Chapter 331 – To the Barony of Baron Silun

“Hmm… It’s a beautiful ship, isn’t it?”

For the unveiling of what could be considered the airship’s initial completion, King Melvin came to the shipyard’s plaza and looked up at the Sirius with narrowed eyes.

Those who came to see the Sirius weren’t limited to just King Melvin – Prince Josiah, Princess Stephania, and Princess Adriana were also present. Their escort knights were with them too. Alfred… for some reason was still in disguise and had joined us on the guiding side, but I wondered if that was really appropriate.

“This is wonderful… I heard the ship’s hull itself is made of a special material.”

“Yes. It absorbs impact and converts it into magical power.”

“Oh?”

Prince Josiah’s eyes widened at Princess Stephania’s words, spoken with a cheerful smile, and he lightly knocked on the Sirius’s hull. A faint ripple of light spread along the hull from that point before disappearing. The reason it faded midway was—the impact was too weak, dissipating as it propagated.

“This is fascinating. It looks beautiful too.”

“It’s technology brought from Silvatoria.”

“…I see. As expected of a great magical nation.”

“You honor us. It’s the fruit of the Sages’ Academy’s research. However, creating a hull of this scale was only possible thanks to the ambassador’s power.”

Princess Adriana smiled.

“Thank you.”

We climbed to the deck using the gangplank. A line ran from the bow along the edge of the deck toward the stern in golden paint… giving it quite a magnificent finish. The deck was made of darker-toned wood, creating a relatively calm atmosphere overall.

We could enter the ship’s interior through the door attached to the bridge. Though the door made it appear the hull was segmented… spring-like components extended from locations that wouldn’t obstruct passage and connected to the wall inside, making the entire door essentially one component.

Even if the door were attacked, the damage would be absorbed throughout via the springs, meaning its defense power was ultimately no different from other parts.

We proceeded through the passageway, climbed the stairs, and reached the bridge. Going downward would also allow us to descend into the ship’s interior.

“It’s surprisingly spacious, hardly like being inside a ship.”

“The bridge might be that way. Since we didn’t need sails, we could use the space more generously. The lower areas are somewhat narrower.”

I sat in the pilot’s seat, held my hand over the crystal ball, and started the ship. The scenery outside was projected onto the crystal panels.

The crystal panels arranged in a U-shape along the bridge’s front wall also displayed the outside scenery in a panoramic view. While inside the bridge, one could see a landscape not much different from being on the deck.

“Oh… This is…”

“So we can see the surrounding situation while remaining here?”

“Yes. Now I’ll make us ascend, so please take seats where you can see the pilot’s station. The chairs themselves have belts to prevent you from being thrown out if the ship rocks.”

“How thorough.”

Princess Stephania secured herself to the chair with the seatbelt.

For this unveiling, it was decided we’d take King Melvin and the others for a short flight around Termwills. The Party Members, Alfred, Old Sigmund and his group were sitting around a round table in a slightly lower area, looking relaxed.

The royal members sat in the voice transmission seats behind me, and once everyone had fastened their seatbelts, we ascended vertically. This part went according to the flight tests.

“All piloting is done through this crystal ball. It’s connected to the magic stone room directly below the bridge, and the magic tools move the ship according to the spell formulas engraved on the magic stones. You can’t pilot without understanding the magic tools embedded throughout for propulsion, but once you learn what’s where and how they function, the actual piloting isn’t that difficult, I think.”

While explaining, I advanced the Sirius toward the sea. As the Sirius moved, the scenery flowed past. From Kagehisa’s memories, I’m accustomed to this game-like, indirect field of view—but for everyone else, it must feel fresh.

“Let’s fly along the coastline a bit.”

Saying this, I continued forward. Observing their reactions, without exception, everyone was staring intently at the crystal panels. Grace, Ashley, and Irmhild were smiling happily, while Marlene had shining eyes together with Seraphina. Charlotte was similarly engaged.

Claudia and Rosemary watched with serious, interested expressions. Sheila appeared mostly unchanged at first glance—but her tail was standing straight up, betraying her emotions.

King Melvin and Alfred wore mischievous smiles, while Prince Josiah kept nodding appreciatively. Princess Stephania and Princess Adriana were… getting excited, saying they could see Ceorem through the monitor.

When I sent instructions to the crystal ball, the telescopic function activated on one crystal panel, enlarging Ceorem.

“…So you can zoom in to see things. Amazing,” said Princess Stephania.

Old Sigmund and Valentina narrowed their eyes, and Elliot also looked impressed with his chin in his hand.

Everyone’s reactions were generally favorable. That was what mattered most.

“What are these tube-like things behind us? It says ‘Portside Forward Passageway’…”

“They’re voice pipes. They connect to various parts of the ship, allowing direct verbal communication by speaking into them.”

“No need for messengers, then.”

“Everything is centralized here… truly functional,” remarked King Melvin and Prince Josiah.

“I thought it would rock more, but it’s quiet.”

“That’s true when flying straight. But sharp turns and rapid ascents/descents will likely cause rocking.”

If turns and altitude changes are gradual, there’s little rocking. After going a short distance along the northern coastline, I made a wide turn and returned directly above the shipyard while viewing the roadside below.

“Now, I’ll begin descent.”

I landed it back on its foundation. It would be fine on the sea too, but we had other tasks like installing the sonic cannon later.

The ship came to a stop. After a moment of silence, King Melvin smiled and said:

“Hmm… I told you I wanted something that would become the foundation for future airships, and you splendidly met my expectations. Theodore, Alfred, this is magnificent. Well done.”

“Your words are too generous.”

Both Alfred and I bowed.

We plan to build more airships. As a symbol of friendship between Verdugal and Silvatoria, one sister ship each. Furthermore, we intend to design vessels suited for purposes like transport ships.

“Elliot. You’ll be heading to your wedding aboard the Sirius, correct? I’m sending Stephania as my representative, so you should reassure the baron’s retainers.”

“Yes! I deeply thank Your Majesty for your gracious consideration.”

“As proof that Sir Elliot has indeed built friendship with the Kingdom of Verdugal in Silvatoria, I shall accompany you as well,” said Princess Adriana with a smile.

With this… I suppose we’ve completed everything we needed to do before departing for the Barony of Silun. Once we load minimal food and water, we’ll depart for the Barony of Silun as scheduled.

“The other day you said the cabins were narrow… but this is a splendid room.”

Then, on the day we set off for the Barony of Silun. When I guided Princess Stephania and Princess Adriana to their cabin, the two looked around the room and smiled.

“As it’s the VIP suite, we tried to do everything we could. Please note that chairs, desks, and such are all fixed in place. For safety when moving around the ship, it might be best to use Levitation just in case.”

There were several large cabins like this. To increase capacity, there were also smaller cabins with just bunk beds, a desk, and luggage space for four people… but we couldn’t possibly put the two princesses there.

Well, if we have enough crew members to spare, we don’t hesitate to open up the larger rooms too. For this journey, we have quite a few companions… but well, we should be able to assign everyone to the larger rooms alone.

The lineup for the trip to the Barony of Silun included, first, our Party Members. The wedding couple themselves, Elliot and Camilla. Then VIPs like Princess Stephania and Princess Adriana, plus members from the Demon-Slaying Knight Order like Mercedes and Elmer who would serve as the princesses’ escorts.

The reason escorts were selected from the Demon-Slaying Knight Order was partly because it was the wedding of their Commander Elliot, representing the members.

Then, as it’s the maiden voyage, Alfred and his group who worked on the ship, and Old Sigmund and his workshop members. For performing at the wedding, Justia, Dominique, and Cyrille also offered their cooperation.

“A wedding, huh. I’m looking forward to it. I quite like those,” said Tephra’s figure.

