「Okaay. Well then, everyone, we’re going to go to the Flygear Dock~ it is the centerpiece of this Academy, so pay attention, okay 𝅘𝅥𝅮」
Just as principal Miliera instructed, silhouettes descended from the sky with a low hum as if they aimed for the perfect timing.
Those silhouettes were revealed as multiple Flygear Carriers.
Each one of them was being operated by a single teacher.
「Now, please get on. The Dock is far from here; you see~ We’re moving with this~」The students excitedly boarded onto the Flygear Carriers.
These vassals were something yet to be spread nationwide.
Many of the students hadn’t ridden one such a thing.
For Inglis, she and her group came to the Capital riding on a Flygear Carrier, so this would be her second time on one.
Still, it was a little exciting. She loved riding them.
She never saw a vehicle that could soar through the sky in her previous life, so riding one was still a refreshing experience for her.
「Hmm~! The wind feels nice! Flying is pleasant, right?」Rani was in a good mood as well. Inglis smiled at her words and nodded in affirmation.
「As of now, in terms of airborne battle strength, the Flygear Carriers are the largest vessels we have. After all, we still don’t have any Flying Battleships like the ones used by the Highlanders.」 1
Explained principal Miliera.
「Will there be a time when we can get one of those?」
Asked Leone.
「Hmm~ We wish to have those too, but isn’t it difficult to get them? We only finally got the Flygears and the Flygear Carriers after long negotiations with the Highlanders. Our priority is to master the operational strategies for Flygears and Flygear Carriers, without expecting to acquire one of the Battleships.」
Even for the Highland, if they granted such strength to those below, those could be turned against them.
They would have no choice but to take a cautious stance in lifting the ban on new weapons and equipment.
The Flygear Carriers carrying the students crossed the sky above the city and headed towards a large lake next to the Royal Capital.
This lake, Vault lake, was connected to a river that would eventually lead to the sea, and there was a large harbor standing at the river mouth.
With the abundance of marine products and the convenient water transportation running right next to it, it was no wonder this place became the Capital city.
「Please memorize the route from the Academy to the Dock, okay~! We give you a lift today for freebies, but, more often than not, you will have to traverse the distance by yourself as training~」
Amid the exclaims such as “Eeh!?” and “So far!” rising all over the place, the Flygear Carriers arrived at the Dock on the shore of the lake, a bit farther from the harbor.
The reason it was in such a remote location was to minimize the damage to oneself and others in the event of an accident during the Flygear training.
For example, if one fell out of the Flygear above a large body of water, then the risk would be significantly lower compared to on a hard surface.2
The Academy itself had been long established since before they distributed the Flygears amongst the Midland, so inevitably, the Dock was far removed from the main building.
The moment the students stepped inside the armory-like building——they were greeted with many Flygear Carriers and Flygears surrounding each one of those.
「Ooh, amazing…!」
「Waah~! The sight kinda gives you the throbs, right!?」
「It’s incredible. As expected of an academy of the Royal Capital. They’re standing on the forefront——」
Principal Miliera then called out to the overwhelmed new students.
「There is approximately one Flygear for every three to four students, okay~ Make a group of three to four people and pilot the Flygear~! The starter lever is under the control stick, switch it and pull out the Flygear from the Port~」
Inglis headed to one of the Flygear with Rafinha and Leone in tow.
When the starter was switched, a low hum was heard, and the Flygear lit up.
「Please don’t touch the control stick just yet, just push the Flygear outside~ It will stay afloat if you let the engine on, so you can just push it with ease~」
Just as the Principal said, when Inglis started it up and pulled it away from the Port, the Flygear was floating off the ground at a small distance.
「It is light to the push.」
「It’s so floaty, funny!」
「It really is.」
The three brought the Flygear outside whilst chatting with each other——
「Once it’s outside, hop on it~!」
And the Principal gave her permission.
「Here I go! Uwah, it’s more rocky compared to the Flygear Carrier.」
「You’re right, it’s wobbly.」
「Maybe the Carrier is more stable because it’s bigger.」
The other students also climbed onto their Flygears clamorously, much like Inglis and her group did.
「Okaay, let’s try moving it a little~ Please have one of you grab the control stick~ The others please hold on to something so you won’t fall~」
Inglis asked Rafinha and Leone.
「Can I try it first?」
「Of course. Glis, you’re in the Squire division, after all.」
「Do your best, Inglis!」
「Yeah. Thank you.」
Answering their expectation, Inglis took up the control stick.
Oh my, isn’t this just as exciting as before the start of a battle?3
「First, we’re going to head over the lake while ascending slowly~ The maneuvering instructions are on the panel on your front, so follow it, okay~! You have to pull the control stick back and slowly step on the acceleration pedal~ The pedal on the right under the control stick, okay~」
As the Principal said, there was a diagram stretched across the panel explaining the how-to.
Inglis checked that, then slowly raised her Flygear and floated above the lake.
「Ooh——it’s going, it’s going…!」
Just doing this alone woke something up inside Inglis.
Such a fresh sensation, just like when the first time she got to ride a horse.4
「WAaah~ It feels good!」
「You’re right. And the view is pretty as well——」
Exactly as Leone said, the view of the lake’s bright blue water below them was a pleasant sight. Inglis could feel her spirit rising.
