As Leone guided Inglis and Rafinha, they reached a mansion with a magnificent front gate. However, there wasnât a single shrub of vegetation in the front yard, which frankly âmade it look bleak.
ãI feel bad for saying it, but it seems desolateâright?ã ãYouâre right Rani, it does.ã ãAn angry mob of citizens came over one day. They didnât harm the building, but they burned the garden to cinders. I didnât fix it, since they might just do it again. Iâm sorry the place is like this. Itâs tidy inside. Also, Iâve given the housekeepers a break, so there is only us.ã ãItâs fine, itâs fine. I told you not to be reserved with us.ã ãIâm happy if you think that way.ã
As Leone said so while opening the gateâ
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 hullâs size, it was âa 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 didnât need a Rune to operate it. Even those who had no Runes like a SquireâApprentice Knight could pilot it.
The word âKnightâ 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 Knightsâ 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.
ãIt is descendingâ¦ã
The Flygear slowly descended onto Leoneâs 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 âshe was a beastman. A part of the minority. Were those dogâs 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 Rafinhaâs brother and Inglis Euxâs cousin, Raphael.
ãT-thatâsâ¦! Big brother Rafa! Big brother!ã
Recognizing Raphaelâs appearance, Rafinha rushed over to him who just stepped down from the Flygear, then leaped to his chest.
ãWahâ¦!? Hmmâ¦!? Rani! Isnât that you, Rani! Iâm surprised to see you! Have you been well!?ã ãYeah, Iâm doing great, big brother! We came here on our way to the capital to see Prismaâs corpse! Glis wanted to see it!ã ãI see⦠then, Glis is with you?ã ãI am, big brother. Itâs been a while.ã
Inglis who followed Rafinha from behind saluted Raphael with a bow.
ãâ¦! Y-, youâve grown prettier⦠Really, I didnât recognize you.ã
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 couldnât help but be conscious of Inglis as someone of the opposite sex, making him ânervous speaking with her. Apparently, his pure innocence had not changed.
ãUwah, thatâs rare! To think Raphael would praise a girlâ¦! The worldâs number one popular introvert, that Raphaelâ¦!ã
The woman accompanying Raphael said with wide eyes.
ãS-, stop it please, Lady Rippleâ¦!ã ãThank you very much, big brother Rafa.ã
While it was true that Inglis had grown into a peerless beauty, so she didnât really mind being complimented, but⦠Rather than that, she would be happier if Raphael went ãItâs been a while, letâs fightã3 and came at her with his sword pulled. As Inglis smiled at him with that thought in her mind, Raphael smiled back.
ãYeah. Itâs been a while. Iâm glad we can meet again, Glis.ã ãWhen you mention Miss Ripple, do you mean the Hyrule Menace?ã ãYeasies, thatâs me. Iâm Ripple. Nice to meet you.ã
Ripple smiled charmingly.
ãBig brother Rafa, are you here today to meet Leone?ã ãYeah. I âhave a mission over here, so I thought that Iâd drop in.ã ãOoooh? What mission do you speak of?ã ãAbout thatâ Letâs see, are you hungry? Why donât we talk over a meal?ã ãWeâre starving! Right, Glis?ã ãYeah.ã ãAh, then please come inside. Iâll make something fastâã
Raphael shook his head at Leone, who offered.
ãNo.ã ãIâm sureââno, itâs definitelyâ¦ã ãNot enough for us, right?ã
Rafinha and Inglis followed suit.
ãYou can join us, Leone. We wonât stand out much if we reserve one private room for us alone.ã
Led by Raphael, the group headed out to eat. 4
Sil- you âstoodâ on to ride? Itâs a standing vehicle?
Al- Iâm surprised nobody made a comment about this, so Iâll do it xD The author always has to mention how Inglis looks older than her age~
Sil- â¦. I can imagine YOU saying that, but not anyone else, ever. Al- Inglis being weird againâ¦
Al- Seriously though, I have been waiting for a long time for them to go to school⦠And now it seems like we wonât even get to the schooling part by the time I quit. *sigh*