nervously swallowed at her continued praise.
It was not sothing he was used to—being continually complinted by such a beautiful woman.
Ultimately, he decided to change the subject.
"The night wind is getting cold. Let's head inside soon."
"Fufu. Alright."
Perhaps amused by his embarrassnt, Pasmo just laughed and followed him inside.
Once in the cabin, they saw Ottbo—who seed utterly exhausted—sleeping on the bed.
Bella greeted them with a radiant smile.
"Welco back, master and future madam."
"?"
"Oh my, that's embarrassing."
At Bella's address, Luca pouted while Pasmo shyly covered her cheeks with her hand.
Luca retorted curtly to Bella, who was beaming at them.
"Are you teasing us?"
"Just trying to win so points in advance."
Bella chuckled quietly.
Luca clicked his tongue and glanced at the map on the table as he sat down.
"Let's review the plan. We'll get off at the Michichi County, cross the Evod border, then enter the Hernan Empire. Between now and then, there'll almost certainly be at least one more attack by Odrima."
"They might even try to stop the airship."
"Exactly. This airship heads to the Michichi County, but there's a good chance we'll be stopped at the next stopover."
Since there was no direct route at that hour, they'd chosen a flight with stopovers.
That ant it was possible soone waiting at the next stop could seize them.
Pointing to a notation on the map, Luca explained further.
"For now, nothing beats the airship's speed to the next stop, so we're safe until then. What happens after, though, is anyone's guess."
"Wow, how do you know all this?"
"The guy sleeping over there is good at making these kinds of comparisons."
Luca glanced at Ottbo, sleeping almost like a corpse, then gave a brief laugh before returning to the map.
There were many notes and annotations Ottbo had marked in advance.
"According to Ottbo's calculations, by combining the airship with an auto-carriage, we can reach the Michichi County in under 30 hours. If we used only the airship, it would take around 50 hours—that's a huge ti saver."
"Oh..."
It was a route Ottbo had worked out during the airship ride to the Thier Duchy, after much pondering.
'We're in a rush this ti, but I'll make sure to get us back as quickly as possible on the return!'
He was a veritable human navigation system.
"This route leaves almost no trail to be tracked, but just in case, I've prepared a last-resort thod."
"What's the last-resort thod?"
At Pasmo's question, Luca smacked his lips and scratched his cheek.
"That... I'll only tell you if we actually need it."
"?"
It was a plan truly too risky to share in advance.
* * *
As planned, Luca's group traveled by combining the airship and auto-carriage, reaching the Michichi County right on schedule.
"Good work, Ottbo."
"That was amazing!"
"Hehe, it was nothing."
As always, Ottbo handled the driving of the auto-carriage.
As he'd shown back in the Thier Duchy, his driving skills were once again outstanding.
Pasmo watched him, puzzled.
"But isn't he also a student at the Academy? How is he so good at driving the auto-carriage?"
At her question, Luca and Ottbo shared a wry look.
"Both extraordinary talent and countless hardships made him what he is."
"Haha... Yeah, a lot happened."
There was nothing more to say.
"Next ti, you must tell that story too!"
"Sure."
On the way here, they had shared all sorts of stories.
How they lived in their family, what happened after they ca to the Academy, things like that.
There wasn't much to tell about the forr, but the latter had so many stories, they'd barely scratched the surface.
"Well, let's head to the Evod border now."
With those words, Ottbo's expression grew tense.
Until they were across the border, they weren't fully out of danger.
About ten minutes later, as they neared the border, Luca spoke quietly.
"So, it's co to this after all."
"?"
As Pasmo looked at him quizzically, Ottbo brought the carriage to a stop and turned to Luca, bewildered.
"L-Luca, what should we do?"
Ard n stood at the Evod border checkpoint.
Among them was Gasmor.
Luca answered in a calm tone.
"I'll go out alone first."
"Will you be alright?"
"Of course. Anyway, Pasmo isn't the only target here. I should be the one to negotiate."
There were simply too many opponents to try to force their way through.
And the number of n posted ant there were probably reinforcents blocking any retreat as well.
Negotiation was the better way forward.
"Luca, I think I should get out with you."
But as Pasmo tried to follow, Luca shook his head.
"Don't worry. I can handle this."
"... Understood."
