30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue
chapter-32

Even if there were a sky-reaching fantasy staircase, there is no such thing on an airship, and humans don’t have wings.

Therefore, even if it was floating in the sky, motionless, and even if it was completely unguarded at midnight, it is a very difficult task to infiltrate an airship.

And now they had to infiltrate that airship, intimidate the captain, and deal with the entire crew without any casualties.

“In naval terms, battleships are often compared to fortresses. If it’s an aerial battleship, you could even call it a celestial fortress,” Oswald said with a soft smile. Not entirely wrong, but a tricky statement.

“That guy seems to think he’s a real elf.” (Eugene)

“I am a real elf. Can’t you see my ears?” (Oswald)

“Wow, he’s corrupted to the core. Brother, I have a solution!” Eugene raised his hand eagerly. When Ivan sighed, he proudly shrugged his shoulders.

“If that elf uses [Feathered Walk], problem solved!” (Eugene)

“How many times do I have to say that I am a specialist in mental magic? Is the learning ability of humans that low?” (Oswald)

“Wow, this guy really became a full-fledged elf. What’s the point of forming a party with a magician who can’t even use [Feathered Walk]? Brother, let’s bring someone from the Magic Department right now. If possible, I prefer someone with damage specialization.” (Eugene)

“[Mind Split]” As purple mana surged at Oswald’s fingertips, Eugene’s pupils weakened.

Eugene lowered his head, dropping spit.

Silence fell in the club room.

Useful indeed. Ivan nodded.

“Just wait until evening.” (Ivan)

“Do you think a warship will suddenly land in the evening?” (Oswald)

“No. But there are people who need to go to the ships.” (Ivan)

King Krasilov gave a three-day deadline for the battleship’s withdrawal. That was yesterday.

And yesterday evening, Elizaveta threatened to shoot it down if it didn’t withdraw within a day.

The captain of the battleship must be anxious. Now, by tomorrow, the entire royal court might take military action, or even if not, Elizaveta might come up with some trick today.

In that case, the captain must contact the crown prince today. It’s the only means to turn the situation around.

They won’t move during the daytime. As long as the intelligence headquarters exists, the entire Frechenkaya is within Elizaveta’s sight.

So, in the evening, at least after the sun sets.

“If… assuming the crown prince’s side contacts the battleship, how do we intervene in between?” (Oswald)

“They will use carriages enchanted with levitation spells.” (Ivan)

“So, can we ask them to make room in the carriage?” (Oswald)

“No.” (Ivan)

Oswald looked suspiciously at him, Yuri still glancing around in fear, and Ivan, after scanning Eugene, spoke with a serious voice.

“If you have to carry one of them, who would you choose?” (Ivan)

“Uh…?” (Yuri)

“Excluding me. Among those two, whom would you choose to carry?” (Ivan)

Yuri looked at the two young men with trembling eyes. One was Gold Sun, and the other was Hypnotic Eyes.

Moreover, Hypnotic Eyes just proved his ability by putting Gold Sun under hypnosis a moment ago.

Yuri tightly bit her lips and managed to answer, “Well, Eugene… I guess.” (Yuri)

“You’d rather carry him…” (Oswald)

Ignoring Oswald, who cringed in hurt, Ivan nodded.

“Well, I’ll carry Oswald then,” Ivan nodded willingly, ignoring Oswald’s twitching wounded expression.

“Out of the blue, talking about taking us both – don’t tell me….” (Oswald)

“Yeah, we’re going hanging.” (Ivan)

At an altitude of about 800 meters, though significantly lower than typical aircraft in the modern world, it was an impossible height for people to reach.

Even with advanced earth engineering technology, 800m was at the level of the Burj Khalifa. In other words, it was a location that could only be reached by the highest building or means.

If they used another levitated means to reach that height, it would undoubtedly be observed beforehand.

So, to infiltrate while avoiding detection, they had no choice but to hide underneath the carriage sent for contact by the Crown Prince.

The problem was whether they had the stamina to hang under the carriage.

Oswald looked impossible, and Eugene wasn’t too enthusiastic. He wasn’t even a proper swordsman, to begin with.

On the other hand, Yuri was the top student in the Knight Department. Except for Mord, she was considered the most skilled among the new students. She could probably carry someone for about 10 minutes.

“Are you saying you’ve hung in the air and infiltrated a battleship before?” (Oswald)

“Fortunately, I’ve done something similar.” (Ivan)

“What kind of life have you lived? Oh, I’m not particularly curious.” (Oswald)

Ignoring Oswald’s words, Ivan stood up. There was much to prepare.

“Get warm clothes, arm yourselves well, and come to the Astronomy Tower in the Magic Department.” (Ivan)

Except for summer, Krasilov’s seasons were not much different from winter: a short winter, summer, mid-winter, and another harsh winter.

Hanging from a carriage in the middle of the night, flying at an altitude of 800 meters, meant facing extremely cold weather. The reincarnators pondered Ivan’s words while trembling.

***

From evening, Ivan and the reincarnators, who had been lying on the rooftop, finally stood up with stiff bodies after the sun had completely set.

Their hands were stiff from the cold. By the time the reincarnators sighed and loosened their hands and feet, Ivan finally raised his head.

After darkness covered the sky, a small light flickered momentarily in the dark distance between the streets, even darker due to the shadow of the giant battleship.

“Get ready.” (Ivan)

Ivan shrugged his shoulders once to loosen up and took out an axe. Swinging the axe with a rope attached, he extended it straight to measure the distance.

The ropes attached to the two axes were tied to Yuri and Ivan’s waists.