Tephra, who had returned to her mountain, also appeared in Termwills, and upon learning of Elliot’s wedding, she said she wanted to go to bless them, so she joined us abruptly. A wedding receiving blessings from the Moon Goddess and a High Spirit… Well. Whether you call it spiritually potent or something else…

Well, regardless of the special nature of the attendees, it’s quite a large group.

With so many people, we needed to explain the ship’s facilities and structure to prevent confusion. I guided them through various facilities like the kitchen and toilets.

“Can we go out on the deck while the ship is flying?”

“We’ve embedded magic tools in the bow to manipulate wind and deploy a barrier… so you can go out on the deck even during flight. But considering sudden turns, it’s better not to go out except during low-speed flight. If we seem to have time to spare later, I’ll reduce speed to create time for deck access.”

“That would be lovely.”

“The view from an airship is exceptional, after all.”

Princess Stephania and Princess Adriana looked at each other and laughed. It was good to see them enjoying themselves.

After finishing the explanations… we finally departed for the Barony of Silun. Once we changed to stable flight toward the Barony of Silun, I had Old Sigmund take over piloting.

Old Sigmund and Valentina had moved the ship several times during test flights, so they could pilot without issues.

Those with magical knowledge or aptitude like Ashley, Claudia, Marlene, Rosemary, Elliot, and Elmer could also pilot. Well, with the caveat that we’re not traveling at maximum speed.

Anyway, Old Sigmund’s piloting skills were reliable, so I moved to the round table area at the front of the bridge to relax.

Each chair had cylindrical drink holders on the armrests where wooden cups could be placed. The bridge was also equipped with a carbonated drink server… but for now, tea was poured.

“Finally, huh.”

“Yeah. We’ve been busy lately, but maybe we can take it easy until arrival.”

I returned the smile Grace gave me.

“Brother Elliot’s wedding… I want it to be wonderful,” said Ashley.

Perhaps she was organizing the arrangements in her head, as she made Magic Circles appear and disappear in her hand.

“Kennel-san and I have coordinated too, so I’m sure it’ll go well.”

When I said this to reassure Ashley, she nodded with a calm expression.

We also plan to use the airship and magic for some wedding production. Well… we’ve built up know-how at the theater, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

“I think it’ll be quite shocking for the Barony of Silun’s residents, though.”

Rosemary covered her mouth with her feather fan, shaking her shoulders in amusement. Sheila nodded emphatically too, while Irmhild gave a wry smile. Marlene was beaming.

Marlene had been holding Harvesta to prevent the pot from breaking during takeoff due to shaking… but Eclair and Balor were perched on the chair backs, making it unusually lively.

Seraphina seemed—interested in the crystal panel monitors, peeking at the pilot’s station from behind.

As for Claudia, she was giving a wry smile at Rosemary’s words, but then she seemed to notice something and pointed to a corner of the bridge.

“Is that… that Guardian?”

“…Yeah. It seems to appear sometimes.”

Near Lavigne’s dedicated seat, a golden wolf figure had appeared unnoticed. Whether it had substance or not was unclear—its outline was mist-like and indistinct… but it was unmistakably a wolf silhouette.

…It was just wandering around the ship normally, but moreover, it seemed able to go outside the ship too. Lionel from the Demon-Slaying Knight Order said he saw it walking around the shipyard’s plaza. I don’t know how far it can separate, though.

It didn’t seem hostile, and I haven’t heard of anyone being threatened or attacked by it. It kept a subtle distance from Lavigne too, but there didn’t seem to be any mutual threatening.

“A Spirit, huh. I think Theodore’s assessment is correct.”

When the golden wolf met Claudia’s gaze, it quietly bowed its head. Probably showing respect as the Labyrinth’s master, I suppose. If it’s cooperating with us, that’s undoubtedly reassuring.

Well, setting the golden wolf aside… first, let’s focus on Elliot and Camilla’s wedding. I need to do my part to make it lively too.