Leaving Pasmo behind, looking anxiously after him, Luca exited the auto-carriage, exchanging a fleeting glance with Ottbo.
'If I give the signal, get going.'
'Got it!'
After that silent exchange, Luca approached Gasmor.
"Why are you blocking the border crossing?"
"By order of His Highness the Crown Prince. We're here to detain you."
Luca gave a sarcastic smile at Gasmor's words.
"The Crown Prince's order? Do you have an official warrant?"
"......"
"I thought not. For the Crown Prince to issue a direct arrest order for a foreign noble—an Hernan Empire noble at that—would be a political disaster."
With those words, Luca gripped his sword hilt.
"If you intend to stop here, be prepared for bloodshed."
"Do you even know who you're dealing with?"
Gasmor's face twisted into a nacing glare.
Luca shot him a mocking smile in return.
"Behind stands Pasmo Thier, eldest daughter of the Thier family. Which ans, if we fight, I can lawfully kill you in self-defense. But you're ordered to capture, not kill, right? If I have no such restraint but you do, which side do you think has the upper hand?"
"......"
Gasmor frowned, recalling the scene Luca had made at the airport.
Clearly, Luca was no trivial opponent.
If things ca to a real fight, it was they—who could not kill—who'd be at a strategic disadvantage.
"But what if the Crown Prince felt his own life was at risk?"
"?"
At that mont, soone walked out from amidst the ard n.
As he saw who it was, Luca clicked his tongue.
"Tsk."
"Nice to see you. It's our first ti eting in person, I believe."
Odrima Lamata, the crown prince himself.
Luca tensed up a bit at his appearance.
It wasn't Odrima himself he feared.
'For him to show up in person like this...'
Luca quickly cast a glance at the two people standing behind Odrima—a woman with her face concealed in a black veil, and a man in black armor.
From both, he sensed ominous energy.
'So they're after more than just Pasmo.'
The Demonz knew about Luca.
This implied two things.
One: they recognized that he was a threat to their plans.
Two: they knew he was a being with the strength of the sky.
And they feared the power of the sky.
'If I get caught here, I might beco like Eterna.'
The Celestial Wings Eterna.
He recalled that character from the story—captured by the Demonz, brainwashed, and turned into an enemy of the main character.
It could happen to him, right here.
Taking a deep breath, Luca glanced up at the sky.
Pii.
Whistle let out a cry only Luca could hear.
It was a signal—Whistle was ready to fight at any mont.
Luca looked back to Odrima.
"What could a crown prince possibly want with a noble of another country?"
"Catching the man who stole my future wife is reason enough, isn't it?"
"Pasmo? Your future wife? Ridiculous."
Luca's eyes turned cold.
Odrima laughed out loud.
"Hahaha! Actually, Pasmo Thier isn't important. We're not even that close."
Odrima glanced back over his shoulder.
"But these people asked for both her and you. They've given so much, I can't just ignore their request."
"Heh. How pathetic. So the crown prince of an empire dances to soone else's tune."
"That's what it ans to sit atop a throne. Only those who have nothing can live without watching their backs."
Sidestepping, Odrima stepped aside.
The two Demonz apostles who'd stood behind him now stepped forward.
"We finally catch the thief who stole the Skybird."
"By order of our masters, we will take you alive."
Whoooom!
At the sa ti, powerful demonic magic power erupted from them.
"Arrrgh!"
"Ugh! Ugh!"
"Uuuu... uhhh...!"
The neighboring soldiers, struck by their power, writhed in agony before suddenly going limp, crimson light burning in their eyes.
Luca, seeing the scene, drew his sword.
"So you don't even bother to hide anymore? Fine, have it your way."
Bzzzt! Crackle!
Lightning wrapped around his body.
Luca gripped his sword tightly, thinking,
'All I need is to make enough of an opening for Ottbo to make it through. Just a brief window...!'
Thunk!
At that mont, a feathered spear was driven in among them.
"?"
Flutter!
A banner unfurled, and soone stood atop its pole.
"Well, well, these are obvious heretics—not even worth checking."
"You are..."
Luca stared, stunned, at the person atop the pole.
"Eltima...?"
The hero of the continent, Eltima Cross, had appeared.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Just when I thought Luca would be showing us sothing, it seems Altima will instead...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】
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