After confirming Yuri carrying Eugene, Ivan slowly pulled his arms back.

“Here they come.”

The reincarnators swallowed nervously. Ivan, gazing straight at the unseen dark night sky, adjusted the finely-tuned magic flowing through his muscle fibers.

Oswald, who had been on his back, secretly admired the intricate arrangement.

“You go first.” (Ivan)

“Huh? Ah… Hek!!? Kyaaaah!!” (Yuri)

-Whoooooong!!

Without waiting for Yuri’s response, Ivan threw the axe. The hand axe drew a clean straight line, extending beyond the night sky.

The rope attached to the axe swayed once, and at its end, Yuri, tied to it, flew away as if being caught.

In an instant, Yuri’s silhouette disappeared into the darkness.

“Hold on tight.” (Ivan)

“Uh, wait a moment. I’m not mentally prepared yet… Wait, wait, it’s better to rethink this…!!” (Oswald)

-Whoooooong!!!

“Ughhhhh?!!!” (Oswald)

Oswald screamed in terror as he felt the ground rapidly getting distant, foaming at the mouth from the rough wind striking his cheeks.

The fear of death, a buzzing sound, and a ringing deafness. A sensation of floating as if suddenly dropped from the sky… Am I insane to plan something like this?! Oswald screamed involuntarily, tightly gripping Ivan’s shoulders.

“Uggh…! Ughhh…!! Ack…! Uh…?”

The tremendous noise pounding his ears suddenly stopped.

As Oswald looked around with dazed eyes, he saw a pale Yuri and Eugene right beside him.

They were hanging from the carriage wheels.

“Huh…? Huh huh…?”

“Wow….”

Far away, they could see the Astronomy Tower they had jumped from. Did they really throw an axe to cross this distance…? They looked at Ivan with newfound eyes.

“But won’t we be noticed like this?” (Eugene)

“Of course, we will.” (Ivan)

The commotion inside the carriage was immediately audible to Ivan’s ears.

The guys inside weren’t whispering, and with the sudden swaying of the carriage and the addition of the weight of four people, plus getting stuck with an axe, there was no way they wouldn’t notice.

Right now, they couldn’t open the carriage door or see below the wheels through the window, so it wouldn’t be a problem. But that was only for a moment.

As soon as they got on the deck, they would be surrounded. Even if Crown Prince Alexander himself wasn’t on board, since they attacked the carriage carrying his bodyguards, they would undoubtedly face retaliation.

So, from the beginning, the plan of covert infiltration was impossible.

Realizing this, the reincarnators looked at Ivan with subtle eyes.

“So, what do we do now?”

“Hold on.”

“Huh?”

Ivan, looking straight at somewhere in the night sky, slowly pulled out the axe stuck in the carriage.

Below the clouds, the aerial battleship was getting closer slowly.

After confirming the light guiding the carriage’s landing point and even the shining on the deck, Ivan hung Oswald on the carriage wheel and dangled from it with one hand.

Then, he aimed the drawn axe straight again, turning his head slightly.

“Hey, don’t tell me. Are you abandoning us? Brother, leaving the Patriotic Corps behind? No friendship?” (Eugene)

Ignoring Eugene’s stammering nonsense, Ivan extended his arm, turning his magical power behind his back.

If covert infiltration was impossible from the start, wouldn’t it be right to go for a frontal assault? Of course, it was. The Cleanup Unit always followed the doctrine of creating enemy confusion just before infiltration.

Not outright abandonment, but a decoy for diverting attention.

Moreover, among the reincarnators, two are nobles, one is a high-ranking military aristocrat, and one is an elf.

Even if they face opposition, it doesn’t mean they are immediate execution targets. There was a possibility that, with only students present, it could pass as a childish prank with little consequence.

Hence, the mention of “strictly no crew casualties” was made to prevent the situation from escalating to a life-or-death decision.

“We’ll reach soon.” (Ivan)

“No, wait, sir…? Sir!!” (Yuri)

-Booooom!!!

Without waiting for Yuri’s response, Ivan threw the axe towards somewhere in the night sky. With a powerful recoil, the carriage shook once, and when the reincarnators opened their eyes again.

Ivan was already gone. He was soaring through the night darkness like an arrow.

“He’s like a crazy flying Santa Claus. We don’t even need Rudolph.” (Eugene)

“Ahahaha…. What do we do now?” (Oswald)

“What can we do?” (Yuri)

Looking at the approaching deck, Eugene bit his lip.

“We have to complete the quest.” (Eugene)

If the quest reward is nothing special, I’ll kill that status window guy even if I have to use any means necessary.

***

Ivan was hanging below the battleship’s hull, inserting an axe into a gun port.

The rough wind brushed against his ears. The sensation of floating beneath his feet, and the gradually diminishing distance visible beneath like sand particles.

Falling would mean death, no, even the trace of a limb wouldn’t be left at such a height.

“Hup.”

-Kwack!!

Hanging with one hand from that height, twisting his waist to give recoil, he smashed the gun port.

-Kwack! Kwack! Kwack!

-Woodddunk!!

Shaking as if it might fall at any moment, steadily and expressionlessly.

Silently. Like chopping wood stepping on solid ground.

Soon, a hole big enough for a person to enter was made as the wooden gun port crumbled.

-Weeeeiiiing!! Weeeeiiiing!! Weeeeiiiing!!

The indoor warning lights flashed like crazy, and the noise of crew members rushing out echoed.

Successful diversion.

Ivan nodded numbly and threw himself through the dark opening of the gun port.

Now, here.

The lumberjack has arrived.

1. Here is who Rudolph is.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer