“Ah! There it is! The Holy Knight Order’s ship!”
Leone raised her voice excitedly.
She and the others had scattered across the back of the Flygear, observing the surroundings. And apparently, Leone had spotted the Holy Knight Order’s Battleship in the direction she was facing.
Everyone gathered near Leone, and Rafinha looked in the same direction she was pointing—up toward the sky.
The sky was clear, with only a few wispy clouds dotting its bright blue expanse.
“Eh? Where? I don’t see it.”
“Rani, it’s not in the sky. It’s down below.”
Inglis pointed toward the ground instead.
There, a badly damaged Flying Battleship had made an emergency landing, it looked nearly destroyed. Holy Knights had gathered around it and were bustling about, seemingly making emergency repairs.
“! The ship is that badly damaged…!? What in the world happened!? What about Ross…!?”Arles’ face twisted with deep worry.
“Let’s head over there right away. It’s close enough that I can jump us directly.”
“Please do, Inglis!”
“Yes. Rani, everyone—stay on the ship, okay?”
Inglis knelt down and placed her hand on the Flygear’s surface, focusing her gaze on the damaged Battleship below—
Divine Feat! The next moment, the Flygear teleported, appearing right above the downed Flying Battleship.
“Whoaaa!?”
“W-what the—!? A flygear!?”
“There was no sign of approach…! Where did it come from!?”
The knights working below looked up in surprise and confusion.
“We have to hurry…!”
Inglis grabbed hold of the tail of the Mecha Dragon God Owlgloria, which was stored on the ship. Covered in mechanical parts and armor, it definitely smelled of oil and metal, but there was no other choice.
Though mechanical, the Mecha Dragon God was stronger than a Dragon God. Even just the edible parts should hold greater potency.
She had brought it all this way to heal Rochefort.
“Professor Arles, we’re jumping down. Hold on tight.”
“O-okay…!”
“I’m coming too! Leone, Mais, please handle landing the flygear!”
Following Arles, Rafinha also wrapped her arms around Inglis.
“Yeah… Jumping from this height is a bit… scary.”
Leone, clearly not fond of heights, looked relieved.
“Got it. B-be careful, okay?”
“Then—here we go!”
Once Mais nodded, Inglis kicked off from the flygear’s hull and leapt into the air.
“Everyone! We’re jumping down, please move aside so we don’t crash into you!”
“We’re already falling thoughhh! Still scaryyyy!”
“S-sorry! We’re in a rush!”
The knights below panicked as they saw the girls descending from the sky.
“Whoa whoa whoa!? Those girls are from the knight academy…!? They’re jumping!?”
“Is that a dragon’s tail they’re carrying!? That’s insane! No, if they can fight back a Prisma, I guess this is nothing…”
“She won’t get so much as a scratch. We’re the ones who need to worry, move!”
**BOOOOOOM!**
Inglis landed beside the Battleship with a thunderous crash, sending up clouds of dust.
“Sorry for the disturbance, everyone…we’re in a bit of a hurry.”
Inglis gave a polite bow to the stunned knights staring at her.
“Ah—uh. Don’t worry about that…”
“She… she really seems totally fine. How…!?”
The knights couldn’t believe their eyes.
“Ross…! Where’s Rochefort!?”
“We brought back dragon meat! We have to feed it to him right away!”
Following Arles, Rafinha called out urgently.
“Ah, if you’re looking for him—”
Just as one knight was about to respond, a voice came from behind them.
“Still, there’s an awful lot of mechanical parts mixed in with this… Is this really edible?”
“We couldn’t help it, Instructor Rochefort. The Mecha dragon fused with the Dragon God, and we brought only the parts that looked remotely edible. This was the only way to save you…”
Without turning around, Rafinha explained, but then she suddenly realized something.
“Wait… huh!? HUH!?”
She turned to see Rochefort himself standing there. He had previously been on the verge of death, unable even to sit up, but now his color had returned, and he stood tall and steady.
““Professor Rochefort!?””
Both Inglis and Rafinha shouted in unison, stunned.
“Hey there. I appreciate the effort, but I think I’ll pass on eating meat full of iron and grease.”
“Ross!”
Arles, tears welling in her eyes, flung herself into Rochefort’s arms, and he caught her firmly.
“Sorry to worry you, Arles. I’m fine now. No need for the meat.”
“I don’t care about that! I’m just glad you’re okay…!”
“I see. But now we’ve drawn a bit of attention, haven’t we?”
With all eyes on Arles and Rochefort hugging, Rochefort looked a little embarrassed.
“What’s wrong with that, Instructor! I’m moved! I’m glad we worked so hard, it was worth it, even if it was for nothing!”
Rafinha’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
“But as an instructor, this may not be the best example for young minds, don’t you think?”
“Please! We’ve seen way crazier stuff in Alucard! Remember that, you know, with Lahti and Pullum too… right, Glis?”
“Maybe stop right there. I’m sure they’re both still trying to forget it.”
“But I kind of wanted to see more of it… you know, for academic purposes.”1
“No. No way. Rani, it’s way too soon for you to even remember that. Forget it right now!”
Rafinha could never be allowed to dwell on that. Absolutely not. She was still way, way, way too young.
“Geez. Glis never gets jokes like this.”
Rafinha scrunched her face and covered her ears.
“But Ross… I’m glad you’re okay. Still, how did you recover so suddenly?”
Arles, now somewhat calmer, asked the obvious question. It was a natural thing to wonder. Inglis and Rafinha were also curious.
“Ah, it’s simple. We had dragon meat on this side too, freshly acquired.”
“Ehhh!? Why’d a dragon show up over here!? We searched so hard just to find one…”
“A Dragon God, suddenly appearing? That kind of fast recovery would only be possible with divine-grade meat…”
“Well, if I healed this quickly, it must’ve been a dragon rivaling even a Dragon God.”
“How did you even beat something like that… wait! Don’t tell me Brother Rafa weaponized Lady Ripple and—!?”
“……!”
Rafinha’s suspicion wasn’t entirely unfounded. Inglis also tensed, her expression growing serious. Just then—
“Rani! Glis! Welcome back!”
Raphael emerged from the Battleship and called out to them.
““Brother Rafa!””
It seemed their worries were unnecessary.
“Arles too! Good for you, Rochefort is fine now!”
“I’m glad everyone is safe!”
“We were so worried about you!”
Ripple, Liselotte, and Meltina were with him. Though the Battleship was severely damaged, it seemed everyone had survived.
“Rani, Glis, you’re not hurt, are you?”
Raphael asked with a gentle smile, but for some reason, he rubbed his lower back as he spoke. It wasn’t a gesture they often saw from him. Was he hurt there?
“Brother Rafa, what’s wrong? Did you hurt your butt?”
Rafinha tilted her head in confusion.
“Eh? Ah, this is…”
“Well, you know…call it a ‘badge of honor,’ right, Raphael?”
“Haha… yes, Lady Ripple…”
Raphael replied with an awkward laugh.2
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