Chancellor Leonard summoned Rille-nee and I after the festival, and as I expected, he scolded us.
But he also thanked us for accompanying the Princess and treated us to a meal at his house to celebrate me becoming a mage, so it just felt like a get together.
“Don’t tell anyone about this.”
Even a small adventure was a scandal. I was ordered not to tell anyone about the Princess’s adventure. Chancellor Leonard also said the same thing to Rille-nee.
I asked what had happened to Giedt and Chancellor Leonard told me he wasn’t rebuked for this. Well, just because he didn’t get punished doesn’t mean he wasn’t scolded.
He was probably chewed out more than us. I hope he thought it was a small price to pay for Princess Philia’s smile, but he probably doesn’t.
I went to school and Alec thanked me for letting Princess Philia have fun at the festival.
He thanked me secretly while we were walking in the garden at lunchtime, and no one was around except for Rock.
“She’s been going on and on about the festival ever since she returned.”
Alec said with a wry smile.
I could picture him smiling as he listened to his excited, tomboy-ish older sister.
Alec hadn’t been told about Princess Philia’s plan at all.
He had to play his sister’s role in the ceremony as well since she had disappeared and had suffered a lot, but he said, “I’m glad my older sister had a good time.” He’s a considerate little brother.
“But…” Alec added later.
“I was jealous when I heard about it. I want to go to the next festival with you.”
“Your Highness.”
“I’m joking.”
Alec laughed at Rock, who told him off.
Will Alec be King when the next festival is held in ten years’ time? Maybe not, but he will have government affairs to take care of.
I will be someone who will serve him and won’t be able to be with him like this. I’ll get told off if I say we’re friends. We aren’t equals.
… Hmmm.
“What’s wrong?”
Alec looked at me questioningly since I had stared at his face while thinking, and I smiled back at him.
“Say, you don’t have to be jealous of Princess Philia, since you’ll experience something much more fun than exploring the capital.”
“Huh?”
“Did you forget?”
Or did you believe it would never happen?
The bell rang, and I briefly said.
“We’re going to fly over the capital!”
I should use my brain and move my body after resting.
Thinking and attempting are the only ways to make dreams come true.
“Zerua!”
I tried to create wind at my feet with magic. My vision immediately flipped over.
“Are you okay?!”
I was writhing in pain from hitting my head on the floor and Alec rushed to help me up.
Rock also lent me a hand in shock, and Matty, who happened to be observing nearby, peeked out from behind them with a worried expression on his face. By the way, I’m wearing pants, so I don’t have to worry about my underwear showing.
We’re in the middle of practical class right now, but I had already passed today’s magic test, so I was doing my own personal research in the corner while the others were trying to pass their tests. It’s boring to wait around.
“This won’t do. It’s hard to keep balancing while flying with wind on your feet.”
“Don’t push yourself.”
“I’m fine. Say, do you have any better ideas, Matty?”
“Huh…? Well, do you want to fly?”
Matty had no idea what was going on and asked in confusion, so I nodded.
“Yeah. I don’t want to just float. I want to be able to adjust where I’m moving.”
“Hmm, that’s a difficult request… I assume that one cannot fly alone. I, I don’t know much about this topic, but you’ll need at least two spells; one to levitate you and one to control your direction… right?”
“Thought so.”
People can only use one spell at a time.
I can’t ride the wind, and after learning a few spells as well as preparing for the ones that I will learn, the only magic I could find that could be used to fly was wind magic. Anti-gravity was a dream within a dream.
“The human body can’t equally distribute the wind.”
That’s why we fly in strange directions. Then, Matty suggested.
“Why don’t you lie down? If you do that on water, then you float…”
“Oh, that will increase the surface that hits the wind. I’ll give it a try. But I don’t think I have enough mana, so Alec, please help!”
“You want me to do it?”
I asked Alec to help since he has the best mana output.
He was obviously worried, but I got down on the floor and waited for him to cast his magic.
“Can you float Aime?”
“I’m the lightest, so I’m the best person to try out this experiment. I still trust you more than Mary. Just increase the wind pressure slowly. Come on, we’re not going to make any progress until we give this a try.”
“A-alright. I’ll do my best.”
Alec chanted his spell with determination. He kept saying, “More, stronger,” after he cast the first gentle breeze and my body floated and blew off in the wrong direction when the wind became a gust. I thought this might happen.