「Once you’re familiar with it, you can speed it up a bit~! Please take precautions when turning to avoid a collision, okay!~」
Hearing that, Rafinha opened her sparkly eyes wide.5
「Glis, Glis! Go full speed, full speed!」
「Eeh…? A-, are we allowed——」
Leone seemed a little uneasy with the suggestion, but——Inglis’ eyes sparkled just as brightly.6
「Hold on tight. I’ll make it fly.」
And thus the pedal met the floor metal.
VOOOOMMM!!!
The hum emitted by the Flygear became louder and higher as the vehicle rapidly sped up!
The speed at which the landscape slid, the sound of the wind cleaving through, the pressure of the air that hit. Everything was on a different level than before.
「Ooh——! It can go pretty fast…..!」
「It’s faster than I thought~! Ahahahaha 𝅘𝅥𝅮 Feels good!」
「HYAAUUuuu!? A-, aren’t we too fast!? It’s p-, pretty scary you know…!?」
「But we are going to fight Magic Stone Beasts while riding this, aren’t we? We have to get used to it as soon as possible.」
「Right-o right, mastery through familiarity!」
「Even if you say thaaAAAAA!? Wah! Waah! There’s a merchant ship up ahead!」 7
「It’s fine, there’s still a distance. We’ll circle——」
Inglis gradually slowed the Flygear down to do just what she declared, but——
Something strange happened to the merchant ship that came into their sight.
The hull of the ship tilted heavily.
The merchant ship was not defective for it to happen——as the one responsible was a large shadow creeping right underneath the ship.
That thing pushed the ship from below.
「WHAA!? That ship is going to sink!?」
Rafinha raised her voice.
「I can see something below it…!」
「That’s——!?」
And now it came out of the water and bit into the side of the ship.
It was——
「Magic Stone Beast!?」
Prism Flow also fell on lakes and seas.
So, naturally, sometimes marine creatures turned into Magic Stone Beasts.
「It’s a fish Magic Stone Beasts!」
「T-, that’s dangerous…! If this continues on….!」
「Let’s save them! We’re charging in!」
「Let’s! We’re the closest after all!」
「U-, understood!」
Leone didn’t object to this, and they unanimously charged in.
They lowered their altitude to make it easier to fight it, still diving in at full speed.
When it got closer to the water’s surface, the Flygear rolled some magnificent waves and left a trail in its wake.
While raising a water pillar on its back, the vehicle plunged right into the scene.
「Okaay, let me try it!」
「Do it, Rani!」
As the outline of the ship drew near, Rafinha pulled out her beloved bow Artifact, Flowing Radiance, and pulled its string.
The light arrows it produced went to hail on the Magic Stone Beast, but——
Perhaps it sensed the incoming attack, as the Magic Stone Beast dived underwater.
Blocked by the lake, the light arrows Rafinha unleashed died out.
「Ah, it got into the water!」
「Leone. Your sword can reach it underwater!」
「Sure, leave it to me!」
Leone drew her black greatsword Artifact and pointed the blade into the water.
「GOO!!」
The blade extended, invaded the water, and caught the enormous silhouette of the beast.
「Okay——I got it!」
But, right at that instant, the hull of the Flygear rocked heavily.
The movement of the writhing Magic Stone Beast transmitted directly to them through the extended blade.
「Kyaah!? U, uugh….! H-, heavy….!」
「Let me help. Rani, the control stick.」
「Got it, Glis!」
「Inglis, h-, help——!」
「Leave it to me.」
Inglis lent her hands to Leone and together they grabbed the black greatsword Artifact.
「Here we go. Ready—now!」
「EEEEeiiii!!」
The two of them forcefully lifted the sword to pull the beast out of the waters.
SPLAAASSHH!!!
The Magic Stone Beast was launched up from the water’s surface.
But it slipped away from the sword and soared high.
「Ah…! It’s pulled out!」
「It’s okay!」
Inglis jumped down from the Flygear with light feet.
Then, without sinking even a millimeter deep, she ran on the surface of the water.
She was running on the water. A result of her daily training.
It wasn’t so difficult, you just needed to continually raise your feet right before they sunk——
Thought Inglis.8
「EEEEEHHHH!?!?!? She’s running on the water!? WHAT!?」
「Well, it’s Glis after all.」
With the astonished Leone and the slightly proud Rafinha watching her, Inglis walked up to the spot where the beast would fall onto.
「HAAAAAAHH!!!」
She kicked that enormous body as hard as she could, and that body once again found itself high in the sky.
Inglis then went to its drop point again and repeated to hurl it high again.
「And again! And again! And again!」
And as she routinely kicked the beast——it finally reached the lakeside.
「Someone, please kill this Magic Stone Beast. Someone! 」
「Ah, sure——」
It was principal Miliera who accepted the request, dumbfounded as she was.
「I felt like I just saw something terrifying, but you girls did great——」
「You’re right. It’s hard to grasp that there is a Magic Stone Beast lurking under these waters. It’s a terrifying thought.」
「No, I didn’t mean that, but… very well. I’m delighted to have such an incredible student coming to our Academy. At any rate, I’ll inform you and your friends’ achievement to the people on the ship, okay?」
After that, they continued their flight experience on the Flygear for a while longer, and then returned to the main Academy building to tour the facilities before they were dismissed.
Inglis’ impression of her first day in the Academy was that it was an interesting place.