But just before I hit the floor from a high drop, I bounced off a wind cushion and landed safely.
I was ready to save myself, but it was Harold-sensei who actually saved me. He had only half his body facing me and was holding his hand out.
“Stop doing unnecessary things. I’m the one who will take the blame if something happens~.”
“Y~es. I’m sorr~y.”
I apologized and rushed to Alec whose face was turning blue.
He didn’t go out of control. I just couldn’t ride the wind well. Matty saw that Alec was panicking which caused him to panic and apologise.
“I, I’m sorry. This happened because I said something carelessly!”
“I’m fine. Anyway, I’ve concluded that it would be difficult to fly with a human body. It’s hard to control the wind when it hits you.”
The wind pressure hurt my stomach and joints, and I can’t seem to adjust my direction. It’s difficult to fly alone.
“If you need more people to use magic, then you’ll need something that several people can ride on, so a carpet would be better than a broom.”
“Why a carpet?”
Rock immediately interjected. Well, riding a carpet is an innovative idea, isn’t it?
“But…” I muttered and thought of something.
“I see, a carpet, or rather something flat might be able to catch the wind evenly. Cloth would be too unstable, but maybe ――― a plank. Yeah, say, can we float planks in the air like planks float on water?”
“Float a plank?”
“Oh, what about a boat?! A flying boat that can hold several people! Well, it would be more like a raft? With a mast in the centre. Don’t you think that we can control where we go just like a boat on water if there are sails?”
I did think of different ways to fly, but I would love to fly in a fantasy way.
“Ah… ah, I see!”
Matty understood me immediately and continued.
“Then, using wind magic to push the board up from below and wind magic to make a tailwind would work? You could adjust the power to rise higher or lower, and you can adjust the direction with magic and the sail… it could work!”
“Right?! Let’s give it a try. We can make a raft out of scrap wood.”
“We’re going to make it ourselves?”
“It’s fun because we’re making it ourselves.”
“Then we’ll need to gather the materials first?”
“Yeah. We’ll need more mages to power it. We should invite Cliff and Mary to join us . Then we can figure out what spells to use.”
“Ah, I, I see, we’ll be making the spells.”
Matty’s cheeks flushed. He was getting really into this project.
“We can change the spells we’ve learnt a little. I hope we can fly before winter.”
“Hey, are you sure this isn’t dangerous?”
Rock asked anxiously, so I put a hand on his shoulder.
“You know, people feel different things, so someone might feel it is dangerous while someone won’t. It’s the same with strength and weaknesses. It depends on where you set your standards.”
“Are you trying to deceive me?”
He found out.
Of course, I’ll take measures to ensure safety, but I can’t say that flying will be completely safe.
“Well, let’s think about that together. We’re going to need a lot of help from Rock and Matty too.”
The idea sounds good.
We won’t know if we can do it or not until we try.
I asked Mary and Cliff to help us after class, but they replied snidely.
“Your disrespect finally extends to the Sky God.”
Mary muttered and Cliff agreed.
“How?”
“The sky is God’s domain.”
“We’ll have to fly higher than a bird for him to be offended, right?”
“I was the one who suggested this in the first place.”
Alec added to which they both replied, “Don’t get involved in this, Your Highness.”
This is favouritism!
“So, will you two help or not?”
“I can’t leave His Highness to you.”
“… So, you’ll help? Then, brace yourselves!”
“… Brace ourselves?”
The eyes of the boy and girl shook with anxiety.
“Mary, you have to practice control first! I’ll get the materials we need, so help me carry them to school, Cliff, Rock and Alec! Matty, you watch over Mary while I figure out how to build the raft. Mary is the key to this plan.”
Everyone reacted differently to what I Had said.
“Wait, I didn’t agree to this type of labour. Let the servants do the heavy lifting.”
“It’s lazy to stay still when you can move.”
“You’re making His Highness do this too?!”
“It’s no fun if we don’t do this together. Do you want Alec to be left out, Rock?”
“Uh…”
“H-hey, don’t rely on my magic too much.”
“I will rely on it a lot. You can cast more powerful magic than the teacher, Mary.”
I quickly dismissed their protests and got Matty and Alec to agree to my plan.
I started this project to make my friend’s wish come true but I must admit, I’m the one enjoying this the most.
